WIKI Title:  WIKI: Mind Mapping 

Description:  WIKI describing how to create a Mind Map. 

 
 
What is a Mind Map? 

A mind map is a visual representation of related ideas. In other words, it is one example of what a plan 
would look like if you drew it. Mindmapping is a useful tool if you're in a group or by yourself, whether 
you're organizing your own notes from class or brainstorming a business plan with your partners. 
 
Here is an example of what a mind map looks like. See how the main topic at the center branches out 
and spreads out into the smaller ideas and details. Are these ideas related? Do you see a development 
or a pattern in how the mind map branches out? 

 
 
Genovese, J. How to Mind Map. 31 March. 2015. 
<www.mindmapart.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/How-to-mind-map-Mind-Map-by-Jane-Genovese.
gif> 
 
 

Why do I need to learn X? 

What does a Mind Map look like? 

Here is another example of a mind map. How is this second mind map different from the first one? If 
you were to make a mind map, what do you think your mind map would look like? 
 
Use the zoom and fullscreen options on the lower right to enhance the image.  

How do I create a Mind Map? 

Here's a useful video if you want to find out more about mind mapping. Your mind map doesn't have 
to necessarily look this way, though. The style you use will depend on what is easy for you. 
 
[VIDEO] 
 
1. Central Idea 
○ Write the main reason for creating the mind map on the page. This ensures that all the 
ideas you come up with needs to have a connection to the main idea. 
○ As much as possible, use an image as your central idea. This is because images can 
generate more ideas than just having words. 
2. Main branches (Main sub-topics) 
○ Create branches that stem out from the central idea. This makes sure that all the ideas 
that you list will have a connection to the central idea. 
○ If possible, add colors to these branches to distinguish them from one another. 
3. Name the main branches 
○ Label each of the branches with concepts that you come up with based on the central 
idea. 
○ At this point, don’t screen any of the ideas that you generate. Add more branches if you 
need them. 
4. Secondary branches (details) 
○ Create branches that stem from your main branches. You may label them using 
keywords or images. 
5. Association 
 ○ Connect the branches that you feel are related with one another. This helps you group 
the ideas together to come up with one concrete thought rather than several different 
ideas. 
6. Keep going 
○ Repeat the process until you have finished brainstorming. 
 
Firoavanti, Ilaria. “How to Mind Map.” ​YouTube​, YouTube, 5 Feb. 2015, 
www.youtube.com/watch?v=bOXrFpZ4anw. 

Additional Resources 

Six Creative Ways to Brainstorm Ideas 

This creative resource suggests other ways you can generate ideas for your project 
 
WIKIHOW: How to Make a Mind Map 
A detailed guide on making mind maps with pictures. 
 
My Personal Favorite Mind Maps 
Creative examples that show the different ways you can design a mind map. 
 
Mind Map Examples 
These are more examples of mind maps separated by topic/field of interest. 

Cited Resources 

Genovese, J. How to Mind Map. 31 March. 2015. 

<www.mindmapart.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/How-to-mind-map-Mind-Map-by-Jane-Genovese.
gif> 
 
"How to Mind Map." iMindmap. N.p., n.d. Web. 1 Dec. 2015. <www.imindmap.com/how-to-mind-map/> 
 
Jadali. "Report Writing Mind Maps." Y
​ ouTube​. YouTube, 23 May 2013. Web. 12 June 2017. 
   
 
WIKI Title:  WIKI: Basic Research 

Description:  WIKI describing how to perform Basic Research. 

 
 
What is Basic Research? 

Research is a process that enables an individual to systematically find answers to questions or things 
he or she wants to know about. Have you ever wondered why the sky is blue? It seems like a very basic 
question right? Do you know the answer? How much detail do you think you can provide to support 
your answer? If you don’t know the answer or you don’t have a lot of details to support it, research can 
certainly help you. We will cover the fundamental steps to successfully perform basic research. 

Why do I need to learn Basic Research? 

Learning how to do research will enable you to find answers to ANY question you have. Do you want to 
know how to be rich? Research can help you with that. Do you want to know how a car engine works? 
Research can help you with that. How about making your crush like you? You can bet that research can 
also help you with that! You can increase your knowledge and awareness on any topic if you know how 
to do research! Isn’t that amazing? 
 
When you start working, you will be given tasks that you will not know how to perform. What are you 
going to do? Are you going to tell your supervisor that you’re sorry and that you don’t know how to do 
the task? Of course not! Being the smart person that you are, you will use the power of research to 
learn about that task in order to successfully perform it. 

What does Basic Research look like? 

