How can startups survive the economic storm ?

My blogging rate has gone down drastically due to the lack of internet connection in my residence [Blame it on my my recent relocation but I am sure that ThoughtsPrevail would bounce back !!!].Today, we have a guest article by Kelly Kilpatrick who shares some mantras on "How to keep your startup afloat during the economic crisis".Kelly writes on the subject of best business schools and can be contacted via her email

No one likes a downturn, least of all when it has to do with the economy, not just of a company or even a country, but of the entire world. It’s a domino effect that we’re witnessing now, as the mighty fall of a few big names are bringing down others associated with them and causing a global crisis the likes of which have not been seen for a long time now. When even the huge conglomerates are known to be shaking in their boots, is it any wonder that the little startups and fledgling businesses in doubt about their future? However, all is not lost, not yet. To use a cliched expression, where there’s a will, there’s a way; so hold your head high and let your positive attitude take you forward in these difficult times:

Believe in your abilities
A bird on a shaky branch is not afraid, because it is confident in its ability to fly even if the branch does give way. An apt analogy for our present situation – even if the economy of the world is unstable, as long as you believe in your abilities to make it through this bad patch, you’re going to be ok.

Adopt conservative measures
It’s not the time for risks, not when people are struggling to stay afloat. It’s best to be as conservative as you can, both in terms of current business principles and future plans.

Go back to the basics
It’s now more than ever that you need your customers to stand by you; so pick up the phone and let them know that you’re counting on their support and that you’re committed to providing them with the same kind of service they’ve been receiving all this time. True, you already have a relationship with them, but in these tough times, you must focus on re-affirming the relationships that you already have rather than looking to forge new ones.

Cut unnecessary expenses
Money is definitely going to be tight for a while, so it’s best to cut back on your overhead costs and any expenses that could be considered as frivolous. Focus on reducing the recurring expenses – these, even if not a large amount, could add up each month to a significantly huge sum.

Ditch unprofitable ventures
If there’s a department that’s not doing too well, it’s best not to persist with it at this time, not when money is hard to come by and you’re struggling to cut your losses.

Cut production costs
If you can do so without compromising on the quality of your products. If you can’t, and if you know your market is secure, raise the price of your products. Of course, you will have to deal with unhappy customers, but if you put it across to them in a positive way, they’re likely to understand.

Boost your employee morale
Unhappy employees cost you a lot in terms of time, money and productivity. So make sure your employees are mentally secure; even if you have to lay off a few of them, make the rest realize that their jobs are safe. Or if you could get them all to take a pay cut rather than force them out of a job altogether, that would work fine too.

Getting a new business to grow is hard work even in the best of times; and now that we’re going through the worst, you must work even harder to make sure you stay afloat.If you have to lay-off people, this article by Guy Kawasaki , would definitely help you in laying off people while making others feel safe .

INTERNET RICHES for Indian Entrepreneurs - II

In continuation to the previous article by Scott Fox , author of the best selling book Internet Riches[who is the Guest Writer on this blog]; let us now look at the remaining two factors that would help to create more online opportunities for Entrepreneurs in India.

Note:

"I" in the article refers to Scott Fox.

4. India's English Triple Advantage: 

With their greater literacy in English, Indian entrepreneurs can continue to capture a greater share of English-speaking customer dollars than entrepreneurs from other countries like China.

This linguistic advantage is important because it allows Indian startups to:

• Compete on a global basis by more easily marketing their e-commerce products and services outside of India into affluent English-speaking markets worldwide.
  
• Take advantage of proven e-commerce platforms from the U.S. for use in India. Services like Google's Adsense, Paypal, eBay, Elance, and many others are all available to English-speaking Indian entrepreneurs today, at least for imitation and research if not outright deployment in Indian markets.
  
• Access the huge amount of technical and strategy information available in English online. Many of the most important lessons learned by American entrepreneurs are well documented online and often available for free. This expertise includes technical documents, the U.S. Patent Office libraries, community forums of all sorts, and even thousands of free email newsletters and e-courses [like those I offer at ScottFox.com] that teach many of the e-business revolution's tactical innovations for free.

