100H POTLUCK:
MOM-TREPRENEURS

Highlights and Key Takeaways from GrowthLab #10

27 AUGUST 2020

Welcome to the science and practice of continuously mapping your most relevant opportunities for business growth and market impact – this time we’re doing it potluck style, mom-trepreneurs edition!! I love the potluck action - not knowing what business cases our community feeds us. Miguel and I, having to think on our feet with the very real possibility of embarrassing ourselves in front of our live audience, apply our practices to real-life market challenges. But it brings to life what we say about our community of practice: we learn from each other while resolving our own business cases.

Yes we have our knowledge and expertise to share, but we have this potluck so that not only can you learn from us, but we can learn from you too. We can learn as a community, and that’s what we’re most excited about. Give us a perspective of how things are doing in your business enterprises and what new opportunities you want to find. We’ll be using our human centered methodology to provide our suggestions of course, but we won't know what to expect.

POTLUCK SERVING #1:
Aranaz

Amina Alunan-Aranaz, Owner of Aranaz

Breakthrough: Give a sense of escape to our local customers and allow them to find moments of happiness throughout their day, even if they’re at home.

Our first serving starts from 12:28 to1:02:29.

As a Filipino fashion brand focusing on handmade accessories, Aranaz has been able to establish a Filipino presence in the international market.

Its target stakeholders are lifestyle/fashion women focusing on “little pretty products” intended to spark people’s day, with their main product line being handbags.

The pandemic has caused the international retail world to struggle therefore, Aranaz has shifted its focus towards the local Filipino market.

Customer behavior

People aren’t going out anymore, so the demand for accessories and fashion have decreased.
Customers are nesting and creating experiences inside the home, therefore they are sprucing up their houses.

By developing houseware products, Aranaz intends to offer their customers a resort lifestyle experience at home.

Product development remains a challenge.
Less time and resources to invest in product development
Operations are difficult due to lockdowns and quarantines.

Aranaz has many potential ideas for product development, but they need a way to determine which products and product lines will be advantageous for them

PABAON FROM THE COMMUNITY

POTLUCK SERVING #2:
BizKids

Jhe Gomez, Mom-trepreneur BizKids.

Breakthrough: “Teaching kids entrepreneurial skills in order for them to develop a business mindset that will help them start their own business ventures. ”

Our second serving starts from 59:53 to 1:48:24.

Jhe and Ian Gomez are OFWs based in Abu Dhabi who are on their first entrepreneurial venture, a project they call Bizkids.

Bizkids started out as workshops for children that provided an environment for learning, innovating, and developing their creative ideas.

Based on their mantra of “Play, Learn, and Earn” Bizkids also developed a board game that taught children the basic concepts related to business (i.e. capital, loans, profit, etc.)

The pandemic has driven Bizkids to combine both workshops and games into a singular digital platform where kids can continue to hone their business skills during the pandemic. This transition is still in development:

This platform intends to provide these children a community wherein they can share their work and ideas.
The platform will offer games in which kids can play around and create products that they would like to share to other kids.
Children under age 10 are free to be creative business ideas but will have to follow the discretion and consent of their parents
Teenage adolescents have the autonomy to create whatever business ideas they’d like
There are already 5 teenage users that have been testing the prototype platform.
Collaborate with the kids on an ebook on Bizkids concepts, kids writeups/stories

The most immediate breakthrough for Bizkids is to gain enough recognition in order to receive government approval. Recognition and government approval increases the opportunities and avenues for Bizkids to grow and further validate its mission by reaching more kids.

PABAON FROM THE COMMUNITY

KEY TAKEAWAYS

There is power in intimately understanding your power users and being able to co-create with them.

Aileen

Greed vs Generosity… When choosing our stakeholders, let’s keep it real! We need to focus on who to serve. Greed is when we attempt to serve everyone all at once. Thus, sacrificing the opportunity to be generous — in giving the best of the best of our brand, product, solutions so that its value may be unparalleled. Expand, diversify when it’s time.

Joana

What really struck me the most is the idea of co-creating with target stakeholders. Most often than not, businesses tend to think on behalf of their customers. While it’s a good exercise, nobody can answer the questions better than the actual customers.

Gerald

Age is never a parameter or barrier for creativity and innovation. Kids have unique and fresh perspectives that adults may not have. In fact, I think the simplistic thinking and creativity of children and teenagers would be refreshing in the business world full of complexity. And they’re always eager to work as a team, they enjoy the aspect of community – don’t we learn better with others rather than alone?

Kahlil

Because there is always this gap between what people say, think, do and feel, it is best to observe your stakeholders as they engage with your solution and take note of inconsistencies with what they say and what they actually do. These are great points of conversations that lead to relevant stories and insights.

MIGUEL

There is a commonality in that one starting point for innovation is in focusing on POWER USERS, meaning those who are in love with your solution and the problems you are addressing. It’s easy to see where your openings are through your power users. After all, the target opportunity always starts with the target stakeholder and target impact – which pains and needs of theirs are you gonna target? When you determine your power users it becomes easier to accelerate and sprint through your hurdles. But if you don’t identify and focus on those power users, you’re going to struggle understanding the needs and wants of your customer.

Andre

It doesn’t matter how old you are – anyone can have the proper business mindset. Even if you are young, you can create and think of a new product or business that is helpful to your family and also to other people or to the community. Creating and building through rapid prototyping takes hard work but it’s a good business habit to have in your arsenal.