Reflection

Reflection back on the past is considered by many to be the final process after completing a task, as a way of understanding and learning from that past experience.  This is indeed true now that we have the ability to have experienced different situations, the ways that they were dealt with, and the eventual outcome from the decisions that were made.  In order to gain the most from the reflection back, looking at only a few of the aspects would never achieve the full benefit of this.  One must be able to understand that from the very beginning of the experience all the way to the very end, all contributes to the overall lessons that can be learnt from the process.

Taking a step back from the chaos of the current situation we can split the experience from the Genesis Program into potentially three different major areas.  These areas are namely:

1) Teamwork
2) Product conception
3) Relevant market/Marketing

Looking at each one of these, one has the ability to analyse and obtain the lessons that can be learnt.

1).  Teamwork forms the main part of any type of group work. A team needs to be able to get on in a civilized manner even when there may be disagreements, one still needs to be able to work as an effective team member for the overall success of the task that is at hand.  Some might say that a completely diverse team is what is needed, whereas others might say that a team of similar people wold do better.  Everyone has their own choice to make as to the opinion that they choose.  We definitely found that a diverse team, although possibly pron to more arguments is better in the long run.  Diversity within a group allows for more ideas to be brought to the surface that would otherwise not be thought of with a similarly minded team.  The idea of one team member is questioned and researched during group meetings to evaluate as to whether or not it is worth looking at a deeper range.  The diversity overall strengthens the group in such a way that a group that started out at six members can still achieve the same amount of work as a group of four.  This was a real test of team work to see if everyone was willing to adapt to the changes and grow with them, or crumble at the first or second stressful situation.  No matter how hard the work is to achieve, with good teamwork it can be done.

2).  Deciding on what type of product is needed to solve a problem is an important step, as no product, then no business.  The question is what can be made that will solve a current problem in society.  This may be harder than one thinks as we have adapted ways of doing things so unless there is a direct problem that you can see, it will take a fair bit of work to find.  Once the problem has been found, it is a simple case of deciding on how the problem can be solved.  This is where the product can come in and fix the problem.  The solution can be anything from trying to solve a major problem, or creating a platform in order to help advance the abilities of another.  Either way, a form of problem is being solved and addressed.

3).  Having a great team and an awesome product is great, but it will not progress any further unless there is a market that is wanting the item.  This is where the market research and marketing abilities come into play.  The market has been created from the need that people have for a solution, and the solution has been created by the team in term of the product.  Last part of this is being able to convince people that the product that you have will be able to solve their problem.  This is determined by the ability of the marketing that is used to promote the product.  Trying to market something directly to someone needs to be quick and effective in order to capture their attention and not waste their time.  Certain products do not fit every demographic of people, and this is where the market research is brought in.  With the market research, we wanted to see if there was actually a demand for the product, and the various demographic areas that were out new target market.  As it turned out, there was indeed a market for the product when asking future customers.  This was good news!  Unfortunately, a lesson that we learnt was that this product was not one that people wanted to admittedly buy in the open, and even when given the opportunity, they really liked the idea but didn't feel that they were willing to spend money on it.  This was a major lesson that we learnt from the marketing and sales part.  People are more drawn to gadgets and products that can set them apart from their friends.  Allow them the ability to set a new trend among their own circles.

From all of this, although not a direct financial success with regards to the business, it was not a complete waste as we gained an extremely large amount of experience, possibly more than we would have in three years of work.  Yes at times many of us wanted to give up and walk away, but walking away would not have allowed for the great and vast  investment of experience and knowledge.  Would anyone regret doing the year, maybe, but in my opinion, it was a life changing experience and adventure.

Collapse with Belguim

A few months back we had a meeting with venture capitalists from Belgium that went really well for us. They enjoyed our presentation and liked the direction that our product was heading at the time, when there was still so much potential. One of them, named Manuella, even sent us a Facebook inbox while we were presenting to wish us good luck in the future!

A few days later Manuella sent us email saying she was keen to work with us and wanted to somehow take the product to Belgium and get it into the university that she works at. She even wanted to send us two interns, in the new year, to help us expand and improve our business. We were also keen for this opportunity and were waiting for the Belgian academic year to start so that we could discuss things further and hopefully materialise all the talk.

The Belgian school year started two weeks ago and Manuella had two interns that were keen and ready to join us in February. But since we last spoke with her a lot has changed with the business. We had since decided to dissolve the company  and therefore could not take the interns anymore. It was difficult to tell her this news but she understood. I just hope that the students can manage to find internships somewhere they will enjoy working at.

