A PLEASANT and easy day to all! It’s that day of the week that seems to grind more slowly than usual in spite of the fact that earth “spins at 1,670 kilometers per hour” (Live Science). I’m glad I am on it (like a fly inside the car) that my vertigo does notact up! Bedside calisthenics, i.e., even before you brush your teeth, helps a great deal to wake up the sleepy joints: arm rotation, sit ups, and stretching. Eleven counts each. Robin Sharma (“The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari”) says physical exercise need not be limited once a day. I agree. My namesake and definitely smarter than me, recommends a glass of room temp water before exercising. Again, I agree.
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I just finished reading Yuval Noah Harari’s “21 Lessons for the 21st Century”. It took me roughly 4 months and 22 days to reach the index part of the opus. Alright, in a nutshell Yuval (I am not getting too familiar here) says there are 3 things that threaten the human species: nuclear war, climate change, and technical disruption. As someone who’s been into broadcasting and telecommunication for quite some time, I am more disposed to share some spiels about the third threat: technological disruption. ChatGPT, Open AI, X.Ai, and the like, are all accessible via the internet. A professor from the university where I used to teach caught one of his students submitting a ChatGPT-generated paper for his final exams. Upset and angry for the intellectual dishonesty, he consulted a colleague about the infraction of academe’s sacred rule. Without looking up from what he was doing, the indifferent peer advised the professor to give the student an AI-generated grade.
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Although the One-Stop-Shop concept is not new, using it in the agriculture sector is definitely reinforcing. The Province of Ilocos Norte recently concluded its One-Stop-Shop Center in Laoag City. The beauty of this activity is that it’s rural-based; what’s more, a good number of young innovators were exposed to best practices and new methodologies. The Agricultural Training Institute (ATI) was one of the lead agencies. With the ever-changing climatic conditions, food security cannot be emphasized enough. The participation of smart, able-bodied young people will not only benefit the province but agriculturethrough the country in general.
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I have been approached by friends in uniform seeking my advice regarding a business they would like to put up before retirement. They were looking at construction, more specifically, the contracting business. They had a lot stories (a number anecdotal, I sensed) about how profitable it has been for some people they knew. Being with government, they were well-versed with the documents required to set up the enterprise: SEC, BIR, LGU, and, yes, the relatively-new PCAB accreditation. “Should we go for it?” they asked.
Putting my teacher hat on, I suggested that we “begin with the end in mind” (Stephen Covey). People go into business for 3 reasons: wallet (money), heart (emotional attraction, gut feel), and mind (lure of the challenge). But because profitability is a requirement (Bernardo Villegas), this will be the priority; finite resources (though appearing to be aplenty at the onset) will dissipate if not replenished sooner than later. The “heart and the mind” should be attended to at a later time even if you were into a social enterprise. Take my word for it.
So, let’s begin with planning. I have broken this into 3 legs (pun intended): marketing, production, and finance. I give the highest premium to marketing. The wannabee must devote a lot of time, effort, expertise, and creativity to get familiar with the market. From a distance, we see a demand for the product we have in mind. As a matter of fact, we reason out, the presence of many sellers or providers is enough proof that there is a market! Well, yes, and that would also mean the market pie is being divided among more and more players, doesn’t it? And that as more players join the fray, the smaller the share each player gets, right? Well, unless you know the market pretty well.
Here are some initial questions to address: how big is the market today? How many are the registered establishments? How has the market fared in the last 5 years in terms of sales? Try to compute for the average growth rate : current sales/previous sales -1 x 100; compare year-onyear. If you intend to operate in a specific province, city/town do the same exercise. There are product variants available in the market, which variant would you want to focus on? Builder? Supplier of manpower? Estimator? Equipment supplier? There is a market size to be determined for each.
I have had the opportunity to prepare numerous studies across a number of industries. The wannabe engages my service to “justify” his decision (“heart”) to go into the business he has already selected. You sure? Yes, I have always wanted to go into this. Oh! Alright then. So, I just crunch the numbers and, hoping to have a rational engagement, I prepare 3 scenarios for him to see the effects of his decision. I start with a very conservative 10%, then move up to 25%, and the highest at 35%-40%. Conservative? Yes, and quite safe.
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Something New for An Old Dog: Coffee without cream and sugar tastes more like coffee.