Burden of Number one?

If only No. 1 would have mattered world would have been a dangerous place. Business is not being run by just one percentage of business community. It takes rest 39% to manage the show and another 60% to validate the show.  Being at no. one might be a good idea, but draining all the resources and getting frustrated on the way just to be no one is insane race, doesn’t lead you anywhere. Reaching no. one position is not a big deal but maintaining yourself as a business or individual at no. one position is a challenge. Chase for no. one only if you have made up your mind to stay at no. one.  Being no. one has its own burdens associated with it - the constant performance pressure, vigilant eyes of customers and critics, lack of leisure time, being surrounded by greedy people and associations waiting to grab a pie of success are some. You are not supposed to commit slightest mistake at the apex position, not because things might go grossly wrong, but because of perceived sanctity of the position. You choose. It might be a good idea to focus on the things you do best and try to improve, innovate it, rather that wasting your time money and energy to mindless rat race to no. one position. 

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Dream big but dream wide awake.

Dream today, dream often, but dream with your will not leave it at the mercy of time. Best thing about willful day dreaming is that it’s all yours, no one else knows, there is no limitation on your dream, no boundaries. You realize something only if you dream it first. Don’t delay don’t postpone, do it now, when you are travelling in a public transport, when you are driven in your car, dream in your bed before you are asleep tonight, dream in your bed when you wake up tomorrow, dream when your are sitting idle now, dream if you don’t like something, dream when you really like something, dream of what you think is achievable and dream of what nobody think is achievable. You dream and you realize your dream, only if you dream. 

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How to raise money to start a small business

If your requirement is of larger scale you can approach any bank but only after consultation and advice from a Chartered accountant or any related accounts personal or may be people in your business field,

Borrowing loans from friend and family may be a good idea if your requirement is not big.

Review your business plan once aging scale it down to make it more realistic,

You can bootstrap if needed, you can also cut down on fancy technological stuffs and save on fancy office interior at the beginning of your business

There is no end till what time you will keep on saving, launch when you think its right time,

Do take your intuition in account,

Know Top Advantages of Niche Marketing, in the following article http://fromthediaryofmentor.blogspot.in/2012/02/top-10-advantages-of-niche-marketing.html

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25 Rules of success for business and online startups

Launch early - you can’t afford to wait till you have a 100% fail-safe plan

Learn from your mistakes

Don’t repeat the same mistakes again, ..http://bit.ly/ArDoG0

Understand the legality of your business, choose your business name and content which is unique and does not attract legal notice.

Leverage your business through common attributes..http://bit.ly/xbhCGZ

Create business synergy among many businesses or support service or product line

Improve your products, services and online experience based on customer’s feedback.. http://bit.ly/xaNRyo

Reduce number of clicks to sell your products online

Reduce turnaround time

Promote relevant products

Do not get spread too thin doing multiple task yourself

Hire people for those parts of business you don’t like doing yourself

Keep track of your accounts from the day one; you are going to need those details on way to success

Maintain professional attitude from the get go …http://bit.ly/wEn1rh

Maintain focus- it’s easy to get distracted.. http://bit.ly/zuyxst

Be careful while hiring or joining friends for business…http://bit.ly/wi5I0i

Hang out with people with positive vibes, avoid people with negative spirit

Listen to criticism passively and discard everything which demotivates you

Utilize technological possibilities and help at your disposal ..http://bit.ly/yuGSYU

Utilize social media potential or hire someone to help you optimize it for you

Create a product or service capable of triggering word of mouth publicity… http://bit.ly/yibMqn

Pause to have a reality check, review and restrategize if needed… http://bit.ly/wv6vUE

Pause to appreciate what you have been doing

Don’t judge your success by someone else eye, only you know what you are getting from your business apart from money, things like satisfaction, attention , authority, control on your time and life etc. ..http://bit.ly/xLfxjc

Pay to yourself and feel good about you and what you have created.

Learn how to materialise every Business Opportunity which comes your way -http://bit.ly/x5Dv24

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Reading bestsellers before it’s written

You can't really afford to wait till someone gets inspired or disappointed or elevated or frustrated from everyday life or everyday business and compiles vivid colorful stories and experiences to mesmerize you, writes it down, get it published and waits till it hits the chart of bestseller, and book goes viral. By the time you are reading the book on a business trip journey or on a lazy Sunday afternoon story is as old as the first inspiration of bestseller writer which might be as old as his or her childhood memory or a decade or a year or few months old. You know the lightning pace at which the world and technology is changing, strategies evolving, myths are made and broken, breakthrough happening and believes are shattered as well as strengthened. You can judge yourself the relevance of those consolidated ideas in form of literature at this moment. 

Why not to have a glimpse of what’s going on at present in the human psyche and interaction, their hopes and aspirations. Why to wait till some skilled author will compile all this for you. Why not to go and read the first hand experiences and aspirations and lessons of millions out there writing every bit of their mind, a collective real time literature of mankind on blogs and forums and websites. Just be wise enough to know which information to relevant and which to discard. 


