Why do you need a business coach?

“Really, coaching is simplicity. It's getting players to play better than they think that they can.” - Tom Landry

This is perhaps the reason most successful businessmen have Business Coaches. Even though there are significant differences between a start-up founder and an entrepreneur, they both require a strong personal drive to succeed. For which they need to differentiate themselves from the rest of the pack and continuously deliver stellar results regarding revenue and profit. But for some, the switch from being an employee to owning your own business is not an easy one.

The most important dilemma is how you stay afloat as a business owner. There comes the point when stagnation sets in and you need the extra motivation to move forward. In which case, who better to assist you than a business coach. From being your voice of reason when you are in dire need of a much-awaited ego check to helping expand your network, a business coach can assist you in defining your goals.

Being a business coach, I am often asked: "Why do we need a business coach when mentors and models are available at various forums?” If you’ve thought of hiring a business coach, but something still resonates at the back of your mind, here are some reasons to make this decision easier. 

1. Objectivity

An influential business coach will work with your administrative group to lend objectivity and improve your execution. Because even though a certain amount of enthusiasm is quite essential to businesses, leaders can sometimes be caught in planning and execution hence failing in delivering results.

2. Implementing Plans

All businesses need to outline a strategy and action plan to be successful. A business coach will help you understand how strategic planning works by stripping their business back. By working at a strategic level, both internally and externally, you will be able to shape your goals and implement plans to achieve them.

3. Accountability

A business coach challenges you to manage and build your goals while ensuring that your business continues towards achieving them. You can discuss everything you need to accomplish your goal with your coach. Since you will be held accountable for your actions, it will push you out of your comfort zone.

4. Roadmap to Success

For success, it takes smart business decisions, an informed collaboration, and authoritative guidance, the kind that comes from the right business coach. They assist you with the essential work necessary to uncover intrinsic values and beliefs you never knew you had, but cannot live without. Business coaches will take your business from where it is now to where you want it to be.

5. Emotional Support

Apart from helping your business succeed, a business coach will provide support by encouraging you and believing in you. With everything that goes around when work becomes hectic, your coach will be helping you take one step forward to success. When you are an entrepreneur, sometimes you have to put the needs of your clients ahead of your own. A business coach helps you prioritize your business without having to sacrifice other parts of your life, including your physical and mental health.

Running a business is not an easy task, especially not alone. Now that you know the significance of hiring a business coach in taking your business to the next level, don't wait and hire a coach who knows the industry inside-out.

Write to me at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. for coaching needs related to Business and Increasing personal productivity. Every month 2 lucky people get a free session with me. 

Dhirubhai Ambani, working as an attendant in a small petrol pump, used to go to The Taj to have a tea worth Rupees 20 while his colleagues would drink it at a nearby kiosk which would cost around 2 Rupees. When somebody asked him about why he drinks such an expensive tea, he replied that the tea is only as good as the one worth 2 Rupees available at the kiosks, but he pays extra 18 bucks to drink along with the people who have made it big in life, explore their mindset and duplicate them. Moreover, he wanted to have an experience to know what it feels like drinking a tea or having a breakfast at The Taj. He realized that it’s not about having big ideas, but about keeping the right mindset to become successful and ultimately make a significant impact in the world. Eventually, an ordinary young man without having a formal education built an empire named Reliance which was worth $6 billion (approximately 30,000 crore Rupees) at the time of his death in July 2002.

Out of my own experience of being an entrepreneur for so long and interviewing entrepreneurs who have made it big, I can undoubtedly say that becoming successful is 15% mechanics and 85% mindset. Some would argue that the percentage value is 5 and 95 respectively. Eventually, what these figures highlight is that how you perceive makes a huge impact on what you become. So, if one keeps the ambition to be successful and earn millions, then one needs to think, behave and act like them.

Working on the Law of Attraction

Besides working hard, millionaires train their mind to eliminate negativity from their subconscious by first releasing limiting beliefs about money like “money can’t buy happiness”, and “you’ve to have money to make money” etc. It’s about reprogramming the subconscious mind telling yourself “I’ve everything I need to create anything I want” or “I am feeling excited for I am buying a Mercedes-Benz with the help of persistent profit of 10 lakh Rupees every month”. The key here is to feel the feeling that you’ll have it when you really go to buy one German car or have profits of lakhs persistently over a period. Jim Carrey, the famous movie actor from Hollywood, carried a check of $10 million dated for Thanksgivings 1995. A few months before Thanksgivings the same year, he found out that he was going to make $10 million for acting in Dumb and Dumber.

