I'm a Mentor.

SO I WAS AWAY!

I'm so sorry. I've been busy so here's an excuse me post.

I've been around product design and development for quite sometime now, with a little experience designing for Woodinspirations Crafts since I was in college and then a whole plethora of other manufacturing enterprises in my three years with the Department of Trade & Industry Tarlac.  That's a spread of about 7 years developing designs for both food and non-food clients.

It was just last year, however, that I've seen a program as comprehensive and enriching as DTI & GoNegosyo's Mentor Me Program. In a nutshell, it's all about some 20 entrepreneurs to be taught business by local experts identified by DTI, accredited by GoNegosyo's Philippine Center for  Entrepreneurship (PCE).

I wanted to sign up for the program as a mentee, as they called the entrepreneurs, but apparently DTI had other plans.  They forwarded my resume to PCE and...

I got accredited.

Holy smokes.

And so started my being a product development mentor to MSMEs for the Kapatid Mentor Me Program.

As of this writing, I've mentored for two provinces already, Tarlac and Bataan.

The course content's been given by PCE, inclusive of the following topics:
1. Are You in the Right Business? Assessing Congruence of market needs, one's passion, skills and competitive offering.
2. What is a Product? Elements of a Product Idea. Different Kinds of Products
3. Needs & Wants, Concepts & Designs of Products
4. Problem- Solution method
5. Innovation mindset

I've added with this the section that I call "Responsible Product Development" which is a little talk encouraging MSMEs to go green, and how going green will affect their businesses and of course, their lives.

My Mentor Me Module 4 is like a brief condensation of several of my usual topics on branding, marketing, product development with a little extra, too.  Here are some photos:

Kapatid Mentor Me Program's Launching at Tarlac Events Place. Photo (c) DTI Tarlac

We're the mentors of Tarlac! Proud to be the youngest of the lot. Photo (c) DTI Tarlac

Alien? Jk. In class facilitating a recitation portion of the lecture. Correct answers get free lychee jellies. Photo (c) DTI Tarlac 

Showing Ms. Ofel product trends for 2018. Photo (c) DTI Tarlac.

Class picture! Photo (c) DTI Tarlac

Hope I get to teach more people!  Thanks to Go Negosyo's Philippine Center for Entrepreneurship, and the Department of Trade and Industry.

I get to take pics when no one's looking :)