[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xIJ6Pq79oLo&w=560&h=315]
Are you as ambitious as Jaideep Manchanda, who went beyond the regular 9-5 job? If yes, then make the right choice. Choose shared office space in Hosur Road, Bengaluru or co-working space in Lower Parel, Mumbai.
You have perfected the product or service of the century and are positive it has the power to change the world. You have formulated the perfect business plan as well. But now what?
Entering the business world for startups can be wrought with uncertainties and risks. However as an entrepreneur, finding, identifying and undertaking opportunities is necessary. The next step after preparing the perfect business plan is to move on to the execution stage and provide proof of concept. Only then is a start-up eligible even for Seed and Series A funding. Finding opportunities is one of the most important part of this process. To find opportunities, you need to hustle.
But what is hustle really?
‘Try, try till you succeed’ and ‘stop at nothing’ may be few proverbs to describe the word ‘hustle’ perfectly.
Deciding what you want to offer the world, converting it into a product or service and remaining motivated through failure is one of the major characteristics of the entrepreneurs who hustle and ultimately succeed.
However, the product is not everything. Spending hours of hard work to create the perfect product and business plan may seem like the epitome of hustle. It is a definite requirement. But it does not stop there. If investors and consumers are not aware of your product, it is not a very strong communication plan and you are not hustling enough to get your product recognized. There needs to be hustle in every aspect and for the entire lifecycle of your business if your vision is to grow successfully and profitably.
Why is it important?
Imagine if Steve Jobs hadn’t brought Apple under the world’s radar by finding and creating opportunities. Imagine if Paper Boat had given up after their first few product failures. Or if Thomas Edison himself hadn’t hustled to get his inventions recognized.
As an entrepreneur, you might have a vision for your company and an idea of how you can simplify the lives of your consumers. This ultimate aim cannot be achieved without hustling.
Some company owners have thought of innovative ways to save money through barter deals which has helped them direct the saved money to other much needed efforts. Some have gone door to door selling products. Some have sold their products on the streets to increase visibility. There are many inspirational entrepreneurs who will do anything to keep their company alive and grow it to its maximum potential.
Investors do not solely invest in the idea or the business plan, they also invest in the person leading the front. Therefore passion and the hunger to achieve is something they look for actively. This hunger can only be proved through hustle. Investors look at your capacity and willingness to hustle.
Apart from receiving funding, maintaining funder satisfaction is important and hence the quality of work done needs to be very high. You need to prove to the investor time and again that you and your company are in fact worth the investment. This realisation does not come if you don’t prove yourself repeatedly by hustling continuously.
The value of hard work and hustle cannot be discounted by any entrepreneur. Richard Branson did not raise Virgin without passion and hard work. Mark Zuckerberg did not give up in the face of multiple law suits. Jeff Bezos did not create Amazon without facing any adversities. They were not afraid to hustle and recognized its importance. Now, they are some of the leading entrepreneurs of today’s age.
As Travis Kalanick, founder of Uber, has rightly said, “Fear is the disease. Hustle is the antidote”.
In this competitive world, you need to be on your feet to go beyond your competition. You will need an office space, which gives you the motivation to move in the right direction. Choose from co-working space in Qutab, New Delhi or business centre in Andheri West, Mumbai.
Image Courtesy : TVF Pitchers
#inspiringstories@Awfis is an initiative by Awfis Editorial Team to showcase the brilliant business ideas and the journey of our startup member community.
In the recent few years, there has been a sharp increase in the use and need of digital media and content. It is not considered wise to rule out digital media advertising for any organization. In this case, efficient media planning techniques of digital platforms is needed in order to maximise on advertising and targeting opportunities.
The digital media buying process in India was completely linear whereas the rest of the world had moved on to programmatic buying. With the vision to restructure and make the media buying process much more efficient, SMX E Ventures was founded.
SMX E ventures has since focused primarily on educating their key clients on how this new process of Programmatic Display and Native Advertising works. Earlier, brands would buy banner space based on where they assumed their target audience would be. For example, if their target audience were males, they would advertise heavily on financial and sports sites. However the real data may or may not have supported this decision.
