#teamvcs

by Amrei Dizon, Chief Creative Officer, General Manager and Founder

It’s easy to start a business, but it can be hard to grow it and sustain it.

Recent studies show that 50% of small businesses fail within the first year; and that 95% fail within the first 5 years.

VCS is “lucky” to have survived and grown into an empowered creative agency for the past 14 years, but it’s not just about being lucky. We have had our share of hard times and we have experienced cycles of stumbling and getting up. Through this roller coaster of experiences, we have learned how to do better and how to grow stronger.

If you are an aspiring entrepreneur - or if you are already running a start-up - here are some of the mistakes that you have to avoid early on, in order to help your business grow and overcome its survival stage.

MISTAKE 1 - Not having a Driving Purpose

Businesses should not be built for the sole reason of making profits.

Before day dreaming about being financially free, you have to nail down WHY your business needs to exist in the first place. What value does it give? What problems does it solve? Who are the people that you serve?

VCS believes that growth can be achieved through strategic creativity. The main purpose of the company is to use strategic creativity to drive growth for our client’s businesses, for our team’s personal development, and for the Philippine creative economy. We are also empowered to use strategic creativity to contribute to the progress of the causes that we believe in, including but not limited to professionalism and entrepreneurship for creatives, gender equality, and preserving the environment.

As Steve Jobs said, “We are here to create a dent in the universe. Otherwise, why else even be here?” If you are running your business with no clear driving purpose, then there is a big change that you will end failing.

MISTAKE 2 – Having Unclear Goals and Not having Aligned Steps

The first step in determining your vision is to imagine your future state — ideally in the next 5 or 10 years. It’s important to know where you want to go.

But that’s just the first step. The second and more crucial step is to know how to get there. Determine the 5 big, bold steps that you need to take in order to achieve your vision. Break down what you need to achieve into yearly, quarterly, monthly, weekly and daily goals. Also, remember to make your goals S.M.A.R.T. — Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, and Time-Bound.

In VCS, each department comes up with programs and strategies that will help achieve our yearly objectives. We ensure that the progress of our goals is reported every quarter during our Townhall meeting. We also have weekly huddle meetings to monitor our progress and discuss challenges and learnings.

If needed, our goals are adjusted and our strategies are recalibrated. We also see to it that we involve every member of the team in our planning and reporting process, so that we are all in the same boat and we are all moving in sync towards the same direction.

Think of it like your daily commute when you use your GPS app. You input where you are going, you find out how to get there, and you know how much time you need to get where you want to go. You consistently check where you are, and when you encounter road blocks, you know where to reroute.

Do you already know the specific details that will help you achieve your vision? Will your tasks today move you closer towards your goals? If your answer to these questions is a resounding Yes, then you are well on your way to making your business goals a reality.

MISTAKE 3 - Mismanaging Finances

Cash is the lifeblood of any business. Without it, your business dies. It’s like gasoline to a car. You need to have a steady flow of it, and you should never run out of it!

Some of the most common mistakes that start-up entrepreneurs make in terms of mismanaging finances are the following:

• Mixing business money with personal money

• Having 0 accounting knowledge

• Not having the ability to identify cash leaks (pilferage, too much inventory and accounts receivables)

• Spending too much

• Growing too fast and over-expanding

• Not having the ability track and monitor regular financial dealings, growing debt, and urgent collections

Being a right-brained person, I used to hate math and I was already sold on the idea that I will never be good at it. When I became an entrepreneur, however, I was forced to learn Finance and Accounting.

Avoid relying on your accountant for everything. All entrepreneurs should understand how money flows in a business and how Income Statements and Balance sheets are read. Trust me, loving numbers will be very rewarding.

MISTAKE 4 - Hiring and Keeping the Wrong People / Mismanaging People / Maintaining a Weak Culture

“Customers will never love a company until the employees love it first.” We live by these words by Simon Sinek. Human Resources should not be taken for granted, because building a good company culture is important for any business.

When I was starting, my first teammates in VCS were my college friends. This is obviously because I already know how they work and I already trust them. I learned later on that, as a business expands, you cannot be limited to hiring the people that you already know. You have to open up to a bigger pool of talents.

To ensure that the employee you are hiring is the right fit for your company, you have to start by having a solid recruitment system. VCS employees undergo a thorough screening process before they are hired. We hire slow. Our recruitment system determines if the applicant fits the position’s role and the culture of the company.

