Price of Luck

A lot of entrepreneurs actually attribute their success to luck. But is it possible to attract luck consistently? Is there really such a thing as being lucky in business? I believe that there is a formula to attracting luck. It is actually directly attributed to a price. Let me introduce to you the PRICE needed to bring luck consistently into business

P for Preparation – Be prepared. Attend seminars and lectures on how to improve your business. Join associations and other organizations that will allow you meet new people. Constantly keep up with the latest trends in your business. This will allow you to respond to any opportunity that suddenly gets thrust your way. Dr. Armand Hammer said , “ When I work fourteen hours a day, seven days a week, I get lucky.”

R for Reputation – Develop a good reputation for you and your business. Your reputation is an unspoken business card. It allows you to be recalled top of mind whenever people ask about your business sector. Henry Ward Beecher said, “I never knew an early rising, hard working, prudent man, careful of his earnings, and strictly honest, who complained about bad luck.”

I for Integrity – Develop business ethics. Stand by your word. Be responsible for all your actions. Potential business partners will be eager to develop alliances and relationships with you. “ Good luck is often with the man who does not include it in his plans.”

C for Consistency – Be consistent in all your endeavors. This will make you predictable. It allows customers to rely on your business and potential partners to get a good feel for your business. Carl Zuckmeyer said, “ One half of life is luck, the other half is discipline – and that’s the important half, for without discipline, you would not know what to do with luck.”

E for Enterprising – Think out of the box. Be open minded. Be willing to explore new situations and new solutions to conventional problems. This will allow you to spot the hidden silver lining in all situations, and create innovative ways of mining it into something productive. Ralph Waldo Emerson said, “Shallow men believe in luck, strong men believe in cause and effect.”

This is the PRICE that entrepreneurs know is needed to consistently attract luck. Luck does not happen by chance. If you don’t believe me, you can agree with Jean Cocteau who said, “ We must believe in luck, or else, how do we explain the success of those we don’t like.” But my personal favorite comes from the founder of the biggest burger company of the world, Ray Kroc, who said, “Luck is a dividend of sweat.”

Let’s follow the examples of these ordinary individuals as they strive to make a difference. Each week, lets all get together and share knowledge, stories, experiences, information, all for the sole purpose of getting One Step Up.

For comments, suggestions or stories that you want to share, email me atstirspecialist@gmail.com , or visit http://www.stirspecialist.blogspot.com/ .


|

Starting Small

One of the most interesting small businesses that I found was a small kiosk called Ma. Rita Fresh Pineapple. This small kiosk located at the Gaisano Mactan Island Mall sells delicious chopped pineapple bits in a small plastic bag, in varying sizes. The kiosk design was colorful and functional. They would chop the pineapple on the spot, weigh it and put it into plastic bags, with free toothpicks and salt,. The experience is actually very similar to buying popcorn.

I was intrigued because of the concept. They took a basic fruit and made it into a snack staple. And from the looks of it, they are doing well. Business ideas need not be complex, but it should be innovative. It should answer the needs of the market.

Some of the greatest success stories in kiosks locally are Tacos and Thirsty, two of my favorite snacks. I love the tacos in Tacos. I have been to their branches at JY Discovery Mall, Paseo San Ramon, Ayala Center and the Banilad Town Center. It tastes great and its priced right, what more can you ask for.

Thirsty is a fantastic story. Bunny Pages and his sons bought the franchise some time back and turned it into a fine tuned machine. There is a Thirsty outlet in almost every place you can think of. Everywhere, they serve a consistent healthy drink for all walks of life. They have turned the Thirsty brand into

a super brand by attaching it to sporting events such as football, tennis, etc. They even shocked the market by raffling off a sportscar Mazda Miata in one of their ingenious promotions. I recently found out that they have gone nationwide with several outlets in Manila and the rest of the country.

There are many success stories in Kiosks. You see them everywhere and each of them have a story to tell. For those who want to start out as a entrepreneur, a Kiosk is a great way to get your feet wet. Some of the great reasons why are

1. The initial investments are low. – For a investment of less than Php 100,000., you can have your own business up and running.
2. Locations are variable – It is easier to find a great spot for setting up the Kiosk. If it doesn’t work out in one spot, it can eventually be moved.

3. Contracts are shorter – The typical kiosk contract is 6 months.
4. Great feel of the market – Kiosks provide a great feel for whether or not the business is viable.
5. It is easy to expand – If the business is good, it is easy to set up more kiosks as the business model is modular.




One of the greatest brands locally that made it nationally is Islands Souvenirs. Believe it or not, but it too started out as a kiosk in 1992. Today it is in the Hall of Fame of the Philippine Retailers Association for being a three time winner of the prestigious Retailer of the Year award.

