Donation < Loan = Investment

Dear readers,
This isn't one of those blogs where you hear about donation and charity and how we make world a beautiful place and all that sort of ****. During my course of Summer internship, i cane across a project on micro finance and how it is the next big thing. This blog will change your mindset on helping the poor by donations, & i thought Good Friday is a great day for it.


When i was small, my grandmother used to sit with me and talk about how we should help the poor and make them happy, i was so fascinated about this idea that i wanted to make a NGO and spread smiles, however, in the process of me growing, i came across ugly pictures of poor people of wars, diseases, poverty, so i became nervous on how should i deal with my passion of NGO and this ugly picture. Not only me but i assume most of us do get this feeling of guilt of our own relative wealth when compared with the BPL. So i had stopped thinking that things would ever change.

However, i recently came across this gentleman Dr. Muhammad yunus from bangladesh and his idea of Grameen Bank . . Dr Yunus is one of those person who did make a difference without donating even i single penny.. He has won a Nobel Peace prize on Micro finance.


During this research report, i came across so many people who had changed their lives receiving micro finance. These were poor people who were "strong", "determined" & wanted to make a difference not in the world but in their own lives.. It was amazing the way we heard across stories of changes and how these poor people created opportunities from sacrifices. Their could now afford education for their children, proper health care and easy 3 times a day meal. Without taking donations. And they were so proud of what they had achieved in their lives.


LOAN IS BETTER THAN DONATION. WHY? It may sound the same thing but the difference lies in communication. Donation would be "here you take, bye" whereas, loan is "here you take, make and give back", giving back may sometimes be a trouble. But we have to understand and trust the ideas of these people as they are no less than entrepreneurs. even a small loan of Rs. 10,000 will help them to change their lives.

These women received LOANS and not DONATIONS. So they made a proper change in their own lives. We spend Rs. 10,000 on a new cell phone, the same amount will change their lives, and this is an INVESTMENT, you will get the interest as they don't want to create more troubles for themselves.

We don't have to go to a NGO to do all this, we can start it from our Drivers, Servants, Workers anyone. This will definitely change one families life, i have done it, we all will do it,. I don't need to persuade you all, you all know the real picture, But we are afraid to TRY. The power of believing in each other is tremendous, lets give it a shot.

Lets all rise & shine.

Cheers,

Akash Poddar

Get off classroom hangover !

 CLASSROOMS TO BOARDROOMS

Dear readers,
This blog of mine is based on the simple fact that we are all aware of but we still don't bother to think more about it, "It's a different ball game out there" . And with "out there" i mean the real world and "ball game" i mean situations. After students graduate from colleges in their respective fields, they still tend to have this hangover from classes, with hangover i am referring to the studies the ideas that we undertake.

Really? Yes! A few months down the line i was busy attending classes in my B-school and was excited about how well em i gonna use all this in my work place, but then after i got myself in one of the leading FMCGs in India, i came to understand the fact that all the learnings are good to vomit in the answer papers and not in board meeting.

guys, understand the fact that i really em not stating that class education is crap, but all the lessons we learn are used to discipline ur life, ur state of mind and get the eternal power of knowledge, something that stays useful thruout our lives, however, in a board meetings when you are willing to shower the guys with all the knowledge that you have collected over the years, its just doesn't work. Here, everything is situational, no theories, no alternatives, no reviews are used, u have to deal with case studies were you play one of the characters and if you under perform, they kick you out.

The moral of the blog however is, in your professional  lives, keep eyes open to real life references, real cases and not just theories from classes. The distance from classrooms to boardrooms isn't just about paychecks and formalities, its more of being practical, make your own theories and create solutions and not just find problems.

Let's all Rise & Shine

Cheers,
Akash Poddar 

What it takes to be an Entrepreneur?

ENTREPRENEURSHIP

If you are one of those who are sick of getting paychecks and now you feel that is the time to make and not take paychecks, this blog IS FOR YOU.

It is my not so humble opinion that working for yourself—owning your own business—is one of the greatest experiences a person can have. I equate it to the difference between living in your parents home and going out on your own and getting a place to live as a young adult. It is initially pretty frightening but the feeling of independence and growth is incredible and once you’ve done it successfully you cannot imagine going back to live with Mom and Dad.



I recognize that not everyone is cut out to start his or her own business or even work outside the structure of a corporate environment. The skills required to start and then successfully run a business are not always the same and require that you switch gears quite a bit.


I’ve collected a list of attributes that can help you determine if you are the kind of person that can start your own business. I’ve been networking with the owners of businesses for quiet some time now and found quite a few common themes that I hope you will find valuable.

We become a good candidate to start a business if...

• WE ARE WILLING TO TAKE RISKS
•  
• WE HAVE VISION FOR OUR BUSINESS &  ARE WILLING TO SHARE IT WITH OTHERS
•  
• WE CAN ACCEPT CRITICISM
•  
• WE CAN MODIFY YOUR LIFESTYLE
• 
  
• WE HAVE A GREAT RELATIONSHIP WITH YOUR LIFE PARTNER
• 
  
• WE ARE JACK OF ALL TRADES
• 
  
• WE WANT FINANCIAL INDEPENDENCE
• 
  
• WE ARE PATIENT & WON'T GIVE UP EASILY
• 
  
• WE LIKE TO WORK HARD

Making the decision to start a business is not one us should take lightly, however if we make a go of it I congratulate you. Regardless of the result of the business, the experience you will acquire will enrich us in ways few jobs can.
 
There maybe many points where you may disagree with me, but i will be more than willing to explain you the points, I would have explained all these points, but i know how much long blogs freak people out, so i decided to KISS (Keep It Short & Simple).
 
