Info Edge India Ltd, the owners of Naukri.com, is having its board meeting today to consider raising funds. In an announcement to the stock exchanges, the company said that the meting is held to “discuss raising of capital through various available mechanisms in India and overseas”. It’s not clear what they will use the capital for. Interestingly, Naukri had raised Rs 174 crore last year via an IPO, and good chunk of it is invested for treasury operations. The company had set apart of Rs 30 crore for M&As and investments. The company is backed by Sherpalo and Kleiner Perkins, Caufield & Byers. ICICI Venture had exited Naukri completely through secondary market transactions to Fidelity Fund and others.
Naukri has also informed the stock exchanges that it had invested $500K in an Indian education portal StudyPlaces.com Inc, USA. The investment is done by a Mauritius based subsidiary of Info Edge. The company’s total commitment in StudyPlaces is said to be $1 million
Saturday, December 22, 2007
Thursday, December 13, 2007
Why Prepare a Business Plan?
Your business plan is going to be useful in a number of ways. Here are some of the reasons not to skip this valuable tool.
First and foremost, it will define and focus your objective using appropriate information and analysis.
You can use it as a selling tool in dealing with important relationships including your lenders, investors and banks.
You can use the plan to solicit opinions and advice from people, including those in your intended field of business, who will freely give you invaluable advice. Too often, entrepreneurs forge ahead ("My Way!") without the benefit of input from experts who could save them a great deal of wear and tear. "My Way" is a great song, but in practice can result in unnecessary hardships.
Your business plan can uncover omissions and/or weaknesses in your planning process.
What to Avoid in Your Business Plan Place some reasonable limits on long-term, future projections. (Long-term means over one year.) Better to stick with short-term objectives and modify the plan as your business progresses. Too often, long-range planning becomes meaningless because the reality of your business can be different from your initial concept.
Avoid optimism. In fact, to offset optimism, be extremely conservative in predicting capital requirements, timelines, sales and profits. Few business plans correctly anticipate how much money and time will be required.
Do not ignore spelling out what your strategies will be in the event of business adversities.
Use simple language in explaining the issues. Make it easy to read and understand.
Don't depend entirely on the uniqueness of your business or even a patented invention. Success comes to those who start businesses with great economics and not necessarily great inventions.
First and foremost, it will define and focus your objective using appropriate information and analysis.
You can use it as a selling tool in dealing with important relationships including your lenders, investors and banks.
You can use the plan to solicit opinions and advice from people, including those in your intended field of business, who will freely give you invaluable advice. Too often, entrepreneurs forge ahead ("My Way!") without the benefit of input from experts who could save them a great deal of wear and tear. "My Way" is a great song, but in practice can result in unnecessary hardships.
Your business plan can uncover omissions and/or weaknesses in your planning process.
What to Avoid in Your Business Plan Place some reasonable limits on long-term, future projections. (Long-term means over one year.) Better to stick with short-term objectives and modify the plan as your business progresses. Too often, long-range planning becomes meaningless because the reality of your business can be different from your initial concept.
Avoid optimism. In fact, to offset optimism, be extremely conservative in predicting capital requirements, timelines, sales and profits. Few business plans correctly anticipate how much money and time will be required.
Do not ignore spelling out what your strategies will be in the event of business adversities.
Use simple language in explaining the issues. Make it easy to read and understand.
Don't depend entirely on the uniqueness of your business or even a patented invention. Success comes to those who start businesses with great economics and not necessarily great inventions.
What is a Business Plan?
The primary value of your business plan will be to create a written outline that evaluates all aspects of the economic viability of your business venture including a description and analysis of your business prospects.
Since this course is broken down into twelve of the most important aspects to consider in starting a business, your business plan can follow this same format. Included in this session and in each of the following sessions there is a sample business plan outline covering each subject. When you put these all together, you will have a starting model for your overall plan.
A business plan is an essential step for any prudent entrepreneur to take, regardless of the size of the business. This step is too often skipped, but we make it easy for you by providing a format to build your plan as you progress through this course.
Business plans can vary enormously. Libraries and bookstores have books devoted to business plan formats. But this course is a place to start. You can then go on from here to design one that would be ideal for your particular enterprise
Since this course is broken down into twelve of the most important aspects to consider in starting a business, your business plan can follow this same format. Included in this session and in each of the following sessions there is a sample business plan outline covering each subject. When you put these all together, you will have a starting model for your overall plan.
A business plan is an essential step for any prudent entrepreneur to take, regardless of the size of the business. This step is too often skipped, but we make it easy for you by providing a format to build your plan as you progress through this course.
Business plans can vary enormously. Libraries and bookstores have books devoted to business plan formats. But this course is a place to start. You can then go on from here to design one that would be ideal for your particular enterprise
InLogistics Gets Funding From Sage Capital; The Fund Plans JV, Focus On SMEs
Mumbai-based private equity firm Sage Capital Advisors (SCA) has picked up an 8 per cent stake in Innovative B2B Logistics Solutions, a Delhi-based private cargo train operating company. It is learnt that the deal is worth about Rs 25 crore. In its one year of operation, Inlogistics has posted a turnover of almost Rs 75 crore.
Inlogistics is one of the 14 private players who were granted the licences to operate container trains by the Indian Railways. It operates seven trains services between East India - North India, South India - East India, North India to South India and North India to West India, according to the company website.
The company has also formed a strategic alliance with Central Warehousing Corporation (CWC) for container train operations. The company’s management include Omi Bhagadiya, Vira Chand Bothra and Sankalp Shukla.
The others in the private container train service business include Rajeev Chandrasekhar’s Hindustan Transportation Infrastructure Ltd in association with NOL of Singapore, Boxtrans Logistics, Central Warehousing Corporation (CWC), Pipavav Rail Corporation Ltd (PRCL) and Hind Terminals, among others.
Sage Plans JV, Own Fund
Meanwhile, a Reuters report says that Sage Capital Advisors plans to form a joint venture with a financial services group to launch a private equity fund or launch its own fund. The firm’s Managing Director Manish Kanchan told Reuters that the JV can raise up to a billion dollars. They plan to reveal the name of the JV partner in a month’s time.
He also said the firm is talking with potential investors to launch a private equity fund of around $200-250 million if the joint venture deal falls through.
As of now, the firm’s proprietary fund (with two investors) has invested Rs 55 crore in four unlisted firms engaged in logistics (InLogistics), infrastructure, real estate and jewellery. Kanchan said that “all the firms will get listed in 2008″.
The firm plans to focus on small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in manufacturing, exports, base metals, logistics and infrastructure in the Tier-I and II cities.
Inlogistics is one of the 14 private players who were granted the licences to operate container trains by the Indian Railways. It operates seven trains services between East India - North India, South India - East India, North India to South India and North India to West India, according to the company website.
The company has also formed a strategic alliance with Central Warehousing Corporation (CWC) for container train operations. The company’s management include Omi Bhagadiya, Vira Chand Bothra and Sankalp Shukla.
The others in the private container train service business include Rajeev Chandrasekhar’s Hindustan Transportation Infrastructure Ltd in association with NOL of Singapore, Boxtrans Logistics, Central Warehousing Corporation (CWC), Pipavav Rail Corporation Ltd (PRCL) and Hind Terminals, among others.
Sage Plans JV, Own Fund
Meanwhile, a Reuters report says that Sage Capital Advisors plans to form a joint venture with a financial services group to launch a private equity fund or launch its own fund. The firm’s Managing Director Manish Kanchan told Reuters that the JV can raise up to a billion dollars. They plan to reveal the name of the JV partner in a month’s time.
He also said the firm is talking with potential investors to launch a private equity fund of around $200-250 million if the joint venture deal falls through.
As of now, the firm’s proprietary fund (with two investors) has invested Rs 55 crore in four unlisted firms engaged in logistics (InLogistics), infrastructure, real estate and jewellery. Kanchan said that “all the firms will get listed in 2008″.
The firm plans to focus on small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in manufacturing, exports, base metals, logistics and infrastructure in the Tier-I and II cities.
Wednesday, November 28, 2007
PayPal Introduces Withdrawal Into Indian Bank Accounts
Here is good news for PayPal users in India. The company which revolutionised online payment in the world has introduced a new feature of withdrawing money into Indian banks.
The users can withdraw money from PayPal to these banks currently - State Bank of India, Bank of India, Canara Bank, Union Bank of India, HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank, ING VYSYA Bank, UTI Bank, Standard Chartered Bank, HSBC, and Citibank.
It’s a great move from the company. Earlier, Indian users had to make a request for a check payment and that would take anywhere from two weeks to a month. The payment was made by PayPal’s Singapore office. They also charged a commission of 3 per cent or so on withdrawal. Now the withdrawal will take only a week or so in normal circumstances. Also, the fee on withdrawal of amount above Rs 7,000 does not attract any fee, while below Rs 7,000 will be charged a nominal fee of Rs 50. That’s decent. See details here.
PayPal now needs to introduce transactions through Indian rupee. It currently does not support rupee, although it has provisions to transact through 17 currencies like US dollar and UK pounds. Once that is done, PayPal can emerge as the cheapest online payment company in India. It can push other service providers in the business into oblivion unless they change their commission structure. Merchants should be happy about this development.
PayPal had recently set up a full-fledged India office in Bangalore. You can expect more things from them.
The users can withdraw money from PayPal to these banks currently - State Bank of India, Bank of India, Canara Bank, Union Bank of India, HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank, ING VYSYA Bank, UTI Bank, Standard Chartered Bank, HSBC, and Citibank.
It’s a great move from the company. Earlier, Indian users had to make a request for a check payment and that would take anywhere from two weeks to a month. The payment was made by PayPal’s Singapore office. They also charged a commission of 3 per cent or so on withdrawal. Now the withdrawal will take only a week or so in normal circumstances. Also, the fee on withdrawal of amount above Rs 7,000 does not attract any fee, while below Rs 7,000 will be charged a nominal fee of Rs 50. That’s decent. See details here.
PayPal now needs to introduce transactions through Indian rupee. It currently does not support rupee, although it has provisions to transact through 17 currencies like US dollar and UK pounds. Once that is done, PayPal can emerge as the cheapest online payment company in India. It can push other service providers in the business into oblivion unless they change their commission structure. Merchants should be happy about this development.
PayPal had recently set up a full-fledged India office in Bangalore. You can expect more things from them.
M Ginger gets USD 2mn v.c funding
mGinger, a permission based mobile advertising network has received $2 million funding from Draper Fisher Jurvetson and NEA-IndoUS Ventures. The company will use the fund for its business growth, build up their technology stack and ramp up their marketing and sales force.
mGinger enables advertisements including offers, vouchers, news and more, sent in the form of SMS on consumers’ mobile phones. These advertisements are specific to consumer interests and demographics mentioned during sign-up and received only in the timings that consumers specify. An additional value-add for consumers, is the earning potential of receiving these advertisements, which is redeemed through a gift cheque from mGinger.
The susbcriber of mGinger gets 20 paisa per sms and can refer his / her friends and family on mGinger. For every advert that referred mobile receives, main subscriber gets 10 paisa and 5 paisa for every advert that friend’s friend receives. Thus mGinger aims to created a pyramid structure mobile advertising list by using referrals and incentive scheme ( smart way of using word of mouth publicity).
This service is akin to Chequemail.com which used to pay users for reading their email and used to sell advertising space. Chequemail which received funding from ICICI venture in dotcom haydays finally closed down (though domain is still active but has no website as there is no name server listed against it).
DFJ which is a early stage / seed stage investor has recently opened its Bangalore Office with Mohanjit Jolly as Director and Sateesh Andra as Venture partner. DFJ other investments in India are seventymm, Komli etc
mGinger enables advertisements including offers, vouchers, news and more, sent in the form of SMS on consumers’ mobile phones. These advertisements are specific to consumer interests and demographics mentioned during sign-up and received only in the timings that consumers specify. An additional value-add for consumers, is the earning potential of receiving these advertisements, which is redeemed through a gift cheque from mGinger.
The susbcriber of mGinger gets 20 paisa per sms and can refer his / her friends and family on mGinger. For every advert that referred mobile receives, main subscriber gets 10 paisa and 5 paisa for every advert that friend’s friend receives. Thus mGinger aims to created a pyramid structure mobile advertising list by using referrals and incentive scheme ( smart way of using word of mouth publicity).
This service is akin to Chequemail.com which used to pay users for reading their email and used to sell advertising space. Chequemail which received funding from ICICI venture in dotcom haydays finally closed down (though domain is still active but has no website as there is no name server listed against it).
DFJ which is a early stage / seed stage investor has recently opened its Bangalore Office with Mohanjit Jolly as Director and Sateesh Andra as Venture partner. DFJ other investments in India are seventymm, Komli etc
basics V Required Activities
It is worth repeating again: The most common mistake and the most costly one is not picking the right business to begin with. This is the time for soul searching.
IF YOU HAVE NOT DECIDED ON A BUSINESS, DO THIS:
On the top of a blank sheet of paper, write an activity you like to do (make this the heading). Do a separate page for each activity or interest you have.
On those same sheets list as many businesses you can think of that are related to that activity.
On the same sheets list all the products or services you can think of that are related to that activity. Use your imagination and think of every possible product or service you could do.
Make a list of businesses that do better in bad times (one may be appropriate for you). Some examples might be pawnshops, auto repairs and fabric stores.
EXAMPLE
Let's assume you end up with three potential businesses: towing service, selling used cars and auto repairs. You can now make a comparative evaluation using the following check-list (or better still your own checklist) with a 1-10 scoring system:
Objective Towing
Service Selling
Used Cars Auto
Repair
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Can I do what I love to do? 6 3 10
Will I fill an expanding need? 8 5 10
Can I specialize? 7 8 10
Can I learn it and test it first? 9 8 9
This kind of analysis can help you gain objectivity in selecting your business.
How to Evaluate a Specific Business you have in mind.
Here are some questions to help clarify your thoughts:
Is it something I will enjoy doing?
My favorite activities are: __________________________
I like to serve people by: ________________________________
Will it serve an expanding need for which there is no close substitute?
Can I be so good at a specialized, targeted need that customers will think there is no close substitute?
Can I handle the capital requirements?
Can I learn the business by working for someone else first?
Could I operate as a hollow corporation, without a factory and with a minimum number of employees? ("Hollow corporation" refers to a business where everything is "outsourced," meaning you would subcontract manufacturing and packaging to outside sources. )
Is this a product or service that I can test first?
Should I consider a partner who has complementary skills to mine or who could help finance the business?
Once you have decided what business you want to start, do this:
Make a "for" and "against" list regarding characteristics of the business. On a blank piece of paper, draw a vertical line down the middle of the page and list on one side all the "for's" and on the other all the "against's." Sometimes this will help clarify your thinking.
Write down the names of at least five successful businesses in your chosen field. Analyze what these five businesses have in common and make a list of reasons that make them successful.
Talk to several people in your intended business. Don't be afraid of the negative aspects of your intended business. Instead, seek out the pitfalls: better now than after you open your doors. Take notes if possible. Write down the information as soon as you can.
Analyze the competition that are not doing well and write down the reasons.
Get Completely Qualified
Before you start, get completely qualified:
The best way to become qualified is to go to work for someone in the same business.
Attend all classes you can on the subjects you need, for example: accounting, computer and selling.
Read all the appropriate "how-to" books you can.
Don't be afraid to ask questions or seek help from the most successful people in your intended business
IF YOU HAVE NOT DECIDED ON A BUSINESS, DO THIS:
On the top of a blank sheet of paper, write an activity you like to do (make this the heading). Do a separate page for each activity or interest you have.
On those same sheets list as many businesses you can think of that are related to that activity.
On the same sheets list all the products or services you can think of that are related to that activity. Use your imagination and think of every possible product or service you could do.
Make a list of businesses that do better in bad times (one may be appropriate for you). Some examples might be pawnshops, auto repairs and fabric stores.
EXAMPLE
Let's assume you end up with three potential businesses: towing service, selling used cars and auto repairs. You can now make a comparative evaluation using the following check-list (or better still your own checklist) with a 1-10 scoring system:
Objective Towing
Service Selling
Used Cars Auto
Repair
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Can I do what I love to do? 6 3 10
Will I fill an expanding need? 8 5 10
Can I specialize? 7 8 10
Can I learn it and test it first? 9 8 9
This kind of analysis can help you gain objectivity in selecting your business.