Through programmatic buying, SMX can buy digital space for their clients through real time auctions. This adds immense value to the client’s media plans as it is targeted and cost-efficient.
From media buying, SMX has recently added native advertising and content discovery to its profile. They have recently released a new product called One Native Ads.
“One Native ads enables our clients to bid & buy native ads across multiple platforms like Taboola, Dianomi, Outbrain, Revcontent etc via a single interface, doing away with inefficiencies of buying individually across multiple platforms,”says Deepak Karnani, Director, SMX E Ventures Pvt Ltd.
With being the sales partner of the world’s leading cloud based file share platform – WeTransfer in India and the launch of One Native Advertising under its wings, SMX is just getting started on their journey!
For SMX, the main focus is on the people who serve them and the people they serve, i.e., their employees and clients. From recruitment to maintaining team culture, they have carefully thought out pre requisites and personality requirements. They give precedence to attitude over experience and believe that a cultural fit, hunger to succeed and the ability to deal with failure are equally, if not more important considerations than qualifications. Employees need to be open minded as this company aims to push boundaries of the digital media industry in India.
“We needed people who believed in our vision rather than those carrying past baggage with regards to what’s possible,” says Deepak.
Their Business Model, makes people the most important aspect to consider. Their clients are of utmost significance to them. According to the business plan, they aim to optimize the digital media spends of their clients. They provide consultations and advice on how a targeted approach is much more beneficial rather than just advertising over various websites.
“Via behavior & contextual targeting, we deliver the right audience for the brands rather than fixate on exposure across particular websites or which position the ad is delivered on” adds Deepak.
Learnings from previous buying and planning activities are completely automated and machine based. This reduces chances of human bias.
The country is steadily moving towards Modi’s vision of a Digital India. Every village will soon have broadband and internet penetration will be at an all-time high. Content consumption habits will change. Mobile will become the most important media to advertise on. In such a case, new avenues will open up for digital media advertising and media buying. This resonates deeply with SMX’s vision.
“Our vision for SMX is to be a people centric brand that helps our clients decode this new ecosystem with products & services that will be relevant for the new age,”says Deepak with a lot of passion.
SMX aims to be at the forefront of the digital revolution and lead change in the industry. Deepak believes that constant innovation is the best foot forward and constantly tries to provide value to his clients and their media plans.
The company has spread wide in the country with teams across Bombay, Delhi, Bangalore & Hyderabad for product development, operations, sales, business development & finance.
We at Awfis believe that there is much to learn from this revolutionary company. Innovative products and motivated team is what defines SMX E Ventures. We are proud to have such a motivational story brewing in our centres!
Are you as ambitious as SMX E-Ventures to bring the change in the business world? If the answer to this question is yes, then you need a workspace that helps you find your inspiration. Look for shared office space in Hosur Road, Bengaluru or business centre in Powai, Mumbai.
This story is based on the interview of SMX E Ventures by Awfis Editorial Team.
An immense amount of time is spent at work. Considering you work at office for 7 hours in a day, 5 times a week and for more than 30 years of your life, approximately 10,500 hours of your life are spent working. In a world where even one moment is crucial, that is a large amount of time spent in a work atmosphere. Therefore making sure that this atmosphere is comfortable, beneficial and nurturing towards growth is extremely important. One of the best ways to make sure, is by building friendly, lasting and meaningful relationships with your co-workers.
Building relationships at work can be quite tricky. It is necessary that you be your professional best at all times and that you say the right things to the right people. You do not want to make co-workers feel like they are inferior to you when they may be at the same level. Neither do you want to seem inferior to them.
Here are 5 tips to help you on your way:
1. Give sincere compliments
Compliments can seem fake and insincere when not done for genuine value addition and at frequent intervals. Make your compliments specific. What did you to learn from that co-worker? How did a particular action benefit you or the company? If someone has done a piece of work really well and submitted it on time, tell them how much you appreciate how the work has been done in such an efficient and detailed manner in such a short amount of time. Tell them how much you have learnt from their best practices. Be genuine about your compliments and only say what you think. If you think that some piece of advice is not agreeable to you, communicate your doubts rather than complimenting the person on how helpful it has been. It will appear insincere and spoil relations.
