Find Your Niche

Letting Go

2011-09-05T12:35:00.000+08:00

In a span of a few weeks we had to let go of 2 people. It was a very hard decision on our part, but we simply had to do it.

Asking an employee to leave is one of the hardest conversations one has to do; it doesn't matter if you are the owner of the company, a manager or a supervisor. One would have had hearts of stone not to feel anything for the person being asked to go.

The first person we asked to leave had been with us since we started operating. He had seen what the company had to go through every single day. When we had service demos, he was constantly asked to go. When we expanded and hired more technicians, he was there explaining how we did things...

When we saw his dedication to and concern for the company, we decided to give him an increase in allowances and commissions. We thought it was only fair for him since he was with us since the beginning. Unfortunately, as we brought in more customers; he thought that we were being unfair to him. He began to think that what we were paying him is not commensurate with what he is doing.

We give our car clean technicians allowances and commissions based on the number of cars that they clean.

We explained to him how we divide the sales; from his commissions to product cost to rent. But he was adamant that we give him more.

Furthermore, since he was the first employee, he let his co-workers know that he was supposed to be their supervisor; a position open to him after meeting several criteria.

Things came to a head when we asked for an advance but we couldn't give any. He said so many things bordering on being disrespect. That was the time I asked him to leave.

It was very tough but we had to make a decision...

Marketing Activities

2011-08-31T13:17:00.000+08:00

It has been awhile since I updated my blog and a lot has happened since then. As they, we live in interesting times... Especially when you are in a business.

Let me enumerate things that have happened in the last few weeks since my last blog.

1. Got to be interviewed by Ardie Lopez of Auto-Extreme.
2. Toyota Motors Philippines has chosen us to be their official car cleaning service provider for their event.
3. Got interviewed by Jayce Flores of GMA News TV's Best Men; a men's magazine TV show.
4. Got some serious franchise inquiries.
5. We expanded our services. We now offer quick detailing in our shops.

But aside from these positive things, there have been some not so nice events also. Among them are:

1. I asked 2 car clean technicians to resign. (This is due to their own faults. More on this later.)
2. The test market for condominiums wasn't a success. We had to close the shop down.

As we move forward and assess our success and our failures, we slow things down and look at the big picture while fine-tuning the details that will really matter most to our customers.

These successes and failures will be the subject of my future blogs.

Meanwhile, I will leave with you the interview made by Ardie Lopez of Auto-Extreme. Enjoy watching it.

Promoting With A Difference

2011-06-25T13:00:00.000+08:00

When people find out that our company, GreenRides (www.greenridesasia.com) has already been featured in several TV shows they ask me how much did we pay?

With Mr. Paulo Abrera during the taping of Green Living.

One of the biggest issues an entrepreneur is faced with is how to promote his new venture. Often it takes time to for people to accept your product or even create a buzz. That is why, the first six months of the business is very crucial. Within those months, you must be able to develop and/or strengthen your brand identity.

If you miss this opportunity, another entrepreneur might be able seize the opportunity you have presented the market. With our company, we harped on the fact that we are the first waterless car wash company that uses 100% environment-friendly products which protects your car from the harmful elements present in Metro Manila.

This is the reason why we have been featured in several TV shows such as GMA7's Unang Hirit and ANC's Green Living. We have also taped an episode with Solar Sports' Auto-Extreme. Manila Bulletin's men's magazine has also written about our company.

How were we able to do that without spending anything?

First of all, GreenRides did not copy any business. We just focused on a waterless car wash and wax. This is a huge gamble on our part since there a lot of traditional car washes. It seems that every corner has at least one.

One of our client's cars.

Second, we offer our customer a guarantee. We guarantee that whenever we clean your car, it will be protected from dirt, dust and other harmful elements in our country. Furthermore, when our customers get that GreenRides service, the showroom shine and luster of their vehicle will be maintained and retained.

Third, we are aggressively expanding. Currently, we are set to open in several locations within just three months of operations. We want to share the GreenRides experience to everyone. We have also expanding through franchising.

Fourth, the owners of the company are always available to our customers. If they have any questions about our products or services, or if they have any issues they can always talk to us. We want to take care of our customers and make them feel that they are really important to us.

Explaining how the service works to Mr. Joey Lina

We could have chosen to hire a receptionist or a secretary to answer calls or talk to clients but we have chosen not to. We want to become our own marketing specialists.

Choosing The Right Business

2011-06-23T06:02:00.001+08:00

Is there a right business to venture into? Is there a low-risk business venture but can give you high-yield or results?

The answer is: None.

People who want to be their own bosses tend to look for safe businesses to put up. They look at the current trend or fad, source suppliers where they can get the materials or produce at a cheaper price and then sell their products or services cheaper than the competition. The result is a price-war.

Because of the cheaper offering, you may initially get or convert some customers but then your competition will also lower their prices. In the end, due to ever decreasing profit margins, these businesses will eventually shut-down. Furthermore, those who will win in the price war are those with deep pockets and who are the first-movers.