How to Evaluate a Specific Business you have in mind.
Here are some questions to help clarify your thoughts:
Is it something I will enjoy doing?
My favorite activities are: __________________________
I like to serve people by: ________________________________
Will it serve an expanding need for which there is no close substitute?
Can I be so good at a specialized, targeted need that customers will think there is no close substitute?
Can I handle the capital requirements?
Can I learn the business by working for someone else first?
Could I operate as a hollow corporation, without a factory and with a minimum number of employees? ("Hollow corporation" refers to a business where everything is "outsourced," meaning you would subcontract manufacturing and packaging to outside sources. )
Is this a product or service that I can test first?
Should I consider a partner who has complementary skills to mine or who could help finance the business?
Once you have decided what business you want to start, do this:
Make a "for" and "against" list regarding characteristics of the business. On a blank piece of paper, draw a vertical line down the middle of the page and list on one side all the "for's" and on the other all the "against's." Sometimes this will help clarify your thinking.
Write down the names of at least five successful businesses in your chosen field. Analyze what these five businesses have in common and make a list of reasons that make them successful.
Talk to several people in your intended business. Don't be afraid of the negative aspects of your intended business. Instead, seek out the pitfalls: better now than after you open your doors. Take notes if possible. Write down the information as soon as you can.
Analyze the competition that are not doing well and write down the reasons.
Get Completely Qualified
Before you start, get completely qualified:
The best way to become qualified is to go to work for someone in the same business.
Attend all classes you can on the subjects you need, for example: accounting, computer and selling.
Read all the appropriate "how-to" books you can.
Don't be afraid to ask questions or seek help from the most successful people in your intended business
basics IV Things to Watch Out For
Impatience
Do not let overconfidence short-circuit you from analyzing your selection of businesses carefully. You must not fear of hearing the negative aspects; it is much better to be aware of them and face them early on.
Be realistic. Do not become lured by high rewards. They will come if you choose the right business and if you understand every aspect of the business before you open its doors.
Do not let overconfidence short-circuit you from analyzing your selection of businesses carefully. You must not fear of hearing the negative aspects; it is much better to be aware of them and face them early on.
Be realistic. Do not become lured by high rewards. They will come if you choose the right business and if you understand every aspect of the business before you open its doors.
basics IIISelection Strategy
Selecting the wrong business is the most frequent mistake that start-up entrepreneurs make. Here is a checklist to help you select a successful one:
Take your time and wait for the business that is just right for you. You will not be penalized for missing opportunities. The selection process takes a lot of planning and your experience and complete knowledge is vital for your success.
Don't tackle businesses that may be too challenging. It is better to identify a one-foot hurdle than try to jump a seven-footer.
Try to identify a business that has long-term economic potential. Follow Wayne Gretzky's advice, "Go to where the puck is going, not to where it is."
A big mistake can be an error of omission. This means you may fail to see an opportunity that is right in front of you.
Look for a business that will grow in today's and tomorrow's markets. Many small retail stores are no longer in business because huge stores such as Wal-Mart and Home Depot provide more choices to the customer and often at a cheaper price.
Follow the advice of Warren Buffett, Chairman of Berkshire-Hathaway Inc. and the most successful business picker in American history: Mr. Buffett looks for businesses that focus on a "consumer monopoly" with pricing power and long-term predictable growth prospects. Examples include: See's Candy's, Coca-Cola and Gillette Razors. Can you copycat this philosophy in a small way?
Businesses to avoid are "commodity" businesses where you must compete entirely on price and in which you must have the lowest cost to survive. As Mr. Buffett has said, "In a commodity type business you're only as smart as your dumbest competitor."
Most service businesses have pricing power.
Should you bet on a business you don't know when you can bet on a business you do know?
If you intend to manufacture a product, consider the pros and cons of contracting out production to a low-cost supplier. In other words, operate a "hollow corporation." A "hollow corporation" is a company that subcontracts manufacturing and packaging.
Take your time and wait for the business that is just right for you. You will not be penalized for missing opportunities. The selection process takes a lot of planning and your experience and complete knowledge is vital for your success.
Don't tackle businesses that may be too challenging. It is better to identify a one-foot hurdle than try to jump a seven-footer.
Try to identify a business that has long-term economic potential. Follow Wayne Gretzky's advice, "Go to where the puck is going, not to where it is."
A big mistake can be an error of omission. This means you may fail to see an opportunity that is right in front of you.
Look for a business that will grow in today's and tomorrow's markets. Many small retail stores are no longer in business because huge stores such as Wal-Mart and Home Depot provide more choices to the customer and often at a cheaper price.
Follow the advice of Warren Buffett, Chairman of Berkshire-Hathaway Inc. and the most successful business picker in American history: Mr. Buffett looks for businesses that focus on a "consumer monopoly" with pricing power and long-term predictable growth prospects. Examples include: See's Candy's, Coca-Cola and Gillette Razors. Can you copycat this philosophy in a small way?
Businesses to avoid are "commodity" businesses where you must compete entirely on price and in which you must have the lowest cost to survive. As Mr. Buffett has said, "In a commodity type business you're only as smart as your dumbest competitor."
Most service businesses have pricing power.
Should you bet on a business you don't know when you can bet on a business you do know?
If you intend to manufacture a product, consider the pros and cons of contracting out production to a low-cost supplier. In other words, operate a "hollow corporation." A "hollow corporation" is a company that subcontracts manufacturing and packaging.
basics IIStep-by-Step Approach
Decide if you really want to be in business:
You will be putting some (not all, hopefully) of your net worth at risk. You will run the risk of becoming eccentric, meaning creating a life that is out of balance, with working hours taking away from other family or pleasurable activities. There may be levels of stress you have not experienced as an employee.
Decide what business and where:
Once you have decided you have the characteristics of a successful entrepreneur and that you definitely want to be in business, then you must decide which business is best for you and where to locate that business. Selection strategy is covered later on in this Session.
Decide whether to start full-time or moonlight:
There are some interesting advantages and some pitfalls in starting as a moonlight business. (That is, a business you start in your off hours while still working at your current job.) More often than not, the advantages of starting as a moonlighter outweigh the risks:
You avoid burning your bridges of earnings, including retirement, health and fringe benefits and vacations.
Your full-time job won't suffer if you maintain certain conflict of interest disciplines, including compartmentalizing your job and business into completely separate worlds.
You can avoid conflict of interest with your job by choosing a business that is appropriate for moonlighting, such as: single products, real estate, specialized food, e-commerce, direct marketing or family-run operations.
There are great advantages for operating a family business. The family can run the business while you are at work. You have a built-in organizational structure. You can teach your kids the benefits of being in business.
But there are also some pitfalls to consider in starting a moonlight business:
There is a temptation to spend time at your job working on your moonlight business. That is unfair to your employer and should not be done under any circumstances. (You may need a family member or some trusted person to cover emergencies when you are at your job.)
Another problem may be competing with your employer, which, again, is not right. Think of how you would feel or handle this employee if you were the boss.
Any kind of conflict with your regular work can jeopardize your job and your moonlight business.
Overwork and mental and physical exhaustion can also become a very real problem for moonlight entrepreneurs.
You will be putting some (not all, hopefully) of your net worth at risk. You will run the risk of becoming eccentric, meaning creating a life that is out of balance, with working hours taking away from other family or pleasurable activities. There may be levels of stress you have not experienced as an employee.
Decide what business and where:
Once you have decided you have the characteristics of a successful entrepreneur and that you definitely want to be in business, then you must decide which business is best for you and where to locate that business. Selection strategy is covered later on in this Session.
Decide whether to start full-time or moonlight:
There are some interesting advantages and some pitfalls in starting as a moonlight business. (That is, a business you start in your off hours while still working at your current job.) More often than not, the advantages of starting as a moonlighter outweigh the risks:
You avoid burning your bridges of earnings, including retirement, health and fringe benefits and vacations.
Your full-time job won't suffer if you maintain certain conflict of interest disciplines, including compartmentalizing your job and business into completely separate worlds.
You can avoid conflict of interest with your job by choosing a business that is appropriate for moonlighting, such as: single products, real estate, specialized food, e-commerce, direct marketing or family-run operations.
There are great advantages for operating a family business. The family can run the business while you are at work. You have a built-in organizational structure. You can teach your kids the benefits of being in business.
But there are also some pitfalls to consider in starting a moonlight business:
There is a temptation to spend time at your job working on your moonlight business. That is unfair to your employer and should not be done under any circumstances. (You may need a family member or some trusted person to cover emergencies when you are at your job.)
Another problem may be competing with your employer, which, again, is not right. Think of how you would feel or handle this employee if you were the boss.
Any kind of conflict with your regular work can jeopardize your job and your moonlight business.
Overwork and mental and physical exhaustion can also become a very real problem for moonlight entrepreneurs.
Basics I Characteristics of a Successful Entrepreneur
Guts: Guts means you must have an entrepreneurial instinct, which is an overwhelming desire to have your own business. You must have the guts and dedication to be completely devoted to your goal. Incidentally, devotion to your goal is much more likely if you have a love for your intended business. Life is too short to start a business that doesn't give you satisfaction and joy. And, through good times and bad times, you will stick with something you love.
Brains: While appropriate educational credentials are important, entrepreneurial "brains" means more than scholastic achievements. To become a successful entrepreneur, you must have a working knowledge about the business you plan to start before you start it. Common sense combined with appropriate experience is the necessary brainpower. Prudence, follow through and attention to detail are very important.
Capital: You will need seed money of your own plus sufficient cash to maintain a positive cash flow for at least the first year. In a future session you will learn how to forecast future cash requirements through cash flow control. Many businesses can be started on a very small scale with a small investment. Then, as the business grows and you gain experience, cash flow from your business can be used for growth. In some cases you don't need starting capital to hire other people because you might start by doing everything yourself. The "do it yourself" start is a good way to learn everything about your business and also makes you better qualified to delegate work to others later on. You can control your risk by placing a limit on how much you invest in your business.
Brains: While appropriate educational credentials are important, entrepreneurial "brains" means more than scholastic achievements. To become a successful entrepreneur, you must have a working knowledge about the business you plan to start before you start it. Common sense combined with appropriate experience is the necessary brainpower. Prudence, follow through and attention to detail are very important.
Capital: You will need seed money of your own plus sufficient cash to maintain a positive cash flow for at least the first year. In a future session you will learn how to forecast future cash requirements through cash flow control. Many businesses can be started on a very small scale with a small investment. Then, as the business grows and you gain experience, cash flow from your business can be used for growth. In some cases you don't need starting capital to hire other people because you might start by doing everything yourself. The "do it yourself" start is a good way to learn everything about your business and also makes you better qualified to delegate work to others later on. You can control your risk by placing a limit on how much you invest in your business.
Monday, November 26, 2007
Abture Now Offers PayMate Payment Option To All Its Retailers
Abture, India’s premier ecommerce marketplace developer introduces “pay buy sms” payment option to its retailers/web merchants. In a significant tie-up, with PayMate, India’s leading mobile commerce solution provider, Abture is happy to enable this payment option to all its retailers/web merchants .
Abture, in a short span of time, has positioned itself successfully at the forefront of the growth of e-commerce in India. Our ability to provide, world class commerce solutions, embedded with up-to-date technology will fuel the growth; it’s the affordability and ease of use that gives Abture the extra niche over other e-commerce solutions.
Commenting on the tie-up Hariharan, COO Abture stated, “Abture is India's front runner in MarketPlace technology. We have already covered up the entire gamut of payment processing options. We are positive that PayMate will find Abture as its best platform”.
Abture is already providing payment facility through credit cards, debit cards, net banking and various cash cards. The inclusion of PayMate will complete the cycle and will help to cover the customer spectrum, whose criteria to pay online differ.
Abture is confident that, having PayMate as a payment option will help to attract more customers to its web merchants/ retailers webstores.
- End -
About Abture
Abture is a product of a small business with big ideas. Founded in 2005, Abture as an organization essentially develops ecommerce and marketplace software and delivers on demand payment systems & hosting solutions for small & medium businesses.
Abture focuses on creating user-friendly software that can help anyone to open web stores online in minutes. It offers powerful and integrated solutions that consist of a complete set of Internet commerce solutions for e-commerce business models.
Want to have your own web store, check this out. www.Abture.in
About PayMate
PayMate India Private Limited is a mobile commerce solutions company based in Mumbai. PayMate was founded in May 2006 by Ajay Adiseshann, Founder and MD, Coruscant Tec and Co-founder, & Director Probir Roy. In a short span of time PayMate India has partnered with top MNC, State owned and Co-operative Banks to offer its unique mobile payment solution - PayMate.
PayMate is the easiest, secured and convenient way to pay online. The service allows anyone to pay without revealing there financial credentials and gives consumers the flexibility to pay in any way they prefer, including through credit cards, debit cards, bank accounts or account balances. More information about the company can be found at www.paymate.co.in.
Abture, in a short span of time, has positioned itself successfully at the forefront of the growth of e-commerce in India. Our ability to provide, world class commerce solutions, embedded with up-to-date technology will fuel the growth; it’s the affordability and ease of use that gives Abture the extra niche over other e-commerce solutions.
Commenting on the tie-up Hariharan, COO Abture stated, “Abture is India's front runner in MarketPlace technology. We have already covered up the entire gamut of payment processing options. We are positive that PayMate will find Abture as its best platform”.
Abture is already providing payment facility through credit cards, debit cards, net banking and various cash cards. The inclusion of PayMate will complete the cycle and will help to cover the customer spectrum, whose criteria to pay online differ.
Abture is confident that, having PayMate as a payment option will help to attract more customers to its web merchants/ retailers webstores.
- End -
About Abture
Abture is a product of a small business with big ideas. Founded in 2005, Abture as an organization essentially develops ecommerce and marketplace software and delivers on demand payment systems & hosting solutions for small & medium businesses.
Abture focuses on creating user-friendly software that can help anyone to open web stores online in minutes. It offers powerful and integrated solutions that consist of a complete set of Internet commerce solutions for e-commerce business models.
Want to have your own web store, check this out. www.Abture.in
About PayMate
PayMate India Private Limited is a mobile commerce solutions company based in Mumbai. PayMate was founded in May 2006 by Ajay Adiseshann, Founder and MD, Coruscant Tec and Co-founder, & Director Probir Roy. In a short span of time PayMate India has partnered with top MNC, State owned and Co-operative Banks to offer its unique mobile payment solution - PayMate.
PayMate is the easiest, secured and convenient way to pay online. The service allows anyone to pay without revealing there financial credentials and gives consumers the flexibility to pay in any way they prefer, including through credit cards, debit cards, bank accounts or account balances. More information about the company can be found at www.paymate.co.in.
Saturday, November 24, 2007
Startup Challenges
One of the key questions an entrepreneur faces is about recruiting the team with right talent and focus, as nothing can be more detrimental to the success of a startup than lack of right team with right passion and focus, and unlike a giant corporation, you as an entrepreneur can’t afford to loose any guy in your long walk to success.
However, for a person who is planning to embark a career with start-ups, there are always temptations to work with those big companies and have a sense of stability and perceived peer respect or to be part of a dream, which might not be a 9 to 5 job but may bring great challenges and excitements, which one might not get while selling sugared water or being a super support staff to some global backoffice.
Amar Goel, Entrepreneur and founder of Komli - a technology and media company in advertising space - discusses challenges of working with startups. Read on the following interesting article by Amar Goel: -
Read on following interesting article by Amar Goel
“Are you marrying me or the company?” One of the engineers on our team at Komli told me that the other day. This is probably one of the best lines I have heard in a while. He was talking to one of his friends about joining a startup and his friend was concerned that if he joined that startup his parents and his fiancé’s parents would be very concerned about the stability of his job; they might even break off the engagement. The engineer on our team didn’t understand why everyone was so focused on his friend’s job.
When I got engaged I was actually unemployed. I had just left the startup I had previously founded when I graduated from college (Chipshot.com, an online e-commerce company focused on golf), and was figuring out what to do next. Nobody called off the engagement or threatened or even hinted at it.