2. Ask them to accompany you for lunch
Ask co-workers to lunch with you. Starting out as small as lunch will make sure that the co-worker is comfortable with you. This opens the doors to getting to know each other. If you both enjoy your time together, this can become a regular affair and can extend to even dinner and drinks. This helps set a friendly and understanding relationship and you will make sure to help each other at work.
3. Build trust and mutual respect
One of the best ways to build trust and mutual respect is to simply be good at your work. Clear all your doubts before starting out on your project and submit tasks on time. Make sure to ask questions only your co-workers can solve. If there is something that can be easily found on the internet or something that has already been mentioned to you before, don’t waste the time of your co-workers seeking answers for the same. Invite colleagues to help you out with your work and appreciate their suggestions. Have discussions about your projects and respect their opinions on them, while also clearly and assertively communicating yours.
4. Understand the culture
While it may be a great practise to wave a cheery hello to your colleagues every morning, for many it might seem awkward and suspicious. Understand the psyche of your colleagues. Do they like being made friendly chat with during work? Do they like to wish each other good morning? Do they seem frustrated when you waste their time with trivial matters? Understand where your colleagues stand and what the culture of the organization is. It might a serious, high pressure atmosphere or it might be a friendly, easy going one. Each colleague will also have a different style of working and a different culture that they come from. Be open and adaptable to various work styles and cultures.
5. Help your co-workers
If you see a co-worker carrying a heavy box, provide your support and help them out! If you see a co-worker struggling with a particular task, provide your advice and help them out! If you see a co-worker stressed with multiple projects, take up responsibility for some of it and help them out! Helping someone out will not only make them trust and like you more, but will also ensure that they help you out when you face any difficulties.
Networking and maintaining relations is one of the perks of a work sphere. Meaningful relations at your workplace will ensure that not only are you constantly supported, but also that you have an enjoyable time at work.
Maintaining good relationship with your co-workers is crucial, but working in the right working environment and spaces is also important. Search for co-working spaces in South Extention, New Delhi or shared office space in Andheri West, Mumbai.
As an entrepreneur, you may have a vision to change the world with your product. Your product may solve a definite pain point for the consumers. It may be the most unique one in the market, un-replicable even. It may be of extremely good quality and possess great features. But as long as the sales pitch and demonstrations are not done well, no investor, retailer or customer will be interesting in investing in it.
Here are the steps that will ensure that your product demonstration creates an influence on your audience’s decision making process:
Before the Demo:
1. Do a dry run
You would not want a scenario where your product stops functioning or doesn’t function efficiently in the middle of your demonstration. Therefore testing your product an evening before will ensure that all faults are rectified and the product is running smoothly.
2. Research your audience
If you have a meeting with retailers or investors, you can review various sources to know what it is they like. Customize your pitch according to the audience by telling them exactly how the product will solve their problem or how it will benefit them. Does the investor want sales, return on investment or future growth prospects? Is he or she a practical person who wants facts and figures or an emotional person who wants a touching story to be completely convinced?
3. Prepare your content
While preparing your content, you not only need to keep your audience in mind and customize, but also the facts and figures. One of the best demo structure is to present facts, figures and then the urgency of buying or investing in the product immediately. Follow the system of explaining the facts, then the benefits and then the reason for urgency.
4. Explain the ‘why’ before the ‘how’ and ‘what’ in your introduction
In a TED Talk, Simon Sinek has effectively covered the secret to great pitches. You need to communicate why you created the product, how it solves the problem, i.e., through what features and then what the product really is. Most companies explain it backwards and end up with uninspiring pitches. This will make sure that your intent is also covered.
5. Practise in front of a mirror or with a friend
Practising your pitch in front of a mirror or with a friend will ensure that you do not forget to mention any key points during the demonstration the next day. However what most people do not realize is that body language and tonality are equally important to be practised. You may be conveying facts and figures correctly but if your tonality conveys that you are nervous and under confident, it will make your demonstration ineffective. The same applies if you are extremely over confident and appear complacent. You need to have the optimum level of excitement in order to get the audience excited as well.
