CHAPTER 1 former mindset as an employee or student and start

EQUIPPING AND PREPARING YOURSELF TO to adapt and develop an "entrepreneur mindset" in

BE AN ENTREPRENEUR you.

Engaging yourself in a business, whether Selling is the lifeblood of every business, and with
small or big, requires thorough preparation in order the word "sales," it should be incorporated into
to succeed. But for every start, it should involve a your mindset that, as an entrepreneur, selling is an
lot of analysis, checking, and sacrifices as well. It is activity that you will be doing every day. I mean,
not a joke to decide that you want to be an every day, it is not a joke. Every day, we consider
entrepreneur without carefully weighing the things selling and who we will sell our products or services
that you need and the risks involved with it. You to. We do not get tired of finding the target market.
should be prepared physically and mentally for the
battle that you will be fighting. When you say The mindset of selling should be instilled in the
"engage", we have to know ourselves first and person as well. Unlike being an employee, we do
know the business and the new role as an not care too much about how we are going to meet
entrepreneur that we are targeting to become. Most the sales goals of the organization because
current entrepreneurs do not invest time in getting someone will. But owning a business and being an
to know themselves and the business they want, entrepreneur means thinking of ways to sell our
and at the end of the day, they fail and continue to products and how to generate sales and income for
fail. our business.

The Entrepreneur’s journey should be guided: Most aspiring entrepreneurs are afraid of selling,
R- Renewed Mindset talking to people, and having a SALES and
E- Established entrepreneurial skills and knowledge SELLING mindset. We have to be prepared that
A- Anticipate and Assessment of possible risks this is continuous work that we do as an
P- Plan strategically your future business entrepreneur. We need to sell. We need to find our
customers.
✔ R-Renewed Mindset
An entrepreneur's mindset is very comprehensive
The first thing that you have to do is to make a in a way that it should have a totally new mindset,
decision that you want to go in the direction of not one based on what you heard from a common
being an entrepreneur. friend and just copy their way of thinking as an
To be an effective and sustainable entrepreneur entrepreneur. We have to be responsible
nowadays, it should start first with renewing the entrepreneurs.
"mindset". The person's current mindset through
the years has been influenced by so many factors, Some of the wrong mindsets of upcoming and
such as lifestyle, upbringing, education, and life existing entrepreneurs
experiences.
1. Starting a business is easy.
Whenever we say "renew," we have to wash away 2. Good and successful business can only be
all the wrong mindsets for "entrepreneurs" that we possible with huge initial capital.
acquired from all circumstances. The mindset that 3. Planning is not necessary before opening a
"being an entrepreneur" is so easy to acquire business.
money and the job is so easy to manage. But in 4. You don't need expertise or experience in
reality, it will be difficult if we do not prepare operating a business; strong courage is just
ourselves. If you are currently a full-time employee the key.
or student, the most important thing that you have 5. You can work at your full-time job and run
to embrace is that you need to set aside your your business together.
 adapt and survive. Make an extra effort to learn all
In order to achieve a renewed mindset, aspects of the business. Take your time, study and
be observant. Enrich yourself with knowledge of the
Learn functions of business by learning from other
Learn new ideas and knowledge that we entrepreneurs. Giving ample time to study the
don't know. nature of the functions of the business will make
the entrepreneur competent, which includes
Relearn production and operations, management,
From learning in the past that we almost marketing, and finance. These four functions are
forgot, we can regain old ideas and knowledge interrelated with each other, and if you are
about business. experiencing one problem in one area, it will
definitely affect the overall business.
Unlearn
Unlearn trash business ideas and ✓ A- Anticipate and Assessment of Possible Risks
knowledge that are unnecessary in achieving our
Being an entrepreneur requires thorough
goals. preparation and planning before you engage
yourself in venturing into a business. It will not only
✓ E-Established entrepreneurial skills and require in-depth checking and evaluation of your
knowledge entrepreneurial skills, but at the same time, make
further decisions on what business details that you
Every entrepreneur should possess the need to know in order to derive a sustainable and
necessary skills and knowledge in order to be successful business.
effective in this field. If you have not established
your foundation first, you have to assess yourself As we all know, whenever we take a decision like
and make some improvements within yourself in opening a small business, it will involve risk. There
order to fit into the business. is a risk in entering into a business. You have to be
a risk taker when you decide to be an entrepreneur.
A modern entrepreneur requires the following skills This word "RISK" might be intimidating for some,
before starting the operation of a business: but the risk involves a lot. For every entrepreneur,
he or she should expect that risk is something that
1. Creativity Skills he or she should review. An entrepreneur should
2. Selling Skills know the extent of the coverage that he or she
3. Negotiation Skills needs to face, whether it be low, medium, or high
4. Analytical Skills exposure risk.
5. Persistence
6. Innovation In general, there are two classifications of risks
7. Adaptability that you may encounter when deciding to enter
8. Risk a business, namely: financial risk and non-financial
9. Communication risk. By nature, every new entrepreneur is
10. Attentive to details considered a risk-averse individual, meaning they
try to avoid any possible risk as much as possible.
Entrepreneurs should be knowledgeable in every The lower the risk, the better.
aspect of the business that they are entering. As
entrepreneurs, we should be willing to learn about ➢ Financial risk is a risk that is related to
business functions. There is no such thing as doing money matters in running a business. Any
only one or several functions of a business. To be possible losses that the business may
able to survive, every entrepreneur should learn to encounter if it decides to enter or continue
 the business are considered under this type. and vision for the business, then assessing the
It is very difficult to handle such risks external and internal environment and establishing
because they have major implications for long-term objectives, generating strategies, and
the business functions. implementing them. (David, 2009).

Example: Spending money for packaging It should be clear to us what the mission and vision
improvement by buying a machine that is not of the business will be that we are establishing.
essential and meets the specifications needed to When we develop these, they should be aligned
produce a more with what we want to do with the operations of the
business. It is better to write these so that they will
➢ Non-financial risk is a risk that is related to serve as our guide and the entrepreneur will never
other factors that we consider in business, be lost.
such as time, effort, ideas, etc.
Mission Statement
✓ P-Plan strategically your business
The "mission statement" of the business is
An effective entrepreneur should be making primarily the reason why the entrepreneur will open
a strategic plan for their respective business. It is the business. This is one of the most important
not just as simple as opening a business that you statements that you should know by heart and
want without planning at all for the upcoming years. mind. It is your statement that will sustain you until
With the complex and competitive market the end. Without this statement, you are an
nowadays, every entrepreneur should not only look entrepreneur that is easily swayed by trends and
at their short-term plans but should shift into long- competition, and you do not have your own
term plans by thinking of ways to sustain their direction.
business, especially nowadays that there is a
pandemic. Fred David cited in his book Strategic
Management: Cases and Concepts that every
For some, making a strategic plan might be mission statement should have the following
stressful and not a priority because it will take time components (David, 2009) in order to be effective,
and be costly due to some items that need to be which the author totally agrees with because this
accomplished and implemented. Some statement, whether written or not, will provide a
entrepreneurs even have a strategic plan, but they direction to you and can be one of the reasons the
do not carefully implement it. customer chooses you over other competitors in
the market today.
But strategic planning is definitely essential
because of the complexity of the market. David (2009) stated the following mission statement
Entrepreneurs use tactics to achieve short-term components:
goals, whereas a strategic plan is used to achieve
long-term business goals. Tactics are usually 1. Customers
used for less than five years, or less, while a 2. Products or services.
strategic plan is for five years or more goals for 3. Markets
the business. 4. Technology
5. Concern for survival, growth and profitability
Whenever we "strategically plan" the business, 6. Philosophy
we can adapt the concept of what Fred David said 7. Self-Concept
about the strategic management process (David, 8. Concern for Public Image
2009). As per David, the strategic management 9. Concern for Employees
process usually starts with developing a mission
The above mentioned components of a mission Vision Statement
statement can be visible in your statement because
every customer of the business will have a grasp of The "vision statement" of the business, on the
the purpose of your existence. Which means that other hand, is "how" we see our business in the
the statement should be constructed with some or future, a few years from now. This is the picture or
the majority of the components. The advantage of the visualization of the business and what we see
this is that your statement will speak of what you will happen once it grows or matures.
do. Definitely, when we construct these statements,
they should reflect the "reality" of what the Usually, a vision statement should be direct and
business is doing. We do not write or hold this include a detailed description of the specific
mission in our minds without "implementing it". If timeline that you want to achieve in the future of
we do not implement, we are just like any other your business. It should describe how you want
business floating in the water. A lot of your business to be in the next few years of
entrepreneurs just plan and make a mission business. Be specific with the vision and this is the
statement, but they never make it happen in their goal of the business that needs to be accomplished
respective operations. by using the right business strategies.