5. Anyone Can Play Online: 

Perhaps most exciting about the E-Business Revolution is the liberation of the creativity of non-traditional entrepreneurs. With little capital required, low risk, and worldwide reach, the World Wide Web offers economic opportunity to a wider class of people, including the disenfranchised, the physically disabled or house-bound, and lower socio-economic classes, than ever before in history. Particular opportunities are emerging to serve youth markets [with more than half of the Indian population under the age of 25], and women [only 23% of Internet users in India are female], for example.

As previous online innovations like eBay, YouTube, Facebook, and CraigsList have demonstrated in the U.S. , it's difficult to predict how new platforms for commerce and communication can empower people. Today e-commerce's egalitarian approach to allowing participation and making money is increasingly available to inspire bursts of creativity from Indian entrepreneurs. Additionally, it's easy to foresee dramatic advances, including the establishment of new billion-dollar companies dedicated to serving the unique needs of previously underserved sectors of Indian society.

Increasingly, the only entry requirements into the race for internet riches are a broadband connection, creativity, and some hard work. As discussed in my book, Internet Riches, and with free updates by email from my blogs at ScottFox.com , I look forward to helping nurture this coming tidal wave of achievement too. I am excited to see the innovative, profitable, and inspiring ways that Indian entrepreneurs of all kinds will find to respond to the opportunities offered by the e-business revolution.

With this closing remark from Scott, I would like to thank Scott for being a guest author on ThoughtsPrevail and hope to see him back in the near future !!!

Related Article:

INTERNET RICHES for Indian Entrepreneurs - I

INTERNET RICHES for Indian Entrepreneurs - I

With Internet growing leaps and bounds in India, the number of online opportunities for entrepreneurs have also grown as well.The growth of internet penetration in India has opened up new doors for Part-preneurs [My terminology for a person who is yet to completely take the entrepreneurial plunge but works on his venture part-time so that one day he can pursue his dreams full-time].

To tell us more about these opportunities, there would have been no better person than Scott Fox, more about him below.

About Scott Fox:

Scott Fox is the Author of Internet Riches, the worldwide best-selling guide to how anyone can use the Internet to start their own business, even without much money or technology. He blogs and offers free email newsletters about e-business success, entrepreneurship, and online marketing advice on his website.
This article is divided into two parts so, without much wait, let us see what Scott has to say about India and opportunities for Indian entrepreneurs online.

Note:
"I" in the article refers to Scott Fox.Before we start, my heartful thanks to Scott for being a guest writer on ThoughtsPrevail.

Internet riches for Indian Entrepreneurs - I
Today the Internet offers to Indian entrepreneurs even more potential for e-commerce success than was available in the U.S. in the 1990's.

The waves of broadband penetration and low cost e-commerce tools that led to mass adoption of the Internet in the United States are now reaching Indian shores. Although millions of Indians have been online for years, millions more are just beginning to gain access to the global digital marketplace. Most are still connecting at dial-up modem speeds but broadband penetration in India doubled again in 2007. And while the early adopters of e-business in India mirror those of the U.S., these waves have also broadened their reach during the time and distance they have traveled from the U.S. to India to include more people, more kinds of people, and new platforms like mobile phones.

Its huge population alone suggests that India should be an economic superpower. Usually this massive population is viewed as a potentially profitable consumer market to be exploited. I would prefer to see India's people as a massive natural resource that smart entrepreneurs can leverage to achieve huge financial success. Current challenges in providing basic services like electricity and water will be overcome, and India's astounding continued economic growth rate offers major opportunities to a new wave of Indian e-commerce start-ups today.

At least 5 factors[with two mentioned in the next article] will combine in India to create exciting new markets and unprecedented millionaire-making opportunities for a new generation of Indian entrepreneurs.

1. Capitalism without Capital:
The low cost of entry for starting a business online is unprecedented. The costs of a PC, broadband connection, and especially the education to put them to work remain significant obstacles. But these foundations of e-commerce success are still so much less expensive than erecting a bricks-and-mortar business that small business ownership is increasingly within the reach of millions who have not fully participated in the economy previously.

2. Low Risk:
Because the e-business revolution so reduces the need for start-up capital, it is much less risky. By starting small online, millions of new Indian entrepreneurs will find that they can build their own businesses without leaving their current jobs, mortgaging their personal assets, or otherwise unduly risking their futures. This ease of market entry introduces increased potential competition but also allows rapid product development iteration, customer feedback, and online market testing to accelerate the success of winning ventures.