6. Predict probable questions and prepare the answers
If you rehearse answers to predictable questions, it will be an involuntary response when these questions are posed. You will come across as well prepared, detail oriented and having expertise on the product and the market. Most questions will surround topics such as how the product will be of benefit to the investor, what is expected from his or her side and much more.
7. Be confident and stay in a good mood
Before your demo, make yourself feel calm, composed and confident. Listen to music, practise a power pose, revise your pitch, anything that makes you feel confident.
During the Demonstration
8. Humour the audience’s imagination
Tell a story that will show how the product will solve the audience’s everyday problems. Take them to a world where all their grievances are solved just by using the product. Stories are one of the most relatable ways to connect with the audience. They are entertained as well as made to realize the importance of your product.
9. Listen
The audience will have many inputs of their own. Listen to them, understand their concerns, ask a lot of questions and get to the root of their hesitance.
10. Let the audience lead your demo
Letting the audience operate the product is one of the best ways to convince them that your product is easy to use and will solve their problems. Once they are confident that they like the product, they will definitely invest in it.
11. Call to Action
Ask the investor, retailer or customer if they like the product and if they would like to invest in it at the end of your demo. Do not wait for them to bring up the call to action.
12. Ask for references
Ask the retailer or investor for references whether they have decided to invest or not. This will open up avenues for future pitches and demos.
After the Demonstration
13. Follow up
Whether the investor is positive or on the fence about your product, follow up constantly. This will ensure the investor’s belief in your passion, your proactive nature and will speed up the process.
A demonstration is the most important part of a sales pitch, as you might have noticed in Shark Tank. Making the product is only 20% of the job. 80% of the job is convincing investors to invest in it and getting customers to buy it. Follow the steps above to make sure your demonstration goes smoothly and increases your chances of success!
Effective ways of selling your product also requires a good business place where you can present it. Choose a business center in Lower Parel, Mumbai or shared office space in Koramangla, Bengaluru.
Entrepreneurs are always looking for mentorship. Books can be great mentors. They are written by leading experts or are about them. The inspiration that one can garner from good books is immense.
Here are four must read books for all those aspiring to start their business:
1. Zero to One
Author: Peter Thiel
“Creative monopoly means new products that benefit everybody and sustainable profits for the creator. Competition means no profits for anybody, no meaningful differentiation, and a struggle for survival.” – Peter Thiel, Zero to One
Optimism is required as a budding entrepreneur. This book has a great amount of it coupled with some great advice. Peter Thiel, founder of Paypal, in his book pushes an important concept: think for yourself. According to him, the world has reached a point of technological standstill where everyone is trying to better the same product or service and staying at 0. Rather, new inventions should be made by thinking for yourself so your company can go from 0 to 1.
Another concept covered in his book is that of a mini-monopoly. Before releasing your offering to the world, it needs to be established, accepted and made popular amongst a smaller community and niche market. One this small monopoly has been set, then only can you move on to the next level. Facebook would not be as famous if it hadn’t taken over the Harvard campus and if Zuckerberg hadn’t fixed the bug issues first.
This 200 page book certainly has the power to make you feel motivated to get started on your company right away!
2. Losing My Virginity
Author: Richard Branson
“I can honestly say that I have never gone into any business purely to make money. If that is the sole motive then I believe you are better off not doing it. A business has to be involving, it has to be fun, and it has to exercise your creative instincts.” – Richard Branson, Losing My Virginity
Richard Branson’s autobiography can make anyone believe that entrepreneurship is nothing but a fun, adventurous journey. His honesty about his personal life and humility about admitting that all the ideas were actually not his alone will leave you knowing him on a deeper level. He even admits that the name ‘Virgin’ was also coined by someone else!
Richard Branson has always explored avenues which have both fun and money involved. At the age of 16 and suffering from dyslexia, he found his calling as a businessman when he started his own school paper called ‘Student’. It survived until he realized that he was too dependent on the postal service. Moving on to his own music store, record label and then airlines industry, Richard Branson has always gone with his gut feeling.
His main motivation has not only been to have fun but also to prove the others wrong and show them that nothing is impossible. His biting adventure from surviving bankruptcy, opening businesses in exciting sectors to round the globe hot air balloon rides is extremely gripping.
This 600 page book certainly has the power to make you take calculated risks and just have fun!