There are five components of the mission The above vision statement does not have any
statement required components in order to be effective, unlike
the mission statement with recommended
The first component of the mission statement in the components. With a vision statement, the words or
above barbeque business is "product," which is phrases that you will include here should be
high-quality. The word "quality" should be true. something that will answer the question, "what do
There should be a set of business standards for you want to achieve in the future?".
quality. Entrepreneurs should define what quality
means to them. Is it the same expectation with our This question is even related to objectives or goals
current customers? "Quality" should be evident by that should follow these criteria, such as SMART.
highlighting what makes your product high quality. This mnemonic acronym was originally used by
George T. Doran in the November 1981 issue of
The second component of the mission statement is Management Review, regarding "There's a
the "customer," in which are the ones who will S.M.A.R.T. way to write management's goals and
potentially buy your product. objectives." Management Review, vol. 70, no. 11,
pp. 35- 36.
The third component, "market," states the area
where the business will be active to compete with According to SMART (Doran, 1981), every
its competitors. objective or goal should be:

The fourth component is "Philosophy." It explains S- Specific,

the beliefs and values having the lowest price for M- Measurable,
their products. This is effective for those who want A- Achievable or Assignable
to gain a target market. R- Relevant
T- Time bound
The fifth component is "self-concept," which is a
concept that is not common for businesses in the With the vision statement, anyone can relate to this
same industry. It is a very unique concept that statement by setting their own business goals in the
every entrepreneur should always continue to look future, fully guided by this acronym. Just a
at. reminder: when writing this statement, do not forget
to include the SMART acronym. In our example,
the year is "2025." We have to specify the exact business. Do not jump into the business and risk
year because this will be the goal of the business everything by committing to full time. It is very
that needs to work on it. Do not put in any year in important to start slowly but surely. If we cannot
which there is no certainty that our business will fully commit our time, effort, and financial
take place. To be safe, you can put the year which resources, we are not yet ready. Commit only a
is more achievable, like at least 5 years from now, percentage of what you are willing to risk.
to give ample time for the business to work on
these objectives or goals. Five (5) years will be a We can sell or do our business during our spare
realistic time frame. time after work or during weekends. Do not start a
FULL-TIME business while you are still working or
The word "market leader" describes a very strong studying unless you are well prepared and have
market position that the business wanted to excellent entrepreneurial skills. For the meantime,
achieve. When we say market leader, the business commit a few hours or days first, then try to have a
is the top priority of the customers. Leadership in feel of what is happening. That is the time when
the market indicates the ownership of the majority you can decide in the future if you can manage it
of the market in that industry. The business is the already. You can do your business after office
top choice in the minds of customers, offering a hours on weekdays or during free time on
product that is distinctively unique and above weekends. Never compromise your full-time job
everyone else. Usually, the market leaders are the with something that you are not sure of.
entrepreneurs who are innovative, unique, and
original. Our goal as a business is to not imitate Begin your business with a small start-up capital
products or services, but to set a standard and use based on your current capacity, and be creative in
the first mover advantage, which is the "business is determining how to create a business.
the first to offer that product or service."
Do not enter into a business if:
Area of scope or location where we wanted to be
the market leader. These areas should be properly ➢ You are only invited to have a business
reviewed and considered by studying if the area is because of greed or jealousy of someone
the right place for us to implement leadership. The who is already successful in the business
way that we can check if there is a need in these field.
areas is to conduct a market study or even ➢ If there is a "fad" in that business, they are
personally assess if the target customers are entering into a business that is very popular
present in these areas. If not, we have to change this season and will eventually fade if the
the location and find the right area for our own market need for that business is not strong
objectives. enough. For example, the milk tea business
is very popular. Eventually, you open your
Specific ways of reaching the market position own business without any planning and just
of the business. From time to time, if the open for the sake of opening a store.
entrepreneur assesses the situation and finds that Definitely, this store will not go far.
the 500 delivery personnel are not effective, it can ➢ You are not equipped to operate the
be changed to a smaller or bigger number. business. You do not have any knowledge
or experience in that industry.
Gradual shift ➢ If you are enticed to get a franchise
business without studying the concept of
The most effective and convenient way to franchising, It is better to start a small
be successful as an entrepreneur is to gradually business with your own concept, which is
shift from being an employee or student to being an more manageable for you.
entrepreneur by committing part-time initially to the
Recommended Business Decisions: Introvert, extrovert, ambivert
1. Small start-up company based on your
original concept. The terms "introvert," "extrovert," and "ambivert,"
2. Retail or wholesale distribution of a current coined by sociologist Kimball Young, are extremely
business product. helpful for any entrepreneur in determining how to
3. Avoid having a store with a high rental cost. start a business. Knowing ourselves will be
If you can do it at home, it's much better to essential for success. As entrepreneurs, we have to
have minimal expenses. be honest with ourselves and learn to discover our
strengths and weaknesses. Checking our
capabilities and limitations will help each of us build
CHAPTER 2 a solid foundation.
CHOOSING THE RIGHT BUSINESS FOR YOU
Introverts are very good at details and are very
The right business for you does not have to be observant as well. They have these skills that
based on what you feel is right for you or what require planning and administration. It's best for
other people think is best for you. It is best to know introverts to be assigned or work closely on
the business that is best for you according to the business planning, strategic planning,
required skills, money, and other factors. Venturing management, and administration of human
into a business is not a one-size-fits-all where one resources (people).
business may be good for you but not necessarily
good for them. Everyone has their own space and Extroverts are very confident when it comes to
place in the market. communicating with others, socializing with others,
and dealing with others, and they have very
Introvert: a personality trait that prefers to be alone creative ways of selling products or services.
or within oneself. Anything that involves building relationships with
customers and suppliers will best highlight their
Extrovert: an outgoing personality who enjoys skills.
social interaction and meeting new people
. Ambiverts are a combination of both introverts and
Ambivert: a personality trait characterized by a mix extroverts. This combination will be beneficial to the
of introversion and extrovert tendencies. business because every business requires two
personalities to make effective decision-making.
The terms introverted, extrovert, and ambivert
above were coined by sociologists in Kimball Factors that make an empowered entrepreneur
Young's Source Book for Social Psychology,
published in 1927. The formula from the above guide theory shows
that an "empowered entrepreneur" should
Factors that make an empowered entrepreneur: include the following factors: a renewed mindset,
the necessary entrepreneurial skills, aligned
Empowered Entrepreneur = Renewed Mindset + experience or exposure from doing the business,
Entrepreneurial Skills + Aligned Experience + excess money funds, committed time, and a
Excess Money Funds + Committed Time + sustainable business idea. If one or a few factors
Sustainable Business Idea are missing, then it will be challenging for the
entrepreneur to survive.
Excess Funds or Money = The amount or value of
business that is right for you
Renewed Mindset: changing the way of thinking 7. Observant: the ability to pay attention to
from being an employee to an entrepreneur. every detail and never miss out on
Prepare yourself for the expectations of being an important details, and understand how to be
entrepreneur. sensitive to what is going on in the industry.

There is a need to renew the mindset from 8. Engaging Communicator: the ability to
being a dependent employee into an speak by probing (asking questions
interdependent entrepreneur. properly) and listening to people in order to
send a message. These two are important
Entrepreneurial Skills: These are the necessary because effective communication does not
abilities that you need to have in order to succeed have a single approach to communication.
as an entrepreneur. You should be very slow at speaking and
very quick at listening to your customers.
There are 12 recommended entrepreneurial skills
that are necessary before you start a business and 9. Convincing Selling Capability: the ability
to be equipped as an entrepreneur. The following to close a deal, sell a product, and obtain a
skills consist of: repeat order. In a convincing sale, the seller
should be able to let her buyer understand
1. Creative Thinker: This person has out-of- and make them believe that there is a need
the-box ideas and very unique concepts that to purchase a product without relying on the
are very difficult to imitate by competitors. seller's guts and charm alone as the basis
Being creative also means the person is not of purchase.
afraid to try new things, concepts, or
decisions that might be helpful to the 10. Analytical Thinker: the ability to be
business. systematic and organized in solving any
business issue and having it interpreted, as
2. Risk-taker: willing to accept the possibility well as to understand the effects of an
of failure and to accept the consequences of entrepreneur's decision on the overall
any decisions made. condition of the business.

3. Innovative: willing to develop uncommon 11. People Person: the ability to engage and
products or services that will address the connect with various types of people, as
needs and wants of the customers. These well as lead and understand them.
are game changers in business.
12. Financial Literate: A person who is
4. Adaptable to change: the person can financially healthy (less or no debts) and
easily adjust to different situations, no wise in making money decisions. This
matter what the effect on the business is. person knows how to prioritize savings and
Openness to the possibility of adjustment investments and how to manage income
should always be entertained by the person. and expenses. The person is mature
enough to decide on what is important and
5. Multitasker: doing things at the same time what is not.
with tasks that are equally important to
complete.
Aligned Experience - This is the exposure and
6. Visionary: the ability to envision what the events in your life that are related to or connected
business's future will look like. This is what to doing business, whether they are based on your
the person wanted to be for the business. education, employment, or other factors.
 Determine the level of your competencies with Committed Time: This is the number of days and
such factors. hours of your time and effort that you have
committed to doing business. This time is so
There are four (4) factors affecting the precious, which means that you will be spending
success of an entrepreneur, namely: your hobbies, this time allotting your undivided attention to
education, work experience, or family background business.
in business. You rated yourself with these factors,
and the one with the highest level will be the best You cannot expect to get a better result if you both
business that is aligned with your experience. This commit to a full-time job and to one business full-
will be helpful in determining which business you time. A lot of entrepreneurs try to do this, but
should pursue. This only means that if you have a eventually fail. You have to decide if you will pursue
hobby that you love, this will be the business that it full time or part time. Being full-time means that
will best suit you. The degree you earned will also all your time is devoted to the business. You are in
be useful in starting a variety of businesses. If you charge of everything. You are the sole decision-
have a culinary degree, then starting a food maker here. You do not expect others to care about
business will be a priority. If you graduated from your business, but solely rely on you. For part-time
accountancy, then a financial consultancy will be an entrepreneurs, online selling and reselling are
option. The broad exposure you have in your work ideal for them.
will be the starting point to starting a business
where you are good at. Lastly, when you inherit a Sustainable Business Idea: The concept of how
business from a family member, it will be easy, but you want your business to be is referred to as a
most of the time, they will not be aligned with what "sustainable business idea." This is the source of
you want. your business plan, which includes the details
about the overall operation of the business. It
Excess Money Funds: the extra money that you includes the type of business, whether it is a
are not using but are willing to risk losing. This will product or service, and the functions of your
serve as the capital needed for the business. business, such as management, production,
operation, marketing, and finance. All these
Excess funds or money= the amount or value of functions are all integrated and aligned with one
business that is right for you. common idea. .When you study the market for the
business idea you have for your business, it will
If the total value of money is an indication that you either stay longer or sustain for a period of time.
have a good starting point in your initial business. If The details on how to create an effective business
the total value is negative, which means your idea will be explained in succeeding chapters.
expenses are greater than your income sources,
then you have to think twice if you will pursue going An "empowered entrepreneur" is someone who
into business. has the authority, control, freedom, and power to
create, maintain, and sustain their business. With
Ideally, a business is formed from all the excess an established business foundation, having
money that you have, which means that this acceptable knowledge, skills, and attitudes to
amount is the allowable amount for exposure to succeed is a must.
risk. Entering into a business is considered a risk in
itself, and it is not recommended to start a business Introvert, Extrovert, Ambivert
without a healthy financial condition. Do not place Working on the following business functions is
revolving money or limited sources at risk for your most productive for an introverted person:
business because it will definitely collapse later on
because you are using personal sources of income Possible examples of activities that you will be best
to support the business. suited for will be:
 Start to develop an "AMBIVERT" personality in
Management(Human Resources) you. Every business should be adaptable to the
Creating or conceptualizing business combination of both personalities, have an exact
policies and rules for employees, Developing job balance of both skills, and use them for the
descriptions and specifications. Reviewing the need improvement and growth of the business.
for possible additional staff hiring.
Factors that make an empowered entrepreneur
Production and Operations
Examining the quality control of machines After you have thoroughly assessed yourself, this is
and equipment; calculating the cost and pricing of the time that you have to commit and choose the
products or services and inventory management right business for you. In order to summarize the
factors that an entrepreneur should have and help
Marketing you decide what business will be the best fit for
Brainstorming of business ideas, logos, you, the template below and the next chapter will
packaging, etc. Conducting a marketing plan, explain your options for what type of business you
market research, and feasibility studies. Finding the may start. It is grouped according to your available
target market. funds and committed time to the business.