When you write positive affirmations or read out loud in your mind about being a millionaire, it’s the energy or the frequency that you get aligned to which helps you attract people, the resources and the opportunities to be successful. You become what you believe you deserve because then that’s what you visualize and ultimately manifests it as your reality.

 Thinking out of the league

Elon Musk’s Tesla successfully landed the rocket after launching a satellite. But the point is somebody must have thought about it first considering how much money gets wasted when the rocket is made to crash in water bodies. Currently, Tesla is working on a project to building an electric car which will go 500 miles on a single charge, will be as luxurious as Bentley and perhaps can run as fast as Lamborghini. It’s these kinds of ideas that change the world as we know which brings enormous profits. Think about solving a problem which affects millions, say 10 million. Now, imagine a million of those try your service or a product, and you make a profit of one dollar a person for the solution you’ve provided to them. You know the math. If you want the results only a few people have achieved, then you need to think out of the box and execute your plans in a manner that generally people would not try.

 One distinguished habit that millionaires have is to invest in buying assets, and eventually selling them off when its value increments. As Robert Kiyosaki has very well defined in his best-selling book, Rich Dad Poor Dad, that "asset is anything that puts money in your pocket", even when you are asleep. Assets can be anything from a piece of Real Estate to a bond in Stock Exchange. For beginners, it is advised to start small from as low as buying shares worth Rupees 5000, and gradually invest more as you begin to make higher profits.

 Millionaires work on creating a process which keeps operating thereby helping them to leverage hundreds of employees doing a plethora of tasks for them, and eventually fetch billions of profit for them. Millionaires do not work themselves but lay down a process, hire people who can perform effectively, and manage them to take the best out of those.

 Giving up is not an option

Ultimately, no matter how smart you are, there is no substitute for hard work. Sachin Tendulkar kept playing for 22 years before making his dream come true to lift the World Cup for India. It’s all about dedicating every breath in your body to achieve what you desire. There’s a widespread belief in millionaires that if someone has enough passion and madness to pursue his dreams to the extent that a rational person can’t understand about what’s happening, then there is nothing that one cannot achieve.

 Be prepared to handle a lot of rejections and learn to use obstacles to your advantage. Successful entrepreneurs perceive challenge as an opportunity to improve for better and bring innovation in what they do. They don’t allow anyone to tell them that it’s impossible to achieve what they have been dreaming of. They think about the possible achievements they would earn if they work their guts out today inspiring them to reach their goal, and in due course, overcoming the challenge. And to perform well meeting high standards of professionalism, they keep their mind, body and soul aligned to the desired result.

 In the end, luck plays an essential part as well. However, it’s been famously quoted “The harder you work, the luckier you get. I believe that every individual invents or keep rediscovering himself/herself throughout the journey to success he/she embarks upon. It’s only those who, despite the multiple failures, do not give up but continue to tread eventually reaches the top and get to see the beautiful view.

Sarita Chauhan

  03 the turning point: Secret Diary of a Businesswoman

I was learning and growing in the corporate environment, both, mentally and financially, it seemed like my business aspiration took a back seat because I was enjoying my work.  I  entered the beautiful phase of marriage and then was blessed with a baby girl. So the personal life was also growing well with career. I took a maternity break of three months which was usual in most organisations at that time.

Since I completed more than 2 years in the organization, my promotion was due. However, during my maternity break, this came to me as a shock that my boss, who was demanding at work, didn’t promote me. I felt disappointed but was still optimistic. I made an effort to meet her during my break. On being asked why I am not promoted despite best efforts, she said, “You have just delivered a baby and for the next 6 months you will be going home early you know.” She also added that the HR Manager also feels that way. “Early” here means mostly an hour after office time. We were normally used to stay back for an average of 2.5 hours after office hours as a team. The thought in my head was 'When my pregnancy never affected my work, how my motherhood will impact my productivity'.  

More than a bump of not getting promoted, I was upset about the fact that the two women who made this decision were both mothers. I was offered a great salary hike to make up for it. I had seen a few cases where women were not given their dues just because they went through different phases of life. However, I never thought this can happen to me.

Today things might be much better for women, but back then it changed something in me. There is no connection between becoming a mother and productivity at work unless there are extreme situations.  I realized in a job the outcome of your efforts will always be controlled by someone else. It's when I decided to create my own identity rather than working for 9:00 to 9:00 thankless jobs.

