Sunday, March 15, 2009

A Tour de Force of Creativity

Here’s something to exercise a mind-boggling leisure in weaving brilliant business ideas




As high technology defines what’s in and what’s not, we become spellbound with ideas as we try to embark on an odyssey of introducing and launching our businesses.


Kiddos illustrate creativity with a myriad of colors and a whole spectrum of vibrant hues. It is shown through the unique strokes and adulation of shades. However, it can also be exemplified in the business platform. With the current economic slowdown we are experiencing, everyone should keep on sailing. We have to keep afloat despite the aforesaid situation. As more and more businesses enter the market, an entrepreneur must know how to execute brilliant ideas to promote a sustainable venture and secure a spot amidst the competition.



In our entrepreneurship class, we have tackled W. Chan Kim and RenĂ©e Mauborgne’s Knowing a Winning Business Idea When You See One. According to the article, identifying which business ideas have a real commercial potential is one of the most difficult challenges that executives face. The information I grasped from their writings, especially the three analytic tools explained namely the buyer utility map, the price corridor of the mass, and the business model guide, have helped me imagine a business that will surely standout among the rest. Our professor, Mr. Ramon Duremdes Jr., continues to underpin each one of us as we uphold our commitment in unleashing our creativity and unveiling our innovativeness.




But how do we come up with resplendent business ideas? Generating ideas is the first step in the undertaking. It is the key to developing a fortune in the business. To answer the question, ideas may be generated through several ways like brainstorming, reverse brainstorming, brainwriting, free association, Gordon method, checklist, and many others. Our group used some of these methods as a vehicle in shaping a blooming business idea for our business plan. Through the collection of each member’s suggestions, we have critically judged all of those listed and picked one which obviously emerged among the rest.



Going back with Kim and Mauborgne’s article, I see the buyer utility map quite useful in superbly transforming a single idea into an array of eclectic ensembles. The buyer utility map helps to get managers thinking from the right perspective. It outlines all the levers companies can pull to deliver utility to customers as well as the different experiences customers can have of a product or service. In so doing, this lets the managers identify the full range of utility propositions that a product or service can offer.



Accountancy students are familiar with the principle “substance over form”. We are applying it in our accounting classes but after a mind-boggling thinking I’ve come across with the thought of incorporating the two, thus, combining substance along with form. Speaking about creativity, I was also bombarded with the phrase “Pushing beyond one’s limits”. Not one of us must be constrained with what’s only available. I am not a sage but in my opinion, anyone can be flexible enough to use his resources wisely and be able to make things possible. That’s the time the alternative takes into view yet preserving the originality.



Electronic commerce or e-commerce dominates the business world. To get a leg up on the competition, an entrepreneur should consider penetrating the market through the web which can bridge a vast geographic area and can therefore bring in a huge niche market. There are free sites in the web wherein one can post and advertise his products or services. With this, everyone can be an active element in the interplay. Michael Rappa’s Business Models on the Web equipped me with the importance of web portals as regards communicating a strong promise to people in fulfilling their needs and desires.



There’s no perfect concoction of plans. It is on how you present it and how you will MAKE a BREAK! No matter how hard it takes, the business should always keep customers abreast with the positive results of the hardwork.

Thursday, February 26, 2009

Mind over Matter in Business

Learn how to churn out a hit business despite global economic crisis


Who says that only business professionals have the sole right to own the business world? Anyone may decide to put up a business and take the plunge. It cannot be so risky if you consider key success factors that will make or break the foundation of your enterprise.

It will be the very first time that I’m going to publish my work in public. It’s a challenge for us, as part of the Entrepreneurship class in
Asia Pacific College, to make our own blogs about the entrepreneurial and intrapreneurial mindset. Despite being a subject requisite, it’s also beneficial to exercise our writing skills and receive criticisms of our works in return. Mr. Ramon Duremdes, our professor, tries to inculcate an in-depth understanding with the class and prepares us to be highly-competitive since that market is too saturated with people doing business.

Doing business during a financial crisis is not just starting a bonfire but keeping that fire ignited as well. It may seem to be a piece of cake but if you delve into the real business landscape – man, you might say that life isn’t fair!

Entrepreneurs who are equipped with passion and perseverance need not fret. Crisis is not to be looked at pessimistically, rather a challenge and an opportunity. I have read the cover story of Masigasig Magazine and I would like to reinforce the statement of financier Warren Buffet, as quoted by Toby’s Bobby Claudio: “Be greedy when everyone is panicking, panic when everyone is greedy”. Those words made me think that life is nothing but a series of adjustments. You have to think and act on something in the shortest time possible. Be a risk taker! One may have invested tons of money in the business but it’s just a matter of dealing with it and dwelling on the positives so that you will harvest great returns in the long run. These will kick in winning business strategies that will further improve your business. Well, it doesn’t mean that you only see the bright sides of the business. You might want to be informed about the possible downturns as well so that you can think of solutions ahead of time. By that, you prevent to operate in a high-risk-natured environment.

In a traditional setup, entrepreneurs establish the business and wait for the customers to drop by at their stores. You don’t have to live by the patterns. How about create a business and then bring it to your customers? Figuratively speaking, you may do so! Let your customers feel that they belong to the business, that the business is nothing without them. Make them define the name of the business with their experience and you’ll later see the difference.

Yes, we are in an economic slump. But in spite of the current credit crunch, survival is the name of the game. Entrepreneurs and intrapreneurs tend to struggle frantically to cope up with this widespread economic turmoil. Nonetheless, according to Ricardo A. Lim, associate dean of the W. Sycip Graduate School of Business of the
Asian Institute of Management, there’s a way to avoid getting into this bind by improving their budget management and increasing their productivity to make them selves sturdier and stronger during the storm and long after it blows over.

One may encounter problems – short or long-term – but it will not stay bad forever. An intrapreneur must showcase his flexibility and agility, in all sense. Anything and everything can happen in a blink of an eye, most especially in the business arena where many things can occur within 24 hours. Don’t be surprised that the next day, you’ll be out of the business map if you’re not working aggressively. Also, an intrapreneur must use the resources of the business wisely. He must utilize these resources so as to cut down the costs, thus, aggrandizing his profits.

Be right for your market. Don’t make your self too crowded with the ideas. Implement the plans and push through with the adjustments. Nothing’s wrong with failing. Failing is part and parcel of having a business. What’s wrong is that you keep on failing because you keep on thinking that you will fail. Get a head-on with the business. Plus, you have to operate in the frontiers of technology so as not to be left out with the so-called “trend” in business. To know more about building a fortune with offbeat business ideas, you may want to check the
Entrepreneur website. Surely, you will be enlightened about different perspectives in establishing a business.

Having these guidelines as a tool will motivate you to jumpstart your business. Display of entrepreneurial and intrapreneurial skills plus an optimistic mindset will empower you and the business per se. Rain or shine; these mind-over-matter techniques will provide you with excellent returns – not to mention your NEVER-SAY-DIE goal!
If you want additional insights regarding entrepreneurial and intrapreneurial skills, you may visit the blogs of my groupmates. Enjoy reading.. and LEARNING!!