No Job Too Small. No Effort Too Little

I wish I had a timestamp to this photograph. Approximately a few minutes past 11 in the night roughly at Plus Code: 852C+WW Vadodara, Gujarat is where I saw this young man focus on completing his day's tasks.

Look at the pride on his face when I asked him if I could take a photo.

Discipline. Ensuring the task gets done. Whatever be your job. That's one of the things that is key to success in life. And as far as I have learnt, there is no easier way to success. Whether in a job or an entrepreneur; wherever I am, if I can set exacting standards for myself and live by them, no review can stop my growth. Where in the value chain I am is just a matter of time.

Each of us, want a life that is easy. One way is to be born with a silver spoon (or get a spouse with a silver spoon, sic! 😅). If none of those work, well, let's not shy away from getting our hands dirty. I need to be able to walk the talk.

Success does not mean that I need be the best in what I do. If I have to be the best in everything I do, I will probably need to be super-human. But what it means is that I need to give the best in whatever I do. That is what Success is. Returns will come on their own.

10 Years 10 Minutes - Lessons from Each Year as an Entrepreneur

Was faced with a challenge earlier this weekend. Had to collect my thoughts for a 10 minute speaking slot at a startup series. (eChai, Jatin and Nikhil, you folks are doing some amazing work!)

What would be the best way to compile these thoughts? There's always so much to talk about! So, Saturday afternoon, went thinking over, what would be the top 10 lessons I learnt (read - mistakes I made 😉) over the last 10 years as an entrepreneur.

So, here goes the list -
Lesson 1 - No job is too small! Really, Mahatma Gandhi spoke about cleaning our own toilets. Apply the metaphor to work! Are you ready as an entrepreneur to do the heavy lifting? Are you ready to be involved in the smallest job (caveat: you might not be the most skilled) and yet, give it your best!?

Lesson 2 - Margins are important! It's not just the top line that matters. How controlled your costs are is a great indicator of the longevity of your business - new or old. Corollary: If you sell on cost, someone will always beat you. If you sell on product and services, you will invariably beat the biggest.

Lesson 3 - Focus on Key Product! We all work on filling a need in the market! The market has many needs! And filling each need is tempting for an entrepreneur. But then wouldn't you need 10 arms and 10 heads for that? So focus on your key product!

Lesson 4 - Innovate and Protect your IP! Intellectual Property Rights is something many entrepreneurs (atleast in South Asia tech) tend to give a low priority too. Well, if you have developed something, go for protecting that idea to implementation story.

Lesson 5 - There is no such thing as Bad Publicity! is an old adage. Often marketing and publicity take a back seat. As a salesman, you've got to literally be in the hair of your customer (because if you aren't, probably someone else is :-)). Make the right noises and ensure you are available and well positioned and unabashed.

Lesson 6 - Cash is King! A business is measured on the basis of it's turnover (invoice). A successful business is measured on the basis of it's invoice to collection cycle. How well you collect is how well you run your business! Lose your sleep over your customer. If you have a happy customer you will get more and you will get timely collections!

Lesson 7 - Work is Life; Life is Work! (Don't get me wrong; and wait till Lesson 10) but till then, you've got to eat, breath and sleep your business. Remember the Alchemist. If not read it, there's a very interesting thought there!

Lesson 8 - Never Compromise! God is in the Detail! Detail it out, give it your best and expect the best from others. You might fail while doing that. But you will also come out with, no regrets!

Lesson 9 - People! People, delegation & motivation. These are important. You've go to have things done through the right people. There will always be a temptation of let me do this, but you've got to be able to manage and get things done, because there is a right person for each skill.

Lesson 10 - Get a Life! Not contrary to Lesson 7. Don't forget yourself and your family in the process. Take time out for your own self (that's very often when clairvoyance in thoughts is achieved)  and your family & friends (man is a social animal, said Aristotle).

Characteristics of an Entrepreneurial Mind

A nice article, I found via @GuyKawasaki on Twitter.

But for entrepreneurs who are bringing something new and novel to the marketplace, experimentation can be truly…experimental. Removing expectations and letting the results lead you in completely new directions is the attribute that marks a truly entrepreneurial mind.

Read the full article here: http://www.openforum.com/articles/5-essential-characteristics-of-the-entrepreneurial-mind?extlink=em-openf-SBdaily 

Four Years It Is!!

Phew!! And what a journey it has been! Got up this morning and spent a few minutes on the edge of the bed recollecting the last 4 years. It almost felt like, wow, I incubated a baby. (I am sure a lesser feeling, but felt good).

We've been through tough times, easy times, fun times, sorry times. A plethora of emotions; and not one emotion that I would have wanted to miss. The possibilities of conjecturing are manifold; so have always refrained from giving comparisons; "oh, this would have been better or that might have been." But will take this one exception today. I don't think I would have been able to have such a self-evolving experience had I been anywhere, anyplace else.

Not only does it feel good to be able to "create employment" and see; in however infitessimally small manner it may be; the direct impact of value creation; and all those big things. The bottom line is; that Phonon has been with me and me with Phonon these last four years; and what more we've stuck it through. And we've stuck it through a lot.

Wishes to everyone who has been associated with Phonon; well-wishers, vendors, present and past employees, customers, seniors, friends and all those who have ever associated themselves with Phonon.

Soak in the moment, touch wood and move on now. There's a long road ahead and its back to objectivity.

i don't wanna close my eyes,

i don't wanna fall asleep...

:-)

And How We Grow....

...Just a little. :-)

A few months to four years of having started Phonon, we go for our first international sales call tomorrow. Lessons that I learnt:

• One happy customer is better than ten sales people.
• Stick to the basics, operational excellence, product differentiation and cost leadership.
• Stick to the other basic, hang on; its rosier than you thought.
• Focus! Focus! Focus!
• Love what you do. Your passion reflects in your work.
• Know what you do and say. Stand by your words.
• Rolling your sleeves and getting to the job is the best way of solving the problem.
• Solve your customers' problems like they were your own. If the customer makes money, so do you.
• Focus on your tasks at hand!
• Bite just a little more than what you can chew, not a lot more.
• Build a team and delegate. People want to take ownership; make them grow with you!
• Opportunity knocks...very gently. Got to be alert; got to be wise.
• Be cool!! A calm mind always makes better decisions.
• Serve with a smile; even if on the phone.
• Last but not the least, did I say, Focus?

To growth!

Good luck, Phonon!!