From TikTok star to TikTok millionaire: The story of Sy Glow’s Mother Lou

MANILA, Philippines — “Everything starts with Tiktok.”

Those were the words of Lou Neria Maestre Putian, more popularly known as Mother Lou, who not only has 1.6 million followers but has also managed to rake in millions, thanks to a business that was inspired by the social media platform.

With more free time in her hands, Mother Lou decided to open her own TikTok channel where she uploaded videos of her interactions with her household staff. While she was able to generate 50,000 followers at that time, thanks to the good vibes her videos generated, she also had her own share of bashers.

These bashers would bash her about her fair complexion and even claimed that her frequent use of glutathione helped her achieve her white skin. Forever the optimist, Mother Lou saw an opportunity amid this bad publicity and decided to use it to her own advantage.

With P15,000 she borrowed from her children’s piggy banks, she was able to produce 100 bars of soap and 15 bottles of lotion and she sold them under the brand Sy Glow. To convince her followers to purchase her products, Mother Lou tested the product on one of her household helpers and went online daily to report the effects of the product on her helper.

As the days went by, Mother Lou’s followers noted that her helper’s skin was gradually whitening. It was only a matter of time before Mother Lou’s business grew, and she is now making millions via TikTok.

“Before I offer my products to the public, I test them and make sure that they are really effective. As the business grew, I opened a number of shops and had resellers but for me, I prefer selling on TikTok Shop. I am very grateful for this platform and I do live selling every day, from 8 in the morning to 12 midnight,” she said.

Mother Lou has come a long way. A native of Valencia, Bohol, Mother Lou related how her family was very poor, so poor that even at the tender age of seven years old, she would worry every day about where her family would get their next meal. She and her siblings, all nine of them, had to work to ensure that they had enough money to cover their allowance and their meals.

To make ends meet, Mother Lou would sell anything. During her elementary