We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Danilo Villanueva from Makina a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Danilo, so happy to have you with us today. You are such a creative person, but have you ever had any sort of creativity block along the way? If so, can you talk to us about how you overcame or beat it?
At least for myself, I’ve noticed over the years that forcing something amazing to come out when experiencing some sort of creative block never works. When I’m trying to create something and find myself unable to add to it or get it to a point where I am 100% satisfied, I leave it alone and look at it again the next day or the next week. Time, for me, is the best remedy. It removes all frustration and keeps it happy which is an important ingredient in the creative process. What’s great about owning your own business is that you do have the luxury of time. I don’t have issues being flexible with launch dates if it means getting a timepiece out there that we’re completely happy with at Makina.
Great, so let’s take a few minutes and cover your story. What should folks know about you and what you do?
I put a lot at stake building Makina from the ground up. Amongst other things, I took a year sabbatical from my advertising career, dragged my wife back to the Philippines and used my own money during a time when crowdfunding platforms were the way to go. I wanted to go all in and it was not possible to do so without taking risks. But I think taking risks worth taking is the most exciting thing about building something that’s completely yours. Taking bold risks is part of our brand’s persona. This is evident in the unconventional timepieces we choose to release despite having an international audience who understandably have difficulties letting go of some conventions and watch purists who are rightfully discerning and very difficult to please.
What I mainly focus on is product development and new business. I am hands on with design for all timepieces that come out of Makina Watches and work with our engineers and multiple manufacturing partners in the Philippines and Hong Kong to bring concepts to reality. I also build relationships with ABS-CBN Entertainment Network, Altria Group, University of the Philippines, Megaworld International, Philippine General Hospital, Philippine Heart Center, Rockwell Land and others when it comes to supplying them with our timepieces and building custom designs. All in all, my role is to drive the overall vision of Makina Watches and elevate what it means to be a brand born in the Philippines.
There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?
Work with experts – at the beginning I didn’t know where to start. I knew only a small fraction of the business I was about to get into. It only started coming together when I started working with the right people allowing me to focus on what I do best and them to focus on what they do best.
Have the mindset of a student – We were most experimental and at our boldest when we were students. We learned from professors but applied knowledge our own way with no bounds. If everyone had this same mindset today in their professional lives, imagine what people can build with even more knowledge accumulated throughout their entire careers.
Just because it worked yesterday, doesn’t mean it’s going to work today – although I prioritize brand building over sales at Makina, this one is more about sales. I think it’s good to remember, at least for us, because it reminds us to avoid cycles and repetition and just continue pushing limits and putting stuff out there that’s always new.
Do you think it’s better to go all in on our strengths or to try to be more well-rounded by investing effort on improving areas you aren’t as strong in?
Focus on strengths now. Build what it is you want to build now. Invest on other skills while building now. Especially today, time is not on anyone’s side. By the time you’re somewhat finished being close to well rounded, someone’s already launched your idea. Secondly, I don’t think the latter is the entrepreneurial mindset that is needed today. I’ve always had this mindset because of my early days as an Art Director in my advertising career. Although what I will say now is unfortunately no longer as accurate as it was before in advertising but as an art director before, I’ve been trained to focus only on what the vision is now and figure out how and who will get it done later. And so all I did was focus on ideas in the form of scripts and scribbles and somehow they end up being very expensive films with the help of highly skilled individuals. The end product is always better this way and realized faster. I don’t see why this shouldn’t be applied to any business ventures out there, big or small, especially in a very connected world today where experts are one click away.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.makinawatches.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/makinawatches
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/makinawatches
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/danilo-villanueva
- Other: https://www.instagram.com/danilovvillanueva
Image Credits
Images are shot by Makina Watches