Research doesn’t always have to be formal. It doesn't always have to be performed in a laboratory or 
library. Research can be basic and informal. It can be performed using a search engine, by talking to 
people, or by administering a survey. There are many ways to go about research and it would vary 
depending on the information you want to know about. 
  
Images from: 
Central Board of Secondary Education. "Library." N.p., n.d. Web. 
Usability. "Focus Groups." N.p., n.d. Web. 
West Pacific Medical. "West Pacific Medical Laboratory." N.p., n.d. Web. 
Geeky Gadgets. N.p., n.d. Web. 

How do I perform Basic Research? 

STEP 1: Gain Context 

 
Gain context (building awareness) on the assigned topic. Do not just search for the actual words used 
in the assignment. Meaning, if you were asked to research about the “Efficacy of a Ketogenic diet”, you 
do not simply copy and paste “Efficacy of Ketogenic diet” in a web search (like Google) and use the first 
article that comes up. You have to first identify the topic in the assignment and increase your 
awareness around it. In this case, you want to build awareness around “Ketogenic diet”. You can ask 
questions like: 
 
● What is ketogenic diet? 
● What is a diet? 
● What are examples of Ketogenic diet? 
● Who invented Ketogenic diet? 
● What is the importance of Ketogenic diet? 
 
These are just a few examples of search strings you can start with.  
 
As you can see, building awareness around a specific topic is a mini research in itself. If you do not do 
this, it would be hard for you to proceed to the next steps. 
 
You will know that you have gained enough context when you can answer the basic What, Who, Why, 
How, Where questions. If you can answer the questions above, then you most likely have enough 
context. You may then proceed to the next step. 
 
Tip:​ Wikipedia is a good starting point for building awareness around a specific topic. Take note that 
this is just a starting point. You still have to look at other sources that will validate the information you 
got from Wikipedia. 
 
STEP 2: Identify the Goal/Purpose 
 
Identify the purpose of the assigned research task. It is important that it is clear to you why you are 
doing 
this research. Ask yourself “Why am I doing this?”, “How is this relevant, useful, valuable to me?”. Do not 
simply copy the research assignment and add “To know about” in the beginning of the sentence. For 
example, “To know about the efficacy of a Ketogenic diet” is NOT a valid research goal. 
 
An example of a purpose for the assigned topic is “To determine if Ketogenic diet is superior to other 
forms of diet with respect to maximum weight loss”. You can add more if you want like, “To determine 
the health benefit and risks associated with Ketogenic diets”.  
 
Once you are clear on the purpose, you may proceed to the next step. 
 
STEP 3: List what you want to know 
 
List everything you want and need to know about your assigned research task in order to satisfy your 
purpose in Step 2. You can begin by listing 
 
● What you already know. 
● What you don’t know. 
● What else you want to know. 
 
You should end up with a long list of questions and statements. These questions and statements will 
help guide how extensive your research would be. Through this, you will know what to include and 
exclude in your research. This will help narrow your scope from a broad range of topics you might 
encounter in your research. 
 
STEP 4: Pick and Evaluate your sources 
 
Pick and evaluate your sources. What does this mean? You can find sources from many different 
places. You can use the Internet, textbooks, academic journals, interviews, surveys, or publications. 
There are sources that are good for certain types of information and there are sources that are not 
good for certain types of information. For example, the National Center for Biotechnology Information 
(NCBI) is a good resource for medical related studies. The Health and Fitness section on 
PinoyExchange.com forum is not. 
 
In order to pick sources, you may refer to this WIKI: 
Sourcing Information 
 
STEP 5: Do your research 
 
Execute your research. You should now find the answers for the list you created in STEP 3 and use the 
sources you identified from STEP 4. Compile all your results in a document or spreadsheet. Make sure 
that you neatly organize and categorize your findings so you can easily use them to interpret results. 
 
Since most of our research will be done through the internet. Here are basic rules that you need to 
abide by: 
 