Think of food stalls offering siomai, sisig, siopao and other food varieties. Just walk inside a mall and you will see these concepts often competing for the buyers' attention. Some of them may even be located in the same area.

The entrepreneur losses, the customer wins.Though this is not entirely a bad thing.

Others copy a concept, then improve on it. Think of specialty milk teas. They have been offered in kiosks, stalls and now, a milk-tea bar (Sereni-tea). Obviously, knowing product inside and out and having a big capital would help a lot.

But then when this trend catches up, wait for other milk-tea bars to pop-out in every nook and cranny of the metropolis then the market becomes saturated.

A first-mover advantage will surely help as it usually become the brand synonymous with the product or service; think of McDonalds.

So how can we choose the right business to get into? Honestly, there is no straight answer to this question. Some people would like to say that they ventured into a particular business since it was their passion. Others would quip that since they were experts in a particular field, they have decided to put-up their own company to make money for themselves.

We chose this business because there seems to be a demand for it. Other countries, such as Australia, Thailand, New Zealand, South Korea, are already doing it why not us? We studied the system and saw that it can be tweaked to respond to the Philippine Market.

And to be able to profit from this, we decided to pursue an exclusive distributor/license agreement from the principal. This ensures that we will become the first-mover of a waterless car wash in the Philippines.

How Did You Choose Your Business?

2011-06-21T16:52:00.000+08:00

Whenever I am interviewed, I am inevitably asked this question... How did you choose your business?

It is understandable since a lot of Filipinos would want to put up their own business but don't know where to get into. Sometimes, they just go into franchising a food cart because someone they know is in it. Or they join multi-level marketing companies because of the so-called training and support group.

However, like most people who want to go into business without any passion or technical knowledge, they end up confused and bitter. Quite a handful have even lost their savings because of it.

So why or how did I come up with this business?

I must give credit where credit is due. I was talking to my partner about the possibility of putting up a car wash business that will cater to condominium tenants and village residents. Of course the first hurdle that we thought of was where to get the water needed to clean the cars and how will we transport it.

From that statement alone, you can see that there is a problem that presents itself with a profitable opportunity. If you must know, condominium rules and regulations strongly discourage the washing of cars inside the parking premises because it dirties the area and might become a breeding ground for mosquitoes.

Furthermore, village residents (especially in exclusive villages) need to go out to have their cars washed while they are waiting in an open area, normally beside smoke-filled roads and water being sprayed a few feet away from them. This is the reason why the customers of car washes are guys. The fairer sex would normally go to mobile car washes found inside malls.

Demo with Mr. Joey Lina

She was the one who searched for this new concept in the Internet and found a very viable business opportunity from NoWet Waterless Car Clean in Australia.

Going back, how did I choose my business? Because we, my partner and I, can see that there is a need for it. As for the demand? Well, that will be the subject of my future blogs. But it will be a very practical and real world lesson for budding entrepreneurs and management students.

The first thing to ask yourself when thinking of putting up a new venture, who will be your target market? Or is there a need for your product or service?

In our case, yes we found out that there is a need. And we are happy to note that our venture is slowly being recognized by different organizations. We have been featured in GMA7's Unang Hirit and ANC's Green Living. In the next few days, Manila Bulletin will come out with a magazine wherein there will be a write-up about our company. Solar Sports has also scheduled a taping in our first shop.

Let me ask you a question; what business do you want to get into? And is there a need for your product or service?

Starting Out

2011-06-18T13:00:00.005+08:00

Filipinos beamed with optimism when the son of late Sen. Benigno Aquino and the late Pres. Cory Aquino became President of the Philippines last year. He is not the most qualified among the presidential candidates but most people see hope that he can change the corrupt-culture that has entrenched itself in Philippines politics.

I did not vote for him but as a the President of our country, I have wished him well.

His campaign slogan was 'kung wala korap, walang mahirap', or 'if there is no corruption, they will be no poor' Filipinos. It was by itself a superficial analysis... but hey, it would help in making easier to do business in the Philippines, I am all for it.

Sadly, after nearly a year in office, it was all rhetoric. Let me elaborate:

Almost 90% of the jobs being generated come from Small to Medium Scale Enterprises (or SMEs). Thus, government should focus more on helping them out. Aside from making it easier for SME's to register their businesses, there should be a concerted effort in promoting Filipinos to create and venture into their own businesses.

Alas, this is not the case. While I understand that local government units have their own charters and laws when it comes to business registration, it becomes a pain in the a$& when there is no common procedure on how to go about registering a business on the local level.

It took us more than 2 weeks and several trips to the City Hall going to different floors to get a business permit where the time could have been actually spent in marketing our business and getting clients to come to us.

Wouldn't be easier if all LGU's adopt a one-stop shop where business owners can register their business and get the permits within 24-48 hours? It would be very easy to implement that; and it will also lessen the corruption at the local level.

What am I saying? If want to create more business opportunities, it would help to make the registration of businesses a lot easier. The national government should take the lead on this. If it doesn't or it invokes LGU autonomy what will happen to the Public-Private Partnership program it wants to pursue? The Private entitites must register their businesses with the LGU's they want to do business in.

