Successful entrepreneurs are not afraid to tinker with their products. They are always experimenting and looking for ways to improve the quality of the things or services they sell. I guess that means entrepreneurs are not afraid of mistakes and know how to look for opportunities whether in failures and successful attempts.

This story from the Philippine Daily Inquirer in Pangasinan is proof of this principle. Here’s an excerpt:

MANGALDAN, Pangasinan–This central Pangasinan town is starting to carve a culinary reputation for its delectable beef tapa.

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Even if calamities, whether natural or man-made, conspire to stop you from jumping into the entrepreneurial world, don’t let go of your dreams. At least, that’s the lesson from this story from Tiwi, Albay, where coconut farmers fought the effects of a super typhoon, which caused them to lose their raw materials!

Here is an excerpt of the article:

TIWI, Albay–Despite the setbacks caused by the consecutive typhoons last year, the coconut farmers of Bariis (village) and other upland villages here are finally off to an entrepreneurial venture of their own.

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This article brought back memories of a photo shoot and the experience of writing an article on Marikina a few years ago. I’m not really a shoe person, I only have more than 15 pairs of shoes and slip-ons in my closet

Unfortunately, none of my shoes were made in Marikina. A lot of people still swear by the quality of shoes made in that little remarkable city.

This article from Philippine Daily Inquirer says Marikina shoes are getting a new shine. SikapMo, an association that markets shoes made by members, says sales in 2006 hit P50 million, a steep climb from a low P2 million three years earlier when they first banded together.

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Found these pictures from the Philippine Daily Inquirer photo archives.

Here’s a challenge: how do you market them?

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If you haven’t found that one bright business idea, how about resuscitating a losing company?

This strategy is definitely not for the faint hearted. Read how 37-year old Tony Fernandes, Warner Music’s top honcho in Southeast Asia six years ago, turned his back on his company Jaguar and a lifestyle that included hobnobbing with recording stars and entertainment executives, to gamble on a Malaysian airline that was under an $11-million debt and seemingly dark future.

“He quit Warner, mortgaged his home, and sank his lifetime savings into a Malaysian airline that had racked up an $11-million debt even before 9/11. To Fernandes, it was the realization of a boyhood dream to own an airline; to his peers in the corporate world, it was like jumping off a plane without a parachute.

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