Survival of the Fittest

We found out just a few days ago that someone we met and talked with previously decided to put-up a competing business.

Considering the effort that we put in through market education and research, we thought of this start-up as someone stealing our ideas and benefiting from our efforts. And considering that we talked to them, too, regarding our ideas for expansion, we felt betrayed.

But that is business. I will not divulge the name of the company nor the people that we have talked with in that company.

All we can say that competition is good for the consumers. It will surely benefit our clients and GreenRides in the long-term. This gives us an opportunity to maintain our high-level of customer service and be able to expand our service offerings.

Are we scared? I would be lying if I say that we are not. But this being scared can also be put in its proper perspective and place. We have now enough reason to fast track some of our plans which we were planning to put-off until next year.

Surely, being a first-mover in the market has its advantages.


What do you do when you are besieged by a new competitor?

Make sure your customers are more than satisfied with your service.

1. As I have said above, being a first-mover in the market is an advantage. With all the media exposure we got, people have come to associate the waterless car wash service with GreenRides. We must continue building and enhancing the brand through service expansion and product innovation.

2. Competition makes your clients realize how worthy you are as a company. Make sure that you give excellent customer service and maintain your level of quality; and always listen to customer feedback.

3. Have a paradigm shift. It's not bad to have competition. It can even make you look and grow stronger. People will compare your products and services to your competitor. Make sure that you are offering a superior brand. Why do people buy BMWs and Mercs if there are Toyotas and Hondas? It's about branding and making sure that your customer feels good about himself once he has purchased or used your product or service.

Our company only uses high-quality products that are trusted and used around the world.

4. Learn to differentiate! Why are you products or service better? Why would people come to you? Don't lower your prices because a competitor is offering lower prices for his service. Instead, promote and highlight your strengths! 

Family Business or Family in Business

Have you heard the saying 'you should never go into business with your family?' I learned that it is true. And I learned it the hard way.

Getting into a business is one of the hardest and difficult things an individual can do. A lot of capital is used to ensure that the business is running smoothly. Sleep time is replaced by time thinking on how to develop systems and procedures. Leisure is spent on writing PR campaigns and partnership proposals. Quality time with people you car about is spent pitching your ideas.

Entrepreneurs are a different breed. It takes a lot of effort, courage, sacrifice and sometimes sanity - or the lack of it, to get a start-up business successful. A good support system and a healthy dose of craziness is a must.

The author with one of the franchisees of NoWet Australia.

When we started GreenRides, my family lent me their savings to be able to go to Australia to train and get the exclusive distributorship of the NoWet Waterless Car Clean products and system. I truly appreciate what they did.

Once I came back, I started working on the company. We developed systems, procedures and processes to ensure that GreenRides will be a big company. We wanted to expand to different areas in the Philippines and be a well-known national company in the next two years. We must make sure that every thing we did is properly documented and followed by us, by our car clean technicians and our future partners or franchisees.

The issue started when my dad wanted to give a branch to my sister. He wanted my sister to have her business, too. My dad wanted to help me expand my business by letting my sister have her own branch. It seemed a good idea at first, until they wanted to operate independently from the main company - which is headed by me.

These were some of the issues that came up:

1. Refusal to follow the pricing scheme we had implemented. They chose to have their own pricing system.
2. Lack of proper training in the car cleaning system and use of proper documents.
3. Created their own marketing materials without proper consultation from the head office.
4. Refusal to take charge of the branch. 

Things came to a head when my sister asked me to talk to the car clean technicians regarding the proper techniques on how to clean a car. I told her she must take charge and teach the people under her. That was when she cried and told me that she didn't want to do the business any more.

My dad confronted me on that day. And until now, he has refused to talk to me.

These are the hard lessons that I've learned:

1. Be clear on what you want your business to be. We wanted to grow and make GreenRides a national company. One must be develop systems, procedures and processes that will streamline operations and keep the level of customer service at a high quality if one wants to be a large company.

2. Be clear on what you want your family's involvement will be. When we agreed to let them have a branch, there was a clear discussion that the directives and systems of the head office must be followed. Local store marketing or LSM can be initiated by the branch or franchisees with the prior approval of the head office. Unfortunately, this was not followed.

3. Be open to constructive criticism. If there are ways to improve the delivery of the service, listen to them. Listen to customer feedback and listen to the franchisee. But if the franchisee or the branch owner becomes smarter and implements some things which are not approved by the head office, it is time to put your foot down.

A print screen from one of our promotions.

