Husband-and-wife entrepreneurs Juan and Tisha Manzano share their experience and insights about being a reseller.

For those who don’t want to franchise or start a business from scratch, reselling is an option where entrepreneurs can leverage the power of an established brand. Many brands employ resellers as part of their business plan, including those that offer food, makeup, and even skincare products. Often requiring less capital than franchising and less effort than establishing a new brand, being a brand reseller can be a quick and lucrative path to becoming an entrepreneur.

However, like any other business, aspiring resellers should first understand what is involved. What are the advantages and disadvantages? What factors should they consider when selecting a brand to resell for? These are just some of the questions aspiring resellers should have answers to prior to making the leap to reselling.

For insights on reselling, The Business Manual spoke to the husband-and-wife team of Juan and Tisha Manzano. The couple, who are resellers of popular ice cream brand Carmen’s Best in Parañaque City, shared their experience as resellers and what lessons others can learn from it. 

What made you decide to enter reselling? Why did you opt for this instead of franchising or starting your own business from scratch?

Tisha: It all began on an ordinary errand day at the mall when we decided to try a new ice cream brand. This experience sparked our curiosity about starting something for ourselves. On a personal note, we really wanted something that could allow us to support someone dear to us. 

With this in mind, we went through a couple of business proposals from other ice cream brands and after carefully comparing costs, timelines, and operational structures for franchising, launching our own brand, or reselling we realized that reselling was more suitable for our schedules and lifestyle. 

Juan: As professionals with active income from our jobs, we felt that time-wise, being a reseller fit our schedule best. Also, personally we do not have extensive sales/entrepreneurial experience. Being a reseller mitigated this since we can leverage on an existing brand and not have to start from scratch, but still allowed us to learn how to sell and run a business.

What did you consider when selecting the brand you wanted to be a reseller for? What led you to ultimately decide on Carmen’s Best?

Juan: We wanted to have some degree of competitive advantage. Selling brands that cater to mass market consumers wouldn’t give us any advantage since a lot of distribution channels carry them already and at scale (e.g. groceries, convenience stores). Also, these brands have less margin and would be dependent on volume (which is something difficult for us as this is just a side business). 

Carmen’s Best offered the opportunity to sell something different and unique to us (not as available in common channels), and its premium price generally allows us to earn reasonably, relative to the amount of units we needed to sell.

What were the challenges that you had to go through when you began reselling? How did you overcome them?

Juan: The biggest challenge was reaching the right customers. Not a lot of people would pay a premium for ice cream. Meanwhile, those who do, already have affinity to the store they get it from (e.g. premium grocery). 

To get around this, we started to get regular customers from our immediate network (friends, co-workers) and use them for word-of-mouth marketing, and get more organic sales. We are also able to leverage on extra services such as discounts and thermal packaging, that aren’t available to traditional stores that carry Carmen’s Best.

What are the advantages of reselling?

Juan: Reselling has very low risks compared to starting your own brand or even franchising an existing brand since startup costs and overhead costs are low. A big handicap for any business is capital, and as this requires relatively low capital to start and maintain, it allows sellers to go into business as financially ‘safe’ as possible.

Tisha: It has a low startup cost compared to starting a traditional business or even doing a franchise and when the right strategies are applied, you can make significant profit out of it. As someone who’s always trying to find ways to learn, reselling gives us an opportunity to further our marketing, customer service, and communication skills which will always be an advantage.

What are the disadvantages of reselling?

Juan: Commercially, you will be competing with other resellers, some of which may be bigger than you and where customers already have convenience and affinity for (e.g. groceries). Creatively, you are also somewhat limited to the brand you carry.

Tisha: Whatever the brand or product may be, there will always be competition. Being in a residential area, it’s both an advantage and disadvantage. On one hand, it offers convenient access to our target market; on the other, consumers are exposed to competing brands from local shops or tindahan, convenience stores, and the big supermarkets. This requires us to really discuss ways to capture and sustain their attention to convert interest to sales.

What are the misconceptions about reselling/being a reseller that you want to correct?

Juan: The brand you carry won’t necessarily sell itself, and customers who do want the brand won’t necessarily buy from you, especially if it is available elsewhere. Hence you still have to find a competitive differentiator for you.

Tisha: The notion that reselling can lead to “instant wealth.” While we may wish that all our stocks sell effortlessly, achieving this requires a lot of effort and patience, and a good support system.

Would you recommend reselling/being a reseller to others? Why or why not?

Juan: If you are someone who would like to start a business but are still learning the ropes, reselling gives a good opportunity. This is most effective if you truly believe in the product, since this is what you can’t change yourself.

Tisha: If you have the time and the patience, I definitely will say go for it. Choose a product that you like so you can add a personal touch as you start reselling. It gives you a chance to earn extra and learn more about yourself and tap into the world of business.

What concrete tips and advice can you give to aspiring entrepreneurs who want to give reselling a try?

Juan: Learn the market of the brand, especially how it is currently available and its distribution. Review the terms of the supplier thoroughly and weigh them accordingly (e.g. payment terms, are you in control of price/creatives/where you can sell, minimum order quantity, would there be quotas).

Tisha: Don’t be shy to ask and learn from your friends or family that already have their own businesses. When there’s something we are curious about or something we want to understand more on, we connect with our friends that own a restaurant and try to see what insights they have that we can learn from. 

At the same time, be confident in the skills that you already have since it can serve a lot as you resell products. Lastly, know not just your product but the company and brand itself. We don’t just say “oh we sell ice cream” but we excitedly talk about what makes this ice cream brand special. It builds for better rapport with customers and sales too.

Juan and Tisha Manzano are resellers of Carmen’s Best in Parañaque City as their side hustle. Juan works as a senior procurement officer, while Tisha is in human resources as a learning management representative.