This Couple Took Their Relationship to the Next Level by Starting Up a Biz

We've heard it said before, but what does taking our relationship to the next level really mean? For some couples, that would be defining their relationship status. For some, that would be meeting each other's parents for the first time. For the adventurous couples, climbing a mountain together is the very definition of taking their relationship to the next level. But for Janel Lim and Dale Chua, they chose to start a business that's rooted from something they love to do together—traveling. Read on, get inspired, and know the story behind The Venture Pack.

How it started. "As a couple, we decided that we wanted to touch new territories and create our own business. With that goal in mind, we thought about what people would want to spend their money on. Nothing kicked in until we started traveling. While traveling, we would buy pasalubong for our family and friends, but we would always have trouble packing the gifts in our travel bags. Because bringing extra bags just for pasalubongs can be a hassle and we couldn't find big travel bags that were spacious and stylish at the same time, we thought to ourselves, why not just create a bag that's compact and stylish at the same time? From there, we decided to start The Venture Pack."

Why The Venture Pack? "We saw how traveling is steadily turning into a must-do for a lot of people not just locally, but internationally, too. Aside from that, we understand that a lot of people are having a hard time looking for a travel bag that's convenient for the shopping without scrimping on style. So we decided to cater to that need and create stylish and spacious travel bags."

Young entrepreneur. "We found that being a young entrepreneur can be both hard and easy at the same time. We can't deny that entering the bag industry was mighty hard since we didn't have any background when we started hte business and let's not forget the high number of players in the industry that we're competing with as well. But because we were really determined and passionate about our business, working on The Venture Pack didn't feel like work and while there are days when we'd feel extra tired, because we enjoy what we do, we still end our days with huge smiles on our faces."

Drawing inspiration. "We draw a lot of our inspirations from our families, friends, our imperfections, and of course each other."

Coupled up. "Not everyone recommends starting up a business with your boyfriend or girlfriend, but lucky for us, our work ethics are the same and we always keep an open mind when it comes to each other's contribution and ideas to make our brand even better."

Little challenges. "When we first started The Venture Pack, it sure wasn't easy. At that time, we didn't even know if our target market would be interested in our travel bags. With that in mind, we launched the brand through social media and tested our products in the market by joining different bazaars to raise our brand awareness."

Staying original. "To make sure that our brand stands out from the crowd, we make sure that we take into consideration our customers' feedback every time we do our product conceptualization. From there, we create new designs that aim to fit their needs. We also make sure that each bag has a unique selling proposition, which makes it stand out from our competitors' products easily."

What's next? "For now, we're just trying to solidify our branding and improve our products more in terms of functionality and quality. Maybe in the future, we'll expand to other regions within the Philippines. Maybe we can event bring the brand to international heights, but for now we're just taking one step at a time."

Entrepreneurial philosophy.

To young budding entrepreneurs. Take it one step at a time because you won't have it all instantly. And also, learn to appreciate what you have and keep setting goals you aim to achieve.

Know any young entrepreneurs? Leave a comment below and you just might see them on the site next week!