3. New Local Market Innovations:
Internet-delivered local services and advertising are sure to spread in India even faster than they emerged in the U.S. Years of U.S. and EU innovation in web site and mobile phone-based services will benefit localization business efforts by Indian entrepreneurs, helping them speedily deploy new tools [whether invented in India or imported] to profitably serve their vast domestic market.

I hope that you found insights from Scott useful as well as interesting.You would find the continuing part in the next article.

Reader Contribution:
Get updated Motivation Quotes by Scott Fox using this Google Gadget by Manish Panchmatia

Ten mantras to be become a more PRODUCTIVE Entrepreneur

Time management is a very important factor; consider your work, personal life or anything related in your day to day life. May be that is the reason we have post-its, diaries,hand-held gadgets etc. that come to our rescue Effective time management[coupled with proper priority scheduling] leads to better productivity !!!!

To explore more on productivity, we have a guest writer - Heather Johnson, who would give us some insights into what best practices would make an Entrepreneur[and his/her team] more efficient & productive.

About Heather Johnson:

Heather Johnson is a regular writer on the topic of Top credit cards.Heather welcomes questions, comments and writing job opportunities at her email address heatherjohnson2323@gmail.com

Ten tips for becoming a more PRODUCTIVE ENTREPRENEUR:
Being self-employed is both a blessing and a curse at times. Without a boss standing over your shoulder every hour of the working day, you might find it difficult to always stay abreast with your daily tasks. Time really is money, however -- especially when you are solely dependent on your own work performance. If you would like to change your lifestyle in order to become a more productive entrepreneur, follow the ten tips given below:

1. If you work from home, designate an area that is specifically for work. Don't let your personal life cross into your workspace.
2. Do not put a television set anywhere near your workspace.
3. Keep your desk tidy, as you will lose precious time hunting for things. Not only that, but a clean environment will invigorate you.
4. Eat three well-rounded meals a day and drink plenty of water to keep your energy up [May be I should start practising this one ].
5. Set regular work hours and stick to them.
6. Take a day off [when your innovative mind is blocked and you are mentally tired]. Some entrepreneurs are workaholics and feel they can't afford to take a day off. Wrong -- this will actually lead to work burnout, which will cost you much more.
7. Screen your calls when you are in the middle of a time-sensitive project.
8. Keep an efficient work calendar and to-do list.
9. If you work online a lot, there are many distractions that can sap your productivity.If you love checking the headlines, make that part of your lunch hour ritual.
10. Document everything business-related and save all receipts in a designated file. This makes tax season much easier on you and your accountant. Don't have an accountant? Get one.

Thanks Heather for these simple and wonderful tips , since simplest things are the ones that we take for granted and your tips would definitely help many people[not only Entrepreneurs] to be more productive !!!!

Related Article:
Ten steps to improve your eCommerce business

Legal Compliance for a Startup - Part I

Being in a startup, we have come to know that along with day to day technical, marketing and other difficulties, Legal Aspects are so very important. Today, we have a guest article by Gaurav Singhal , Non Executive Director of Siddhast Intellectual Property Innovations Pvt Ltd, a company specializing in providing services in IP Consultancy, Strategy and Legal Consultancy.More details about Gaurav can be found here.So, let's start off with the article !!!

It’s a vast topic to be covered in few lines. When we move towards the naming of the venture, from that day by itself Law comes into existence, as one needs to get it registered; so that (s)he can get some exclusivity for that name and further that could help him to distinguish his company from other’s.

Let us integrate each step about how an entrepreneur should take when (s)he just thinks of starting out of his/her venture; to the level when (s)he institutes his/her venture with the Legal purview.

In this article, we would touch upon legal aspects from the stage of Idea generation to Incorporation[Pre-Funding stage].

Some of the basic elements to remember are:

Your Idea may not be YOUR idea :
One fine day, you get a nice idea and write it on a piece of paper.Here comes the Intellectual Property law, particularly Copyright law in particular. A person as (s)he writes also gets a copyright over it. But (s)he needs to get it in the shape, so that it can be used in the legal transactions and documentation as well. So, (s)he should get it copyrighted from the Registrar of Copyright. The idea need not be too abstract but it should have some specific representation.