If you are interested to find out more information, there are organizations that can assist you. There is the Philippine Franchise Association which most kiosks belong to and the Philippine Retailers Association. You can also get assistance from Cebu Chamber of Commerce as well as the Department of Trade and Industry. Feel free to email me so I can put you in touch with the different organizations.

There are a lot of ways to begin your entrepreneurship story. Trade and Industry Undersecretary Carissa Crus-Evangelista once told an audience of aspiring entrepreneurs, “Small cash can start up a business. But a brave heart and a steady mind will steer your business to success,”

Let’s follow the examples of these ordinary individuals as they strive to make a difference. Each week, lets all get together and share knowledge, stories, experiences, information, all for the sole purpose of getting One Step Up.

For comments, suggestions or stories that you want to share, email me atstirspecialist@gmail.com , or visit http://www.stirspecialist.blogspot.com/ .


|

Corporate Entrepreneur

One of the most intriguing persons I have met is Germin Espino, Managing Director of the Pancake House Group. Germin is about my age so I was eager to talk to him about business and life in general. I found out that Germin started out in college as a counter crew of Jollibee. He literally rose from the ranks to manager all the way to being part of the management team that planned and opened new stores, including the ones in Vietnam. He eventually moved on to become General Manager of Domino’s Pizza.

One of his franchisees was a very young Bryan Tiu, who went on to founding the legendary success story that is Teriyaki Boy. Germin eventually joined Bryan and was one of the key figures instrumental in the phenomenal rise of Teriyaki Boy. He was so valued that when the restaurant chain was bought be the Pancake House Group, he was retained and eventually promoted to becoming managing director not only of Teriyaki Boy but also of Dencio’s.

I was fascinated by his story on how he rose from the ranks to where he is now. He shared with me some lessons from his journey.

We aim to be the best – Germin told me that when Terriyaki Boy was still small, they ran their operations just like they were a Php500 million company.

Hire for Attitude and Train for Skills – Germin had a lot of pride in the quality of his staff and their dedication to customer service. He said “We don’t hire for a specific skill set but we look for the best attitude for the job, skills we can teach.”

Underpromise but Overdeliver – Terriyaki Boy became famous for its challenges and promises. They had a promo wherein if they could not serve the food in 15 minutes or less, the customer would get a free tempura dish. So they made sure, with any new entry to the menu, that they could prepare, cook and serve it in 10 in ten minutes or it would be scrapped.

Germin is a example of how professionals can bring the spirit of entrepreneurship into their jobs and careers. He showed he was constantly willing to take risks. He believed in the idea and promise of Terriyaki Boy. He committed to the standard of excellence needed to turn something good into great. He brought the right attitude to the job. He fostered creativity to bring innovation into what they do. Germin is a good example of a corporate entrepreneur. Managers who bring the culture and spirit of entrepreneurship into everything that they do, for the ultimate benefit of the company.

Muhammmad Yunus, founder of Grameen Bank, 2006 Nobel Peace Prize winner, made a commitment in helping the poorest of the poor discover their potentials. He says, “Each of us has much more hidden inside us than we have had a chance to explore. Unless we create an environment that enables us to discover the limits of our potential, we will never know what we have inside of us.” We owe it to ourselves to look for the right environment that allows us to discover what we truly can become.

Let’s follow the examples of these ordinary individuals as they strive to make a difference. Each week, lets all get together and share knowledge, stories, experiences, information, all for the sole purpose of getting One Step Up.

For comments, suggestions or stories that you want to share, email me atstirspecialist@gmail.com , or visit http://www.stirspecialist.blogspot.com/


|

More REASONS

One of my favorite places to have meetings or relax is Postrio Cakes and Pastries at the Banilad Town Center. There is just something about the place that makes me feel at home. I like the Coffee, the food, the service, the whole concept. I actually like a lot of things about it. I like it even more after talking with the owner, Corito Escario Yu.

I have known Corito for almost a decade. When I was starting out, she and I opened separate shops next to each other. She has achieved a lot of success as a furniture and interior designer. So I was quite surprised to find out that she was behind Postrio too.

I found out that POSTRIO is actually two words fused together, POST short for the Spanish word Postre means dessert and trio is for the three Escario women, Corito, her sister Janice and her mom. I took the opportunity to ask her how she ended up in this business when she has always been more known as a furniture and interior designer? She replied, “ I always had the passion for baking and cooking, when I was young I used to help out in Celebrity Bakeshop, which was co owned by my mom and her sisters.” She added, “ I used to work with my cousins as waitress, salesgirl, and busgirl during summer break. Then eventually my mom and her sister Zelia opened their own called Honeysuckle Bakeshop beside Maanyag in Cebu Doctors.”

