Chapter 4 Creating Fun Kites

One day, Freddy and Wendy were flying their kites at the park when a lady approached Wendy.

Mrs May: “Your kite is so special. Where did you buy it? I would like to get one for my daughter.”

Wendy: “You can never get this from anywhere else. I did not buy it. I made it and decorated it myself.”

Mrs May: “That must be fun. Could you buy the materials and teach my daughter, Kathy, how to build and decorate her own kite? I will pay for the materials.”

Wendy: “I am not sure where to buy the materials. Freddy was the one that help me. I am sure he will help you too.”

Freddy agreed to help. To get the materials, he went to Mr Art who directed him to a local art store. Once he had the materials, he then showed Kathy how to build, decorate, and fly her very own kite. Soon, all three of them started flying their kites together at the park.

A few days later, another parent spotted them and requested Freddy to help his child to build his own personalized kite. Days later, another parent had the same request. Freddy was happy to help but felt that he could actually create something more.

Freddy: “Wendy, I am thinking of setting up a small kite business. The materials at the store cost $10. I am going to charge an extra $5 for providing the materials, helping the children to build and decorate, and teaching them how to fly the kite.”

Wendy: “Good thinking! You should do that for all new customers. “

And so, Freddy started a small kite business. As he became overwhelmed with more and more customers, he hired Wendy and Kathy to help. Soon, the park was swarmed with people building, decorating, and flying their own personalized kites.

Mr Smith, a toy manufacturer, spotted this trend and felt that some of the materials could be replaced with something cheaper. Soon, he developed the “Build-A-Kite” kit which consisted of four simple building pieces, decorative stickers, and paint.

Instead of building a kite from scratch, a child would only have to attach the pieces together. A simple online video on how to build, decorate, and fly the kite was also included. Costing just $10, many began to consider Build-A-Kite as a better option of building kites in the comfort of their homes.

Build-A-Kite had an impact on Freddy's business. Freddy knew he had to do something. After discussing with Wendy and Kathy, they came up with several suggestions:

1. Offer something similar to what Mr Smith is offering (Is that what the children want?)

2. Replace the materials with some thing cheaper (Possible? But how?)

3. Cut costs by sharing the decorative materials (Possible? But how?)

4. Expand the business to another park to attract more kite fliers (Possible? But how?)

5. Show that we are better than Build-A-Kite (Possible? But how?)

They did some research, tested some of the ideas, and found out:

- Replacing the materials with something cheaper could compromise the value. This could also be a safety issue. To develop a cheaper and better material would require more time. This would not resolve the current situation quickly but it should be a long-term goal so as to stay competitive in this market.

- Cutting costs had an impact on the perceived value of the kites. Materials must perform the basic functions. Kites must be kites. It was not about getting the best material, it was about developing a strong imagined image of the material. Promoting the sharing of decorative materials ironically resulted in people taking more than what was required as they felt there was a limited supply.

- Expanding the business would require more resources in managing the new environment. A new environment might not guarantee more customers. One should focus on creating value in the current customers, learn from them, and trust them to provide information on when and how to expand the market.

Freddy did not know what to do and shared his frustration with his parents.

Mother: “Build-A-Kite is cheaper than what you are offering. Why would someone pay more to get the same outcome?”

Freddy: “It is not the same. Unlike Build-A-Kite, we offer people the chance to be creative and have fun. We do not sit at home and build kites. We build kites together. We play together. We bond together.”

Mother: “Yes, you are right. But do the children know that? Do they even care about bonding? Ultimately, they just want to have a kite and most people will pick the cheapest and the easiest way. It takes effort to learn to build something. That is why they prefer Build-A-Kite. It is simple.”

Father: “People who choose Build-A-Kite are losing out on the essence of what you can offer. Similarly, people who choose you are losing out on the essence of what Build-A-Kite can offer. People have different goals and desires. Understand that products are there because they are fulfilling different goals and desires.”

“Build-A-Kite is fulfilling the goals of a group of people and you are fulfilling the goals of another group of people. Build-A-Kite is tangible. Some people prefer to see and feel the tangible benefits before fishing out their wallets. What you offer is intangible. Learning, bonding, and having fun are intangible and subjective benefits. To some customers, what you offer might not be better but it is certainly something different.”

