Pages

Sunday, April 13, 2014

7th Annual Women Entrepreneurs Conference

Last March 15, I took the courage to attend the 7th Annual Women Entrepreneurs Conference at Mandarin Oriental Hotel all by myself without knowing anybody or nothing to expect since it was my first time to hear about this organizing body called Network for Enterprising Women (NEW) which I only came to know from a friend. Based on their poster, the topics seemed interesting. What got me curious was the fact that the conference was especially made for us women. Women + Entrepreneur = Wow! That's what I needed!



There were three topics discussed:
  1. Ins and Outs of Franchising by Ms. Erlinda "Lyndah" Bartolome
  2. Digital Marketing by Ms. Rosario Juan
  3. Making the Leap from Employee to Entrepreneur by Ms. Cristina Gomez



Let me type here some of the slideshows, notes and knowledge that they have shared and imparted.

The first speaker, Ms. Lyndah Bartolome, who talked about Ins and Outs of Franchising started out by naming some successful women franchisors, their commonalities and qualities you need to have before going into franchising.

Some Women Franchisors:
1. Ms. Julie Gandionco of Julie's Bakeshop

    Franchise Concept: commitment to customer service, quality products,  
                               affordability and clean environment.
    Number of Branches: 500+
    Years in Operation: 30 years
2. Ms. Tess Ngan Tian of Lots'a Pizza
    Franchise Concept: creating an affordable Filipino pizza tailored to the     
                               local palate.
    Number of Branches: 116
    Years in Operation: 27 years
3. Ms. Josie See of Peanut World
    Franchise Concept: Began in 1996 when its owner noticed a small store 
                               selling nuts. Number of customers buying peanuts 
                               drew their attention and being peanut lovers.
    Number of Branches: 45
    Years in Operation: 18 years
4. Ms. Bards Lapid of Chicharific!!!
    Franchise Concept: products were highly made for chicharon lovers.
    Number of Branches: 27
    Years in Operation: 27 years
5. Ms. Rowena Matti of Galileo
    Franchise Concept: help us build the future by supporting the education 
                               of children.
    Number of Branches: 28
    Years in Operation: 5 years

Commonalities:
1. All of them started from single stores.

2. They used franchising as a way to grow.
3. Benefits of Franchising
    a. Growth and Expansion - other entrepreneurs invest, they manage and 
        take care of the local market
    b. Impetus to move from Mom and Pop operations to a professional 
        organization.
    c. Business you have can be passed on to the next generations.
    d. Brand value increases.
    e. Opportunities in the global market
    f. Presence of franchisees forces the business system to grow.

How do I Franchise My Business?
1. High level of trust on other people.
2. Commitment to the success of franchisees.
3. Profitability of your present operations.
4. Years of operations
5. Clear franchise system
6. Documented operations of the business
7. Willingness and the resources to get into franchising.

Most importantly, remember to register your business with IPO and get your trademark. The success of you is the success of its members. Go for your passion.

I particularly enjoyed the presentation of the next speaker, Ms. Rosario Juan, because the topic is very applicable to everyone, Social Media for Business. She started with a video clip on Social MEowDia Explained. Watch it, so cute!
Social MEowDia Explained
Infographic made by Avalaunch Media.

I agree with the fact below because I also check my Facebook first before anything else. :)


Here's another helpful infographic on Why Go Social?


Infographic made by Radiate Media.

Ms. Juan also talked about The Consumer Journey, from Brand Building (awareness), Peer-to-Peer (consideration), to Social Commerce (purchase) upto Social Customer Relation Management (post-purchase). She even presented lots of statistics on how people are embracing the online world nowadays. She mentioned that "Social is Mobile".


As a summary to what she said, business must embrace social. Use social media as an efficient marketing and astounding listening tool. Social media means business. It's all about your consumers. Have a social media policy where you set a time when to publish your post to reach your target market. Don't self-promote all the time, instead create relationship and value by posting interesting things and tips.

You may connect with Ms. Rosario Juan here:
Google+ - Rosario Juan
Email: rosjuan@gmail.com

Twitter: @juanxi
Instagram: @rosjuanxi

In addition to this, FAIMS MEDIA came in to talk about the advantages of  partnering with a Social Media Agency. In 2009, Faims Media was established as a Social Media Marketing Solutions Company dedicated to developing and maximizing the digital branding experience, primarily through the Facebook platform.