This stark contrast helped me realize a huge disconnect in India’s ability to really innovate and build companies like Google, Yahoo!, Microsoft, and Oracle (interestingly enough, all four of those companies – four of the best technology companies ever started – were all started by people who dropped out of school and NEVER had a full-time job before they started their companies). Generally speaking, youngsters in India are still too concerned about the stability of their jobs and getting married.
There are both logical and emotional arguments to why this might be the case. I am going to present some thoughts on why this concern with job stability just doesn’t make sense if you are really good at what you do and are confident in that.
Reason #1: The spoils go to those that take risks — the ones who work at startups, very early on.Microsoft is the most successful technology company of all time (though Google is hot on its heels). The first guy at Microsoft made about $50 billion (Bill Gates). The second guy (Paul Allen) made about $25 billion. Steve Ballmer who was one of the early few and joined in a leadership role made about $15 billion. If you were in the first 50 people and got 1/10th of 1% (common for a startup today) you made about $200M. So the first guy made $50B, the 50th guy made $200M. Guess how much the 1,000th employee made, probably about $20M. And the 10,000th employee maybe made $2M. This is in the most successful technology company of all time.
If you want to make some serious money and you join a really good company (where the numbers will be 1% of Microsoft’s) as the 10,000th employee or even the 1,000th employee you are not making the right decision – the math just doesn’t work in your favor. If you want to make some serious money you have to take some risk and join something early, at least among the first 50 employees. I’m not saying that every job you take should be at a startup, but if you never do it, it’s going to be hard to make serious money in the tech industry, unless you work for 20 years and climb to the top of a big company.
Reason #2: The right startups are not that risky.What is the worst case in any startup if you are not the founder? The startup goes out of business. Your downside is that you have to find a new job. Going back to my original caveat, if you are good at what you do and confident about your ability, then in India it will be relatively easy to find a job. India’s overall economy is growing so fast (2nd fastest growing economy in the world in 2006), and the hi-tech industry is growing even faster, that most people seem to get a 25% pay increase when they jump from job to job anyways. If you add in to that a startup that has a good working environment, good management, good investors, good customers, and you feel that the products are useful then the risk is dramatically reduced. You’ve gone from a 5% chance that something good happens to a 35% chance that something good happens (I made those numbers up, but you get the point).
I know a number of people in Silicon Valley who have made a career of working at startups, and are fully aware that some will be winners, and most won’t. They figure if they work at 5 startups over 10 years maybe one or two will be successful and that’s more financially rewarding than working at an already successful company as the 2000th employee. Crucially, for all 10 years they were excited about the work they were doing. Here is what Paul Graham, a well known entrepreneur and writer, has to say about this: “Economically, you can think of a startup as a way to compress your whole working life into a few years. Instead of working at a low intensity for forty years, you work as hard as you possibly can for four. This pays especially well in technology, where you earn a premium for working fast.”
Reason #3: Often that stable job isn’t so stable.I have seen a lot of people go to the stable company and then leave after 1 or 2 years because they just don’t like the work or the company. What is the difference between joining a startup that you like and the worst case happens in 2 years versus you join a “stable” company and in 2 years you leave because you don’t like the work?
Reason #4: Do you want to make your parents happy by a) always working at a stable job or b) potentially being Narayana Murthy (who took a lot of risk to start Infosys and almost went out of business early on)?I’m serious. Wayne Greztky, probably the greatest ice hockey player ever, once said “You miss 100% of the shots you never take.” I’m lucky to have a wife who tells me “The only thing worse than failing is not even trying.” I’m sure you are saying “Amar, you don’t understand, you don’t know my parents or my in-laws, or it just seems too risky to work at one of these little startups.” You are right, I don’t understand. You get more ownership of the work you get to do, you can make the same salary as a big company, you get a meaningful percentage of equity – what’s not to like?
Reason #5: It is probably the best time in the last 25 years, if not ever, in India to start a company.If you are smart, have a good idea, and can assemble a good team, then statistically, you have a lesser chance of failing today and in the next 10 years than at any time in India’s past.India has entered a period of fast and sustained economic growth, as long as the government keeps on its current path of increased economic liberalization. With a demographic bulge in the 10-25 year age bracket, the country is virtually guaranteed a consumption boom for the next couple of decades. There are so many industries in India that are already growing at 20-30% per year. More opportunities will also open up as the government makes hitherto closed sectors open to private sector participation and competition. With a fast growing economy, solid worldwide economic growth, and a large talent pool at your disposal, it has never been a better time in India to start or join a startup as an early-stage employee.
What does this all mean for India?In the US there are tens of thousands of people employed at startups, working hard to innovate and build products and services. The US has tens of thousands of hi-tech startup companies. India has a few thousand. It’s unlikely that India’s thousands of tech startups are going to create more winners than the US’ tens of thousands of hi-tech companies, the US just has too many more chances at success since it has so many more startups. If you think the US example is too far-fetched in that the US already has it good with great infrastructure and a society that is historically not as risk-averse then just look across the border to China. China’s economic growth and pace of innovation over the last two decades has been stunning; in large part this is due to the entrepreneurial culture that has taken hold among the young. What is really interesting about this is that China was traditionally as hierarchical and custom-bound a society as India.
Until India’s culture begins to shift to embracing risk takers rather than eschewing them it will be difficult for India to become the global technology leader. Surely society plays an important role here, but the easiest way to begin the transformation is for each individual to look within and really understand and push her own risk appetite
However, for a person who is planning to embark a career with start-ups, there are always temptations to work with those big companies and have a sense of stability and perceived peer respect or to be part of a dream, which might not be a 9 to 5 job but may bring great challenges and excitements, which one might not get while selling sugared water or being a super support staff to some global backoffice.
Amar Goel, Entrepreneur and founder of Komli - a technology and media company in advertising space - discusses challenges of working with startups. Read on the following interesting article by Amar Goel: -
Read on following interesting article by Amar Goel
“Are you marrying me or the company?” One of the engineers on our team at Komli told me that the other day. This is probably one of the best lines I have heard in a while. He was talking to one of his friends about joining a startup and his friend was concerned that if he joined that startup his parents and his fiancé’s parents would be very concerned about the stability of his job; they might even break off the engagement. The engineer on our team didn’t understand why everyone was so focused on his friend’s job.
When I got engaged I was actually unemployed. I had just left the startup I had previously founded when I graduated from college (Chipshot.com, an online e-commerce company focused on golf), and was figuring out what to do next. Nobody called off the engagement or threatened or even hinted at it.
This stark contrast helped me realize a huge disconnect in India’s ability to really innovate and build companies like Google, Yahoo!, Microsoft, and Oracle (interestingly enough, all four of those companies – four of the best technology companies ever started – were all started by people who dropped out of school and NEVER had a full-time job before they started their companies). Generally speaking, youngsters in India are still too concerned about the stability of their jobs and getting married.
There are both logical and emotional arguments to why this might be the case. I am going to present some thoughts on why this concern with job stability just doesn’t make sense if you are really good at what you do and are confident in that.
Reason #1: The spoils go to those that take risks — the ones who work at startups, very early on.Microsoft is the most successful technology company of all time (though Google is hot on its heels). The first guy at Microsoft made about $50 billion (Bill Gates). The second guy (Paul Allen) made about $25 billion. Steve Ballmer who was one of the early few and joined in a leadership role made about $15 billion. If you were in the first 50 people and got 1/10th of 1% (common for a startup today) you made about $200M. So the first guy made $50B, the 50th guy made $200M. Guess how much the 1,000th employee made, probably about $20M. And the 10,000th employee maybe made $2M. This is in the most successful technology company of all time.
If you want to make some serious money and you join a really good company (where the numbers will be 1% of Microsoft’s) as the 10,000th employee or even the 1,000th employee you are not making the right decision – the math just doesn’t work in your favor. If you want to make some serious money you have to take some risk and join something early, at least among the first 50 employees. I’m not saying that every job you take should be at a startup, but if you never do it, it’s going to be hard to make serious money in the tech industry, unless you work for 20 years and climb to the top of a big company.
Reason #2: The right startups are not that risky.What is the worst case in any startup if you are not the founder? The startup goes out of business. Your downside is that you have to find a new job. Going back to my original caveat, if you are good at what you do and confident about your ability, then in India it will be relatively easy to find a job. India’s overall economy is growing so fast (2nd fastest growing economy in the world in 2006), and the hi-tech industry is growing even faster, that most people seem to get a 25% pay increase when they jump from job to job anyways. If you add in to that a startup that has a good working environment, good management, good investors, good customers, and you feel that the products are useful then the risk is dramatically reduced. You’ve gone from a 5% chance that something good happens to a 35% chance that something good happens (I made those numbers up, but you get the point).
I know a number of people in Silicon Valley who have made a career of working at startups, and are fully aware that some will be winners, and most won’t. They figure if they work at 5 startups over 10 years maybe one or two will be successful and that’s more financially rewarding than working at an already successful company as the 2000th employee. Crucially, for all 10 years they were excited about the work they were doing. Here is what Paul Graham, a well known entrepreneur and writer, has to say about this: “Economically, you can think of a startup as a way to compress your whole working life into a few years. Instead of working at a low intensity for forty years, you work as hard as you possibly can for four. This pays especially well in technology, where you earn a premium for working fast.”
Reason #3: Often that stable job isn’t so stable.I have seen a lot of people go to the stable company and then leave after 1 or 2 years because they just don’t like the work or the company. What is the difference between joining a startup that you like and the worst case happens in 2 years versus you join a “stable” company and in 2 years you leave because you don’t like the work?
Reason #4: Do you want to make your parents happy by a) always working at a stable job or b) potentially being Narayana Murthy (who took a lot of risk to start Infosys and almost went out of business early on)?I’m serious. Wayne Greztky, probably the greatest ice hockey player ever, once said “You miss 100% of the shots you never take.” I’m lucky to have a wife who tells me “The only thing worse than failing is not even trying.” I’m sure you are saying “Amar, you don’t understand, you don’t know my parents or my in-laws, or it just seems too risky to work at one of these little startups.” You are right, I don’t understand. You get more ownership of the work you get to do, you can make the same salary as a big company, you get a meaningful percentage of equity – what’s not to like?
Reason #5: It is probably the best time in the last 25 years, if not ever, in India to start a company.If you are smart, have a good idea, and can assemble a good team, then statistically, you have a lesser chance of failing today and in the next 10 years than at any time in India’s past.India has entered a period of fast and sustained economic growth, as long as the government keeps on its current path of increased economic liberalization. With a demographic bulge in the 10-25 year age bracket, the country is virtually guaranteed a consumption boom for the next couple of decades. There are so many industries in India that are already growing at 20-30% per year. More opportunities will also open up as the government makes hitherto closed sectors open to private sector participation and competition. With a fast growing economy, solid worldwide economic growth, and a large talent pool at your disposal, it has never been a better time in India to start or join a startup as an early-stage employee.
What does this all mean for India?In the US there are tens of thousands of people employed at startups, working hard to innovate and build products and services. The US has tens of thousands of hi-tech startup companies. India has a few thousand. It’s unlikely that India’s thousands of tech startups are going to create more winners than the US’ tens of thousands of hi-tech companies, the US just has too many more chances at success since it has so many more startups. If you think the US example is too far-fetched in that the US already has it good with great infrastructure and a society that is historically not as risk-averse then just look across the border to China. China’s economic growth and pace of innovation over the last two decades has been stunning; in large part this is due to the entrepreneurial culture that has taken hold among the young. What is really interesting about this is that China was traditionally as hierarchical and custom-bound a society as India.
Until India’s culture begins to shift to embracing risk takers rather than eschewing them it will be difficult for India to become the global technology leader. Surely society plays an important role here, but the easiest way to begin the transformation is for each individual to look within and really understand and push her own risk appetite
basic business plan part II
PERSONAL RESOURCES & FINANCES
Before seriously getting on with the idea of starting your own business you must consider your MOTIVES for starting of your own business.
You also need to consider whether you possess the PERSONAL(knowledge) , financial , professional skills qualifying you for a business start-up (e.g; there is an eligiblity criteria for everything that you want to do in life)
this is to make your future SURE & CERTAIN (world is thriving on uncertainity thats my view it differs from visual to visual)
WHY DO YOU WANT TO START-UP YOUR OWN BUSINESS
1.The inner urge to pit oneself against one's own abilities as an entrepreneur
2.To wish to make a lot of money to a between - jobs- situation with no prospect of decent employment
3. Family can be supportive or against... but the punch line is you should always do what you are interested in...
FAMILY NETWORK
The closest one to assist one in starting a business is the family
Hopefully they share the same dream of you managing a business as you do.
now coming back to FAMILY :
unfortunately , same family members can be liability or can be against your new business because of their ignorance or limited knowledge and exposure...
If they feel they have the (business right) to make business decisions for you, your (business life) could then get difficult.
may be you have to move...
BUSINESS DECISIONS
If made in a family context seldom go together with business decision...[what holds good for X will not necessarily hold good for Y]...
FAMILY DECISIONS are often based on feelings and irrational..
EVALUATION:
Where your business is at this time
what can you decide
what will the family decide
EXPERIENCE
It almost goes without saying that you should not start business within a trade or area of experience that you are unfamiliar with[business qualities are rarely inborn in fact never...a mother gives birth to a child not to a business man or an entrepreneur ]
and EXPERIENCE is the only word you get after you start..
If you have to start gaining basic knowledge about your service or product along with getting the grip of running the business it will soon be an impossible task [ it is advisable to gain the basic knowledge first]
Some line of trade are fairly easy to learn
starting a cleaning company or selling pizzas,kababs, etc can be done with little knowledge about the trade.
VERY IMPORTANT
What do you know and what are you best at?
does that fit with your new business?
This is the whole idea of a start up and you are almost through if you have answers to the above 2 questions.
KNOWLEDGE- DATABASE
EDUCATION
It is a gr88 advantage ..
If u can add SEVERAL YEARS OF PRACTICAL EXPERIENCE within the field it will take the competence to an even higher level...
LIFE EXPERIENCE and SPARE TIME ACTIVITIES are also very important parameters to review when starting business...
ECONOMY
How many of us those who want to start a new business have a lot of money to invest in the company?
very few
but then again: VERY FEW COMPANIES REQUIRE SUBSTANCIAL FINANCIAL RESOURCE TO GET STARTED.......
Usually a consultancy , software company , service industry , does not require a huge capital besides its knowledge – pool ( collective) . such companies usually need only a phone , a computer , an internet connection and means of transport ..[now what and how you want to start depends on you].
It is opposite for retailers ( especially in huge malls) and for development intensive companies such as biotech , computer game development and manufacturing companies…
If you are to start a small retail showroom in a centrally located place the capital investment is 100 times more than the above mentioned proposals.
HOW MUCH MONEY YOU ARE ABLE TO RAISE?
INTERNAL TRADE NETWORK: Most important aspects
Family: their contacts: and the list goes on
Friends: their friends and relatives : in turn their friends and relatives
Associates:…same as above for them
Contacts: same as above for them
Relatives: same as above for them
{ never ending process}
Our product or service gets almost half global by this format [free advertizing or introduction of a referral system will be a bonus ]
EXPERIENCE shows : that many customer relations have been established because a friend of a businessman has told another friend about the business…
Some places especially b and c cities and towns don’t have appetite and budget for publicity . this is the most important tool if used properly it can cut down your costs by millions of dollars in a long run…
Now just evaluate the concept of MLM and networking companies…
If you go through the recent start-ups all started with word of mouth publicity..
Having right connection with the trade is of great importance
Networks are always important within other aspects of business operation…
[ helps in diversifying and adding on services & products to your company]
.
PRODUCT / SERVICE KNOWLEDGE:
IT is important to posses a profound knowledge of the service or product you want to market.
Uncomplicated business such as selling fast food or cleaning etc can be handled on the basis of general skills and knowledge,,,
Starting a translation agency without a linguistic knowledge would be unwise…if no practical knowledge is gained…
Starting an advertizing is same..
More specialized the service , more important to possess gr88 knowledge of the topic..
