Find your centre and get your game on! - CLUTCH Vol. 6 Workshop Day 5

Words and Images by Blessie Maturan, Edited by Bea Palanca

For young creative people it is difficult to find the guidance when starting on your own or at least be given the slight idea that it is possible to build yourself into a business. Most of us have no clue how to start or what to expect when trying to become entrepreneurial using your own artistic talents.

However in this fifth workshop our facilitators, Jodinand Augillon of A Homerun and Britt Hopkins of Anice Jewelry were very facilitating and realistic during the time we spent with them.

In the first half of the workshop, our host Jodinand of A Homerun started with an activity that would lead to a clearer image of our own path to our possible futures. This mini-goal setting workshop also enabled us to find out what we should focus on, stabilize and took off some pressure over what is holding us back into fully delving into our passions.

In the activity, we were given thirty sheets of paper and on each sets of ten we were to write past milestones, present activities or issues, and future dreams and in another blank sheet we were to write what is holding us back from executing whatever is in our present or future. I found the small activity a great introduction that paved the way into a deeper discussion on failure, independence, security, and money issues as a young entrepreneur.

Jodee carries with him an extensive amount of knowledge and experience as a self-taught entrepreneur whose approach is pragmatic and direct. He gave us different perspectives in approaching business and made it seem more of an exciting opportunity rather than a daunting task.  The fear of making mistakes became an opportunity to learn and he suggests we “make mistakes, move fast, break things when you’re working corporate” so that there we will be more prepared when we our operating on our own which is very important and often overlooked when starting a business.  Furthermore in order to become an expert he suggested getting a job in the area in which you want to open a certain business in and treat it as a form of education.

A screenshot from Jodee's presentation on Filipino entrepreneurs: Soccoro C. Ramos, co-founder of National Book Store in the Philippines

We also discussed many female and also male Filipino entrepreneurs and their business model such as Socorro C. Ramos of National Bookstore and how they achieved their successes.  At the end of the presentation we were able to arrive at the more stable mindset and I felt more confident about making mistakes and less worried about failures.

Here are a few points to remember when starting a business:

  1. If it’s not fun, don’t do it. If you’re not giving it your all its not fair to you and others.
  2. Do what you love but be realistic
  3. Entrepreneurs are made not born.
  4. Have a strong work ethic, be resourceful and stick to your gut.
  5. Pay yourself first! Artists are paid for vision not labour!
  6. Start editing and cut the fat! Forever be in beta; there is always room for improvement.

Visit Jodee's website, A Homerun, and learn more about his work next door to Kapisanan.

Thanks, Jodee!

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Brittany Hopkins who is the jeweler and owner of Anice instructed part two of this workshop. We had the chance to create and assemble our own necklaces, which was exciting to see because we ended up with a finished professional looking object.

Jewelry making involves a lot of dexterity and can be a bit scary especially when handling small and precious metals and objects for fear of breaking. However under Brittany’s direction we were able to assemble, bend metal and create something beautiful while she told us her story of how she started Anice.

She told us the importance having a business plan to outline your objectives and finances which is useful yourself to reference and for other people such as banks, investors, or even grant applications to review. Another benefit of having a business plan is to find out how fully invested you will be in your business. Since the plan a pretty demanding paper to write, you will find out how much you can pour into your vision to make it happen.  Having a business plan is an essential to start your own business or service and will definitely help as you grow and move to bigger things.

Throughout Clutch we have had numerous workshops on skill building. This particular workshop helped us see the possibilities of what we have learned during our time here and also what we put in it ourselves.

Here is a link to Brittany’s Website, Anice Jewellery.

Some help on business plans and youth entrepreneurship programs can be found here.

Thanks, Britt!