Vision is Everything

“The poorest man is not he who is without a cent, but he who is without a dream.” 
– Pennsylvania School Journal


Hey!!

Maybe you have heard of the tale of the two salesmen who went to Africa. The story goes like this.

A western shoe salesman went to Africa to scout the market. He wired his manufacturer, ‘I want to come home. Nobody wears shoes in this part of Africa.’

They brought him home and sent another salesman. The new salesman hurriedly wired an order, ‘Everybody here needs shoes!”

Seeing everyone bear-footed in that area of Africa may have discouraged the first salesman.

He must have thought, “Geeesh, nobody uses shoes here, not even a hand-made footwear. How in the world can I sell shoes here when they don’t see the benefit of it? I better go home.”

He missed the opportunity to make it big. He could not see.

On the other hand, the second salesman thought, “If I can only convince them to wear shoes. If I can show them the benefit. I can almost imagine whole villages buying my shoes. Wow! Aside from helping them enjoy the benefit of wearing shoes, I am going to make a great profit! I can get married and start a family and I can buy that dream house…”

When I first heard this story, I said to myself, “I am determined to be the second salesman who saw the opportunity rather than the trend.”

I must admit though that there were moments in my life that I stayed on the “what is” and accepted it rather than on the “what can be” and dared to make a difference.

Now I cannot imagine life without vision. It is not worth living

This is one of those days when i look back and try to understand why i decided to build my own business. The month still has 7 more days to go and i am facing some tough financial crunch. These are moments when you think - "Why the hell i spent money on this stupid business plan ?". Hard times are synonymous with an entrepreneur, but how to explain that to your heart. One of the most challenging thing in entrepreneurship is that it's a constant struggle- to stay alive. For me, My business is no less than a vision and i guess that's how it should be. There will be many occasions when money would be tight and credit would be unavailable. I call them the "Moment of Decisive confrontation". This is the time when you can test your will and your commitment for your vision.


It's easy to lose hope from time to time. It's important to look back on the journey you have made so far and to hope that you will get many more delightful moments in future. It helps to stay on course. The whole thing is about creating something out of nothing and exposing yourself to the world through your idea and commitment. It takes lot of courage to stand up and work on an idea. But courage alone will not do..There's the need for "selective honesty" and ruthlessness. Sounds strange ..isn'it? Simple honesty will kill you..add some "spices" into it and you will find a better taste of honesty. Ruthlessness will help you to control your heart. I want to have tuna sandwich on every weekend but it costs 5 euros. It's not much but it's definably more for a startup entrepreneur. You see entrepreneurship is not just about making money and living a lifestyle you think that successful entrepreneur lives. That's all well and good. This journey is about understanding yourself, your business and drawing others into your ideas, dreams and hopes.Also to let people know that you have something valuable to offer them. 


I always loved the principles of Bhagwad Gita. You have to be willing to accept things as they are and not get attached to the end results. The creations of your vision is only limited by your imagination. Play the game and just do it. Face and enjoy the realm of possibility.


Living out a vision and trying to make it a reality is a worthy experiment. It gives a great sense of accomplishment and contentment.

Corporate Websites: What Goes Wrong?

Almost every big corporation makes mistakes while creating and managing their website. As the organisation grows, the mistakes also increases and becomes more complex. For most of the corporations the mistakes are often similar and they seem to repeat it again and again. I have seen customers drifting away and opting for other providers because the website lacks good design aspects, navigability and ease of use.


1) YOU NEED A SEPARATE WEB DIVISION

In many organizations the website is managed by either the marketing team or IT team.But in reality none of these departments are fully appropriate to manage the website. IT must be good with systems but it lacks the sense of design and brand building. On the other hand, Marketing is totally clueless about technicalities. As Jeffrey Zeldman says "The Web is a conversation. Marketing, by contrast, is a monologue… And then there’s all that messy business with semantic markup, CSS, unobtrusive scripting, card-sorting exercises, HTML run-throughs, involving users in accessibility, and the rest of the skills and experience that don’t fall under Marketing’s purview."

So, you can do a favour and form a dedicated web team comprising web designers, web server professionals and PR professionals. Trust me, this unified team will be doing a far superior job. As Zeldman says again "Put them in a division that recognizes that your website is not a bastard of your brochures, nor a natural outgrowth of your group calendar. Let there be Web divisions" . 