Financial Follow the following steps below before starting

Bookkeeping and computation of the your business, and assess yourself. Choose only
profitability of the business. one business that suits you. You will be able to get
it by reaching out to Step 6 below.
Working on the following business functions is
most productive for extroverts:

Possible examples of activities that you will be best

suited for will be:

Management (Human Resources)

Training of staff for specific skills that
require engagement and interaction

Production and Operations:

Ensuring that the procedures are properly
implemented in the business store or business
display area is very helpful for extroverts.

Marketing
Overall, in charge of the selling of the
products and services, advertising and promotions
are very good areas for extroverts too. Negotiation
and arrangements with customers and suppliers.

Financial
In charge of the sales activities that will
improve the profitability of the business.
 CHAPTER 3
ESTABLISHING YOUR DESIRED BUSINESS

It is important that you put in extra time and effort to

learn about the desired business that you will be
pursuing. It is not enough to simply imitate a
business model from a friend or someone you
know; you must learn by doing it from the ground
up. A strong foundation is necessary to have a
sustainable business. Being strong means that, as
an entrepreneur, you have to learn all the functions
of the business, such as marketing, management,
production operations, and finance. You are a more
empowered entrepreneur if you plan and are
prepared to establish your business, even if it is just
a small one.

These functions of the business should be

meticulously created and executed by the
entrepreneur so that it will be easy for them to
manage the business. Before an entrepreneur
formally starts to operate, they should first prepare
the necessary things for the business. Let us check
the options that you may have.

The last step given in order for you to choose your

business is categorically classified into four major
groups, such as:

1. Small Excess money with part time hours

(A)
2. Small Excess money with full time hours (B)
3. Big excess money with part time hours(C)
 4. Big excess money with full time hours(D)
A small sole proprietorship is any small
business, whether online or not, that is fully
operational and complete with management,
production, marketing, and financial functions of the
business.

Rental businesses are those that involve allowing

their customers to borrow their properties, cars, or
other items for a fee.

Expansion, or adding another business, means

growing the business by having another type of
source of income by adding another business.

Franchising is a type of business that involves

using someone else's business brand name and
strategies as their own business and implementing
them.

Export is the type of business that sends and sells

products outside of the country (abroad). An import
is the type of business that involves receiving or
obtaining goods from other countries.
Retailing is a type of business that involves selling
products in retail or small quantities, such as
Foreign investment involves putting up business
pieces.
outside of the country by establishing a branch or
foreign operation abroad.
Wholesaling is a type of business that involves
selling products in bulk or large quantities.
Retailing, Wholesaling, Distributorships
Distributorship is a type of business that involves
If you decide to choose retail, wholesaling,
wholesale distribution of products to various
or distributorship, then these are the easiest types
businesses.
of businesses to operate, especially for those
upcoming entrepreneurs who do not need more
Teaching is a type of business that includes
time and money to spend. The exposure to risk is
providing information or imparting knowledge to an
less, unlike with operating a full-blown business
individual on a specific topic. Training is a type of
such as a sole proprietorship. You can still work as
business that includes developing specific skills or
an employee and then do business on the side.
abilities for an individual.

In terms of production and operation, there is no

Consulting is a type of business that involves
need to pay and invest in maintaining high costs for
consultation with someone who is considered an
machines, equipment, and inventories, nor is there
expert or well-experienced individual and getting an
a need to hire staff. You may do it on your own. For
idea or insights from them.
marketing purposes, the products you are
handling are basically finished products,
Investing money in existing businesses means
manufactured by other businesses or companies.
putting extra money into businesses that generate
You cannot change the product anymore. The
more sales in the hope that they will provide
income in the future.
product's features and benefits are primarily programs for training that are relevant today. This
created by the manufacturer. training may be offered by the business on an
hourly or per-day basis.
Retailing is the type of business that focuses on a
wide variety of products, with a small quantity that Consulting is an option for those who want to work
you will offer in the market. For example, if you sell with companies or businesses to help them with
a finished product manufactured by another their operations by getting their ideas, expertise, or
company, such as chips, you may also have even experience. It requires connection or
cookies, perfume, and so on. networking with the owners.

