Successful Startup Secret – Choose an idea you think is important Entrepreneurs often ask, “How do you pick an idea for a business?” and the question is difficult to answer. It all depends on your expertise, experience, financial strength, industry knowledge and of course a great team to back you up. A good place to start is with the people you surround yourself with. A great idea is undoubtedly the catalyst to set things in motion, but at the end of the day, it’s the team you hire who ultimately determine the success, or failure, of the company. There’s no precise or familiar formula, but the following five open secrets will help you in discovering that perfect magic to achieve your goals (to be discussed in five sessions). The first secret being,     Choose an idea you think is important – It is Your Brainchild “Ideas are considered generally bad for two very different reasons: (1) so uncommon no one gets it or (2) so common, seems redundant. -Zaid Farooqui An idea for a new startup is like naming your baby. Suggestions pour from all quarters and the fun part is you are not going to like any one of those. Ultimately an entrepreneur would like to give life to his very own idea which may come as a boom at the grocery store, in the shower, or even during sleep. There is no better form of motivation than having a sense that you are investing your mind, soul and energy into something vital, and that never ending passion to become successful in your endeavor. Once you’ve done that, ask your friends and family, too. Getting as much input as possible is the first step to making a good decision. 1. Does your customer exist? 2. Will your business idea still be relevant in a few years? 3. Do you really want to run this business? 4. Who is your competition (and does it matter)? Pic Courtesy: Inacademy.eu   You need mammoth strength, I’m talking about your will power to start and run the show, for which you need to believe in yourself completely. This is the first step, “Believing in yourself”, the rest follows automatically. This self-belief comes when you possess the right business proposition for the right target segment with a clear business plan. Startup Business Plan For a Restaurant   Here I have listed some of the enterprising startup ideas that have shown growth in 2014 and seem to be lucrative in the years to come:  Online store – Requirements: A good product or service, a reliable and authentic payment gateway, a easily navigable website and a large market. Personal Training – Requirements: Expertise and Knowledge on nutrition and exercises, a facebook page, a skype account or Google hang-out to build followers, a subscription payment gateway through Paypal or other similar bank accounts. Photography– Requirements: A state of the art camera, a great portfolio of your pictures, a creative facebook page or pinterest board to promote yourself. Online Teaching– Requirements: Expertise in the concerned subject, member in a popular teaching platform or your own website, an LMS software, skype account. HR Recruitment– Requirements: Huge contacts in the industry, a reliable partner, a good website with testimonials, understanding client requirements and satisfying by supplying appropriate talent. These ideas suit people with minimum investment in mind, but if executed properly you can establish yourself nicely in a span of two years and then there is no looking...

Helpful Tips for Young leaders Here’s a random list of practical advice for young leaders. If you can learn and practice these early in your career, it will help you avoid having to learn them by experience. Delegate, Trust People down the line and Take Advice: While a young business leader may have a flair for leading from the front, one should realize that limited experience is a limiting factor. People are far more likely to take a manager seriously only if he or she listens to and heeds advice. When you act as the sole proprietor of making decisions in your company, people working for you start losing faith in you. It creates what is called “NEGATIVE VIBES” which is not at all good for the overall development of an organization. It is a good practice to communicate and consult with your immediate sub-ordinates before going for big decisions. Learn to let go of control. It is but appropriate to include employees in decision making and you shall be definitely rewarded with more workable strategies. Set an Example: At the same time, one of the most effectual ways to display ability is to lead by example and work hard. A leader must be prepared to shoulder a fair share of the work-load and the #involvement and #commitment he exhibits is undoubtedly infectious and projects him a great team player. The most effective way to earn respect is to lead from the front and help others succeed. Be wary about your conduct, behavior and actions and deeply aware of how it may influence others. Show #conviction: A leader has to have conviction in his/her decisions. If the young manager has done proper ground work and research, then the decision may well be the right one and he/she might be able to stand by and justify the decisions made even when challenged by experienced people. I thoroughly go with this viewpoint “A ‘No‘ uttered from the deepest conviction is better than a ‘Yes‘ merely uttered to please, or worse, to avoid trouble.” Mahatma Gandhi A leader should learn to say ‘NO’ at the right time as indecisiveness is one of history’s greatest leadership killers. Top 25 Leadership Quotes Keep Your Cool in Crisis: Part of being a successful leader is how you handle pressure. In the dynamic business environment you may have to face more challenging and stressful situations and your employees’ judge you based on how you treat such pressure. If you are a man who can see things from the right perspective embracing rationale, your team members will feel reassured by your cool composure, which will in turn develop their trust and confidence in the leader. Manage expectations: Have you ever given a thought about what employees’ expect in you? Communication is a natural gift for leaders and you may very well notice that great leaders are excellent communicators. Here, communication isn’t just talking but a one-on-one, heart-to-heart talk as you would with your close family members. By opening the lines of communication and being accessible, a leader can build a team with people who understand the ##goals and #objectives with ultimate clarity. Present Yourself with Dignity: In Tamil language, there is an age old proverb, “Aal Paadhi Aadai Paadhi”, meaning “#Good Looks Make the Work Easy”. In this modern world, a professional look is mandatory to signify your culture and #personality. A professional, well-dressed businessperson, gives the impression that he thinks that the workplace and the people there are important.” Marilyn Monroe once rightly said “I don’t mind making jokes, but I don’t want to look like...