3. The Obstacle is the Way
Author: Ryan Holiday
“It’s okay to be discouraged. It’s not okay to quit. To know you want to quit but to plant your feet and keep inching closer until you take the impenetrable fortress you’ve decided to lay siege to in your own life—that’s persistence.” – Ryan Holiday, The Obstacle is the Way
Many entrepreneurs feel fear in the face of obstacles. This book will melt away all your fears by giving examples of leaders who have been overcoming obstacles all their life. It will make your adversities seem like speed breakers as you read about the mountains personalities like Amelia Earhart and Steve Jobs needed to overcome.
Each chapter covers a business principle and an eminent personality who used this principle. There are many things to learn from the book. Change in perception by asking yourself and others what you can do in a situation where you may feel helpless to practising effective stoicism are some of the tricks you will imbibe.
This short book certainly has the power to help you face your fears!
4. Originals
Author: Adam Grant
“Being original doesn’t require being first. It just means being different and better.” – Adam Grant, Originals
A variety of thought provoking perspectives can be observed in this book by Adam Grant, a professor at Wharton University. His observations such as procrastination is the consequence of your brain’s need to improve the idea till the end is completely supported by Martin Luther King’s I Have Dream Speech and Abraham Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address. Many such observations and learnings can be seen in his book. He believes that the status quo must continuously be challenged and improved. The world needs to improve.
He cites examples from politics, sports, business and entertainment. He teaches how to recognize a good idea and the fact that many ideas need to be executed in order to establish a business that is wildly successful.
This 300 page book certainly has the power to change your thought process!
These four books will help you face your fears, change your perception, take risks, have fun and get you motivated to start right away. Adding them to your library will be a definite value addition!
These 4 books can change your perspective towards handling your business. But a productive work space is essential for you to find your inspiration. Choose from shared office spaces across Delhi, Mumbai and Bangalore.
Every business involves a lot of effort and thought. With the emergence of technology and the myriads of progress it has gone through over years, it is difficult to understand how different businesses compete with each other to get to the top. In today’s day, not only the established businesses, but also the start-ups look forward to expanding their business and gaining popularity over offevery possible platform. Clearly, we all know what a tool like social media could do in this technologically driven generation. Today, social media is not only limited to connecting with friends and family in different parts of the world, but to popularise different types of brands through excellent imagery and content on every possible digital platform. However, with a plethora of companies all looking headfirst to being the best, competition has accelerated to a different level. Due to all these reasons, it becomes extremely important for any business, big or small, to not miss out on these 5 social media trends:
Brand Publishing:
Brand Publishing is the new form of content marketing. Such type of publishing builds your brand as it is more realistic and keeps the audience engaged for a longer period of time. Brand publishing requires a little more attention, unlike content marketing. A lot of marketers are under the false pretext that content marketing simply exists just to sell a product. For this very reason, turning content marketing into content publishing is a must. In order to acquire brand publishing success, it is necessary to keep a few points in mind. They are:
Video Marketing:
In the very beginning, who would’ve thought that brands would make its way to the top in the video market? However, it has been doing exceptionally well by catering to various types of target audiences. For a very long time, YouTube was used as a sole platform for video marketing. Nevertheless, it has branched out to a lot of other media platforms like Instagram, Google+, Vine, and Facebook etc. Tiny GIF’s and pop-ups attract a lot of attention and are not only restricted to YouTube today. The “call to action” tool, which was released by Facebook, has also proved to be very essential as it invites consumers to visit a particular website, make purchases or view branded or related videos in a steady and natural way.
Instagram Advertising:
The future of paid ads didn’t look all that great, in the previous years. A lot of marketers put their money on paid social media ads, but they don’t always get what they expect. Not every media platform gives a decent engagement rate to every brand. Facebook has a system where it limits its reach as per its Organic Reach System. In short, for every 1 million fans on Facebook for a specific brand, each post had around 700 likes which is very less. However, there is no reason to lose hope as the future of one of the fastest growing social media platform i.e. Instagram, seems to be really pronounced. A study showed that Instagram posts generated 58 times more engagement per follower, as compared to Facebook and 120 times more engagement than Twitter.