Do you know enough about your product/ service?
WORK TASKS:
Owner must handle numerous work tasks..if there is only one person in the company he/ she must be Managing director/ Sales/ financial/ Marketing manager/ Office clerk and bell boy..
However , often there will be key areas which the owner is practically keen on
When starting a new business you might not be able to work with what you like the best.
Other task might be more needed . but you can set goals in the future bring you to work with your desired work task..
In which areas are you particularly keen working on?
Can they be fulfilled in your new business ?
WEAK SIDES:
You probably have a lot of strong sides that will benefit the business.
But one person seldom has all the skills and personality that make the perfect business.
You may have strong skills in selling and developing your product .
But may be not in working the paper work & administration function.
It is important to acknowledge that you might not be the best in all fields of work. if you know your weak sides .you are able to cover these by hiring staff
Or get help from the network or purchase the missing skills from a consultant .
Do you have any weak sides?
And how will you cover them?
Before seriously getting on with the idea of starting your own business you must consider your MOTIVES for starting of your own business.
You also need to consider whether you possess the PERSONAL(knowledge) , financial , professional skills qualifying you for a business start-up (e.g; there is an eligiblity criteria for everything that you want to do in life)
this is to make your future SURE & CERTAIN (world is thriving on uncertainity thats my view it differs from visual to visual)
WHY DO YOU WANT TO START-UP YOUR OWN BUSINESS
1.The inner urge to pit oneself against one's own abilities as an entrepreneur
2.To wish to make a lot of money to a between - jobs- situation with no prospect of decent employment
3. Family can be supportive or against... but the punch line is you should always do what you are interested in...
FAMILY NETWORK
The closest one to assist one in starting a business is the family
Hopefully they share the same dream of you managing a business as you do.
now coming back to FAMILY :
unfortunately , same family members can be liability or can be against your new business because of their ignorance or limited knowledge and exposure...
If they feel they have the (business right) to make business decisions for you, your (business life) could then get difficult.
may be you have to move...
BUSINESS DECISIONS
If made in a family context seldom go together with business decision...[what holds good for X will not necessarily hold good for Y]...
FAMILY DECISIONS are often based on feelings and irrational..
EVALUATION:
Where your business is at this time
what can you decide
what will the family decide
EXPERIENCE
It almost goes without saying that you should not start business within a trade or area of experience that you are unfamiliar with[business qualities are rarely inborn in fact never...a mother gives birth to a child not to a business man or an entrepreneur ]
and EXPERIENCE is the only word you get after you start..
If you have to start gaining basic knowledge about your service or product along with getting the grip of running the business it will soon be an impossible task [ it is advisable to gain the basic knowledge first]
Some line of trade are fairly easy to learn
starting a cleaning company or selling pizzas,kababs, etc can be done with little knowledge about the trade.
VERY IMPORTANT
What do you know and what are you best at?
does that fit with your new business?
This is the whole idea of a start up and you are almost through if you have answers to the above 2 questions.
KNOWLEDGE- DATABASE
EDUCATION
It is a gr88 advantage ..
If u can add SEVERAL YEARS OF PRACTICAL EXPERIENCE within the field it will take the competence to an even higher level...
LIFE EXPERIENCE and SPARE TIME ACTIVITIES are also very important parameters to review when starting business...
ECONOMY
How many of us those who want to start a new business have a lot of money to invest in the company?
very few
but then again: VERY FEW COMPANIES REQUIRE SUBSTANCIAL FINANCIAL RESOURCE TO GET STARTED.......
Usually a consultancy , software company , service industry , does not require a huge capital besides its knowledge – pool ( collective) . such companies usually need only a phone , a computer , an internet connection and means of transport ..[now what and how you want to start depends on you].
It is opposite for retailers ( especially in huge malls) and for development intensive companies such as biotech , computer game development and manufacturing companies…
If you are to start a small retail showroom in a centrally located place the capital investment is 100 times more than the above mentioned proposals.
HOW MUCH MONEY YOU ARE ABLE TO RAISE?
INTERNAL TRADE NETWORK: Most important aspects
Family: their contacts: and the list goes on
Friends: their friends and relatives : in turn their friends and relatives
Associates:…same as above for them
Contacts: same as above for them
Relatives: same as above for them
{ never ending process}
Our product or service gets almost half global by this format [free advertizing or introduction of a referral system will be a bonus ]
EXPERIENCE shows : that many customer relations have been established because a friend of a businessman has told another friend about the business…
Some places especially b and c cities and towns don’t have appetite and budget for publicity . this is the most important tool if used properly it can cut down your costs by millions of dollars in a long run…
Now just evaluate the concept of MLM and networking companies…
If you go through the recent start-ups all started with word of mouth publicity..
Having right connection with the trade is of great importance
Networks are always important within other aspects of business operation…
[ helps in diversifying and adding on services & products to your company]
.
PRODUCT / SERVICE KNOWLEDGE:
IT is important to posses a profound knowledge of the service or product you want to market.
Uncomplicated business such as selling fast food or cleaning etc can be handled on the basis of general skills and knowledge,,,
Starting a translation agency without a linguistic knowledge would be unwise…if no practical knowledge is gained…
Starting an advertizing is same..
More specialized the service , more important to possess gr88 knowledge of the topic..
Do you know enough about your product/ service?
WORK TASKS:
Owner must handle numerous work tasks..if there is only one person in the company he/ she must be Managing director/ Sales/ financial/ Marketing manager/ Office clerk and bell boy..
However , often there will be key areas which the owner is practically keen on
When starting a new business you might not be able to work with what you like the best.
Other task might be more needed . but you can set goals in the future bring you to work with your desired work task..
In which areas are you particularly keen working on?
Can they be fulfilled in your new business ?
WEAK SIDES:
You probably have a lot of strong sides that will benefit the business.
But one person seldom has all the skills and personality that make the perfect business.
You may have strong skills in selling and developing your product .
But may be not in working the paper work & administration function.
It is important to acknowledge that you might not be the best in all fields of work. if you know your weak sides .you are able to cover these by hiring staff
Or get help from the network or purchase the missing skills from a consultant .
Do you have any weak sides?
And how will you cover them?
Friday, November 23, 2007
SAIF Partners Invests $10 Million In English Fluency Institute Veta
Education sector continues to attract investment. This is the fourth deal in the space in the last two months. SAIF Partners has invested about $10 million in Veta, a Chennai-based English language fluency training institute. This is the second investment of SAIF Partners in this space. Last week, we reported SAIF Partners’ investment in ICA Infotech, a Kolkata-based non-IT training company (such as finance and personality development). We had also reported Gaja Capital Partners’ $8.25 investment in Career Launcher, a preparatory education company. Veta, owned by Amoha Education Pvt. Ltd, claims to be India’s largest academy for teaching spoken English. Earlier known as Vivekananda Institute, it claims to have trained more than 1.9 million students, job seekers and others to speak English over the last 25 years through a combination of direct class coaching and distance education course. The company was founded in 1981, and now it has some 150 centers across India. It also provides soft skill and personality development training. Says Ravi Adusumalli, General Partner, SAIF Partners, “Historically English has played a crucial role in the Indian social and business context serving as the common bridge in our country. And the recent job requirements from sectors like IT/BPO, retailing, Hospitality, financial services have further fuelled the demand for people with fluent spoken English.” VETA is one of the few businesses in this highly fragmented sector that have achieved scale. V. Ganesh Ram is the Managing Director of Veta.
SAIF Partners Invests In Vocational Training Firm ICA Infotech
Private equity fund SAIF Partners has invested an undisclosed amount in Kolkata based vocational training institute ICA Infotech Ltd. ICA is a leading provider of job-oriented vocational training to arts and commerce stream graduates in the non-IT segment. It provides courses in accounting, finance and personality development through some 300 plus study centres across the country. It also has several other courses in the pipeline such as retail and stock trading. ICA was founded in 1999-2000 by Narendra Shyamsukha, who is the chairman and managing director.The company claims to have provided training to over 35,000 students during the last fiscal year. It plans to almost double this number in the current year. The market opportunity here is fresh college graduates are still not ready to be employed unless they go through a vocational training programme. Despite this gap, the education and training space outside the regular colleges and universities has largely remained unorganised. There are only few large companies like ICA in the non-IT training sector.Ravi Adusumalli, General Partner, SAIF Partners, justifies the investment, “Historically, India has been behind the curve on training and education aspects of manpower development. As the economy develops further, the gap between the need and the availability of trained workforce is only getting wider. ICA plans to take advantage of this opportunity.”Also Indian training space has been dominated by IT related vocational training institutes like NIIT and IIHT (hardware). But non-IT related training segment has remained largely untapped.Babar Khan, Vice President, led the deal for SAIF Partners. This is the fifteenth investment of SAIF Partners in India. It has earlier invested in companies like National Stock Exchange, Sify, IL&FS Investsmart, Intelligroup, Makemytrip.com, HomeShop18, JustDial, and SlashSupport, among others.
Mahesh Tutorials Lands $12 Million Funding From Helix Investments
This will be the second instance of institutional financing in the preparatory or tutorial business in India. Mumbai-based Mahesh Tutorials has landed $12 million investment from the Mauritius-based India-focused fund Helix Investments, reports Business Standard and The Times of India. Helix will pick up a 30 per cent stake in the company, MT Educare Pvt Ltd, which provides coaching for engineering and medical entrance tests, aptitude test preparation and vocational skills training. Helix has one board seat.
A few years ago, MBA admission test coaching company Career Launcher had received investment from Intel Capital, which was the first known investment by a venture capital fund in the business. Mahesh’s will probably be the second.
Helix is an India-focused investment fund backed by members of the Cullman and Bloomingdale families of New York. David Danziger, Director, Helix Investments, told TOI that the firm invested $12 million since it was impressed with the ‘‘future growth plans’’ of the company.
The funds will be used for national expansion and also to venture into newer areas like corporate training, according to Mahesh Shetty, founder and chairman of the company MT Educare Private Ltd. It currently has revenues of Rs 36 crore, which is expected to touch Rs 75 crore in the next financial year, says the TOI report. Polymath Advisors was the exclusive advisor for the transaction.
Helix has earlier invested in Goodlife Integrated Fitness Solutions, an India-based healthy prepared food delivery company doing business as Calorie Care, and OSi, a medical transcription outsourcing company.
It’s likely now more tutorial companies that have scalable business models could get funding. Kota-based Career Point is one such company, while Delhi-based FIITJEE also has revenues in the range of Rs 30-40 crore. It’s a highly fragmented business, although cash rich.
A few years ago, MBA admission test coaching company Career Launcher had received investment from Intel Capital, which was the first known investment by a venture capital fund in the business. Mahesh’s will probably be the second.
Helix is an India-focused investment fund backed by members of the Cullman and Bloomingdale families of New York. David Danziger, Director, Helix Investments, told TOI that the firm invested $12 million since it was impressed with the ‘‘future growth plans’’ of the company.
The funds will be used for national expansion and also to venture into newer areas like corporate training, according to Mahesh Shetty, founder and chairman of the company MT Educare Private Ltd. It currently has revenues of Rs 36 crore, which is expected to touch Rs 75 crore in the next financial year, says the TOI report. Polymath Advisors was the exclusive advisor for the transaction.
Helix has earlier invested in Goodlife Integrated Fitness Solutions, an India-based healthy prepared food delivery company doing business as Calorie Care, and OSi, a medical transcription outsourcing company.
It’s likely now more tutorial companies that have scalable business models could get funding. Kota-based Career Point is one such company, while Delhi-based FIITJEE also has revenues in the range of Rs 30-40 crore. It’s a highly fragmented business, although cash rich.
Career Launcher Raises $8.25 Million From Gaja Capital Partners
Career Launcher has raised $8.25 million (Rs. 32.4 crores) from Gaja Capital Partners and affiliates, VC Circle has learned. The company is expected to announce the deal shortly. Sources said that the company will use the capital for its future expansion needs - probably its new business ventures like schools.Career Launcher had earlier raised external capital from Intel Capital, which exited the company couple of years ago. This is the second instance of private equity investment in a preparatory education company. In August, Mumbai-based Mahesh Tutorials announced $12 million investment from Mauritius-based India-focused fund Helix Investments.According to market sources, several funds like Actis and Sequoia Capital India had looked at Career Launcher as a potential investment opportunity, but the deal did not go through for valuation reasons.In a recent interview to Business Today, Career Launcher chairman Satyanarayanan R (pictured) said that his company’s aim is to become a start-to-finish education corporate. The company started with MBA preparatory coaching in 1995, and later forayed into other areas like medical, engineering and IIT coaching. They recently diversified into a play school chain called Ananda and a K-12 chain called Indus World School. They plan to set up about 650 play schools and 250 K-12 schools in the next few years, besides planning overseas presence in countries like Singapore, Hong Kong and South Korea through a joint venture with Veritas, the third largest GMAT education company. Career Launcher is estimated to have revenues in the range of Rs 75-100 crore.It’s likely Career Launcher has IPO plans in the next year or two. Gaja Capital had made a pre-IPO investment of $1 million in Educomp Solutions, which gave the fund stellar returns of about 20-30 times. Gaja recently sold 100,000 shares of Educomp to net about Rs 30 crore or $7.5 million.
MakeMyTrip Raises $15 Million In Series C From Tiger Fund, Existing Backers
India’s leading travel portal MakeMyTrip.com has closed Series C investment of $15 million from Tiger Fund and the three existing venture capital investors - SAIF Partners, Helion Venture Partners and Sierra Ventures. In the current round, Tiger has invested $8 million, while the remaining $7 million was put in by the return backers. Deep Kalra, CEO of MakeMyTrip, has confirmed the investment. In December last year, MakeMyTrip raised $13 million from SAIF Partners, Helion and Sierra in its second round of funding. In 2005, SAIF had invested $10 million in the company when it kicked off its India operations. The company (the US operations of MakeMyTrip) had earlier received $1 million from eVentures, which was later bought back by promoters. Now SAIF remains the largest external shareholder in the company. This round could probably be the last round of VC investment in the company, as the next step would be to go in for an IPO. Kalra told VC Circle that the company is expected to turn profitable by May 2008, and an IPO can be expected in early 2009. It currently has $22 million commission revenues - $16 million from the domestic market and the rest from its US operations. The revenue breakup is like this: 70 per cent from ticketing and 30 per cent from hotels and packages. MakeMyTrip has so far received a total of $39 million in venture
Shaadi To Tie Up Second Round Funding With Goldman Sachs
Goldman Sachs is believed to have invested $12-13 million in People Interactive Group, the owners of matrimonial portal Shaadi.com, social networking website Fropper and the recently launched property portal Makaan.com. This will be the second round of investment in People Interactive, which raised $8 million in first round from Sequoia Capital India in early 2006. Mauj, the mobile content company of People Group, is not part of this deal. Mauj also had received $10 million from Sequoia Capital India (erstwhile WestBridge Capital Partners) in early 2006. But mobile content businesses are not anymore the favourites of VCs since they are still squeezed in by the operators in revenue share.Sources told VC Circle that the deal was closed last week. When contacted, People Interactive spokesperson,termed the development as “speculative”, and declined to comment further. “The second round of investments in People Interactive by Goldman Sachs is just a speculation and we wouldn’t like to comment on this,” the spokesperson said in a mail to VC Circle. People Interactive was co-founded in 1997 by Anupam Mittal. Its flagship business is Shaadi.com, which along with BharatMatrimony, leads the Indian online matrimonial classifieds market. The others in the business include Jeevansathi.com of Info Edge and SimplyMarry.com of the Times Internet Ltd. The People Group is aiming to go in for an IPO in 2009, and probably a Nasdaq listing.Interestingly, this is the first new media deal for Goldman Sachs, which has recently upped its proprietary private equity business in India. It recently co-invested (along with GE Power) $60 million in Sudhir Gensets, $24 million in Tejas Networks, $15 million in Ludhiana-based Cremica Foods, $17 million in JK Paper and an undisclosed amount in mobile value added services company OnMobile.