Post Board Meeting Experience

Its a new week and the general feeling after our final board meeting with our directors is to close the business and divide the remaining stock amongst the shareholders. I feel that the directors have been very helpful in giving us the needed business guidance we were all in need of. The insight from our directors gave ORA Hygiene an informed perspective on how things really work in the real world. 

For me, the biggest contribution from directors was from Mike Darby our Social Project director that put us in contact with Warren from Seven Stars Retail in Johannesburg which I personally had a meeting at their offices in Johannesburg. As much nothing tangible was gained from the meeting there were lots of intangible lessons learnt from the experience that I will use for many years to come.

I believe that the kind of mentorship that directors gave was critical in many respects and such models should be encouraged in informal situations where there are aspiring entrepreneurs in places like townships and rural areas. 

Possible Future of the Company

Time is drawing to a close, but this does mean it is the end.  The decision of what happens to ORA after this year is now the question on the groups mind.  Will it continue to operate, Close down, or be taken over by a single existing member.  A lot of thought needs to be given to this question.  When one looks at the reasons to stay in a business, is it because they want to further develop the company, keep the current company but further develop themselves, or grow together with the company and reach for new heights, or alternatively, is it time to part ways and start a new adventure looking forward with the experience that we have gained.  At the current point in time, the decision that is currently on the table is that only one member of the group remains in the company on a full time basis, and the rest with draw.  These are hard decisions that need to be made, so no one wants to stay with a business that eventually might close due to poor market support, or withdraw, and lose out on great product success. This choice is one that take a lot of care and thought, but ultimately comes down to what the individual feels is the best decision for themself.

One Product Focus?

During a recent board meeting with some directors, it was mentioned that we only focused on one product during the Genesis year.  A few times, the addition of a product was mentioned to try broaden the range.  Reflecting back on this, what was the right thing to do? Focus on one product, or try run two products at the same time? We decided to focus on a single product, so that all of our attention was given to the one product.  At the time, we felt as a group that this was the best plan of action. Stream like our goals and work to achieve them.  Looking back now, it may have been beneficial to start the second product and use it to try draw attention the the original product.  These types of decisions become part of what make a business successful.  It is always easier to look back and say that this and that is what should have been done, and not so easy in the moment.  It becomes the experience of all these decisions that change the way that are approach other decisions in the future, as we would have gained a better understanding of the outcome from past events.  This sort of thought process comes naturally to some, but most need to develop the ability through gained experience.

Supply and Demand

Supply and demand of a product is what determines the price of a product.  This applies to almost every form of item, from fuel to that of vegetables.  Having an abundant supply of an item wont sell it, but it is the demand for that item that will sell it. But how is demand created?  If it was an easy task, then every product ever made would still be sold today.  In order for demand to be created, the people that become part of the respective target market need to want the product, regardless of if they need it in their life or simply want it.  In order to create the demand that is necessary to move forward, a problem needs to be conveyed to the potential customer that will make them want the solution to that problem.  That is when you present the product as the solution to them.  You have shown them the problem, made them look for a solution, and provided the solution to them.  This is a fairly simply concept, but the trick comes in convincing the potential customer that the solution that you are offering, is the very solution that they want.  This is the tricky part, the sales pitch.  It takes a large amount of practice to perfect the perfect sales pitch that will win every time.  Many look at rejections as a negative, but in a way, every no gets you some step closer to a yes.  It is the perseverance of the salesman to continually try and sell as much as he can.  Perhaps this is the way that a salesman gets his adrenaline rush!

International Marketing Aspects

With the recent hindrances that we have faced regarding the local retail market in Cape Town, we decided to look abroad to the neighboring countries and even those overseas.  In a way, we are not expanding the company, but yet we are attempting to expand the range of the product.  for us to even attempt to do this, factors need to be researched and understood, in order for this to even be possible.  Regardless of if the company is expanding or the reach of the product, the same main factors need to be considered, namely if there is the relevant market for the products, and what are the restrictive barriers that may be present towards the product.  These barriers may be anything from miscommunication between two languages to the local laws and legislation, to even the cultural acceptance of the product.  Culture plays a massive role in the expansion to another country, so it can definitely make the expansion a success or a failure.

Regarding ORA and the product that we stock, we believe that out biggest cloud would be as to whether or not the market for the product is currently available in the different regions or not.  Perhaps one of the best methods of assessing this for any company would be to secure a local team from the very region, and allow them to do the market research regarding the product.  By doing this, they are able to explain to the locals about the product in a more effective way than that of a foreigner. It allows for the avoidance of miscommunication about the product, the stigma of talking to a foreigner about such a 'uncomfortable' product, and ultimately achieve a more realistic idea of if the product will thrive in the region or not.

