NU12 #11 Extreme Sports Store by VS

Vian Serranilla

NU12 #11: eXtreme Dream

            Everyone nowadays are more conscious with their health and do a lot of sports aside from regular gym training such as boxing, surfing and mountain biking. Having an extreme sports store looks like a promising business especially with the emergence of La Union and Baler as prime surf spots and places like Camsur and Laguna as wake boarding tourist spots. There is also the yearly IronMan triathlon and numerous fun runs.

            So what will be my store's Unique selling proposition! We can customize the equipment for you. In this day and age, personalization is key. Customers want to feel extra special. So in this way, we can engrave their names on surfboards, mountain bikes, cycling clothes etc. We can even put in their faces on their equipment. Whatever they think of we can do it! So imagine surfing with your name, logo, design and/or face in the surfboard.  We can do it even in their cycling clothes.

            There are no limits to where they want their personalized stuff, printed, painted or engraved. Whatever it is they want we will do our best to accommodate each and any request! There will be an in-house graphic artist who they can talk to about their vision. They can even have their own logo made. Though this will entail premium charges. This will not be limited to extreme sports equipment.4

NU12 #12 Suit with built in cooler

Vian Serranilla

NU12 #12: I'm so hot, I'm too cool!

            Being in a tropical country, summers become borderline unbearable too walk to. We'd rather stay home or go to a mall, even then the malls are sometimes too crowded and we feel that even the air conditioning doesn't work. So what do we do? Especially if we have jobs and don't have the luxury these students call "summer break".  They even complain it is too short. Lucky them, we don't even know what a summer break is, maybe somewhere in our past we have come to understand that but that has now become just a distant dream.

           

            So going to work, especially in work clothes, heat becomes a mood factor and to some extreme cases affects our productivity. So what I'm suggesting is a battery operated cooling system for the body. Imagine a tube as big enough as a straw spewing cool air to your body. It will be powered by a rechargeable unit not bigger than a credit card which you can strap on your arm, wrist, ankle or any other part of your body you feel comfortable strapping it into, then it is connected to a tube the circumference the size of a straw, where you can also strap inside your clothes or your body  or any part of your body you want cooled, maybe your feet (inside your shoe), your back, your chest, or even your head.

            Imagine, you're in a suit, inside that suit there is a cool breeze so you need not sweat when you're walking around Makati or even your office. You can recharge the battery using a USB charger, so you can use your laptop or desktop or even a wall charger to charge the battery. Oh and did I mention this equipment is portable? 4

NU12 #4: My Doctor the Sculptor

Vian Serranilla

NU12 #4: My Doctor the Sculptor

            I have not always been fond of the gym but I secretly wished for that "beach body" with wash board abs to die for. Now, for almost a year and a half, I've been going to the gym regularly trying to achieve my dream body. Don't get me wrong, sweating it out is great, but sometimes results aren't always as ideal as you'd like them to be. I was thinking, if women could have their breasts enlarged or augmented, why can't men do the same for their chests and or abs?  (hmmm a genies magic)

           

            I don't know if science has found a way of enlarging a man's chest but I would want one, like when I say "Doc, I would want to have a 38-inch chest" and he would inject something in my chest that would make the fibers in my chest grow bigger. But this won't be a one-time thing. There has to be a number of sessions before I could achieve it. I wouln't want silicone, but I would want muscle, but I wouldn't want to use steroids as well. So what if after my chest work out, when the fibers in my chest have been torn so that stronger and bigger muscle fiber replace it, the doctor would inject amino acids and protein in that area that would speed up the recovery of the muscle and the enlargement of my chest?

            That's just a thought. Let's see if actual science is being researched for such. (stem cells? there are breakthroughs similar to this)

NU12 #3: Sleeping Pods by VS

Vian Serranilla

NU12 #3: Sleeping Beauty

            Have you ever been in a mall with friends or family where you just felt so tired you just wanted to nap for a few minutes or hours? Or you were out  and very tired and sleepy but can't go home because home is too far away and it will be a hassle to go back and forth. Say you live in Alabang, and you are swamped with meetings in QC in the morning, you finish at 2 but you have to be in Manila by 5pm for another event, going home to Alabang to rest would be a waste of time gas and money and let's face it, with Manila traffic, it won't be practical.

