Archive for category Start-Ups
10 Steps To Find a Great Niche For An Online Business- Part 2
Posted by Hersh Bhardwaj in Start-Ups on November 4th, 2009
This is the part two of the niche-finding exercise I wrote about in my previous post. As I have already said that this list is a fool-proof way of finding a profitable niche. All successful niche marketers use a lot of these ideas, if not all, to investigate their next profit-pulling niche. So, without further ado here’s the list of next five tips-
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10 Steps To Find a Great Niche For An Online Business- Part 1
Posted by Hersh Bhardwaj in Start-Ups on October 22nd, 2009
How To Find a Profitable Niche
If you know how to leverage the power of the internet to generate revenue by selling stuff, you probably already have a site or a group of sites. Whether you are an Ebay seller with your own site, or, a reseller makes no difference at all. If you are in profit, you must have found the formula to do business successfully online. Now the next stage is replicating this success by selling even more stuff. Building your second site. Starting your next ecommerce store. Read the rest of this entry »
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10 Business Commandments of a 90 Year Old Plain Dealer-Part 2
Posted by Hersh Bhardwaj in Start-Ups on October 12th, 2009
Here is the promised follow-up to Regina Brett post I wrote earlier. The next five points. Enjoy.
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Over prepare, then go with the flow
When there is a really nervous event coming ahead and you can do nothing except to sweat and spend sleepless nights. There is one thing you can do- prepare, prepare and over prepare. That’s the only confidence booster in hard times. The Law of Karma/Actions says that we can’t influence results by merely worrying about them. Only way to ascertain a favorable outcome is by making sure the ‘action’ is performed right. Wouldn’t you do your homework well and prepare? Regina says, Over prepare and go with the flow.
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If we all threw our problems in a pile and saw everyone else’s, we’d grab ours back
This is an old one. Humans have a tendency to magnify their own problems and other people’s happiness. Should be the other way round for a happy life, shouldn’t it. We tend to think my probs are the biggest and most complicate. While my friends always seem to do great. In business situations this hurts even more. This commandment has a lot in common with a previous one- ‘Don’t compare your life with others’. The simple fact is that we just CANNOT know what’s the deal with others, what’s their life like from inside? Using the theory of relativity we can always find someone with more problems than us. Then why we tend to look at those with lesser issues than us. Its de-motivating and induces negativity. I bet you will never trade your business problems with mine. At least you know your problems better.
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No matter how you feel, get up, dress up and show up
The show must go on. Woody Allen has a great quote about,’ half the success is about showing up’. This also applies to having off-days or bad- days that an entrepreneur can have. Don’t let your feelings and mood dictate your business. The show must go on at all cost.
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Yield
Yield is a beautiful word. It can mean ‘to be productive’ and it can also mean ‘to give way’ or ‘to surrender’. The biggest mantra anyone can give to an entrepreneur is to be productive. To yield is to produce what it is that you are here to create. Is it money and fame for yourself, go do it. Is it a solution of an intricate problem of your clients, go provide it. The ROI of your efforts and must be produced.
The other meaning is also great. It teaches politeness and patience. The age-old dictum of let-go. Its not the rudest trees that withstand the vagaries of nature and hails, but the most polite and flexible. Conceding a small battle can often win you a major war.
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The Best is Yet To Come
Yes, the time can only improve. The ever-growing ever-improving life is the only life worth living. Every morning wake up with hope and ambitions for your business. Each day a bigger ambition and even better plans. Because, the best is yet to come. So prepare to embrace it.
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Does Your Business Barricade New Entrants?
Posted by Hersh Bhardwaj in Start-Ups on October 6th, 2009
This post is a result of an email I received from one of my respected clients. Chris Lamontagne, who runs a rugby coaching business in Merseyside(UK) area, emailed me his thoughts about expanding his business. He does not want his business model to be ruthlessly copied and as a result face unnecessary competition in future. He wants to innovate and provide something that won;t be as easy to replicate, not at least in quick time.