While I was contemplating my next move to pursue a full-time Ph.d. Just after my farewell, I received an offer through a LinkedIn connection. It was for a Corporate Strategy role with a promising future and more autonomy. It got me excited and I joined one of the biggest Infrastructure Financing Company in India. I was clear in my head that if this one didn’t work out, I will quit my corporate career. I always followed a rule in life. Four Monday morning blues in a row means time to quit. Exactly the same happened. In eight months I started having Monday morning blues primary reason, a bullying boss. It’s so tragic often people in leading roles, fail to see their behavior patterns. 

Before quitting this time, I invested my time in deciding the right move. My business was already there in the back of my mind so I decided to sharpen my consulting skills along with learning more about Entrepreneurship landscape in India. I was working with founders and CEOs, which had offered me great exposure and awesome financial stability. Leaving it meant letting go of a financially secure future for myself and my family. But then I took a plunge to upskill myself with the entrepreneurial ecosystem and my calling as an entrepreneur, trainer, and advisor to SMEs. I joined NIESBUD, a government organization that provides training to entrepreneurs not only in India but also to more than 150 countries visiting its campus every year.

It was not easy to quit. A lot of people questioned this decision including close friends and family. My mother didn’t talk to me properly for many days. I was called insane to leave my job at a golden time. Amidst all this, my partner was by my side and always encouraged me to follow my instincts. Although maintaining sanity while hustling for work, parenting and a joint family was a bit of challenge, but I always enjoyed it as we had an equal stake in every aspect of life.

Before joining NIESBUD I had already worked in quite a few sectors like Education, Health, Development, Energy, Climate Change and Infrastructure financing. By virtue of working with leading Industry Associations of India, I had experienced work styles, lifestyles, strategic intent and influences of more than 100 biggest entrepreneurs and Businessmen of their time. It helped me perform at my best.

I left no stone unturned to exploit my skills at work, explore the best recourses and produce some great work at NIESBUD for more than three years.

How does it feel by talking to an old friend of yours from school, or an ex-colleague? How does it feel to receive a birthday wish over a call instead of getting a message on social media? There are intangible values and vivid feelings attached to sharing memories and discussing wellbeing over a call or talking face-to-face which cannot be enjoyed by texting. But how often do we do that? Technology advancement has brought people and information to be easily accessible; however, in that process, we have lost the essential human touch. The other day, I was sitting with my friend having dinner. We were having a good time, but suddenly, he picks out his phone and starts texting some person. After a minute, I also picked up my phone and started surfing the internet and exploring Facebook. It kept on going for about 10 minutes, and as we were squandering time on the phone, I wondered how it made me feel like and how our world would be like if we eliminate Digital from our lives.

Digitalization has certainly made our lives very comfortable and easy. With the snap of fingers, we get the desired stuff delivered at our doorsteps, instantly book tickets as well as analyze data for better research. But it has led us to gradually losing human interaction. The average time spent by a person on social media per day has increased from 45 minutes in 2007 to 90 minutes in 2012 to 135 minutes in 2017. Watching the trend, it’s easy to say that interpersonal communication face-to-face is only going to decline and subsequently the core values of being human are going to be disregarded, a couple of which are empathy and helping each other.

I love watching Deadliest Catch, a series by Discovery channel, and randomly select an episode from YouTube. One of the recent episodes I saw was about catching Alaskan crab fish. There was a thunderstorm in the sea, and while filming the activities of the ship, the cameraman in the boat caught an incident where a crew member of some other ship got splashed by a sea wave while he was securing the cages and got thrown into the chilling sea of Alaska. Everybody else in the boat also saw the mishap that occurred and without considering the cost, the risk involved and the fact that he was a team member of their competitor, they immediately rushed to the spot and rescued him. While watching the episode, I could see the tears out of happiness amongst everybody in the ship who felt immensely satisfied with a sense of fulfillment that they did something extraordinary. I’m sure they don’t get that kind of happiness or joy by receiving their paycheck.

All the clients, partners and employees in a business are people. So, if one cannot comprehend people, their desires and needs, then it’s difficult to understand how to go about doing the business. A company can be viewed as a group of people working together who share common values, vision and belief system. Being an entrepreneur, what I have learned regarding human interaction is that till the time you do not talk to your investor or customer with the spirit of giving or support, they are not going to buy in your idea or product. It’s the way you share your concept and vision which needs to be more about them so that they can be more receptive. I’m sure you remember the Dhara commercial having an angry little kid exclaiming scrumptiously with joy, “Jalebi!!” Best advertisements do not boast about the product but touch raw emotions of consumers highlighting their needs in front of their eyes and reaching to the core of what drives them.

