My 2021 year in review

2021 has been a tough year for me. It’s already 2022. I hope this year, everything goes well.

I can’t believe how time has gone so fast.

Starting this year, I decided to write a yearly recap so that I could document my progress and to keep a diary of myself to reflect on as I get older.

And this would also be fun to read 10 years from now 😂.

What went well this year?

Glad that covid vaccines started rolling out this year. We were able to socialize more this year.

Meet new people

I made new friends this year. And I’m grateful for that.

Sad to say that I stopped taking selfies anymore. I do consider taking more photos with the people I meet and spend most of my time with. And I would love to share it with you guys.

Guess I need to buy a phone with a better camera ( I do really like the iPhone camera but it’s too expensive right now. I might buy an old model of it 😂 ).

Reconciled with old ones

Restoring old friendships is what I always wanted to do. The bond may not be the same as it was before, but I’m grateful for this.

Basketball

Finally! Basketball courts officially opened their doors after 22 months.

It felt like forever, but we finally got the chance to play the game that we loved.

I was really having a hard time playing the game again ( seems that my body already forgets the moves that we’ve been showing off before 😂). This may take more practice for me to fully recover.

Travel

I wasn’t able to travel more this year. But I got a few that I would love to share with you all.

Every year, I regularly visit New Washington, Aklan where I get to visit my father’s heritage. I have a big family in Aklan. And I love hanging out with them when I get the chance to visit them.

I did a few trips to Aklan in 2021. But this year is different.

Most of my trips this year were about business. I, my cousin, and aunt discussed a potential business. And it was fun having a family business together.

IT FUN WAS because, in most of our meetings, we were discussing our business while drinking. Some thought that we were just talking nonsense because some of us are already tipsy and drunk. I think we are more creative in this way and it produces good results 😂.

I also did a few trips to Iloilo City with my friends this year. It was also fun ( sadly no photos were taken ). I do hope this 2022, I could take more photos so that I can share it with you guys.

Capkali shawarma

In March 2021, we started planning and executing our dry run operation of the shawarma business. I was very excited to start the business.

Here’s how it went.

I started planning for the look of our shawarma booth. I was really having a hard time thinking about this. I kept searching online and haven’t decided still. I finally made a decision, just make it simple.

The first thing I did was to buy a chalkboard. I thought it was cool if we used it on our menu list.

I tried writing on it and here’s how it looks.

It looks really bad. I forgot how bad my writing is 😂. I’m the worst left-handed person ever. So I tried asking my friends for some help.

That looks way better now. I can’t thank my friends enough for this.

We used the first one on our dry run operation, and the second one was used on the summer park exhibit.

I bought and prepared other things needed for our dry run. We were ready to start our dry run operation.

Together with my mom, brother, cousins, aunt, and with the help of my friends, we started our 3-day dry run operation located at Burgos, street.

Here’s how it went.

Upon arriving at our location, we were really surprised. My mom put some decorations already without telling me about it. I thought it’s gonna be a disaster because our area looks Halloween-themed now 😂 . I understand that my mom just really wanted to help ( mom is really supportive in everything we do ). But hopefully, it turns out that it doesn’t affect our sales at all.

So how’re our sales?

SOLD OUT. Yes, on our first day we sold out our special beef shawarma and the same as the following day. And sad to say that we run out of pita bread that is why we stopped selling on the third day.

I’m so grateful for those who supported our dry run. Here are some photos that were taken during our dry run.

After a successful dry run operation, we got a chance to join the Summer outdoor park exhibit in partnership with Robinsons Place Roxas together with Globe Telecom at Robinsons parking area in April 2021.

Our team was so excited to join the event, knowing that the finest restaurants in town will also be joining the said event.

Here are some photos were taken during the summer outdoor park exhibit.

We haven’t finished the event due to the covid surge. We operated for only 5 days at the event. It was a great experience knowing that more Capizeno’s were able to try our special beef shawarma.

Where is Capkali now?

I’ll try to explain this in the later section down below.