Well I have been in such situations several times and I wished there was somewhere in the mall where I could rest. I even thought of going inside a cinema just so I can sleep.

            That is when the idea of a "sleeping pod" came to surface. There would be sleeping pods inside malls where people can sleep. For example when a father is waiting for her daughter and her friends in a mall they could just sleep it off in a sleeping pod. They would pay for the amount of time they were there. They can have a "wake me up at this time no matter what " option or "wake me up when this person arrives" option. This sleeping pod would be in the shape of a tanning bed, with comfortable sheets and a bigger space than a regular tanning bed. There would be option for lighting as well. It could be dim or bright. An option to feel like they are at the beach with bright lights, sunglasses, aroma of the ocean breeze, and even beach sounds! There would also be an option for added oxygen when they are sleeping so they get refreshed! <s Pods> 4

NU12 #2: Be Not Yourself (Premium costume store)

Vian Serranilla

NU12 #2: Be Not Yourself

            Halloween just passed by, who were you then. I am in love with Halloween for it is the one day in a year where you can be someone you're not and not be judged, in fact it is encouraged. It is also that one-day when you can pretend to be your favorite childhood hero. Every year my family holds a Halloween party and gives treats to kids and adults alike who knock on our door trick or treating. And every year my family goes all out for costumes.  We have them shipped from other countries or have them custom-made by out favorite seamstress.

            But I noticed one thing lacking, here in our country, there is no one-stop costume shop. How nice would it be to have a costume shop filled with all the Halloween goodies, from ghosts and ghouls, to super heroes and sex vixens. This would no be ordinary costume shop, they could buy premium costumes or they could rent them, provided they leave a deposit. This costume shop would also allow for shipping the bought and/or rented costumes. Imagine having been able to order/rent your costume here in the Philippines and have it delivered to your door step. Everything without a hassle. If need be, they could even have the costumes altered or have them custom-made. That will be the USP of my costume shop, we find ways for our customers. Anything they need when it comes to Halloween preparations we will deliver! If they need fog machines or special lighting in their costumes or even outrageous make-up, we can provide. That's what will tell us apart from any other place they can buy costume, we will look for ways for them! And it won't be limited to Halloween, we could do special events and parties especially for the high society in Manila.4

           

NU12 #1: Customer Service by VS

Vian Serranilla

NU12 #1: Customer Service

            Probably my most concerned area when putting up a business is customer service. I have always told myself that when I put up a business the first thing I'll be most concerned about is customer service. How did I come up with such decision? I have always found myself getting irked by poor customer service, when I'm in a restaurant and they get my orders wrong or take too long for my food I always find myself talking to their manager. Don't get me wrong I'm not being arrogant or anything but I've learned, especially with restaurants, that you not only pay for their food but their service as well. I have no qualms if they tell me ahead of time that my order will take a certain amount of time, in fact I applaud them but when I find out they are lying, which I normally do, and when they serve the order of someone who ordered after me, that's when I really get pissed off. So I promise myself my customers will never feel that.

            Having customer feedback is more often expensive and time consuming so I've thought of an easy and fast way of knowing customer feedback. Every time they buy, they will be given a gold coin and they will drop that coin according to their satisfaction, there will be a super happy face, a happy face, a neutral face, a sad face and an angry face. This will also keep the anonymity of my customers and this "box of faces" will be emptied every week and quantified. In that way we get a general feel of how the customers feel.

            Another idea for customer service is that I give my loyal customers their own accounts manager who they can contact for whatever reason and concern. These account managers will also inform them for whatever promos we have and how they can avail of it. These account managers will answer their concern not more than 6 hours from the point when they made their said concern. I will assure loyal customers that they are well taken care of. This however would be an expensive tool for customer service. 3

NU12 #5: Height is Might (Height Enhancement) - Ilizarov method

Vian Serranilla

NU12 #5: Height is Might

            I know I've not been the tallest guy in my class, though I'm not the shortest either but I've always been obsessed with getting taller. I know that its almost scientifically improbable for me at my age to gain around 4 inches but is it impossible? With my obsession comes research and I've read tons of articles on how to grow taller even after reaching a certain age. One method was the "Ilizarov" method. This method is more fondly called as "limb lengthening procedure" and has been used both for medical and cosmetic reasons. What they do in a nut shell is to break your bones in the legs so that new bone may form in between the gap that was made. And each day before it completely closes, the twist a medical apparatus so that they may pull apart your legs so that new bone is formed on top of the new bone. After which, you do intensive physical therapy. Oh did I mention you could not walk for at least 6 months? 3