1. Don't look at Ads. They are almost always biased. 
2. Use pictures only for context building. Do not use them as basis for research. 
3. If you start to read an article and it seems to be written more to entertain than to inform, it’s 
probably not a useful source. Skip it. 
4. If an article is pushing (mostly) strong opinions, it’s probably not a useful source (unless you are 
searching for different viewpoints / opinions on a matter and this is one). Skip it. 
5. Clarify the assignment with your teacher and provide him/her updates on your progress 
regularly. 
6. Consider the title of the article. Is it relevant? If not, it may not be useful and you might just 
waste time reading it. 
7. Verify the source. Google the source (STEP 4) 
8. Read the content thoroughly. 
● Stop at words you don’t know and Google them or use the dictionary or thesaurus. 
● Stop at key ideas, think about them, discuss them, explore them, understand them. 
● Read for meaning. Read to learn. 
● Form further questions you want to answer. 
● Ask your facilitator to help you understand a concept that you get stuck on. 
● If the content is not relevant, or it is written more for entertainment or opinion, skip it. 
Otherwise, read the entire article. AGAIN, READ THE ENTIRE ARTICLE! 
● Focus only on articles and parts that are relevant and will help you answer the questions 
and statements in STEP 3 of the Basic Research process. 
● Write down new terms and keywords you find. 
● Write down new concepts and key ideas you find. 
● Develop your next research “string?” to put in Google. 
9. Check the website for validity, accuracy, relevance, thoroughness, and completeness. See guide 
below. 
10. Valid: 
a. There are other sites that comment about and link to the source. 
b. The website is accredited. Check who accredited it. 
c. Well known news sources. (e.g. CNN, Inquirer, Bulletin, etc.) write about this site. 
d. Well known universities local and abroad (e.g. Harvard, MIT, Stanford, Ateneo, UP, De La 
Salle) refer to this site. 
e. Information from this site is repeated by other verified sources. 
f. Teacher can confirm it is a valid source (and tells you why). 
Accurate: 
a. You have lots of data, facts, terminology, examples, details are given. You probably feel 
almost overwhelmed by the amount of information being given. 
b. If you have a lot of general statements and non-specific “discussion” then it’s probably 
not accurate. 
Relevant: 
a. When the content addresses all your questions in STEP 3 and none of them are 
unrelated. You can be pretty confident that you have a relevant source. 
b. When most of the content veer away from either STEP 2 (purpose/goal) or STEP 3, then 
the source is probably not relevant. 
Thorough: 
When you feel confident you can face many questions about the BROAD topic(s) and many 
detailed and DEEP questions about your specific answers/solution/product - you have probably 
been thorough. 
 Complete: 
If you can respond to questions about the Broad Topic (TEP 1) and Core Question (STEP 2). You 
can be pretty confident that you have a complete source. 
 
STEP 6: Evaluate your output 
 
Evaluate if your output is thorough and complete. You’ve spent many hours doing your research and 
you think you have done enough, but how do you know if you did excellent research work? These 
criteria will help you assess the quality of your output. Notice that thoroughness and completeness are 
also in this step because this time you are applying the criteria against ALL OF YOUR OUTPUT and not 
just on one source. 
 
Thorough 
1. When you feel confident you can face many questions about the BROAD topic(s) and many 
detailed and DEEP questions about your specific answers/solution/product you have probably 
been thorough. 
2. When you complete these “tests” you can be pretty confident you have completed your 
research. 
 
Complete 
1. When three valid sources are telling you the same things and the 3rd or 4th source is not 
communicating anything new you can presume that you probably have complete information. 
2. Make sure you can respond to questions about the Broad Topic and Core Question. 
3. When you complete all these “tests” you can be pretty confident you have complete research. 
 
In order to evaluate the sources you've used, you may refer to this WIKI: 
Evaluating Sources 

Additional Resources 

How do I start my research? 

 

Cited Resources 

Images from: 
Central Board of Secondary Education. "Library." N.p., n.d. Web. 
Usability. "Focus Groups." N.p., n.d. Web. 
West Pacific Medical. "West Pacific Medical Laboratory." N.p., n.d. Web. 
Geeky Gadgets. N.p., n.d. Web. 
 
   
WIKI Title: WIKI: Coming up with an Entrepreneurial Solution
Description: WIKI describing how to come up with an Entrepreneurial Solution.

What is an Entrepreneurial Solution?

As long as there are Customer Needs, there will be entrepreneurs that will come
along to figure out solutions that addresses them. These solutions are then offered in
exchange for money. When this happens, it is called an Entrepreneurial Solution.

As Entrepreneurial Solution is a product/service that is made to address Market

Need. It also aims to make a profit for its creators.

Why do I need to learn about Entrepreneurial Solutions?

If you have a Market Problem/Customer Need but don’t have a Solution, you can’t
have a business. If you do not take the time to think about solutions, chances are,
someone else will come along and offer the solution. You will miss this very special
window of opportunity to create a successful entrepreneurial venture. Why would you
let others take advantage of this opportunity? Act now. Act fast.

What do Entrepreneurial Solutions look like?

There are two perspectives to consider when coming up with an Entrepreneurial
Solution. One is the Entrepreneur’s, the one creating the product or offering the
service. The other would be the customer’s, the one buying or subscribing to the
product or service. Below, you will see a sample document that contains factors one
should consider as part of their Entrepreneurial Solution. The next is a sample of how
this information can be presented.

