2011: Year of dreams

It looks like yesterday when I was woken up in the middle of the night by a nightmare!

Jobless, directionless and confused. Having given up a good job and nothing working out in life, I cursed myself left, right and center.

I quickly realized that it was just a nightmare. I still had my job. I still had a salary coming in every month. And the appraisals and a possible good hike just around the corner.

I sat at my desk at 2.30am in the night and really wondered if I should resign from my job without any idea about what next to do in life.  Should I hang on for a while? Should I take it easy? Should I wait until I figure things out?

I couldn’t come to a conclusion. I slept.

Come morning, come light.. I thought, “heck, let me just do it”. Also, my wife was very supportive about it. That really helped!

I resigned from my job. The day was January 4th.

And then, began the story! Read the rest of this entry »

Questions!

“Entrepreneurs make the mistake of focusing on their business plan before they’ve focused on their life plan”.

- Norm Brodsky

I don’t know if I am an entrepreneur yet. But I am glad I read this, because I was on the same path. Focusing too much on the business plan and ignoring the much more important life plan.

Life’s a roller coaster these days!

On days when I have many enquiries, I feel on top of the world. On days when there’s hardly an email or two, things look doubtful. Will I be able to cross last months revenue? What the heck am I doing here? Should I go back to a job? Questions plague me.

My way of overcoming those questions is usually by hitting the gym. Running does wonders to my mood.

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Small steps

“Think big”, an oft used phrase.

Think big, one should definitely do provided the thinking isn’t beyond means and methods.

And for small ventures, “think big, act small” is more ideal. This part, you and I know already. Many books and articles have been written.

“Think big, act small!”.

We read. We listen. We nod in consent.

Yet, when it comes to doing, we forget!

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Value chain

Many of us first time entrepreneurs get it wrong.

When we conceive an idea and execute it… most often we get excited and blinded by the greatness of the idea that we fail to study something vital. (Or like in my case, after wanting to start something exciting and not getting any great idea, start something without actually studying vital information.)

That vital thing is value chain. (I don’t know if there’s a better phrase for it.)

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Good entrepreneur

A good entrepreneur isn’t one with a great idea or isn’t one who hasn’t ever failed.

Heck, he needn’t even be good at execution… at least to begin with!

He is one who has a good sense of smell.. towards where the profits are (or whatever else the reward). And unapologetically pursues it.  Whatever shit happens in the meanwhile is a lesson… if one has the composure to call it that and the caution to not let it hit the ceiling.

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