Technopreneurship 1 was indeed a good start for students, especially for us who are taking technology related course. I have learned many things from the discussions given by our facilitator. Technology and entrepreneurial skills are driving many economies to prosperity. Technopreneurship is not a product but a process of synthesis in engineering the future of a person, an organization, a nation and the world. It is the only source of long-run sustainable competitive advantage. In an era of man-made brainpower industries, individual, corporate, and national economic success will all require both new and more extensive skills sets than have been required in the past. A technopreneur is an entrepreneur who is technology savvy, creative, innovative, dynamic, dares to be different and take the uncultivated path, and very fervent about their work. They take challenges and strive to lead their life with greater success. They don't fear to fail. They take failure as a learning experience, a stimulator to look things differently and walk for the next challenges. By themselves skills don't guarantee success, but without skills and technopreneurship there are no successful organizations. Technopreneurship focuses on four main ideas abbreviated as SEED (Self-mastery, Environment, Enterprise and Development of Business Ideas). But since we lack time, we did not finish the first two factors. We only discuss the Self-Mastery. Related to it, we have taken several tests to know more about our self. These are Personality test, Emotional Quotient Test, Adversity Test and Intellectual Quotient test. A personality test aims to describe aspects of a person's character that remain stable throughout that person's lifetime, the individual's character pattern of behavior, thoughts, and feelings. Second is Emotional Quotient Test. This test aims to measure your ability to handle your emotions in a given situation. The third is Adversity Test. This test measures your ability to react in some adverse situations that you will encounter in your life. And the last is Intellectual Quotient. This test measures your level of intelligence. Aside from taking those tests, we have also made other activities and discussions. One of those is, watching Pirates of the Silicon Valley. For me, it was such a very inspiring story, in spite of some of the “wrong” ways the characters have chosen. The main characters of that movie were Steve Jobs and Bill Gates. Steve Jobs is one of the famous technopreneurs in the world. He is the Chairman, CEO and co-founder of Apple Inc., a leading manufacturer of electronic devices including the Macintosh Computer (MAC), iPod, iPhone, and the music and video software itunes. He was well known for his innovations. IPod - most carried gadget by young population. While Bill Gates is one of the best-known entrepreneurs of the personal computer revolution. He was the chief executive officer of Microsoft. These two people are considered as one of the elite in the information society. We had also discussed about the life of Steve Jobs and the struggles he faced before going to success. I have known that he was just an ordinary man. He wasn’t able to finish schooling yet he had reached the top of success. He has many incapacities but it did not stop him to persevere for the dream he was building. I was even more amazed when I read his commencement exercise speech. There, he revealed his true identity, of who really he was. He had suffered from many struggles but yet until now he is still growing in the industry. We had also asked by our instructor to make a business proposal by group. My group mates were Marybert Lee AND Dianne Jean Dumdum. We had a hard time thinking of what project will we propose. But then we remember what our instructor has told us. In planning for a business, it is very important that it is something you love. So we think of the tings we love. We have different likes but we decided to choose “BOOTINGTHINGS”. This is the name of our proposed program. It is an online program which customizes things such as bags, t-shirts, shoes, etc. We were not that confident for that business but since we love it, chokz na yun! Hehe when the proposal day had come, we were all very nervous because we are ask to present our business at the front and after it we are going to entertain some questions from our classmates. When it was our time we had presented the characteristics of our online program and at the end we were given a score of 1.3 with 1 as the highest. It put a great pressure on our part because we need to propose another business idea until our instructor would approve it. It was very hard to think of ideas which are not common. We think and think and think beyond the box. But thank God our instructor approved our 2nd business proposal. It was called tympanic. It is a specialized digital thermometer which can store data from the patients. It will help the work of the nurses easier than letting them record each data in a sheet of paper which is prone to be lost or something. It has also an usb chord which will let them transfer the files easily to the main computer they are using. Thanks to the sister of Dianne who gave us that idea. At the first days of our first semester we had an assignment to suggest improvement for fast food chains. As a concerned citizen, I have some suggestions to improve the facilities of these fast food chains. As what I have observed, they are lacking in terms of man power. So, to solve that particular problem I am proposing that instead of releasing money for additional man power, they will use the budget to have highly technological machines or gadgets to make their transactions easier and faster. I suggest that they should place 4 stations in their branches. The first station is where they can choose their orders from the menu in the touch screen. After specifying their orders