4. Lastly, let the franchisee manage and grow his store. The role of the head office is to make sure that there are customers going to the branches. This is done through different marketing efforts. The head office is also there to make sure that every one follows the protocols and systems set forth by the company; and also to grow the business by introducing new services or products.

A franchisees role is to make sure that 'his' business grows through his own marketing efforts and by constantly adhering to the standards and policies set-up by the company. It is not the franchisees' role to supersede the company.

Being in business with my family is a painful lesson for me. Yet, I appreciate all the things I've learned from this experience. GreenRides is still a growing company and I thank the people who continue to be our loyal customers and believe in our services.

Where Are The Jobs?

I had a very interesting conversation with one of the General Manager of a well-known job portal some time ago. The discussion we had centered on the jobs and why the Philippines has millions of people who are unemployed and underemployed.

She had a very interesting point made. If there are no jobs, why do companies keep on posting job vacancies? If there are no jobs, why do major dailies, online job portals are continuing to make money? If there are no job openings, why are schools, government agencies and other organizations are continuing to hold job fairs?

The point she wanted to make was simple. There are thousands of job opportunities out there but what are lacking are the technical and behavioral skills needed by the applicants to effectively do the jobs.

What happened with our educational system that it doesn't answer the needs of companies? Why are our graduates not employable here in the Philippines? They need to go abroad to look for better opportunities and yet, they are willing to get jobs that are far beneath their educational attainment. Who is at fault?

Answering these questions would entail a lengthy debate on the state of the educational system, the quality of graduates Philippine colleges and universities are producing and the unrealistic expectations of new graduates and their parents.

The top universities of the Philippines went down a couple of notches in the recent study published in The Philippine Daily Inquirer (http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/53635/philippine-universities-out-of-world%E2%80%99s-top-300).

Several experts have argued that the private sector and the government must work hand-in-hand to answer the looming employment problem in the country. The Philippines has become, more recently, a factory of nursing graduates.

http://www.centives.net/S/2011/where-are-the-jobs-being-created/

There are several booming industries that can provide employment. The government must be able to take advantage of this industries and provide enough support and incentives to encourage small and medium scale businesses to venture into these areas.

In a recent article, also in the Philippine Daily Inquirer, they mentioned that we have already taken India as the outsourcing capital in the world for voice. However, India still accounts for more outsourced services. Aside from voice support, the Philippines can also offer more specialized services; such as in accounting, animation and payroll systems.

A comprehensive approach is needed to enable the public to realize the benefits of these possible opportunities and the private enterprise to be encourage to put-up these kinds of businesses here.

Let us understand, that not all can be employed as nurses. And not everyone are qualified to work in customer support that handles voice calls.

Green technology is also fast becoming a new industry. There are companies who have already embraced the green movement. The green companies are providing employment and livelihood to a lot of people. The government should also help these companies by offering tax breaks, incentives or assist in research and development.

What the government can do is to fast-track its plan to lessen the number of steps needed to set-up the business. A Singaporean can roughly take 24 hours to register and have his own business. In our country, it takes an average of about 2-4 weeks, sometimes even longer.


Meanwhile, the investment of the businessman is stuck. He can not hire immediately nor he can not set-up shop unless all the documents have been approved.

In the end, providing employment to thousands of Filipinos does not lie on one entity alone. The government and the private sector must help in providing framework to help one another. The government can not do it alone nor companies handle everything without the assistance from the local and national government.

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Where To Now?

One of the most difficult decisions an entrepreneur makes is whether to stay the course or change directions.

Thank you to www.arts.yorku.ca

I once worked for an online job portal as a business development manager. As my job title implied, it was my tasked to develop new businesses for the company that will help it increase its profits, make more people aware about its products and services and staying ahead of its competition while at the same time maintaining true to its stated vision and mission.

Ahh... vision and mission. Let me just insert a few words about vision and mission. I will not get into the technicalities of the definition the words, but let me just say that the vision and mission are statements that provide an overall direction to where a company is wants to become. As a general rule, vision statements must be specific and goal-oriented.

Going back to the story; the company was relatively young when I joined. They were just setting-up and in the process of forming the overall company identity. It was an exciting time to be in that company.

At that time, we envisioned the company to become jobseeker-centered. We wanted to give more opportunities to more jobseekers and then endorse them to employers if they fit the technical skills and behavioral (hard and soft skills, respectively) requirements needed by these companies. During that time, employers can still choose to pre-qualify applicants based on their educational background and the companies they have worked in. We wanted to change all of that.

