Why giant retailers wouldn't affect local kiranas

Organised retail vs Local kiranas

      Many believe as the giant corps come into India after the govt has allowed FDI in retail, the local stores will be affected, some believe this would bring money and growth and employment, and some believe it would kill millions of shop owners. even politicians like Mamata Banerjee and Nitish kumar have opposed the idea and claimed they wouldn't allow this in their states. However, when I was in USA, I visited WAL-MART and Target stores, moreover I did some research in order to get a clear picture of how much would this affect INDIAN market, surprisingly, I don't think it's really gonna affect anyone apart from the organised retailers currently working in Indian cities. 

        Let's take a look at some of the pointers on why FDI in retal wouldn't affect India as hyped.

• Demographic of  India: Unlike US and UK, in India, language, food, clothes, traditions change after every 50 kms, if Walmart opens store every where, managing the inventory will be a big big issue as they won't be able to turnover the stock as they do in US, this may decrease profitability. In US they have stores away from the city and consumers buy in bulk and store for rest of the week or month, but in India, not many have the combination of time, motivation and vehicle. 
• Indian consumers: Local shop owners have given us some outstanding service over the years. If I need bread and eggs and milk at 7am, the shop owner will send a Chotu who will come running and deliver the goods something Walmart wouldn't be able to do ever and something we can't do without.
• Other countries: in countries like Brazil and China, walmarts have done successful business over the years because they haven't really had the concept of local kiranas, they either run community centres or grow themselves. Moreover they have enough space to allow 1 lack sq feet of walmart something that India doesn't have. China is larger than India in terms of space but has equal population thus density is low allowing land space. Brazil too is as big as India in terms of land but population in one sixth to that of India. Here they will get such land only in  outskirts. Now if I am living in salt lake and need some stuffs for home, I wouldn't travel all the way to Walmart to buy it, the cost may be cheaper there but my fuel expense will cover it all.
• Bleeding organised retails in India: India have had organised retail for over a decade now but when we look at the figures, it's not really tempting to invest here. Birlas run "More" stores all over India and has posted net loss of 423 crores last year. Reliance fresh made net loss of 247 crores. Bharti enterprise posted net loss of 260 crores. Subhiksha who at one time had over 12000 stores in India has shut down operations. Once these giant corporations come in, these Indian retailers shall sell equity and make some money using their expertise. 
• Supply chain: as mentioned earlier, India has diversified population, a product may sell in some part but may not sell in the neighbouring state. Moreover some states may not even allow them to setup stores so again this would affect the supply chain of the stores and managing inventory will be a really difficult task.

      So what's the end picture? Well, according to me, the small kiranas who know their customers by name now will eventually modernise and create databases, and there maybe a time when these giant corps may end up buying the small stores to increase their presence all over the country. It's happening for real in UK where Tesco has bought small stores and is running in different formats of retail like : supermarket , convenience stores and street corner stores. Similarly we may see the same scenario here in near future. These giant corps will have to make their own space in terms of consumers and land. This will certainly take time. So I don't really think allowing them will really have a bad effect in Indian retail market. As they wouldn't go about setting up stores in every locality.

Cheers,

Akash Poddar 

Hiring for startup

         Here’s something funny about first-time entrepreneurs. Even though they dream about making all the big decisions as boss of their own enterprise, when the time comes to recruit first teammates, they compromise. It’s true. Instead of seeking out a fabulous fit for their organization, they settle for the first person who “is available” and expresses enthusiasm for the startup mission.

The reason why startup entrepreneurs have a difficult time finding good people is they don’t try that hard.

Here are five considerations to help you hire the employee of your dreams.

1. Hire desired skills. Startup entrepreneurs are prone to hire an unqualified employee because the job candidate claims to be a “fast learner.” This kind of enthusiasm may work for larger companies with extensive training resources, but not for budget-starved startups.

Employees who are asked to do something they’ve never done before are likely to make beginner’s mistakes that will cost your company precious capital and time. The best way to avoid avoidable problems is to hire employees who have already “been there and done that.”

If, for example, your company needs proposal writing assistance for a Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) government grant, don’t just hire any kind of writer to do this important work. Search for a grant writer who has prepared several SBIR proposals in recent years. Then, favor applicants whose proposals turned into grant awards. I’d always rather pay more to people who know what they are doing, than less to people who don’t.