In today’s highly competitive scenario, we have been dragged into a world of selfishness. Further, the situation is aggravated by self-help industry which gets us excited about the prospect of how we can be happy, healthy or a millionaire. What about resolving someone’s issue next to you to make him happy, helping your friend lose weight or guiding someone towards a career best suited for him/her? You can be proud of the things you do at work and perhaps be excited about the upcoming promotion due to a big success you had recently. But when you help your colleague at work, you get fulfillment, and that’s the only way to feel satisfied to the core. It’s not a surprise why statistics say that 90% of people do not get fulfilled with the work they do. It’s not because of the pay, the type of work or benefits; it’s because we do not help each other anymore. We only turn towards someone when we need a favor, but still, we don’t put ourselves out there for no other reason but to merely help somebody else.

People always remember how you made them feel and regard you well if you have been respectful to them. Mr. APJ Abdul Kalam, the former president of India, shares such incident during the time of the launch of India’s first Satellite Launch Vehicle in August 1979 for which he was the project manager. The computer, before few minutes from the launch, detected a leakage in the rocket. However, Mr. Kalam, after discussing with his experts, manually launched the Vehicle and after a few minutes, the rocket crashed into the Bay of Bengal. It was a colossal failure, but Mr. Satish Dhawan, the then chairman of ISRO, took the complete responsibility on himself, protected Mr. Kalam from the blame and answered all the questions of media by himself along with ensuring the country that they will be ready again by the next year. One can only imagine how relieved, yet inspired Mr. Kalam would have felt that time which is evident from the fact that he was ready with the Launch Vehicle again by the next year and successfully put it into the Space orbit. However, this time, Mr. Dhawan asked Mr. Kalam to handle the press conference and credited the entire success to his name. That’s what generosity and altruism are all about. It’s when you share an idea or offer help without expecting anything in return, people will start liking and following you which is where trust emerges, and cooperation evolves.

While looking for a like-minded business partner, investor or manager for a senior position, interpersonal communication becomes critical. We can apprise them about who we are and receive cues from them about their roots making it easy for us to set mutual goals and come up with a common agenda to work upon. It further helps to establish whether we share similar values and beliefs, which enables us to cement the feeling of trust among each other. And it’s a remarkable and incredible feeling to work with people to whom we trust. It’s only when the magic happens!

The title of this article has been picked from Dr Shankar Goenka, an associate from past work. He said always remember “People work with People”, touched my heart 5 years ago and stayed with me ever since.

02 the instinct: Secret diary of a Businesswoman

  After completing my Bachelors in Business Economics, I went on to pursue my Masters in Business Economics if you are wondering why I never went for an MBA is because I had no intent to be a manager but to have knowledge of how business, economics, and global trade works. Through the course, I wanted to gain insights into the economics of the business, tricks of the trade, and global business policies. Business Economics opened my mind towards global organizations which facilitate industries and businesses. While completing my MBE I wanted to start a small business and had a business plan in mind, all that was left to do was set it in motion which is when I decided to share the idea with my parents.

Since my father has served in the army, he is quite practical when it comes to making decisions. This is why it was understandable when he sat me down and explained to me that if I got married in any other city, I might have to shut down my business and restart it. It was a time where we still worked on computers, had physical office spaces and not very mobile and tech-driven world. Even after explaining my side of the story, my parents, though understanding, were not ready to let me go ahead with my decision. To show that they understood where I was coming from, they insisted that I take up a job I like or go for higher education, Ph.D. to be precise. When I consulted some of my professors I truly admired, they also said, I should gain more corporate experience before starting the business. I was having zero knowledge about the start-up support system at that point in time. All I had was myself with my idea and aspirations.

For keeping things simpler, I first thought of doing a Ph.D. and working on my idea and research. When I visited this particular University for Ph.D. I didn’t much like ongoing conversations among the group of people I interacted with. It seemed like they were all forced to do stuff they didn’t like by their guides and University mandates. One of them in fact candidly said, “why don’t you teach and do a Ph.D. later” so I decided to become a lecturer and take up my plan side by side. While I started my career as a junior faculty in one of the leading Universities in India, my heart broke the moment I saw the ground realities, expectations, and behavior of senior most people there. I literally ran away in 8 months from an academic role which was less academic and more sales. Luckily I received an opportunity with CII and immediately took it up. This job helped me in building my confidence and see things in a larger perspective. I was able to implement what I had learned during my course, and in turn, gain a lot of experience working in a corporate environment. There was no looking back after it. Although I changed 6 jobs in 8 years (will tell that story later J). There was always a sense of security and happiness that my work brought me, In 8 years of working with the organizations like CII, FICCI, Srei Infrastructure Finance, I became financially strong, enjoyed the good position and acquired great inspiration from who’s who of the business world.