Unfortunately, because of financial constraints, the company we were forced to change the business model a couple of times. It seemed that the company lost its main purpose and overall identity. They wanted to be everything to everyone. They even changed the website too many times.

That was when I decided to leave the company.

Based from what I hear, the job portal is now catering to call centers as one of their outsourced-service providers for pre-qualifying applicants. I am not sure if they are doing anything else.

My message for this blog is very simple.

When deciding to put-up a new venture or a business, start with the goal and objectives. Once you have this, map-out your direction. Stick with it. If you need to make adjustments and improvements to your direction, do it gradually so that it will not alienate your existing and may be loyal customers.

Just imagine a golf ball being hit by a club. A few millimeters of adjustments can give change your direction over the long-run.

If you will make adjustments and improvements, make sure that it is in conjunction with the goals, purpose and objectives you have set-out for your company.

Ask these questions before you finally decide operationalizing your business:

What do you want your company to be? How do you want the public to see your company as? How will you intend to do those things? What are the steps to be taken? Where will you position yourself?

Know Your Purpose

Almost all of the people that I've talked with want to achieve financial independence. Others work very hard at their jobs to become financially free. Others, like myself, have ventured into business.

But whatever endeavor one undertakes, one must be able to define his or her own purpose; otherwise what one will be doing is just utterly meaningless. A person without purpose is like a boat without a rudder. He just goes wherever the wind blows.

Thanks to www.copyblogger.com

How do you define purpose? Is it a goal?

Being financially independent and buying the things you want and need to truly satisfying. But why would you want to buy more stuff? With whom are you going to share it with? How will you intend to acquire your wealth or money?

Let me share you my story.

After graduating from college I did not know what to do? I just wanted to earn money and be able to buy things for myself. I took the first job that offered my a good compensation.

But after a year, I felt lost and got bored. I dragged myself out of bed just so I wouldn't be absent physically from work. When I got to work, my mind was somewhere else. So I resigned... However, this scenario played out constantly in several of the jobs that I've been into.

I was job-hopping for some time. The most that I stayed in a job was about three years.

It was about two years ago when I found my purpose. I wanted to help people out. Two years ago, I was a business host with a cable network. I was able to talk to a lot of people. They all come from diverse backgrounds.

The people who had businesses or accomplished in their fields are very optimistic and high hopes. In spite of the problems and issues our country is experiencing they remain hopeful and they are willing to do anything to contribute to society.

On the other hand, I've met people who blame everyone and everything about their sad and sorry situation. They have lost all hope. They want the government to provide doles and jobs for them. They live thinking that the world owes them a favor because of their plight.

I've also met people who are willing and want to improve their lot in life but don't know how. They are open to changing their mindset. There may be some resistance at first but having an open mind is one of their advantages. These kinds of people are the ones I want to help.

How do I help them?

One of my favorite quotes comes from Zig Ziglar, "You can have everything you want in life if you help other people what they want."

I've met people who want to put-up their own ventures but don't know how; either they lack capital or they don't know what venture to put-up.

I've met people who want to make their businesses grow but are stumped. They are overwhelmed with the different advice they get. They get paralyzed by all the information they are getting.

For more than 12 years, I've had a lot of experience in dealing with small businesses and making them grow. I've been consulted by business owners regarding the expansion of their businesses and making people aware of their products and services.

I've also started a venture to show people that with a good idea, getting a good starting capital may not be a problem.

The lessons I've learned can help a lot of people. They may learn from me... The desire to help and be of service to other people has become my purpose.

What Business Do I Put Up?

My last blog talked about taking the first step when it comes to putting-up your own business. It ventures to ask a couple of questions when you are thinking of venturing on your own.

These questions are:

1. Is there a problem that you can solve?
2. Is there a market for your solution? Do a lot of people experience the same problems or issues?
3. Is it profitable enough for you to make money on?

In answering these questions you must be able to understand the difference between a mass market and a general market. To wit; a mass market is something where a lot of people can benefit from your product or service. The gross margin may not be that high but due to the number of buyers, it will become profitable.

Just think about the generic mp3 players in the market today.

A niche market is a segment of the market which is under-served or not being serviced at all by the other players who are offering solutions or services. The niche market is only a small percentage of the market, however, because of the specialized products or services that you can offer, the profit margins are much higher. Think about Rolex and IWC watches.

Mr. Thomas Fernandez, the author and Mr. Sant Qui

More than a year or so ago, I interviewed two great entrepreneurs from Singapore, Mr. Thomas Fernandez and Sant Qui. They have also authored two books which  have become best-sellers. The first book is about how to differentiate yourself from the rest of the pack which offers the same products and services. The second book talks about how entrepreneurs have applied the niche marketing principle and succeeded.

