Paving the way for micro, small, and medium enterprises’ (MSME) digital innovation in Baguio City, Globe myBusiness Academy, in partnership with the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) held a whole-day event where entrepreneurs from various industries were invited to seek advice, motivation, and inspiration from experts in different fields.
“The inability of our MSMEs to maximize the potentials of the global market is one of the current challenges for Baguio business owners. Mas maraming magagandang produkto ang ating MSMEs na highly competitive sa iba. It’s either ‘yung know-how nila [or the resources available] ay limitado in order to bring their products globally,” says Andrea Palaez, OIC for the Business Development Division of DTI Benguet.
This proved to be the case for Andrea Apagna, who sells knitted goods. She was interested and excited about attending the event, but realized that “parang millennial business ito ka’ko. Dapat pala anak ko ang nandito,” she said.
Like Ms. Apagna, many business owners find it intimidating to embrace the digital age, but thanks to Globe myBusiness Academy’s Go Lokal program, she went home fully informed of the possibilities for her should she decide to grow her business in today’s digital world.
Below are some insights worth noting.
“A lot of people don’t get to where they want to be because they don’t start.” – Ginger Arboleda, Manila Workshops Founder and CEO
Whether it’s starting or digitizing your business, one thing’s for sure: It will take a lot of hard work. But the trick to getting started is actually just going for it. So start. You don’t have to overthink things.
“Open every area and level of your organization for innovation.” – Anthony Pangilinan, motivational speaker
To do this, you have to follow the five Cs:
“Now is the right time to get into [doing business online]. If you have a business or you’re already selling something, then sell it online. If you don’t have a business, consider going online.” – Alvin Ching, Lazada Vice President and Head of Seller Engagement
When you open an offline store, you only reach customers who are within five kilometers of your store’s location. Unless your product becomes widely popular to the point where people would come in droves to patronize it, it would be challenging to sustain your store. But when you open an online shop, you reach the entire country in one go, and you don’t even have to pay rent or other expenses to keep your shop running.
“Remember the three things when you’re looking for a technology: It has to be flexible, it has to adapt to the user, and it has to have value for your customers.” – Es Salomon, Go Canvas APAC Sales and Product Engineer
Going digital is a good direction for your business, but make sure you’re not doing it just for the sake of digitizing. It’s important that you know your business and your customers very well for the switch to be groundbreaking.
“The future is already here and the future is mobile.” – Anton Andres, Samsung Product Manager/Solutions Architect for Enterprise Mobility
Based on a study, almost 50% of the workforce will be running their businesses on their mobile devices by 2020. Whatever mobile device you have, you can leverage on it to make your business succeed. After all, mobile devices aren’t just limited to browsing photos and videos on social media, sending messages, or making calls anymore. It’s now an effective way to do and grow your business and collaborate with like-minded people no matter where you are in the world.
“If you’re not marketing online, you’re not marketing at all.” – Joey Flores, Adspark Associate Director
Become digitally ready by following Joey’s three tips:
“You have to be clear about your website’s purpose.” – Eugene Jose Arboleda, Taxumo and Manila Workshops Subject Matter Expert
Make sure you know what you want to get out of the website you’re building for your brand. Ask yourself: “What is my website’s job?” “What is it supposed to do?” “What role does my website play in the whole consumer decision journey?” Your website has to serve a specific purpose in order to help boost your business.
“Everyone is blessed with a certain resource that not many people have. You have to be able to seize that opportunity when it does come up.” – Mikee Magsaysay, Carmen’s Best Sales and Marketing Executive
Use what’s unique to you to your advantage while keeping your eyes peeled for an opportunity that could be beneficial for your business.
Want more tips on growing your business globally? Sign up to Globe myBusiness Academy.
Last January 30, 2019, Globe myBusiness launched its first Go Lokal event of the year in the City of Smiles, Bacolod. Entrepreneurs from all over the city came together to learn more about digital technology, get expert insights and tips from experienced SME owners, and avail of some of Globe’s business solutions for their businesses.