Retail World

Determining what type of product is thought to be difficult, yes, granted it is the main part of the equation, but we came to realise that compared to the process of trying to convince the market to purchase the item was just as challenging.  This is targeting the individual people in the particular market spectrum.  Now try and get this product to be of interest to major retailers.  This in itself is a really challenging task.  We received some great advise regarding this aspect, however the concept that stuck in our minds was that no one cares who we are. No one is interested in us regardless of the product, unless they can make money off of it or off of us.  Its not as easy as simply asking the retailer to purchase the stock from you.  They don't carewho you are at all, they will only consider the item if they are able to sell it, therefore ontop of creating a product that solve a problem, you also need to create the awareness of the product, and the need for it so that the demand will meet the supply potential.

Provided that you now actually get the product into the market, at every point along the way, there is someone with their hand out wanting their share.  Be it the distribution centers wanting a percentage or the store itself wanting a fee for the retail space over and above the profit that they themselves make on selling the item.  There is then SARS that want their share as well.  Taking our very product for example.  If we want to sell the product to a retailer at a value of R20, by the time that we make a profit, instead of the 200% profit, we only walk away with 50%.

A simpler example is as follows:

Sell item to retailer for R20
Vat - 14%
Distribution Center Rates (approx) - 15%-20%
Store Rebate (approx) - 15%
Merchandisers (approx) - 10%-20%

Once all of this has been paid,  the profits that remain are very slim compared to the original expectations.  Any product that made, needs to me produces as cheap as possible in order to try and achieve any form of measurable profit.  Real life retail is a tough, tough world to try and be part of.

Final straw

After the news from the SABS we contacted Pick n Pay and explained our situation and wanted to set up a meeting to discuss any future possibilities. This, however, fell through and they are no longer interested in working with us.

This might be the final straw that breaks the camel's back in terms of ORA continuing as a company. Every avenue we have tried (and we have tried A LOT) has come back negative and we will have to sit down and seriously discuss our next manoeuvre or exit strategy for the company. There are bleak times ahead.

SABS follow up

The SABS have surprisingly gotten back to us quite quickly but unfortunately they do not have a standard for disposable toilet seat covers. There are also not enough products in the market for them to create a standard.

This is both a good and a bad thing: we do not have to go through the tedious process of their testing of our product and manufacturing conditions but the loss means that we lose that little edge we hoped to gain. It is not a train smash as we can still continue to make the covers but it would have been nice to have the SABS badge on the front of our packs  

SABS visit

We visited the SABS offices in an attempt to get our product certified and approved so that the public knows that it is safe to use. This would also make it easier for us to sell our products to stores because the product would be verified.

They did not find any standard at the office for disposable toilet seat covers and will have to check with their main office. In the mean time they gave us a list of tissue based products that we could use to see if our product was closely related to any of them. We will have to wait and see if the head office can give us positive feedback

Affiliate feedback

One of our group members recruited his mother as an affiliate to sell some covers to people at her work. She managed to sell all the products she had with her but she did find difficulties, the same difficulties we had encountered at the expo. People really liked the concept and the product but were reluctant to make the R20 purchase.

So the problem we face goes deeper than just the student market. However, there was some good constructive criticism from the users that we would have used if we were going to make a second batch of covers.  

Failed Strategies

Failures tend to disappear from educational agendas mostly because information about business failures is often scarce or ignored completely, yet it is inevitable just like what I have seen with ORA Hygiene  On the other hand, information on successful companies and their success strategies is always available. 

Companies that pursue unsuccessful strategies either change their business strategies or they go out of business, which should have been the case with ORA Hygiene  A successful company is described as having used visionary management and innovative marketing strategies while a failing business is accused of poor business management and overall bad business skills. The communication should change and more entrepreneurs should be taught about failure because that would save millions of aspiring entrepreneurs a lot of money from making costly mistakes.

Successful People Make It Look Easy.

From what I have gathered this year entrepreneurship is about making mistakes. The biggest mistake I think we made this was not developing dispensers from the beginning instead of packaging our products. 

The one thing that irritated me that I came to realise this year with ORA Hygiene  is that successful people make it look easy. It's easy looking in from the outside. We don't often notice or acknowledge their failures. Successful people evaluate their failures, come up with new solutions to the challenge and try again - this time more educated than the first. Successful people also don't allow the fear of failure to stop them from achieving their goals.

By reflecting on the failures and challenges of ORA Hygiene I discovered that the ultimate success secret is that failure is inevitable in business and its about managing that failure by converting it into a lesson rather than a setback. By experiencing hardships and rejects as an entreprenuer you then grow, expand and  are able compete in an ever changing South African and international marketplace. 

