10 Mindsets That Will Radically Improve Your Business

Success is something all career-driven individuals desire yet it eludes many people -- at least at the levels desired. Why are some businesspeople successful and others not?

It has everything to do with habits, beliefs, passion, flexibility and attitude. 

Often there's nothing really different between one entrepreneur and another in terms of ability, as each person can do whatever he or she wants. What it all comes down to is having the frame of mind to set practical habits and keep a balance between attachment and commitment and letting things happen.

Here are 10 mindsets for success:

1. Choose courage over fear.

To be successful, you have to have courage. And to become courageous, do courageous things. Much of being successful is about going beyond what you think you're capable of -- venturing into the unknown. Whether you fail or succeed, you will learn and grow.

Growth, in and of itself, means attaining a level of success whether it came from success or failure.

2. Believe in yourself.

Attitude is everything. A negative attitude decreases success and a positive attitude creates success. Without that belief in yourself, you'll lack a path to success.

Success is something that's created. It's not something that merely "happens.”

When you firmly believe in yourself, you can achieve virtually anything: It's within this belief that you'll find the power to create the resilience and fortitude needed to keep going when things get tough.

3. Choose good company.

Whom you surround yourself with is among the most important choices you'll make as you climb up the business ladder. Negativity is contagious and if work groups, especially bosses, are negative, there will be a ceiling to your success.

To reach the goals you desire, be willing to change bosses if necessary. Or if you're the boss, rid your team of toxic people immediately.

It only takes one toxic person to destroy the morale of an entire campaign. Further, when you surround yourself with other successful, goal-oriented individuals, you can learn from them and take on some of their habits to add to your own as you proceed along your road to success.

4. Adopt self-chosen goals.

Knowing and being clear about where you're headed in business is something that must come from within. When your goals selected by you, you're more motivated to achieve them.

That's because by achieving these goals, you attain a new desired piece of yourself. When your goals arise from your instigation, they carry a deeper meaning and confer a greater impact on your identity.

Each self-selected goal realized adds a depth and an internal expansion to you as a person. Personal expansion is just one of the great gifts to come from succeeding in your business goals. 

5. Have a purpose and a vision.

Visualization is powerful because actions follow thoughts. A great technique for nurturing your vision and purpose is to make your goals visual. Some people use vision boards; others opt for treasure maps. And still others set goals identifying specific dates for their achievement.

Whatever works best is a matter for the individual to figure out.

I believe that anything that's written down is more likely to be achieved than visions kept only in the head. When you make your purpose visual, you make it real. When you keep them in your mind, they remain wishes. 

6. Accept the challenge.

There are few easy paths up a mountain and often they're hard to find. Challenge will be an essential piece in any type of success in business.

And challenge is what creates your growth along the journey. Each challenge obstructing your path provides you with the chance to create a more defined direction toward attaining your dream vendors, customers, managers, employees -- and numbers. For this reason, bless each challenge. Each one is a compass directing you toward new business leads, circumstances and opportunities. 

7. Be discerning.

Selectivity creates success. You must think deeply and intelligently about the bigger picture and what it is you need for each step along the way to continue articulating and executing your business goals.

Mindfulness means being aware of all angles and staying sharply in touch with the present so that you do not have to clean up mistakes in the future.

Be discerning of group dynamics: which person is the best at what job, which customers or deals will take you the furthest and what it is that each moment is calling on you to do or change to be the most efficient.

That's how selectivity offers you the pursuit of success.

8. Be willing to take risks.

There are no guarantees on any path to success in life or business. The unknown is always looming. Therefore, risk and education are often the mechanisms necessary for knowing more clearly if you're on the right path.

If you're afraid to risk, you will put limits on your success and stay where you're comfortable. You cannot get what you want if you don't risk rejection and go for what you desire.

9. Do what you love.

You're more likely to succeed in business when you're invested in your passion and making your career fit your personality. There is a way to find passion about anything and everything you do in life.

You may not love every part of your job but tolerating discomforts by looking at the bigger picture makes your investment of time and energy worthwhile.

Be willing to love and find purpose in all aspects of what your business requires, commit to it and see what you're doing as being a benefit to others. When you love the business you're in, there is nothing that can keep you from wanting to work at it, nurture it and make it grow.

10. Gratitude.

When you see life and career in terms of the lack in what you have achieved, you cannot drive your business up the ladder of success. Then negativity is impeding your progress.

You must look at all you have and realize how great what you have is as compared to the situation of many others.

When you have this attitude, you stop suffering and complaining about the small stuff. On each receipt you pay out, write thank you. That's not only to thank the person, event, vendor or customer for what's provided you but also to give a private thanks acknowledging that you have the abundance necessary to pay for the service, product or event.

Habits coupled with flexibility provide you with a path to success. Success is fluid and so rigidity will stand in its way.