I will ask you to read their books, Secrets on How to Dominate Your Niche and Success Secrets Exposed to give you a better understanding how to apply their principles on the business you have decided to put-up. Below is just a rundown of their Niche Dominating Secrets:

1. Being a leader
2. Being a specialist
3. Differentiate by pricing
4. Differentiate by design
5. Dominate by polarity positioning

The First Step

Since this is a green business blog, I must start things by discussing how most entrepreneurs and businessmen start doing business and that is by looking for opportunities.

What are opportunities? Where do we find them?

I have often heard the reason why most people don't or are hesitant to start a business is because they think that profitable ventures or ideas have already been done, and that there are no more useful things that can be offered as a product or as a service. While it is true that by just looking around, we are being presented with a lot of choices - from consumer products such as cell phones, cars, watches, etc. to personal services such as spas, restaurants and hair salons to name a few.

It is also true that because of the lifestyle we have currently, more problems or concerns arise.

These problems can be the breeding ground for unexplored opportunities. Let me cite City Delivery 87878 as an example. It used to be that big food establishments are the only ones who can deliver food to our offices or our homes. A few years ago, we had no choice but to dial a fast-food's number if we want to eat at the comfort of our own home. But City Delivery changed all that...

On there website, www.citydelivery.ph, they mention that they have partnered with more than a hundred food merchants within Metro Manila. What does this mean for you? You can now get food that you are craving for by just going through their website or by calling them up. You have more choices than before.

Furthermore, the partner merchants don't have to invest in a delivery service that would entail more capital expenditure on their side. They just partner-up with City Delivery and they can instantly serve more customers.

Let me cite another example. My sister uses our broadband connection to teach Koreans and Japanese students English. She gets paid for that without having to spend time commuting nor going from one-place to another. She just downloaded Skype and took some tests for her to qualify as an instructor, and once she passed she can teach English already.

You don't have to start a business with a lot of capital. Just start small and learn the steps from there. Once you are comfortable enough, you can already invest your money or look for partners to help you grow your business.

The important step is identifying a problem and see whether you can solve it. If you can solve it, ask these questions:

1. How many people are experiencing this problem?
2. How much time and effort would it take for me to solve this problem?
3. How much money will my 'clients' be willing to pay for me to solve the problem?
4. Can my system be copied? Or am I the only one who has the expertise to solve the problem?

I will be helping you see and decide a business you can venture into in the next blog.

Starting A Green Venture

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. K4S295AJUMEA


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

Green Ventures

Various studies done by different organizations, especially United Nations, notes that we are in the brink of climate change to the effects of global warming. NASA said that 2009 was the warmest decade of the new millennium (http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/IOTD/view.php?id=42392).


It has been observed that the main contributor of greenhouse gases is man. Unabated population growth and economic development based on inefficient systems have greatly contributed to the rapid increase in earth's temperatures. While this theory has been highly contentious, we can not deny the fact that our summers have been hotter, rainy days have been wetter, storms have grown much stronger and the whole climate has been chaotic the past few years.


Mr. Al Gore has been the so-called voice of climate change. He has been harping about its effects on nature and man. While we have seen and experienced for ourselves these consequences, we are finding it hard to let go some of the conveniences that we have grown accustomed to; like using a car for short-trips, or putting an air-con on high during a warm day.


There is a need to use our limited resources more efficiently and responsibly. Some say that oil will be used by 2050, others say we still have 100 years of oil left. But there is really no way of knowing how much oil we have.


75% of our planet is water, yet only three percent is fresh water and only one percent is available to us? The rest are trapped in glaciers and ice bergs! Yet, we see people waste precious water all the time. Faucets are kept open when not in use.

http://helpmakeitgreen.webs.com/apps/photos/photo?photoid=61751248

Something must be done before we reach global warming's tipping point, an event when we can not fully reserve nor recover from it's effects nor consequences. And since, business is one of the biggest contributors of climate change, then business must also be able to help mitigate, slow down or even reserve the effects of climate change.


This blog is about how businesses in the Philippines, from small-enterprises to large corporations are doing what they can to help promote a cleaner and healthier earth. The "Green Articles" page will be about news and updates from different sources regarding the initiatives and studies done in various fields.


We will also feature other initiatives done to promote environment-friendly products and services.


Finally, we are asking our readers to contribute articles that they think are good and viable-business opportunities that also promote and take care of our environment.
K4S295AJUMEA