Startup Success Secret – Know your weaknesses “Don’t be a lone wolf. Lean on the experience and smarts of your teammates, investors, and mentors to help solve the tough problems and take advantage of the opportunities – SETH BANNON, Amicus First-time entrepreneurs are often oblivious to their own weak spots. Getting to know your strengths and weaknesses is easier said than done. Self-assess yourself by making a simple list of every business skill you think you possess. Then, add other skills that you think make a good leader/business owner. Add any additional questions you think would be helpful. Take stock of the lacunae in your skillsets, and rank which positions you need to hire first. “Know your core competencies and focus on being great at them. Pay up for people in your core competencies. Get the best. Outside the core competencies, hire people that fit your culture but aren’t as expensive to pay.”  – Mark Cuban If you want your business to be successful, challenge yourself, be honest with yourself, surround yourself with talent, and watch success find you. As you reflect back on the evolution of your business, it will be clear to you that you would not have gotten to this point had you  not identified your strengths and weaknesses, looking to fill your weaknesses with external talent. Example SWOT: A start-up small consultancy business might carry out the following SWOT analysis SWOT Analysis Why use SWOT Analysis? SWOT Analysis is a very effective way of identifying your Strengths and Weaknesses, and of examining the Opportunities and Threats you face. Carrying out an analysis using the SWOT framework helps you to focus your activities into areas where you are strong and where the greatest opportunities lie. Strengths: Being able to respond very quickly due to lack of bureaucracy and red tape, no need for higher management approval, etc.Being able to provide hundred percent good customer care and satisfactionStrong reputation within the marketBeing able to adapt to the changing market quicklyLittle overhead, so can offer good value to customers Weaknesses: The company has no market presence or reputationHas a small staff with a weak skill base in many areasVulnerable to vital staff attritionCash flow will be unreliable in the early stages Opportunities: Business sector HAS SCOPE FOR EXPANSION , with many future opportunities for successLocal community wants to encourage local businesses as it provides work opportunities to the people of that communityCompetitors may be slow to adopt new technologies Threats: Will developments in technology change this market beyond our ability to adapt?A small change in focus of a large competitor might wipe out any market position we...

Growth Strategies In Business What are Growth Strategies? The means by which an organization plans to achieve its objective to grow in volume and turnover. The dynamic business environment calls for periodical changes in the business definitions, in terms of customer groups, customer functions and alternative technologies to broaden their scope for expansion. Growth can never be achieved by a business enterprise, if there is no proper planning for diversification of its business activities across a broad spectrum. Expansion strategies are followed when an organization aims at high growth, by improving its overall performance.     A Small Note on Data Science and Analytics Data analytics help companies improve operational efficiency, drive new revenue and gain competitive advantages. To leverage this technology, companies need to understand the core of their data and determine the outputs that they are looking for. In fact, data-driven companies that utilize Business Analytics achieve a competitive advantage. The companies can improve their strategies by keeping in mind the customer focus. Big data analytics efficiently helps operations to become more effective. Expansion Strategy: Expansion strategies have a profound impact on the internal configuration as well as internal functioning of an organization. The business firms bear the risk of moving in an entirely new direction, where there is an equal chance for failure as that of success. If only a manufacturer plans to diversify or expand in a field that complements his present business activity, does it make any sense. What is the fun in venturing into a business activity about which you have no knowledge or scope? Expansion through concentration: This involves investment of resources in a product line for an identified market with the help of proven technology. A firm may attempt to intensify its focus on existing markets through market penetration strategies. Or new users may be targeted for existing products or alternatively it may introduce new products in existing markets by concentrating on product development. Concentration policy relies on the principle of “A known devil is far better than an unknown angel.” It is a very difficult task for firms to capture new markets or to gain acceptance for new products in existing markets. Expansion through integration: A company attempts to widen the scope of its business activities in such a manner that it results in serving the same set of customers. The alternative technology dimension of the business definition undergoes a radical change. Firms try to move up or down in the value chain to meet the demands of the customers by integrating adjacent activities. Expansion through co-operation: It may include mergers, takeovers, joint ventures and strategic alliances. Two firms try to combine their resources, capabilities and core competencies to pursue mutual interests to develop, manufacture or distribute goods and services. Expansion through internationalization: International strategies are formulated in the wake of globalization where most of the developing countries have liberalized their economic policies facilitating foreign direct investments, generating foreign exchange. Many multinational and transnational companies are setting up their operations in developing countries to factorise the economies of scale and to enjoy the advantages of cheap labor and availability of resources. Stability Strategy: Many firms go for stability strategies that are devoid of any risks. They are quite contented with the modest profit gained from the present business activity and try to maintain the same level of performance, until and unless there is a pressure from the market in the form of competition. Only few firms have that adventurous attitude to take risks in order to have a sustainable competitive...

Key Issues of Unemployment Stats: The population of India has increased by more than 181 million during the decade 2001-2011. The population of India, at 1210.2 million, is almost equal to the combined population of U.S.A., Indonesia, Brazil, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Japan put together (1214.3 million) Important questions relating to unemployment The unemployment rate in India is estimated at 9.4 percent or 94 persons out of 1000 persons How can millions of people be unemployed when so much of work has to be done? What flaw in the modern mixed economy forces so many who want to work remain idle? Should nations take steps to alleviate the hardships of joblessness? Do high unemployment benefits just reduce the incentive to work and end up raising the unemployment rate? These questions always come up every time there is a rise in the unemployment ratio. Unemployment continues to plague the modern world. Another reason which can be attributed to unemployment is that, there exist a lack of correlation or can we call it a ‘mismatch’ between the subject of study and the line of action. It has been stated that for every two percent fall in the GDP, there is one percent rise in unemployment rate. The association between the output market and the labor market can be clearly understood from this statistics.   Economic as well as a social problem Unemployment is not only an economic problem but also a social problem. As an economic problem, it is a waste of valuable resources. As a social problem, it is a source of enormous suffering, as unemployed workers or workers who are temporarily employed suffer and struggle due to reduced incomes. The distress spills over to affect people’s emotions and has a direct impact on their family lives. A mismatch between the supply and demand of workforce also can create what is called as structural unemployment. This can happen because the demand for one kind of labor is rising while the demand for any other kind is falling and supplies do not quickly adjust. Cyclical unemployment is another kind, where the overall demand for labor is low.   Picture Courtesy: Businessinsider Recession We have seen that unemployment and recessions impose great costs on societies. Yet countries do not attempt to reduce unemployment to zero or even close to zero. Moreover when output approaches its potential, the central banks often begin to raise their interest rates and slow the expansion. Just why is that, countries don’t stimulate their economies until involuntary unemployment disappears? The reason is that super-full employment leads to shortage in labor and product markets and soon inflation would rise to intolerable levels. Business Cycle Business cycle is one of the key issues of macro economics. The economic pattern of a country never follows a smooth trend. Several years of economic prosperity will be followed by a sudden recession or a panic. Then the national output falls, real income declines followed by a jump in unemployment rates to uncomfortably high levels as legions of workers lose their job. Eventually the bottom is reached and recovery begins. There exist many theories to explain the cyclical pattern of an economy but none is valid at all times and places. Governments have to anticipate recessions and stop them from snowballing into depressions. Crude oil price is an important economic indicator for developing nations which helps them to predict the fluctuations in the business cycle that is to follow. Related Posts: 1. How to Make Money Selling Anything and Everything 2. Photoshop CS6 Crash Course...