A concerted effort must be made to streamline national and local business registration. I believe that if only all Filipinos register their businesses and the government make it easier for them to pay taxes, the national government will have enough funds to pursue social programs that will ensure to improve Filipinos lives.

Entrepreneurship (Walking the Talk)

2011-06-17T12:22:00.001+08:00

It has been a couple of months since I have written a blog. I have been busy with my new venture, GreenRides - a waterless car wash and wax (www.greenridesasia.com).

In my previous blog posts, I have asked readers and those who want to put up a business to create a niche where they can differentiate themselves from their competitors; to become innovative and open to new business ideas instead of following the current business trends. I am now walking the talk.

From now on, you will be updated about the challenges, victories and other stories of being a trailblazer in a creating a new segment of the market.

Why did I choose to compete directly with traditional car washes that offer their services for lot less? Simply because car owners deserve more. Cars are the second most valuable investment anyone makes, following only their houses. It is very important that cars are properly taken care of so that it will last for a long time (giving its owner a reasonable rate of return).

Some car washes use detergents that are harmful to the car paint. Furthermore, when sprayed with water and later cleaned with a sponge, the grit isn't removed from the car surface - it just rubs the surface. This is the reason why you see swirl or 'spider' marks on the paint work of a new car.

Not a lot of people know this that is why we have to go on an educational campaign to convince people that using the traditional method is actually harmful to the car paint.

As I go along, I will be writing more about my experiences so that any student of entrepreneurship can learn something from me.

As I have said, I am advocating for people to go into niche markets where it is very profitable and they can deliver excellent service. IT AIN'T GOING TO BE EASY BUT IT WILL BE WORTH EVERY PENNY.

Breaking The Glass Ceiling

2010-10-27T04:11:00.001+08:00

Various studies have shown that males still dominate females in top-level management positions. This has been termed the proverbial "glass-ceiling".

Although there have been nations and countries where women served as leaders, companies are still lagging when it comes to getting women to run their organizations.

In this part of my interview with Ms. Jayjay Viray, Country Manager of JobsDB Philippines, she talks about how she was able to break the glass ceiling. It took a lot of blood, sweat and tears. But she was able to prove herself. She was able to transform JobsDB and make it an efficiently-run organization which has expanded into several divisions.

Some Thoughts on Job-Hunting From The Country Manager of JobsDB

2010-10-25T15:54:00.001+08:00

Interviewing Ms. Jayjay Viray, JobsDB Country Manager.

Unemployment is one of the greatest problems of our country. Most people think that it only affects a small portion of the working class. Unfortunately, unemployment affects us all. Even those people with extensive professional experience gets affected.

Ms. Jayjay Viray, the Country Manager of JobsDB, had been in-between jobs for three months before she was hired by JobsDB. It was a very challenging and difficult time for her. But as she said, 'things happen for a reason. She needed to through the hardships of applying for a job to learn to empathize with the applicants."

The thought of being without a job was truly demoralizing and it ate up the self-confidence of a person. Because, she says, "whatever you have done in the past is nothing when you don't have a job."

Importance of Developing Contacts

2010-10-23T09:03:00.000+08:00

In my weekly show, View From The Top, I get to talk to a lot of amazing and wonderful people. The people I've talked with come from different backgrounds and industries. These people have "made it" so to speak.

I am featuring in a four part-series Ms. Jayjay Viray, the Country Manager of JobsDB Philippines. I used to work with in EdsaMail and met a her a couple of times when she was already with JobsDB and I was connected with another job portal company. Ms. Viray never ceases to amaze me. She is full of wit, intelligence and charm.

In this first part of the interview, she talks about the importance of developing contacts, maintaining relationships and developing friendship. In one of the quotable quotes during this interview, she mentioned that a person told her "there are two things that will make you successful in the Philippines, cash or contacts. But if you don't have cash, yet you have contacts you will make it."

That was why she started developing relationships and decided that she will meet someone new each day.

You can watch the interview below.

Some Tips From Mr. Donald Lim

2010-10-20T04:32:00.006+08:00

This is the last part of my interview Mr. Donald Lim, Yehey's former president and CEO.

In this segment,he talks about his professional life. You will be able to find some very interesting insights from this very interesting person.

Hopefully, the younger generations will be able to learn something from his work ethic, how he treats people and his love for education.

Donald Lim Talks About Education

2010-10-18T01:22:00.001+08:00

Our parents have constantly told us that getting a good education is one of the best assets we can have.

Mr. Donald Lim is a living testament to that. At a young age of 33 years old, he has already finished his PhD program. He places a great value on education.

Let us all learn from him.

Internet Marketing Guru

2010-10-16T09:57:00.002+08:00

In one of my earlier episodes, I was able to guest and talk with Mr. Donald Lim. He is the former President and CEO of Yehey. He is also served as the youngest president of the Internet Marketing Association of the Philippines.

Turning 33 years old this year, he has already accomplished a lot. I am posting a four-series interview here in blog for those people who want to learn from the Internet Marketing Guru.

