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MARKET WATCH
5 Things You Need to Learn as a New Business Owner
Building your own business is an incredibly exciting journey, especially if it’s something you’ve prepared for for the longest time. But oftentimes, excitement can turn into a rush and eventually prompt short-sighted decisions one may regret in the long run.
According to the Asian Development Bank, there were around 1,076,000 micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) in the Philippines in 2021. In 2023, the OCTA Research survey says that 81% of adult Filipinos are encouraged to go into business. This is good news; these data support the idea that Filipinos have a business mindset. However, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, 20% of new businesses fail within the first two years, 45% by the fifth year, and 65% by the end of the tenth year. Only about 25% make it for 15 years or more.
Acquiring and practicing soft skills before or during the early stages of your business is easy. Focus. Save money. Know your weaknesses. While those are foundational for a successful business, what beginner business owners need to learn deeper is practical know-how on how to actually build a brand. You don’t just pick a product, think of a name, sell it, then call it a day. If you’re serious about setting your business up for success, your investment should not end with capital but should also include knowledge.
DATEFEBRUARY 16, 2026
AUTHORANGELA CLARE AGPAWA
READ10 Min
What You Need to Learn as a New Business Owner
Marketing is one of the major contributors to the success of a business. No matter how good, helpful, or mindblowing your product is, it’s nothing if nobody knows about it.
This also applies the other way around. Regardless of how applaudable your marketing strategy is—even if you manage to get the attention of hundreds of thousands of consumers—if you offer a product nobody actually wants, your marketing can be useless.
This brings us to the idea of marketing the unmarketable. It’s difficult to market something that isn’t great to begin with.
So, how do you come up with a great brand?
How to Generate the Best Brand Name
Alongside your logo, your brand name serves as the face of your business. The impression people get when they read or hear your brand name lasts; may it be due to a luxurious sounding name, a fun one, or a witty one, it will be an immediate association with your brand’s personality.
How people perceive your brand personality will dictate their emotional connection to it. That personality is how brands find the right target market; on the other hand, that’s how audiences find a brand that they deem a fit for them.
When starting a business, it’s important to know that consumers don’t just buy products and services; they buy brands they can trust.
How to Develop the Best Brand Identity
Your brand identity or logo stands beside your brand name; this pair creates your branding.
Branding enhances the value of any product because the unique identity it holds and the promise it communicates set it apart from the crowd. Otherwise, it becomes brandless and ends up being treated as a mere commodity where the only factor for purchase decision is affordability or accessibility.
Developing a timeless and appealing brand identity is important to keeping your brand alive and relevant regardless of how much time passes by.
How to Create the Best Package Graphics
Brand Doctor Willy Arcilla believes that “Packaging is silent advertising.” You may not always have the opportunity to introduce your products or services to people, but the moment someone buys them, it ends up everywhere: on the store cashier’s conveyor belt, in the recycle bin after consumption, or seen by a random stranger you pass by on the street.
In this aspect, the packaging advertises its own product; this is why focusing on product quality alone is not enough. Make sure to invest in good packaging that speaks to the audience.
How to Produce Ads That Produce Wealth
One of the things a growing company should never be frugal in is advertising. Out of all expense items, advertising has the most capability in creating a multiplier effect on consumer demand that will drive sales and profits.
If it isn’t frugality, business owners make the mistake of spending too much on something that isn’t quite effective, may it be due to a weak brand positioning or wrong strategy. Both mistakes are a waste; the latter being a waste of money, and the former a waste of potential. Advertising is a needed business aspect to stabilize business progress and maximize growth.
How to Handle a Declining Brand
Facing brand decline is an inevitable part of a business journey; being fully aware of that is probably the most painful part of starting a business. On the bright side, that also means knowing enough to be prepared when the time comes.
A declining brand does not automatically mean that an aspect of your business is a failure. It doesn’t equate to offering a bad product, mediocre marketing, or that building your brand overall was just a bad idea that never should have happened. A declining brand can be fixed with a simple evaluation, target advertising, or a little tweak in your brand image. Oftentimes, consumers only want to see something new.
Brand Doctor Willy Arcilla Brand
The listed learning points are great, but none of us is a business expert right off the bat. Recognizing your weakness is important as it allows you to seek help from the experienced, which is an undeniable advantage in any business journey. Many parts of business require personal guidance rather than generic suggestions.
Earning the moniker The Marketing Doctor or The Brand Doctor, Willy Arcilla is a veteran in transforming businesses into success stories through marketing and leadership. With a degree in B.S. Business Administration degree from the UP College of Business Administration, International Business and Economics at Sophia University in Tokyo, a Master of Science in Industrial Economics from the Center for Research and Communication, and over 40 years of experience with Fortune 500 companies, Willy understands the unique challenges of both local and global companies and tailors solutions that leverage his knowledge for success.
He’s a certified mentor under ASEAN, Go Negosyo, and the DTI Kapatid Mentor Me Program. He also holds an influential role as a faculty member at the Ateneo Graduate School of Business and his national consultancy work for the Department of Trade and Industry.
With capabilities and contributions to the field, he has earned a prestigious Agora Award for Marketing Excellence in the Asia-Pacific region from the Philippine Marketing Association.
Click here to book a consultation with Willy Arcilla.