And never for a moment have I regretted the decision of taking the job because I loved being a part of the workplace. The way I see it, working with a multitude of companies has helped me become a leader and a human being. From some bosses, I acquired more knowledge, and learned to be more organized and from some, what not to be. Some of the things that have made me an entrepreneur, I have learned through my career and various experiences in the workplace. And believe me when I say, walking away from a promising, steady opportunity so you can venture on your own may seem scary at first, but it is a risk worth taking at any point in life. Despite a great career getting great opportunities and finding more wisdom, I never enjoyed working for others. What I didn’t realize that time was that it had to do with my own entrepreneurial streaks and mindset rather than any other challenge I would have felt that time.

Today if I reflect back, it would have been much better to start when I was 20. At the same time, I wouldn’t have developed the resilience to failures and ups and downs which came with the package of the corporate career. Will tell you about the turning point and my experience with Govt.  which helped me find my calling… next time.

Running a business is not just about doing commerce, but it’s a choice of a lifestyle - how one lives, behaves, thinks or manages. These choices are to be made at every moment of the journey which one embarks upon while starting a business. Money is something that’s required for an entrepreneur to remain on the course. Therefore, it’s not surprising to see that 90% of start-ups fail and shut down in the first five years due to the high operating cost which is not met by marginally low profits.

Skipping rest of the facts and cutting a long story short, only 2.5% of businesses succeed in making it big in today's scenario of advanced technology. You will be fooling yourself if you think that these businesses never had a major financial challenge. From my experience, I believe that one of the significant and critical reasons for business failure is poor management during a financial crisis and not the crisis itself. Through this article, I want to share key insights that I have learned throughout my journey of establishing my venture on how to overcome financial challenges in your business and spare you from closing your eyes on your dream.

Focus on the solution

It is imperative being an entrepreneur to stay focused on finding the solutions rather than wasting time in cribbing about the challenges. Before you even start working on the management, keep your head straight and stabilize your mind. Remember, it’s okay to have such a crisis, but it’s not correct if you try to resolve a critical situation with a negative mind-set. It’s only with the positive attitude that you will look for possibilities of different solutions and eventually get one.

Get rid of non-essential assets

The financial crisis in the business is the time to be the most practical. Make a list of all the valuables including obsolete/old machinery, property and anything that is not integral to running your business which you can sell and have a cash inflow. It’s best advised to pre-close your FD, terminate SIPs and sell your short-term investments for quick liquidation. You can then use the money to carry out your operations.

Tone it down for a better plan

In the midst of chaos surrounding the financial crisis, it is suggested that you slow down the pace of your business. It does not mean that you halt your trading or manufacturing but take one thing at a time and assess where you can improve. So, you will have enough time wherein you might come up with a high potential idea that can completely change your business. Of course, you will require finances to implement the new plan. But you can always pitch in the idea to an angel investor or a bank, and if they believe in your vision, you can surely bail out of your current situation. Toning down the pace is also beneficial because then as a director or proprietor of the company, you can analyze immediate future concerns and plan out accordingly with a broader vision.

Exploring other financial avenues

There are many short-term loans available from the banks as a means of acquiring quick cash with the negligible interest rate. These facilities include taking an Overdraft for a short period (1-3 months) on the credit limit allowing you to draw more cash than you have and payback in said time when the situation is stable.

Make redundancy if needed

As an entrepreneur who has seen enough hardships in her journey, I understand that sometimes running a business becomes all about staying in the market anyhow. And during the time of financial challenge, one way to cut down your expenses significantly to sustain your business is to make redundancies. Though it may sound unfortunate, it eventually helps. However, I would rather suggest using this strategy as one of the last resorts to save the company when it’s absolutely unavoidable.

Take an expert advice

Do not shy away or take it on your ego from asking help from a friend or a professional who has expertise in the field of financial management. They will often come up with a unique way of implementing a strategy or find a novel solution which you could not have thought. Never leave it too late for consulting an expert because every solution has its spectrum of dealing with problems. If things are messed up enough, then I'm afraid no solution might work.

Having a proactive approach

If you have been able to overcome your financial strains, it does not mean that the crisis will not hit you again. Be proactive and take out a decent portion of your profit in buying assets like profitable properties or invest in a venture so that you can liquidate money by selling those assets or have a constant influx of money as a profit share from the venture. Please consult with professionals before putting in your hard-earned money anywhere.

