Tips on Business Operations

The problem in achieving our dream is operations, how to get there and what should we do to make it happen;

• Keep "failing forward." "I have not failed. I've just found 10,000 ways that won't work... I never perfected an invention that I did not think about in terms of the service it might give others... I find out what the world needs, then I proceed to invent."

     -Thomas Edison, inventor and entrepreneur

• Sell it straight. "Eliminate the middlemen. both you and customer will benefit."

     -Michael Dell, computer magnate

• Pay attention to detail. "Whether your business is start-up or an established brand, you must be very involved in it. Doing that keeps you abreast with developments and hones your nose for the business. It keeps always a step ahead of the competition."

     -Jose E.B. Antonio, chairman and CEO of Century Properties group

• Treat all customer equally. "I ultimately made the decision to cater to the public because after all, my reasons for putting up the clinic in the first place was to help the most number of people... If everyone were beautiful, then appearances would be less of a factor. You'd be treated according to your character and integrity. Still, our staff is trained to treat all clients equally, whether they're famous or not. We are a costumer-center organization-everyone's a star in our clinic."

     -Dr. Vicky Belo, founder of Belo Medical group

• Start small, but build relationships with big guys. "Cinderella turned us down. No one would have us. it was such a gray area then-and it still is-about whether  it was legal to spoof known brands. No one wanted to be part of the fallout. Although we were generating good press, we simply couldn't place our shirts in the stores. Cinderella then relented (after gift gate accepted consignments of their shirts) and accepted us in their stores."

    -Charlie Robles and Drew Marcelo, founder of Spoofs Limited Inc.

• Master the weather to meet the production demands. "Production and shipment have to fit a certain window, so we always make sure that we get our production in time for events that are important for our foreign buyers."
•      -Meshelle Villanueva, marketing director for Sheimed Cottage Treasures, which gets its raw materials from Bicol Region that is frequently hit by typhoons.

• The mall isn't always the answer. "Rather than looking for an in-mall locations, we prefer high density and high-visibility areas frequented by our target CD market. We only need 25 to 60 square meters of space, but always make sure all our outlets are air-conditioned and clean."

     -Teodoro Ferrer, President of Generika Drugstore

• Turn obstacles in your favor. "When you reach an obstacle, turn it into opportunity. You have the choice. you can overcome and be winner, or you can allow it to overcome you and be a loser. The choice is yours alone. Refuse to throw in the towel. Go that extra mile that failure refuse to travel. It is far better to be exhausted from success than to be rested from failure."

     -Mary Kay Ash, founder of Mary Kay Cosmetics

• Grow, and keep growing. "Without continual growth and progress, such words as improvement, achievement, and success have no meaning."

     -Benjamin Franklin, inventor and politician

• Do what comes easy. "I think a simple rule of business is, if you do the things that are easier first, then you can actually make a lot of progress."

     -Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook founder