Form a team to work out :
Get into agreement with all the team members clearly stating the purpose of the agreement and what would be the Initial share percentage if the venture works out. Try to get every liability right on paper, which would make the work smooth and well going.

Draft a Business Plan :
In drafting the business plan, one of the most important component is that it should be according to the law of the land where you are instituting your venture. The various time Lines should also to be included for that purpose. Even every small decision could be struck by the Legal structure, like if there are low prices of land and Tax Holidays in N-E but the labor laws are too tight for your industry then you can’t choose it. Or if the basic manufacturing of the product of your future venture is barred by the regional law or the Environmental laws then again, you would be debarred to practice it.

Disclosure of Business Plan :
Whenever you are disclosing the plan to anybody please get a Non Disclosure Agreement signed; otherwise it would be like throwing your idea in front of dogs to bite off .

Getting Funded :
Here it is important to decide whether you are going to get the fund from Bank or Venture Capitalist[VC] or some small investors. Every thing should be crystal clear in the Funding Agreement. Even a person should check out , if there has been any funding agency which is giving some special rebates for a particular industry in Legal Compliance w.r.t Environmental aspects or other financial law, taxation law or any other legal machinery.

Thanks Gaurav for all the insights and I hope you enjoyed reading the article, just like me This article would be followed by another article, which would focus on the other legal compliances ,to be kept in mind after the Post-Funding stage.

Don't sell the website, sell it's uniqueness - Nithya Dayal, Co-Founder of Muziboo

Today, we have a guest article by Nithya Dayal, Co-founder of an online music community named Muziboo. Muziboo is a great example of community building and how effective is Word of Mouth marketing[WOM] in business.

In this article, Nithya focuses on "Mantras of building an Online Community" , something which has been an integral part of the Web 2.0 space.

Web 2.0 [ Of the people, for the people and by the people]:
It is not fashionable anymore to say that Web 2.0 is not as much about technology, as it is about people. When this is an accepted truism to such a degree, it is worth spending some time to analyze the dynamics of such a model [from my experience with Muziboo]

Before you build a website [hence a service] on the assumption and wish that users will come forward to generate content, you need to understand what it takes to drive those users to contribute content.

Mantras of building an Online Community:
Keep in mind the following mantras , while trying to build an active community on­line:

Is your service unique?
During your whole thought process ­ while planning to start, build and maintain a new website­ , if ever this question sounded clichéd within yourself, you are sure to come up with a non-­starter for a service. Unless there is something unique in what you offer, how fair is it to expect people to spend their time in your platform to generate content, when either, they are already comfortable doing the same elsewhere (or) they do not see a new source of satisfaction in your service. This satisfaction as your uniqueness could be in any form for the user – expression, recognition, entertainment, social and business networking and so on and so forth.

Initiating a Culture and Driving the Culture
Once you have decided on what should differentiate your service from similar others, you as the owner should become one of the patrons and initiate that ‘culture’ among users, which will in ­turn give the desired uniqueness to the service. As the first few hundred users go a long way in giving a face and feel to your service, it is vital to have given due thought about your uniqueness at a very early stage of conception of the service. Also, one has to be around constantly, driving it in the positive direction. Majority of users need hand holding while you wait for them to acquire the taste of what you have to offer. This is the only way to bring in the kind of culture [that showcases the uniqueness] that you want to offer. Because if you leave it to the users to bring in uniqueness all by themselves or give them a good idea and not follow ­up with efforts to involve them in building the same, the only guaranteed result is the establishment of a culture characterized by stagnation and inertia among the users. Do not forget that this need for hand holding is not a reflection of the users intelligence – if you can come up with something too exciting that it needs no hand holding, then good for you – read Flickr blog to understand that Mr & Mrs Butterfield had to work hard to establish the uniqueness of Flickr, which is not just a photo sharing site but a thriving community.

Here it is important to note that this ‘uniqueness’ refers to a dynamic aspect of the site, which has the potential for something exciting or which has a proven record of enthusing users to contribute. It rarely or seldom refers to the uniqueness in technology that the site has adopted. And, more often than not, only while enjoying the ‘uniqueness’ will the users be spending the maximum chunk of their time when logged in – even if it is a little peripheral to the main service that you offer.