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Stay Amazing ....

01 the beginning: Secret Diary of a Businesswoman

 This dates back to even before my business journey started, probably when I wanted to become an entrepreneur. My age was 20 years then, after asking my father and professors a couple of times; for starting a business and getting the same answers "to get into corporates for exposure and then settle down and then think about it once I am stable". A lot was on my mind and in my heart about being a  businesswoman. This diary was a product of the monologues and inner self-reflection. I will be sharing my diary with you in the form of a series here and a book is into making. Here is a peek into the initial reflection.......

When we are asked to describe the stereotypical entrepreneur, most of us would use the words-passionate, optimistic, decision-making, and so many others.

When I think of these words, I am immediately drawn to these words since they don’t just resonate with me but with most of the women out there. Regardless of what I believe in, I’m sure that one can’t ignore the fact that women are more inclined towards passion, optimism, and perseverance. Although these qualities are not enough to label women as entrepreneurs, there are so many which are more than enough to accept that a woman is born with it. It is not highlighted the way it should be due to biases in our system.

From the moment I can remember, I have been able to keep my grades up while managing to help my mother with the household chores. As I was growing up, I thought maybe this skill is something that I’ve inherited from my mother. When she worked, it was magical, almost robotically, she would juggle between taking care of my siblings and me, helping us with our homework, and supporting my father. And in between all of this, she still found the time to manage her responsibilities as a daughter.  Looking at my mother and other women, I realized that women all over the world, from the moment they are born, are excellent at multitasking. And I have used this to my advantage.   At work, I find it easy to manage two or more tasks (but not a lot of them) and still be on top of them.

There are times when children get into arguments with each other which is when she needs to bring out my nurturing side without it seeming as though I were taking sides. In those moments, I believe it is this quality that has allowed me to be fair and just in making decisions in the workplace too. At home, I have to make so many choices keeping in mind everything that could affect the outcome. And not to mention, the time constraints or the limited resources that I have to make do with. This allows me to find alternatives to solutions sometime. It has also made me a better leader, from being able to prioritize the tasks at hand to be confident in my decisions. Being able to set all my priorities straight, and being able to balance both my personal and professional life has been a crucial step in life. One thing that I have learnt as a woman and as a kid of an army man is to always put in my best efforts into anything I do whether it is home or office. To ensure that I can succeed tomorrow s an entrepreneur, I have to be ready to face any challenges that come my way. I would advise women to do the same- instead of chasing after perfection, try to put quality efforts in your tasks.

So, if you happen to come across a woman who has dreams but has let self-doubt creep in, tell her she’s got almost everything she needs to be an entrepreneur covered. Tell her that she has spent so long trying to bring about a positive change in her personal life, she should now use her skills to create a difference in the world.

The excerpts are from my upcoming book "Secret Diary of a Businesswoman". 

Entrepreneurs, whether while starting up a new business or expanding their existing business, like to, want to or have to work with people, associates, and friends or with someone whose business sense they can trust. The reason is simple, that is, to mutually leverage each other’s ideas, style of work, skills, mindset and time with cooperation and teamwork. It is essential that we understand that making associations with a right set of people bring security, and stability; however, a partnership, if done with a wrong person, can prove to be disastrous to the extent that you might eventually have to sell or shut down your business.

 When I look back at my journey of being an entrepreneur, the one major factor that has always played in my mind while associating with someone has been the trust. I ask myself whether I can trust him/her with my millions or not. If there’s even an element of doubt, I do not proceed further with the partnership deal. After you answer the above question as “yes”, the only primary concern which is left is how to make the partnership work for you and the other one. Through this article, I would like to share a few means by which you can create a win-win situation in your business partnerships and make it work for both of you.

Seek common objectives and work towards them

Find a ground of commonality where you both want to work. Be honest about your requirements and put it on the table. And make sure that your potential partner does the same. It will help you visualize clearly about the common goals for which you both can work. It will also be beneficial in setting up the right tone from the onset as you both will come to know about each other’s weaknesses. Then, look into the prospect of whether the partnership boosts yours and your partner’s vision. The partnership will work best when shared values are met with passion and excitement.

 Setting up mutual benefits

It might sound obvious, but common objectives need to reap mutual benefits as well. Otherwise, there’s no point making a joint strategic plan. These expectations need to be put forward explicitly so that your potential partner can know what kind of deal he is getting into.