SAMPLE: Entrepreneurial Solution 1

SAMPLE: Entrepreneurial Solution 2
SAMPLE: Entrepreneurial Solution 3
SAMPLE: Entrepreneurial Solution 4

Below is a video about Mercato Centrale. It’s a solution to a need that an

Entrepreneur found. Remember that an Entrepreneurial Solution does not have to
solve everyone’s need but it will address several people’s need.
[Video]
Globe MyBusiness. "The #InspiringSuccess behind Mercato Centrale." YouTube.
YouTube, 20 Oct. 2014. Web. 16 Feb. 2016.
<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_RAnC8Nb6KM>.
How do I come up with Entrepreneurial Solutions?
1. Create a Plan
Planning is an important aspect of developing a solution as it ensures that you
are able to come up with a list of tasks that need to be performed. It also give
you the amount of time you are given to perform those tasks.
2. Evaluate the Market Problem.
Look at the Market Problem that you plan to solve. What are its causes? What
are its effects? Looking at these aspects of the Market Problem allows you to
control the scope of your Entrepreneurial Solution. For example, when people
think of traffic as a problem, some causes of it are the amount of cars on the
road, or office hours. Some of the effects of it are stress, anger, and
exhaustion. You can then choose if you want to solve the Market Problem as a
whole or just one or several of its aspects.
3. Develop your solution.
Using the information that you have been able to research, brainstorm and
mind map what solutions you can come up with. Look at your mind map, select
areas of your market problem that most of your customers have challenges with
or have the most impact on your customer’s experience. Think of possible
solutions that will address this aspect of the market problem.
Decide as a group what your top 3 solutions are. This is so that you still have
choices if you decide that the other solutions are not feasible.
4. Research.
Find out how well your proposed solutions will help address the market problem
that you’ve identified. Look for data that will support your claim, try to provide
numbers as to how much improvement your customers will experience when
they use your product/service.
5. Determine the features and benefits.
In order to see whether your solution can actually address the market problem
you have found, come up with a list of its features and benefits.
What is a feature?
A feature is something a product or service has. Let's take TV as an example. A
TV is colored, it comes with a remote control, it has a 40" screen. These are all
features that this particular product has.

What is a benefit?
Benefits are the value or usefulness that you can extract from the features.
Let's go back to our TV example. The benefit of a colored TV is that viewing is
 more enjoyable and life-like because you see everything in color, as it was
captured instead of black and white. The benefit of having a remote is that you
can watch TV from afar and switch channels, adjust the volume without having
to walk towards the TV all the time. The benefit of having a 40" screen is that
everything looks bigger and crisper. Also, more people can view it, even from a
distance.

Features and Benefits is what makes your product/service unique compared to

other products/services in the same category. Your Features and Benefits is
also sometimes referred to as your Value Proposition. Think about it. In any
product or service that you buy or subsribe to, you always look for the VALUE
that the product or service provides. If there is not much value, you are likely
not to buy or use the product/service.

Let's take a look at the Features and Benefits of a mobile phone as an

example:

6. Research how the solution should be produced and how much it will cost.
Research how you can possibly make your solution a reality. How much work
will it take in order to make it happen? How much will it actually cost to make it
happen? Will you need office space? Will you need to hire people? These are
some of the things that you will need to find out.
7. Evaluate your idea.
Use the TEMPLATE: Idea Evaluation Checklist in order to check whether your
idea is good enough.
 Note:​ The steps above are not linear, there will be some steps that you may need to
back to and some steps you can immediately jump ahead to.
Additional Resources

Cited Resources
"Embrace Android with Smart's MyPhone My28 Smartphone Kit Offer - Gadget
Pilipinas." Gadget Pilipinas. N.p., 2016. Web. 13 June 2016.

Globe MyBusiness. "The #InspiringSuccess behind Mercato Centrale." YouTube.

YouTube, 20 Oct. 2014. Web. 16 Feb. 2016.
<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_RAnC8Nb6KM>.

"Idea Evaluation Checklist." Entrepreneur. N.p., 19 Dec. 2005. Web. 16 Feb. 2016.
<http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/81940>.

   
WIKI Title: WIKI: Identifying Customer Needs
Description: WIKI describing how to identify Customer needs

What are Customer Needs?

A need, as it relates to a product or service, is something that is hard to live without.
As defined by ​www.businessdictionary.com​, “customer needs are problems that
customers intend to solve with the purchase of a good or service”.

