While starting a new business can be an exciting process for many fresh entrepreneurs, avoiding very common mistakes early on can lead to businesses being more adaptable and agile overall. This was the overall theme of Shell LiveWIRE 2023 Homeroom Sessions, as both the inaugural session, titled “Start-ups’ keys to success: Adaptability and Agility,” and the final session, titled “Navigating Business Mortality: How to Avoid the Pitfalls that Cause Businesses to Fail,” offered insights into how entrepreneurs and new business owners could create successful and long-lasting businesses. Both on-site and online attendees gained access to advice from mentors with experience in business growth, innovation, and empowering small enterprises.
Serge Bernal, Vice President for Corporate Relations at Shell Pilipinas, emphasized the significance of adaptation and agility during the first Shell LiveWIRE Homeroom Sessions.
Adaptation and Agility
Both sessions featured seasoned entrepreneurs who shared their personal experiences and insights, underscoring the importance of these traits in the volatile landscape of startups. The first session discussed the importance of experimentation for new businesses to find where their audience is.
Jason Dela Rosa, Founder of BounceBack Philippines, described adaptation and agility as, “Adaptability is all about endurance. Being able to endure challenges in your environment, and then be able to change the way you do business. Agility is how quickly you do that.” Hans Kenner Fernandez, CEO of Urban Traveller and Co. gave his advice to start ups on being agile and being prepared, “Try to be flexible, but then at the same time, preparing for contingencies. Mostly for me, that means having multiple ways to earn revenue.”
Christian Blanquera, the Chief Technology Officer of Shoppable, shares invaluable insights on avoiding common start-up pitfalls in the Shell LiveWIRE Homeroom Sessions.
Navigating Business Mortality
The second session detailed the common mistakes new business owners make and why it’s important to address them early for a sustainable and long-lasting business. Christian Blanquera, Chief Technology Officer of Shoppable, detailed hiring too many employees early and improper planning in equity sharing among the staff as two early mistakes start-ups make. “We all have to think about, when we create a startup, we’re representing or supporting the economy of this country and we have a responsibility to produce revenues for your startup and the entire ecosystem,” said Blanquera. “We’re all part of the economy in some sort of way, so we have to always try our best.
Overcoming adversity was also a point made during the session as business owners can experience burnout as the business continues. “There’s a lot of challenges, a lot of bumps along the road. But the thing is, when you go back to your core, you go back to your why, you go back to your vision and the reason why you’re doing this, that should help drive you so that you can move forward regardless of the challenges that you encounter,” said Carlo Calimon, President of StartUp Village.
