Attempt 2 - NU12 #4 – New Processes at Work, Study – Lea Olegario

Ateneo Innovation and Entrepreneurship "New ideas create more and better new products and services; create more wealth."

NU12 #4 – New Processes at Work, Study – Lea Olegario

Our team delivers different offsite and onsite services to customers depending on their requirements. Part of this will be the generation of proposals from customer requests that we receive. Some proposals turn into actual projects but almost half of it do not push through.

There is a weekly report generated by the team to show the status of quotes for each month and it covers several years. We had a move to eliminate those very old quotes we don’t hear from customers about. We did that and during my meetings with the proposal analysts, we found out that there is no follow-up done to the outstanding quotes and no one has that responsibility at that time.

I suggested we created a follow-up process for the quotes to pursue the project and also know if it will push through or not. I developed this along with the proposal analysts in the team discussing every step of the process, which they will be executing later on. We defined how long a quote can exist until we mark it as not awarded. In this way, there will be no outstanding quotes running for several years. Frequency of follow-ups was also defined depending on the type and criticality of the projects.

With the process approved and welcomed by the team, we moved to implement it and it has served to improve our monitoring of projects and even intercept the possibility of losing some projects most especially if the issue is with scheduling. We also had better understanding of the business and what happens to the requests that did not push through as the customers responded to the follow-ups.

Our current processes work but we normally tweak it every so often to meet whatever is needed by the group. 3

NU12 #12 – More business ideas – Lea Olegario

Ateneo Innovation and Entrepreneurship "New ideas create more and better new products and services; create more wealth."

NU12 #12 – More business ideas – Lea Olegario

Wellness is a movement that becoming stronger and stronger nowadays. I am not sure the normal Filipino food and delicacies are cut for this though. We need to retain our local delicacies as it is part of our heritage but no one said that we cannot attempt to develop it so that it will be relevant to the current times right?

Creating nutritional versions of the popular Filipino dishes may have a market nowadays. Selling Healthy Frozen food may be the way to go and we can offer some all-time favorites like

1.)    Chicken tocino made from organic and free-range chickens.

2.)    Pork tocino made from pigs that only eat vegetables. I have seen one like that in a farm in Laguna. In Korea, they have a way to raise their pigs and it is very clean and healthy.

3.)    We can make longganisa using mushrooms as filling instead of meat for the more vegetarian in nature. I have once tasted mushroom siopao and it was really good. The idea is not to make the veggies taste like meat but to really let them know what the product is and give it a great local taste to which Filipino dishes are famous of.

4.)    Create versions of normal frozen food that are healthier. Hotdogs, nuggets, are also popular frozen goods and may be reinvented to be healthier.

We will have to use all-natural ingredients and even sugar should be made from stevia plant or brown/muscovado sugar.

A lot of people are developing sickness and cancers from the food we eat. Although these goods may come out as a bit pricey, a lot of people are now willing to spend good money on good food that are less harmful than what they have been used to eating. 4

NU12 #9 – What pisses you off at the Neighborhood? – Lea Olegario

Ateneo Innovation and Entrepreneurship "New ideas create more and better new products and services; create more wealth."

NU12 #9 – What pisses you off at the Neighborhood? – Lea Olegario

Filipinos are musically inclined – almost everyone can sing. It is understandable then to see videoke machines and ‘Magic sing’ microphones in the area. We have neighbors who are fond of having parties outside and singing on high volumes has always been a part of the celebration.

It is also then expected that we, the neighbors of these party-loving people would be irritated by all the noise and are having a hard time sleeping most especially those who are very near the streets where they do the gatherings. It is hard to tell them to stop as it is both impolite and dangerous most especially if you will be dealing with drunken men who are not at the right frame of mind. Barangay officials also cannot just tell them to stop not only because it will create a fight but also because they are sometimes part of it.

In college, I have seen many people try to create sound proof room using egg trays. This muffle sound from the outside but makes the sound better inside. I suggest that we create a portable egg-tray sound-proofing divider for the Barangay.

1.       Barangay will collect all used egg trays from the homes in the neighborhood

2.       Purchase foldable dividers or create them using plywood.

3.       Line one side of the walls of the divider with the egg tray.

4.       Paint it to provide a better look.

5.       The other side can also be painted so that it will be nice to use.

This can then be borrowed or provided by the Barangays for those who will be doing such gatherings. We can make several dividers to enclose the place. Yes, there will be sound coming from the top but it will be a lot less as the sound is being bounced though the egg trays. 3.5

NU12 #6 – New Business Ideas – Lea Olegario

Ateneo Innovation and Entrepreneurship "New ideas create more and better new products and services; create more wealth."