            Another method is microfracture. In a nutshell: When we do sports, our bones break ever so slightly and new bones are formed, but this is so miniscule that it's effects are not felt. What you can do is right after sports, you sit at a bed or something similar but your feet may not touch the ground and you put ankle weights. Crucial part is you must do this right away, before the microfractures heal. The weights help to pull your legs longer so that when the micro fracture heals, new bones are formed.

            What if medically, these two are combined. A machine is made to create microfractures in your legs and then for a long amount of time, you let these microfractures heal, you do this at least 4 times a week and you get a little bit taller. I wouldn't care if I have to wait 8 months to get an inch taller if it's painless but time consuming, I certainly would go for it.

            I know that I'm not the only person who wants to grow taller hence if this was funded and actually worked, this would be a very lucrative business.

NU12 # retractable heels by VS

Vian Serranilla

NU12 #6: Run Cinderella, Run!

            Cinderella went to ball. Cinderella danced with the prince. The clock stroke midnight.  Cinderella ran away from her prince. Barely! If she didn't leave her shoe behind, if other maidens did not get in the way of the prince, she wouldv'e been caught right then and there. What was her problem? The shoe.

            In any event, one of the main blessings and curses of women are their heels. Sure they look good in it and they look taller but their feet hurt and they would often walk barefoot after it or have the hassle of bringing an extra pair. They would even stumble, they wouldn't be able to take long walks, and running in heels (for whatever reason) would be like a challenge in an amazing race.

            Hence I've thought of… the retractable heels. They could be wearing flats in the morning and in an instant, change it to beautiful heels, when they get tired, they can wear flats again. Its sleek and versatile. There would be two types for the prototype, the retractable heels and the removable one. Retractable heels are a little more flexible and removable ones would be stiff but with removable heels they can have different heights, shapes and colors. It could be stilletos, wedges or even kitten heels. Girls wouldn't need to be bothered to bring extra pair of shoes. 4

NU12 #7: Serendipity Walk by VS

Vian Serranilla

NU12 #7: Serendipity Walk

1.     Reataurants

2.     Café

3.     BPO company

4.     Brokerage Firm

5.     Retail Stores

6.     Food Carts

7.     Supermart

8.     Personal Shopper

9.     Jewelry Dealer

10. Catering Business

11. Marketing Firm

3

NU12 #9: 50 Shades of Rain by VS

Vian Serranilla

NU12 #9: 50 Shades of Rain

            Rain, rain go away, come again another day. If only rain would really go away when children and adults sing this together. Sadly, no matter how hard or beautiful we sing this, it will never work. People are often stuck with the rain, especially when the sun is shining so bright in the morning and would opt not to bring an umbrella. 

            How many of you are stranded because of the rain, even unable to cross the street? Hence, I'm proposing the Umbrella on the streetlamp movement! The umbrella would be as big as an umbrella beach or the umbrellas you see at Starbucks.  Every time it rains or when the sun is too hot, a governemnet officer, employee or MMDA officer would open the said umbrella. It would be installed at the street lamps and would be soldered to the streetlamp and high enough so that a normal person would not be able to steal it. For added protection, CCTV's at strategic locations would be installed.3

NU12 #10: 50 Shades Lighter by VS

Vian Serranilla

NU12 #10: 50 Shades Lighter

            In my last NU12, I talked about having big umbrellas on street lamps for rain. Now since this is a tropical country, why not utilize the sun's energy and be more eco-friendly? So I'm suggesting that the government invest on solar panels and install them on streetlights. Electricity consumption would be greatly lessened especially during the summer!

            Streetlights would use the energy from the sun from the solar panels. They could also install fans at the street lamps so that they can open the big umbrellas and open the fans using the solar energy especially during the summer. It's eco-friendly, practical, gives back to pedestrians and will save the country a lot of taxpayer's money in the long run. 3