It's two years since I got my current office on rent [Read: Officially started my journey of Excel Next]. Having learnt so much about business and profession in these two years made me realize that I completed my 2-yr "un"official MBA.
Wanted to share my learnings so that you may get the two years' MBA in 5-minutes !
Finance
1. Use initial profits to develop your Core-products before, rather than Investing in non-core "new" business opportunities.
2. Keep a very close watch on Liquid funds availability & debtor realization.
3. Religiously follow "Stop-Loss" principle. If any investment decision's payoff is way-off initial target, consider using "Stop-loss" and get out of it if need be. Needless to say, forget the sunk cost and remember the learnings.
Human Resources
1. Hire for Attitude. Skills can be developed.
2. It's your responsibilty to create business opportunities so that deserving juniors' growth can be ensured & sustained.
3. Treat juniors with dignity and you will have already reserved their Loyalty towards you. [i.e. Assuming you/your firm pay them the salary on time]. They will work for you as the Spartan soldiers worked for their King Leonidas in the movie - "300".
Marketing
1. You need to be "Internet-savvy" in today's world - Be it basic web-designing, or Advanced Google Search or using Wordpress or knowing the concept of SEO. From a Saree trader to a Financial Consultant, everyone can benefit from Internet Technolgies with little cash cost.
2. Businesses like Flipkart, Facebook are two prime examples of "word-of-mouth" publicity. Read about it, experiment with it, but do not ignore it. And yes, it doesn't happen on it's own - You have to have a genuine product or service offering.
Strategy
1. Whatever is your CORE product or service offering, stick to it. Develop it, improvise it faster than that of your Competition. There may be non-Core business opportunities which might look lucrative up front, but be VERY VERY cautious before you commit funds and effort to develop it.
2. "Naam badhaao, Kaam apne aap milega" - In he initial stages, stress more on creating a Brand value based on Quality & Usefulness even if payoff is low. Once clients trust you / your product, work/orders will flow almost effortlessly and they will be willing to pay for it as commensurate with its its inherent value (2x - 3x the initial fees/price).
CRM
1. Would you like if at the Movie hall, you are given Popcorn-Cola free? My guess - You'll love it. ThatSomething Extra has two elements - it's a surprise and it is free. If somehow, you can use these elements in your product offering, you are already a CRM specialist.
2. Be genuine - Do that Something Extra with zero-reciprocal expectations.
Those are the initial thoughts - Would be more in Series to come.