Thursday, November 22, 2007
online ad agency webchutney raises money from capital 18
Close on the heels of Quasar Media selling a 75 per cent stake to WPP Digital, another Delhi-based online ad agency Webchutney has raised an undisclosed amount of funding (”a lot of pretty pretty zeroes”, according to the company release) from Capital18, the venture capital arm of Network18 (earlier known as TV18 Group). The company is believed to have sold a significant minority stake. The existing investors like Russian Hill Ventures and other angel investors have exited in this round of investment.WebChutney CEO Sidharth Rao told VC Circle that the company would be focusing on growth, hiring talent and expanding its facilities like a creative studio with the capital it has raised. “We want the best people and the fanciest arsenal and that’s what we are going after with the money,” a release from the company adds.Webchutney, founded in late 1990s by two young college dropouts Sidharth Rao and Sudesh Samaria, has now emerged as one of the largest interactive marketing and technology services agencies in India. The company provides creative services to companies like Microsoft, Airtel, MakeMyTrip, HP, HSBC and Citibank. Their services include online advertising, website design and development, search engine marketing and social media consulting. The company employs about 100 people. The company blogs about the investment here. Contentsutra, which had done the story this afternoon, reports that the capital will be used to make investments in social media, rich interactive applications and so on.This is the second investment of Capital18. Early this month, the fund had invested $4 million in e-learning company 24/7 Learning.
Wednesday, November 21, 2007
Nexus India Capital raises $100M Venture Capital Fund
Nexus India Capital (website) has closed a $100M Venture Capital Fund to invest in opportunities across sectors in India. Nexus plans to invest in both technology start-ups as well as companies with business models not driven by technology. The funds investors include top tier institutions and strategic family offices from North America, Europe and Asia.
The fund and its portfolio companies will be advised by successful entrepreneurs and investors in the Technology, Media, Outsourced Services, Retail and Consumer sectors. The founders of the fund and its advisory companies include industry veterans and successful venture investors, Naren Gupta, Sandeep Singhal, and Suvir Sujan. Bill Davidow, Senior Executive, Intel and Co-founder of a highly successful venture fund is a special advisor to Nexus.
Naren Gupta founded embedded systems software company Integrated Systems Inc. in 1980 and was the President/CEO of the company through the IPO process for 15 years. Integrated Systems later merged with WindRiver Systems, where he serves as Vice Chairman. Naren also serves on the boards of some of the world’s most innovative technology companies such as RedHat and TIBCO. Over the last decade, Naren Gupta has invested in several successful technology ventures that include Speedera Networks, E-Tek Dynamics, Numerical Technologies and RightNow.
Sandeep Singhal co-founded the leading Indian Health Care outsourced services company, Medusind Solutions and is a well-recognized leader in Indian venture capital. Prior to Medusind, Sandeep Singhal founded eVentures India, a Venture Capital Fund that invested in Indian industry leaders including Makemytrip.com, Contest2win.com, Customer Asset (now part of FirstSource), Netmagic, and Mentorix.
Suvir Sujan co-founded Baazee.com, India’s leading e-commerce company that merged with eBay to form eBay India and has also been an active advisor and angel investor to consumer internet, wireless and retail ventures.
“After the first wave of investing in companies based on cost arbitrage, India is finally ready for venture capital in companies driven by innovation. Some of the best employees at companies in India such as Google, Microsoft and Intel are thinking about starting their own companies,” said Sandeep Singhal. “Moreover professionals in large Indian corporations and in companies around the world are stepping into Indian entrepreneurial ventures targeting the burgeoning domestic economy. They need risk capital; the timing to back them is now.”
“Smart entrepreneurs realize that they need more than just money,” said Suvir Sujan. “We are successful entrepreneurs who have founded, built and exited companies successfully in the technology, services and consumer arenas. Nexus India Capital truly understands the unique challenges faced by entrepreneurs and hopes to play an active role in helping companies succeed. Our entire team of advisors in India and Silicon Valley is accessible to all the entrepreneurs we back for support on strategy, operations, organizational building, sales, etc”.
Nexus has already invested in Dimdim- Free web meeting software and mobile2win - a company from Contest2win stable.
The fund and its portfolio companies will be advised by successful entrepreneurs and investors in the Technology, Media, Outsourced Services, Retail and Consumer sectors. The founders of the fund and its advisory companies include industry veterans and successful venture investors, Naren Gupta, Sandeep Singhal, and Suvir Sujan. Bill Davidow, Senior Executive, Intel and Co-founder of a highly successful venture fund is a special advisor to Nexus.
Naren Gupta founded embedded systems software company Integrated Systems Inc. in 1980 and was the President/CEO of the company through the IPO process for 15 years. Integrated Systems later merged with WindRiver Systems, where he serves as Vice Chairman. Naren also serves on the boards of some of the world’s most innovative technology companies such as RedHat and TIBCO. Over the last decade, Naren Gupta has invested in several successful technology ventures that include Speedera Networks, E-Tek Dynamics, Numerical Technologies and RightNow.
Sandeep Singhal co-founded the leading Indian Health Care outsourced services company, Medusind Solutions and is a well-recognized leader in Indian venture capital. Prior to Medusind, Sandeep Singhal founded eVentures India, a Venture Capital Fund that invested in Indian industry leaders including Makemytrip.com, Contest2win.com, Customer Asset (now part of FirstSource), Netmagic, and Mentorix.
Suvir Sujan co-founded Baazee.com, India’s leading e-commerce company that merged with eBay to form eBay India and has also been an active advisor and angel investor to consumer internet, wireless and retail ventures.
“After the first wave of investing in companies based on cost arbitrage, India is finally ready for venture capital in companies driven by innovation. Some of the best employees at companies in India such as Google, Microsoft and Intel are thinking about starting their own companies,” said Sandeep Singhal. “Moreover professionals in large Indian corporations and in companies around the world are stepping into Indian entrepreneurial ventures targeting the burgeoning domestic economy. They need risk capital; the timing to back them is now.”
“Smart entrepreneurs realize that they need more than just money,” said Suvir Sujan. “We are successful entrepreneurs who have founded, built and exited companies successfully in the technology, services and consumer arenas. Nexus India Capital truly understands the unique challenges faced by entrepreneurs and hopes to play an active role in helping companies succeed. Our entire team of advisors in India and Silicon Valley is accessible to all the entrepreneurs we back for support on strategy, operations, organizational building, sales, etc”.
Nexus has already invested in Dimdim- Free web meeting software and mobile2win - a company from Contest2win stable.
Yahoo enters Indian advertising space through Tyroo
Internet web giant (or web giant of yore) Yahoo! has announced that it had taken around 35% stake in an Indian web advertising company Tyroo for an undisclosed amount.
Tyroo Media Pvt Ltd is one of the leading Indian self serve ad marketplace and has around 1000 publishers as its clients. Of the late Rediff.com is also working to roll out its own ad network and is busy signing publishers.
Earlier there were rumors that Yahoo is planning to launch its Yahoo publishing network as some publishers of Google have received enquiries from Yahoo India about Yahoo publishing network. ( Read “Yahoo publisher network in India”), but it seems rather than developing its network from scratch, it has decided to go M&A route to get direct access in the market and pose some challenge ( if there is any) to Google Indian advertising operations.
Indian online advertising market is presently dominated by Google which has been able to bring Indian advertisers as well as publishers on its fold followed by rediff. Due to increased attractiveness of Indian market, all internet majors are trying their best to catch the action in India including AOL ( it launched its India centric site aol.in sometime back though without much success).
Yahoo, despite being an early entrant in the Indian web-space ( around 2000) has not able to demonstrate any success so far, and its performance in term of content, stickiness or technology has been pathetic. Majority of Yahoo traffic is driven by yahoo mail which has remained the most popular email service so far, though Gmail, which has come out of its beta just 4-5 months back is now almost breathing on its neck.
Hence by acquiring Tyroo, Yahoo will be able to gain much needed foothold in Indian advertising space immediately, which is right now dominated by Google, but how far this strategy will bear fruit , is anybody’s guess. But there is one thing that is “In internet space, market shares are not factor of M&A and relationships but a function of management vision and technology”, and unfortunately on both part, Yahoo! yet to get that zing at least in India.
Tyroo Media Pvt Ltd is one of the leading Indian self serve ad marketplace and has around 1000 publishers as its clients. Of the late Rediff.com is also working to roll out its own ad network and is busy signing publishers.
Earlier there were rumors that Yahoo is planning to launch its Yahoo publishing network as some publishers of Google have received enquiries from Yahoo India about Yahoo publishing network. ( Read “Yahoo publisher network in India”), but it seems rather than developing its network from scratch, it has decided to go M&A route to get direct access in the market and pose some challenge ( if there is any) to Google Indian advertising operations.
Indian online advertising market is presently dominated by Google which has been able to bring Indian advertisers as well as publishers on its fold followed by rediff. Due to increased attractiveness of Indian market, all internet majors are trying their best to catch the action in India including AOL ( it launched its India centric site aol.in sometime back though without much success).
Yahoo, despite being an early entrant in the Indian web-space ( around 2000) has not able to demonstrate any success so far, and its performance in term of content, stickiness or technology has been pathetic. Majority of Yahoo traffic is driven by yahoo mail which has remained the most popular email service so far, though Gmail, which has come out of its beta just 4-5 months back is now almost breathing on its neck.
Hence by acquiring Tyroo, Yahoo will be able to gain much needed foothold in Indian advertising space immediately, which is right now dominated by Google, but how far this strategy will bear fruit , is anybody’s guess. But there is one thing that is “In internet space, market shares are not factor of M&A and relationships but a function of management vision and technology”, and unfortunately on both part, Yahoo! yet to get that zing at least in India.
HT Media Acquires Desimartini.com
Firefly e-Ventures Ltd., the wholly-owned Internet subsidiary of HT Media Ltd., has acquired social networking site, Desimartini.com, as per the news reported in Hindustan Times. Though the financial terms are not disclosed, HT Media said that the deal was for less than US $ 10 Million (Rs. 39.3 Crores), which makes an interesting reading, since less than US $ 10 Million could be anything from INR 1.0 Lakh to INR 38.0 Crores (so whether HT Media is trying to peg a value to Desimartini.com or just building hype in case of further sell-off or acquisition, is anybody’s guess).
This news is bound to create excitement in Indian Internet market as it provides an important yard-stick to the ever-optimistic entrepreneurs, who are now bound to measure their own ventures in terms of Desimartini’s valuatuion.
Desimartini.com, launched by Pahwa Knowledge Based Services late last year, is funded by the Pahwa Group of Companies. It was claimed that Desimartini has a membership-base of around 250,000 with traffic of around 2.5 million page views a month.
The traffic numbers as claimed by Desimartini, if true, indicate a good traction for website, but somehow the actual traffic does not seem to be that high, as per external indicators.
Desimartini, which regularly advertises on TV, Internet and other medium, has an Alexa ranking of 77,467 while its Compete ranking is 889,553 with around 1000 US visitors per month. Incidentally, Alexa rankings overall are not considered trustworthy as they can be engineered to generate high ranking. Hence, generally speaking, a high Alexa rank doesn’t mean much, but a low Alexa rank certainly means that there is no big traffic on this site.
The sites which are in same Alexa league get traffic of around 600k to 800k page views a month with around 200k unique visitors a month and, hence, the claim of Desimartini having 2.5 million page views is highly suspect.
Hence, to think that a Fund Manager will pay around US $ 10 Million for a site with marginal traffic, no great brand loyalty (the site is just a year old), no great business model (just another social networking site), makes the whole thing a little suspicious, as it strongly suggests that either there is something more on the table beyond Desimartini.com, or HT Media for some reason is really desperate to get into action without wasting a day.
Further details of this deal will be available in some time, as HT Media, being a listed company, would be required to inform the Stock Exchange regarding this transaction.
The Hindustan Times Group had dabbled with Internet earlier as well in 2000 dotcom boom (almost near to the time when the great Internet bubble burst), where it hired a high-profile team from banking and consulting industry, and had a big-bang launch for go4i.com headed by Mr. Piyush Gupta. Go4i was launched in association with Chase Capital Partners and the HDFC Group. The Hindustan Times and Chase Capital Partners each held 38 percent in the venture, while the HDFC Group had 8 percent. The total investment in the venture in the initial phase was reported to be US $ 15 Millions.
Also, at that point of time, go4i.com had plans to launch some other portals - related to career (go4career.com), cricket (go4cricket.com), movie ticketing (go4ticket.com), and so on and so forth.
And for all those who care for historical data-keeping, this was the quotable quote as given in The Hindu in year 2000.
‘“We (go4i) are hopeful of a turnover of Rs. 30 Crores in the second year of operations,” Mr. Gupta said, adding that go4i.com would break even in the next two years, and become profitable in the year thereafter.
“We (go4i) are planning a public issue of the portal in the next couple of years. Whether to go for an overseas float or a domestic one would depend on the prevailing market conditions at that time,” he said.’
The above statements by Piyush Gupta were made in 2000 in a truly style of forward looking statements (this is another matter that they really turned out to be forward looking qs whole go4i venture was shut down after some time).
This news is bound to create excitement in Indian Internet market as it provides an important yard-stick to the ever-optimistic entrepreneurs, who are now bound to measure their own ventures in terms of Desimartini’s valuatuion.
Desimartini.com, launched by Pahwa Knowledge Based Services late last year, is funded by the Pahwa Group of Companies. It was claimed that Desimartini has a membership-base of around 250,000 with traffic of around 2.5 million page views a month.
The traffic numbers as claimed by Desimartini, if true, indicate a good traction for website, but somehow the actual traffic does not seem to be that high, as per external indicators.
Desimartini, which regularly advertises on TV, Internet and other medium, has an Alexa ranking of 77,467 while its Compete ranking is 889,553 with around 1000 US visitors per month. Incidentally, Alexa rankings overall are not considered trustworthy as they can be engineered to generate high ranking. Hence, generally speaking, a high Alexa rank doesn’t mean much, but a low Alexa rank certainly means that there is no big traffic on this site.
The sites which are in same Alexa league get traffic of around 600k to 800k page views a month with around 200k unique visitors a month and, hence, the claim of Desimartini having 2.5 million page views is highly suspect.
Hence, to think that a Fund Manager will pay around US $ 10 Million for a site with marginal traffic, no great brand loyalty (the site is just a year old), no great business model (just another social networking site), makes the whole thing a little suspicious, as it strongly suggests that either there is something more on the table beyond Desimartini.com, or HT Media for some reason is really desperate to get into action without wasting a day.
Further details of this deal will be available in some time, as HT Media, being a listed company, would be required to inform the Stock Exchange regarding this transaction.
The Hindustan Times Group had dabbled with Internet earlier as well in 2000 dotcom boom (almost near to the time when the great Internet bubble burst), where it hired a high-profile team from banking and consulting industry, and had a big-bang launch for go4i.com headed by Mr. Piyush Gupta. Go4i was launched in association with Chase Capital Partners and the HDFC Group. The Hindustan Times and Chase Capital Partners each held 38 percent in the venture, while the HDFC Group had 8 percent. The total investment in the venture in the initial phase was reported to be US $ 15 Millions.
Also, at that point of time, go4i.com had plans to launch some other portals - related to career (go4career.com), cricket (go4cricket.com), movie ticketing (go4ticket.com), and so on and so forth.
And for all those who care for historical data-keeping, this was the quotable quote as given in The Hindu in year 2000.
‘“We (go4i) are hopeful of a turnover of Rs. 30 Crores in the second year of operations,” Mr. Gupta said, adding that go4i.com would break even in the next two years, and become profitable in the year thereafter.
“We (go4i) are planning a public issue of the portal in the next couple of years. Whether to go for an overseas float or a domestic one would depend on the prevailing market conditions at that time,” he said.’
The above statements by Piyush Gupta were made in 2000 in a truly style of forward looking statements (this is another matter that they really turned out to be forward looking qs whole go4i venture was shut down after some time).
Sunday, November 18, 2007
Travelguru May Acquire Hotel Booking Website Desiya
The time has come for some consolidation in the online travel space. Travelguru is close to acquiring online hotel rooms consolidator Desiya.com. Industry sources said that the deal is more or less done. When VC Circle contacted, Amit Taneja, the founder and CEO of Desiya, refused to comment on the development.