NU12 #6 – New Business Ideas – Lea Olegario

I love watching cooking shows and I wanted to try so bad the food they made imagining how good it must have tasted or at least know if I will like the dish they made. It is very hard to cook all the dishes on TV on a normal Filipino kitchen and even the ingredients are hard to source.

I thought of coming up with a restaurant that features dishes made from specific TV cooking shows (from TLS, Asian Food Channel, Master Chef, etc). I will have a monthly menu from previous episodes – chosen for taste and availability of ingredients. I will choose from popular TV shows only. There are a lot of people who watch cooking shows and this will be a great way for them to try out the dish they are craving for. A website will be launched for the restaurant and in there, followers can actually suggest what to include in the next menu. A theme will be defined every month and this will be the basis of the dishes. There will be a team of researchers, chefs, and decorators. The place will be fun with lots of TVs featuring the different food shows.

There will be added revenue as there will be cooking classes and partner-cooking so that people can really see and even experience how to make the dish. Special requests can be accommodated for menu not currently in the list but this would have to be done with at least 2 weeks prior notice.

The restaurant will be setup somewhere in Metro Manila where cable subscription is very high and within popular areas like Morato or Fort or Makati.

(Sir, I am choosing between this and one other idea for my business plan. I hope to execute it in the near future. I hope no one beats me to it.) 4

NU12 #8 - What pisses you off at the mall? - Lea Olegario

NU12 #8 – What pisses you off at the Mall? – Lea Olegario

I really do not like the long lines of cars when you try to park when you go to a mall. There is a long line when you come in as there is the necessary security check and then the driver still has to get the card or the ticket from the teller. Coming out, the line gets long as the drivers would pay for the tickets, which involves rummaging through wallets and the teller sometimes has to give change to big denominations. And then sometimes the driver even loses his ticket especially if it is just paper.

To hasten the process a bit, the mall can employ some measures to make parking easier for customers.

1.       The mall has to have an ID scanner which can read the bar code in drivers' licenses. At that point, driver information will then be saved in the system enhancing even security. That will serve as the ticket and so there is no need to provide other cards or print tickets.

All drivers have licenses and that card is always in their pockets so chance of losing this is slim. If it was lost, information in the system can just be checked during exit procedure to verify that the driver indeed came in.

2.       Customers should be able to pay their parking tickets in any of the main counters of the mall. This would encourage customers to pay their parking tickets before they go back to the parking area. Their data in the system will be marked as paid and they will of course be given a receipt for this. They will present the same ID they used in entering the premises.

3.       Upon exit, driver would just again scan his ID to raise the security bar.

There should still be at least one attendant on duty just to attend to whatever need that may arise during entrance or exit. This will hopefully make lines shorter and parking a lot more convenient for customers.  4

NU12 #1 - New Attitude/Paradigm - Lea Olegario

NU12 #1 – New attitude/Paradigm – Lea Olegario

Marking-up goods for profit always gives me a guilty feeling. I have never felt fully at peace when I try to sell goods to my friends and I know I marked it up. Although I think it is just right and I think everyone is expecting that anyway, I still feel a little bad about it especially when I sell to my friends.

There was one time that my contact (a relative), from whom I get my products, defined the selling price – it was already marked up. She had apportioned a profit for me but did not tell me how much as she knows how I am with marking up goods. She only told me how much I am getting after I remitted the money to her. It is only that time that I did earn something.

I took up MBA to gain a new perspective on things and in life – and these I have been getting. In business school, selling, pricing, and value of products are often discussed. With all the discussion on businesses, about creating value and adding more value to products, and how pricing plays a part in business strategies, I become more and more accepting of the fact that marking-up is normal in businesses. There is no reason to be guilty if the product you are selling has value to your customers. Profit is expected as businesses are meant to provide returns to stakeholders. Entrep class even mentions that one is able to earn much more when doing business as compared to remaining as an employee even with a big salary. I mean how can one do that if there will be no mark-up on the price right?  

Being exposed to the business world during all my MBA classes provided like a scab to an open wound I have on pricing and marking-up.  Now, I am excited with the idea of selling goods with a fair profit and can even say my offer price without a wince. 3

NU12 #11 – What pisses you off at the school? – Lea Olegario

NU12 #11 – What pisses you off at school? – Lea Olegario

We always have to wear our IDs in school and if you do not bring your ID, you get a hard time from the security and you will even have to pay PHP 200. I do not see the logic in this as the guard does not actually check the badges. You can wear any ID and you will be allowed to go in. So there is actually no point in having this dependence on the old ID card. <bring plenty of IDs with you>

A more useful badge would be like a name tag which can even be used in class so that the students' names will be shown to everyone in class. Biometrics is a better way of doing security. IDs can still be provided but if we want to strengthen security, biometrics should be the way to go. This is already being implemented in the Library at the Rockwell Campus and should be extended to the entrances. In this way there is no reason to bring any ID anymore. Thumb prints should be able to do the work. Any ID should be able to work in case the system is down and will just be scanned with any bar code scanner. 3 <tatoo id para di malimutan? Ha3>

Another thing that gives a hard time to students in school is the difficulty in getting the books. The books are so big and heavy and hard to bring in school. Most of us are part-time students and we go to work first before we go to school and we need to bring the book from home to work to school. Also, sometimes the school does not even have an available copy of the book that they are requiring so we have to go search a lot of bookstores for the book.