This reminded me of my Chartered Marketing days. And Michael Porter’s Five Forces Model. Although the model is as old as I am, I understood a part of it in a different light while reading Chris’s email this morning. The importance of ‘barriers to entry’ part dawned upon me.
Its not only the big boys anymore who are always scouting for ways of shutting-off, or, controlling new entrants. Of course, the artificially created ‘barriers’ to stop new entrants from entering an industry, often fall under vigilance, sometimes rightly so. Buy-outs of small start-ups by big players will always continue. That’s not the point here.
The point I am trying to understand is, how can small entrepreneurs raise legit ‘barriers to entry’ within their niche? How can they ensure that the new entrant threat is kept at a constant low? What can they do within their business model to make any head-on new competitor sweat harder?
Answers.
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10 Business Commandments of a 90 Year Old Plain Dealer-Part 1
Posted by Hersh Bhardwaj in Start-Ups on October 1st, 2009
I have been told numerous times that the universal laws of life also apply to business and entrepreneurship. After all it’s a journey as well, they say. An unknown one for most.
When I received this email list with life’s lessons by one Regina Brett, who apparently is 90 years old , I realised how important understanding life could be to understanding your business behaviour. Read the rest of this entry »
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Startus.org- My Tribe of Web-Entrepreneurs
Posted by Hersh Bhardwaj in Start-Ups on September 25th, 2009
Startus Synergy 1
Yeaps, finally I managed to put together a platform where I can get involved, on a voluntary basis, in web-mentoring. I hope to pass on my skills and insights for the benefit of budding web entrepreneurs. With some willing experts also promising to commit their valuable time, Startus Synergy 1 promises to be an interesting project.
And did I mention that its FREE. No cost to join, except, a sincere will to succeed.
This is what I expect from the program from a participant’s point of view:-
- Fasten the grip on basics. A tall building essentially needs a solid foundation, you must have heard.
- Develop a web business plan. Let you develop your own plan of action with expert inputs.
- Chalk-out a schedule of tasks required for implementing the plan.
- Brainstorm with fellow participants and mentors.
- Give you the momentum that one can lack working alone.
Places are limited, because we do not have infinite resources at our disposal. Its not going to be an ‘elite’ group, or, a ‘first come first serve’ scheme.
All applications will be chosen according to some pre-defined criteria, such as, your actual need for mentoring, present skills, clarity of thought regarding your business-goals, and, your keenness to follow the program and contribute positively.
Go check out the program here: http://www.startus.org/
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Disclaimer: No Competition Too Big For Innovation
Posted by Hersh Bhardwaj in Start-Ups on September 22nd, 2009
Innovation not Competition
I am thrilled and excited with the idea.On our recent brainstorming regarding our new business portal launch, we found ourselves competing head-on with a HUGE player in the industry. Faces ablazed with disappointment and frustration. Read the rest of this entry »
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5 Most Frightening Sins of a Small Business Entrepreneur
Posted by Hersh Bhardwaj in Start-Ups on September 2nd, 2009
Image courtesy tim Ellis from Flickr
If you have a brand new business sprouting as we speak, you need to pay attention here. Or may be you already own a small business in its nascent nervy stage. In either scenario you require a solid plan to reach your target customer. And you need it fast. Well, this article is not about giving you a marketing plan. This is to tell you what 5 mistakes to avoid that’ll make you look tiny. Not just with your business size but with your output capability.
As a small business you can’t afford to loose a million dollar in market research or focus groups to find out what might work for you. But I can tell you right away what will not work. Let’s find out what to avoid in your initial marketing and advertising. Read the rest of this entry »
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Zen And The Art Of Business StartUp: Watering
Posted by Hersh Bhardwaj in Start-Ups on April 28th, 2009
A Journey Begins
How the hell, one might say, Zen relates to a business start-up?
To start with, Zen gives a way, which focuses upon direct experience rather than theoretical knowledge. So, out goes the argument that prescribes an MBA to start your business. We have a level playing field- as long as you are willing to learn.
In this article series I would present small practical ‘taken for granted’ ideas to supercharge your business start-up process. Wait till the end to grab the ’sutra’. Read the rest of this entry »
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