Gurgaon-based Desiya was founded in early 2005, and currently employs about 50 people. It only deals in online hotel booking, and is said to be having a network of 3,300 hotels. The company, interestingly, has not been focusing on B2C space, but has been providing B2B hotel solutions to travel portals like Travelguru, Indiatimes and Cleartrip.
Desiya is founded by Amit Taneja (co-founder & CEO), Reuel Ghosh (co-founder and CTO), and Andrew Morsi (co-founder and Chief Marketing Officer).
Travelguru, backed by Sequoia Capital India and Battery Ventures, started as an online airline booking portal. Lately, the Bangalore-headquartered company has shifted its focus to hotel booking. Acquisition of Desiya is likely to strengthen its position in the hotel space.
Gurgaon-based Desiya was founded in early 2005, and currently employs about 50 people. It only deals in online hotel booking, and is said to be having a network of 3,300 hotels. The company, interestingly, has not been focusing on B2C space, but has been providing B2B hotel solutions to travel portals like Travelguru, Indiatimes and Cleartrip.
Desiya is founded by Amit Taneja (co-founder & CEO), Reuel Ghosh (co-founder and CTO), and Andrew Morsi (co-founder and Chief Marketing Officer).
Travelguru, backed by Sequoia Capital India and Battery Ventures, started as an online airline booking portal. Lately, the Bangalore-headquartered company has shifted its focus to hotel booking. Acquisition of Desiya is likely to strengthen its position in the hotel space.
Guruji May Close Under $10 Million In Series B From Sandstone Capital
Guruji.com, an Indian local search firm, is believed to have landed Series B funding from Sandstone Capital, a Boston based venture capital firm, VC Circle has learnt. The investment, according to industry sources, is a little lower than $10 million. An email to Guruji’s Co-Founder and CEO Anurag Dod to confirm the deal has not seen a response yet.
Guruji was seed-funded by Sequoia Capital India, besides a small personal investment from Suvir Sujan, a former co-founder of Baazee.com and now managing director of venture fund Nexus Capital India. In December last year, Sequoia had announced a funding commitment of $7 million in Guruji. It’s not known how much money has Sequoia finally put in the company.
Sandstone Capital is a leading US-based, India-dedicated investment fund. The fund manages capital for US and European universities, foundations and families. Sandstone had led a $20 million round in optical networking company Tejas Networks last year.
Now the local information companies that have secured series B funding include AskLaila or Four Interactive (it raised $10 million in series B from Lightspeed Venture Partners, Silicon Valley Bank and the existing investor Matrix Partners India) and JustDial (which secured $8-10 million in series A funding from SAIF Partners, after which it raked in another $15 million from US-based Tiger Fund.)
Guruji was seed-funded by Sequoia Capital India, besides a small personal investment from Suvir Sujan, a former co-founder of Baazee.com and now managing director of venture fund Nexus Capital India. In December last year, Sequoia had announced a funding commitment of $7 million in Guruji. It’s not known how much money has Sequoia finally put in the company.
Sandstone Capital is a leading US-based, India-dedicated investment fund. The fund manages capital for US and European universities, foundations and families. Sandstone had led a $20 million round in optical networking company Tejas Networks last year.
Now the local information companies that have secured series B funding include AskLaila or Four Interactive (it raised $10 million in series B from Lightspeed Venture Partners, Silicon Valley Bank and the existing investor Matrix Partners India) and JustDial (which secured $8-10 million in series A funding from SAIF Partners, after which it raked in another $15 million from US-based Tiger Fund.)
Footprint Ventures Invests $2 Million In Ticketvala.com
Bangalore-headquartered Footprint Ventures has invested $2 million in Ticketvala.com, a portal for booking bus tickets, according to Mint. Footprint is co-founded by Neill Brownstein, who was also one of the co-founders the Silicon Valley-based venture capital firm Bessemer Venture Partners.
Footprint has also made another undisclosed investment in India, besides Ticketvala. Footrpint’s focus is to invest in companies in the India-Israel-India corridor. Footprint is looking to put $2-4 million in lifestyle, retail, financial services, security, education, clean technology and life sciences. The other co-founders are Linda Brownstein, Josh Bornstein and Shalini Elassery.
Besides Ticketvala, there is another company in this space - Redbus.in, which is part of TiE-EAP (Entrepreneurship Acceleration Program).
Footprint has also made another undisclosed investment in India, besides Ticketvala. Footrpint’s focus is to invest in companies in the India-Israel-India corridor. Footprint is looking to put $2-4 million in lifestyle, retail, financial services, security, education, clean technology and life sciences. The other co-founders are Linda Brownstein, Josh Bornstein and Shalini Elassery.
Besides Ticketvala, there is another company in this space - Redbus.in, which is part of TiE-EAP (Entrepreneurship Acceleration Program).
Saturday, November 17, 2007
Tips For Your Business
Advertising plays a vital role in the success of
a business, product or service. Various forms of
advertisement have different impacts on different
kinds of niche and market. Choosing the best and
suited mode of advertisement for your product, or
service is a smart move.
Although advertising, like pay per clicks, can be
effective in promoting your website, it can
quickly become expensive. By focusing on creating
quality content for website, and then promoting
that content, you can continue to drive traffic
to your website for years to come.
Writing an Ebook or creating Articles can be
done easily. These lessen expenses that may be
incurred. There are five strategies that you can
implement in your business that will not only
create a content strategy for you but will also
create a very effective marketing strategy. These
strategies will only require a few hours of your
time each week. It also helps generate traffic to
your site.
Articles
Articles do not only brand you as an expert but
are also a way to create quality content for your
site, and search engines love content.
Blogs/RSS
Blogging is another way to create content for
your website, and by using RSS, you can easily
distribute your content.
Press Releases
Press releases are news about your business.
Press releases are also an excellent way to get
high rankings for your site because you can
create content rich press releases and submit
them to press release directories.
Search Engine Optimization
Optimizing your site for the search engines means
creating keyword rich content, exchanging links
with other sites, submitting your site to
directories, that creates back links pointing to
your site.
Free Ebooks and Reports
By writing and giving away free Ebooks and
reports, you give visitors an incentive to visit
your website.
These five strategies have been used by Internet
marketers to achieved high returns for their
products or services presented. Moreover, another
way of promoting your business or site is by
using Pay per Click (PPC), though it may require
expensive transactions.
What is PPC anyway? Pay per click search engines
also known as Pay per Ranking, Pay per Placement
or Pay per Position provides web site owners the
opportunity to buy their way to better positions
on search results pages.
Pay per click
advertising on search engines allows you to
choose keywords you would like your site to
appear for when a search is performed.
A very important point to keep in mind with Pay
per Click (PPC) is you must test, test, and test
some more. Don't start off with a major
investment. Start with the minimum and see how
the search engine performs in terms of the
traffic it delivers and how well that traffic
converts into paying customers.
The Pay per Click Guide provides an overview of
several pay per click programs on offer. Each
program is reviewed using the following four
criteria:
o Price
o Traffic
o Interface
o Extras
One of the main appeals of PPC is the level of
targeting available to advertisers. PPC evolved
as a better option to CPM (cost per thousand
impressions) advertising that was the original
metric used to sell advertising on websites.
From the user point of view PPC advertising is
not easy to come to grips with initially but will
reward those marketers that spend the time
learning to use the system and optimize their
campaigns.
a business, product or service. Various forms of
advertisement have different impacts on different
kinds of niche and market. Choosing the best and
suited mode of advertisement for your product, or
service is a smart move.
Although advertising, like pay per clicks, can be
effective in promoting your website, it can
quickly become expensive. By focusing on creating
quality content for website, and then promoting
that content, you can continue to drive traffic
to your website for years to come.
Writing an Ebook or creating Articles can be
done easily. These lessen expenses that may be
incurred. There are five strategies that you can
implement in your business that will not only
create a content strategy for you but will also
create a very effective marketing strategy. These
strategies will only require a few hours of your
time each week. It also helps generate traffic to
your site.
Articles
Articles do not only brand you as an expert but
are also a way to create quality content for your
site, and search engines love content.
Blogs/RSS
Blogging is another way to create content for
your website, and by using RSS, you can easily
distribute your content.
Press Releases
Press releases are news about your business.
Press releases are also an excellent way to get
high rankings for your site because you can
create content rich press releases and submit
them to press release directories.
Search Engine Optimization
Optimizing your site for the search engines means
creating keyword rich content, exchanging links
with other sites, submitting your site to
directories, that creates back links pointing to
your site.
Free Ebooks and Reports
By writing and giving away free Ebooks and
reports, you give visitors an incentive to visit
your website.
These five strategies have been used by Internet
marketers to achieved high returns for their
products or services presented. Moreover, another
way of promoting your business or site is by
using Pay per Click (PPC), though it may require
expensive transactions.
What is PPC anyway? Pay per click search engines
also known as Pay per Ranking, Pay per Placement
or Pay per Position provides web site owners the
opportunity to buy their way to better positions
on search results pages.
Pay per click
advertising on search engines allows you to
choose keywords you would like your site to
appear for when a search is performed.
A very important point to keep in mind with Pay
per Click (PPC) is you must test, test, and test
some more. Don't start off with a major
investment. Start with the minimum and see how
the search engine performs in terms of the
traffic it delivers and how well that traffic
converts into paying customers.
The Pay per Click Guide provides an overview of
several pay per click programs on offer. Each
program is reviewed using the following four
criteria:
o Price
o Traffic
o Interface
o Extras
One of the main appeals of PPC is the level of
targeting available to advertisers. PPC evolved
as a better option to CPM (cost per thousand
impressions) advertising that was the original
metric used to sell advertising on websites.
From the user point of view PPC advertising is
not easy to come to grips with initially but will
reward those marketers that spend the time
learning to use the system and optimize their
campaigns.
Website Building Tips
Many Webmasters try to promote a badly built
website and get frustrated when they see no
results in terms of sales or returning visitors.
In order for you to succeed in promoting a
website, you absolutely need to have a site that
is clean, clear and filled up with original and
interesting content. You can spend tons of green
bills on marketing and even generate hordes of
traffic to your website but if your website does
not show confidence and trust noone will be
neither ordering from you nor returning to your
website.
The following website building tips will hopefull
help you draw attention and visitors to your site
and perhaps also close a few sales. How do you
want to be seen? Your website is the way you
present your self and your products, like a
storefront on the streets if you will, and it is
important that you present your self in a manner
that appeals to the audience you are targeting.
CONTENT IS KING, as always...
Before you begin to build your website, try to
choose a topic that you are familiar with and
have some kind of interest in. If you choose
something that is of no interest to you, your
visitors will often be able to spot that and find
your website worthless. In these days of adsense
sites etc many people just put of crappy websites
to earn a few quick ones but the content and the
quality of the content, in particular, is very
often missing.
Also when building websites on topics that you
are not interested in will be a constant pain in
the behind for you when it is time to update.
Today there are many ways to make automatic
websites and even make automatic content and
updates but as we all know there is a need for
updates to stay listed in the search engines and
not everything can be made by computer software.
If the website is interesting to you it is much
more possible that also other people will find
interest in your website. If you are new to the
game and not so familiare with niche research
etc, try to explore what other people are
interested in and see if you can find something
that matches your interests and then try to build
a website around that topic.
As soon as you have chosen a topic for your
website it iss time to start writing content.
Always use a spell checker! :-) No matter how
good a writer you are there will still be times
when you make typos. That I can guarantee. Try to
make your content look professional and make it
easy to read. Also try to get the text to flow
naturally and divide it into easily readable
chapters and paragraphs.
Your visitors want as good quality content as
possible and they want a lot of it. A good idea
for any beginner is to fill your site with
articles written by other people as long as they
fit your site's theme. You can find plenty of
those re-printable articles on the internet.
Allthough these articles will not help your
website in terms of ranking or indexing they will
provide good and easily available content related
to the theme of your site. Later when you get a
bit more expericend write your own articles,
tips, and details of all the products and
services on your site. Remember, the key to
building a good website is content, content and
CONTENT.
LAYOUT and DESIGN...
Mission One: Make your website easy to navigate
and make it easy to access your content. Use a
simple, no fuss style and layout with easy to
find links. Do not disquise your links behind
text or pictures only ment to get visitors to
click. Basically it should be easy to understand
the layout of your site and moving from page to
page on your website should be made wirh ease.
Websites full of graphics are complicated to
maneuver around and most visitors will find these
kinds of website terrible to use. Also by the
introduction of Flash many wemasters made their
websites so darn "flashy" that it became almost
impossible to surf the sites on low speed
connections. The sites often looked, and looks,
like a show off room for the webmaster rather
than the informative and usefull content the
visitors are looking for. Remeber; most people
search the interenet for information and nothing
more - Keep it simple! Some banners on your site
is ok.But the glorious days of banners are gone
and blinking banners, buttons and flashy colours
will turn visitors away.
META TAGS:
Meta tags are little lines of code that are
placed between the HEAD and the /HEAD tags in
your site's HTML code. They do not affect how the
page is displayed but they provide information on
who created the page, how often it is updated,
how often the search engine spiders should visit
your website, what the page are all about, and
which keywords represent the main content of the
website. These "tags" are not visible to your
visitors but is only used by the spiders when
indexing your website.
THE DESCRIPTION TAG:
These tags are very important. This is the title
people see when someone does a search on a search
engine and your listing comes up, the description
is displayed right below your title.
Since you want people to click on your link, you
absolutely need to make sure that your
description will grab their attention and make
them want to click on your link to know more. If
no description tag is found, search engine will
most likely create their own description and most
likely not manage to describe your page properly.
Description tags should be short but descriptive.
THE KEYWORDS TAG: META name="keywords"
content="Your Kewyords Here"
Search engines will only display a small part of
the description in their results list. If a
description tag contains too many words, the
extra words will be cut off. Try to avoid that as
it may ruin your chance of getting the number of
clicks you should be getting.
Keyword tag contains words and phrases relevant
to the content of your website. Commas and spaces
separate the different words from each other.
Keyword tags is not visible to the visitors at
your site, nor do the search engines display them
in their results but many search engines read the
keywords tag and give a small increase to the
ranking for the words that are mentioned in it as
the words in the keyword tags shoul be some of
the most releavant words for your site.
Search engines will read about ten words or so,
so it is no use in stuffing in a lot of keywords.
Going through your site before launch...
Once your website has been finished, go over it
word for word, line for line, and correct any
typos, errors, or broken links. Nothing is more
frustrating than clicking on a link and then find
out that the link is broken or leads to a
different page than the page you were actually
trying to reach. It's a real visitor repellor!
Monitor your site on a regular basis and make
sure the links and content is working and up to
date. There are even automatic link checker
programs that can be used for this purpose.
One last thing; if visitors can see that you are
available to contact, they will be much more
likely to trust you and click on your links.
Therefore include contact information, maybe even
a picture of your self, so people can easily
contact you.
website and get frustrated when they see no
results in terms of sales or returning visitors.
In order for you to succeed in promoting a
website, you absolutely need to have a site that
is clean, clear and filled up with original and
interesting content. You can spend tons of green
bills on marketing and even generate hordes of
traffic to your website but if your website does
not show confidence and trust noone will be
neither ordering from you nor returning to your
website.
The following website building tips will hopefull
help you draw attention and visitors to your site
and perhaps also close a few sales. How do you
want to be seen? Your website is the way you
present your self and your products, like a
storefront on the streets if you will, and it is
important that you present your self in a manner
that appeals to the audience you are targeting.
CONTENT IS KING, as always...
Before you begin to build your website, try to
choose a topic that you are familiar with and
have some kind of interest in. If you choose
something that is of no interest to you, your
visitors will often be able to spot that and find
your website worthless. In these days of adsense
sites etc many people just put of crappy websites
to earn a few quick ones but the content and the
quality of the content, in particular, is very
often missing.
Also when building websites on topics that you
are not interested in will be a constant pain in
the behind for you when it is time to update.
Today there are many ways to make automatic
websites and even make automatic content and
updates but as we all know there is a need for
updates to stay listed in the search engines and
not everything can be made by computer software.
If the website is interesting to you it is much
more possible that also other people will find
interest in your website. If you are new to the
game and not so familiare with niche research
etc, try to explore what other people are
interested in and see if you can find something
that matches your interests and then try to build
a website around that topic.