My meeting with Born to be Free Non-Profit Organisation Today

This is a group that feel that they have a responsibility for a child that was born after 1994, a child born into the new South Africa, born into a South Africa that does not shackle and deprive people of their rights based on colour or gender. The born free group have a different battle to fight; they fight to ensure that the principles of the Freedom charter, as adopted by the Congress of the People in Kliptown (26 June 1955), are up- held and used as a mechanism to hold our leaders accountable. The group has been involved with a local school in Cape Town supplying the school with needed desktop computers for junior phases within the school.

The meeting today basically highlighted the potential to collaborate with group for their next project to maybe focus on hygiene instead of computer literacy for next years grade 1's. A collaboration with charismatic non-profit group could give ORA Hygiene some form assurance regarding the stock on hand.

Reflection on Innovation in Africa

To a certain extent ORA Hygiene Covers is an innovation to a big African issues of public toilet hygiene which is a big issue all across the continent. The sub-Saharan African retail market appealing because the African consumer have certainly become more sophisticated in what they want and at what price they want it at. Which is the issue for a product like ORA Hygiene because consumers don't know what the product is and what it can do for them and would rather spend their monies on something they know and trust.

Succeeding in Africa in the age of innovation requires companies like ORA Hygiene to rethink the approach to new product and process development. From what I have learnt this year, for a new company like ORA Hygiene to succeed managers must collaborate with external partners, particularly smaller entrepreneurs, to identify, develop and scale up promising new product and process ideas. Additionally, companies need to look at innovation opportunities beyond just products and processes, and consider business models, consumer experiences and brand engagement as part of an overall innovation portfolio

Mac Sales Affiliate - Liesbeek

Mac is, in his twenties and a spaza shop owner of Liesbeek cafe in Rondebosch Cape Town. The shop which he opened in 2015 (selling basic food stuffs and drinks sourced from the nearby wholesaler in Ottery) to support himself and his family. Mac, the owner of the Spaza Shop started this micro businesses for various reasons, but can nevertheless be regarded as an entrepreneur in that he have identified an opportunity. The beauty of his business is that he carries low overheads, which enables him and his team to become more competitive and responsive to demand changes.

After a lengthy conversation with him over the phone yesterday about the slow progress of the ORA Hygiene Covers of which is stocked in his store we realised that the South African market might not be ready for a product like a disposable toilet seat cover. With Mac on the ground having constant conversations with customers he's insight is real and valid about consumer feelings and attitudes towards the product. That consumers like the product idea but still aren't willing to pay for such a product because it is still something new and unknown.

Next Focus

Sales affiliates incentive schemes:

Strategy for convenience seeker market at the University of Cape Town at the different residences. The strategy is to attract students at the different residences like Forrest Hill, Obz Square etc. that can distribute hygiene covers on behalf of ORA Hygiene. These affiliates will act as agents for ORA Hygiene and will cooperate with ORA Hygiene for sales. Affiliates will receive 25% of every sale once they have returned the stock and sales made.

The strategy emphasizes on approaching NSFAS (National Student Financial Aid Scheme) that come from previously disadvantaged homes. ORA Hygiene wants to collaborate with these students by partnering for distribution and marketing purposes. Should a student sell 100 units in a week, students will receive R500. Should they achieve the same target the following week, the affiliates would have made R1 000 from ORA Hygiene.

The strategy will require that all affiliates are registered with ORA Hygiene, providing a copy of student card, ID and other personal details. Payments will be made via electronic payments.

This strategy should take us through to survive till we breakeven before the end of October 2016 when the business is scheduled to close.

Valuable Lessons From Seven Stars Retail

General lessons that were learnt from the two members from Seven Stars was that the retail environment in South Africa is extremely competitive and therefore very tough. Both Clive and Warren provided the team with some very valuable insights about pricing and sales in regard to retail market in South Africa. Some of these insights made references to popular brands like Pick n Pay, Disc-hem, Mass Mart and Clicks on how these brands operate and treat their retail partners.

Topics that included pricing rebates, distribution and positioning were some of the crucial information that was shared at the meeting with the two members from Seven Stars Retail.

I personally felt that interaction was very useful especially for postgraduate students with an entrepreneurial heart and tenacity. Information is one of the most valuable resources an entrepreneur can attain, especially when the information is effective and leads to any form of growth. This interaction also gave ORA Hygiene insight on what it takes to be a small business in a developing market like South Africa.

This TED video explains what it means it to be a small business owner in a market like South Africa:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hhBDfJY-xZw

Clicks Meeting

This morning we met with Warren and Clive from Seven Stars at the Clicks offices here in Cape Town.  They were kind enough to let us talk to the Clicks contact on their time.  Unfortunately they contact said that the product would not be of interest to them, and that the cost of production for the product was excessively high, especially after adding VAT, retailer rebates and distribution center commissions on top on paying merchandisers.  This shows us that retail is a very hard business, and that you need to have something that others consider to be special otherwise you will not make it.  It has been a very enlightening experience having to consider all the little extra charges that are added all the way along. A tough market to try and get into.

