A Peek Behind Kim’s Diary: Kim Abelar on Empowering Women and Changing Lives
Kim Abelar shares a glimpse into her life—from running a thriving business to empowering women’s financial freedom while balancing a colorful family home.
The name Kim Abelar may not be very familiar to many. Yet Kim’s Diary is a different matter altogether. What began as a personal Instagram diary became a social media page to spread an empowering mission—to help uplift women by helping them acquire financial freedom.
As the woman behind i-Fern Mini Ladies and Million Glow, Kim’s influence only continues to spread across an ever-growing audience of women, many of them wives and mothers, who desire financial autonomy and self-reliance.
Yet aside from helping women take charge of their independence, the entrepreneur and lady boss also wears many hats and juggles different responsibilities—being a mother of two kids and a devoted partner to i-Fern President and CEO Tommanny Tan.

Empowering Women Through Business
With a wide range of experience running different businesses, Kim Abelar is no stranger to hard work. The seasoned entrepreneur has her hands full with her current ventures: i-Fern Mini Ladies, a separate branch of i-Fern, and Million Glow by Kim’s Diary, which both began during the pandemic.
As Filipinos turned to their love of online shopping during the pandemic, Kim was able to take advantage of this by launching the Japanese beauty drink Million Glow, which has become a hit in the country thanks to social media platforms such as TikTok.
Meanwhile, i-Fern Mini Ladies was initially founded as a means to help provide opportunities for women in need during the lockdown. Yet the club has now been around for over a year, empowering women to have their own means of income and become financially capable.
“My partner, Tommanny Tan, owns i-Fern and nakita ko kung gaano niya natulungan ang napakaraming tao,” Kim explains. “So I decided noong pandemic na kailangan ko tulungan at turuan ang mga kababaihan na mag-trabaho sila on their own. Kasi ‘yung mga married, nagiging shadow sila nung mga asawa nila. ‘Yung iba naman, mga single moms na gustong umasenso.”
Kim then established the i-Fern Mini Ladies Club, an exclusive group of women resellers and distributors of i-Fern products. Nearly 70 of them have earned enough to drive their own Mini Cooper cars—hence the name Mini Ladies.
She advises her mentees to zero in on their goals, focus, and work hard—especially in the face of challenges. “You need to be ready,” she asserts. “Kapag may nangyari sa iyo, kailangan ready ka sa mga panahon ng pangangailangan.“
“And if you are a mom, lalo na kung single mom, being ready for anything is a must,” she adds. “If you get sick and you have the financial means, you can get better and get back to work and to your family. ‘Pag nagkasakit ka and wala kang pera, paano na?”
A Balancing Act at Home
Although several women look up to her as the influencer, entrepreneur, and CEO that she is today, behind the scenes, Kim Abelar remains devoted to her children Nicole (affectionately called Chichi) and JV, who is 13, and her partner Tommanny, whom she has been with for 10 years.
Kim shares her kids with her ex-husband, balancing a co-parenting setup while being an empty nester at the same time: Nicole is a budding champion golfer and is based in Houston for her studies, while her son JV, lives with his dad on weekdays.
Meanwhile, she also maintains a good relationship with Tommanny’s children, adding that she knows her place in their lives.
And at the end of the day, Kim prioritizes what she believes is best for her children. “For me, being a good parent is not measured by your marital status. Sometimes, mas okay pa nga maging parents when you are apart. Kaysa, maging parents while living together kasi mas masaya ka, hindi ka miserable. And that will show sa lahat ng aspeto ng buhay mo. Happy parents equals happy kids,” she opines.
“I want to give back to people. Kasi one day, tatanungin ako, ‘So, anong ginawa mo sa buhay mo’?” she says of her mission in life. “So aside from sharing what I have, I am also giving a part of me by teaching them everything I know hoping that one day, sila rin mismo, they can pay it forward.”
When it comes to the rest of her proverbial diary, as they say, the rest is still being written.
To read the full article, grab a copy of Modern Parenting’s special Holiday 2023 Print Edition. It’s available on sarisari.shopping. Or you can download the e-Magazine from Readly or Press Reader.
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