Why do you need to bank on your Social Media?
#1  Because you're already involved
  • Your employees & clients are using it.
  • Discussions about products, brands & services happen around you EVERY single day.
  • Roughly 81% of SMEs are using social media, according to a LinkedIn study released recently and of those that use social, 94% do so for marketing purposes.
#2 Comparative Advantage
  • Word of mouth is #1 influencer of purchases.
  • The "viral" effect can carry a message a long way.
#3 Accurate Demographic Targeting
  • Because it's the most effective and precise means of reach market targeting for:
    • Age
    • Gender
    • Demographics
    • Sentiment
#4 Revenue Growth
  • Among top 100 brands, those using social media saw 18% growth in sales (Wet Paint 2009).
  • 91% of Inc. 500 are using social media (Umass Dartmouth 2009).
#5 Social Media helped increase awareness of the brand.
#6 Facebook fan page traffic ranks better than brand websites. People use the search feature on Facebook more and more, and are beginning to search brand pages more than brand sites.

More social media facts:
  • 95% of Filipino web users visit social media sites
  • 65% of Filipino web users have interacted with a brand via social media in the past 12 months
  • 73% of Filipino web users have shared their thoughts on a brand via social media in the past 12 months
The last speaker, Ms. Cristina Gomez, talked about Making the Leap from Employee to Entrepreneurship. Here are some of the inspiring quotes from successful personalities which she had shared.
  • From Natalie Massenet, founder and executive chairman of Net-a-Porter "It all starts within. Success begins at the magical moment when you declare to yourself, your friends and the universe that you believe you can do something different."
  • From Sara Blakely, founder of Spanx. "What you don't know can become your greatest asset. Have the confidence to say I will do it even though I have not been taught or someone has not shown me the way."
  • From Reese Fernandez, co-founder of Rags 2 Riches. "The story of how we started, why we started, and the challenges we encountered, could encourage more people as they can see that we were not extraordinary people."
Benefits of Entrepreneur:
1. control of your own time
2. personal fulfillment
3. huge earning potential
4. provide employment

How to look for passion:
1. activity that you enjoy
2. you love so much that you are willing to do it for free

Realities of Entrepreneurship:
1. jack of all trades
2. no such thing as sick days
3. 100% responsible
4. if you don't do your job, you don't earn

Lessons learned:
1. dream good dreams for your business and make them happen
2. find your sweet spot
3. have a vision
4. be action-oriented
5. seek valuable outcomes
6. excel at what you do

Niche your market:
1. know your industry
2. do not expect to know everything
3. work your network
4. be responsible to trends
5. be competitive, no to mediocrity, set up your standards

To end her talk, Ms. Cristina shared the ten most powerful two-letter words quote: "If it is to be, it is up to me." Marry your passion and skills. Possibilities are endless. Take that Leap! 
Group Picture by Trend Hotspot

Thanks to Ms. Kris (left most) for this photo. 
She was my seatmate and became my new FB friend. :)

I wrote down here all the notes I got for the benefit of Mommy Jinky. Four days before this event, a workshop-mate turned FB friend of mine named Mommy Jinky messaged me if I'm interested to attend this 7th Annual Women Entrepreneurs Conference. As I've said, it was my first time to hear about  Network for Enterprising Women (NEW) so I immediately searched and liked their Facebook page. To tell you a secret, I graduated a course in Entrepreneurship some 8 years ago but haven't got the chance to apply what I've learned. Attending these kind of events would definitely interest me because it would help me brush up my knowledge about business. Mommy Jinky was actually giving up her slot for free since she couldn't attend it due to some family matter. Who would reject such a good opportunity? I checked my schedule and gratefully accepted her generous offer plus promised to share what I've learned through this blog. Thank you so much Mommy Jinky! Hope you were able to pick-up a thing or two from my notes. :)

I just want to share the snacks that we had at Mandarin Oriental Hotel. Upon arriving at the venue, without knowing anybody, I just quietly grabbed a seat at the back and finished this plate of pastries while waiting for the program to start. Yummy but this breastfeeding momma got so hungry by noon time. Hihi! Anyway, I invite everyone to check out Mommy Jinky's page: Mommy HQ for your baby cloth diapering needs. Thank you!


Hash Tag: #newconference

Mommy Sally

2 comments:

  1. Mommy Sally, thank you so much for the details :) I'm happy to know that you learned a lot from the event. Happy to see you have a picture with Edric (feeling close!). And thanks for mentioning Mommy HQ. That's triple happiness for me! :)

    Will you attend the Entrep101 workshop this May?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Mommy Jinky, I should be the one to thank you for remembering me. Thank you once again for the slot! Hope to see you around! :)

      Delete