Best Leadership Quotes  “Only one man in a thousand is a leader of men — the other 999 follow women. Groucho Marx The Leader In You – #Dale Carnegie “Leadership is the capacity to translate vision into reality. – Warren Bennis Developing the Leader Within You – “You don’t lead by pointing and telling people some place to go. You lead by going to that place and making a case. – Ken Kesey Awaken the Leader in You – Mitesh Khatri “No man will make a great leader who wants to do it all himself, or to get all the credit for doing it.– Andrew Carnegie How To Win Friends Influence People – “Outstanding leaders go out of their way to boost the self-esteem of their personnel. If people believe in themselves, it’s amazing what they can accomplish. – Sam Walton The Leader in You – Peter Miller “To lead people, walk behind them.” – Lao Tzu “The best leader is the one who has sense enough to pick good men to do what he wants done, and the self-restraint to keep from meddling with them while they do it – Theodore Roosevelt “The challenge of leadership is to be strong, but not rude; be kind, but not weak; be bold, but not bully; be thoughtful, but not lazy; be humble, but not timid; be proud, but not arrogant; have humor, but without folly– Jim Rohn “Leadership is a potent combination of #strategy and character. But if you must be without one, be without the strategy – Norman Schwarzkopf “Successful leaders see the opportunities in every difficulty rather than the difficulty in every opportunity – Reed Markham “The problem with being a leader is that you’re never sure if you’re being followed or chased – Claire A. Murray “Do not follow where the path may lead. Go instead where there is no path and leave a trail – Harold R. McAlindon “Learn to see things backwards, inside out, and upside down – John Heider, Tao of Leadership “The real leader has no need to lead- he is content to point the way. #Henry Miller “A leader is a dealer in hope – Napoleon Bonaparte From Manager to Leader “If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, you are a leader – John Quincy Adams “The art of leadership is saying no, not yes. It is very easy to say yes – #Tony Blair “Never tell people how to do things. Tell them what to do and they will surprise you with their ingenuity – George Patton “Leadership does not always wear the harness of compromise – Woodrow Wilson “Take time to deliberate; but when the time for action arrives, stop thinking and go in – Andrew Jackson “To be a great leader and so always master of the situation, one must of necessity have been a great thinker in action. An eagle was never yet hatched from a goose’s egg – James Thomas “A good general not only sees the way to victory; he also knows when victory is impossible – Polybius “Leadership is being the first egg in the omelet – Jarod Kintz “Leadership consists of nothing but taking responsibility for everything that goes wrong and giving your subordinates credit for everything that goes well – Dwight D. Eisenhower “##management is doing things right; leadership is doing the right things –  Peter F. Drucker...

Business Viability Checklist for Entrepreneurs Hey Folks, here is a checklist for business viability or feasibility analysis, the fore-most step before starting a venture. Whether you are a dare devil driver yearning to embrace entrepreneurship as a result of your eternal frustration of saying” Yes-Boss” 24/7, or a first generation entrepreneur , this checklist will be of immense help in that it will reduce the elements of uncertainty and risk. Unlock massive growth using the business development channel. Learn pitching, BD strategy, cold emailing, & deal closing. Bestselling **** Many businesses look at profit within quotes as ultimate viability. Even if the business is not currently profitable or undergoing a growth surge, or just going through a bad patch – there is an anticipation of being profitable at some future date. This  hope of future profit warrants continued investment. We can also consider the social and environmental aspects of an organization adding value, if it satisfies  any social costs. You need to know what is viability? Viability is defined as the ability to survive or persist. In a business sense, that ability to survive is ultimately linked to financial performance and position. A business is viable where either: it is returning a profit that is sufficient to provide a return to the business owner while also meeting its commitments to business creditors it has sufficient cash resources to sustain itself through a period when it is not returning a profit. ASK YOURSELF THE FOLLOWING QUESTIONS BEFORE STARTING-UP THE OPEARTIONS: Why are some companies PROFITABLE  and some not? Why do some companies CONTINUE TO EXIST and some not? What does success and survival mean? How ESSENTIAL  is profit? How can a company survive when it is not  making a profit? How can a company NOSE-DIVE  when it is making a large profit? How VITAL  is growth? Can a company become NON-VIABLE  simply because it fails to maintain its year-on-year growth? How imperative  is CORPORATE  IMAGE? Are these factors relevant to business viability? The following post from franchisesunder10k.net provides great insight on easy online businesses to start in 2018. https://franchisesunder10k.net/these-are-the-easy-online-business-opportunities-you-ve-been-looking-for  Fundamentals of a Feasibility Plan • Provide key  