 The school should offer E-book versions and sell it to the students instead of hard copies.  Almost everyone have smart phones and tabs and we can use these to open the E-books. There can also be computer-versions of the E-books. We should partner with online store companies so that they will make available academic books that we need. Libraries should have E-books in computers and we should add tabs or computers where we can access the books inside the place. This would be easier and more students can access the same book at the same time. Having E-books would also eliminate photocopying and creation of a copy of the entire book.

The school should be abreast with current technology to bring the students to new heights of learning.

NU12 #2 - New Spending Habit/Routine - Lea Olegario

NU12 #2 – New Spending Habit/Routine – Lea Olegario

To Improve Promptness or TIP is something I always do starting when I came back from the states. In the US, it is expected that you give a TIP of about 10-15% of your total bill. If you did not give, the manager of the restaurant will talk to you to ask you if there was something in the service you did not like. This was really new to me and to avoid the embarrassment of being talked to or being branded as a 'stingy Filipino', I gave my dues.

When I was in the Philippines, before my US trip, I leave TIP only when there are some coins in the change and sometimes I leave nothing. After my US trip and I went back home, I now always leave some amount of money, maybe not 10-15% of what I ate but I make it a point that it is not only a few coins. My reason was that if I was able to give to Americans, why can I not give to my own people?

Also, I give specific waiters or servers special TIPs of significant amount when I see that they are doing their job really well. It comes as a big surprise to them always that customers will give them a big amount. It makes them swell with pride and lets them feel a sense of importance in what they are doing. When I do that, I see an instant change in them - they become more polite and even open the door for you when you go out of the restaurant or facility.  When you come back, they smile and treat you really well. Giving TIP has now been a habit and I do it all the time – in restaurants, taxis, hotels, and any customer-serving attendant I am fully-satisfied with. Yes, it adds to my expenses but this is little compared to the value it provides to these people I am giving to and will also benefit other customers including myself as the service personnel are encouraged to 'improve promptness'. 3 <how generous and compassionate>

NU12 #7 – Serendipity Walk – Lea Olegario

NU12 #7 – Serendipity Walk – Lea Olegario

And so I walked along T. Morato Avenue with all its lights and many businesses lining up both sides of the street. The street has been a witness to many restaurants coming and going. Only quite a few have been able to stay and continue its operation and satisfy the demanding clientele that frequents this place.

Some business ideas that came to mind are the following:

1.       Valet Express: Parking Space Rental

2.       Dessert Place

3.       Street Maintenance Contractor

4.       T. Morato Website

5.       Flower and Gift Shop

6.       Street Food Collection Place

7.       Restaurant Extension – place where people will stay and order their food from the facility, which they can eat there or take home. Food can come from any restaurant in T Morato.

8.       Mexican Restaurant

9.       Wellness Restaurant and Store  3

NU12 #10 – What pisses you off at the Office? – Lea Olegario

NU12 #10 – What pisses you off at the Office? – Lea Olegario

One stay at the office for at least a third of the day and it is but normal that an employee would visit the bathroom at least once. There will be different reasons for going to the bathroom and it can be up to urinating, doing 'Number 2', and washing.

I always get pissed when I see a lot of tissue paper lying around and placed on the floor even when there is a trash can beside the toilet bowl or the sink. I don't know how they could miss it. Sometimes, the trash is overflowing with tissue paper and some are already on the floor.  The trash can has no cover and there is no easy to push the trash inside the can so that it can accommodate more.

I'd like to develop a trash can that has a detachable middle part on the cover that can be used to push the trash. The stick would just be as long as the can and is attached to the back of the can. The can would have a cover and can be opened by the usual pedal that you step on. When already full, the stick will be connected and locked to the middle part. Once the stick is connected and turned, the middle part will be detached from the cover and can be used to push the trash inside. In this way, the employee would not need to try to find something to push the trash inside. This will avoid getting the trash can to overflow as tissue paper can take only little space when pushed and so we can save space.

Hopefully this will eliminate the employees to miss the can since they have to open it before they put in the tissue paper and also they have a means to push the trash now and not try to place the trash on top of each other trying to balance things just so the pile would not fall.  3