An Ode To Single Mothers

As Kay Cecile Barcenas gripped the steering wheel she felt a wave of sheer joy. She looked over to her daughter Diandra seated beside her who grinned from ear to ear. It was their first ride in her new Isuzu Crosswind. There was something about it than simply having a new car. It was an affirmation of hard work, a respite from months of concentration and sacrifices. It was a pat in the back for a job well done.

Kay is the top performer for Golden Haven Memorial Park's January to June 2005 assembly of real estate agents and brokers. She bested nearly 500 colleagues and 30 selected best. What made her stand out among all of them?

"I set a goal for myself and I focused on that goal," Kay explained. Indeed that goal led her to win the first car incentive given out by Golden Haven. And to think this single mother braves all odds in raising her 11-year old daughter all by herself, with no helper or yaya to boot! How does she do it?

"Time management. That's all you need to do really and of course the focus and firm resolve and aggressiveness to reach your goal," she said. Every morning, Kay prepares her daughter's breakfast and school stuff. Sends her to school then goes about her business within the day until 4 to 5 p.m. when she picks Diandra up from school again. Back in their rented three-bedroom apartment, mother and daughter review their day and Kay tutors Diandra and assists her with schoolwork before settling for the night.

Ever since Diandra was in nursery Kay has never missed a single PTA meeting or school activity "My daughter is precious to me, it was my need to spend more time with her that led me in this sort of business," she said.

A single mother by choice (this she stresses), Kay feels blessed for having work that allows her the power to control her time. I used to work for an exporting firm full-time, then dabbled in exports myself. At that time Diandra was about three years old and I knew it wouldn't work for me at all. I saw an ad advertising a housing project with numbers to a real estate agency. I dialed the numbers and that led me to the world of real estate sales.

Grappling in the industry for more than eight years, Kay has her fair share of knowing the ins and outs of the business. Her products were mostly housing at first and it took time for her to get into memorial parks. "To tell you the truth, memorial parks didn't interest me at first. But honestly it took a seminar with Tessie Lanot at Golden Haven to convince me of its pluses. I even went back to her seminars ten times straight! I had loads of questions! From then on I included memorial parks in my range of products."

Learn the product, Kay stresses that in sales. She learned the products of Golden Haven so much that she decided to focus her sales there. "It took a great deal of deliberation on my part to decide whether or not I focus my sales solely on Golden Haven. I have a daughter to consider." But focus she did and decided to work as an in-house agency manager.

"Why? Many things. In selling subdivisions, you don't get commissions right away.

You get commissions months later, depending on the buyers payment plan. But with memorial parks, you receive commissions every month. In Golden Haven, they give commissions the quickest. And I know what I'm saying. I've been dealing with developers for years. I also get all the support there - the vehicles for site visits, the brochures, the seminars and trainings - all are free at Golden Haven. On top of our commissions we get gift items and cash incentives every month and now I even have a new car. What's more, the staff are very accommodating, they treat you like family!" All these things considered Kay believes it was easy to reach her goal in sales. "I was so inspired! Everything is there and its those cases where you think you'd better give something in return."

With all the adrenalin rush in reaching sales goals, one wonders if Kay ever felt she needed to sacrifice her time with her daughter for work. "Never," she says. My daughter is top priority. I refuse appointments after five. By that time I will fetch Diandra from school and spend the rest of the day with her. In special cases I bring her along, particularly in group activities or events related to work.

And is she happy with the way her life turned out these days? "Definitely. Diandra is happy too. She's a consistent honor student. And we're partners." Now Kay earns more than she ever could compared to a full-time nine-to-five employee plus she has time in her hands. Even her choice to be a single mother is no hindrance.

"To all the single parents out there who've had bad experiences in relationships, don't think it's the end of the world. My life is not a bed of roses, but I refuse to stay down and I struggle to stand back up always." For that, her greatest and most recent perk is a brand new car.

When the key was handed to Kay, Diandra was teary eyed. She knows what her mother went through. Kay tells her everything. Then Golden Haven President Michael G. Regino grabbed Kay's hands and dragged her to the car! At that time her thoughts were racing! Diandra came running after them toting a camera. Everybody was yelling! They told her to start the engine and when she did confetti started to pop all over! It was great.