Unfortunately some websites after getting a whole lot funding, start operating on the premise that marketing the whole service will encourage people to register and generate content. It is not enough to ‘sell the website’, you have to ‘sell the uniqueness’ of the website after establishing one in the first place.

Post ­sign-up
User assimilation is a slow painstaking process. The new user should immediately be made comfortable with an interactive interface. With an interactive interface, one should make easy the process of a user getting acquainted with other members of the community.

Recognizing Users
Most online community members like recognition, [rightly so] either for the content contributed or for participation. Couple of ways to do that would be featured articles and featured users.

Empowering users ­ Democracy
Empowerment is a great form of recognition and by doing the needful on that count, as an owner, you manage to stay away from ruffling yourself with too many responsibilities. By empowerment, I refer to the minimal barriers that you put out for content acceptance. All generated content need not go through great levels of moderation or quality checks before being published. The motivation to contribute from the users end is highly dampened if they get spiked. Also if you shackle users with too many do's and dont's , you will have a lot of fire fighting to be done everyday as the service scales up. Democratize as much as possible. Let most things be decided on user votes and ratings.

Having a balance – So Much Democracy
In the nascent stages, many users come forward with their ideas – both functional and business. Some will always be more relevant than the others, the ‘others’ being the ones that do not align with your vision of the service. It is for the service owner to handle this embarrassment without stepping on toes. You do not want to paint yourself in a corner while asking for ideas, because when not implementing those bonafide suggestions, you are likely to come across ‘rude’ or ‘technically in­competent’ ­ both equally hurtful for your image.

Promoting Offline meets
Promoting local offline meets is also a way to create stronger bonds among the community members. Posting updates about such events on the site can enthuse users from other cities to initiate such activities.

It Ain't Easy [because if it is, then it ain't fun]
Does this need elaboration??....Neah; remember the community is very intelligent and can help make/break your business.

I hope you also enjoyed reading the article, just as I did.Thanks Nithya for sharing your thoughts with us Muziboo has been quite instrumental in all the aspects as a startup and has been covered a number of times in the press, you can find the articles here, here and here.

Other Guest Articles on Thoughtsprevail:
Ten steps to improve your E-commerce business
Financial Management for a Startup Firm

Ten easy steps to improve your eCommerce business

Close to a year back, we had our first guest article by Mr Ranjan on Financial Management for a Startup Firm and continuing this so called discontinued release cycle , we have our second guest blogger named Heather Johnson.So, now let us have a look at Heather's profile.

About Heather Johnson:
Heather Johnson is a freelance business, finance and economics writer, as well as a regular contributor at Business Credit Cards, a site for business credit cards and best business credit card offers. She contributes actively to their blog BootStrapper.Heather welcomes comments and freelancing job inquiries at her email address heatherjohnson2323@gmail.com
You can find few of her sample articles here,here and here

In this article, she would talk about ten easy steps to improve your eCommerce business and since they are easy, most of us tend to forget them , so let's have a look at them !!!

Ten easy steps to improve your eCommerce business:
As with any business, the feeling a customer walks away with after doing business online is crucial to the company’s success. Now more than ever, the customer’s experience, whether good or bad, travels far and wide in the eCommerce world. A good experience fosters positive word of mouth and valuable online customer reviews to attract future customers.

Here are some simple ways you can ensure you are providing excellent customer service and not losing any potential business:

1. Open the lines of communication
Have you ever searched forever to find a contact number or e-mail address of a company you’re doing business with online? It should never take more than a mouse click or a scroll down the page to find this information. Make it easy for the customer to locate this most basic information.

2. Confirm every order
Send a confirmation e-mail to your customer to alert them that their order is being processed. This alleviates concern that their order is lost in cyberspace along with their credit card information.

3. Stick to your guarantees
If you tell a customer their order will be delivered in three days make sure you follow through. Empty promises leave a bad taste in the customer’s mouth.

4. Anticipate customer questions
Create a FAQ section on your site. A comprehensive list will limit the amount of time a customer will use to find an answer to a potentially easy question.

5. Make it worth their while
Develop an incentive program. This could range from free shipping to coupons for future purchases.

6. Listen to your customers
The old adage, “the customer is always right,” should be heeded. If a customer has a suggestion, complaint or compliment , than listen to their message and apply it in future practice.