2. Hire relevant experience. Desired work experience should be defined not in terms of years, but rather in terms of specific work achievements. Just because a biochemist has, for example, 10 years of work experience doesn’t mean that the previous work accomplishments line up well with your company’s operating needs.

Another way to define work experience is in terms of work environment. A marketing manager who managed promotion campaigns for a well-established, big-budget corporation may flounder when asked to conceive and implement promotional campaigns for a cash-poor startup. As you review candidates, pay attention to work histories in which applicants were required to perform with little managerial supervision and team assistance. I also like to hire compulsive organizers who are happy to create systems for an emerging enterprise.

3. Hire competitive drive. Let’s face it — all startups have to compete aggressively for customers. So doesn’t it make sense to hire employees who thrive in a competitive work environment? Great startup employees embrace competitive challenges, hate losing clients to competitors and are highly motivated to exceed work goals. During interviews with prospective employees, ask about sports interests and other personal and professional activities that involve achievement under pressure. Prospective employees who dislike fast-paced competition probably won’t be happy working for your new company.

4. Hire persistence. With hiring criteria that emphasize competitive drive, should entrepreneurs favor job applicants who say they “have a long history of winning” in everything they set out to do? Not necessarily. Great startup employees adapt well to shifting priorities and don’t get easily discouraged from unexpected setbacks. Ask prospective employees how they handled career disappointments. Also, invest extra time into talking with prior bosses about a job candidate’s ability to manage frustration in a work setting. Simply stated, all startups need determined problem-solvers, not toxic finger-pointers.

5. Test performance. I’m a fan of long probation periods for recent hires in small businesses. If a new employee doesn’t fit in with the company rhythm or perform well during the first few months on the job, don’t delay in discussing your dissatisfaction. Another low-risk way to test prospective employee abilities is to create a project that can be completed as an independent contractor.

Here’s one last tip. I find that the most productive way to quickly sort through resumes, online or offline, is to have your written job criteria list on hand. If a candidate doesn’t meet your top three criteria for experience and expertise, then discard the person’s resume and move on. Hiring decisions are easy. It all comes down to this: If your game is football, don’t hire (and pay top cash for) the trophy-winning polo player.

Cheers

Akash Poddar

Family Business

Bridging the Gen Gap.. Its possible :)

         Family Businesses has a major contribution to the Indian Economy, apart from startups, family businesses enhances employment much more than the MNCs and giant corps does. There was a time when family business was labelled as "certain community idea" but things have changed now but challenges remain the same. I myself have been involved in my family's manufacturing business for quiet some time now and i have been facing quiet a few challenges which em sure most of you face as well. We cant blame the elders {father, uncle, grandfather} for their way of running business, because they have started it and are running it for decades, but now as we are taking up, there are certain changes in the work which we like to bring but is often not well taken by the elders, lets highlight some of the solutions to such problems which i have used myself and is really effective.

• Use external source: By this i mean try and bring letters or articles from newspapers or magazines or websites or blogs{like mine :-)} to show them the authenticity of the idea. Convincing them that such plan has been implemented somewhere and is successful will add a big push.
• Write down your idea: Instead of discussing it verbally, which may also lead to arguments, if you present the idea in paper using diagram or facts, it will make them hard to ignore what you have in mind. Plus it will also give them time to consider your contribution.
• Ask for your control: If there is a part or department at work where you think you can make a major contribution, ask for full authority. This will automatically make the elders focus more on that particular department and they will surely boost your morale.
• Fix a transition plan: Don't feel shy to talk to elders to make a transition plan (a plan that focuses on who will take over what). Indian children aren't very comfortable talking about it, but if there is not a proper transition plan, business may fall later and may often lead to courts.
• Focus on the chair: There are many people particularly in Indian businesses who have their eyes on the business and they will be willing to find loopholes so that they can take advantage of even a minor error, the business belongs to you, treat it like your baby and protect it, if you let loose now, in the long run it will kick your rear back.

