Steven Flor knew ever since college that he was not destined to be an employee. He had a clear view of what his future looked like. He plotted his own path towards starting his own business. Immediately after graduation, Steven and his college friends founded Filmstock Media Inc.

Like any start-up business, it was an uphill climb at the beginning. But slowly they were able to get a regular stream of clients. Before the pandemic, they just landed a big contract, but what could have been their biggest break turned into a nightmare.

“ We were all excited with this big break. It was a big project and we put everything on the line for it. We paid the production, the artists and other contractors in advance. Production activities started  first week of March. Everything was going smoothly.  Then the lockdown was enforced, and the client decided to discontinue the project.” Steven related.

Steven was left to manage the remaining payables from the project out of  his own pocket.

“There were still salaries to pay  and overhead expenses due. We had no collection and no income coming in. There was no other way but to tap on personal funds,” he added.

After the dues were settled, the painful realization started to set in for Steven and his team.

“The entertainment  and creative industries were the last to be allowed to reopen. Compared to other industries, we were considered as non-essential and  had to stop operation indefinitely. Pero I never lost hope. I always believed na matatapos din and  lahat ng ito at babalik tayo sa dati. It was just a matter of time,” he said hopefully.

Steven applied for a loan under the Bayanihan CARES program of the government  to fund his reopening. He is  confident that new projects will come in as soon as his clients hear that they are back in business.

“We need to be  optimistic about the future. The pandemic is not going to be here forever. Life needs to go on and we should never give up on our dreams,” he concluded.

Posted on January 15, 2021