For wholesaling, unlike retail, the concentration is Invest money in existing businesses
on bigger quantities of items for a few different For this option of business, it requires a
products. In wholesale, you generally have a very thorough analysis of an existing business that they
large stock of items per product. want to invest in. The existing business here is any
established business of your choice that is
A product distributorship is considered more operating and performing well in terms of sales.
complex because it involves selling products When looking for an existing business, look for one
coming from the main suppliers coming from other that has a strong brand, a good reputation, and is
countries while your business serves as the main regarded as a leader in the industry. Investing
distributor of the product in your local country. A money involves taking a risk by putting a certain
distributorship in the Philippines usually involves a amount of money at risk by being an investor or
transaction with a foreign supplier distributor in the being a partner in the business,
Philippines of imported chocolate coming from
Taiwan. is Small Sole Proprietorship
Opening a small sole proprietorship
SUMMARY: business is one of the most basic types of business
that a new entrepreneur can consider, because this
business is a full-blown business. Being a full-
blown business means that all of the functions are
being handled by the owner, such as marketing,
management, production, operations, and finance.
This type of business will give the new
entrepreneur hands-on experience of what a real
business looks like. It is considered challenging
because, as an entrepreneur, you have to be ready
Teaching, training, and consulting
to perform all the functions. It is a must to really
know the business details well.
A business related to teaching, like a school or
center, is one of the most in demand nowadays, but
most of them are online, which means fewer
Rental businessThis type of business is
operating expenses. All you have to do is prepare
considered an easy one because it only requires
your skills and take advantage of this with the use
one focus, which is the operation of renting an item
of technology. You could bill your customers on a
to your prospective customer. In order for you to do
per-output or per-hour basis.
this, you need to purchase an item so that you can
continue with this type of business. Renting
involves allowing your customer to use your item
for a specific price or value. Prices vary and change
Training businesses require hiring or having a
depending on the type of item. An example of a
pool of trainers who will create training modules or
common rental business usually involves cars, franchisor) depending on the percentage of the
houses, equipment and machines, warehouses, total sales of the franchise. Some might charge a
and other electrical equipment. franchise fee every month, every year, or
depending on the specified terms.
Expansion, or adding another business
For an existing business, if it is your goal to Export
earn more income, one way to do that is to find In this type of business wherein the
another possible business, which is through entrepreneur sells the product outside of the
expansion and adding another business. Expansion country, it is very important to understand that the
simply means widening the operations of your quality of the products should be above standards
business by putting more branches in different and at least meet the international standards of the
locations. A good business plan should be made chosen country where you will deal with your
first in order to make it more effective. Adding business. It is very important to know the export
another business may involve venturing into having rules of the chosen country to avoid several
another business that is not related to the conflicts whenever you start a business. The
entrepreneur's business. For example, if you are in entrepreneur should ask the country for their own
the food business, you can add a clothing business. specifications for their products.
It is also better to try a strategy called "backward
integration," where the entrepreneur can have Import
another business by being a supplier or In this type of business, the entrepreneur
manufacturer of the supplies that they need for the deals with getting products from outside the country
business. Through it, the entrepreneur can also sell and selling them in the home country. It is very
it to other business owners as well. important to understand the legality of the company
that they are dealing with. Imported goods must be
Franchising legally permitted to be sold in their home country.
For this type of business, the entrepreneur Import quotas on the number of allowed products
should be aware of several expenses attached to it, are subject to approval by the government.
which are the franchise fee and royalty fee.
Franchising might look easy to manage due to a Foreign investment
more stable management and business model, It involves placing money in a business
unlike if you are starting your business from outside of one's home country to support its
scratch, where a lot of things have to be checked operations. This type of investment is not only
and risks are involved. A lot of aspiring limited to financial investment but can include
entrepreneurs consider this a shortcut to success, human capital, machines, or infrastructure
but unfortunately, the majority of them are not able investment by putting it there as their own
to make it due to a lack of knowledge about investment. Training people, putting up machines
franchising. It is very important to ask yourself if and developing structures in a potential country will
you are willing to pay for the franchise fee and make this investment possible. There is a huge
royalty fee. The franchise fee, which is a fee to be amount of funds or money needed for this type of
used for using the business model of the business, business. It is riskier than the usual type of
which includes the brand, getting marketing business.
assistance, etc. Normally, for the majority of
franchise owners (franchisors), they set a one-time
franchise fee for their franchisees (entrepreneurs),
which is good. For some, they need to pay it every
year or in other terms, but it depends on the
franchise owner. On the other hand, the royalty Retailing, Wholesaling, Distributorships
fee is a fee paid to the franchise owner (the
If you are the type of person who does not want to important that you have a lot of experience or
check a lot of items, it is preferred to focus on exposure in dealing with different businesses, as
wholesaling. But if you want excitement and this will give you more knowledge and insight that
challenges with different types of products, then you can use whenever you pursue getting clients to
retail is for you. You may expose yourself to render your consulting services. An example of this
distributorship for those products that are is that, as an accountant, you can get clients from
saleable in your country or those that have a strong big companies who are in need of your expertise in
brand. It involves the familiarity of the supplier in terms of accounting, like the taxation concerns with
order to pursue this type of business. the BIR. You may have a scheduled consultation
with the company every week and charge them
The best products for retailing and wholesaling based on your per-hour basis,
are still related to food and consumer items such as
beauty products or anything related to beauty, Opening a small school is great if it is aligned with
which will work well as a retail and wholesaling your course or background. If you already have a
business. It is better to start with a few items first as degree in business, then a business school is the
a starting business, then later review the set of best option to consider. Operating an online school
products that are fast-moving products or best- is one of the most convenient and cost-efficient
seller products. It is better not to focus on too many types of schools, and it is much easier to operate
items because it is a more effective and efficient than traditional schools. No high rental costs are
approach to do this. needed for your school rooms. All are converted to
online.
For distributorship, it is best to concentrate on
international products that are very appealing to the Training centers can be limited to certain in-
Filipino market. As of this time, with the landscape demand courses; the best ones are related to
of distributorship, Korean items are still the corporate training or beneficial to companies, such
dominant distributorship business, which is relevant as training related to sales, leadership, customer
nowadays and still booming in the Philippines. service, financial literacy, and bookkeeping. Other
followed by Chinese and American items. For other training which is also good to start is cooking
international products, if you still want to continue training, computer or technical training, which is
doing business with this type of product, you should very useful in everyday transactions of individuals
first check if there is a strong need for those and businesses.
products in the target area you will be choosing.
Good feasibility studies and business planning are Consulting services are the type of business that
necessary in order to pursue other international most professionals do as additional sources of
products not mentioned above. Food and non-food income or as their main business. It is better to
distributorships are still the emerging types of have a pool of professionals who have expertise in
distributorships. a specific field than to offer consulting services.
Usually, consultancy services are charged on a
Teaching, training, and consulting per-hour basis or per-project basis. Other
For example, if you graduated from a business companies charge customers per day too. You can
course, your business related to teaching can be a calculate your consultation fee by determining how
school or center offering a short course or degree, much it will cost you to complete the project and
but due to the pandemic, it is best to establish an how many days and hours it will take you to
online school or center offering different webinars complete it. That is the basis of your charge.
as well. The training center can offer online
webinars and workshops for all their customers.
Including key people whom you know can help you Invest money in existing businesses
in rendering services. In consulting, it is very
It is better to invest your hard-earned money in an Instagram. Any skills that are acceptable to both
existing business with a strong brand, which means parties can be used as your investment in the
that they are well known in the market. If you business. You may discuss this with other owners
cannot invest in a big business, you may start with of how many percentages will be the distribution
a small business within your area that is operating that you will get from this skill. In some instances,
and has sold a lot of its products or services. One both parties may agree that you can get a
way to check is by their number of sales. percentage of income from the business, or the
business owner will just offer a one-time
The first way of investing is through financial investment. Then they will pay you a certain
means. For entrepreneurs with limited excess amount commensurate with the skills you have
money, you may initially invest in stocks or bonds given, plus interest if needed.
offered by top corporations in the Philippines.
These are the companies that are considered Small sole proprietorship
"stable businesses". You may check the Philippine Start-up entrepreneurs' starting point is that
Stock Exchange to invest in stocks, or go to your they registered a business as a sole proprietorship,
bank to check available investment funds, or check which is the most basic form of business. It is
if there are some corporate bonds issued by challenging because, being small, you do
corporations. everything. All the functions of business, such as
management, marketing, management, and
Stocks are usually ownership interests in finance, are performed by the owner. The author
companies where the investor (you) puts a certain suggests that whenever you start your business,
amount in and invests it in the company, later you should really plan the nature of the business
getting income through dividends. that you will be pursuing. Do the recommended
guides presented in the next chapter and
Bonds are issued by companies which represent conceptualize all the different functions so that
their borrowing of money from investors (you) and everything is in place.
you get paid interest later on once the bond
expires. With regards to the advantages of sole
proprietorship in terms of finances, you may apply
Some businesses usually allow other business through DTI for your sole proprietorship as a
owners to invest money in their business for business under BMBE (Barangay Micro Business
the following reasons: Enterprise). To avail of such privileges as
exemptions from the minimum wage law and other
1. Existing business owners are in need of financial-related benefits that will be further
additional capital to be used for buying their discussed in succeeding chapters related to
supplies or ingredients. finances.
2. To be used to buy equipment, machines, or
company vehicles. Rental businesses
3. Invested money is to be used for marketing Rental businesses only require the items
purposes for their business. you need for rental. No need to maintain high costs
for holding or maintaining products or pay for rent.
Secondly, invest your skills in the other
businesses. This is the type of investment where Suggested rental businesses that can generate an
you use your skills and knowledge to be used by income include: apartment, house or condo rental,
other businesses to their advantage. For example, vehicle rental, machine or equipment rental. Other
if you are good at computer editing, you can offer businesses use their unused spaces in their
your skills to the business to be used in their business to be rented as a source of additional
marketing on social media sites like Facebook or income for them.
 Export
Expansion, or adding another business, Businesses who are interested in exporting
Expansion of business or adding a business products outside of the Philippines should have the
may be best if your first business is already highest quality standards set for their products and
successful and stable. Do not expand or add they should pass the required standards of the
another business if you just feel that you just want international market. If the business can already do
to have it due to competition and without knowing if export operations, the production operations of the
there is a need to have it in the area. The basis business should be checked meticulously.
includes: growth of customers and there is a need
to serve those additional customers; there is some Good items for export include food and non-food
excess money or funds due to the increase in products that are well known in the home country or
income of the business which is coming from the have a need in the foreign market. We can export
business sales. Another basis is that there is a products that we have abundant resources for here
strong potential that your current business needs in the country, like, for example, if our country has
additional products that will help it boost its abundant plantations for coconut, then we can
business performance. Expansion also requires a export products and by-products related to it
feasibility study or business plan before you because it will not be a problem in terms of scarcity.
proceed with this decision.
Import
An example of expansion is adding a second Import products that are limited in our
branch or office. If the main business is banana country and can help the consumers in our country
cake, then you may add business in terms of with their consumption. You need to have direct
ingredients or supplies for baking. contact with suppliers if you are going to pursue
importation of this. Take advantage of those
Franchising countries with high acceptance from the public.
Expose yourself only to this type of
business if you feel that you do not have enough Foreign investment
time to conceptualize the business and just follow It is better to invest first financially or use human
and implement the established business model of capital (sending foreign employees outside the
the franchise. If you decide to get one, look for an country) as a starter, so that it will give you an idea
established franchise with a strong brand and with of how the business works in a certain country. Do
a low franchise fee as much as possible. Double not invest in putting an actual operation or sites in a
check the royalty fee being offered by the foreign country initially. To avoid a lot of risks, it is
franchisor because one of the problems being better to take the first two options first before you
faced by entrepreneurs who get a franchise is proceed with putting up the actual operation.
having a high royalty fee and having difficulty Putting up a business outside or on sites is more
increasing their sales. The royalty fee is based on complicated and involves some checking of the
the sales of the franchise, and the franchisor sets country's legal conditions.
the percentage of sales as the royalty fee.

