Development of Caladium Startup Entrepreneurs in Next Normal Period

Abstract

The purposes of this research were (1 ) to study the business plan of the caladium entrepreneur; (2) to develop Caladium startup entrepreneurs in the next normal period. This research was qualitative research in which the sample was drawn for 11 Caladium startup entrepreneurs in Sai Ngam, Amphoe Bang Len, Nakhon Pathom by purposive selection. There are selection criteria i.e., entrepreneurs who have been in Caladium business for at least 1 year, and entrepreneurs with knowledge and expertise. Data were collected with indepth interview forms and analyze the data by means of content analysis. The results of the study were as follows: 1) Analysis of the Caladium business environment revealed that the strength is that the entrepreneurs have knowledge and expertise about Caladium. And there were various types of colored caladium for customers to choose from. The weakness was that entrepreneurs still lack experience in business operations. The opportunity was that caladium was currently popular; people had widespread access to the Internet, therefore resulting in more purchases made through online channels. The threat was there were many commercial competitors, and the weather variant affects the growth of caladium plants. Marketing strategy found that the best-selling caladium species were the ancient species and rare species. The pricing aspect was setting a price that was lower than the market price or pricing according to the species. The distribution channels aspect, there were two distribution channels – online and offline. In terms of marketing promotion, it was the promotion of free shipping on special days; 2) Development Guidelines for Startup Entrepreneurs: Caladium business in the Next Normal era had 4 development guidelines as follows: 1. Business plan was the most important factor in running a business that will help entrepreneurs to see the overall picture of their business, enabling them to manage their business in a systematic and prudent manner, 2. Capital caused the business to have good financial liquidity, 3. New ideas or creative ideas were a factor that can create an advantage for entrepreneurs and differentiate them from competitors, and 4. The technology aspect allowed operators to save costs in running a business and be able to conduct business or communicate with consumers at all times.