Meeting with Warren & Clive

The meeting with Clive and Warren from Seven Stars Retail didn't go the way ORA Hygiene expected  things to go. Seven Stars Retail, unfortantey pulled out of the proposed deal due to pricing disagreements between the two entities.

Seven Stars Retail were interested in purchasing packaged sheets for under R1,00 which meant that ORA Hygiene would be operating at a loss. This is despite the fact that Seven Stars would be making a bulk purchase yet the time and effort would not amount to a favourable outcome for ORA Hygiene and its partners.

For Seven Stars the deal would not lead the business into any profits as profit margins were already too tight even though Seven Stars was opting to resell units to retail pharmaceutical companies like Disc-hem and independent pharmacies in the Gauging region.

The overcome outcome of the meeting was unfavourable for both entities with neither achiveing much.

The meeting adjourned at 19:30

Meeting Week

ORA Hygiene will be meeting with Seven Stars Retail tommorow, which is a company based in Johannesburg to discuss a possible wholesale transaction between the two entities. The proposal is sell 10 000 disposable toilet seat sheets for a minimum of R1 a sheet to Seven Stars Retail for a 3-month(Negotiable) trail period. The meeting will take place at Foresters Arms Restaurant and Pub (locally known as Forries). As nerve wracking as the meeting seems to be for the partners, it is a very essential for ORA Hygiene in order to drive sales for business as there has been a negative outcome of sales in the past weeks.

Learnings!

Throughout this year, we have all learnt a lot about ourselves, working within a group and what we have learnt in business..

Musa Madala

I must be quite honest, before I enrolled into the course I had very negative perceptions of digital business solutions in South Africa mostly because of the low levels of digital infrastructure, low literacy rates and socioeconomic equalities of South Africa. But after engaging with some of the international students within the course I soon realized it was only matter of time before South Africa became technologically inclusive. For me, my technological entrepreneurial thinking for this market would go as far Uber, Vodacom’s Mpesa, online banking, social media and entertainment.

I now honestly believe that a simple app(application) on someone’s mobile phone can do more than just provide convenience for users but rather create a new world of opportunities for entrepreneurs.  This explained why Naspers, which is a company based in Cape Town, has invested so much in acquiring and developing online platforms that combine new ways of doing business. This exposure amplified my thinking about globalization its possibilities. I’m confident to say that South African entrepreneurs will one day catch onto this wave especially amongst black entrepreneurs once they are done being tender entrepreneurs (public sector entrepreneurs) and conspicuous consumers that display achievements by the flashy products they acquire. Maybe then, they will soon become young driven zippies who are ambitious and creative. I have told myself that ORA Hygiene will definitely participate in a form technological even through we are selling disposable toilet seat covers, I think this is what led my groups decision into developing a website for the company.

The purpose of the website is to completely cut off the middle man in the transaction by allowing consumers to directly buy goods (Disposable toilet seat covers) and to cut out the middle man(Retailer) to essentially reduce costs and increase.

Deon Lamb

I have learnt that I like to be in control, not with regard to being in charge of every situation, but rather knowing that if a situation works out or not, I am the one that made the decisions.  I need to learn to let go of certain things, and trust that they will be completed by those around me.

As part of a group, I have learn that I am not the only one that needs to be motivated, and that motivating those around me is just as essential.  We all have our own strengths and although we are all capable of doing different tasks, one can never assume that the tasks that are given to others have been completed to a satisfactory level.  One constantly needs to ensure that all the different parts of a group are working together in generate the overall success of the team.

A big factor that I have leant regarding a business is that it is not possible to have everyone trying to make decisions because then no decision is made and the process gets delayed for nothing more than a simple waste of time.  A business needs one leader that is able to then delegate to those in the team.  This allows for a more structured decision making process. 

Dominic Edonga

On a personal level I learned that I have become accustomed to having control over what is going on around me and being able to influence the outcomes. This, however is not a sustainable or realistic way to go about life. During the course of the holidays I realised that I need to let go of certain factors that are not within my reach and that certain things will happen regardless of my efforts. There were a few things that need to be voted on in the group and assumed that the votes would go my way with a bit of influencing but sometimes the way I view things may not be the way they should happen. I’ve realised that some of my habits are not constructive and I’m working on changing them.

As a group we keep forgetting that we have different strengths and contribute in our own ways but constantly and sometimes harshly get reminded that we each have different roles. Through these reminders we learn to take a step back and let others do what they’ve been entrusted with doing. We always get our desired outcome but sometimes it just takes a little bit longer than it should. But every time we play our roles from the beginning we are far more impactful than when we try to deviate from the norm.