He first started out as a manager in Burger King right after graduating. And then he moved to the Philippine Daily Inquirer. Then, after a couple of years, he was pirated to head and manage Yehey, Philippines.

TV Hosting

2010-10-06T09:03:00.000+08:00

I am currently a business show host with Global News Network. I used to have a morning time slot, every Friday from 930-1030 in the morning until it was moved to evening prime time; from 7-8pm of the same day.

This is the first episode I have done for this year. I interviewed Mr. Edward Lee, the Chairman of CitisecOnline, the top online broker here in the Philippines.

As this is my first episode, you can still see that there is a lot of improvement to be done.

I will post the other interviews I have done with the other personalities.

Do You Need More Coffee?

2010-09-29T13:27:00.001+08:00

Thank God for coffee shops with wi-fi!

Whenever I go out on meetings, I would normally ask the other person if we can meet in a coffee shop that offers free wi-fi connection. I would normally do this so I can work after the meeting.

I had a very funny and unforgettable experience yesterday in one of those mom and pop coffee shops inside a mall. The coffee shop was relatively small, around 100sqm and there were only five customers at that time including me.

There were two employees that manned the store. They made the drinks, served the customers and manned the cash register.

Since there were only a few customers one of them decided to eat; while the other one stayed… However, after a few minutes this girl (let’s call her Brenda) who remained to man the store fell asleep.

A customer came in. She tried to wake up Brenda and this is what happened:

Customer: Miss… Uhm, miss… Miss?

She then taps the cash register….

Customer: Miss…

Then she goes to look at the chiller which shows all the pastries and cakes and taps it with her keys… Still nothing…

Customer: Miss! (She raises her voice.)… Miss (touches Brenda by the shoulder)

By this time, we were all laughing…

Then the customer addresses us: When Brenda wakes up, I will treat her to a cup of double espresso!

As she walks toward the door to leave the store Brenda wakes up then shouts: Mam! What will you get?

By this time, we were all laughing!

Customer: Give me one Iced Mocha and a cup of double espresso for you!

We were all laughing at what happened inside the store.

But if you were the owner, will you be happy? What will you do?

Heavenly Chocolates

2010-09-14T16:46:00.002+08:00

I have loved chocolates as far as I can remember. Whatever form they take, I will surely sip or munch each molecule of that food for gods.

This is the reason why I readily share to every one and any one my happy place, Heavenly Chocolates, located along Roces Avenue in Quezon City. This is one of a handful of places that serve unadulterated bittersweet dark chocolate and the other traditional blends.

Their dark chocolates are very rich and worth every cent that one pays for it.

I just had a meeting with one of the partners of Heavenly Chocolates and one of the owners of KIDS Academy, a pre-school located along White Plains. I brought them together because I knew that the students and the kids at heart will like to experience a one-of-a-kind chocolate appreciate workshop.

The students and their parents will be able to experience how a truffle is made and taste the different nuances of chocolates produced from cacao producing countries. They will also taste the wonderful flavor of Sachi Nama.

During our talks, Teacher Valeria can't help but be hungry just by looking at the menu. She wanted to go to the restaurant and taste the different products they are selling at Heavenly Chocolates. Mr. Brian Erfe gave the coup de grace by giving a sample of the dark chocolates they were offering!

Teacher Val was ecstatic!

I invite you to experience the wonderful tastes of chocolates. Go to Heavenly Chocolates and experience heaven first-hand!

Heavenly Chocolates is located along Roces Ave, Diliman, Quezon City. It is right after Taste of LA and about 100 meters away from Tomas Morato.

What Is Your Passion?

2010-08-31T15:49:00.002+08:00

On Sept 18, 2010 from 1-5pm, I will be hosting an event in the Ateneo de Manila University called the Alternative Careers. Speakers will come from the advertising and media industry and they will talk about why those chose to do what they are doing now.

I personally invited two speakers, Mr. Pocholo Gonzales and DJ Vince Golangco.

Mr. Pocholo Gonzales, a famous voice talent, positions himself as the Voice Master. His wealth of experience in the voice industry has earned him respect and recognition here in the Philippines and abroad. I was very fortunate to have also interviewed him.

This amazing fellow has always done what he wanted to do. He started voice acting ever since he was young. He told me the story of how he would imitate the voices he heard on the radio and make it his own. That was when he realized he can make a living out of this. He has been a voice actor for more than 10 years. His company, Creative Voices, has been contracted by local and foreign companies to do some voice-overs, dubbings and commercials.

The second speaker, Mr. Vince Golangco is an interested person. He graduated in the US and initially worked for the United States Army. One day he decided to take a vacation in the Philippines and he never looked back ever since.

He stayed here and has been quite a presence in the airwaves. He hosts a program in one of the more famous FM station in the country, 94.7FM. His show, The G-Spot is being aired every weekend from 7-10am every Saturday and 6-10am every Sunday.

Aside from hosting a regular radio program, he is also maintaining a blog, WheninManila.com. The blog has become very popular and is currently one of the top 10 websites in the Philippines.