For starters, an acceptable franchise is a franchise

that is related to small food carts or a franchise of a
small store. Getting a franchise for a well-known big
brand requires a lot of money, so it is better to get a
franchise with a lower franchise fee. The higher the
franchise fee, the longer the time of return on CHAPTER 4
investment. EMPOWERED BY SUSTAINABLE MARKETING
Generally, in marketing, as explained by McCarthy
(1960), the main focus should be on the following Brand name is the name, word, or term that
areas: product, price, place, and promotion. Such identifies the product that is usually created by the
areas are also known as the "4 P's of marketing," owner or entrepreneur.
which originated with E. Jerome McCarthy, an
American marketer. As an entrepreneur, this Symbol or logo is created and used as the
particular area should be planned and executed business representation by the entrepreneur
very well. Unfortunately, based on the observation through letters, pictures, or shapes with
of the author and his consulting experience with corresponding colors that best describe the
different micro, small, and medium-sized business.
enterprises (MSME) entrepreneurs, this area is the
most unplanned and underestimated by the Tagline is a catchy statement created and used by
entrepreneurs. This is an area that causes them to a business to create strong brand awareness for
have major problems, such as low sales, or even their customers.
worse, causes them to fail and force them to close
their businesses. Product or Service Features are the complete
description or characteristics of the product or
It is better to start working on this area of the service, such as the size, color, design, weight,
business early enough to get it right the first time so unique quality, quantity, or anything that will
that it will not be difficult for the entrepreneur to describe the product or service.
make some major improvements later on as the
business gets started. Every business should be Product or Service Benefits are anything that you
creative enough to think of these 4 P's that they will get from a product or service once you buy it.
want to see in their business. The guide business This is based on the features of the product or
that the author will use in all the examples and service.
illustrations will be based on the cupcake business.
The name of the business that we will be using Price
here as an example for illustration is Haven A set price is the set amount that the customer
Cupcake and Pastries Shop, which offers a brand needs to pay for the product or service that they get
called Heavenly Cupcakes, a vanilla cupcake with from the entrepreneur or seller.
pink frosting. The author used this name for
illustration purposes only. Costing is the detailed computation of the
expenses involved in manufacturing the product or
Product cost of doing the service.
The first thing that every entrepreneur must
do is to create a product or service that they will be Pricing is the activity of setting the final price of the
selling to the market that they will be entering. Let product or service after doing the costing.
us begin with one main product or service, and then
you can apply the same strategy to your Place
subsequent products or services. A place is considered the location where your
customer can find the product or service.
Brand, as defined by Philip Kotler (2016) in his
book Principles of Marketing, is a name, term, sign, A target market is the sure set of customers that
or design, or a combination of these, that identifies every entrepreneur will be selling their products or
the maker or seller of a product or service. A brand services to. It can be in the same location
is the unique identifier of entrepreneurs compared mentioned above or in another location.
to their competitors in the market, and this will show
or describe the actual product or service. Promotion
Promotion is the set of activities undertaken by 2. Entrepreneurs improve the existing products
entrepreneurs to promote a product or service and or services only.
make them well known to their customers by doing 3. They sell products that are based on fads
sales promotion or advertising. (uso) or what is hot selling today.
4. They sell products or services that they
Advertising is an activity created by entrepreneurs want the entrepreneur to sell.
to promote products or services by using print, TV,
radio, face-to-face, and social media platforms to If you create your products or services based on
sell or inform their customers about the specifics of the above actual actions, you will definitely not stay
their offering. in the industry for long. So it is better to create
your own product or service that has a unique
Sales promotion is a promotional activity used by strong need in the market you are moving into.
entrepreneurs where the customer is convinced to
buy the product or services offered to them due to Brand
the instruction given by the seller. Creating a strong product or service will initially
start by thinking of a brand. Brand represents the
The author created various steps for you to image of your business. Because a brand is a
complete in order to properly guide you on what to combination of a name, term, sign, or logo, it
do in order. should be easy to remember by the customers.

Step 1: Think of a product or service together Brand name: As much as possible, the brand
with the brand, brand name, logo, tagline, and name should be easy to remember and associated
product or service features and benefits. with the business's product or service and its
customers. Never create a brand name that is too
Product or Service confusing or too long. If you have a wide variety of
products or services for different target market
Starting here, choosing the right product or service customers, it is best to create a sub-brand for them.
to be offered in the market should be done first.
Symbol and Logo
The first rule is to offer a product or service that Having a meaningful symbol, which is any shape,
will help you generate sales and will stay longer figure, color, letters, or anything that is connected
in the market. Check your target area or or will make any representation of the business, will
location and look for those customers. Ask be good. Business owners typically use this as an
them. Analyze if they have a need for what you effective way to show their customers their image.
plan to offer on the market. It will show if the business is conservative or
aggressive through the use of shapes and strong
Having the wrong product will be a mess in your colors. It is better to know the mission and vision of
business. the business so that it is aligned with the business.
In strategic planning of the business, this can be
Based on the observation and experiences of the changed every five (5) years ideally, and it depends
author with the entrepreneurs, the following are the on the owner's decision.
usual actions of the entrepreneurs:

1. Some entrepreneurs only imitate existing Entices the customer to buy due to the inclusion of
products, and do not create unique and a statement or tagline from their business. It is
original concepts for their products or very important that the tagline matches what you
services. want to portray to your customers. The picture
should be something that is considered your "best
seller" or specialty to highlight your brand image. should correspond to what you do in marketing as
If you do not like the picture of the actual cupcake, well as the actual product. There are some
you may use any symbol that will represent the entrepreneurs who failed to produce a good
business. product or service that is long-lasting because they
missed the uniqueness of its features.
For the brand name, for the main brand, this
symbol or logo should be used, but for your sub Product or Service Benefits
brand you may use another logo, and you can do This should be detailed when explaining to
that by changing or modifying the color of the the customers what advantage they will get from
existing one or adding something from the existing the products or services that the business owners
symbol or logo to differentiate it from the main will provide. If the customers do not get what they
brand name. deserve, then they will look for something else.

The tagline should be concise and straight to the Step 2: Determine the cost of your product or
point. English, Tagalog, or any language can be service and establish a price for it.
used to make it more attractive to customers
whenever they hear it. Avoid long statements Price
because customers will easily get bored. Price is one of the most problematic parts of the
business that most entrepreneurs fail to address or
The use of rhyme words may be appealing to solve properly. A lot of entrepreneurs
customers, so you can think of words or phrases underestimate the effect that this will have on their
that will best fit your product or services. Once they business. Pricing and costing should be computed
hear this statement, it should be easy to the right way. There are some entrepreneurs who
understand and to recall. set the price without properly doing the right cost,
and some who do the cost but do not set the price.
Product or Service Features Then they may experience some losses or not
Features will highlight your product's or experience earnings from the business due to this
service's advantage(s) over the competition. problem. Remember to compute first (costing) and
then set a strategy for pricing.
As much as possible, the feature is something that
makes the product or service "unique".
For costing
Features can be unique if: Every entrepreneur should know how to
differentiate between all costs. Costing varies with
1. The business is the only one who is offering the following cost terms related to products or
that product or service to the market (first to services you produce and those costs that are not
initiate). related to products or services but related to other
2. It is very hard to imitate your competitors. expenses by the business. Every entrepreneur
3. A creative idea needs to compute the allocation of all the costs for
4. It is not replaceable by other brands or all their products or services. Do not forget to make
businesses. a detailed computation of these.
5. Original concept
Learn how to identify the differences between
As an entrepreneur, the features of the product or all costs.
services will be the guide that your business will
follow for the next few months or years after you Types of Costs:
start operating. This should be properly researched
and match the customers that you will be serving. It This is a summary of the types of costs
 just secondary in terms of the priority for
PRODUCT OR SERVICE COST your business to survive. The business can
Cost directly related to production or manufacturing survive without or with only a portion of
● Fixed Product or Service cost these costs.
● Variable Product or Service cost
Examples: display cabinet, postpaid plan for your
mobile phone.
OVERHEAD OR OPERATING COSTS OR
OTHER COSTS Variable Cost
Cost not directly related to production or In the case of services, the items listed here
manufacturing are those items needed by the business to render
● Fixed Overhead Costs the service. Instead of variable product cost, this
● Variable Overhead Costs will be referred to as variable service cost, which
may include intangible items and can be calculated
1. Fixed costs or fixed product costs in hours rather than pieces. This is more
(related to production or manufacturing of a challenging to compute due to the nature of the
product or service) are expenses incurred in computation in relation to time or other factors.
producing a product or service that do not
change no matter how many products or Here is an example of the variable service cost:
services are created by the business. These
costs need to be paid even if the business If the nature of your business is service, you need
does not have any production at all for a to compute the following, which includes the Labor
certain day, month, or year. per hour-minutes used in the service, machine or
equipment per hour- minutes used, raw materials
Examples are: salary for the production staff paid per hour-minutes used, vehicle per hour-minutes
per day, week, or month, used.

