SME BizLink

• Editor's Take: Market Sustainability
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    Three Moments and three chocolate     heart-shaped cakes.Once there was a     husband who brought three small                 heart-shaped chocolate cakes with                 icing-decorated words: I LOVE YOU as his     peace offering for his wife. Then, there was     a child who bought a chocolate cake with     matching loving message for her mother         that touched the latter's heart and led to         patching up their indifferences. And a             suitor handed a cake to the 'apple of his         eyes' and later got the hand of her                 ladylove in marriage. With a simple             gesture of chocolate heart-shaped cake,         lives have been touched, hearts have been     moved through a Laguna-based pastry         business.

Editor's Take

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In business the next step after achieving viability is earning market sustainability. Innovation, Respect and Creativity are key drivers to rev up your SME’s performance and contribute to a strong, vibrant market. 

Innovate or Vegetate. Entrepreneurs cannot afford to rest on their laurels. Overconfidence is a dangerous thing. No matter how much success a business achieves, it’s downhill from there if you fail to design for the future. In a market where competitors are starting to look and sound the same, re-design and differentiation is the way to get WOWs! Being an SME offers the flexibility to be creative and establish your business with a unique flavor and charm.

Respect the Market’s Choice. The lifeblood of any businesses is the consumer. Customers pay our wages. No customer, no wages. SMEs that will succeed in this period are those that know how to communicate and get their consumers to identify with the values and principles represented by the company and its brand.

Create the Market to work for Everyone. A business is not successful if focuses on profits at the expense of everything else. The demand for ethical and sustainable brands is growing worldwide. SMEs can tap into that demand by developing brands like organically-grown coffee, natural fibers, environmentally-safe packaging and ethically-tested formulas. 

We can make the market work to create more opportunities that lead to raising people’s living standards. Greater market demand results in new jobs to satisfy the rising needs. The most successful economies are based on partnership between businesses and society. The closer cooperation, the better!

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