Imagine if one day all stores run out of soap and shampoo. What if electricity was cut
off? How do you think this would impact your life? As you can imagine, living without
these products and services can be very challenging.

Now imagine if you were the owner of a shampoo product or an electricity company,
think about the value your product or service brings to customers. It is huge. You
have the power to affect people’s lives. You get to provide a valuable product and/or
service while potentially making a A LOT of MONEY in the process!
Why do I need to learn to identify Customer Needs?
One of the common mistakes new Entrepreneurs make when starting a business is
thinking that all it takes is one great unique idea to be successful. You might be
capable of making great cupcakes, cookies, or burgers but it doesn’t mean you will
automatically be successful.

Just think about the number of people who are just as capable as you. They may
even make better cupcakes, cookies, or burgers than you. What will then happen to
your business? You will soon realize that Entrepreneurship revolves around customer
needs, and not this one big idea that you one day thought of.

This is why you need to begin with a Customer Need FIRST. When you can identify a
genuine need that a lot of people have, you have the potential to be a successful
Entrepreneur. Let’s assume that you found a solution that addresses this need, you
can bet that everything else will follow. You don’t have to convince people to buy your
product or service, the customers will come to you because you possess the solution
to their problem!

[Michael Video]
What does a Customer Need look like?
Below are some examples of customer needs along with the product/service that
addressed them.
A cheaper smartphone
We have cheaper Smartphone options today such as MyPhone and Cherry Mobile.

Alternative to buying medications from known brands is buying the generic brands.
Generika drugstores sell the same formulation of the medicines that can be bought
from Mercury Drug and Watson’s but it is sold at a fraction of the cost.

Generika. "Generika Drugstore (@generikadrugstore) • Instagram Photos and

Videos."​Instagram.​ Instagram, 8 June 2017. Web. 12 June 2017.
How do I identify Customer Needs?
People’s WANTS and PROBLEMS are potential markets because they are
CUSTOMER NEEDS. This is a good starting point if you want to identify Customer
Needs.

Below are a few questions that you can ask yourselves that will help you identify
customer needs.
1. Who are the people you should be thinking of when coming up with a Customer
Need?
You should generally start with your own community. This makes coming up
with the Customer Need/Market Problem a lot easier. You will be basing the
problem on things that you experience regularly. You can also use the
experiences of those around you as a basis for the need that you are going to
come up with. Look at the various experiences you have as well as of the
people around you.
 2. What types of people are there in your community?
Look at the different types of people in your community. Are there a lot of
mothers? Are there a lot of women? Begin grouping people into types. This
allows you to look at experiences of various people more closely. Grouping
people in this way is helpful so that you know who the people you are creating
the solution for are.
3. What are the things that these people do on a regular basis?
Similar to looking at your own activities when trying to find what needs you
have, you will be able to find the need that these groups of people have by
evaluating their habits and daily experiences.
4. What wants and problems do each of these types of people have?
Look at what challenges people have in their regular routines. The reason why
you want to look for problems here is because when you come up with a
solution to their market problem, you will want something that will have people
regularly wanting access to your solution. This is what will keep your business
sustainable.
5. What product or service don’t they have easy access to?
Look at how easily these people can actually solve these problems. If the
solutions to these needs are easily accessible, your market problem may not be
strong enough for people to need your solution.
6. Are there products or services in your community that you think you can
improve?
Perhaps there are already things within the community that can solve the need
but people still don’t choose to buy them. You can look at the problems people
have in getting these solutions as a possible need that you will solve.
Note:​ Use the brainstorming and mind mapping techniques to generate as many
ideas as you can.
Capture all these ideas and make a list of all possible customer needs that you come
up with during your brainstorming and mind mapping session. Decide if you want to
expand this list by thinking about the needs outside of your community.
After coming up with the list, discuss with your group which of these Customer Needs
you want to focus on. Consider these questions when picking the most optimal
Customer Need:
Which of these needs have high demand? Meaning A LOT of people Want or Need
it.
Which of these needs, when solved, has the potential to significantly affect and add
value to people’s lives.
Identify 3 needs and state them in full sentences.
Additional Resources
10 Methods for Identifying Customer Needs
Google Slides Guide
 Customer Needs Checklist
Cited Resources
Images taken from:
"Android One Launched in the Philippines with MyPhone Uno and Cherry Mobile
One." Android One Launched in the Philippines with MyPhone Uno and Cherry
Mobile One. N.p., n.d. Web. 13 June 2016.
Generika. "Generika Drugstore (@generikadrugstore) • Instagram Photos and
Videos."​Instagram.​ Instagram, 8 June 2017. Web. 12 June 2017.