As a business we’ve learned through trial and error not to make rash, uncalculated decisions. Although it has worked out for us in the end, at the time it may have not been the correct decision to make. We bought a different type of paper than we had planned to get and that was made in a rushed decision, instead we should have re-evaluated other options and then proceeded. However, it worked out because production was able to start a lot sooner. Things like that will not always work out in business and one must always stay composed while making decisions.

Tsedzuluso Netshimbupfe

While doing market research I learnt that a good business idea is nothing without background research of why it would work and why it wouldn’t, and also if it will work how do you now execute it. I learnt that doing research on the product is where the real work starts since this is where you have to find out about the little pieces that make your product and bring them together, from, suppliers, consumers, key resources needed, and distribution channels etc. This journey has taught me that with any business venture I might want to embark on in the future, research is where I need to begin

The first thing I learnt here was that collaborative effort is very powerful and it’s by far greater than solo effort in business, I realised this through assessing myself and asking myself if I would have been able to do everything on my own and there was just no ways I would have pulled it off, the initial research and supplier contacting and visits that had to be done were too much. So in order to gather everything we needed we had to delegate and divide the work by assigning each team member with research tasks they had to complete alongside their deadlines, so this meant that everyone had to perform since everyone was to be held accountable for their work and if one person slips up then this would mean that we slow down and a team and a business, and that’s one thing we do not want since we are limited to time. So I learnt that accountability within a group is important and it helps people stay faithful to the roles.

As a business I learnt that it is always crucial to step out of your zone and seek consultation help from other professionals or entrepreneurs who are already in industry, I realised this through our meetings with the directors and Stuart. In these meetings we got some of the best advice we could ever wish for and some of the things that we were told are things that we could have never thought of and slowly we are getting a sense of direction on how to run and market a successful brand. One thing that I learnt as a business is that input from the targeted consumer is important while doing research since this helps you build a product, and brand that is tailored to their specified requirements or needs.

Woman's Month Initiative

August is know as woman's month, but why only August.  A marketing project that we are currently trying to do, is extending Woman's month into September as ORA's Woman's month.

Lets be honest, ORA's hygiene covers are predominantly aimed at the female market.  So an initiative that we are currently in the process of trying to arrange is the concept of ORA's Woman;s Month.  We are looking at playing the concept as asking why woman only have one month within the year.  So, We are attempting to make September, ORA's Month to think about women and increase out marketing of the product.  #ORA'sWoman'sMonth

Sales Affiliates

In a way to try and increase our sales reach, we have decided that it would be beneficial to try and employ sales affiliates but on a commission basis.  The way that this would work is that for every unit that the affiliates sell for R20, they will receive R 5 commission.  This is our way of doing two things:

1. Increase our product reach withing the surrounding areas.

2. It helps people that are interested in making some extra money do so with a commission as an incentive.

We feel that this is good way of trying to generate work within the community.

Sales Pipeline and Customer Relations

With the product now made and various sales venues open, it is now time that a proper sales pipeline is brought into place.  The pipeline that we currently have includes places along the lines of:

1. We Love Summer
2. Tour Bus Companies
3. Toilet rental companies
4. Tourist stores
5. Events companies and organisers.

A major learning curve is that sending the relevant parties an email and waiting for a reply simply will not work.  You need to send the email in the morning, and follow up with a phone call that afternoon.  Then, depending on the outcome of the phone call, either go and see the potential customer, or send a follow up email within two days time, and repeating this until an agreement is reached, or they say to contact them again after a certain period of time.

It is this constant communication that will not only ensure a hopefully positive sales agreement, but will also show the customers that you are organised and have the ability to effectively communicate with them about the product and this sets you on a road to a good working relationship between you and the customer.  A step further is the customer relationship would be to change the standard customer relationship to a customer experience, where the customer has a good experience every time they deal with you.  Customers will remember the way that you made them feel, and this is a contributing factor to the retaining of current customers.

Website

We now have a LIVE website.  This is an amazing benefit that we now have available to us.  This not only explains our product to potential customers and contact information, but can be used as a marketing tool.  The website has been receiving great comments so far, and we are hoping that we will receive many more.  An interesting comment that we received was that we should add an online order system, so that the product can be order in single units or in bulk orders.  This has been a good bit of insight that we are learning from and will hopefully have is sorted soon.  The appearance of the website was designed to look clean and have a fresh feeling to try and convey the message of a hygienic product and yet relaxed!