Featured at the event were motivational speaker Francis Kong, alongside other entrepreneurs and experts who shared their stories and enlightened the audience on some trends in their respective industries.
Here are some of the powerful insights and quotes we picked up from the event:
“We’ve got to create something different, something challenging, another level of entrepreneurship.”
As City Administrator Atty. John Orola said in his opening remarks, technology enables business owners to create something new in terms of entrepreneurship. Not just that, but the ever-growing digital world demands that business owners become more open to technology in their respective fields.
“In business, you cannot fake your way to being successful.”
This need for technology is more than just a sign of the times; it’s also a sign that new challenges as well as changes are coming.
Featured motivational speaker Francis Kong started his speech with these powerful words, after discussing the use of personas in our everyday online and offline lives. True success can not be faked because, as he said, numbers don’t lie. As he further stated, true success has to satisfy two qualities: it has to be sustainable and replicable. Your success has to be accompanied by growth — otherwise, it’s just a product of luck, not actual success. He further adds that growth is spurred on by digital technology, which is why everyone has a need for it.
“When it comes to business and profession, you cannot gamble on ignorance.”
As Francis Kong also said, you need to ask questions. Don’t waste opportunities to learn more about the things you need to know. He cited the event itself as a prime example, inviting everyone in the venue to approach him, the other speakers, or the Globe team and ask them questions. He especially stressed that knowledge is very important in running a business, so it’s not something that should go to waste.
It might seem obvious to some entrepreneurs, but to many others, there’s a notion of keeping things under control at all times that just doesn’t apply. As Paco Magsaysay of Carmen’s Best said in the beginning of his talk, some unexpected things led him to where he is today.
“In business, there are a lot of things that happen that’s out of your control.”
For example, his business started when there was an excess of fresh milk in his father’s dairy farm, and his market was created when ice cream giant Haagen-Dazs was pulled out of the country. While many things in his career were out of his control, he was able to make the most out of all those opportunities and craft his business despite — or thanks to — them.
“Filipinos spend around 9 hours on digital everyday. […] If you are advertising online, you are relevant.”
If you’re planning to advertise, there’s no better place to do it than online. It doesn’t break the bank, it’s easy to change or adjust, and most importantly, it reaches your market effectively. As AdSpark’s Joey Flores said, attention is no longer on traditional media. You have to be where the attention is, be where your market is. Thanks to digital technology, you now get that chance.
Eugene Arboleda of Taxumo and Manila Workshops discussed one of the most fundamental starting points to advertising, branding and being online: having a website.
“Your website is not a silver bullet — if your business has an issue that you’re trying to address, just building a website won’t fix it. […] Done well, your website can boost your business results.”
He stressed, however, that a website is not going to solve any big problems simply by existing. Rather, it should be made to fulfill a purpose that, when done well, can create results. In the end, your website is a digital tool similar to all other business solutions that, when used properly, can bring you success.
“What’s good about the Filipino seller is it’s always about something beyond the money.”
In the end, business shouldn’t just be about making money for yourself. It should be about creating a livelihood, jobs, and a future for others. As Alvin Ching of Lazada said in his inspiring speech about online sellers, selling is never just about the money; it’s also about helping others. Most often, sellers do it to help their families and loved ones, and this goal is what spurs them to create true success.
Go Lokal Bacolod was surely a day to remember, and a great start to a year of Globe myBusiness events and workshops. As each speaker took to the stage, the audience was inspired to work harder, smarter and better in their field, and achieve success for years to come.
For more insightful tips and tricks of the trade, sign up to Globe myBusiness Academy today!
In fulfilling its mission to lead local businesses to embrace the digital world, Globe myBusiness Academy rallied entrepreneurs in Pampanga, the culinary capital of the Philippines, to the future of local businesses.
Globe myBusiness Academy, in partnership with the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) and Pampanga Chamber of Commerce, launched a Go Lokal learning session last November 29, 2018.
Held at SM City Pampanga, the learning session featured motivational speakers, industry experts, and veteran entrepreneurs who offered insights that can help Kapampangan business owners reach success in the digital world.