These people are definitely doing what they want to do. They don’t view their work as a job, rather, they view it as something they can learn from. It’s play time meets real world education; and they are being paid handsomely in the process.

How about you? Have you found what you want to do? What are you passionate about?

Check out this link (www.mommygetscranky.blogspot.com) and see how a friend tries to make her mark by sharing her experiences as a single mom.

Manila Emergency

2010-08-24T14:29:00.001+08:00

Yesterday, 23rd of August 2010 was a fateful day for the Philippines.

A decorated cop who was relieved from service due to charges of extortion held hostage 25 Chinese national. The crisis, which was beamed around the world, lasted for more than 11 hours ended tragically with 9 people dead, including the hostage-taker Senior Inspector Rolando Gonzales.

The crisis has highlighted several things that are wrong with our country. Unfortunately, as the blaming game starts we are bound to see this scenario happen again.

In any emergency situation, these are groups of people are almost always involved; the law enforcement agency, the media and the public. The success of resolving an emergency revolves around the competency, respect and maturity of the three. It is very evident from the start that those involved lacked those three components.

The primary law enforcement agency tasked to handle yesterday’s emergency was the Philippine National Police, which was supposed to be assisted by the city government of Manila. From the get-go, it was apparent that those directly handling the hostage situation lost control of the situation. There was no one directly responsible for the actions and coordination of people involved. It seemed that everyone wanted to play the part of a hero.

There are several questions that need to be answered; why was the brother of Senior Inspector Gonzales allowed to be in the site? Was there any assessment made on the possible repercussions of this action? Who will was directly responsible for this man?

Why was the media allowed to have a blow by blow account of the hostage situation? Why wasn’t there any news blackout issued? Or, why wasn’t any one assigned to handle the press briefings for the media?

Who gave the go signal to assault the bus? Was there a concrete plan in case they needed to assault the bus? Were there other options available just in case their primary plan didn’t work? When it was clear that Senior Inspector Gonzales wasn’t a threat anymore, who allowed the public to run and surround the bus? Why didn’t the police cordon off the crime scene?

The media, in trying to out-scoop one another placed the life of the hostages, the hostage-taker and the police who were directly in the line of fire. They could have argued that they have a job to do; but they also have a moral responsibility to ensure that lives will not be endangered by what they are doing.

In choosing to air and broadcast the outburst of the brother of the hostage-taker, they made a bad judgment call. It can be argued that it was news and relevant to what was happening at that time; so is the fact that what was happening may be heard or seen in the bus’ in-board entertainment system. The outbursts of the brother proved to be one of the triggers of the deadly resolution to the whole event.

When the driver miraculously escaped from the bus the media immediately asked questions without even thinking whether it would be detrimental to the current situation. They should have left the police to their jobs first. By telling the public that the driver said all hostages were killed placed the police in a no-win situation. They needed to storm the bus to ensure that those alive or breathing can still be saved but at the same time, having no time to verify if what the driver said is true may place the hostages in and the police in greater danger.

It has been said in Spiderman that with great power lay great responsibility. The media should have regulated themselves and checked their ranks. Doing their jobs is not a license to endanger the lives of many.

What the hell were by-standers doing at the site? Don’t you guys have better things to do? Filipinos who have time in their hands and were looking for a sense of adventure converged in the Quirino grandstand. You didn’t help the police by being there. Instead of concentrating all their limited manpower ensuring that the place is safe and no other untoward incident would happen, they were forced to keep the crowd under control.

The event is an indictment of the Filipino people and the institutions that we have. We must continually work at improving our institutions. We can’t continue blaming our circumstance. We can’t simply accept that we become victims of events. We must decide to act now.

We will definitely suffer another black eye. Already, Hong Kong has placed us in their Black List. As a result of this event, there is a strong possibility that tourists will have second or even third thoughts visiting our country.

We must convince them that this is an isolated incident. That we, as a nation, learned from this event and that we will improve our institutions because of it. It is not yet too late to act decisively and positively. As a friend put it, if one man can cause so much bad publicity just imagine what one million well-meaning people can do.

Marshmallows and Motivation

2010-08-18T11:09:00.001+08:00

I recently had a talk in Dela Salle University in Manila with a group of graduate students taking up Industrial Organization. The topic focused on motivation, either employee motivation or employer motivation (if you are a business owner).

The question I tried to answer is; what motivates you?

I began my talk with a study conducted by Mr. Walter Mischel’s 1960 experiment, known as the Marshmallow study. In his experiment, he gave hungry 4 year-olds a marshmallow, but he told them that if they were able to wait for him to come back without eating the marshmallow he would give them another one.

I know most of you will say that this is a study of patience and self-control. You are right and I won’t argue otherwise. But I also saw how one can be motivated to wait just to have two sumptuous and juicy marshmallows.

For these 4 year old kids, having two marshmallows was enough motivation to wait for Mr. Mischel. They can see, smell and experience the taste of how having two marshmallows is better than one marshmallow.

What motivates you? What is your marshmallow?

