Two marketing ideas you can invest in Piura Region

Because of the show I am hosting here in Piura region –well, mostly Sullana City, were I live-,

I have the opportunity to meet some interesting people who are launching and managing diverse entrepreneurships. Although I’m requesting my producer to have some episodes in English, I get no results up to today. Actually, my producer (on the photo beside) says it’s planned but the time is not now yet. Despite, I could make a couple of English-spoken videos about.

In that sense, I noticed some interactions from the U.S. West Coast on my Twitter account, and all from people involved in marketing. And if limes rain from the sky, why not I make lemonade? So, I wondered what ideas here could be interesting for you to develop, especially in terms of funding.

Fortunately, Peru is a free-markett economy, what promotes competitiveness. The problem for many Peruvians, including me, is we have not been educated in what the innovation is. In consequence, we ever are waiting for somebody saying what we have to do, or where to send our resumé for becoming another employee. We name ourselves as entrepreneurs, but we don’t highlight to be ultimately original. And the original ideas are never known because their creators are shy or jealous, ignoring how to pitch them by themselves or via alternative media, as our FACTORTIERRA webpage.

The conditions to be a formal business in Peru are easy. The paperwork is fast and almost free. Establishing a company doesn’t cost more than 150 dollars in the worst scenario, and the title is eased in one month at most. But, how does it connect to the show I’m working on? Simple! There are actually good ideas to invest, but we are understanding through this production the people in charge are not promoting them in the right place, or they are not SIMPLY promoting them. Yes! The promotion is the trouble.

In my case, I have a strong feeling in tourism. I’m convinced, because my job as a journalist, that Piura has a lot of chances for rural tourism because our agriculture, forest management, cattle, and even magic rituals at the highlands (only to mention what I remember now). My problem is I’m not a good salesman, I recognize. However, my huge talent is I can motivate, inspire, pitch before a camera, a microphone, on the keyboard. I speak TWO languages, as you see, and my skill to create copies is the ADMIRATION for everyone who knows me, even when I have to only-speak. I’m an anchor, indeed.

And the show is teaching me I can be an excellent conduit for those ideas to be know for the world, ideas which you can put your money and make real good deals. Just take two of the episodes: one dedicated to the Museum of Sullana and another dedicated to products made of environmentally-sustainable prime matters.

Let’s start with Museum of Sullana. Yes, it combines education and culture, but tourism across Chira Valley (where Sullana City is located) too. The museum hosts a little-but-attractive collection of ancient pottery coming from cultures those flourished around before the Spaniards officially arrived here in 1532 AD, where they founded San Miguel in Tangarará Town, just 15 miles away Sullana City.

First, the museum needs to invest in improving the security and the administration of the space it occupies. The curator Carmen Cruz (on the photo beside here) does it for free, what represents no problem for her, but the only fact to receive visitors and guide them through is a huge job. Plus, many pieces here are still uncathegorized, so urges an archaeological research and survey that needs to be funded too. The entrance to the museum is free, but even charging a dollar or less per visitor, it doesn’t cover what a good research demands. Then, about results, integrating it into a local touristic circuit where the starting point to be this. What about related merchandising? It’s another great idea. Local tourism operators have no plans about, as much as I learned. However, I was talking with the manager of a local hotel, Luis Curay, who is highly interested in exploiting that idea, so he could be a great local partner for you, I promise.

And I think the keyword is that – partnership. And partnership could work perfectly in the second range of marketing ideas. While we were producing the show, we met Medellín, Colombia-native Marlon Lugo (on the photo beside this), who is an exchange student in Piura City. He is involved in all related to sell products manufactured under estrict environment respect rules. Actually, he is representing Dagua, a little entreprenurship based on Marina del Rey, Calif., that is selling teethbrushes made from bamboo wood. The story interested us for the main reason that we use the ones made in plastic, that is producing a global problem because of the pollution, especially to the sea. But the other thing I realized just when my producer told me about it was the fact that Piura crops bamboo, particularily in Andes midlands, but it is used mostly to make rustic furniture and house decoration at beaches and farms. Obviously, Peru doesn’t export that, but what about if a similar industry to the teethbrushes cand base in Piura and use the local resources obtained as part of communitarian projects to avoid deforestation and soil erosion?

I have no clarity about the Dagua’s business model, but the bamboo comes from Colombia, and it’s purchased from California. What about if you can establish an industry using Piura’s local resources and purchasing from here, taking advantage of free trade agreements we have wit some countries, including the U.S., the European Union,  and the Pacific Rim?

And I’m not only talking about bamboo. Piura crops organic coffee, cacao, and makes organic sugar,all for exportation. I recently learned that a rural community in Sóndor District, Huancabamba Province, in the Andes, is making essential oils from mint and a local plant called lemongrass (yerbaluisa in Peruvian Spanish). And this is just two species from the hundreds with medicinal purpose, even. My contact is called Jesmir Núñez, by the way, and I have a pendant visit to the town to train the people for using the social media in order to marketing their products. Oh! And I remember about the chocolate that Palo Blanco Community, near Chulucanas City, wants to move on. And, in fact, rural tourism could be great choices for both places.

As you look, I am talking about just two ideas. I think that if we explore across Piura Region (around 20K square miles), and we go through each of its 8 provinces (counties) and 65 districts, its two metropolitan areas… well, across Piura, we are goind to find more opportunities, many looking for funding, markets, promotion, placement – marketing.

Indeed, I want to explore, and with your help and your requests, I think we can do a great job together for improving life conditions here and abroad. You tell me where we can start on. Use the comment box, or my Twitter account, or my Facebook account to stay in touch directly with me.