7. Properly train employees
A support staff is your front line and it’s imperative your employees are well trained and knowledgeable about your line of business.

8. Apply a personal touch
This will help set you apart from the pack. It could be as simple as providing free gift wrap.

9. Show you’re credible
Add photos or testimonials on your site to make your customers aware of the quality of your service.

10. Have a warm body on the phone
Customers don’t want to hear the same thing they’ve heard from every other company they’ve done business with. Have some personality and show an understanding of your customers’ needs.

I hope you enjoyed reading Heather's tips , just as I did and hoping to see more guest bloggers contributing to Thoughtsprevail

Financial Management for a Startup Firm

Few days back,I had mentioned about Guest Blogging and my first guest blogger is Ranjan.Now let us have a look at Ranjan's profile or should I say,this is how Ranjan describes himself

About Ranjan:
Ranjan is one of the older bloggers (He's 39) and brings more than 16 years of work experience in Insurance, Housing Finance and Investment industry with himself. He likes to post his thoughts on topics like Personal Finance and Business Management through his blog

Let us now look as to what does he have for us in store.But before that,let me answer the question "Why Ranjan?"

Why I approached Ranjan to write on Finance?
IMHO many of us are techie guys and we don't think much beyond technology.But when it comes to companies or ideas , finance also turns out to be a very important aspect,which is a black box to me and may be it would be the same to many of us.Hence,Ranjan was the right person to write on the same.

Ranjan has tried to showcase some of the points which should be considered by Entrepreneurs(at least first generation) while starting off...Interesting information...so let's jump to the crux of the article

(Note : "I" in the article refers to Ranjan)

Financial Management for a Startup Firm:

Is it important for a startup to understand corporate financial information, evaluate corporate financial performance and understand the language of accounting and finance?

I feel that the idea of a startup is a romantic and sexy one till you start the start up. Once you are confident of your idea and think it’s time to make it happen, it’s time to do some reality checks.

Let us ask the “bringing back to Earth” questions with a financial angle. In fact the business plan, Sales forecast, ROI, Break even analysis etc.

1. How much money is needed to launch the project? What are the short term working capital needs? Here you try to understand your capital requirements.
2. What return on investment can the business bring? This is the first question a VC would ask. You have to work on the ROI that your business can bring.
3. What could be the possible source of funds? Friends, relatives, VC or a Bank?
4. What are the projected Sales forecast and the likely expenses? You may do well to build a projected cash flow statement for the next 1-3 years.
5. When do you look to cover your initial costs? In other words, when do you break even?
6. Can you build a projected balance sheet for your business?

Difficult questions? Maybe yes, but if you are not prepared to answer them or face them, the startup may remain just a pipe dream.

If success was easy it would no longer be success. Admittedly, though finding the answers is not like rocket science, it looks entirely geeky to many of us.

There are no ready made answers. It follows after you are able to define your business, review your competitive environment and do a SWOT analysis for yourself.

And tools? Start with a pen and a paper, quickly graduate to Excel sheet or any other spreadsheet and you are on your way!! Getting started is all you need to worry about!! haven't we heard Goethe's couplet: Whatever you can do, or dream you can, begin it. Boldness has genius, power and magic in it.

Finally, thanks Ranjan for taking time off your busy schedule and contributing to this blog.I (Himanshu) hope you found this small piece of information informative , just as I did.

Can you guess the Logo?

I was tempted to put this post on my blog.Was just reading Digital Inspiration, where I came across an intersting website GuessTheLogo where you need to identify the real logo of the companies.

I got around 7(out of 10) answers correct at the first shot,which according to me was not so bad So, go ahead and try your luck.

Important Announcement:
I invite bloggers to come and blog on ThoughtsPrevail on their favourite topic(keeping in mind the theme of this blog).Since Finance is a very important aspect for Startups(and in each and every aspect of the organization),my first guest blogger had to be from the field of finance.He is Ranjan(not to confuse him with Amit Ranjan of Uzanto) who blogs here

I would introduce Ranjan in more brief in the upcoming posts on this blog.

(Note:Guest blogging is not an attempt to get more traffic or to earn money through this blog.It is just an attempt to touch upon diversified areas)