 Building a similar working style

There is something I have learned being an entrepreneur over the years which is that we are always small adjustment away in reaping much better results. Making a minor adjustment without sacrificing your core culture is very critical in framing a working style which is more or less similar to the potential partner’s working style. When you come up with similar work ethics through negotiations, it brings out mutual cooperation as well as sends signal to your partner that you’re ready to work with him and accept him as your partner. You will get the same signs from him as well.

 Agree to disagree

I have often seen that people get into strategic partnerships because they do not value their brand and often lose posture in the deal and subsequently in the business relationship. Remember, we all are humans and can have our disagreements over an important issue. That’s the time when you need to make a call whether to compromise or walk away from the partnership. Nobody is robbing someone by disagreeing. If the matter is substantial enough that it does not seem viable to work further together, then it’s better to end the partnership than force yourself into something which is not working.

 Protect yourself being in partnerships

A major lesson that I have learned over the years is that in business, nobody is your real friend but you. I have seen real blood betraying each other over the issue of sharing profits and other benefits. So, always document whatever the deal is and bind the agreement legally protecting yourself from potential theft and providing some flexibility for yourself as well as your potential partner to exit the partnership if necessary.

If you have any feedback, feel free to write at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. 

www.saritachauhan.com 

The power of innovation

In the past two decades, startups with innovative ideas and daring business models have perceptually reformed industries. Almost every successful startup in recent years which had its valuation crossed $1 billion had innovation in the core of its business model. Uber disrupted a century old taxi industry, which had seen little reform for the past 70 years, by bringing advanced mobile application, robust GPS technology and using Google maps. It was an innovative idea to use the mobile app as a hailing signal and having the cab to doorsteps for pickup which promoted customer satisfaction and spared them from getting an overpriced, sluggish and inconvenient service which seemed to be unavailable when needed the most. Starting as a small company offering black luxury car service to only high-end users, Uber achieved a valuation over $70 billion in just nine years of its entrepreneurial journey and is operating in over 650 cities worldwide in 81 countries with more than 50 million user base.

The first step towards being innovative for every entrepreneur is to eliminate self-doubt and believe in his/her creativity because it’s the creative ideas which will lead to innovation and subsequently a unique business model to thrive. Apple, Microsoft, mobile phones, SpaceX, Tesla and Facebook etc. were all ideas at some point of time; however, it was not just one idea that helped the owners/founders to survive but their willingness to engage in the concept and work on it to implement it on the ground. They believed in their innovative idea and kept pursuing their goal even if challenges occur. 

The first rocket (Falcon 1) tested by SpaceX in 2006 exploded 33 seconds after its launch and the second one too in 2007 shut down before reaching the orbit and blew. The third rocket was also a failure as it spun out of its orbit in the space which nearly caused the company to shut down. Elon Musk had just enough money to launch one more rocket; however, as he believed in his vision, he decided to put the money. On 28th September 2008, the 4th Falcon 1 Rocket was successfully launched and completed its orbit of the Earth becoming the first privately funded and developed liquid fuel rocket to do so. The rocket was 20 times cheaper than that used by NASA. In December 2008, SpaceX gained a contract from NASA worth $1.6 billion to transport cargo to the international space station.

A research study conducted at Harvard University indicated that only one-third of our capability to think creatively is related to genetics. Rest of the two-thirds of the innovative skill is acquired through learning, practising and experimenting. A successful entrepreneur undergoes the same process utilising the combination of listening, observing, ideating and then testing to bring forth his/her ideas.

Elon Musk, the founder of Space X, has a dream to provide a space trip to Mars and eventually colonise Mars as preparation if any environmental crisis occurs on Earth. Space X, working on multiple innovative ideas, in 2011 publicly announced Reusable Launch System Development Program which would involve developing such launch vehicles which could be reused and instead of crashing them into water bodies, they would be landed safely on land. After a few failed attempts, SpaceX achieved a successful landing and recovery of a first stage in December 2015. It will make a space trip to Mars cheaper than it is expected. In March 2017, SpaceX used the same rocket and landed it correctly on a small vessel in the middle of the ocean. As NASA plans to use the same technology, it would save a lot of taxpayers’ money in forthcoming space projects.

One thing is clear going through success stories of billionaire entrepreneurs that mostly, innovators do not get the desired result on the first attempt; however, they learn from their mistakes until their product is widely received. Instagram founder, Kevin Systrom, initially made a geo-location app which enjoyed little market success. He quickly realised the importance to adapt to meet customer’s preferences at which point he took a different path and built a social media app which uses photographs and videos to connect.

