An exercise on spotting opportunities*

This article was written for business owners, to help them find opportunities amidst day to day operations. But since opportunity-spotting should not be limited to employers alone, how about we all try this out for ourselves, too? To see if we can find new or better ways of doing things. Who knows what change it can bring about in our lives. :)

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Try this for one day.  Pull out a sheet of paper and create three columns.  Call the first column “What happened.”  Call the second column “What it means.”  Call the third column “What else can I create out of this?” 

See how many times you’ve limited your opportunities by coming to a conclusion way too soon about what it means to you, your customers and your business.  More importantly, see how many new and interesting options and strategies you’ve come up with by simply taking the time to think it through.

Remind yourself that YOU are creating your future.  Take the time to recognize what happened and what you made it mean.  Then get to work on creating more profitable and powerful opportunities for your business.

*Sheesh, this title is so GoNegosyo. But what the heck.

dare to innovate

Red Ribbon’s Chocolate Mousse and Ube Cake are THE BEST of their kind.

 

It’s a bold claim, I know. But I dare to say it, ‘cause I’ve never tasted any other Chocolate Mousse or Ube Cake that has topped it.

 

And even I myself am shocked at my statement, for isn’t it odd that the best cake out there is not produced by some obscure, hard-to-find, non-mainstream bakeshop?

 

Hindi ba kadalasan ang mga pinakamasasarap na pagkain ay mahirap abutin—mahal, o mahirap puntahan—dahil produkto sila ng isang tao na mahilig lang magluto; na hindi entrepreneur, at hindi kailanman inasam na yumaman sa kanyang kadalubhasan dahil isa lamang itong matinding pagkahilig sa pagluluto, at wala ng iba pa?

 

So that led me to wonder how I can admit to saying that Red Ribbon, a fast-food, massive, industrialized bakeshop, can come up with the best cakes out there. How is it possible?

 

It’s by Red Ribbon having come from humble beginnings, as an obscure bakeshop with (apparently) great taste, that opened our eyes to such wonderful cake flavors. And therein lies the differentiating factor: Apart from having the knack to come up with great-tasting products, you also have to be the first to offer them in the market.

 

I grew up eating two of these great cakes from Red Ribbon. They were the first of their kind that I tasted, and set my personal benchmark for what Chocolate Mousse and Ube Cake should taste like.

 

Similar progressions have resulted from the following, among others:

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  our Lola’s home cookings (ever feel like no other adobo or caldereta is better than her recipes?);


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  the Magnolia Ice Cream Pinipig Crunch (original version, please!);


• 
  
  the slim, salty, and perfectly-fried French Fries at McDonald’s;


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  the cheese and bacon baked potato at Wendy’s;


• 
  
  the Frapuccino at Starbucks (which has become our common term for blended ice drinks across all coffee chains).

 So to food service businesses out there: Try. Experiment. Innovate. Be the first.

 

Who knows? If it’s good enough--even if it’s not the most authentic recipe--it might land on our taste buds just perfectly. And you’ll be the best in our books.