    You may not always get full support, there will be times when your ego may get hurt but you have to be strong enough and get your work done. Every father will be proud of you once you show them the results, plus that director's remuneration package adds to your celebration :)

Cheers

Akash Poddar

Smart reads for entrepreneurs

Books for start ups

          Hello everyone, this isn't a blog actually,  this post has some names of books you all should read that will motivate you and keep you going to work at your start up phase. Start up is a difficult period and requires great attention and dedication its like having a new baby. So here is a list of some books you all should read:

• "Learn to program" by Chris Pine
• "Start something that matters" by  Blake Mycoskie
• "Vital Voices: The Power of Women Leading Change Around the World " by Alyse Nelson
• "War of Art: Winning the Inner Creative Battle" by Steven Pressfield
• "The Art of the Start: The Time-Tested, Battle-Hardened Guide for Anyone Starting Anything"
  by Guy Kawasaki
• "The Dream: How I Learned the Risks and Rewards of Entrepreneurship and Made Millions"
  by Gurbaksh Chahal
• "Small Giants: Companies That Choose to Be Great Instead of Big" by Bo Burlingham
• "The New Business Road Test: What entrepreneurs and executives should do before writing a business plan" by John Mullins

Apart from these some from my personal collections that you all can read are biographies of business leaders like Steve Jobs, Richard Branson, Dhirubhai Ambani. And if you are quiet young and wanna be an entrepreneur, go for "MBA at 16" by Subroto Bagchi its a fun read.

So, enjoy your life, keep reading, stay updated.

Cheers

Akash Poddar

5 misconceptions on being an Entrepreneur

5 misconceptions on being an Entrepreneur

          Hello everyone, hope you all doing good in life. This blog is about some myths people carry abouut being an entrepreneur, so lets focus on this and change their attitudes. If you’re looking for a feel good post about why you should quit your secure 9 to 5 job and become an entrepreneur, this is not the post for you. Being an entrepreneur is great and I wouldn’t trade it for a desk job, but there are some things aspiring (or existing) entrepreneurs should know.

1. You’re going to be insanely successful. You are not the next Mark Zuckerberg. Sorry, you’re not and I’m not.:( If you have the idea that you’re going to sit down and create the next Facebook and be worth billions of dollars in seven to 10 years, it’s not going to happen. Am I saying it’s not good to dream big? No. I’m saying there is only one Facebook or Apple and only one Mark Zuckerberg or Steve Jobs in this world.
2. Entrepreneurs have a very flexible work schedule. They can work three to four hours a day and have plenty of time to fool around!. I know I’m not alone when I say that entrepreneurs don’t have the luxury of ending our workday abruptly at 5pm. When you own your own company or work for someone who does, you have to put in the extra hours and the extra effort to make things happen. If you aren’t ready to work some pretty long days, you probably aren’t cut out for being an entrepreneur.
3. Entrepreneurs can take off when they want — after all, you’re the boss, right? Remember all those times you used to be able to party on random nights of the week or just take off for a weekend with your friends? Not if you want to keep your business afloat the first year (or two, three, four, etc). Now I’m not saying you won’t ever get time off, but most entrepreneurs live, eat and breathe their businesses after all its their money at stake and a lot of times partying gets pushed to the wayside. What’s more important: Playing poker with college buddies or generating income so you can pay bills the next couple months?
4.  Working from home means you’ll have more time for your relationship, your pets, taking care of your home, etc. Wrong! Because you work from home, it’s like you live in this constant state of never finishing anything. You start cleaning the dishes and then think of a great idea or feature for your company. Instead of taking your significant other out to a nice meal, you ask to get drive through so you can get back to work quicker. No venture can be ever taken for granted. A venture is like having a baby, its a 24/7 job as client calls or a baby in this example
5.  Everyone wants to have your job. I’m guessing it’s because people genuinely don’t love their jobs, but they think you have this perfect setup where you get to work and play all day long. I always hear things like “At least you don’t have to deal with a commute” or “I have so many worthless meetings and calls, you’re lucky”. It may seem like a cakewalk, but the truth is the struggle is always onn

For all the starving entrepreneurs out there, keep fighting the good fight. We’re all doing things we love and enjoy, and that’s what matters. I may not be building the next Facebook, but I am excited about controlling my own destiny and knowing the harder I work, the bigger i make

Cheers

Akash Poddar

How to excel in Art of Net-Working

            Ok first of all i am sorry for the late post have been travelling a lot with 2 big family functions in radar recently and thus couldn't concentrate on posting, i have been getting your comments and emails and it inspires me more and more. Now, as far as this post is concerned, "Net-Working isn't working on the Net" LOL :P Networking is something every entrepreneur has to be very good at, it is one of the most most important criteria to excel in business. You never know who, where and when will come upto you with the next major break through, even if nothing major comes up, you will atleast get to learn so much talking to different people and learning about their lives and ventures and struggles. 