“Build-A-Kite can help your business to grow. Accept that Build-A-Kite is a challenger and you are a worthy opponent. You have to seek the right opportunity to change. Do not change because you fear Build-A-Kite. Do not change because you want to be like Build-A-Kite. Do not change because you see this as a problem.”

“Change only when it is an opportunity to improve and grow while still adhering to your purpose. Your purpose is to offer people the chance to bond and have fun playing kites.”

“Mr Smith has created a very simple, fun, and affordable toy. Before Build-A-Kite, no one realized that building and decorating your very own kite could be so easy and fun. It creates this craze which is a great opportunity for you. You have to ride with it. Promote your offering to as many people as possible so as to attract new customers who are looking to fulfill their desires with what you are offering.”

“When challenged, learn to pivot. Learn to see things differently. Must people learn how to build and decorate a kite before learning how to fly a kite? No, they can learn to how to fly a kite and then learn kite building and decorating skills.”

“Realize that Build-A-Kite customers can also be your customers. Do people only want to build and decorate a kite? No, they want to fly it. And this is where you come into the picture.”

After listening to his parents' advice, Freddy decided to focus on promoting his kite flying skills. To prove that he was better than Mr Smith, he enrolled in professional kite flying classes.

Then, Freddy launched kite flying lessons. He categorized his methods into three different levels and created comprehensive curriculum for each level. He trained Wendy and Kathy to be kite flying teachers whose main focus was to advance students to the next level.

Freddy posted advertisements on kite flying lessons, showcased online teaching videos, and even offered free introductory lessons. However, this did not improve his kite business. Instead, the number of customers decreased. Freddy was puzzled and shared this problem with his parents.

Mother: “If I want my children to master kite flying, I will send them to those classes that you took. Why will I choose you? You are not the best kite flier or the best teacher. You forgot your true purpose of your business and failed to see the whole picture. This is not playing a piano. You do not need lessons after lessons.”

Father: “Previously, I advised you to focus on kite flying but I did not ask you to change your business to focus solely on kite flying. By focusing on processes, operations, and products, you have failed to build relationships. Know that people matters and it all starts with people.”

“You need to know who exactly should you be focusing on. If you keep thinking about winning, you have forgotten about growing. If you keep thinking about Build-A-Kite's customers, you have neglected yours. It is not about being better than Build-A-Kite, is it about growing your business.”

“Figure out your main competencies. You can't just focus on one. There are actually four aspects to focus on – kite building, decorating, flying, and teaching. At this moment, you are not the best kite builder, decorator, flier, or teacher. You are a master of none. And that is OK because all four roles are crucial in your business. It is not about being best at one thing. It is about finding the right balance and synchronizing all these roles to attain something better.”

“Every business is actually a platform for teaching something. Your business is to teach kite building, decorating, flying, and teaching. When teaching, you have to know when to guide your students/customers/employees and when not to. Sometimes, you have to stop talking and start observing. Let them open up themselves to you. Understand their strengths and weaknesses. Discover their untapped potentials, and support their personal dreams and purposes.”

“The other day, I saw two girls under the tree happily decorating their kites. All they wanted to do was to decorate kites. Did they try to fly their kites? Yes, they did. They tried but decided that decorating was more fun. Was this bad? Not at all. Even though the kites were too heavy to fly, the girls were perfectly contented because they knew they wanted to be kite decorators. “

“When a person decorates a kite, is he or she learning something? Yes. When a person flies a kite, is he or she learning something. Yes. Every action is a learning experience. Let your students/customers/employees pick and shape their experiences.”

“You cannot teach everything. Have faith in people to figure things out for themselves. You need to make them feel smart and capable. They need to feel that you value their input. It is figuring out that makes it fun and meaningful. You have to excite and inspire your students/customers/employees to keep creating this learning experience. It is a continuous cycle.”

“Let your students/customers/employees choose their own paths and create their own goals. Only when a person choose to proceed because of own choice, then he or she would accept the challenges and push beyond boundaries. If they choose to be decorators, then show them the world of kite decorating. Learn with them. Have fun and grow together. Encourage them to inspire and teach other people to become kite decorators.”

“You have to guide Wendy and Kathy as well. When you hired them as employees to help your business, you are responsible for guiding them. How you push them to fulfill their potentials will impact how they inspire your students/customers.”