Similar is the process to understand your business from customer’s point of view. Now learn how to build and sell brand image of your business in following article- http://fromthediaryofmentor.blogspot.in/2012/02/6-ways-to-improve-your-products-and.html

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Business setbacks as measurement scale.

Setbacks are part and parcel of business dynamics, sometimes business has high growth momentum, at times its all time low . What is business without a little bit of thrill. Setback is the measurement of how much risk you take in business, its part of business thrill. If you didn't ever have setback probably you didn't take enough risk. Come out of your comfort zone and have courage to take risk. Calculate the risk, have a backup plan and go ahead. You can't wait till business plan is 100 percent perfect; otherwise you will be too late in the market. 

Learn what to do when things go wrong in Business here – http://fromthediaryofmentor.blogspot.in/2012/02/what-to-do-when-things-go-wrong-in.html

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How to deal with business competition

If you think you can beat the competitor with rock bottom pricing, it can only be a short term strategy, its not sustainable. Bringing prices down to attract the customers will only reduce your profit margin, and you are only likely to compromise with quality of product or services.

To survive the competition or to win it, all you need to do is to provide uniqueness in your product or service or both to the end users. When number of people is selling the same product or service you need to differentiate yourself from the masses through innovation in product and services. 


Another advantage of having uniqueness in product and service is that you can dictate and control the prices and slowly a unique category of loyal customers emerges to buy your product and services, which also help promote your business through word of mouth publicity. You will need to create your own niche market by providing uniqueness to cope with Competition. Know top advantages of Niche Marketing, here - http://fromthediaryofmentor.blogspot.in/2012/02/top-10-advantages-of-niche-marketing.html

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10 suggestions for new start-ups and entrepreneurs

Find out a market which has growth potential

Move out of your comfort zone

Keep your expenses low

Don't get spread too thin managing multiple aspects of business yourself

Manage and maintain your account book and project portfolio from the get go

Strategies need to be translated into achievable numbers 

Create flexible business model to adapt to changing business dynamics and accommodate initial business errors

Continuously educate yourself - industry update, best seller books, emerging business strategies, and upcoming technology

You cannot afford to wait for launch of your product or service till its 100% satisfactory; otherwise you will be too late for the market

Don't simply imitate leaders in your field, give your own unique and valuable input- don't pretend to be someone else

To know what’s common between successful business leaders see the following article - http://fromthediaryofmentor.blogspot.in/2012/02/what-is-common-between-successful.html

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3 basic Thumbrule of hospitality and service industry

It all depends on front-end staff - they are the face of industry

It’s about 40% ambiance and 60% service and of course affordability cannot be ignored

Education and training makes a difference - you must be wondering why a 2 star hotel staff won't behave like a five star staff while both are human capital 

Learn about the top 5 problems faced by new startups in providing customer service here - http://fromthediaryofmentor.blogspot.in/2012/02/top-5-problems-faced-by-new-business.html

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6 must know Thumbrules of customer service for every business

You should know as much as possible about your every customer - Beforehand

Respect your prospective customer - Even if its 5 year kid

You can't satisfy every customer - But you have to deal with it somehow

Single point assurance - Customer is not supposed to run from one desk to other, it’s your job

You need to make sure the problem of customer has been solved - Before customer asking twice

Either job is done or apology for delay - No need to justify the delay

Learn about the top 5 problems faced by new startups in providing customer service here - http://fromthediaryofmentor.blogspot.in/2012/02/top-5-problems-faced-by-new-business.html

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Brighter side of partnership

Your partners validate your dream

They keep you rooted when you deviate to far from subject

They can help keep you rational when things go wrong

You feel lonely at times walking alone – having company is mostly fun 

You should know what precautions needed to be taken while forming partnership with close friends to avoid any future business complexity as discussed in the following post - http://fromthediaryofmentor.blogspot.in/2012/02/what-precautions-needed-to-form.html

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Top 5 problems faced by new business owners in providing customer service

New startups should be aware of traps of technical support to customers

Handling multiple contractors and coordination - a toll on time and resources

Unreliable contractors - Brand image at stake

Lack of uniformity in support services due to multiplicity of outsourced work

Poor workmanship by contractors - Difficult to meet the quality of services provided directly by Office staff

Not that profitable

Suggestions

Online and Telephonic customer services can be encouraged

Make a robust FAQ section, answering every possible customer queries,

Following article will answer youre all the basic queries about the customer service - http://fromthediaryofmentor.blogspot.in/2012/03/why-and-how-of-customer-service.html

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What is common between successful business owners?

They have strong feeling of ownership

They believe in their dream and product

They have focused passion for their business

They advocate their product

Learn how to materialise every Business Opportunity which comes your way in the following post - http://fromthediaryofmentor.blogspot.in/2012/02/never-miss-business-opportunity-again.html

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