information needed by investors and bankers • Reasons for its chance of success/failure • Supporting Documents • Explanation of the principal concept underlying your venture and what sets it apart from other businesses. Infographic Courtesy : Entrepreneur.com  SOME OF THE REASONS WHY NEW VENTURES FAIL • Lack of Objective Evaluation • No Real Insight into the Market • Inadequate Understanding of Technical Requirements • Poor Finance Understanding • Lack of Unique Selling Proposition • Ignorance of Legal Issues Let us now look at some of the important dimensions of business viability: Market viability Technical viability Business Model viability Management model viability Economic and Financial Model viability Market Viability: Utilize Porter’s 5 Competitive Forces Model to understand market viability and industry position. Technical Viability: You do not have to incorporate specific financial information in the technical portion of your feasibility study, but all data  in this component must support your financial figures  represented elsewhere. Basic things that most businesses need to include in their technical feasibility study include: Materials Labor Transportation or Shipping Physical Location Technology Business Model Viability: P.E.S.T. Analysis A PEST analysis is a business measurement tool. PEST is an acronym for Political, Economic, Social and Technological factors, which are used to assess the market for a business or organizational unit. Management Model Viability: Decision making process Training and Cross-training Management Capability to effectively lead the organization in a sustainable growth mode Management Systems and processes, and General Leadership Capabilities are scrutinized. Economic and Financial Mode Viability: Capital Structure Cash Management Profitability and Liquidity are dealt with when...

Top 8 Mistakes That Kill #Startups Let us look at some mistakes that kill startups News: About three-quarters of venture-backed startup firms in the U.S. don’t return investors’ capital, according to recent research by Shikhar Ghosh, a senior lecturer at Harvard Business School. This information made me think and I have tried to summarize the main reasons for flawed-startups below in order to caution the young and growing entrepreneurs. 1. An Unscalable Idea Understand that a Technology-driven idea with more mass appeal is what potential investors are looking for. If your business is not easily scalable across a wide market, higher margins cannot be reaped for the kind of money invested. It is always better that your product or service is appealing to all types of clients in the market. 2. #Lack of Competitive Research Don’t bother if the business idea you are about to launch already exists in the market; let yours be unique and new. Think different is what I would suggest. WhatsApp is one great example for unique contribution to the android market, don’t you think so? Make sure you are clearly differentiated from the others (e.g., better product, better value, different target client) and that your plan is SECURE against future market entrants who may try to imitate you after your initial success.  3. #No Focus ‘One thing at a time’ will be the mantra for startups where entrepreneurs have to concentrate on launching a single product at any given time. This will also help in giving clarity to those who work under you. Don’t try to be a jack-of-all-trades, but end up being a master-of-none without a laser-sharp focus to start. 4. Catch Hold of Investors even at an Early Stage: First try to send feelers to whom you think as potential investors through the right channels. Say, you are a builder and trying to launch your first project. How will you make money rolling in to keep your project going? Either you go for bank loans – no bank will offer you big loans without proper recommendation, fund-flow projection  and collaterals or you need to pitch-in this idea to known circles to popularize your product and raise seed money by way of advance. What I’m trying to highlight is that you need to bring in some initial investment which will help to keep the wheels rolling. 5. No Passion or Persistence Your passion should be infectious enough to attract the right kind of investors. Not all are lucky like Matteo Achilli, the 20 year Italian student, who is about to launch a new social networking site in the lines of LinkedIn, called ‘EGOMNIA”. ARVE error: Mode: lazyload not available (ARVE Pro not active?), switching to normal mode Tech giants like Microsoft and Google have already geared up themselves to support this lad in areas of marketing and cloud computing. We should appreciate Matteo for his passion to create a networking site where job seeking professionals will be ranked and then directly connected to the employers. His persistence has paid off and he has been termed as “Italy’s Mark Zuckerberg”. 6. Failing to Form a Well-Oiled Team: Let your team be like-minded persons with same objectives and working for a cause. Investors never will want to back-up a single individual, but a well-oiled team. Be courageous to put forward your ideas in an authentic manner. After all it is your own brain-child. If you don’t believe in it, who is going to? 7. Not Going for the Right Mentors: Be surrounded by people who have already tested and tasted success in the market. Experience is like a seasoned teacher having solutions for all your questions....