2) MANAGING WEBSITE IS ACTUALLY A FULL TIME JOB


Not only the website it torn between IT and marketing, it's usually under resourced. Instead of having a dedicated team, the web designers who are managing the website are also expected to do their other "day jobs". The situation worsens when some changes are rolled out or some features are changed in the website. The team is over-stretched. Website management is not only about the coding and making changes, it's also about collecting usage information and analyzing that to create consumer behavior profiles.


3)  PERIODIC RE-DESIGN IS NOT ENOUGH


That is right! Re-designing the website every six months does not work. You are just wasting money. There so many things happening in a big corporation that no body cares about the website until the website starts attracting the wrath from users. The management desperately tried to intervene and presses for immediate revival. A sudden and drastic change will make the customers more angry. The best way is to continuously work on the website and lay out a evolution plan in terms of technology, content and reach. Not only this is less wasteful, it's also good for users. As Cameron Moll points out "Good designers re-design, but great designers re-align".


4)  YOUR WEBSITE CANNOT APPEAL TO EVERYONE


Most of the companies say that they want to cover all demographies- all age, all gender, all class of society- basically everyone. Now corporation needs to understand that websites cannot be customized for each person. So don't even try to do it. Understand your business and then design the website. Keep it simple and straight. Understand why customer is on your website. Top of all, the website should be accessible to all and should not offend anybody.

5) CORPORATIONS WEBSITE IS NOT ABOUT YOU


While some designers want the website to appeal to everyone, some designers and bosses want it to appeal to them. The boss rejects the design because "I don't like green". Well the fact is that green is soothing and is soft on eyes.


6) A CMS IS NOT A SILVER BULLET


Content management systems are good way of updating and managing content on the websites but it cannot be trusted to run a complete website. If you have dedicated team is place then why to put so much reliance on CMS. Many CMS based websites are poorly designed, out of date and poorly written content.If you look to a CMS for all website maintenance issues than your are making a mistake.


7) YOU HAVE TOO MUCH CONTENT


The problem with the maintenance of large websites is that there's too much information. Corporations say that "our websites have evolved and provides much more information ". Well, why can't they keep the outdated info out of the memory. Stacking too much content acts negatively and gives the impressions like-


* Fear of missing something: Companies want to give all the information but the thing is without proper segregation no one will be able to find any data.


* Desperate desire to convince..ahem or sell: I have come across this situation a number of times. companies paste so much information about there products that it sounds like a desperate sales pitch.




The conclusion is that every corporation faces unique challenges to be effective on the web sphere. It is important to learn from mistakes, understand and respect the role of web presence and change the way you control the brand. Doing so will give significant competitive advantage and will help you in managing a web strategy for long term.

How to start with promotions?

It's now a established fact that enterprises- small, medium as well as big can use social media to reach out to audiences and make a positive connect with existing and potential customers. But the problem lies in the question- How to go about using the social media as a billboard? I have already talked about the importance of brand. So it's important to portray and spread the brand in a proper manner

Well social media is a wild horse. You don't have to rope it up, just unleash it. They say that linkedin is a board room, twitter is an office cafeteria and facebook is a big hall way. Well that's true. It's also interesting to know that once information is released in these kind of medias, it's very hard to contain. So before you start rolling up your information or your venture related information you might would like to give it a proper thought.Once your sure about the nature of information you can publish it on the internet via any social networking website or blogs.

Fire the Forest

Prepare a facebook account and send requests to all your friends.Tell them to forward the same to their friends and in few weeks time you can expect exponential rise in your followers list. Ofcourse there should be some content and matter in your work. Gas bags don't earn things for long. So you have started a fire and the thing is that its almost un-containable. Good for you!

Be Your Own Bill-Board

This is real fun. Make a nice logo for your venture and print it on T-shirts. Wear it to multiplexes, shopping malls, gym, eateries and even in subway. I have always felt that in subways people are unusually attentive and inquisitive about their surroundings. Use these kind of human behaviors and you never now who is watching you. And keep these kind of activities posted on your ventures's social networking space. This will keep people interested and curious about you and your venture.

Business @ Home

So..You have decided to start the business from home. That's good! No other location or office space would be more comfortable than home. Home based start ups offers huge flexibility like working at your own time. But it certainly does not mean that you will not follow some basic things- it's still work after all. Starting the business from home can be efficiently run if you follow some basic things and tweak and customize things according to your need. There are actually few things which you can do and and think about....