they will then proceed in the 2nd station where they would pay the total amount of the food they have ordered. There is an automated cash registrar in the station separating coins from bills. Customers can also swipe their credit cards in the machine if they don’t have cash. After paying the exact amount, they will then proceed in the last station, where they can get their purchased food. Upon getting the food, they will then go to their respective tables. In the table, an I-pod touch-like gadget which they can use whenever they have additional orders. If ever they have additional orders, they will just choose it from the I-pod touch-like device then the orders will be automatically send in the last station where they can pay their accounts and get their specified food orders. In terms of house to house deliveries, they should provide a site for their store. The customer will first enter some personal details before she/he can choose her desired orders. After choosing, there will be an option if they will pay the amount in cash or in terms of credit cards. If the customer chooses cash, he/she will then pay as soon as his/her order arrives but if he/she choose to pay through credit card, the customer will be prompted to enter her account number. This will reduce the need of man power because all the stations are automated thus the only man power they need is the people who will maintain the cleanliness of the store. There will be no long lines of people because the machines are easy to operate so there is no need for the customers to take longer time in choosing their orders in the menu. There will be no delayed transactions because the machines are supervised by some experts if ever the machines went wrong. My proposal is quite expensive but it surely can make the transactions inside the store faster and more convenient in the part of consumers. It will just serve as an investment for the future growth of their store which surely can be drawn back easily because of the positive response of the consumers. I surely say that because nowadays, people are engaged in that kind of high technological environments. It was very fun to visualize things and I wish, I could make my suggestion in reality.
As time pass by, I have realized that being a technopreneur is not an easy venture. Technopreneurs need to be effective. That doesn't mean you have to stay the course when the course turns out to be the wrong one. It doesn't mean you ignore parts of your company. It simply means you have an optimization problem – how to make the most impact with your limited time and attention. Since I was a child I have been dreaming to be one of the successful entrepreneurs in our country and even around the world. I am looking forward to a restaurant business. I know it at that time that it is not that easy to put a food business. You must consider lots and lots of factors. But it did not stop me to believe that I can be that person someday. I was inspired by my older brother who was now running his own business. I was just stunned on how fast money was circulating in a business. But, as I have read business books, you must be someone and must have something. I don’t want to follow those rules because I believe, that time, that I can run my own business in my own ways. As I grew up, I slowly understand what the word “Successful Business” really means. In order to be a successful entrepreneur, you must be competent, you must have viable business concept and has access to adequate capital. By then, I realized to jump off that dream and choose other options. As years passed by, I have observed that technology has been playing a vital role in our economy. Technology-oriented companies are growing fast and are opening doors to many applicants. As I was thinking of what course I will prefer to enroll in college, that realization comes into my mind. I don’t say that taking Bachelor of Science in Information Technology was really my choice. Honestly, my sister just told me to take it but as times goes by I am starting to love my course because of the advantages it brought me. Seeing myself as a technopreneur seemed to be funny because I am not that techie person but I came to my understanding that Technopreneurship is not only about technology, it also deals with entrepreneurial skills. My course allowed me to think beyond the limitations. I was stars trucked by what computers can really do. it greatly affects our daily lives. Even in simple ways, computers are very useful. This was the time that I came back to the dream I dreamt before, to be an entrepreneur in terms of technology. A technopreneur. There are great opportunities technology can offer in terms of business. As what I have observed outside our school, there are many small businesses that are using computers as their main source. It was very attractive to the people especially to the youths who are very exposed in a highly technological kind of society. Now that I have I Technopreneurship subject, I am looking forward to apply the concepts that our instructor would impart to us. I am looking forward seeing myself as a successful technopreneur someday, allowing great opportunities to people who are unemployed. I am also planning to have an internet-based business like the well-known EBay. It is very easy to circulate money in this kind of business because nowadays people are very inclined in the internet. As the era of high technology approached, I will help the government refocused its efforts on creating a workforce and industry ready to lead the world in new high-tech industries. Knowledge, innovation and entrepreneurship are now globally valued commodities, and can be capitalized on anywhere.
All we need is to focus and set our goals and just remember all the things we had encounter and learned.
More power and God Bless
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