Developing these mindsets give you a compass to navigate the ever-changing tides on the way to business and financial goals. These mindsets allow openness and flexibility while also providing you precise direction.

Article sourced from entrepreneur.com
Author: Sherrie Campbell

7 Steps for Establishing the Right Business Model

Most technical entrepreneurs focus hard on building an innovative product, but forget that an elegant solution doesn’t automatically translate into a successful business. Businesses require an equally elegant business model, with the right price, messaging and delivery channel to the right target customers to keep the dream alive and growing.

Defining the right business model requires the same diligence as designing the right product, but the approach and skills required are different. That’s why investors acknowledge that two co-founders are often better than one -- with one focusing on the technical solution, and the other focusing on defining and building the business model. These two jobs need to be done in parallel.

This dual-leadership approach would have avoided the frustration I felt in a startup a few years ago where beta customers loved our software solution as a free prototype, but we couldn’t sell one in the first few months for a price that seemed reasonable for all our work and innovation. The founder had simply not done the work to validate a price and customer segment.

In the investment community, this work is called proving the business model. It starts with validating a business opportunity (a large customer segment willing to pay money to solve a real problem), in much the same way as your proof of concept or prototype validates your technical solution. Here are seven steps I recommend for establishing the right business model:

1. Size the value of your solution in the target segment.

Customers often complain that existing approaches are not intuitive or integrated, but old solutions may be familiar and locked in. Estimate your costs, including a 50 percent gross margin, as a lower bound on a price. Products too expensive for the market won’t succeed, and prices too low will leave you exposed. Match with competitor prices and market demographics.

2. Confirm that your product or service solves the problem.

Once you have a prototype or alpha version, expose it to real customers to see if you get the same excitement and delight that you feel. Look for feedback on how to make it a better fit. If it doesn’t relieve the pain, or doesn’t work, no business model will save you.

3. Test your channel and support strategy.

Now is the time to pitch the entire business model to a group of customers or a specially selected focus group. This is not just a product pitch, but must include all elements of your pricing, marketing, distribution and maintenance. Here again is your chance to make pivots for almost no cost.

4. Talk to industry experts and investors.

A small advisory board of outside people with experience in your domain can give you the unbiased feedback you need, as well as connections for setting up distribution and sales channels. It’s also valuable to talk to potential investors for their views, even if you are bootstrapping the effort.

5. Plan and execute a pilot or local rollout. 

Good traction on a limited rollout is great validation of a business model. It allows you to test costs, quality and pricing in a few stores or a single city, with minimum jeopardy and maximum speed for recovery and corrections. Save your viral campaign and major inventory buildup for later.

6. Focus on collecting customer references. 

Give extra attention to those first few customers, and ask for publishable testimonials and word-of-mouth support in return. If you can’t get their support, even with your personal efforts, take it as a red flag that the business will probably not scale at the rate you projected.

7. Target national trade shows and industry association groups. 

You need positive visibility, credibility and feedback from these organizations as a final validation of your business model, as well as your product model, in the context of major competitors. This may also be a great source for leads as a key part of that final rollout and scale-up effort. 

Your business model can be a better sustainable competitive advantage than your product features, or it can be your biggest risk exposure. Too many of the business plans I see are heavy on competitive product features, but light on business model details and innovations.

If you or someone on your team hasn’t spent at least the same effort on the business model as on the product service, you are only half prepared for the real world of business today. It’s hard to win by doing half the job, especially if that is the easier half. 

Article sourced from entrepreneur.com
Author: Martin Zwilling

Unlocking the Entrepreneurial Spirit of the city of Coimbatore

Franchise India launching its branch in Coimbatore

Franchise India, Asia’s largest integrated franchise solutions company since 1999, with 17 years of successfully giving business starting up and growth and franchising across the nation, is now expanding in Coimbatore. The branch office will commence its operation on Feb 1st, 2015 after a pre launch event at ‘Sarojini Natraj Auditorium,' Shree Baldevdas Kikani School, Sastri Road, RS Puram, Coimbatore.

Franchise India has helped over ten Lakh Business aspirants and Potential entrepreneurs in the country to start their business with less risk, desired investment level and preferred sector and in turn has also helped thousands of brands to expand in the country through franchising, dealership, distributorship Business models. Franchise India ,to its merit has a vast experience of working with both MSME’s and leading corporate houses and Household brand names over these years like Aditya Birla, Fabindia, Videocon, Reliance, DLF Brands, Sportsfit, TVS, Yamaha Mahindra Group, ITC, Gitanjali, Lite Bite Foods, Nokia, Lakme, Adidas, Kazo, Skipper, Chhabra 555, Brown Tree, Asia Seven, Luxor, Has Juice, Parambriym, Milky Way, Indian Tadka, Angels and many more through Media, Advisory and Exhibitions.