She started telling me how she had such happy and fond memories of her childhood helping out. She said , “The smell of bread just brought back happy thoughts spent in the kitchen with members of my family. This is why we started Postrio, we wanted to share and help create good memories for other people.”

“We had a lot of difficulty starting out. Though we had experience at it, it had been so long since we had a bakeshop. We had to learn and relearn a lot of things again.” She added, “We took a risk not knowing how the market would respond. We started out with Php 500,000. It was good that I had a lot of experience in interiors and construction so we were able to keep renovations cost down.”

“We were surprised at how the market accepted the products and the place. So many people have come up to us to express how they have made it a habit to drop by. Postrio is an extension of our family, and we wanted people to feel like part of the family. We wanted it to be an experience.”
Postrio started out with one 50 sq m shop and is now currently operating 2 dine in shops and one cart. But this year they will open 2 additional dine in shops at the soon to open Parkmall at the new Mandaue Reclamation Area and at the Gaisano Fiesta Mall in Tabunok, Talisay.

Corito proudly declares, “The best business to be in is something you enjoy so much that it does not feel like work, you feel so passionate about it.” She adds with a lot of emotion, “ My parents gave me the greatest gift anyone could give a child. They believed in me.”

Corito’s story is an example of the concept of REASONS. She took Risks, Enjoys her work and Aspires to be the better; Serves the best, is committed to being Outstanding , has a Navigation map and contributes to Society. We are all capable of finding the right reasons to become entrepreneurs. We owe it to ourselves to find out if we truly can.

Let’s follow the examples of these ordinary individuals as they strive to make a difference. Each week, lets all get together and share knowledge, stories, experiences, information, all for the sole purpose of getting One Step Up.

For comments, suggestions or stories that you want to share, email me atstirspecialist@gmail.com , or visit http://www.stirspecialist.blogspot.com/ .


|

REASONS

This column is all about encouraging entrepreneurship. There have been seven concepts discussed here. I would like to recap them; Risk, Enjoyment, Aspiration, Service, Outstanding, Navigation and Society. In a nutshell, the aspiring entrepreneur must be aware of the risks and be willing to risk, must enjoy the business so he can be passionate about it. He should aspire to be the best, and commit to rendering the service required to do so. He must perpetually look for ways for the business to stand out, to seek to become outstanding. He must have a plan, a goal and a destination. He must understand that the road is not straight but full of pitfalls and dangers, so he must have a navigation map. Lastly, he must ensure that the business is relevant to or is for the good of society.

If you place all the first letters of the concepts together, they form the word REASONS. The concepts of reasons is essential in order for an individual to understand the motivations needed to become an aspiring entrepreneur.

But how does one begin to be an aspiring entrepreneur?

All businesses are borne of an idea. Do not be afraid of ideas. The aspiring entrepreneur needs to develop and discuss ideas. Do not be afraid of discussion. Because the more you discuss it, the more the idea gets formed.

Steve Jobs of Apple is the rock star of the digital age. He has acquired a reputation of turning whatever he touches into gold. But it wasn’t always like that. He likes to tell the story of when he and his partner Steve Wozniak started out. They went to Atari, which was the hottest company then. They offered their ideas for their personal computer. They offered to give the idea for free in exchange for funding to develop it further. They also offered to work for Atari just to see the idea become a product. Atari said no.

They went to Hewlett-Packard with same idea. The manager basically told them in not so many words, to go back to school.

So don’t be afraid of the idea. Seek out intelligent feedback. Go outside your comfort zone.

The second most important thing is the attitude. One must have the right or winning attitude to make the business work. Victor Frankl said, “The last of our human freedoms is to choose our attitude in any given circumstance. “ The ordinary layman will get surprised to find out that attitude is the little thing that determines large outcomes for a lot of successful entrepreneurs.

For those that want to know more about attitude, we are inviting you to a One Step Up seminar entitled, “Winning Attitude for Success with Francis Kong.” Francis is an international speaker, trainer, consultant, broadcaster, columnist and entrepreneur. The seminar aims to equip the participant with winning attitude through practical and inspiring stories, anecdotes and exercises that he or she can apply in their lives. This will be on May 7,2008 at the Sinulog Grand Ballroom of the City Sports Club , Cebu. This is a start of a series of seminars designed to arm and equip aspiring entrepreneurs, professionals, or even students with the necessary foundation and tools to go one step up.

Henry Ford had a saying, “If you think you can, you can. If you think you can’t, your right.” So lets look for the idea and find the attitude so we can begin to create our entrepreneurship story. Let’s follow the examples of these ordinary individuals as they strive to make a difference. Each week, lets all get together and share knowledge, stories, experiences, information, all for the sole purpose of getting One Step Up.
For comments, suggestions or stories that you want to share, email me at stirspecialist@gmail.com , or visit http://www.stirspecialist.blogspot.com/ .


|

Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)