Rental of warehouse space, manufacturing Fixed Cost

equipment, or a vehicle It is advisable to determine and identify how
much of your final product or service price is
2. Variable costs or variable product costs allotted for fixed costs. In this way, the owner will
(related to production or manufacturing of a know if the costs are too high or too low. Being
product or service) are expenses in aware of this will help the entrepreneur make some
producing a product or service that change necessary adjustments. Usually, for fixed costs,
with the number of products or services you set a specific time frame for when you want the
created by the business. cost to be recovered and paid. If you have
recovered the fixed cost already by including it in
Examples: Ingredients for a cupcake, Payment for your cost, it does not mean that you will stop
the packaging box, Electricity used in machine, including it in your per unit cost, but you can still
Water used in production, Transportation cost continue adding it as you use the said cost for
production.
3. Overhead costs (not related to production
or manufacturing of products or services) These are the typical expenses incurred by the
are expenses that can be fixed or variable owner in our example of a previously purchased
and are not used in the production of a business to be used for processing, manufacturing,
product or service. This type of expense can or rendering of products, with the fixed product cost
be adjusted or changed from time to time if mentioned above. It includes machines, equipment,
needed, and the importance of this cost is or any tools related to production.
Usually, the owner purchases the said items initially An overhead variable cost such as printer ink can
at the start of business operations. Some owners, if be a possible overhead for this type of business.
they have a limited budget, tend to rent these This is not directly related to the product.
items. But if the owner will purchase these items,
the best way to set a specific fixed cost should be For Pricing:
computed and distributed for a specific number of Price, as defined by the majority, is the sum or
years. amount of money or its equivalent for which
anything is bought, sold, or offered for sale. Pricing
For example, a cost can be distributed per item of strategies, on the other hand, are the methods
production according to the computed per-piece used by businesses to increase sales and
cost. One of the mistakes of the owner- maximize profits by selling goods or services for a
entrepreneur is that they automatically include the fixed price (amount).
expense in the setting of the prices. That is why the
computed cost will be high for the prices of the There are several pricing strategies that you can
product or services. choose from that will help set your price right. Here
are some strategies that are common to
An entrepreneur can use the following strategy entrepreneurs:
to determine how to use fixed product costs
(machines, equipment, or tools) in setting final 1. Cost-based pricing, or cost-plus pricing,
prices for products or services: is the type of pricing in which we calculate
the overall production cost
1. Calculate for the number of days, months, or
years that the cost will be equally distributed and 2. Demand pricing is the type of pricing by
added to all items produced by the business. which products are sold at different prices
by retailers or wholesalers whose prices are
Note: As an entrepreneur, you are the only one determined by demand. Both retail and
who can set the time frame of how long you want to wholesale pricing are based on the initial
recover the costs you paid for the fixed costs. The computation made using cost-based pricing,
higher the amount of the fixed product cost, the followed by additional computation to arrive
longer the time that you can recover the amount at these retail and wholesale prices.
paid for it. 2.1 Wholesale Pricing: A
wholesaler gets a lower price when they buy
The lower the amount of the fixed product cost, the in large quantities.
shorter the time that you can recover the amount
paid for it. FORMULA
Wholesale Price = Materials Cost +Labor Cost +
Always convert the anticipated number of days or Other Cost +Tax if any + Profit Margin (Mark up)
months to the anticipated number of days.
Or
2. Set a standard amount to be added to the
computation of the cost of the product or service. Wholesale Price = Fixed Cost +Variable Cost +
Overhead Costs+ Tax if any+ Profit Margin
The overhead fixed cost here is the cost incurred (Mark up)
by the business in using the telephone for
communication with their customers. It can be a 2.2 Retail Pricing: When retailers
landline or a mobile phone, which is more buy in small quantities, they receive a
applicable for the business, higher price.
 location should be matched to the target market or
FORMULA customers. The owner should offer a different set of
Retail Price = Wholesale price x 2 products to each district that will match their current
needs and preferences.
3. Market Skimming Pricing is a pricing
strategy in which the owner sets a high Step 4: Adapt with an effective promotion to
price for their product or service first, then reach out to customers.
reduces the price in the future. This is used
whenever the owner wants to recover the Promotion
cost of their investment first. Promotion is the process by which your
customers learn about the products or services that
4. Market Penetration Pricing is a pricing you provide in the market. Promotion can be done
strategy in which the owner sets a low price by having an advertisement on TV, radio, and
for the product or service first, and then, online using social media such as Facebook,
later in the future, the owner will increase Instagram, Youtube, and Tiktok. Conducting sales
the price. The owner uses this in order to promotions is another way by which the owner
penetrate or establish a target market for encourages the customer to buy the product or
their customers. In general, customers avail services and then get the incentives. Both are
usually find a cheaper price available in the beneficial to the customers so that the business will
market. have an increase in brand awareness and the
customers will be able to know the business more.
5. Psychological Pricing is a pricing strategy
in which the owner is based on the idea that Example of Promotion:
people will often make purchases based on a. Sales Promotion
emotion whenever they see the price When offering sales promotions such as
instead of using their own logic. 50%, 30% or 70%, you have to make a strategy to
offer this to products or services that are not fast
6. Value-based pricing is a pricing strategy in moving or not performing well.
which the owner focuses on the customer's
perception of the product or service. Make a schedule for the day, week, or month
when you will offer the sale or discount to your
7. Geographical pricing is the pricing customers. This will encourage them to buy more
strategy of the owner by which the prices and to look forward to exciting offers soon.
are adjusted based on the location of the
customers. The owner may set a different Best-seller products offer an idea that your
price in one area than in another. business offers a product or even service that is
considered in demand in the market.
Step 3: Find the right place in your chosen
location where you can sell your product. These products have a unique product offering or
something that is superb in quality or features.
Place b. Advertising
A product or service location is the location The new way of doing promotion involves
where you sell the product or service and where the the use of the term "omni channel", where the
target market customers are situated and actively business should be available on multiple channels
transacting transactions. If using the map of such as online (website, social media, email, SMS,
Laguna, Philippines, then the owner should be able and apps) and offline (retail store, call, face-to-
to identify where specifically the products of the face).
business will get enough sales. Choosing the right
Mobile marketing is being used to promote The terms "labeling" and "packaging" are
products or services, or to offer products or usually used in product-based types of businesses,
services for sale. but it does not entirely mean that services do not
use any of these. In services, the focus might be on
Online - creating a website to promote your how to deliver the services fast and complete, but
business. there are some services that also offer products as
part of the operation that require proper packaging
Free web hosting examples: and labeling. The same concept and tips can be
used for both businesses. Labeling has a
InfinityFree, Wix, 000WebHost, Google Cloud mandatory requirement set by the Food and Drugs
Hosting, AwardSpace, Freehostia, FreeHosting, Administration (FDA) Philippines that will be
ByetHost, Hyper PHP, FreeWebHostingArea discussed in Chapter 9.

Social Media - using Facebook (Page, Packaging is the activity of every business that
Marketplace, Messenger), Instagram, Tiktok and involves enclosing food or non- food products in a
Twitter, as well as Youtube Channel container in order to distribute them to the
customer. Packaging involves creating, designing,
Shopping Platforms - Lazada, Shopee and producing the container, wrapper, or any
material for a product.
Call and Text use mobile and landline phones to
send messages to customers and to take phone As the business owner, you have several options
calls. for packaging, and using the right packaging will
make your company more appealing to your target
Email- sending advertisements or information to customers.
customers. Retail Stores- use of in-store displays to
advertise or promote products or services. Types of Packaging:

Face to face- the use of flyers and posters 1. Tray: it can be made of plastic, styrofoam,
informing customers about the current promotion or paper. It can also come with a cover. It is
and advertisement of the featured product or commonly used for meats, breads or other
services. food items.

Here are some practical examples or methods that 2. Bags: this is the most common type of
a business owner can use to promote their product packaging, which is made of plastic or
or services. paper and is used for coffee, chips, cookies,
bread, or any food or non-food item. It
1. Use of Cash Discounts, percentage sales, comes in different sizes, from small to large.
or FREE Shipping
2. When selling your products, you should 3. Boxes are made from carton paper of
respond to customers' initial text messages. different sizes, maybe colored or not. For
3. Create a follow-up text message non-food items, this is also applicable for
4. Provide and offer an answer to the inquiry shipping fragile items. The box is used to
about the product. protect the item from any damage.

Step 5: Create and design your product's or 4. Cans are usually made of metal and are
service's packaging and labeling. used for packing processed foods like
canned goods, fish, meat, and drinks, etc.
Labeling and packaging
 This packaging preserves the product life, and traceability. Labeling is used to identify the
longer. product, brand, describe the attributes and provide
promotion.
5. Carton: This is made of paperboard and is
commonly used for cereal, cookies, and The labeling regulations set by the Food and Drugs
other food products. Administration Philippines are listed in Chapter 9
for your reference.
6. Flexible Packaging: This is the new way of
packaging food by having a resealable lock Parts of the Label
or with caps. According to the Food and Drug
Administration (FDA) of the Philippines, any
7. Wrapper is the type of packaging that is product must comply with two basic parts, such as:
used for protecting individual foods or items.
The labeling for individual wrappers is 1. Principal Display Panel (PDP) or
usually seen in the main packaging. This is Alternate Principal Display Panel
most common for candies and sweets. It is the portion of the package label
that is seen by the consumer.
8. Aseptic processing packaging is used for It is also known as the Alternate
foods that require longer preservation times. Principal Display Panel, the other surface of
Aseptic packages are made of a mixture of the package that is suitable for PDP.
paper, polyethylene, and aluminum and
contain a tight inside layer of polyethylene. Rectangular container
Required information:
According to qrcode-tiger.com (2022), these are
ten product packaging trends that can be seen - Product Identity Name
on different products this year: - Net Content Declaration

1. Technology-enabled solutions Cylindrical Container

2. Sustainable product driven packaging - less 40% of the height of the container times the
cost packaging circumference.
3. Environmental-friendly product driven
packaging - packaging materials good for Other shaped container
environment 40% of the total surface area excluding
4. Story-driven food packaging trend tops, bottom, flanges of cans and shoulders and
5. The minimalist food packaging trend necks of bottles and jars
6. Customized packaging
7. Food packaging that drives offline e- If the container has an obvious PDP, that is, the top
commerce to online of a triangular or rectangular package, the area
8. A food packaging design trend that can shall consist of the entire top surface.
collect feedback - Feedback QR code for
product review
9. Retro and Vintage packaging + modern 2. Information Panel
packaging This is the label panel to the right of
10. The anti-counterfeit packaging design trend the Principal Display Panel (PDP). If this
panel is too small, the information panel is
Labeling immediately seen on the next right.
It is readily available information to inform If a package has one or more PDPs,
the consumer about the product's contents, shelf the one closest to the right is used.
 If the top of the container is PDP, the
information panel is any panel adjacent to 2. Match your product with your target
PDP. market.

Required Information: "Assign a product or set of product lines in your

- Name and Address of Manufacturer, target area and never settle for just putting a wrong
packer, distributor product in your market."
- Ingredients list - Dr.Caesar Apolinar Ramirez Jr
- Country of origin
- Nutrition facts 3. Effectively use the FOCUS strategy on your
best product line.
Product
Trim down your product lines into a more profitable
Brand and delightful experience with your customers.
- It is better to have one main brand for your Remove the non-performing products."
business and set up sub-brands for the -Dr.Caesar Apolinar Ramirez Jr
variety of your product lines. Limit the
number of sub-brands to a minimum. 4. Make an effort to specialize and not
- Avoid too many sub-brands for all your generalize your product lines.
products.
- Launch the sub brands every quarter, every "Use the NICHE strategy to specialize products
6 months, or every year so that you have that are considered the weaknesses of your
enough time for every brand so that it will be competitors."
strong and well known to customers. - Dr.Caesar Apolinar Ramirez Jr

Product Development Strategies Tips: 5. Develop a product based on your mission

and vision for your business.
"A sustainable product or service has the ability to
profitably prolong its existence in the market by "Review your mission and vision and align it with
focusing on the relevant customer needs, wants, the current situation in the market and develop a
and demands and creating an impact and strong product out of it."
market preference in favor of their products." -Dr.Caesar Apolinar Ramirez Jr
-Dr. Caesar Apolinar Ramirez Jr.-
6. Create and offer a product with distinctively
Decisions on what type of product to produce? UNIQUE and DEEP product features

