I spoke at the Nth Power Business Summit last weekend.

Here’s the honest truth about how I ended up on that stage.

It was the first-ever gathering of Filipino business owners and entrepreneurs under one roof, talking about business, systems, and scaling through marketing.

Mommy Negosyo, Myrna Natividad, knew me before any of this. Not because I had the biggest portfolio. Not because I was the most obvious choice. She knew me, and she called on me.

I treated that the way I treat grace. You don’t earn it. You receive it. And then you show up and give everything you have.

So that’s what my Media Rocketz co-founder Nins Mendoza and I did. We prepared hard. We mapped out how Facebook Ads can build real visibility for real businesses. Because hey, here’s what drives us at Media Rocketz: We spent years building skills through foreign clients. International campaigns. Results for businesses overseas. And somewhere along the way, we looked around and asked, when do we bring this home? The answer was now.

The Nth Power Business Summit is that time.

Filipino business owners deserve the same level of strategy, the same tools, and the same results.

I don’t go out much. I am more comfortable behind a screen than in a crowd. But I pulled every bit of energy I had and talked to people. I also made it a point to talk to the events and production team, too. Because I used to be part of a convention team. I know what that work looks like from the inside. Long hours, invisible effort, and a hundred things that can go wrong before the first speaker even steps up. They deserved to be seen too.

The Nth Power Business Summit was just the beginning. Filipino businesses are ready to scale. Nins and I, under Media Rocketz, are ready to help.

I told Sir Francis Kong that I used to attend his Feast Conference talks. I still couldn’t believe I spoke alongside him in a summit!

So is it best to hire an agency?

After my talk at the Nth Power Business Summit, a business owner came up to me and said, “I loved your talk about Facebook Ads!”

Then she told me her story.

She tried running ads on her own. Too busy to keep up with it.

She hired someone. No results.

She made a deal with another ads person, commission-based, pay only when the ads bring in sales. That person disappeared.

Then she looked at me and asked, “So is it best to just hire an agency?”

I gave her an honest answer: Not always.

Because the first question is this: can the business actually afford it right now? If the answer is no, hiring an agency is not the move yet.

But here is what I told her that I want every Filipino business owner to hear: You do not need to become an ads expert.

You need to understand enough so that when you do hire someone, whether a freelancer or an agency, you are not completely in the dark.

You will know what questions to ask, if the numbers make sense. You will know when someone is doing the work and when someone is just collecting a fee.

That knowledge protects you.

And sometimes, all it takes is one consultation with the right ads expert. One clear, actionable insight from that conversation can shift the direction of your campaigns entirely.

You do not need a full retainer to move forward. You need the right information at the right time.

Someone from my previous career was there in the summit!

Someone stopped me on my tracks at the Nth Power Business Summit.

“You look familiar. Were you into ISO?”

I paused. Then it hit us both at the same time. We used to work together at an international school!

I was happy to see her. But I will be honest, I got nervous.

She knew the version of me from before. The one who had a completely different career. She had no idea what I do now, who I have become, or why I was standing in that room as a speaker.

For a moment, all of that old insecurity showed up uninvited.

But then I reminded myself of one thing: I was not at that summit to impress anyone. I was there to help. And if she was one of the people I could serve, then I was going to show up fully, nervous or not.

So I did.

After my talk, she found me again. She said I did great; that she was proud of who I have become. I carried that with me.

Here is what that moment reminded me: Never burn bridges. The people who knew you before will meet you again. And when they do, the only thing that will matter is whether you showed up with integrity every single time, even when no one was watching, even when the stakes felt small, even when you thought that chapter was already closed.

Your past and your present will collide in the most unexpected rooms. Make sure you have nothing to hide in either one.

It was an honor to be alongside these powerful speakers. More importantly, it was an honor to serve Filipino business owners on that day.

Read more about the Nth Power Business Summit here.

At Media Rocketz, we are opening our Ads Diagnostic Strategy Map call soon. One focused session to look at where your ads stand and what needs to change. If you want to be on the waitlist, send us a DM on our Facebook Page.