Hello, dear Hivers! How have you been? I do hope you all have a marvelous week. Today, I’ll be glad to share with you this culminating activity we had at school, last January 4, 2024, for our e-commerce subject, with a theme of “Empowering E-commerce: Expand User Experience, Navigate Business Growth, and Key to Marketing Success.” This event has instilled in me lots of learnings and insights as a marketing student, as well as life lessons, and I’m so eager to convey the wisdom I have assimilated from the guest speakers with you.
THE REASON FOR THIS EVENT
As finals were approaching, we were so bombarded with paper work; thus, our e-commerce professor proposed to have a culminating activity instead of conducting a written exam, which for us is actually a great opportunity. It was absolutely a better way since pragmatic events like this would give us students more knowledge and lessons as we embark on our future endeavors. Given that, we also have a very dynamic and competitive industry as of today, and having this activity made possible means more SMART (specific, measurable, achievable, realistic, and time-bound) ways to learn. 💡 This was supposed to be held in December last year, but we weren’t able to push it through because of the unavailability of the venue as well as some of the speakers. But gratefully, it was finally scheduled for the 4th day of January. This was a big event, as all fourth-year BSBA marketing students from the day and night programs were the attendees.
THE DAY BEFORE THE EVENT
There were students assigned to specific tasks, and I am part of the décor team. The day before the event, we had a meeting with our professor in the morning with the other teams, and our group was instructed to make the decoration simple but casual. At exactly 2:30 pm, we went to the campus gymnasium, as it would be the venue for the event.
at the gym
Everyone agreed to just use balloons for the decoration, with colors chosen aligned with our departmental color. We blew out all the balloons first and decided to have a balloon pillar stand placed on each side of the LED video wall. We wanted to make it simple and not excessively decorated.
the process
the output
At exactly 5:22 pm, there’s just some of us left, but we somehow finished the decoration. As you can see, it conveys simplicity, is not too extravagant, and we’re all happy and satisfied with the result.
THE DAY OF THE EVENT
Finally, here comes the day of the culminating activity! Our call time was 7:00 a.m. sharp. It was too early; that’s why I left the house at around 5 a.m., considering that it’s Monday and, as expected, there’ll be heavy traffic for sure. Therefore, to avoid being late for the event, I departed from home early and just had my breakfast outside the school. I arrived at the venue on time and filled out the attendance form.
the venue
I’ve noticed my fellow aspirant businesspeople are so pretty and handsome wearing their formal suits. I am overwhelmed by everyone’s presence, excited for the event, and very challenged because it will be an 8-hour activity.
listening to Taylor Swift’s songs while waiting for the event to start
EVENT OFFICIALLY STARTS
We welcomed the guest speakers with open arms, and there were actually four speakers in total. Two in the morning and two in the afternoon. I have learned a lot from them since our discussion was all interactive, like after the speech, where there's an open forum for addressing our questions. Now, I will be sharing my learnings with you one by one.
1. Sir Rhancel Labuga
He is a property specialist for SM Development Corporation and has been a college teacher at different schools. As for his current job, what I learned is the importance of building connections. I believe a job involving sales is one of the most difficult things to do. There’s really a need to find and establish relationships with potential buyers. That’s why Sir Rhancel has traveled a lot to faraway places to find those people. Going to places, even if he’s a complete stranger to the place and to everyone. Thus, it’s already a given that working in real estate requires a lot of professional networking and negotiation skills, as it talks about selling properties equivalent to millions.
What’s more amazing is that when he got his first million, he immediately invested it in a franchise business. He is now a franchisee of the “Pater ni Aki” brand in the Philippines, and he’s working for more branches in other places. Some key points I’ve learned from him are the significance of building connections, dreaming big dreams, and surrounding yourself with the right people. He said that we should have ourselves surrounded by determined, ambitious, hardworking, and inspiring people, as they would instill motivation for us to be successful as well.
2. Ms. Yvonne Tiffany Rondina
Ms. Tiffany is a certified industrial engineer, a former cost analyst and internal auditor, formerly worked as a pollution control officer and safety officer, and is currently the owner of two homegrown brands in Cebu City, Philippines, which are Cre-a-tive Tiffany PH and Potato District. CRE-A-TIVE Tifanny is an output of her love for crafting, and her businesses all started with humble beginnings and inspiring lessons that have left a lasting impact on me.
I can’t forget what she said:
“To do great work, you have to do what you love.” Yes, it’s actually true that when we’re actually passionate about what we do, we will always have commendable work because it’s all done with love. She highlighted in her speech the importance of finding and pursuing one’s passion, and I totally agree with it. I’m one of five students asked what my passion is, and I answered “writing,” which is what I’ve been doing here at Hive.
In response to what Ms. Yvonne said, I also have two cents in mind. As of today, some of us would always compromise our passion to strive for things that could offer better opportunities than what we love, considering practicality. As Steve Jobs said, “The only way to do great work is to love what you do.” It’s the other way around; we have to love what we do in order for us to do great work. I believe that if we learn to love what we are doing, we will never get tired of it, and we will find more enthusiasm to continue doing things. As for my case, I will do both facets. First, I’ll learn to love what I do, and then I'll do what I love. There’s no need to rush things, and we could always get what we love if we'd just work hard for it. At certain times, we can actually do both.
3. Ms. Angcool
Ms. Angcool’s a proud LGBTQ member, currently a master teacher, does modeling, is a content creator, a social media influencer, both a brand ambassador and a franchisee of Don Macchiatos, the first 39-peso coffee in the Philippines. She became popular on social media during the pandemic with her funny contents that went viral, which opened so many doors for opportunities. Not born with a silver spoon in her mouth, she’s grateful for the blessings she has now.
Do you know what makes it amazing? He actually became a franchisee with no single coin invested. There’s this too-popular coffee brand, Don Macchiatos, and he promoted it on social media without payment. She just talks a lot about it because it’s actually a good brand. I can attest to this because I’m actually a loyal customer of Don Macchiatos.
The owner had recognized her and, out of gratitude, granted her the right to have a free branch of Don Mac, which is worth 399,000 pesos. She utilized and operated everything in a wise manner, and now she has five branches.
What I’ve learned from Ms. Angcool is the art of discipline. In terms of his necessities and personal spending, she takes the money from his salary as a teacher and her gigs. Business is business. I’ve learned that managing finances with discipline and making strategic decisions, like wisely utilizing opportunities, are crucial aspects of being successful. Her story serves as a great example of how a combination of ambition and financial prudence can lead to significant achievements in life. He concluded his speech with a note that, “When you become a business owner someday, don't forget to LOVE YOUR EMPLOYEES, as they are the bloodline of your business.”
4. Mrs. Athena Basubas
Mrs. Basubas, formerly a teacher and now a full-time Personal Collection (PC) franchisee, shares a truly inspiring story. She’s actually a disease survivor, and with all the struggles and difficulties she encountered in life, she conquered everything with a courageous heart. Considering her age, her health, and her quality time with family, she retired from teaching but is doing well in life because of her established business, PC. Her life story as a franchisee was actually enacted by a well-known Filipino actress, Dimples Romana. What I can’t forget about what she taught us is the significance of discipline, focus, being time-bounded, and being result-oriented.
Overall, I’m so grateful for the knowledge and wisdom I’ve acquired from this culminating activity. I’ve been touched by the different life stories and successes of those remarkable speakers. I know I can use everything I’ve learned as I contemplate my endeavors in the future.
Thank you so much for reading, everyone! I'm grateful for your time and support. See y'all around. (●♡∀♡)