Sometimes, an innovative approach is required to sell the product better through unique marketing strategy. Coca-cola, invented by a pharmacist, John Pemberton, was developed as a medicine to treat morphine addiction, indigestion and headaches which failed in the market. When Asa Candler, a businessman, bought the company, he used different marketing tactics presenting Coca-Cola as a beverage and not a medicinal product. He also modified the original product which had 9 mg of cocaine per glass to the one having trace levels of cocaine extract. The company started making significant profits by the end of 19th century and became the dominant force in beverage industry by the end of the first decade of 20th century.

One needs to be creatively intelligent to invent a new approach to manufacture a product or market the same product differently for better results. And it’s not something that people are born with. One needs to be constantly aware of the global problems and take into consideration to how the production of waste can be minimised. One of the most significant tools to start thinking about an innovative product is the market research using predictive and meaningful data analysis so that consumer patterns, their needs and their grievances or other issues can be explored. Keeping an eye on what kind of developments are happening globally and what type of business models are thriving, you can come up with a novel solution that meets the requirements of your targeted consumers in the research you conducted. Be prepared for multiple failures. Few of the options will flop entirely; whereas others might require improvement. Innovation is a perpetual learning process and teaching the culture of change into your company is so much more than just believing in it or thinking about a novel idea.

In life, in the job or as an entrepreneur, we are usually not subjected to such scenarios where we panic or get frightened by a situation to death; however, we deal with a certain type of fear that we develop gradually based on our experience and future projections. The fear that I am addressing is the fear of failure. It slowly evolves as a set of demeaning pensive thoughts that we keep running in our minds ceaselessly which leads to self-doubt stalling our progress.

 I concur in the opinion of many successful entrepreneurs that failures are nothing but the stepping stones to climb up the stairs of success. In fact, a lot of them believe that there’s no such thing called as a failure. Robert Kiyosaki aptly puts into perspective saying “sometimes we win, sometimes we learn.” But, here’s some addition I want to make. Failure is something which does not exist, but the fear of failure is real. It breeds in our brain, prevails in our minds and manifests into something which is unbecoming of us. Today, I want you to know that there is a way to overcome this fear, which is, by facing it fiercely. This article describes a few strategies on how you can look into the eyes of fear and face them no matter what your circumstances are.

1. Have a right attitude

You cannot always take control of the results; however, you can always handle your emotions and take charge of your attitude. Ninety-five percent of a battle is won if you keep showing up every day with a right attitude. Tune your mind with optimism and positivity as you constantly deal with negativity and challenges.

2. Learn to respond well

Being an entrepreneur is all about facing new challenges almost every other day. It’s up to you how you respond to the situation. You can choose whether to waste time in cribbing and howling when life knocks you down or get up after taking a hard hit and try to explore an opening where you can seize the opportunity, punch back and win the game for yourself!

3. Broaden your vision

A failure affects the most to someone who regards everyday events as his eventual goal. If you start considering every project as a means to achieve something larger, any unsuccessful attempt won’t matter to you because you would know that the only failure in life is not reaching that eventual goal; everything else becomes a learning experience. So, the more you fail, the more you learn and eventually the faster you succeed.

4. Never quit too early

Consider your unflattering results as preparation for success. As they say “when you get in line, you got to stay in line”. Out of my personal experience, I can share this that if you’re persistent enough, desired results are bound to happen one day or the other. Do not give up on your dream too soon.

5. Build character, build competency

Everybody desires success, but it will only come to you if you are capable enough to handle it, or I may say if you can handle rejections before you taste success. Remember, there are 7 billion people out there; somebody somewhere is waiting to say yes to your proposal. You will save a lot of time and effort if you start focusing on the solution rather than the problem itself. Ask yourself, is your fear of failure bigger than your desire to succeed; and then let your mind self-motivate you. As you fail, keep developing new competencies in your work. Subsequently, you will become confident enough to handle any situation on any given day. You need to change the story that you keep telling yourself from “Why I can’t have it” to “I am going to have it”.

6. Your past does not predict future

One key reason why we, as entrepreneurs, fear to take any step forward at any point in our career is due to being under the influence of our unpleasant past experiences. What we forget to realize is that we have grown a bit from what we were yesterday. If you’ve learned from the mistake, then you would most probably improve your performance. Having failed in an attempt is also a result; at least it tells you that a thing cannot be done in a particular manner. Thomas Edison learned a thousand ways how not to make a bulb before actually making one!