Product Research

So now that we are trying to get the product into the different residences in and around campus, we are looking an doing a survey to try and evaluate the possible potential to see if this will really be as beneficial as we possibly think it will be.

This survey wont be complicated, but will instead be simple and short in order to try and get as many surveys completed as possible in a set amount of time.  This research will basically dive into whether the need for the ORA product is really needed within the residences and the benefits that will be achieved once the product is in.

Once we have the results of the survey, we are hoping to be able to submit this research information to the relevant boards or committees, and try to get this product purchased by the board for the use by the students.  It is a hygienic concern that has been raised before, and we now realise that aiming at our immediate surrounding consumers, might indeed be one of our most profitable avenues to pursue.

PnP Possibility

A result from the Expo was we got to speak to Mrs. Ackerman from PnP, and she seemed to show an interest in the product.  This being said, it was mentioned that we could potentially have this product placed into PnP stored.  This would be a great opportunity, but in order for this to actually happen, we need to look into getting the product approved by the SABS and ensureing the all of our suppliers are BEE compliant. this is definitely something that we are interested in doing, as the potential is amazing.

Expo Sales

Finally had a chance to review the sales outcome from the exhibition.  We started out with the expectation of selling approximately 400 units of the product on the day.  Unfortunately we did not meet this target which was a disappointment to us, but we gained insight from the experience.  We realised that the expo was perhaps not the best location for us to sell such a product, and that the product will succeed better in a bulk sale situation.  We were only able to sell about 60 units on the day which only generated about R 1200 in sales.

This is a difficult product to sell as it is a hygiene product, and unfortunately there is this feeling of awkwardness buying it in public.  We are still trying to break this feeling, but it is still proving to be hard.

Expo Experience

So we had the Genesis Exhibition yesterday...such good fun!  It is amazing how quickly everything can be set up if you are organised.  The experience that we gained from the exhibition is definitely something that we can uses in the future to try and transform out sales pitch, even throughout the day the sales pitch was changed several times, depending on who the customer were.

The interesting point of a sales pitch is that a message has to get across in a very short amount of time.  This amount of time is where the problem and solution need to be stated and a trust connection needs to be established.  One might think that trust is not necessary within a sales interaction, however this is wrong.  The trust that needs to be built is necessary so that the potential customers  can feel as though you really care about them, and they relax. This is an important step to helping bridge the sales pitch to the customers option to purchase the product.  Dont just try and sell, try build a relationship.

Expo day!!!!

EXPO finally took place and although we did not sell as much as we wanted we learnt a lot today, and we also came out a proud bunch since the key note speaker of the day Suzanne Ackerman acknowledged our greatness in front of the masses by pointing out that our product and brand were the ones that spoke to the her most and for that she gave us shopping vouchers.

Some of the key learnings I took from expo are:

personal

During the exhibition I learnt that selling is a whole different ball game and it took persistence, and the right pitch for me to be able to close a sale, sometimes I had to hold a conversation with the customer to a point where I was cracking jokes and talking comfortably with them, and then they would feel the need to buy the product. I then realized that people will most likely buy your product if they like you as a person or in a way you have them buy into you first by making them laugh and also holding a decent convo. So overall I learnt that as much as the product or idea is important if people buy into you as an individual first they are also more likely to buy what you are selling.

Group

as a team we needed to sell and to do that we needed a pitch and one that works. So we sat down and though of a uniform pitch we could use and we agreed on one that made the customer let us know about their public bathroom problems from the word go and then we would introduce the solution to them. we used the pitch and we switched it up a bit as the day went on but most importantly we kept on asking each other what how individual customers reacted to the pitch and we collaborated on how to get better and by the end of the day we had a pitch that was not only good but one that was uniform to the team and also aligned to the vision of the day which was to sell. so key group learning is that collaborative effort is always a thousand times than individual  better if practiced over and over again.


business learning

as a business we did not sell as much as we thought we would, this was due to the fact that our product was something new and most people felt a bit shy to purchase so they just didn't. so we learnt that a good product and great pitch will not always get you sales due to the conditions and setting of the environment on a particular day, what I mean by this is that expo was not the best place for us to sell our product due to the shy nature of humans and students in particular, we need a channel that can bring forward the product in a softer and more approachable manner,  and we also realized that person to person sales is not necessarily where our business is but bulk sales with bathroom dispensers is where the real business is.

Setting up stall

We have set up our stall, our products are nicely packaged and we have overcome all the hurdles that we faced while preparing for expo and in that way we are quite confident and looking forward to selling some hygiene covers tomorrow.

getting things right

We spent the whole of today trying to get things right with the designing of different posters for our stall and printing them in different sizes so that they can be in line with our vision for the stall. The posters are looking amazing and tomorrow on we will be setting up on campus since it is a public holiday. One of our team members was also able to secure product display stand for free to use on expo and that has increased our confidence.

voice acting and packaging

The voice acting for the animation video took place today and I am quite confident about the end result that will come out, and I am sure the people will also love it. Every team member has been tasked with packaging 200 packs each this weekend and so far everyone is not complaining and it is a rather doable task.