What does VCS value more? We value soft skills more than technical skills. The applicant’s character and growth potential have more weight versus their technical skills.

Once employees are hired, there is an established Feedback System. Employees know how their development is measured and how they can grow in the company. They are not left in the dark about how they are progressing. Merit systems and promotions and salary increase metrics are in place.

A solid company culture is rooted on you and your team’s shared values. The members of your team should know and understand what you believe in and what you stand for. Core values dictate behavior and help employees understand what is right and wrong. With the right values in place, they are guided with their behavior and they can make decisions that will be best for everyone involved.

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Vitalstrats Creative Solutions (VCS) is a creative agency based in Quezon City, Philippines. VCS specializes in content marketing, advertising, and video production. We use strategic creativity to help our clients grow their brands.

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/vitalstrats/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vitalstrats/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/Vitalstrats Agency Reel: http://bit.ly/VCSReel2019

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I may be an “accidental entrepreneur” but the growth of VCS is anything but an accident. Throughout the past 14 years, me and the members of Team VCS have carefully and consciously made decisions that helped us grow together. Yes, there are failures and fallings, but always see them as experiences from which we can earn valuable lessons.

The mistakes that I’ve detailed above are only some of the things that we have experienced over the years. In the future, I’ll be sharing more tips and learnings that will help you grow your business and empower your team.

I am Dipi Zamora, a graphic designer and illustrator.

During my first months in VCS, I wasn’t confident with myself. I was a victim of bullying, especially in high school, and I had this feeling that I am worthless and weak. There were times when I hit rock bottom. There were times when I wanted to give up. I was the type of person who was really quiet and who liked the idea of being alone.

I also wasn’t also sure if graphic design is really for me. I thought I was already good; then I started my internship in VCS. I realized that I had limited knowledge in this field.

Despite these struggles, I set my sights on personal growth. Every day, I tried to change my negative outlook in life and used them to find my strengths.

VCS also gave me a place to feel free and confident, to be the best version of myself. You know that the people around you won’t judge you. I’ve met the best people in VCS, and we may have different personalities, but we click because respect and kindness are always present.

I’ve learned to just be myself and not care about what other people think. Never let other people control your life, or change you because of what they’re saying. If you want to grow, you have to change for yourself and not for others.

- Dipi Zamora, #TeamVCS Graphic Designer

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Our history was a journey of growth that wouldn’t have happened if not for the people who grew with us and alongside us. And as we mark our 14th year, we’ll continue to create an environment where we can grow together.

As an LGBT-owned creative agency in Quezon City, Vitalstrats recognizes, applauds, and embraces its Gender Fair Ordinance. What the recent unfortunate incident between Gretchen Diez and a mall in QC brought forth however is the need to further build and act on this ordinance. We have to make sure that business owners and employees of companies and establishments within the city know and understand what the ordinance necessitates.

This incident also heightens the need for us to pursue the SOGIE Equality bill—the bill that protects LGBT+ people across our nation from all forms of discrimination.

We had our 3rd quarter Townhall last week and boy, did we learn a lot from the first half of 2019! 

We Filipinos LOVE noodles--just notice how noodles are a staple at any gathering! One unique pancit dish is the pancit habhab of Quezon, which is eaten straight from a banana leaf, no dishes or utensils required! These yummy pancit habhab noodles are just one of the products sold by  LA REINA ELENA. This Quezon-based SME also makes vegan noodles, spiced coconut vinegar, and other condiments.

#TeamVCS got the chance to work with La Reina Elena through the Department of Trade and Industry. The brand refresh consisted of a new logo, packaging design, and a short video. This new look gives La Reina Elena a modern, premium feel that reflects the quality of its products.

Source: Invision

As marketers and advertisers, we are the messengers between our brands and their respective target markets. For us to fulfill our role of relaying brands’ messages in the best way possible, we need to craft materials that are strategically-creative. Strategic, so that they can hit the right people, make the right impact, and compel them to act. Creative, so that they captivate our audience and give them an enjoyable experience.

The first step to doing all this is, of course, research. This can take the form of an online search on your target market’s behavior or in-depth focus group discussions.

But what do you do after you gather all your data? How do you turn it into something useful, meaningful, and easily digestible? How do you get to the core of what your market wants (or doesn’t want)?

It all boils down to distilling this raw data into a concise, actionable strategy. This strategy should help you craft strategically-creative materials that will highlight why your brand is relevant to the market.