As soon as you have chosen a topic for your
website it iss time to start writing content.
Always use a spell checker! :-) No matter how
good a writer you are there will still be times
when you make typos. That I can guarantee. Try to
make your content look professional and make it
easy to read. Also try to get the text to flow
naturally and divide it into easily readable
chapters and paragraphs.
Your visitors want as good quality content as
possible and they want a lot of it. A good idea
for any beginner is to fill your site with
articles written by other people as long as they
fit your site's theme. You can find plenty of
those re-printable articles on the internet.
Allthough these articles will not help your
website in terms of ranking or indexing they will
provide good and easily available content related
to the theme of your site. Later when you get a
bit more expericend write your own articles,
tips, and details of all the products and
services on your site. Remember, the key to
building a good website is content, content and
CONTENT.
LAYOUT and DESIGN...
Mission One: Make your website easy to navigate
and make it easy to access your content. Use a
simple, no fuss style and layout with easy to
find links. Do not disquise your links behind
text or pictures only ment to get visitors to
click. Basically it should be easy to understand
the layout of your site and moving from page to
page on your website should be made wirh ease.
Websites full of graphics are complicated to
maneuver around and most visitors will find these
kinds of website terrible to use. Also by the
introduction of Flash many wemasters made their
websites so darn "flashy" that it became almost
impossible to surf the sites on low speed
connections. The sites often looked, and looks,
like a show off room for the webmaster rather
than the informative and usefull content the
visitors are looking for. Remeber; most people
search the interenet for information and nothing
more - Keep it simple! Some banners on your site
is ok.But the glorious days of banners are gone
and blinking banners, buttons and flashy colours
will turn visitors away.
META TAGS:
Meta tags are little lines of code that are
placed between the HEAD and the /HEAD tags in
your site's HTML code. They do not affect how the
page is displayed but they provide information on
who created the page, how often it is updated,
how often the search engine spiders should visit
your website, what the page are all about, and
which keywords represent the main content of the
website. These "tags" are not visible to your
visitors but is only used by the spiders when
indexing your website.
THE DESCRIPTION TAG:
These tags are very important. This is the title
people see when someone does a search on a search
engine and your listing comes up, the description
is displayed right below your title.
Since you want people to click on your link, you
absolutely need to make sure that your
description will grab their attention and make
them want to click on your link to know more. If
no description tag is found, search engine will
most likely create their own description and most
likely not manage to describe your page properly.
Description tags should be short but descriptive.
THE KEYWORDS TAG: META name="keywords"
content="Your Kewyords Here"
Search engines will only display a small part of
the description in their results list. If a
description tag contains too many words, the
extra words will be cut off. Try to avoid that as
it may ruin your chance of getting the number of
clicks you should be getting.
Keyword tag contains words and phrases relevant
to the content of your website. Commas and spaces
separate the different words from each other.
Keyword tags is not visible to the visitors at
your site, nor do the search engines display them
in their results but many search engines read the
keywords tag and give a small increase to the
ranking for the words that are mentioned in it as
the words in the keyword tags shoul be some of
the most releavant words for your site.
Search engines will read about ten words or so,
so it is no use in stuffing in a lot of keywords.
Going through your site before launch...
Once your website has been finished, go over it
word for word, line for line, and correct any
typos, errors, or broken links. Nothing is more
frustrating than clicking on a link and then find
out that the link is broken or leads to a
different page than the page you were actually
trying to reach. It's a real visitor repellor!
Monitor your site on a regular basis and make
sure the links and content is working and up to
date. There are even automatic link checker
programs that can be used for this purpose.
One last thing; if visitors can see that you are
available to contact, they will be much more
likely to trust you and click on your links.
Therefore include contact information, maybe even
a picture of your self, so people can easily
contact you.
Friday, November 16, 2007
5 common denominators for business success
So many wannabe networkers have the drive and desire to build a business – but have no idea how to accomplish it – they set themselves up for failure right from the start. Imagine inquiring about a business – meeting a self described leader – being sold or convinced that you have found the absolute business for you and then being left on your own to figure out how to “get it done”. Realizing that you have no real:
Leadership
Guidance
Systemization or,
Duplication
These “leaders” will point you in the direction of purchasing contacts, websites that will show you how to generate “traffic” to your business, scripts on what to say and answers to frequently asked questions. Unless you start to generate income for them right away – it’ll become see ya later. All of the personal development gurus tell people what to do to make things right but very few if any tell them how or provide them with the tools to accomplish it.
Our objective is to turn the success ratio numbers of network marketing upside down. The principles of personal development will allow every networker to apply themselves in a positive fashion by understanding how to control their thoughts through their feelings which will ensure they take positive action and ultimately attract positive results.
Here are 5 common denominators for success in the networking industry:
Income producing activities need to be done daily.
Brainstorm with the leaders in your organization daily.
Visualize and meditate on your goals several times a day.
Become a student of Personal Development and practice it daily.
Carry an expectation of leadership in yourself and in others.
By exercising these simple tasks consistently and with persistence you will be successful in your venture, as long as you are doing it for the right reasons. You see in any business we are only there for one reason – to solve other peoples problems. The bi-product of our efforts is the income we generate.
Leadership
Guidance
Systemization or,
Duplication
These “leaders” will point you in the direction of purchasing contacts, websites that will show you how to generate “traffic” to your business, scripts on what to say and answers to frequently asked questions. Unless you start to generate income for them right away – it’ll become see ya later. All of the personal development gurus tell people what to do to make things right but very few if any tell them how or provide them with the tools to accomplish it.
Our objective is to turn the success ratio numbers of network marketing upside down. The principles of personal development will allow every networker to apply themselves in a positive fashion by understanding how to control their thoughts through their feelings which will ensure they take positive action and ultimately attract positive results.
Here are 5 common denominators for success in the networking industry:
Income producing activities need to be done daily.
Brainstorm with the leaders in your organization daily.
Visualize and meditate on your goals several times a day.
Become a student of Personal Development and practice it daily.
Carry an expectation of leadership in yourself and in others.
By exercising these simple tasks consistently and with persistence you will be successful in your venture, as long as you are doing it for the right reasons. You see in any business we are only there for one reason – to solve other peoples problems. The bi-product of our efforts is the income we generate.
Thursday, November 15, 2007
SETTING GOALS
Can you believe this year is almost over?
Did you reach the goals you set for your self? If not you still
have time.
Do not give up.....
The basics of setting a goal is an open secret known by top-caliber
athletes, successful businessmen and businesswomen and all types of
achievers in all the different fields. The basics of setting goals
give you short-term and long-term motivation and focus. They help
you set focus on the acquisition of required knowledge and help you
to plan and organize your resources and your time so that you can
get the best out of your life.
Setting clearly defined short term and long term goals will enable
you to measure your progress and achieve personal satisfaction once
you have successfully met your goals. Charting your progress will
also enable you to actually see the stages of completion leading to
the actual realization of your goals. This eliminates the feeling
of a long and pointless grind towards achieving your goal. Your
self-confidence and level of competence will also improve as you
will be more aware of your capabilities as you complete or achieve
your goals.
The basics of goal settings will involve deciding what you really
want to do with your personal life and what short term and long
term goals you need to achieve it. Then you have to break down
goals into the smaller and manageable targets that you must
complete in your way to achieving your lifetime targets. Once you
have your list waste no time in tackling your goals.
A good way to have a manageable list is to have a daily and weekly
set of goals. By doing this you will be always in the position of
going towards you life plan goals. Everyday will give you the
opportunity to fulfill a certain goal giving you the feeling of
accomplishment.
Here are some pointers that should be taken into consideration in
setting goals and achieving them.
Attitude plays a very big role in setting and achieving your goals.
You must ask yourself if any part of you or your mind holding you
back towards completing your simplest goals? If there are any part
of your behavior that is being a hindrance or puts your plans into
disarray? If you do have problems in these areas then the immediate
thing to do is to address this problem. Solutions may include a
visit to a doctor or psychiatrist to control your emotions.
Careers are made by good time management practice. Failing in a
career is often attributed to bad time management. Careers require
a lot from an individual which often makes the career the life of
the individual. Plan how far do you want to go into your career.
Education is key in achieving your goals. If your goals require you
to have a certain kind of degree or require a certain
specialization or demand a certain skill to be developed, make
plans in getting the appropriate education.
Your family should never be left out of your plans. If you are just
starting out then you have to decide if you want to be a parent or
when you want to be a parent. You also have to know if you really
would be a good parent and how well would you relate to extended
family members
Personal financial situations also play a major role in achieving
your goals. Have a realistic goal on how much you really want to
earn. You also must be able to create plans or stages by which you
will be able to reach your earning potential.
Physically gifted individuals may be able to achieve sports related
goals like being in the National Basketball association or National
Football League. Determining your physical capabilities should be
one of your priorities. Physical limitations could however be
conquered with proper planning.
As the saying goes -'All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy',
or something to that effect, is by all means true down to the last
the letter. Giving yourself a little pleasure: should be included
into your plans.
To start achieving your lifetime goals, set a quarter of a century
plan, then break it down to 5 year plans then break it down again
to 1 year plans, then 6 month plans then monthly plans, then
weekly, then daily.
Then create a things-to-do list for the day.
Always review your plans and prepare for contingencies.
The basics of goal settings should not be so difficult once you get
to be familiar with them.
Did you reach the goals you set for your self? If not you still
have time.
Do not give up.....
The basics of setting a goal is an open secret known by top-caliber
athletes, successful businessmen and businesswomen and all types of
achievers in all the different fields. The basics of setting goals
give you short-term and long-term motivation and focus. They help
you set focus on the acquisition of required knowledge and help you
to plan and organize your resources and your time so that you can
get the best out of your life.
Setting clearly defined short term and long term goals will enable
you to measure your progress and achieve personal satisfaction once
you have successfully met your goals. Charting your progress will
also enable you to actually see the stages of completion leading to
the actual realization of your goals. This eliminates the feeling
of a long and pointless grind towards achieving your goal. Your
self-confidence and level of competence will also improve as you
will be more aware of your capabilities as you complete or achieve
your goals.
The basics of goal settings will involve deciding what you really
want to do with your personal life and what short term and long
term goals you need to achieve it. Then you have to break down
goals into the smaller and manageable targets that you must
complete in your way to achieving your lifetime targets. Once you
have your list waste no time in tackling your goals.
A good way to have a manageable list is to have a daily and weekly
set of goals. By doing this you will be always in the position of
going towards you life plan goals. Everyday will give you the
opportunity to fulfill a certain goal giving you the feeling of
accomplishment.
Here are some pointers that should be taken into consideration in
setting goals and achieving them.
Attitude plays a very big role in setting and achieving your goals.
You must ask yourself if any part of you or your mind holding you
back towards completing your simplest goals? If there are any part
of your behavior that is being a hindrance or puts your plans into
disarray? If you do have problems in these areas then the immediate
thing to do is to address this problem. Solutions may include a
visit to a doctor or psychiatrist to control your emotions.
Careers are made by good time management practice. Failing in a
career is often attributed to bad time management. Careers require
a lot from an individual which often makes the career the life of
the individual. Plan how far do you want to go into your career.
Education is key in achieving your goals. If your goals require you
to have a certain kind of degree or require a certain
specialization or demand a certain skill to be developed, make
plans in getting the appropriate education.
Your family should never be left out of your plans. If you are just
starting out then you have to decide if you want to be a parent or
when you want to be a parent. You also have to know if you really
would be a good parent and how well would you relate to extended
family members
Personal financial situations also play a major role in achieving
your goals. Have a realistic goal on how much you really want to
earn. You also must be able to create plans or stages by which you
will be able to reach your earning potential.
Physically gifted individuals may be able to achieve sports related
goals like being in the National Basketball association or National
Football League. Determining your physical capabilities should be
one of your priorities. Physical limitations could however be
conquered with proper planning.
As the saying goes -'All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy',
or something to that effect, is by all means true down to the last
the letter. Giving yourself a little pleasure: should be included
into your plans.
To start achieving your lifetime goals, set a quarter of a century
plan, then break it down to 5 year plans then break it down again
to 1 year plans, then 6 month plans then monthly plans, then
weekly, then daily.
Then create a things-to-do list for the day.
Always review your plans and prepare for contingencies.
The basics of goal settings should not be so difficult once you get
to be familiar with them.
Wednesday, November 14, 2007
BLOG ???
A blog is basically an online journal wherein you
can digitally pen down your thoughts, ideas,
opinions and practically anything that you want
people to read. Blogs come in different styles,
formats, and settings, depending on the
preference of the user. Many blogging sites,
offer built in features such as hyperlink,
straight texts, pictures etc. Some blogging
sites, even allow you to put video and mp3's on
your blogs.
Instead of writing texts, some bloggers choose to
make their blogs more audio friendly, by using
spoken word entries. This is called audio
blogging.
Basically a blog contains these features:
title- which allows you to label your post
body- this is the content of your post
trackback- other sites can be linked back to your
blog
permanent link- every article that you write has
a URL
comments- this allow readers to post comments on
your blog.
One of the advantages of blogging, is that it is
made of only a few templates. Unlike, other
websites that is made up of numerous individual
pages. This make it easier for blog users to
create new pages, because it already has a fix
setting that include: slots for title, body of
the post, category, etc.
This is especially useful for first time users,
since they can start blogging right away. They
can chose from a number of templates that
blogging websites provide.
Anyone who wants to start a blog can do so by
becoming a member of a blogging website of their
choice. Once they've become members, they
automatically become a part of that particular
blogging community. They can browse through other
bloggers pages, and link them back to their own
blogs. They can also make comments on other
members' blogs.
Blogging is not just limited to personal usage.
There are a lot of blogs that follow a theme such
as: sports, politics, philosophy, social
commentary, etc. These blogs espouse on their
specific themes. This way blogging becomes a
medium in which people can share their knowledge
and opinions about a variety of themes and
topics.
Some bloggers even use their blogs as a means to
advertise. Some authors advertise their books on
their blogs. While other bloggers, use their
blogs to shed light to currents issues, events,
news and catastrophes.
Nowadays in education, blogs also play an
important part. Professors use blogging to
document the lessons that they have discussed and
taught. This way, students who who have missed
classes, can easily catch up with their
assignments.
A lot of entrepreneurs benefit from blogging by
promoting their businesses on their blogs, with
millions and millions of people logging onto the
net everyday, blogging has become a lucrative
move. Some bloggers who run online businesses
promote their merchandise online. While others
profit through advertisement.
But by far, the most popular blog type is the one
that takes the form of a personal journal. This
is the kind that is usually used by first time
bloggers. Individuals who want to document the
daily struggle of their everyday lives, poems,
rants, opinions, find that blogging offers them a
medium in which to express themselves.
Bloggers usually communicate within themselves.
This is one of the appeals of blogging. It
creates a community of people sharing their
ideas, thoughts, and comments with each other.
Blogs varying in topics, themes, and set-ups, can
be found in blog directories. First time users
who want to get an idea of what the blogging
world is all about can browse through a number of
blogs using these directories. This way they'd
get an idea of what these blogging communities
are like.
Blogging is popular all over the world. Blog is
short for the term weblog. There are no rules
when it comes to blogging. Bloggers have the
freedom to express themselves how ever way they
want, and the best thing about blogging, is that
most blogging sites are free.
There are numerous blogging websites to choose
from in the net. This give first time users the
option of joining a blogging community that
appeals to their interests.
Just search any blogging directory and you'd get
a listing of a lot of blogging sites that are
available on the net. It's easy to search a
blogging directory, because it is organized
according to category. This way you would get
exactly what you are after. Blogging is really
for everyone. It is fun, simple and easy.
can digitally pen down your thoughts, ideas,
opinions and practically anything that you want
people to read. Blogs come in different styles,
formats, and settings, depending on the
preference of the user. Many blogging sites,
offer built in features such as hyperlink,
straight texts, pictures etc. Some blogging
sites, even allow you to put video and mp3's on
your blogs.
Instead of writing texts, some bloggers choose to
make their blogs more audio friendly, by using
spoken word entries. This is called audio
blogging.