Upsurge of Image Based Content:
Platforms like Pinterest, Instagram and Tumblr, aren’t only for flaunting your edgy side or food recipes and interiors. Today, these platforms can be used for showcasing your brands through attractive imagery and content which has the ability to captivate your audience in just one go. Every business, big or small, can use these platforms to make their brand a felt and known presence to all the viewers worldwide. Such visual stories help people identify with the organization. Image based content helps your audience to know a little more about your company.
Diversity of Social Platforms:
Making your brand’s presence felt across all media platforms is a must. This is the only way to enable your brand to interact with audiences from different walks of life. Businesses are now starting to understand the importance of Social media and are trying hard to make their company and brand a robust presence online.
Keeping in mind all these points, it is obvious that these are 5 trends that your business just cannot afford to miss.
Following the trend is essential to stay ahead of the competition. Are you are a trend setter? If yes, then choosing a right workspace will be your proactive move. Search for a shared office space in MG Road, Bengaluru or business centre in Qutab, New Delhi.
A start-up usually has a number of projects waiting to be completed. Every day has a deadline. In such a case, having efficient teams to handle particular aspects of the work becomes vital for productivity. A great deal of strategy is required while creating teams. Here are a few things that you should consider while forming your dream team:
The most important question to answer before forming a team is why do you need one? It is important to lay down what the team needs to achieve and what is the primary purpose that the team needs to fulfill. A client servicing team is a mediator between the organization and the client, an accounting team handles the organization’s finances, a legal team the legalities, and so on. Each team has a purpose and a common goal.
Elect a senior who can overlook the work of the team on a daily basis and who reports to you directly. Give him or her freedom to deal with day to day employee conflicts, conduct meetings and delegate work. Make sure to still stay involved by interacting with all the team members frequently.
Establishing the team requires you to be strategic about who you place in the team and who you don’t. There needs to be a good balance of skills. Different points of view enable flow of creative ideas. Diversity is the key! Make sure that team members get along with each other and understand their role.
Once the purpose has been defined, it is time to delve into the specifics. Spell out exactly what the targets are, what the schedule might look like and what are the goals that need to be achieved at the end of every task.
If you would like your team to follow certain values and practises, you need to practise them yourself. You are the role model for your employees and how you behave will set the team culture. Set ground rules with the team and establish the do’s and don’ts that you would like them to abide by. Ground rules can be as simple as minimal usage of social media during work hours. Your discipline will inspire the same in the team.
A regular feedback and review process will ensure that the team stays aligned with their goal and gets a chance to self-correct immediately. It will help them understand what worked and what didn’t. The idea of a regular feedback process will also keep them motivated to achieve the goal with constant vigor.
A powerful team will make sure that deadlines are met, goals are achieved and quality work is produced. This will only be possible when employees are assigned the work of their choice. Building a team can seem like a mammoth task, but once the preliminary processes are out of the way, it is only a question of maintaining team morale and challenging them with new opportunities.
Your business can only succeed if you have a team. To make your team efficient, you need an inspiring workspace. Look for shared office space in Koramangla, Bengaluru or business centre in South Extention, New Delhi.
Entrepreneurship is a stressful journey. Constant flow of work, pitch presentations and the thirst to prove yourself can leave very little time for yourself. This leads to increase in stress levels and an imbalance between your work life and personal life.
Effective stress management techniques can ensure that you remain calm even during taxing situations. Here are few techniques you can use to alleviate stress:
Do you feel stressed every time you have to talk to a certain client, work on a particularly trying task or when you have a meeting with the investors?
Understand which type of situations are causing stress. Do you feel stressed because you are not prepared for your meeting or you don’t have a particular skill set to complete the task? Seek out the underlying reasons and make sure to address them. If you feel that you are not prepared enough for a meeting, improve your time management skills and make sure you are adequately prepared for the next one.
2. Exercise
Exercising is a great way to release stress. A healthy body also keeps the mind healthy. Exercise releases endorphins. These hormones are related to the ‘feel good’ factor. An hour long exercise routine not only keeps a toned physique but also relieves the day’s troubles.
3. Stop overthinking
Persistently thinking about the what-ifs, future situations, differing outcomes for previously taken decisions only increase mental pressure and fatigue. Be comfortable with your decisions and do not play out alternate scenarios and apprehensions in your mind.