“When you decided to have this small kite business, it is no longer about you and your own interests. It is not power over people, it is power to lead and transform. It is about pursuing your interests while fulfilling other people's interests. When you are helping other people to reach their potentials you are also helping yourself to achieve. Leverage your power to help others. If you involve your customers and your employees, they will grow with you personally and with your business.”

“Your business has created this environment for kite builders, decorators, fliers, and teachers to come together. Each and every one is different. Yet, all of them have something in common. They are passionate about kites. The clashing of all these different personalities and abilities is the gateway to innovation and creativity.”

“Build-A-Kite does not offer this. Neither do those professional kite flying classes. Hence, you are offering something that no one else is offering in this the kite industry. Develop that and be the best in offering that.”

Freddy thanked his father for his advice and shared it with Wendy and Kathy.

Wendy: “Even though Build-A-Kite has taken some of our customers, Kathy and I were still very passionate to help these children. When these children build and fly their own kites, the excitement and fun is contiguous. But this has changed when you decided to focus solely on kite flying and to control the outcome of the growth of each child. Growth can be guided but it needs to be spontaneous and genuine. Is like planting a seed. We can pick the location and help by providing water and minerals but it is the seed itself that chooses when and how to grow itself .”

Kathy: “We chose to help your business because we were passionate about kites. Wendy likes kite flying and I like kite decorating. We might like different things but ultimately we love to help people to create their own fun kite experiences. Your business has brought kite lovers together. It is like a community of kite lovers. Just like what your dad said, this is definitely something special that we should treasure and develop.”

Freddy also chatted with other customers and learned that:

Richard: “This was a place where I could choose who I want to be. I could be a kite flier one day or a decorator another day. But ever since you launched the kite flying program, you have stunted the growth of my imagination. It seems like you are trying to control who I want to be. Soon, I felt a lack of self-respect and I was no longer having fun.”

Tim: “If you keep focusing on kite flying techniques, what about the kite? Is like a photographer that keeps focusing on his skills and has completely forgotten about his camera. The very tool that has a life of its own. I used to have such pride just carrying my kite to the park but I no longer feel that way.”

Mabel: “I used to keep coming back because I could build new kites all the time. There were always new people and new ways of building kites. I get to learn from them. My mother used to say this - Life is always changing and we have to be quick to adapt. I evolve and change my kites too. But I have stopped coming back because there there were no new people and no new things to learn.”

After listening to all the feedback, Freddy refocused and changed his business into a community named “Fun Kites”. Then, he worked with Wendy and Kathy to develop the following:

Fun Kites Mission

Inspire kite lovers to have fun learning and growing together.

Fun Kites Culture

We will respect who we want to be individually: kite builder, decorator, flier.

We will learn together. Everyone will be a teacher.

We will inspire each other to grow together.

We will have fun playing with kites together.

Freddy shared this mission and the culture with the Fun Kites members. He emphasized that Fun Kites would be a fun and respectful learning environment for all kite lovers. He also explained that the adoption of this culture was crucial in aligning personal goals with the Fun Kites' mission.

Fun Kites members would come together every Saturday. There were no membership fees and no purchase was required. People could either bring their own kites or buy materials to build and decorate new kites. People who had Build-A-Kite kites were welcome to fly their kites. Fun Kites became a space where kite lovers could express their ideas and emotions freely. It gave people the chance to embrace learning and growing together. Soon, more and more people flocked to the park to join Fun Kites.

At times, there were some who disrespected other members or refused to learn, teach, or bond together. Freddy would explain to them that kindness and trust were essential to the foundation of this community. Instead of focusing on personal gains or selfish intentions, people should open up and work together to achieve something greater. Even if they doubt their abilities or purposes, they should trust that Fun Kites would guide them to find their true selves as long as they were willingly to put in the effort and passion.

These people were given multiple opportunities to change. Freddy understood the need to be the bigger person and to have the grace to give people second chances. If they refused to change, Freddy would let them go. Not because they were bad people, but because were they meant to flourish in another community. Instead of retaining them and ruining the experiences for other people, Freddy would rather that they leave and move on so as to find where they truly belong.

Eventually, Freddy's kite business became more than just a business. It became a community where kite lovers through building, decorating, flying, and teaching learned to trust, bond, grow, and inspire one another.