Consider this, you are working hard to achieve what end? To realize what dream? For you to be motivated, you must have a goal – make it a crystal clear goal. Then make steps to ensure that you will be able to get what you want on a given period of time.

I advised these graduate students that if you want to achieve your goal and realize your dreams, you must make a constant decision to work towards it. If you are not sold on your dreams, any obstacle that comes your way will be a reason for you to give up.

What motivates you?

Begin with the end in mind… And work backwards. Make and create steps to achieve it. Then continually decide that you will achieve your goals no matter what…

Creating That Lasting Impression

2010-05-24T10:44:00.000+08:00

Looking for a job is like going out on a blind date; to get that job or get another date with your dream girl, you must be able to create a positive and lasting impression.

Most of the executives and HR personnel I’ve talked with said, as much as they want to get the possible candidates among all the applicants it is the one whom they remember that they eventually hire. I can same the same thing with dating. Friends and acquaintances that I’ve spoken with said that they go out with the most interesting person they know.

The questions, now, is how can you make a very good lasting impression?

1. Know your strengths – there are many people who can do the same things you are doing. At the same time, there are so many people who are more qualified than you on certain things. But what can help you stand-out?

It is your strengths? Each of us are unique. We have different gifts to offer. Knowing your talents and strengths will make you stand-out. A common example is when we see a bombshell that is holding hands and walking with an average Joe. We often see comedians going out with models who are young enough to be their daughters. Why do these comedians stand-out? What makes these bombshells go out with these average Joes?

Comedians know how to play on their strengths. They know how to maximize it for a lasting impression. They make these beautiful women laugh and have a good time. They make people feel good about themselves.

How can you find your strengths? What do you like doing without someone telling you about it? What can you do for hours and not get bored? How can you make a difference with what you like doing?

2. Highlight your strengths – the only way to get noticed by people is when you tell them how good you are. You must be your own cheering squad!

How do you tell people about your strengths without sounding too proud? Tooting your own horn too loud will cause some people to tune you out or be turned-of. You must be able to do it with such grace that it is almost a soft sell.

When you are applying for a job, use the power of the internet. Blogging is very easy. Creating your own home page is now very affordable. You can ask your prospective employers to look at your site or for artists or creative designers, your portfolio. You can use Multiply or Facebook.

When going out on a blind date, ask your friends to build you up! You can treat this friend afterwards. There is nothing like a testimonial from other people; whom your date trusts, to build up your reputation. The key here, make your date excited to see you.

The key here is to make yourself stand-out.

3. Impression – how do you want to be remembered is one things you should think about. You have been invited by your dream company for an interview or your blind date to eagerly meet you… what can you do to make them remember you and ask you to come back?

People create an impression of us from the moment we enter the door to the moment we leave the place. To be able to create a very good impression, we must able to conduct ourselves in a very professional but friendly manner. If you are a casual, people may see that you’re not respecting them.

By being professional and friendly you must have these:
• Confidence – knowing that you have something to offer
• Communication skills – making them understand that you have something that they need or want
• Appearance – looking the part of what or who you say you are

When taken all these three points together, you will be able to sell yourself to your prospective company or your dream girl.

Philippine Presidential Candidates

2010-05-04T13:41:00.002+08:00

As the national election draws near, presidential candidates are stepping up their campaigns by saturating the airwaves with their TV commercials and radio jingles. They are continuously inundating us with their messages and so called platforms.

Let’s look at the identity that the top four candidates are adopting and see how effective it is.

1. Noynoy Aquino – “Kung walang corrupt, walang mahirap”

Mr. Aquino is saying that without corruption, poverty will be a thing of the past. However, it the tagline doesn’t show what he stands for or how he intends to lead the country. Notwithstanding his survey rankings, this tagline is very weak. It doesn’t create a strong personal brand identity.

2. Manny Villar – “Sipag at Tyaga”

Mr. Villar’s rise to become one of the richest men in the country today is phenomenal to say the least. Although there have been reports that say he wasn’t really poor as what is being portrayed in his commercials, the fact that he became a Filipino billionaire is not something to be scoffed at. With his slogan, ‘sipag at tyaga’ every Filipino has a chance of rising out of poverty.

His campaign promise of making sure that all Filipinos will be rich once he gets elected remains to be seen.

3. Joseph Ejercito ‘Erap’ Estrada – “Kung may Erap, may ginhawa.”

Mr. Estrada, having convicted of plunder, wants to become a president again primarily to clear his name. His slogan tells voters that if he gets elected, everyone will have comfortable life. How will he do this? Well, his platforms aren’t really that clear.

4. Gilbert ‘Gibo’ Teodoro – ‘Talino at Galing’

Not many people actually know Mr. Teodoro. He became famous for the wrong reason during Typhoon Ondoy. Many thought that he acted a little too late.

But his branding is aimed at highlighting his skills and virtue. Among the candidates, he has displayed his verbal prowess and deep insight during the debates. He is the embodiment of his slogan.

Individually, we must make our own mark. We must strive to constantly separate ourselves from the pack if we want to be remembered. Let’s all take a simple lesson from our presidential candidates and see how they brand themselves.