4. Be thankful
Practising being gracious is one of the best ways to make yourself feel good and less burdened. Appreciating what you have, gives you a positive perspective therefore reducing negativity and stress
5. Breathe deeply
Taking in a few deep breaths while anticipating stressful situations increases flow of oxygen to the brain therefore making it more productive. It also gives you a chance to collect your thoughts and organize them.
6.Balance perfectionism
Expecting to do a job adequately well and progressing steadily with the task at hand are key. Focussing on perfectionism all the time adds to the pressure of stressful situations. Therefore try to strike a good balance between perfectionism and work progress.
An entrepreneur faces stress inducing situations every day. This can lead to poor physical and mental health. Therefore the use of stress management techniques is essential. Adding a few vacations and breaks to the mix will ensure a healthy work atmosphere, timely delivery and quality work.
A better way to manage stress would be at a workplace where you can find your motivation. Look for co-working space in Connaught Place, New Delhi or shared office space in Powai, Mumbai.
Creating a business model for your company is one of the first tasks you would need to complete before establishing your company. Your business model communicates how your business will work and make profit. The success of a business rides on it. Innovative business models are one way to differentiate yourself from the competition. Therefore the process of formulating such a model is vital.
A lot of companies have used innovative business models to ensure success. Here are a few companies that can be learnt from:
Paytm’s success can only be attributed to their unique business model. They started out with a stage by stage model paired with a powerful discounting model. They started with online payments attracting customers through the massive discounts they were offering. They emerged into a mobile wallet and then an e-commerce website. Even though Paytm is known mainly as a mobile wallet, their e-commerce business has also performed well in the market.
Paytm has now acquired a variety of markets through this approach. Their discounts have given consumers a chance to shop freely on the Paytm e-commerce website. Rather than spending on marketing activities, Paytm focussed on providing various discounts to its consumers. These discounts cut down rates by more than 50% on the original price. This ensured consumer retention. Their stage by stage model made sure that they were positioned as a market leader before moving on to the next market or stage.
Learning: Adopt a step by step procedure to capture a number of markets.
Paper boat plays with the nostalgia aspect not only with its product, but also with its advertising and communication. Their business model mostly focuses on intelligent marketing strategies in order to be recognized amongst their competitors in the beverage industry. Their product is unique and highly relatable with an affordable price. It is also the main focus rather than promotion. Their main competitors are non-branded alternatives. Paper boat is also very cleverly placed. By partnering with Indigo airlines, they have catered to the airlines industry as well as retailers.
Learning: Pay most attention to your product and where it is sold.
Ola has become one of India’s leading cab service. It aims to connect consumers with chauffeur driven cabs. These cabs are owned by third parties, most of the times by the drivers themselves. Their revenue model focuses on a variety of sources. Ola charges commission to all those riding with their cabs. Additionally, they have in-vehicle advertisements and various event and corporate tie ups. They are also constantly evolving. They released Ola Money, a mobile wallet specifically for Ola rides, to avail cashless transactions. They have recently decided to buy a number of cabs themselves and rent it out to drivers in order to differentiate themselves from their competitors.
Learning: Have a number of revenue streams.
OYO Rooms is a mobile app and website which allows booking of budget rooms in hotels. It follows a marketplace model. Hotels can contact OYO if they want to be registered with the brand. The hotels that tie up with OYO are marketed by OYO itself. OYO then conducts a standardized test to determine if the hotel abides by its quality requirements. The focus of the business model is the product. OYO aims to provide consumers with luxury in a budget. You can even order room service through the OYO rooms app while staying at one of their hotels. Still at the building stage, it is still looking at improving its marketing and technology aspects.
Learning: Make sure to deliver what you promise through quality testing and setting standards.
A number of factors need to be taken into consideration while designing a business model. Learning from successful businesses, having conversations with other entrepreneurs and constantly working towards your goal goes a long way in ensuring the formulation of a good business model.
You need to be driven towards growing your startup into a business. Find your inspiration by choosing shared office space in Churchgate, Mumbai or business centre in MG Road, Bengaluru.