Basically a blog contains these features:
title- which allows you to label your post
body- this is the content of your post
trackback- other sites can be linked back to your
blog
permanent link- every article that you write has
a URL
comments- this allow readers to post comments on
your blog.
One of the advantages of blogging, is that it is
made of only a few templates. Unlike, other
websites that is made up of numerous individual
pages. This make it easier for blog users to
create new pages, because it already has a fix
setting that include: slots for title, body of
the post, category, etc.
This is especially useful for first time users,
since they can start blogging right away. They
can chose from a number of templates that
blogging websites provide.
Anyone who wants to start a blog can do so by
becoming a member of a blogging website of their
choice. Once they've become members, they
automatically become a part of that particular
blogging community. They can browse through other
bloggers pages, and link them back to their own
blogs. They can also make comments on other
members' blogs.
Blogging is not just limited to personal usage.
There are a lot of blogs that follow a theme such
as: sports, politics, philosophy, social
commentary, etc. These blogs espouse on their
specific themes. This way blogging becomes a
medium in which people can share their knowledge
and opinions about a variety of themes and
topics.
Some bloggers even use their blogs as a means to
advertise. Some authors advertise their books on
their blogs. While other bloggers, use their
blogs to shed light to currents issues, events,
news and catastrophes.
Nowadays in education, blogs also play an
important part. Professors use blogging to
document the lessons that they have discussed and
taught. This way, students who who have missed
classes, can easily catch up with their
assignments.
A lot of entrepreneurs benefit from blogging by
promoting their businesses on their blogs, with
millions and millions of people logging onto the
net everyday, blogging has become a lucrative
move. Some bloggers who run online businesses
promote their merchandise online. While others
profit through advertisement.
But by far, the most popular blog type is the one
that takes the form of a personal journal. This
is the kind that is usually used by first time
bloggers. Individuals who want to document the
daily struggle of their everyday lives, poems,
rants, opinions, find that blogging offers them a
medium in which to express themselves.
Bloggers usually communicate within themselves.
This is one of the appeals of blogging. It
creates a community of people sharing their
ideas, thoughts, and comments with each other.
Blogs varying in topics, themes, and set-ups, can
be found in blog directories. First time users
who want to get an idea of what the blogging
world is all about can browse through a number of
blogs using these directories. This way they'd
get an idea of what these blogging communities
are like.
Blogging is popular all over the world. Blog is
short for the term weblog. There are no rules
when it comes to blogging. Bloggers have the
freedom to express themselves how ever way they
want, and the best thing about blogging, is that
most blogging sites are free.
There are numerous blogging websites to choose
from in the net. This give first time users the
option of joining a blogging community that
appeals to their interests.
Just search any blogging directory and you'd get
a listing of a lot of blogging sites that are
available on the net. It's easy to search a
blogging directory, because it is organized
according to category. This way you would get
exactly what you are after. Blogging is really
for everyone. It is fun, simple and easy.
Monday, November 12, 2007
Developing nations divided over next steps for WTO
Developing countries are deeply divided about how to advance troubled talks over a new global trade deal, and few ministers will attend a meeting this week meant to show their unity, diplomats said on Monday.
Brazil invited nearly 30 top officials from emerging nations to Geneva to discuss next steps for the six-year-old Doha round of World Trade Organisation (WTO) talks, which are mired in tensions between rich and poor countries.
Ministers from India, South Africa, Indonesia, Paraguay, Tanzania, Uruguay, along with vice-ministers from Cuba and Ecuador, will participate, but most members of the Group of 20 or "G20" developing-power negotiating block are not sending ministers to the session on Thursday.
The meeting is to be hosted by Brazil's Foreign Minister Celso Amorim.
Trade insiders said the absence of key players including Mexico, Chile and Peru reflected a growing rift among developing powers in the talks, particularly over the extent to which industrial goods markets should be opened to more competition.
Several negotiators said the disparate viewpoints in the talks, where diplomats have struggled to agree on even minor issues, meant little may be achieved in such a high-level forum.
"There is a sense that nothing can be accomplished there," one developing country diplomat said.
Though poorer nations have mainly stood together in talks in agriculture, calling on rich nations to cut price-distorting subsidies and tariffs, they have been at odds in parallel negotiations over manufacturing.
LITTLE PROGRESS
Canadian WTO ambassador Don Stephenson, who chairs the industrial goods talks, said last week that several weeks of intensive talks had yielded "little progress on all fronts."
Many developing countries want the right to shield more of their sensitive markets from tariff-ceiling cuts in a Doha accord, which requires consensus among the WTO's 151 member states to be clinched. Others, including Pakistan and Thailand, are opposed to such exclusions, according to sources familiar with the closed-door talks.
Both Stephenson and his counterpart in agricultural goods -- New Zealand ambassador Crawford Falconer -- have said that ministers would need to intervene for any substantive breakthrough in the negotiations to occur soon.
No high-level meeting has been scheduled to accomplish this, despite a push from WTO Director-General Pascal Lamy to wrap up the bulk of a Doha deal in 2007, before the U.S. presidential election makes it hard for Washington to negotiate.
Lamy wants to see the more peripheral topics in the talks resolved before he calls ministers to Geneva to tackle the most politically-sensitive issues, such as the size of subsidy and tariff cuts in manufacturing and farming, a trade official said.
"You can't have 25 unresolved issues in agriculture, a lot of them technical, and bring ministers here to settle them," the official said.
The Doha talks, named after the Qatari capital where they were launched in 2001, are meant to boost trade flows and help poor-country producers export more. The World Bank has estimated a pact could add $96 billion to the global economy every year.
Brazil invited nearly 30 top officials from emerging nations to Geneva to discuss next steps for the six-year-old Doha round of World Trade Organisation (WTO) talks, which are mired in tensions between rich and poor countries.
Ministers from India, South Africa, Indonesia, Paraguay, Tanzania, Uruguay, along with vice-ministers from Cuba and Ecuador, will participate, but most members of the Group of 20 or "G20" developing-power negotiating block are not sending ministers to the session on Thursday.
The meeting is to be hosted by Brazil's Foreign Minister Celso Amorim.
Trade insiders said the absence of key players including Mexico, Chile and Peru reflected a growing rift among developing powers in the talks, particularly over the extent to which industrial goods markets should be opened to more competition.
Several negotiators said the disparate viewpoints in the talks, where diplomats have struggled to agree on even minor issues, meant little may be achieved in such a high-level forum.
"There is a sense that nothing can be accomplished there," one developing country diplomat said.
Though poorer nations have mainly stood together in talks in agriculture, calling on rich nations to cut price-distorting subsidies and tariffs, they have been at odds in parallel negotiations over manufacturing.
LITTLE PROGRESS
Canadian WTO ambassador Don Stephenson, who chairs the industrial goods talks, said last week that several weeks of intensive talks had yielded "little progress on all fronts."
Many developing countries want the right to shield more of their sensitive markets from tariff-ceiling cuts in a Doha accord, which requires consensus among the WTO's 151 member states to be clinched. Others, including Pakistan and Thailand, are opposed to such exclusions, according to sources familiar with the closed-door talks.
Both Stephenson and his counterpart in agricultural goods -- New Zealand ambassador Crawford Falconer -- have said that ministers would need to intervene for any substantive breakthrough in the negotiations to occur soon.
No high-level meeting has been scheduled to accomplish this, despite a push from WTO Director-General Pascal Lamy to wrap up the bulk of a Doha deal in 2007, before the U.S. presidential election makes it hard for Washington to negotiate.
Lamy wants to see the more peripheral topics in the talks resolved before he calls ministers to Geneva to tackle the most politically-sensitive issues, such as the size of subsidy and tariff cuts in manufacturing and farming, a trade official said.
"You can't have 25 unresolved issues in agriculture, a lot of them technical, and bring ministers here to settle them," the official said.
The Doha talks, named after the Qatari capital where they were launched in 2001, are meant to boost trade flows and help poor-country producers export more. The World Bank has estimated a pact could add $96 billion to the global economy every year.
Friday, November 9, 2007
How to Create a Business-Marketable Idea
As you begin your entrepreneurial journey, many questions and concerns will arise: How do I find financing? How do I write a business plan? To whom will I pitch my plan?
However, no matter how much information and advice you can, and probably will, obtain about those questions, all of your questions and all of the available information and advice are based on the assumption that you have already created an idea, product, or concept.
What if you have not yet created an idea, product, or concept? Does this mean that you can never advance or achieve your entrepreneurial goals?
Of course not! Although creating an idea, product, or concept can be one of the most difficult obstacles to overcome, it is not impossible and can be achieved rather painlessly.
The main problem with idea creation is that ideas are subjective. What one person considers a great idea, another may consider a terrible idea. Another problem with idea creation is that if the idea is forced, it will not be completely thought out, and therefore has the potential to become a “bad” idea.
Let me clarify something, you do not have to have an idea, product, or concept to become or continue to be an entrepreneur. Partnering with others is a large component of being an entrepreneur.
Just know that unless you have a lot of money to invest or have specialized education or experience, your options will be limited. Due to this fact, many new entrepreneurs have to possess new, innovative, and creative ideas to make up for their lack of funds.
Some people are lucky enough to be born with creative ability. These people can create ideas and concepts with little or no difficulty. Knowing people who have this gift will benefit your situation.
If you happen to know people with this ability, you should create a business relationship with them. They may be able to help you through any creative mental blocks that may occur now or in the future.
Back to the main point; how do you create an idea? First, you have to know what you are interested in and what type of education and experience you possess. Determining these factors will help you focus your thought process.
For example, if you are interested in computers, but have no education or experience with computers outside of internet surfing or word processing, it will be difficult to create a marketable idea for computer software components.
Know your limits and keep your thought process reasonable. In other words, do NOT let your imagination run wild. When you become good at creating ideas, then you can let your imagination do some work, but not at first.
Second, ideas are like dreams. Have you ever experienced the phenomenon of having a dream, waking up remembering the whole thing and then five minutes later not remembering any of it? In my experience, ideas follow the same pattern.
An outside stimulus will trigger an idea and soon after having thought it up, I cannot remember any of it. The way to remedy this problem is to get a small notebook to write ideas in. Get one of the little notebooks that you see police carry in their shirt pocket. Whenever you have an idea, write it down! This way you can look at your notebook and later begin to develop your idea.
Third, ideas occur like magic. I know this sounds cheesy, but hear me out. Have you ever been sitting on your couch and a friend or family member asks, “What is the name of the actor in X movie?”
You know the answer, but, for the life of you, you cannot remember the actor’s name. You eventually get frustrated and give up. Then, ten, twenty, or even thirty minutes later you are watching television, not thinking about anything and then “poof,” the actor’s name pops into your head. Ideas also follow this pattern. The truth is every person has had at least one good idea in his/her life.
Sometimes, without noticing it, a stimulus awakens something in our subconscious and an idea pops into our head. When this happens (and it will happen because I guarantee it has happened to you before and you have not noticed) write it down in your notebook for further development.
Fourth, if by chance neither of the two phenomenon mentioned above occur or you are not patient enough to wait for them, more practical methods exist to stimulate idea creation. Going back to my first point, focus your thought into a field of interest.
For example, if you are interested in cooking, maybe you have a problem with the way an oven can dry out a chicken when cooking. Now that you have identified a problem, brainstorm and think of as many solutions as possible. It does not matter how crazy the solution is, just think about them and write them down.
After you have written down every possible solution, no matter how crazy, go through the list and find the solution that you feel you can best accomplish. Surprise! You have come up with an original idea. This does not mean that you should pitch this idea tomorrow.
All this means is that you should develop your idea, mold your idea, and perfect your idea into something you think people would buy if in the market.
Also, this way of thinking will get your creative juices flowing. You may find yourself traveling a different path from your original field of interest. If this occurs, follow the thought until completion. You may be surprised where it leads!
Remember, do not force your ideas, take a break if you need one, and BE PATIENT! Do not expect miracles the first time.
Go through the process and everything should work out. Write down ideas when they hit or sit down, focus your thought, find a problem, think of a solution, and develop YOUR original idea.
Lastly, be proud of your creation. Ideas, like people, need nurturing and development. If you do thee things, idea creation will become second nature to you.
However, no matter how much information and advice you can, and probably will, obtain about those questions, all of your questions and all of the available information and advice are based on the assumption that you have already created an idea, product, or concept.
What if you have not yet created an idea, product, or concept? Does this mean that you can never advance or achieve your entrepreneurial goals?
Of course not! Although creating an idea, product, or concept can be one of the most difficult obstacles to overcome, it is not impossible and can be achieved rather painlessly.
The main problem with idea creation is that ideas are subjective. What one person considers a great idea, another may consider a terrible idea. Another problem with idea creation is that if the idea is forced, it will not be completely thought out, and therefore has the potential to become a “bad” idea.
Let me clarify something, you do not have to have an idea, product, or concept to become or continue to be an entrepreneur. Partnering with others is a large component of being an entrepreneur.
Just know that unless you have a lot of money to invest or have specialized education or experience, your options will be limited. Due to this fact, many new entrepreneurs have to possess new, innovative, and creative ideas to make up for their lack of funds.
Some people are lucky enough to be born with creative ability. These people can create ideas and concepts with little or no difficulty. Knowing people who have this gift will benefit your situation.
If you happen to know people with this ability, you should create a business relationship with them. They may be able to help you through any creative mental blocks that may occur now or in the future.
Back to the main point; how do you create an idea? First, you have to know what you are interested in and what type of education and experience you possess. Determining these factors will help you focus your thought process.
For example, if you are interested in computers, but have no education or experience with computers outside of internet surfing or word processing, it will be difficult to create a marketable idea for computer software components.
Know your limits and keep your thought process reasonable. In other words, do NOT let your imagination run wild. When you become good at creating ideas, then you can let your imagination do some work, but not at first.
Second, ideas are like dreams. Have you ever experienced the phenomenon of having a dream, waking up remembering the whole thing and then five minutes later not remembering any of it? In my experience, ideas follow the same pattern.
An outside stimulus will trigger an idea and soon after having thought it up, I cannot remember any of it. The way to remedy this problem is to get a small notebook to write ideas in. Get one of the little notebooks that you see police carry in their shirt pocket. Whenever you have an idea, write it down! This way you can look at your notebook and later begin to develop your idea.
Third, ideas occur like magic. I know this sounds cheesy, but hear me out. Have you ever been sitting on your couch and a friend or family member asks, “What is the name of the actor in X movie?”
You know the answer, but, for the life of you, you cannot remember the actor’s name. You eventually get frustrated and give up. Then, ten, twenty, or even thirty minutes later you are watching television, not thinking about anything and then “poof,” the actor’s name pops into your head. Ideas also follow this pattern. The truth is every person has had at least one good idea in his/her life.
Sometimes, without noticing it, a stimulus awakens something in our subconscious and an idea pops into our head. When this happens (and it will happen because I guarantee it has happened to you before and you have not noticed) write it down in your notebook for further development.
Fourth, if by chance neither of the two phenomenon mentioned above occur or you are not patient enough to wait for them, more practical methods exist to stimulate idea creation. Going back to my first point, focus your thought into a field of interest.
For example, if you are interested in cooking, maybe you have a problem with the way an oven can dry out a chicken when cooking. Now that you have identified a problem, brainstorm and think of as many solutions as possible. It does not matter how crazy the solution is, just think about them and write them down.
After you have written down every possible solution, no matter how crazy, go through the list and find the solution that you feel you can best accomplish. Surprise! You have come up with an original idea. This does not mean that you should pitch this idea tomorrow.
All this means is that you should develop your idea, mold your idea, and perfect your idea into something you think people would buy if in the market.
Also, this way of thinking will get your creative juices flowing. You may find yourself traveling a different path from your original field of interest. If this occurs, follow the thought until completion. You may be surprised where it leads!
Remember, do not force your ideas, take a break if you need one, and BE PATIENT! Do not expect miracles the first time.
Go through the process and everything should work out. Write down ideas when they hit or sit down, focus your thought, find a problem, think of a solution, and develop YOUR original idea.
Lastly, be proud of your creation. Ideas, like people, need nurturing and development. If you do thee things, idea creation will become second nature to you.
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