Globe myBusiness Sales Head Cleo Santos hailed the micro, small, and medium businesses (MSMEs) as the backbone of the country’s growing economy, citing data from DTI which shows that they make up about 36% of the country’s economy.
This was why Globe myBusiness is excited to bring in experts to provide solutions to Pampanga, where thriving businesses from different industries are emerging fast, Santos said.
“Our advocacy remains that all MSMEs embrace the digital world. That is why we are here to provide affordable solutions that are fit for your businesses,” she said.
Likewise, DTI Provincial Head Elenita Ordinio emphasized the importance of training in how to make technology work for you, such as the Go Lokal learning sessions.
“Do not leave your learnings in the four corners of this venue. You have to translate them into action. Share all the learnings. Invest in training. Invest in technology,” Elenita urged Go Lokal participants.
If you missed Globe myBusiness Academy in Pampanga, we’ve got you covered! Here is a rundown of what industry experts and veteran entrepreneurs shared during the learning session.
For motivational speaker Francis Kong, a business has to be sustainable and replicable for it to succeed in the long term.
“If you run a business and it isn’t sustainable, it ain’t a business. It’s just a gig,” he said.
However, if the business is sustained but it’s not growing, then it may be in the “danger zone,” Francis said. This is why he advised entrepreneurs to invest in technology, research, and development to get ahead as “competitors are never sleeping.”
Miguel Magsaysay, Sales and Marketing Executive of premium ice cream brand Carmen’s Best, emphasized that success appears easy at first look; however, it takes a lot of hardships to achieve.
“All entrepreneurs face failures and hardships just like everyone else. The thing that makes entrepreneurs different from other people is that they take failures and turn them into lessons. They learn from their mistakes instead of letting them bring them down,” Miguel said.
Ginger Arboleda, Founder of Manila Workshops, emphasized the importance of constantly striving to grow and improve your business.
For example, Ginger stressed that no idea is perfect. “There are a lot of lies we tell ourselves. ‘We have a great idea, and we won’t fail.’ If that’s our mindset, believe me, you will fail.”
“If you think that an idea is a perfect idea, you don’t have room for improvement anymore because you already think it’s perfect,” she said, adding that entrepreneurs should embrace constant change in this technologically advanced world.
Joey Flores, Associate Director at AdSpark, believes that for a business to grow, it has to be where the customers are. “Be there, be found, and be engaging.”
About 67 million Filipinos are online and on social media. To engage with customers where they are, Joey said it was important for businesses to be on social media and to create their own website.
“Back in the day, you could get away with not having a website. A website before was nice to have. But today, if you don’t have a website, basically your company doesn’t exist online. If your competitor has a website, your clients will go to them instead because people today do their research,” he said.
The future is now. Embrace it.
This was the advice of Eugene Arboleda, Subject Matter Expert at Manila Workshops, as he emphasized that the future of local businesses is now, and that entrepreneurs should embrace digital transformation.
“People say you have to prepare for the future when people are online. I’m saying that future we’re talking about is already happening. People are already online,” he said.
In embracing the digital world, entrepreneurs have to learn how to make technology work for them.
For example, Lazada Vice President and Seller Engagement Head Alvin Ching said that brick and mortar stores (or physical stores) can use online selling channels as a solution to help them reach out to more customers across the country.
“Brick and mortar stores, these offline stores, are here to stay. However, the online channel is a good complement to your business,” he said.
The future is now. The world has ushered into the digital age. Businesses are thriving. New ideas are emerging. It’s time for us to embrace digitization as success is within our reach.
For more business tips and event invites, sign up to Globe myBusiness Academy today for free!
As the Philippine economy continues to grow in a digital world, Globe myBusiness Academy led entrepreneurs in Cagayan de Oro to the future of local businesses in a Go Lokal learning session last October 29, 2018. (more…)
On October 24, 2018, Globe myBusiness Academy and DTI brought together business owners and entrepreneurs-to-be from all over Davao City for a day of expert-led tips, insights and inspirations to guide them through their business journeys. Whether they’re just starting out, in the middle of running their negosyo, or right at the peak of their growth, there was something for them all to learn at the Globe myBusiness Academy Session.
