Identify “Core Customer”

Demographic: Adults, average 25-45 years old (youngest 12 years old / oldest 60 or above).

Geographic: Living around Hong Kong Island.

Psychographic: (see VALS Framework below).

Behavioral: (tbc).

Using Arnold Mitchell’s VALS Framework (1978)

Values: Physical health, good posture, lean yet strong muscles.

Attitudes: Motivated. Willingness to pay, make consistent weekly appearance.

Lifestyles: Active. Spends time and resource on goals.

Product/Market Expansion Grid

As per Ansoff’s Matrix (1957) this idea of a fitness studio offering ballet, pilates and similar lean-muscle exercise classes would be considered Market Development.

“Entrepreneurial Value Proposition Statement” (peer feedback requested)

For (adults who regularly exercise), (private coaching and group classes at this studio), are (most effective for creating lean and strong muscles), among all (fitness studios) because (they focus on the benefits of ballet and pilates as their foundation).

Looking back…

This week’s assignment has been challenging. I’ve bounced off 2 different ideas in my head and ultimately landed on this studio idea as the first idea was a little too personal and interfered with current issues going on in my life.

Seeing as this ultimately chosen business idea is still very new, identifying the core customer took some time but it has helped the process of molding the concept.

As I’ve been unable to attend classes due to my current work, I’ve reached out to several classmates for feedback on the Entrepreneurial Statement and received helpful input from 2 peers. However I have been suggested from the professors to bounce off this business idea with other students. So feedback in the comment section would be greatly appreciated if you’re reading this! And I’d be happy to share my idea directly via WhatsApp if you know me there.

Reference:

Hanlon, A. (2021) 'The Ansoff Model'. Smart Insight, 12 August. Available at: https://www.smartinsights.com/marketing-planning/create-a-marketing-plan/ansoff-model/

Strategic Business Insights (2023) Available at: https://www.strategicbusinessinsights.com/vals/ustypes.shtml

This unit has been a slight struggle as not only have I missed most of the real-time classes but I have gone through a major career change and my views on the industry have been changing at the same time. What started off as a project to think of more ways to attract audiences to ballet performances and achieve further funding for the ballet organisation, has rapidly steered away to another direction. Which direction this is, is still unclear though.

My previous job as a professional ballet dancer, categorised normally within high culture is quite different from what I do now as an instructor in the fitness industry which can be considered social culture.

In all honesty, I’ve always acknowledged that I lacked an entrepreneur mindset and have always been content with being a part of an established organisation. Throughout my ballet career my skills lay in following instructions to a T and providing the talent and skills as an artist to bring other people’s ideas to life. So the thought of starting from zero to create something absolutely new and unfamiliar out of thin air seems daunting. However, reading up on the difference of Innovation and Invention and diving further into the definitions of the prior has eased this thought slightly as I move forward.

Forming ideas…

I wrote my Unit 2 essay on the need for policy reformation for dancers within professional ballet organisations especially within Asia which I still feel strongly about. I’ve considered an idea of starting up an NGO supporting dancer rights, advocacy and protection but whether this will be a sustainable business idea is still questionable. The other idea was to establish a foundation or fund that offered financial support for dancers facing career transition. Financial support and general guidance while I navigated this sudden career change was completely lacking from the ballet company I belonged to here in Hong Kong, and this is known to be a common topic and issue in the United States which houses over 160 ballet companies of various sizes. However of both these ideas would need to rely on a lot of sponsoring and funding to keep going which makes me feel uneasy. In addition from a personal perspective, I have left the industry quite burned and betrayed, only very recently. At this stage, reaching out to the dancers (ex-colleagues) and/or staff currently at the company for research purpose and data collection may prove to be a little too much on my mental state. It’s a pity because it’s something I feel truly passionate about and want to advocate for. But with a deadline on the research and assignment, I do not feel ready to tackle the data collection part at this current time.

The other unrelated idea was to somehow combine my work right now as a pilates instructor and part time ballet teacher. While it is not an invention of something completely new, it is a different type of dance and fitness studio that could provide both ballet classes and pilates, which come hand in hand and complement each other. This would also be a more self-sustaining business concept. To make it an innovative idea though, I realise that there would may need to be something else, to truly differentiate it from other similar studios. Perhaps a location preference, different booking system or unique facilities provided within…

• Thought on Global Entrepreneurship Index Report 2019

The common denominator of the Asia-Pacific region’s weakness in entrepreneurship points to Risk Acceptance. These facts were highlighted in the GEM report for both China and Japan.

On the upside, data reveals that Product Innovation scores high, so creating products and services that are new to the market indicate success in the Asia-Pacific general region.

• Further thoughts on Global Entrepreneurship Monitor 2022/2023

There was no research data on Hong Kong specifically but seeing the collected information and analysis on Japan was interesting. It’s not surprising to see that despite being a high income economy, there is very little entrepreneurial activity. Coming from a mostly Japanese background myself, the generally low intentions and motivation towards entrepreneurship in the country can be agreed upon and found within personally. Fear of failure and taking low risks is a shared attitude within the Japanese population and goes hand in hand with the typical tradition valuing culture and norms. In addition, an even less surprising fact is the severe gap between male and female entrepreneurs in the country. Setting up a new business and finding collaborators or the resources necessary for support in Japan, may prove to be slightly difficult. The building stages of a business may be better done elsewhere outside of Japan initially. Once proven successful, running the same establishment within Japan could seem like a possibility.

It’s hard to make a correct analysis of Hong Kong as there is no data, but if we glance at China’s data, it seems this may seem like a more viable option than Japan. The conditions within the country to support entrepreneurship is above the GEM (Global Entrepreneurship Monitor) average. Same goes for Taiwan as well, another neighbouring country. 

The pandemic seems to have contributed to a steep decline in the economy and therefore entrepreneurial activity, especially within China. However the general mindset of entrepreneurship from motivation, attitude to outsourced support from the government and finance establishments, are far more significant in both China and Taiwan than in Japan.

Reference:

Ács, Z., Szerb, L. and Lloyd, A. (2017) Global Entrepreneurship Index 2018. Washington: The Global Entrepreneurship and Development Institute. Available at: http://thegedi.org/global-entrepreneurship-and-development-index/ 

Hill, S et al. (2023) Global Entrepreneurship Monitor 2022/2023 Global Report: Adapting to a "New Normal". Available at : https://www.gemconsortium.org/reports/latest-global-report 

Since starting this MA ACE course I have gone through an unexpected career change due to some complications in life. I’ve had to give up my 15 year long career as a professional ballet dancer and find a job in order to be able to stay in Hong Kong and pursue this course. There was no room for wallowing. No room for mourning over the loss of my life long career that I associated my identity with deeply.

January to June was manageable. July onwards was a different story. As much as I was relieved to finally secure a job and visa, becoming full-time at my new job meant prioritising them. My schedule became a bit of an unorganised mess, working 7 days a week and planning things outside of work were put on hold. Most of my weekdays were booked with classes to teach until 8:30pm and weekends from morning until late afternoon.

As of 2 weeks ago I have finally been able to create a little more structure within my weekly schedule. Although I am extremely behind, I am happy to finally be able to turn my attention to this unit. There is a lot of catching up to do in the next 4 weeks and although I wish I were able to have started earlier, I suppose I will have to make do with the best I have at this current state.

Until the next entry.