Two Point Five
In my entrepreneurship class, we were told to take on something that excites us, something that would inspire us to keep on devoting ourselves to the work. It would be our baby after all — that cuddly little thing.
Thing is, I thought I’d be going into 2020 with a new, umm, baby. My friends and I had been planning to put up a bar for more than a year now, and just when we decided to scout for locations, the pandemic hit. So much for that… I mean, unless we want to be the next up and coming COVID hotspot.
So yes, the news isn’t the best thing to walk into an entrepreneurship class with. I had been planning to take the elective since starting my masters (Business Administration, for the uninformed) and was actually hoping it could help me strengthen our business plans. The class required all students to come up with and present a proposal for a new business… and here I was with the ashes of a cremated plan. Yikes. Where was I to go from there?
To say I had a rough start with the class is an understatement. Every week, our professor would ask us, what inspires us? What’s viable in the market? What do we have to offer? Sir, I’ve got a couple of recipes for some cocktails I can’t serve… I’m inspired to drink it all away. I went through so many suggestions only to be shot down by either the lack of viability or my lack of interest. I mean, I couldn’t suddenly feign excitement over producing multimedia content for some corporate overlords I had no ins with. And neither did it help that my prof would often try to impose his visions on mine — para kanino ba talaga ‘yung klase?
I ended up proposing a production company that would produce television shows for kids ala-Sine’skwela. Very apt for the times (have you seen DepEd’s materials?), and I would’ve loved to pursue it if I actually had the means, the drive and the time.* (If someone would like to take the reins of my proposal, do hit me up.) I presented the damn shit out of it — it is my main life skill after all. I was the only presenter that left the class and the teacher without any dissents, which is a win in my book. But alas, that didn’t make up for all my late submissions — it takes time to dip your toes into a whole industry you aren’t sure of. Plus, the professor kept asking for more details without specifying what details exactly. Hence, a 2.5. Oh well…
If there’s one thing I’m taking out of this, it’s that my heart really is in the hospitality business — restaurants and bars to be exact. It’s the only thing that actually piqued my inspiration throughout the whole process. I like the thrill of creating things people can savor, the excitement of seeing different faces at work, the instant gratification of a day’s hard work. Unfortunately, that’s exactly the thing that isn’t thriving right now. (Well, among a number of other things, my own industry included.) Just my luck.
Hopefully, life becomes safer soon.
Oh… and I’m actually considering culinary school. ’Cause hey… why not?
* So these days, my time is taken up by (what would be the equivalent of) my thesis. On my last term now of masters, hurrah! As someone who hasn’t exactly been active in the corporate world, the task is a little daunting. I’m studying the family business and only now am I learning the ropes. Good luck to me, I guess.
If you’ve somehow been keeping track of this weekly — and I’m thankful if you are — I apologize for missing last week’s #WriterWednesday. I had a report due the Thursday after. I’ll make up for it, promise!