Here are some of the best insights and quotes we picked up from the event:
“What’s important in business is diskarte that comes with the right knowledge.” – Francis Kong
Knowledge may be important, but it’s not everything when it comes to business. A bit of street smarts goes a long way when it comes to starting your business, and throughout the rest of your entrepreneurial journey.
“Redefine passion. We shouldn’t look for it. Whatever is there that we are passionate about, that’s passion.” – Ginger Arboleda
We place a lot of pressure on ourselves to “find our passion”. Sometimes we forget that it comes down to something we truly enjoy doing, something that we are not afraid to work for. When we think of passion this way, it’s easier to find.
“What idea can I turn into a business? Where can I find that business idea that I can use and grow and build? Where do good ideas come from?” – Ginger Arboleda
All businesses start with something simple: an idea. But it’s not enough just to have one. You need an idea that you can build upon, one that can be a foundation for a whole business strategy and plan.
“Have a little introspection. Have a little thinking space before you start.” – EJ Arboleda
While choosing to start a business is a great idea, you need to play things smart in the way you do so. Don’t just jump in without doing your research first, without having a solid plan, or without adequate preparation.
“If there’s one thing I learned from business, it’s that learning never stops.” – Francis Kong
Don’t close yourself to learning once you’ve graduated from educational levels. Remember that learning is a lifelong thing, so always be humble enough to develop new skills or learn new techniques.
“Time is the scarcest resource today.” – Francis Kong
If you have an idea, strategy or plan that you know will work, don’t waste your time. You’ve heard of the saying, “So much to do, so little time.” Time matters so much that you have to make the most of it.
“You don’t compromise. You only give the best.” – Jaime Magsaysay
Cutting corners is not going to give your customers the products or services they deserve, and it makes a big difference to really give your all to your business — not just in the resources for your products, but in everyday operations too.
“Technology will differentiate your store from others. […] Take advantage of the technology available, but take on the learnings that you [get from experts].” – Alvin Ching
Because you always need to be open to learning new things, don’t waste the opportunity to listen to and absorb the lessons you learn and skills you develop from what’s available to you — like lifelong insights from experts, or accessible technology.
“Design your website such that it serves a specific purpose aligned with the problem of your business.” – EJ Arboleda
In terms of technology, nothing will be more of a home for your brand than your website. The most important thing for you to focus on when it comes to your site is its purpose. Whether you’re after leads, sales, or services, make sure your website is doing what it was made to do.
“You need to create more content. It’s all about content right now.” – Joey Flores
Focus also on the content you post. These days, customers consume so much content that it’s hard for them to decipher one post from another. Having something that makes your content stand out from the rest calls their attention and keeps their interest.
“You have to put yourself in a situation where you will constantly think, ‘What can I do to grow my business?’. If you’re not in that mindframe, that’s risky. […] Change is scary, but it is scarier not to change.” – Francis Kong
Like learning, change is also constant in your business journey. Welcome change in your business, because your market is dynamic and ever-changing as well. You have to adjust to the world around you in order to survive, and in order to thrive in business.
“There is a huge online opportunity for the Philippines today. […] Whether [or not] you’re starting offline right now, you should be exploring online [opportunity] because the future is going to be digital.” – Alvin Ching
If you’re looking for a place to grow, there’s no better one than an online platform. As the world becomes more digital by the day, this is where your market will soon be, and where you should be as well.
Globe myBusiness Academy’s Go Lokal session in Davao was a rousing success, with various speakers there to inspire, educate and empower the people of Davao with business tips and essential pieces of advice, plus various digital tools and solutions they could use for their businesses.
Best of all, whether they were in the food, accommodations, retail, or online services industries, and no matter what stage of their business journey they were in, there was something for them to take home and find inspiration from.
For more information on Globe myBusiness Academy Sessions, sign up to Globe myBusiness Academy today.
Get access to all our exclusive member-only content
By clicking the sign-up button, you agree to our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy.