Dilemma whether to do “A” or “B” or both “A&B” together.
“A” = I have proven track record in training and development and performance coaching in global Cos. and want to pursue it as a business. Hurdle is that since I am not academically qualified (don’t have MBA or any PG or training qualifications / certifications from global Coaching Federations) nor backed by big established companies, corporates don’t take me seriousy. As an employee of a global MNC earlier it was different.
“B” = Another thing that I could be good at is — selling Life Insurance products. Have adequate academic qualification and am certified by IRDA (Insurance Regulation & Development Act). My communicationn and coaching skills could make a great impact here. Have been a part-time Life Insurance Advisor earlier with moderate success. Was working in the peripheri of my comnfort zone. Now I want to go big and get out of my comfort zone. Involves lot of administrative and back-end work which takes up a lot of my time and energy.
Physical limitation: Had a disc prolapse recently hence cannot sit at a stretch for a long time, nor can I exert myself physically by travelling and commuting in the city using public transport. I do not own any vehicle.
Financial limitation: Have almost exhausted my reserves / savings. No money for investing in business tools and technology.
No one in my family supports either of the above ventures. They just want me to get a job with the security of a fixed salary every month. That too I am unable to get because of mismatch of my age / experience / designation / academic qualification / last salary drawn (too low compared to my skills and experience) etc.
Am truthful, honest and straightforward – strong on values – and hence haven’t been successful in building a great career in the last decade and half in the corporate world.
Any help with an objective and pragmatic perspective is appreciated . . .
asha chaudhry
ajit… first of all… welcome to therodinhoods!!!
here you will meet lots and lots of people who aren’t MBAs or who have dropped out of an MBA course. so don’t feel isolated.
i suggest you start browsing the content here – especially the posts under YourStory or Startup! you will find some very inspiring true stories 🙂
you could also write a small post under JOBS – many entrepreneurs here are looking for people to add to their teams.
https://www.therodinhoods.com/forum/categories/jobs/listForCategory
all the best!
🙂
Sai Rodinhood Pothuri
Dear Ajit
Good to know about you and my strong recommendation from my end is to find a job that can solve present financial problems at home. It takes time to get what you need or what you wanted. but at the same time its your responsibility to over come sudden family problems like ill health or medical treatment or any other emergency.
the reason is simple.. once you get into a job of previous salary or what ever. you get some good people in your network. you can focus more on your future ventures.
to get any thing or to reach the target it takes TIME . so first focus on your family problems make sure that they can manage the life with out any hurdles.. then slowly concentrate on your task. Remember Rome Was not built in a Day
Thanks
Sai
ajit vidyadharan
Thanks Asha for the welcome! Will surely follow ur suggestion & read / research this site more before taking any other pertinent career / business decision. Thanks again…
ajit vidyadharan
Appreciate ur response Sai, Thank you.
I fully agree with what u say.
Gurpreet Singh Tikku
Ajit Bhai……..What I See…Option A is the one to go with……IF your work is Good, Irrespective of Educational Qualifications, people will hire your services.
I would suggest that, try to tap people whom you have already trained and get the Testimonials and share them with the prospective Clients. Also, request your Friends, Clients, Associates to spread the word around…..I am sure ti will help sooner than later.
Am Sure…your would get some Entrepreneurs looking for your kind of Services on Rodinhood Platform and contact you for their requirements. Best Wishes
Alok Garg
I kinda agree with Gurpreet’s thought.
Having said that, if your emergent need is to meet the immediate needs of the family and support them, then I guess, there is no second thought, but you go with Sai’s suggestion.
my 2 cents.
Gurpreet Singh Tikku
Alright….After Reading Sai’s and Alok’s Views….I too agree that since The need of Cash Flow for running the Home is Immediate, A Job can be looked at and while on Job, the base for own Venture (Option A) can be created.
Sai Rodinhood Pothuri
in most entrepreneur journeys.. the people who are with them are the family members who come first. next comes the friends. ( in some situations friends might be first and family next like that ) and then comes relatives and then banks, VC’s etc etc
to concentrate on any task be it own venture or job one needs to have a clean and pleasant mind and for that he has to make sure that his family got every thing they need. so he gets the right food or right time cleaning cloths or what ever from family in time and this really helps him to concentrate on work
because in almost all cases family wont come along with your venture journey. they just support you. so that’s the reason i suggest you to clear family issues first and then chase for your dream
Thanks
Sai
Mohul Ghosh
Hi Ajit,
I can perfectly understand what is going on in your life right now.
Cutting it very brief (although I would want to write a blog post about this), my suggestions:
a) Sell your skills. From your post, I understand that your passion lies in providing consulting and coaching. Now, use that to build a platform. First have a long term plan for say 5 years, and then create a blueprint. Not doing MBA (if you believe that MBA can provide you better opportunities) is a fault from your side, so make it correct.
b) Don’t lose focus on current needs. Your family, your own life and your dreams, all are important. So, use your passion and your skills to create some a war chest. A job, for example, is an option. So is..
c) Online Marketing. The Financial niche, which includes Insurance, Credit Cards, Mutual Funds etc, is one of the most expensive niches ever created. By becoming a publisher who specializes in Insurance, you can make a killing. In fact, as you presented your case, I am sure you can write a book as well.
I hope it helps..
🙂
PS: And don’t lose hope. You are on the right tract. Just few diversions are distracting you..