Online store

Most of you don’t know this but I and Shin ( my best friend and also my business partner ), started an online store in 2021. We haven’t promoted this in the country that’s why most of you don’t know this yet.

The business is legally registered in the Philippines. Our business model is unconventional and still unproven to succeed, yet we were willing to take the shot.

We were so excited to join the online market without really having a personal mentor to guide us ( just reading books, blogs, and of course watching YouTube videos ). We just wanna get started knowing that startup costs are low compared to businesses with a physical location.

Take a look at this.

We made our first sale!

I know you are wondering why it’s priced in USD, it’s because we only promoted it outside the country. And because of conversion rates, most customers are comfortable paying in USD.

How is the business now, you might ask?

I’ll try to explain this in the later section down below.

What didn’t go well this year?

What doesn’t kill you, makes you stronger.

Always in our hearts

In June, my grandpa ( we call him dad/daddy ) sadly passed away. This was a really tough time for the family.

I really felt bad because I never get the chance to show him how successful I’ll become. I just need more time. Sadly he passed away too soon.

I hope I made him proud in some ways.

Here’s a photo of dad together with my brother, aunt, and cousins ( this was taken during my brother’s birthday in October 2016 at Max’s Restaurant ).

Book reading

I haven’t read a book this year. But I do read some articles when I’m not reading a book.

Reading a book is a MUST for everyone because it allows us to connect with the greatest minds.

I do hope this year, I could read a lot of books. And I would love to share its wisdom with you guys.

Kamalayan blog

For those who don’t know this yet, in 2020 we created a blogging site called kamalayan blog. I invited my friends to join me in this project. It allows us to express our thoughts and share our experiences with others.

How is it going now?

I have not been active for almost a year now. I really felt bad about it. I do hope this year, I’ll be more involved in this.

I will discuss this with the team about the future of this project. Bigger changes must be made for this to become a success.

Capkali shawarma

After the summer park exhibit at Robinson’s place, we tried selling our shawarma online. It was hard for us to adjust because preserving the quality and freshness of the food is a really big challenge.

It seems like a success but we were having a lot of problems in our operations. From one problem to another.

We decided to stop the operation.

I was really persistent that we will be able to overcome the challenges, but I soon admit that our system is broken.

I do believe that this is not over for us.

Visit our instagram page for further announcements.

Online store

Like any other startup, I thought that we are gonna be like, the next Jeff Bezos of Amazon in no time 😂. I soon realize that we are very far from this.

We haven’t really made a lot of sales. We started a business and joined a market that we don’t fully understand.

We really have no written business plan on how to operate the business. This was a major problem for us.

This time, we would like to try it again.

We will restructure the business and design a new system ( this is still an untested/unproven model ). If this works, this will open a lot of opportunities to other people, such as employment.

What did I learn?

Learning helps us to be better.

Acknowledge your mistakes

If you don’t acknowledge your mistakes early, you’ll keep making the same mistakes again. Even small mistakes, by repeating it all over again, will lead and compound into a bigger problem.

Don’t expect. But do try.

Expecting too much will disappoint you if it didn’t work out. It feels much better if something works out, without expecting that much. So don’t expect too much, but do try.

Always have a plan.

A plan gives us a clear direction to where we are going. Without it, it’s like swinging on a trapeze without a net.

My goals for 2022

Setting a goal gives us the motivation to do what we wanted to become.

1. Be healthy – Reduce alcohol intake and exercise regularly.

2. Travel more – I want to travel and spend more time with my loved ones.

3. Be more involved in Social media – I’ll start using Twitter and LinkedIn.

4. Read books – Read at least 3 books.

5. Write blogs – I plan to write blogs at least once a month.

6. Learn a new skill – I’m interested in learning electronics and building small projects.

7. Make deals ( in general ) – I haven’t closed so many deals this year. I do hope to close more deals in 2022!

8. Relaunch our online store – We will make this happen.

I’ll do my best to achieve all my goals for 2022. Happy new year everyone!

Have you considered writing your yearly recap? Let me know in the comments below.

Featured image credit: Behnam Norouzi