Finally, I urge fellow Filipino voters to go out and vote wisely. The future of our country depends on us.

Why Branding Is Important

2010-04-07T16:24:00.002+08:00

Let me see if you can name the companies associated with the taglines below:

“Sheer driving pleasure.”

“A diamond is forever.”

“Finger-lickin’ good!”

“Just do it!”

If you have guessed BMW, DeBeers, KFC and Nike you’re right! It just goes to show how powerful a brand is and how people remember a particular brand.

If these companies are using taglines to be able to communicate their brand clearly and what they stand for, why do certain companies hesitate in investing in strengthening their corporate or brand identity. Most companies are just following the leader. They are content to compete on price.

Developing your brand is important if you want to create a connection between your company and your target market. It develops a deeper relationship that can result in higher sales over time.

Companies use taglines to differentiate their brands and companies over their competitors. Customers are able to create a mental picture of how using a particular product or service will affect them. Companies use taglines as their personal identity.

If you can also notice, these taglines are short, emotive and create a clear mental picture to anyone who reads or hears them.

Dare To Be Different

2010-03-19T16:21:00.001+08:00

While waiting for the Pacqiuao-Clottey fight to start, I am reminded why daring to be different and creating your own brand is very helpful in business and as an individual.

Whenever introductions are made in boxing, Michael Buffer takes the spotlight with his classic line “Let’s get ready to ruuummmbbbblllleeeee!” He has been a fixture in big fights that it is already hard to imagine boxing without him. He has created and already owned that famous line. I cannot even remember if I watched a boxing match without hearing him say those lines.

Mr. Buffer dared to be different and in the end, it paid well for him.

My sister will be job-hunting soon. She has asked me for some tips and techniques on how to get the jobs that she wants. I told her to be different to stand-out.

But there is a caveat here. Don’t be different just to be different. When I talk about being different, it is to highlight your difference and make it as an asset or a trait that can easily separate you from other people.

We went over her resume and studied how it was written. From my point of view, it was very generic. Just imagine, a recruitment officer would read and go through hundreds of roughly the same format of resume every single day. I feel sorry for the other jobseekers that have great skills but cannot sell themselves well.

So we edited her resume. We rewrote it in such a way that she can explicitly tell the company her accomplishments and gave figures to back it up. Furthermore, we changed her cover letter to a proposal letter that tells the company what she can offer based on company’s needs.

We also had mock interviews to help her answer the questions more confidently.

What is sad is that jobseekers don’t know that the interview process is also a sales call. The recruitment officer asks jobseekers questions to find out whether the skills of the applicant will be able to match the requirements needed to do the job well. The interviewer must come prepared and ready to sell himself and his skills to the company he is applying for.

My sister has already been short-listed by all the companies that had interviewed her. She hasn’t even formally graduated yet.

Recruitment officers remember her because of how she was able to sell herself. She stood out from the pack by selling her skills and how she can fill the needs of the company. She understood that companies are interviewing applicants because they have a need that only she can fill. She started this by presenting herself differently.

Why Stand-Out?

2010-03-11T13:58:00.001+08:00

In almost every street corner one will see stalls selling pork and shrimp dumplings. These are selling at Php25.00.

I have often wondered why the store owners have not tried to differentiate themselves from the other stalls. What would happen if a new kid on the block comes along and is able to sell the same kind of dumpling a lot cheaper and still earn a profit?

Am sure these stall owners will cry foul and make the life of the new kid miserable. However, give a few months and the new kid will be the only one who will be selling the dumplings.

The reason why am advocating small and medium scale businesses to develop their brand and differentiate themselves from their competitors is that it helps them to be first on their customers’ mind.

For guys, remember the time when you started liking a girl? What did you do to get the girls attention? You tried to be different and stand-out from the other guys! You wanted to prove to the girl that you’re the better (or in some cases, the best choice) among the guys courting her.

Some tend to be known as the Joker, the Hopeless Romantic, the Thoughtful One. These are the brands that they want to be known.

You paid more attention on what you wearing, saying and even how you acted; you tried to be more romantic and chivalrous. You simply had to put your best foot forward.

The same is true for the girls. They focused more on highlighting their assets. They dressed more elegantly and learned to acquire class.

If this is the case in courtship, why would it be any different in business? Business owners must realize that they are still competing with other suitors for the customer’s heart. To get the customer’s approval, the business owner must learn to differentiate himself from the pack. He must constantly prove that he is the best alternative.

By constantly striving be better, he would have placed himself at a very good position. And whenever a customer thinks about his company, he will think about the good qualities that the company has over others. Companies will be able to develop good will and loyalty.

Succes Stories Exposed

2010-03-04T16:49:00.000+08:00

I recently attended the Success Secrets Exposed book launch held at National Bookstore of Glorietta 5 in Makati City. The Success Secrets is already the second book written by Mr. Thomas Fernandez and Mr. Sant Qui. Their first book, Secrets to Dominating Your Niche, is already a best-seller and is considered as one of the best marketing and management books written.