CHECK YOUR LOCAL RULES AND REQUIREMENTS

People tend to forget or ignore this thing. Most of the residential localities have a fixed quota for commercial purpose. You need to check it with your local Resident Welfare Association to see whether your home based business can be aligned with the rules and regulation or not. Most of the residential spaces allow 25 percent mark for commercial space. Also it depends on the kind of the business.

RENT A BOX

Box means post box. Oh no.. it;s not old fashioned. Many of your clients might not be comfortable interacting to you over internet and would prefer if you have got a po box. Also the box will give the corporate look. Use this po box on all your collateral. Also you can check the virtual offices. It's really a new concept and I discovered it just few weeks ago. They can arrange for dedicated tele callers, po box and also office and meeting spaces. It's worth checking those out. You can check with vendors like Regus and Imperial Servcorp. Regus has some really good locations in delhi and bangalore.

ORGANIZE, ORGANIZE, ORGANIZE

Trust me, working from home can easily go from comfortable to absolute messy. So pay attention.Seggregate the work space from the rest of the house. And it applies to your attitude as well. Once your are in your office corner , get into that work mode. You can start with putting up a small notice board where you can stick the coming meetings, preparations, plans and ideas. Of course you can do it on your laptop and can arrange the schedules with your blackberry but the notice board still does magic..trust me on this (Ya! iam bit old fashioned..). Also you can place a small 100-150L refrigerator...just to be yourself! Get to your office room in the morning and take out the cool watermelon juice from the refrigerator. It's a good start.

GET STATIONERY

You work on computer but stationaries are also important. Notepads, Pencils, Markers and magnetic board pins, envelopes, business cards are really the things you need to get. A corporate and that “attention-to-detail” attitude will go a long way in soothing the nerves of those clients who don't trust on home run businesses.

MEET, GREET AND EAT

I don't like entertaining clients at home. You and your clients would really be embarrassed if your kid starts shouting or crying in the middle of the discussion or your maid starts sweeping the floor. So figure out couple of nearby locations like Barista, CCD or Mocha, where you can sit and discuss the business with the clients over a nice cup of coffee. You can also arrange few things to minimize the costs to entertain the clients. For instance, ABN AMRO offers a Barista credit card which offers good cash backs and discounts at barista.

KEEP ALL FINANCIAL RECORDS

When you run a business from home, chances are that you would be running a proprietorship business.

Your income from the proprietorship would be counted as your personal income and would be taxed accordingly. However you will be able to write off certain expenses incurred as part of running the business. You need to talk to a chartered accountant to help you on this.

GET GOOD FURNITURE

It's very important. I personally would not suggest wooden furnitures. Wrought iron and plastic are better options as far as affordability is concerned.Shop for ergonomic chair and sitting arrangements. Stores like Hacker and Gunter have some interesting furniture pieces which are reasonably priced and would be long lasting. Furnitures give expression and language to your office. Keep it adequate, smart and modern.

GET THE COMMUNICATIONS RIGHT

Communication is the key. Make sure you are always connected. Sign up for a high speed internet connection and bring all the devices under same network. Microsoft allows quick wizards to set up a home network. You can use router and hubs from Belkins. Almost all new business owners are using push mail technology to keep in sync with clients and information. As far as push mail is concerned no one is near Blackberry. If you are using Nokia smart-phone like E71 you can look at Nokia's OVI service. Make sure you reply all the inquiries, conformations and quotations ASAP. Also get yourself a dedicated VPN system so that you can share the information from your home computer from anywhere in the world. You can also use windows own desktop sharing option but if you want a secure way of accessing information from a offshore location than you need to look for the VPN systems. You can checkout RealVNC or UltraVNC.

Technology + Application= Change

I have talked to few people about my new photography venture and almost everyone asks me - "Why not do something in IT ?..It's your field!" Well, IT is fine..but it has been explored a lot. I ask, why not explore the unexplored or less explored things. It is a great industry and we all know what it did for a country like India. One of the main reasons that IT is such a hot word because it can be applied to any domain or business vertical.