Do comment if any of you want an explanation, will be enlighten.:)
 
Lets all Rise & Shine.
 
Cheers,
Akash Poddar

7Ps of Preperation

Hello Everyone,
                       Thank you all for appreciating and criticising the previous blog, all your feed backs are really motivating and drives me further.
                         This seems to be a very tough month for everyone at IIPM. Each one of us are busy PREPARING for something or the other. Some are preparing for NEP,  some for exams, some are busy preparing club activities and some are preparing for the Cricket Tournament. So, looking and observing this scenario of preparations, I thought of coming up with a PREPARATION MODEL.

 This my dear readers is the "7Ps of PREPARATION".

PREPARATION =

• Purpose+
• Principle+
• Planning+
• Practice+
• Perseverance+
• Patience+
• Pride

 Purpose: Whatever we do, we have a purpose for it, to make money or to be known or         maybe to fetch grades, WHEN WE SIT TO PREPARE SOMETHING, WE GOTTA HAVE A PURPOSE.

                         "you come into the world with nothing and the purpose of your life is to make something out of nothing” Henry Louis

Principle: This is what drives a person, it's his integrity, his knowledge running with his upbringing.

                          " A man of principles is A man of words" Churchill

Planning: Planning is the integral part of every Preparation, we need to plan our work for today and everyday, then work our plans.

                                 “Never look back unless you are planning to go that way”

Practice: This made Sachin Tendulkar the best batsman in the world. Success is not something that we run into by accident.  There is no substitute for Hard work and Practice,

                             

                                "The harder we practice, the luckier we get " Henry Ford

Perseverance: Perseverance is commitment, hard work, patience, endurance. Perseverance is being able to bear difficulties calmly and without complaint



                                "It's not that I'm so smart, it's just that I stay with problems longer.  ~Albert Einstein"

Patience: the quality of being patient, as the bearing of provocation, annoyance, misfortune, or pain, without complaint, loss of temper and irritation

"Genius is only a greater aptitude for patience.” Alfred Nobel

Pride: Finally, we should be be proud of the efforts we make because its the Pride that compliments our inputs.

                       "Pride is good when it's not on your head, but in your heart" Richard Branson

Thereby, My best wishes to everyone for whatever you are preparing for. Prepare well, Flaunt Well, Be Proud of your efforts.

Let's all Rise & Shine,

Cheers,

Akash Poddar

Isn't the SYSTEM us?

Hello everyone,
First of all, thank you so much for the support that you have given me, all the phone calls and emails and messages are really really appreciated, I am really glad that you people like it and read it. THANK YOU.

Today, I'll be sharing a little light on the Indian System. We as Indians believe that its a very dirty stuff to do and we prefer to stay away from it as much as possible. We prefer to complain about all the wrong stuffs happening and still being quiet about it. We do raise our voices but to abuse the SYSTEM. But aren't we part of the SYSTEM? Isn't the SYSTEM from us, by us, for us? Then who the hell are we to blame it? Why don't we get in there and clean the mess and then be proud of ourselves? Why can't we be the "ECONOMIC GANDHIS" of tomorrow.

India today is at a very good stage of economic development. The entire world is waiting for us to show what we are capable of. We are suppose to become superpower by 2020, WILL WE? Surely WE CAN! We have the ability to, we have the money to, We have the resources to. Then why not use everything to change for good. YES WE CAN. WE SHOULD. WE WILL.

Therefore, my earnest request to everyone who is reading this, please be the change that you want to see in the society, make a move, there are billions who'll follow you. Every child going to school in India today has the same ambition that a child in US or Europe has, lets make it for them, we know we want to. There is a nation full of desperate Indians, eagerly waiting to be in a developed country, lets make one for ourselves. RISE & SHINE.

cheers,
Akash Poddar 

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THE POWER OF 3

NEGOTIATIONS

            All this while, I was in McComb's Business School in Texas. There, we had a seminar on NEGOTIATIONS and one of the professor gave us a lecture on a principle called "The Power of Three"

           Thereby, i just thought that it would be good if i discuss about this principle with all my readers so that it can help us in every negotiation we meet. The Theory goes like this.

1. Fall in love with THREE of almost everything
2. Visit your THIRD favourite first

          Theory 1 says that in our lives, when we have to take decisions, we have one top most favourite. Every person has to take decisions in their respective fields. Students have to take decision in which college they want to get in, housewives have to decide which place to shop, etc. So, the theory says, when we have to decide on what to pick, we should not rely on only 1 stuff, but at least 3 stuffs. By doing this, we will not depend on only one, but we will have options.. If, we have only one favourite, we will not be in a situation to negotiate. Suppose, if you want to but a SUV, and you are determined to pick only Honda, then when you go to a Honda Dealer, he will give you a quotation, you think its too much! but you cannot do anything about it as all you want is a Honda. On the other hand, if u have 3 choices, Honda, Toyota and a Chevrolet, then you have the power to negotiate with each one of them. So, that explains why we should fall in love with 3 things at a time.

                 Theory 2 says that we should visit our third favourite first, this is because, by the time we visit our top favourite, we get to know so much about the deal and we are all set up to negotiate. Lets continue with our example of SUV. If my top favourite is a Honda, then come Toyota, and then finally comes the Chevrolet, You gotta visit the Chevrolet first then the Toyota and then The Honda dealer. This is because, by the time you reach your favourite, i.e, Honda, you will have a pretty good knowledge about the market, the price, the features and you will end up with a pretty decent deal..

    This was the "THEORY OF THREE", hope all of you use it and implement it in your daily lives.

Cheers,

Akash Poddar