Getting hands dirty

The expo committee has been paid all the monies due to them, and each team members has popped out the required R300 needed for expo so now there’s no excuse for us to not make expo happen. Today we also had to cut the extra packaging material using a gelatine by the library on campus, this was not a fun thing to do but it really felt like ORA hygiene is our baby and for it to grow we will need to get our hands dirty with the hard labour at times if it is required at the time.

So although people can help you out with your product no one else will put in the energy and passion required for it to reach greater heights, but yourself.

Things looking great

Our Facebook page is looking good with the new content that has been uploaded on to it and people who have liked the page are loving it. Our script for the animated video is done, and two girls have agreed to do the voice acting this coming Saturday, so we are excited about that as a team. We have also purchased the poster like material but now we have to cut the sheets in half ourselves using a gelatine, then fold them, and place them in the individual packs. The poster like material will be able to do about 800 packs so we will all need to package at least 200 packs.

Expo costs

After assessing the total costs we would need to cover for expo we agreed as a team that we would each need to loan the business R300 in order to be able to cover everything from posters to display of products. Speaking of displaying of products we still haven’t gotten a proper way to display it apart from the rental quotes on broucher stands that would amount to a R1000 a day.

Lesson of the day “it takes money to make money” you can’t run way from that, as an entrepreneur it must be something one understands and accepts.

Progress

We are trying as a team to push as hard as we can. We have seen some progress today, since our professional photoshoot for our pictures that we need for posters and social media has been done and it’s looking good. We were also able to find a poster like material that we can use for our packaging to look nicer, and we tried it out and it looks legit, although the cost per packet goes up by 80 cents with the inclusion of the extra material it is very much worth it, and following today we know that better days are coming and we will be able to make expo happen.

Facing problems

Expo is a week away and as a team we are still far from getting everything in place. Our product packaging is not appealing at all, our bank account balance is very low and the expo team is requiring that we pay for stalls, and VIP catering fees for the day, and we still need to cover other expenses of our own for expo to happen. Our Facebook page has been up and running but has no content since we still haven’t taken professional pictures of our product, so there’s almost nothing to display at the moment.

So this Monday has just been a reminder to the team that we still need to get going in order to make things happen just the way we want them to.

Stock collection

We finally collected our stock but we were not happy with the final results of the packets since the products left a lot of space in the packet and did not fill up the whole packet, and this made the product look cheap and unappealing.

We all looked at the packaged product and knew it is not the look that the brand is trying to convey and we can’t afford to take it to expo as it is at the moment, so we had to think hard and quick as entrepreneurs so that we could fix the situation.

We decided that to try fix the situation we will have to buy some sort of card board or poster like material to put inside the individual packets so that the packets can look more appealing than they are at the moment.

Directors meeting

After attending the directors meeting the team spirits where quite low, since the directors expressed their disappointments at us for not having started to sell, since in their view we have no reason to not be selling right now. They told us that waiting to sell at expo might even disappoint us further if we don’t sell as much as we want on the days, so they suggested that when we collect our stock we should start selling packets around campus and we made a deal that we would sell 50 by the coming weekend. 

Expo Priorities

We dedicated this day to putting our expo ducks in a row, we had to write down a plan on expo priorities that need to be achieved.

List of priorities for expo 10^th August 2016

_{Expo Target Market Strategy:}

The target market for ORA Hygiene Are University of Cape Town convenience seekers who prioritize personal hygiene.

Customer market – Convenience Seekers

Display – Must look and feel hygienic, convenient and exciting  

Objective: To build meaningful relationships with convenience seekers and to tell them our story 

Desk

Informative visual posters – for marketing(#ProtectMyBum) (Brand Personality) and pictures of products

Display of stock 

Display of pricing – R20. 000 or R15.00

Group uniform

Incentives – free water, free raffle etc

Digital interactions - #ProtectMyBum #ProtectMyBum Cartoon animation on Facebook 

What needs to happen:

1.      Studio shoot at Vega of product and brand personality. Pictures will be used for expo posters, Facebook page and website (Free)

2.      Development of cartoon animation(Free)

3.      Procuring of equipment for the 10^th of August (Cost)

·         Stock

·         Cubicle

·         Branded t shirts

·         Incentives

·         Desks

·         Card machine

4.      Funds for Expo

5.      Printing of posters – Architecture building or Wizards

6.      Team training for expo