Talking about non-IT businesses, why not use IT as competitive differentiater. Iam not talking about a new thing. It's an age old thing- banks are using IT, Pharma companies are using IT and even pizza hut uses IT systems.My project manager once said that the limit of a technology is actually your mind. The most important thing is how you identify, conceptualize and implement the technology to improve the core business. The core business can be as simple as selling flowers. But right implementation of technology can help the business to maintain efficiency and to scale up. Use the imagination and innovate something new. It's easier said than done. Why? In india the entrepreneurship phenomenon is not mature. The phenomena was always there- Azim premji, Narayan Murthy , Dhirubhai Ambani and the list goes on. But still people have hesitation to take the plunge. People just want to stick to the "proven path". That explains why most of the folks were surprised and bit worried when i talked about xpressostill. It shows the general reaction of people towards a new startup. I think it's because of our education system and social system. Once you are out of engineering college people expect you to join nothing less than infosys, save money, buy new car and home, get married and make babies.

India may be considered as dharavi of the world but it's actually a huge opportunity. It can accommodate huge number of services ,products, technologies and ideas. Indian Small and Medium Enterprises(SME) are pretty much reluctant to adopt technology.There can be number of ventures providing same services or products but right and innovative use of technology can make huge difference. Consolidating all operational records and accessing those from anywhere anytime can be real boon.  Technology also allows enterprises to reach greater audience and customers without doing any physical ramp up.

A case in point- A photography venture based at Ontario,canada is working on assignments around the globe. They maintain a complete catalogue, blog, contact form and request form online. They have a studio too, only one though, at Ontario. But  they are getting clients because they are using Internet to market and promote there work. A very small example indeed. Internet is not exactly faraway thing..it has became a household thing. If a simple thing like Internet can do so much for a business imagine what can be achieved with the smart use of easy and smart techs like VoIP(to cut long distance communication costs), cloud computing(to share data and applications) and the list goes on.

In india SMEs face a big problem regarding quality, package and promotional aspects of the services or products.These factors are very important and directly impact the very existence of the enterprises or ventures. And technology can answer all those problems.

A change is needed. Definately!

Venturist Mind is back

Hello everyone!

I have been thinking a lot and i..um ..decided to bring "VENTURIST MIND" back on maverick's zone...I know maverick's zone has been more associated with military and aviation related posts but i think venturist mind is also an important part of this blog.

I hope that it would be equally appreciated.

BreakFast Delights

Sunday mornings are always special. Tuning on the stereo set and preparing the morning breakfast is really a worthy start for the first day of the week. We men usually like to prepare the sunday breakfast. My dad's morning starts at 4:30 am and it has been the same since the time he joined indian army back in 1969. He loves to prepare the morning chaa and it's more like his habit to wake every member of the house with a cup of "highly sweetened" darjeeling chaa. For me, breakfast should be healthy, nutritious and nothing less than a gourmet meal- should taste good, smell good and look good. But the most important thing is that it should be convenient.

I always love to prepare the breakfast on weekends and after "the night before". For most of us egg is the best breakfast option. It's healthy and convenient. There's whole heap of egg recipes which can be used for breakfast.

Here is my favorite.....

• BREAKFAST MARTINI    

Well this is for a special morning, "the night before" kinda morning ;). It's very easy to make and like me, all martini lovers will love it. And for your companion,  i bet she will be absolutely delighted.

Alright, let's get started-

* Sprinkle Castor sugar on the plate. Castor sugar is fine powdered sugar used for desserts, not to be confused with granulated sugar.
* Rub the rim of a Martini Glass with the lime wedge and invert the glass on the plateful of sugar so that the rim is coated with sugar
* Pour Vodka into the shaker with ice
* Add marmalade, shake sharply and strain into frosted
martini glass

Only martini will not make the breakfast. So

• CRUSTLESS QUICHE 

Quiche is well known as a french dish and made with egg, milk, cream, butter and maybe cottage cheese. But we will try a desi version of the french Quiche. Quiche, technically should be called egg pie- it has a solid crust on the outside and you can also add herbs and spices to fire up the taste. Although Quiche is a classic french cuisine but it actually originated from the land of saxons- Germany. The word 'Quiche" is from the german "Kuchen", which means cake. The original quiche was an open pie with a filling consisting of an egg and cream custard with coked bacon. It was later that cheese was added. The bottom crust was originally made from bread dough, but today is a pie crust or puff pastry crust.

Ok Lets start it

* Grease a ovenproof glass dish with extra butter and set aside

* In a large bowl, Beat eggs and add flour, baking powder and salt. Blend it well

* Mix in melted butter, chillies. cheese and paneer(cottage cheese)

* Pour into buttered dish and bake in oven for 15 minutes at 200 degrees.

* Lower the temp to 170 degrees and bake for 1/2 hour

* slice it well and you can enjoy it with ketchup or soya sauce with a pinch of mango powder.