The Trend

It is very evident that Filipinos are so into the latest trends. We are always updated to what's in and what's out. We always tend to follow the latest trend. Anyways, no one wants to be left behind. Let's look at this particular trait in a business point of view. To make things easier to understand, let's use a simple community as an example. I would like to commend Mr. Lloyd Luna for the story and lesson that I would share to you. In a community, a person puts up a bakery, since it is the only bakery in the area, the business became so profitable and it also serve the community very well. Then, one of the neighbor saw realize "hey, why should I not put up the same business so I can also earn as much as that man." So the man does as he was planning. Definitely the customers of the first bakery were separated between the two. Then again, another neighbor begun to have the same realization so he too put up the same business. What happen is that neither of the bakeries have good return on investment. They saturated the market. "To me, this is more a problem rather than a solution. If you're going to think about how the profit is distributed, you're going to find out that the first store gets a lesser profit because of the competition. For a really huge market, competition means benefit for consumers. But for a small community, it's not good for every owner. (The Obvious)" states Lloyd Luna. Indeed he is correct. Competition is good for a large business arena, but not in a small market arena in a community. Most likely Filipinos are following a dictated trend instead of dictating the trend. A true businessman is always unique and knows when or what to follow. A businessman is not only responsible for how much his company earns but also has a social responsibility. For sure we don't want to be a third world country forever, so when will we excel in what we are best doing, instead of following what others are doing best. There is something that we actually have, like beaches, agricultural lands, natural ports and fishing area, handicrafts, and most of all, natural talents. Maybe it is one of the reasons why we import rice and sugar instead of us exporting them. Nobody needs to become Bill Gates, there is and always be one Bill Gates, same as the great an/or rich people in the world, or perhaps in the history. They became who they are not because of mimicking the people whom they look up on to, but because they just became and realize their own greatness. It is not bad to follow something as long as it doesn't limit you in any aspect of life. We are our own man. We are all different but we are Juan Pinoy.