Secrets to Dominating Your Niche was introduced to me by my sister who works for Mr. Fernandez in PestBusters. PestBusters dominates 95% of the highly competitive premium pest control market in Singapore. He differentiates his company by focusing on the highly sensitive hospitality and healthcare industries. He just recently expanded here in the Philippines, his clients include the Shangri-La hotels group and Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf.

Meanwhile, Sant Qui is an entrepreneur, best-selling author and highly sought after Profit Strategist. He specializes in helping small to medium sized businesses radically increase their profits, using strategic positioning, branding and direct response marketing. Aside from the two books that I mentioned, Secrets to Dominate Your Niche and Success Secrets Exposed, he has written “THRIVE: Ordinary Enterprises, Extraordinary Entrepreneurs.”

I have read the two books that they have co-authored and I can say that their practical advice, insightful suggestions and real life experience will greatly help any entrepreneur or any person who wants to have his own business. The books are easy to read, uses simple and direct language and at the same time, you can actually apply the lessons that the authors impart.

You may read more about Sant’s stories and advice through his websites, www.santqui.com and www.maneurvermarketing.com.

I would suggest that you grab a copy and learn from their practical, down-to-earth advice.

Identifying A Niche

2010-02-23T10:40:00.002+08:00

In marketing, a niche is defined as particular (often small) segment of a market which a specific product or service often serves.

How can we identify a niche?

First of all, let me start by saying that not all specialized market segments are profitable or offer great returns in investment. The key is to identify which specialized market segments offer great rewards in return for answering a particular need.

Secondly, when you decide to focus on a certain niche there will become a time when you will become the “industry expert”. Continually researching, studying and learning about the subject are very important. People will turn to you for advice and ask your opinion because of the expertise you have gained.

Lastly, never hesitate to ask the opinion of other “experts” and challenge the prevailing assumptions regarding the market needs you have decided to solve. Innovation and improving the products and services you have can keep and increase your loyal customers.

So, let’s us go back to the question; how can we identify a niche?

The important thing you should determine is to find out which customers you would like to serve. There are so many sport shops or sports gear and apparel stores in the Philippines. However, there is only one store focused on serving runners. The store is aptly called; Runnr.

Runnr houses various running gears and equipment from different brands.

If you are still not sure the market you want to serve, just walk around the neighborhood and find a need that you think you can fill in.

Heavenly Chocolates is a café and dessert place located in close proximity of other restaurants, bistros and cafes in Tomas Morato. What sets this apart from the other cafes in the area is that it specializes in chocolates. They serve chocolates from their country of origin such as Ecuador, Ivory Coast and Madagascar. They also conduct Chocolate Appreciation workshops, which is one their unique selling points.

If you are providing a service, you can find your niche by highlighting your expertise in a particular field. This is what the Unleash Team did. They conduct training programs “unleashing the highest potential in people towards success, happiness and significance” formed and created with the Filipino culture in mind.

There are other ways of identifying and profiting from niche marketing. The important thing are being able to identify with our prospective customers and knowing that we can deliver our promises.

Why Serve a Niche

2010-02-17T14:24:00.000+08:00

In today’s challenging economy, jobseekers are finding it hard to look for a job that suits their qualifications with the salary they want. Limited numbers of opportunities are available to countless people looking for jobs.

Career counselors are advising jobseekers to separate themselves from the pack. They are asked to highlight their strengths and the possible contributions they can give their prospective employers during the interview process. These career counselors are also saying that jobseekers need to stick to a certain position where their technical skills and behavioral strengths can be most utilized. Jobseekers will have greater chances of success of being hired by simply doing this.

Why would it be any different for companies who are marketing their products to the public?

In order to increase their profitability, companies must need to focus on a certain niche; to solve a particular problem for a specific set of customers. Focusing on the mainstream market forces companies to lower prices to effectively compete with others. However, chances of gaining market share and brand recognition are mostly slim since there are well entrenched brands that have stuck to the minds of people.

When I was growing up, we used to buy our bread in local bakeries. They served freshly baked pan de sal (literally, salted bread) which is slightly larger than a golf ball. People from our community bought pan de sal from that bakery. People were forming queues to be able to buy freshly baked pan de sal every morning, until 8am.

After a couple months, Pan de Manila, opened a shop outside of the village. The shop was few minutes drive from the entrance of our community. However, people who used to buy bread from the local baker were now buying from Pan de Manila. It didn’t matter that the price of pan de sal was almost three times the cost of the bread from the local bakery.

What Pan de Manila did was to separate itself from the local bakers and target a different niche. If you notice, the local bakery and Pan de Manila are both serving pan de sal. The local bakery, however, stopped selling pan de sal at around 8am. Pan de Manila serves fresh from the oven pan de sal 24/7.

Pan de Manila differentiated itself from local bakeries by focusing on two things; fresh from the oven hot pan de sal any time, any day and by using wood to bake pan de sal. The result is that they are able to charge a premium and people will go out of their way to buy different kinds of bread from them.

They have maintained a loyal customer base that keeps on buying bread from them. Pan de Manila has impressed upon them what they are buying a fresh quality breads.