Vinod Kumar Shanmugam
I’m not a career expert, but based on the detailed explanation of yours, my suggestion for you would be a COMBO 🙂 Why ?
1) Your financial Situation needs to be addressed first, and the training business can be done parallel while you set your finance right to support & build a base for your family.
2) B option will provide you $, and as per my understanding of Insurance in India, its still in a growing stage and you can take full benefit of this. Also I believe you can do this job as Part time in India (hope I’m correct to say). Also you can meet lot of potential customers for your business thru this job, if you set your target with the right segment of customers you will end up meeting CXO’s(SME’s, Entrepreneurs, Fast Growing Indian StartUp’s) who can get you good business for Insurance products as well as it might open doors for your Training career.
I strongly believe MBA/Certification is just an added qualification, as long as we have the passion, desire and skills( you have trained & you feel you are good), we can achieve anything, but the question is whether we have the passion to go the distance, some time to do that we need fuel/energy, the job might be the energy that will instill lot of confidence, energy & the monetary independence to set yourself in that entrepreneurial path !! Wish You All The Very Best for your new Future !!
Vinod
Krishna Varma
Hi Ajit,
Cheers..I have a solution which can be worked out..
Contact Teja of Commsure knowledge solutions, they are a startup doing a lot of work on blended learning space.
Your experience could be handy and you can collabrate through internet.
teja@commsure.in *& 9849990790.
This should work..just get in touch with him and i will put in a word.
Ashutosh Kumar
Why dont you solve both “A” & “B”, in the following manner:
Join a training institue as a corporate faculty in your domain. This will give you a financial safety net, while also honing up your skills and making you ready to realize the nuts-bolts of running a training consultancy. This will be helpful when you launch on your own 2-3 years down the line.
But, there is something which i would tend to disagree with which you said – “Am truthful, honest and straightforward – strong on values – and hence haven’t been successful in building a great career …” Most of the successful people (especially entrepreneurs 2.0) out there have these qualities, best eg- Stever Jobs. So, anyone thinking that one has to sacrifice his/her moral value to reach top of ladder is mistaken. Its true that sticking to moral values makes one lose out many deals (eg- Purchase manager of a pvt firm wanting a cut for approving a PO), but in the long run, you feel proud when you reach there with head held high.
Sasikanth Chemalamudi
To begin with, be honest with yourself – brutally, brutally, brutally. Do an objective analysis. Do not agree that you haven’t been successful in building a great career in 15 years because you are truthful, honest, straight forward and strong on values. Something else must have been missing. In some cases it is the risk taking ability, in other cases it is because too much help and understanding is expected from the outside world and in most cases, people have a greater extent of self pity for themselves. Find out what your reason is and work towards changing that.
This is my two cents of advice and nothing personal. feel free to delete the comment if you can not take it.
Sasikanth Chemalamudi, My Blog, The First Crore
ajit vidyadharan
Thanks a lot Asha, Sai, Gurpreet, Mohul, Vinod, Krishna, Ashutosh, Sasikanth and Alok.
Ur inputs are truly welcome. Ur efforts to respond to my question is greatly appreciated.
As I was reading ur responses I found more clarity & courage to go ahead.
Looking forward to knowing u better & an opportunity to be of serrvice to u, in any which ways that I can. Please feel free to simply let me know if u need something…
Thanks again friends & fellow entrepreneurs… I value ur inputs 🙂
Mahesh Khambadkone
Usain Bolt can run. He could do well in the 100m, 200m and 400m. Perhaps mediocore within anything further. But he cannot do the long jump nor pole vault. Phelps can swim – he can really stretch his body and get 8 gold medals. But his stretching wont work on a basketball court.
I wouldn’t do A & B – you will do injustice to either. Even Vijay Mallya with his crores from his breweries cannot run an airline.
Choose one of the two that can meet any urgent family / financial requirements you have ; get peace of mind, give it time, and then only think of any other options. Don’t screw the hand that pulls you through.
Best of luck!
Ashish Tulsani
Sell insurance products to whom you will be training …make some money and leverage your resources.
Best of Luck 🙂
Puneet Nirogam Aggarwal
Hi Ajit,
Sorry to hear about your disc prolapse. First of all I wish to help you there. Before that a small disclaimer – What I am going to suggest is by no means a plug, advertisement or promotion of any kind. It is a product that I sell and because I believe it might be able to help you, I am suggesting it to you. You may or may not take it. Better still, you may take it after taking a medical opinion.
The product is called CERVIRITE and it helps in prolapse/hernia. Cervirite works for discs in the upperback (Cervical) and Lumbarite works for discs in the lower back. Its 100% natural, herbal, and made after a lot of research. You can read more about it at http://www.cervirite.com
Now, about the business. I think you can pursue both A and B together.
For A, you can start small by conducting webinars which nowadays has been a very effective medium. You can host these webinars through Udemy.com, or other such websites. And then after conducting 5-6 such webinars, you can then show these webinar recordings to some corporates, so that they can judge you before they hire you.
For B, you can hire a team of interns to do the travelling, hard work and talking. Interns are easily available on various websites, out of which I like Twenty19.com (No i am not affiliated with this site, it is just something that I like). This would give you sufficient time for sizing the market and gaining traction.
Just my 2 cents
Regards,
Puneet Aggarwal