Go Light Your Bulb !!
(please ignore if you see any crude statements or nonsensical statements. Consider it as a mistake for a debut post)
Almost everyone who has seen Swades, remembers the scene where Shahrukh Khan tries to explain why he wants to quit NASA to do something for his village in India. The unhappy boss tells him in the end “Go light your bulb”. This is pretty much the same feeling an entrepreneur has when he has this feeling to do something on his own challenging normal convention and beliefs that we carry to hold on to our high paying jobs.
Starting a business is very challenging, with most of the times our friends and family suggesting us to stay away from putting ourselves at risk. They feel they are trying to warn us of the challenges and impossibilities ahead, but a true entrepreneur disregards all such warning and does what he wants to. I did that too. Today my startup has completed 1 year and I have never felt so good about anything I did. Nothing has given me such a great sense of satisfaction knowing that I did it, overcame it, and made it successful.
Knowing that there is lot of potential amongst the young crowd today, I want to share some advices/tips that has helped me stay afloat.
a) The Right Time.
Often I have heard people saying that he/she has a business idea and is waiting for the right time to launch it. Upon further probing I came to know that their idea of a right time is waiting for the next appraisal / bonus, waiting to pay off a loan, waiting to see if anyone else is doing the same business and to see whether he/she succeeds, and mostly simply waiting to muster enough courage to take the first step.
Let me tell you something, there is never a RIGHT Time. NOW is the right time. I started my venture when the firm I was working for decided to call it a day and focus on other line of business. Typical Indian mentality would have suggested that I take the first job that comes my way to support my household. In my case it did, a very lucrative offer came up which was very hard to say no to. But I did, and boy am I glad I did that. If I had taken that offer I would be sitting in a cabin giving directives (given to me by someone else). Whatever Idea you have today do not wait upon it, implement it, take the first step. Only then you will know how good or bad the idea is.
b) Funding
Since startups are growing at an unprecedented rate, there are willing investors and PE firms that are ready to fund your vision provided your business model makes sense. A lot of wannabe entrepreneurs wait to launch their idea till they secure funding for their business. I am not saying that it’s wrong to do so, however it’s not wrong as well to start your firm without securing a funding. It would require the most meticulous planning but if you can pull it off I believe even the investors will prefer a firm that has managed to put their idea to reality and show a working business model.
If you ask me, I started my venture with my rock solid friend/brother who inspired me to kick this off without securing any funding and today after 1 year of operations we haven’t looked back. Today if I require any funding it is only to expand my current capability and not to run day to day operations.
c) People
The success of any business depends on two types of people – The Leadership and the Fellowship. Ideally team of people who are going to be at the helm providing strategies, creating opportunities have to as good as the people who are going to work for you. I personally believe that people/employees are the biggest asset a company has. With the right set of people who can be committed to your passion, your business will take the shape in the way you have presented in the business plan. If you don’t manage to get the right people you are always going to face challenges to execute the vision you have. So when you want to start up, plan the kind of people you need, hire strong individuals who are willing to give you their arm to make the business the way it supposed to run. I was blessed enough to have such a group of people who not only worked for me for the initial months without salary but continued to stick with me sacrificing better job opportunities. Today as I look back I am happy to say that I have a strong team that understands my vision, my plan and are willing to work for that. Infact couple of them keep giving me subtle hints that they are going to make me give them a stake in the firm J
I hope that this write up manages to help atleast one person to give wings to their dream
Sony Joseph
Alchemist Digital Media
www.alchemistdigitalmedia.com