One way to understand your market better is to make a Value Proposition Canvas. This model was first developed by Dr. Alexander Osterwalder as a means to show how a customer’s needs can be addressed by brands.

In a nutshell, the Value Proposition Canvas Canvas is a way to illustrate the “fit” between a Customer’s Jobs, Pains, and Gains and a Brand’s Product / Service, Pain Relievers, and Gain Creators. Doing this makes it easier to map out the sweet spot between your target market and your brand.Creating a Value Proposition Canvas

1. First, collate all the information that you need about your target market and your brand’s product or service.

2. Next, go through your research and fill out the CUSTOMER PROFILE side of the canvas. Make each bullet point as concrete as possible.

a. The first part to fill out is your customer’s Jobs. These are the things that your customers need to do, achieve, or solve. These include:

i. Functional jobs such as going to work, teaching a class, or taking care of family;

ii. Social jobs such as maintaining popularity, being seen as smart, or being perceived as a good parent;

iii. Personal or emotional jobs such as feeling financially secure, knowing one’s family is safe, or feeling loved; and

iv. Purchasing jobs that related to purchasing or consuming, which include renewing a subscription, vlogging about a product, or opting in to a service

b. Next, fill out your customer’s Pains. This includes anything that makes it hard for your customers to do their Jobs. They also include risks and other negative outcomes related to the customers’ Jobs. These include:

i. Undesired outcomes, problems, and characteristics such as experiencing software problems, feeling negative emotions, or getting dissatisfied with a restaurant’s service;

ii. Obstacles, such as distance, the lack of time, or a steep price point; and

iii. Risks, which include anything that might go wrong

c. Then, fill out your customer’s Gains. These are desired outcomes or benefits, as well as “extras” that customers would appreciate. Examples of Gains are:

i. Required gains, which include the product or service functioning well;

ii. Expected gains, which are features that a product or service could do without, but make the experience better for the customer;

iii. Desired gains, which are advantages that your target market wants from a product or service; and

iv. Unexpected gains, which are usually innovations that provide an upgrade to the customer’s experience .

This is what a sample Customer Profile for a fictional make-up product would look like:

3. Now, it’s time to fill out the VALUE MAP side of the canvas.

a. For the Products and Services part of the canvas, simply state what kind of product or service you offer.

b. Next, list down the Pain Relievers of your brand. These are the concrete features that help reduce your target market’s pains. These can include helping them save time or money, eliminating risks, making them feel secure, or making your product easier to use. Pain Relievers can stem from your UVP or Unique Value Proposition.

c. Then, list down your brand’s Gain Creators. Gains are the ways through which you can give your target market’s required, expected, desired, or unexpected gains. Examples of these are savings, a better social status, feeling great about oneself, or an upgraded user experience. Just like the Pain Relievers, these can come from your UVP.

This is what a sample Value Map looks like.

As you might have noticed, your brand may not be able to address all the customer’s pains or deliver a long list of gains. But this is what makes the Value Proposition Canvas important — you get to see what features you can highlight when it comes to crafting your strategy.

4. Now that you’ve completed both sides of the Value Proposition Canvas, step back and take a look at the whole picture. Do your brand’s pain relievers target any major pains? Can you provide your customers with any essential gains? If so, this is the FIT that you are looking for. This is how your brand becomes relevant to your target market.

5. When you’ve found the FIT for your Value Proposition Canvas, you can use it to start creating your marketing strategy or the Big Idea for your advertising materials.

Taking the example of our customer profile and value map, our FIT will stem from the ease with which the products are used throughout the whole experience. Focus on this value to highlight why the brand is relevant to its intended market. At the same time, you can minimize mentioning the price point, or use influencers to talk about how your products are worth every peso.

By following the Value Proposition Canvas, you can come up with materials, strategies, or even future products that will best serve your target market.

— — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — Vitalstrats Creative Solutions (VCS) is a creative agency based in Quezon City, Philippines. VCS specializes in content marketing, advertising, and video production. We use strategic creativity to help our clients grow their brands. Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/vitalstrats/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vitalstrats/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/Vitalstrats Agency Reel: http://bit.ly/VCSReel2019

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Processes and systems help us in producing strategically-creative materials in the most efficient manner. By exploring ways to maximize the data that we have and turning it into a concrete plan of action, we are able to find the best possible solutions for our clients.

Are you going to try making a Value Proposition Canvas for your next project? Or have you tried this method before? Let us know what you think of this strategy in the comments below!