1. Develop a totally new product and do not "An effective deep product is those who work on
imitate existing products. customer-centric products that are standout from
customer expectations. Deep products have a story
"The product leader will always stay longer in the on their own and can sell on their own."
competition and it is very difficult for the product - Dr.Caesar Apolinar Ramirez Jr
follower to sustain in the game."
- Dr.Caesar Apolinar Ramirez Jr How to make it unique? It should be non-
comparable. How to make it deep? It should
The main question for business owners is what connect to the customer.
type of product they will offer to the market. Make a
unique product that will stand out from the 7. Apply a strategic MULTIBRANDING
competition. approach to all performing products.
 business, etc. Based on the wide experience and
"Sustainable product development is finding or exposure of the author in mentoring and helping
opening a valued space in the current market." MSME, the production operation is the most
-Dr.Caesar Apolinar Ramirez Jr underestimated function and gets a lot of problems
from the owners because of their lack of knowledge
Pricing and mismanagement.
In setting the price of the product or service, The standard production quantity is related
it is necessary to compute the cost correctly and to the previous chapter about cost and pricing. It is
set the price afterwards. Some entrepreneurs have necessary to establish a standard production
a bad habit of simply copying the price set by the quantity for each unit of product manufactured or
industry or their competitors without properly service rendered by the company. With this set
computing or doing the cost. standard, it will be easy for the business to
determine the number or quantity of raw materials
Recommended Pricing Strategies for various needed for the production. Whenever the business
industries does the ordering, they should set a specific
quantity per order with their supplier to ensure that
❖ The best pricing strategy for small they will not run out of stock or overstock.
business owners is a value-based pricing Every entrepreneur should plan ahead of
strategy. time to standardize all of the operations' processes.
❖ Best construction business pricing All decisions made by the entrepreneur will have an
strategies are: cost-plus pricing, value- effect on other functions such as marketing and
based pricing, and psychological pricing. financial. This chapter will give the entrepreneur a
❖ Best eCommerce business pricing guide on how to set such a standard that is
strategies: cost-plus pricing, psychological effective and efficient in the long run.
pricing, and market penetration pricing.
❖ Best product pricing strategies are: cost- Products are the items that the entrepreneur
plus pricing, psychological pricing, and intends to produce through the business. The
market skimming. product can be a single or multiple offerings,
❖ Best service business pricing strategies: depending on the market target of the business.
value-based pricing, skimming, and cost-
plus pricing Services are non-tangible business offerings made
by an entrepreneur to his or her customers.

Standard Operating Procedures (SOP): These

are the acceptable step-by-step activities that a
business uses as a guide in manufacturing,
operating, or performing their business in order to
CHAPTER 5 keep it effective and efficient at all times.
EMPOWERED BY AN EFFICIENT AND
EFFECTIVE PRODUCTION - OPERATION Inventory management is the process by which a
company manages the inflow and outflow of stocks
A small entrepreneur's business production and keeps them in good condition in order to avoid
and operation is considered one of the most losses.
challenging functions of the business that needs to
be attended to and properly implemented. The As per the Philippine Statistics Authority (2022),
production and operation of the business involve here is the list of the top 18 industry sectors for
the handling of inventory, equipment, machines, MSME 2021.
raw materials, standard processes used by the
 1. Wholesale and retail trade; repair of motor
vehicles and motorcycles A Product-Based Business
2. Accommodation and food service activities Focusing on a product-based business
3. Manufacturing necessitates more time and preparation in terms of
4. Other service activities production and operation because it necessitates
5. Financial and insurance activities more checking on the standard and quality
6. Human health and social work activities control of the product that you will be producing.
7. Professional, scientific and technical If the business has to create the product from
services scratch, then it should ensure that it will match the
8. Administrative and support service activities desired product features that you are aiming at.
9. Transportation and Storage Unless the product is from a franchise concept, the
10. Real estate activities operation is not much of a concern because the
11. Information and Communication product is already prepared and you just have to
12. Education implement it according to what is set by the
13. Arts, entertainment and recreation franchise owner.
14. Agriculture, forestry and fishing
15. Construction Generally, in product-based businesses, you may
16. Water supply, sewerage, waste opt to choose between a food- based product or
management and remediation activities a non-food-based product. Both are challenging
17. Electricity, gas, steam and air-conditioning in terms of production because when you consider
supply producing these products, you have to consider the
18. Mining and Quarrying raw materials, inventory, processes, quality control,
packaging, and labeling that are needed in order to
meet the industry standards.

Cupcake and food-based product businesses

(food-based product businesses) and perfume,
lotion, or soap businesses (non-food-based product
businesses) are examples of product-based
businesses.

The customer's criteria, product of any business:

sor factors that will convince them to purchase the

1. The product is unique, with a lot of features

and benefits
2. The product has high quality
3. The product will match the market's best
price offer.
4. The product's constant availability.
PRODUCT OR SERVICE DESCRIPTION 5. Different varieties of the product.
6. Excellent customer service.
As a start-up entrepreneur, it is essential that you 7. Reliant after-sales service.
decide what type of product or services you will be
offering to your target market. Do not open a The author's experience with MSMEs, the most
business if your main motivation is one of the common product-based businesses being set up, is
following: following a trend or fad, imitating other more focused on
successful businesses, or making more money.
 ➢ Food manufacturing (sweets, bread, delivery time, and other inventory standards used in
processed foods, condiments, coffee, etc.) order to make the business in order. or
➢ Non-food manufacturing (handicrafts, soap,
lotions, perfume) Raw Materials
➢ Wholesale and retail trade (Sari-sari stores, When producing a product or service, it is
food retailers and distributors, specialty necessary to list down all the materials needed to
product retailers) be used in production. Raw materials are the
➢ Other Services (Online Travel Business, ingredients, or items, used in the production of your
Delivery Service) business. Prepare the required raw materials for
every production cycle of the business. If the
SERVICE-BASED BUSINESS business needs to bake twice a week, there should
be a set of raw materials that can be used as a
For service-based businesses, the role of guide by staff whenever they have to produce
production-operations will be to ensure that the cupcakes.
services performed to the customers are correct,
perfect, complete, and based on the set standards Productivity
for the service provided according to the industry. It As a start-up business, the entrepreneur
is simpler than a product-based business because should know the value of productivity in order to
you do not need to manage raw materials or estimate the number of outputs that a business can
inventory, and you do not need to handle inventory produce per day, week, or month. Productivity is
because all you have to do is conduct or render the ratio of the outputs produced to the inputs (raw
services for your customer. materials, any items) needed to produce them.

Examples of service-based businesses include: It can be computed by the following formula:

laundry services, printing shops, consultancy
services, learning centers. Productivity = Outputs (number of items or services
produced) / Inputs (materials, items used in
The customer's criteria, or factors that will convince production)
them to avail the services offered by any business,
are: The ratio and standard preparation of
1. Service has a low processing or turnaround ingredients can be used as a guide in production,
time (delivery of service). and it will be easier to determine their future orders
2. The service is complete. of raw materials or stocks. This information will also
3. Time spent waiting is limited. be helpful in determining the possible income that
4. The service should be perfect. the business will receive if this is converted into
5. Excellent customer service. sales. It is advisable to have this ratio and standard
6. Reliant after-sales service preparation and use it in the operation's production,
not only for the owner but also for the staff if the
Business Production Standards business grows later on.
For every business, efficient inputs and
processes should always be maintained. It is Process
advisable that before the start of the operation of This is the step-by-step procedure for the
the business, there should be a standard protocol production of the vanilla cupcake with pink frosting.
for all the activities under production that
involve productivity, ordering of raw materials, Target Sales of the business
standard processes to produce the product service, The assumption of sales per day is 100
number of reorder unity, buffer or reserve stock, pieces of cupcake per day. With a total of 27
operating days, the target sales will be 2700-3000 ingredients to the business. This is considered the
per month. source of raw materials. For every business,
there is a need to have a primary, secondary, or
Ordering of raw materials or ingredients and tertiary supplier so that the operation's production
delivery of raw materials will not be affected and will be stopped. The
This is the exact schedule of days for importance of having several suppliers is that it
ordering raw materials from the supplier or enables the business to have alternative sources of
suppliers, as well as delivery on the same day the raw materials. As an owner, you can be able to
following week. This is also called "replenishment negotiate and get quantity discounts and even
day." It is highly suggested not to limit the number negotiate with the suppliers to get the most
of suppliers to only one, but be sure to have an competitive prices for your raw materials. Normally,
alternative supplier that at least has two extra the suppliers that are nearer the business or the
suppliers to ensure that the production will not be production area of the entrepreneurs have a lower
affected in the event that there are problems that price offering compared to those suppliers in
are encountered, such as running out of stock in faraway locations.
the warehouse. Having several suppliers as well
will give the entrepreneur the opportunity to get the Inventory
best price for the raw materials, which in turn will Good inventory management uses a FIFO
yield more profit for the business. Having more method in dealing with their stocks or inventory in
suppliers will give the owner the chance to get the business. FIFO means first in, first out, and it
more quantity discounts if they buy items in bulk. deals with managing the stocks by disposing of or
selling the stocks that are first in the business. So,
"Required Initial Orders" the detailed number of if you make or buy items, you must first remove
units needed in order to produce the cupcake with them so that you can manage them properly.
a total of 300 pieces. Expiration dates are essential in ensuring that FIFO
"Quantity" is the number of units to be order with is being used in inventory management. By
the supplier. checking on it regularly, it will also avoid some
inventory problems, such as overstock, which is the
surplus of items we cannot sell anymore.
This final price includes the 30% markup based on
the total price, and there can be additional taxes if
any. This example of costing is based on cost- Safety Stock or BufferThis term refers to
based pricing computation, which means that reserved stocks or items in production. It is very
pricing is based on the actual cost of every raw important to have a buffer, reserve, or safety stock
material and is properly distributed according to the because it will ensure that the operation of the
total number of produced units. business is safe and will never experience any out
of stock or any stoppage in operation. This is
commonly known as "emergency stocks" as well.
Operation Schedule
This is the weekly ordering, delivery, baking, The number of the reserve is computed based on
and operation schedule. Baking days are every this formula:
Monday and Thursday. Every Friday will be delivery
and ordering day. Regular operation days are from Safety Stock = (Maximum Lead time x Maximum
Monday to Saturday. Sunday is closed. daily Sale) - (Average Lead time x Average daily
Sale)
Suppliers
A supplier is the business or company that
supplies or provides the raw materials or
Maximum Lead time = this is the period where required units for production and expected sales in
maximum days that the supplier can deliver the the future.
product since the day of ordering.
In forecasting, you may use different ways of
Maximum Daily Sale = this is the maximum estimating the units, but the author chose only two
number of units sold in a day ways to make it easier for start-up entrepreneurs to
understand: namely, naive forecasting and moving
Average Lead Time- this is the number of days it average forecasting.
takes, on average, from the time a business places
an order to the time the supplier delivers the stock. a. Naive forecasting is done by simply
copying the previous value to be used as
Average daily sales = the average number of units your target value. This type of forecasting
sold on a daily basis. can include both raw material ordering
forecasting and sales projections.
Sales Projection
In production operations, it is advisable for a. Moving average forecasting
the entrepreneur-owner to know how to do a sales This type of forecasting uses the averaging
projection, which is an estimate or assumption of of the values based on the specified amount of time
the number of units to be sold for a specific period as the basis for the forecast.
of time. This sales projection or estimate will be
helpful to the business in determining the number This moving average forecasting will vary
of units that it needs to order from suppliers. All of depending on the choice of the owner of what to
the orders placed by the business with their use, whether they use the daily, monthly, or yearly
supplier will be dependent on the projections or forecast. The number of days or months used in
actual number of sales for that period of time. forecasting will be set by the owner.