           My 2 cousin brothers are getting married and like every Indian wedding theres lots of ceremonies and people coming and eating, so opportunities like this is perfect to get to know people and build contacts, you never know that long distant uncle of yours maybe the supplier you were looking for! So i took this opportunity to talk to many people in these functions getting to know about them and their businesses, thus this post will help you to excel in this very act of "NetWorking"

•    Have your objective clear:  With this what i mean is, you should know what/whom are you looking for, are you looking for an investor or a co-founder or a supplier or mentor. If you know whats on your mind, things will be easier and you will save a lot of time.
•    Get a stag entry: Most of us would like to visit such events with a partner or a friend but its better to go alone, this way you will get bored and to avoid the embarrassment of standing alone by the speaker, you will end up talking to someone. being an introvert doesn't help these days, you will have to outreach yourself to win that export order you have your eyes on.
•   Cast a web: More the interactions you make, greater will be a chance of benefiting from that occasion. Studies show that 5 to 7 minutes is more than enough to know how much will this particular conversation benefit you, so calculate accordingly and avoid distractions {both beer and babes :D}
•   Feed-in reminders: Its not possible to remember everyone you meet and talk in such gatherings so its better you make short notes of people and their details using abbreviations, best place to scribble in at the back of business cards or better if you have a note pad app in your smart phone, also to avoid awkward situations do this privately in a corner or at rest room.
•   Follow up: The most important of them all. Few months down the line none of you will remember anything, so use mediums like Linkedin or facebook or twitter to stay in touch, this also helps to build long term contacts and get invitations to similar gatherings.

    Use these tools to increase your horizons and build contacts as you can never predict who comes to your rescue at what situation.

Cheers

Akash Poddar

akashpoddar@live.com

Confused about doing a job or starting up a venture? Here is your solution

      After my graduation, all my relatives and family friends were like "you should do a job Akash for work experience" I am sure even you all must have had similar experiences, but as far as i was concerned,  right from day 1 i was all set to start up a venture, ofcourse i had 3 most important advantages on my side:

1. I learnt the tricks of the business from my dad living in MFBS (Marwari Family Bijjnes School) and my father completely supported my decision
2. I had an option to choose, most of us don't
3. I had amazing faculty at IIPM, Kolkata who have always boosted the entrepreneur in me

      So, most of us who are yet confused about should they opt for campus placements or start up a venture, i have from my experience jotted down some points based on which you all can take a better decision:

• Authority vs Flexibility: If you are one of them who doesn't mind being under a leader and you have utmost respect for higher authorities, get a job! However, in start ups, goals and targets aren't fixed, what ever order comes becomes your target so the structure is very flexible in nature and if you believe that you prefer such a flexible structure, join the club.
• Introvertisim vs Extrovertibility: First of all dont use these words, thay arent in dictionary, i just made them up :P. So, the point is, if you are an introvert person and you prefer sitting at a table without much interactions and just completing your work and rush home, congratulations, you are what the corporates are looking for, do get a job! However if you are one of those who likes to talk and communicate and exchange ideas and phone numbers, you are an entrepreneur material because networking plays a very vital role as you need contacts everywhere
• More than enough guy or Not enough guy: This means that if you want everything in plenty and properly executed on time then corporates have different departments for these and you will be happy there, whereas, in start ups, nothing is enough and easily available, you may have to use your father's briefcase as a drawer so be prepared to make lots of adjustments as "a peny saved is a peny earned" 
• Leisure vs Adventure: I am not saying that jobs are leisure, i know many of my friends who slog themselves at jobs, but atleast they know how much money you bank a/c will have at the end of the month and believe it or not, its a form of leisure knowing your bank statement well in advance. However in entrepreneurship, its like an adventure trip, you never know whats coming ahead unless you are lucky enough to have fixed some of your clients. So if you think you can survive in this jungle, gear up.
• Perks vs Survival: Jobs however attractive it may get with lots of perks and incentives and salary structure there is a limit to everything at the top, whereas, business comes along with this most important advantage of gaining unlimited wealth, the more you dedicate, the more you take home, and with the increases in expenses, everyone eventually learns to give 100% to business and enjoy that lifestyle you always wanted, the car of your dreams, 2 vacations abroad and that LED with lazyboy sofa. It all comes down to survival of the fittest and sustainability, ofcourse that may not come as fast as in a job, but remember the hare and tortoise story :)

