Chiqui and I co-authored “The WE Entrepreneurs” in 2010 and shared the ten building blocks to entrepreneurial authenticity. Reinforcing its status as the No. 1 book on entrepreneurship at National Bookstore, and in celebration of both Mansmith and Fielders Inc.’s 20th Anniversary as well as my 25th Anniversary as an entrepreneur then, we launched Day 8 Business Academy for SMEs in October 8, 2010.
The name Day 8 came from a biblical inspiration of new beginnings while I was in the midst of my oral defense requirement for my M.A. Religious Studies in 2010 while the number 8 symbolizes prosperity for many businessmen.
Based from the result of a four-question research, we crafted a four-point manifesto (acronym 4Fs representing Freedom, Face, Frugality, and Facilitation) where we wanted to unlock the potential of the SME entrepreneurs. We firmly believe that Marketing 3.0 is not just about product or image but the potential of the human spirit taking centerstage!
The first insight and the first “F” is Freedom. Instead of dictating what courses to take, entrepreneurs can attend only what they need. For instance, an entrepreneur in the service industry will not be asked to attend a class in manufacturing process. They will have the freedom to assemble their own curriculum, learn what they need to learn in three hours, short and direct to the point.
Over 50 courses have been designed to be SME-relevant. Three-hour courses include “Marketing without TV Advertising”, “Small Store Marketing”, “Handling Price Objections”, “Finding Your Next Big Opportunity”, “Competing to Win”, “Effective Managing”, etc. All courses are designed to help SMEs increase revenues or improve their personal effectiveness while cutting costs without cutting corners!
Face is as important for the entrepreneurs as they have strong desires to prove their worthiness to themselves and to others; so Day 8 is offering those in crisis scholarships, an opportunity for angel investor funds, deferred payment plan, and a turnaround master class for SME companies losing money.
Frugality is the third factor as SMEs have limited resources, so Day 8 launched an “attend what you need, pay what you want” unprecedented pricing innovation for its 3-hour courses to help SME entrepreneurs succeed quicker to become more generous to the lost, the last, and the least in the future.
Finally, Facilitation means all courses shall be conducted by dynamic and successful entrepreneurs who will not only have the presentation skills to wow their audience, but have actually succeeded in business. Day 8 recognizes that while experimentation is important, the limited funding of the SMEs will not allow them a lot of latitude especially at the beginning of their enterprise; therefore, sharing successful personal experiences and behavioral empathy from fellow entrepreneurs are indispensable parts of the learning methodology.
(For details about Day 8, please visit www.day8.org. Volunteers to be seminar speakers are most welcome.)
I just want to know, what is Josiah’s definition of marketing?
The definition is in all my marketing books 🙂