The daily sales are based on the actual number of Building and Facilities
units sold for the month of February. This is where we put the building or the
facilities used by the business, which serve as the
Realistic value: the average sales value has been asset of the business.
rounded off to a.
List of Equipment
The monthly sales are computed by multiplying The equipment listed in this table is
the actual sales by the number of days of necessary for efficient production, which will be fast
operation. compared to manual production.

Average Daily Sales = Monthly Sales/Number of

days of operation

Yearly sales are computed by multiplying the CHAPTER 6

monthly sales by 12 months. EMPOWERED BY AN ORGANIZED
MANAGEMENT
FORECASTING
Forecasting refers to the estimate, The success of any business relies on the ability of
projection, or prediction about the future value that the entrepreneur to manage the business
you are computing. Sales projections, whether for effectively and efficiently. As a start-up
sales or raw material ordering, are essential in entrepreneur, it is necessary to plan your business
business and are usually done to determine the initially about the type of business organization that
you will be starting. Business management should Employees 3.000,000 -
be done strategically for the long term and not for PHP
the short term, so that business problems may be 15,000,000
avoided as much as possible. When an Medium 100-199 PHP
entrepreneur starts a business, as much as Employees 15.000,001 -
possible, thorough preparation should be made so PHP
that potential problems are avoided. 100,000,000
Large 200 and above PHP
● Business is a RISK and you must learn to 100,000,000
manage CALCULATED RISK. and above
● Preparation is the key, and entrepreneurial Source: Philippine Statistics Authority, 2021
skills are necessary.
● Business is not a one-size-fits-all. "There is no such thing as a risk-free business,
● It is good for a start-up business to have but you can have a risk-proof business and
BUSINESS PLANNING. calculate possible risk."
-Dr. Caesar Apolinar Ramirez Jr.
Here are some of the most common problems
that are raised by MSMES during their Sole Proprietorship is a type of business owned
consultation with the author that the by one individual. It is the easiest way to establish
entrepreneur should be aware of. where the owner is the only one who will get all the
income but getting all the risk as well as
1. Low Sales disadvantage.
2. A lot of competitors
3. Weak Inventory systems and order A Partnership is a type of business owned by two
processing or more owners. This type of business is where the
4. Weak product or service offering owners can put money, skills, or anything that the
5. Numerous unnecessary expenses and partnership accepts as a form of ownership in the
limited revenue sources business. The partners are entitled to the liabilities
6. No clear plan and direction of the partnership.
7. No skills or knowledge in business
8. The wrong target market and location A corporation is a type of business owned by at
9. There is no proper costing and pricing least two (2) or more but not more than fifteen (15)
10. Low productivity rate versus the actual goal shareholders. This type of business is more
11. Low Brand Awareness and no branding complex than a corporation. The ownership interest
in a corporation is represented by stocks.
As per the Philippine Statistics Authority (2021),
businesses in the Philippines are classified into A cooperative is a type of business owned by at
micro, small, medium, and large businesses. least fifteen (15) members. A cooperative is owned
According to the data of the Philippines Statistics and formed by the members for the purpose of
Authority (2021), this is the guide that every having the same rights and equality.
entrepreneur should use as their guide when
considering what type of business that really works Management Expertise or Technical Know-How
for them.
In our business example, which is the Haven
Size Employment By Asset Size Cupcake and Pastries Shop, managing this food-
Micro 1-9 up to PHP type business requires attention to details and
Employees 3,000,000 creativity in order to produce a cupcake product
Small 10-99 PHP that is unique to its target market.
 relationship management, selling techniques, and
Here is some of the required expertise and negotiation skills.
technical know-how of the owner and even for
the staff: The operations management skills needed are
inventory management, purchasing, pricing, and
1. Basic Cookery involves deep knowledge of costing.
basic safe food preparation, food handling
and temperature, personal hygiene and All of these can be developed through time, but it is
kitchen hygiene, menu planning and recipe advisable that once you start the business, at least
costing, cooking methods and techniques, you are prepared with the necessary expertise
packing of food for storage, and labeling of needed for your chosen business. A food business
food. Basic cookery knowledge is very is a complicated type of business where a lot of
important to owners in order to be familiar things are needed to make it successful. It is best
with the proper method of cooking to start small but properly study well.
preparation in the kitchen. The main
function of the business relies on the Training and Development
operation of the kitchen, and all the The business requires training and
production of their cupcakes will be done development of the owner and future staff of the
here. Failure to have this expertise will business to ensure that the quality of the products
make the business inefficient and ineffective or service meet the standards of the industry. For
because it will only rely on day-to-day food business, it should pass the standard of the
encounters. Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point (HACCP),
Food and Drugs Authority (FDA) and other
2. Baking entails understanding the basic applicable industry or government agencies in
preparation of bread or cakes, as well as charge of the quality. For service industries, it
the use of the proper ingredients and the should be checked and passed the standard by the
effects they will have on the product. Baking industry expert or government agencies in charge
is an exact science, and having this skill will as well.
prevent any miscalculations and
assumptions about the right measurement As a suggestion, for sole proprietorship business
used in baking. owners to attend necessary training before starting
operating the business so that the owner will be
3. Baking or cake decorating is a specialized equipped and guided how to do the actual activity
skill that involves the creation of decorations of the business. If the business has staff, it is better
for bread and cakes. The learning of the to conduct training and development as much as
most effective style and visual presentation possible as needed, but ideally twice a year will do.
that will make the customers patronize the There is some training for businesses that requires
baked cupcake selections that we have in updates or follow-up, so the owner should be
the business. attentive to these.

4. Entrepreneurial Skills: As an An Example of Possible Training for Food

entrepreneur, it is essential to have strong Businesses:
salesmanship skills and operations 1. Food Safety
management skills. 2. Packaging and labeling
3. Food Handling
The salesmanship skills needed are prospecting, 4. Trends in Cooking and Baking
target marketing, customer service and customer
An Example of Possible Training for Service expenses that may be incurred if there were to be
Businesses: additional staff. But if ever there is a need to get an
1. Customer Service Management. additional person or staff to help the business, it is
2. Customer Relationship Management better to just get a third-party service or pay for it as
3. Communication skills training needed, rather than maintain it as a monthly
4. Customer Handling expense, which will make it difficult for the business
to pay for this expense.
Business Days and Hours
The business should set a business day Position or Function
and hours that it will be open for operation. The It should be very clear with the business
owner should be aware of what time and hours the about the main duties and responsibilities of the
customers are there to consume the product or person in charge of the business. For a one-man
avail the services. It is better for the owner to business, all the functions of the business will be
initially assess, observe, and create a real-time dependent on the owner. If there is a staff member
check of the target market and how the business that needs to be hired, the responsibilities should
operates, then identify the days or hours that are be properly explained to the person.
considered peak and non-peak days or hours.
Salaries
An Example of Food Businesses' Operating For MSME businesses, under Republic Act
Days and Hours 9178, Barangay Micro Business Enterprise Act, one
of the advantages of micro businesses with an
Monday-CLOSED, due to non-peak hours. asset of not more than PHP 3,000,000 exclusive of
Tuesday through Sunday, 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. the land is that they are exempted from the
Minimum Wage Law for their staff. This means that
General Business Policy: the owner can set a wage or salary, even lower
This includes the normal policies that are than the minimum, and still be qualified to receive
set by the business, which are good for the basic government benefits such as social security
business. Possible good examples are the return and healthcare benefits.
policy for damaged products and incorrect
products. For claiming customers, sales promotion This is good for the microbusiness that is
policies are in place. Every business should thriving to continue their business and meet all
cascade this information to their staff and their expenses. For those who do not have any staff or
customers so that no conflict will arise. employees, an allowance can be used by the
owner for himself.
Example of Business Policies:
1. Return and Exchange Policy
2. Discount Policy
3. Wholesaling, Retailing, Distributorship
Policy
4. Customer Service Policy
5. Refund Policy
6. Loyalty program policy
7. Regularization Policy
8. Policy on Taking Leave

Manpower
As a start-up entrepreneur, the business
can be operated by the owner initially due to the