   These were some of the points i think should help you to decide to come to a proper conclusion and then your father will tell you what to do LOL ! No but seriously at the end of the day its all in the guts, do what your heart says but listen to your pocket as well coz i know for a fact that even if i did not have those 3 advantages, i would still be rocking it as an entrepreneur.

cheers

Akash Poddar

akashpoddar@live.com

Should young entrepreneurs attend college?

    I have come across many young people who are really passionate about starting up a business or already have a business while there are in college but they don't want to "feel like" attending classes because they believe that classes are wastage of time. Moreover, they also give examples of entrepreneurs like Steve Jobs, Michael Dell, Bill Gates and most recently Mark Zuckerberg that all of them were college drop outs, but, these are 5 to 6 of them who were exceptional leaders and they created giant companies but, we often overlook thousands of them who dropped out from college, failed in business and landed nowhere. They don't even have jobs now because they didn't bother to get a degree from college, and they truly regret their decision of skipping college to start up.

    There are people who have valid reason to not attend college and yet they create significant ventures are regarded with respect and become examples, but there are many who have all the leisure to attend college but they treat "entrepreneurship" as an excuse to not attend college land up nowhere most of the time. I know many entrepreneurs who never attended college yet they are making healthy money, but if you sit with them some time, you will be surprised on their words, "it wasn't a choice that time, my parents couldn't afford college for me" says Mr Vicky Saraf who runs a successful chain of clothing line. 

    College education in today's time is very essential because honestly we don't take out time apart from college to update our knowledge on whats the latest in the block, college gives us the opportunity to learn and gives us immense confidence to sit with whoever and wherever and most importantly it gives us a stand in the community so that we can negotiate strongly. College in my personal experience gave me learning experience and the ability to implement these ideas into my business and the results have been quiet fair. 

     For example: I need to give a business plan presentation to VCs to seek fund for my business, now if i didn't have college education, i would have given a fair presentation, but my professors have given us exceptional knowledge and now i know that a business plan is of 4 types: Mini Plan; Working Plan; Presentation Plan; Electronic Plan and i can present the VC my same idea in more than one ways as per the situation. College education will boost the morale of you as an individual even when you aren't wearing that CEO tag. Moreover there has been only 1 Facebook, 1 Dell, 1 Microsoft and 1 Apple

Cheers,

Akash Poddar

akashpoddar@live.com

"No" to jobs ! "Yes" to startups :)

These days when hit with a layoff, more and more people are deciding to take matters into their own hands to start some kind of business from scratch which later on is turning out to be the backbone of US economy, the concept of Self Employments and SMEs are indeed boosting the economies all over the world.

Necessity as they say is the mother of all inventions, the layoffs forced them to rethink their work futures.  Most of them are starting up in the sector where they used to work, whereas some are working on chasing their  dreams. Moreover in this era of digital marketing, the marketing costs have come down tremendously says these start up entrepreneurs. Most of them are starting with some sort of

• Blogs
• Youtube channel
• Facebook Page
• A website

One of them is Debra Kabarsky. She used to work in new home construction company, after she got laid off, she thought of opening a bakery business, with the support of her family, she started it and now she is making more money monthly than her annual package at her job. There are many others who have the same success story, they also start working in their respective industries like architect CP Kukreja who started his own architect firm and is one of the best names in the industry. Even the current age young entrepreneurs are either getting fired or even leaving their current jobs to start up something on their own as they arent getting enough job satisfaction. One of them is my friend Swayam Jaiswal who got well placed in a Steel Company but he left his job to start up his own venture on Bathroom ceramics and fittings and is already turning some heads in the industry.

One has to be prepared to put a lot into the business initially with very less return. They have to use this opportunity to do something that makes one happy with no one else holding you back now. Expect to work harder than you have ever in your life, you may not be rich very quick but your life will be enriched by doing what you love. We hope they do really well in these start ups and contribute to the economy with employment and taxes.

Cheers,
Akash Poddar
akashpoddar@live.com