Now as Franchise India expands in Coimbatore market, the objective will be to empower entrepreneurs, women, Young people looking to start their own business , Retired and army veterans looking to  start a small business find the right business fit and realise the Business opportunities of their dreams at their doorstep. with their investments .Mr. Gaurav Marya, Chairman, Franchise India Group, who was in the city today said, “I see Coimbatore as a great market  with a lot of untapped business potential. Being an Industrial City , with great understanding of textiles and exports , Coimbatore has much appreciation for understanding and Building businesses and recognizing and working with Brands in Global markets. Franchise India would facilitate both Indian and International consumer Brands across sectors like Retail, Food service, Beauty & wellness, Education to set up shops in the region in partnership with Local Business people and emerging entrepreneurs. Together, with our partner Mr. Padmanabhan, We want to help the business fraternity in Coimbatore to start and grow New age businesses and be the part of the wave of Business change being felt across the country.

About Franchise India: Franchise India is an absolute authority in Franchising, Licensing, Retailing, Real Estate & Marketing since 1999. Franchise India offers services in Business Advisory, Invest Abroad, Start up Services, Business Loans, Business Resales, NRI Services and Legal Advisory.

Franchise India is an investor centric and franchisee focused company which provides business opportunities and helps investors make informed decisions. The company operates through 12 Zonal branches and 21 Regional branches all over India and a Vast network of 300+ Business Associates catering to the needs of budding entrepreneurs from Tier I, II & III cities.

Creating The Right Culture For Startup Success

Many factors determine whether your startup will succeed or fail. Most are quite obvious, including your ability to distinguish a product or service from the competition, access to and effective use of startup capital, product-market fit, among others. But one less obvious factor is your corporate culture.

A positive culture can do wonders for an organization. It can boost morale by making the workday more pleasant, which translates into higher productivity and lower employee attrition. It can also improve external relationships, leading to happier clients and more effective collaboration with vendors.

By the same token, a negative culture can poison the office environment, damage external relationships, and generally lead the company down the road to ruin.

Few CEOs have deep expertise in building a corporate culture. So, most of them allow the culture to develop on its own, leaving the outcome somewhat to chance. For those interested in taking a more proactive approach to creating a company culture or trying to repair a corporate culture gone bad, I have suggested a few threshold practices below to help you down the right path.

Determine what values are important to your business.

In shaping your company culture, you must first understand what kind of company you want to be. And once you do, you must then consider what will most effectively advance you toward that goal.

Do you need hard work above all else? Do you really need a dress code? Do you need the team to work together, or is it best for them to work alone? By tackling these questions early, either on your own or, preferable, in collaboration with other founders or key stakeholders of the business, you will end up with a stronger sense of what sort of environment you want, and you can build the company in a way that is tailored to that vision.

Articulate your values.

Once you know what kind of culture your company needs, you must communicate that vision to others. Having a mission statement is a good first step, but it is not enough. 

You must take the time to talk through the values and behaviors that will make the company succeed, and why they matter now and in the future. It is also helpful to train others to articulate those values for you, so that a strong sense of the corporate culture permeates the business at every level: in recruiting, during team projects and even when individuals are working independently. If the values of the business are articulated clearly and regularly, you will find yourself with lots of help in pursuing and maintaining the culture you want.

Protect your values.

Like virtually any other asset, a strong corporate culture requires care and protection. 

After having successfully shaped a positive culture at the company, you should turn your attention to perpetuating what you have built. This effort begins with your hiring process. This does not mean that you should hire only people who closely resemble one another; rather, you should weave your corporate values into the evaluation of candidates, and strive to hire those whose values appear to be consistent with those of the company.

Moreover, to the extent that existing employees degrade the culture that you have built, you must act quickly to address the issue. CEOs often resist excising toxic but otherwise high-performing employees for fear of disrupting the critical work of the business. But rarely do such situations work themselves out on their own, and they often worsen as time goes by, causing long-term harm that far outweighs the short-term benefit of keeping culture-destroying teammates.

Protect your culture like you would a valuable gem, acting quickly to mitigate risks as they arise and investing in long-term asset preservation, and you will increase the odds that you maintain your great culture long into the future.

Building and maintaining a strong culture is much of what separates average startups from those with staying power. Focus on developing the right culture early, act quickly to preserve it, and you will certainly improve the odds that your startup achieves what you set out to accomplish.

Article sourced from entrepreneur.com 

Author: PAUL MANDELL 

5 Ways Women Entrepreneurs Can Overcome the Funding Gap

From Facebook’s Sheryl Sandberg to General Motors’ Mary Barra, more and more women are earning top leadership positions.

It’s clear that women have come a long way since the Mad Men era. But, women still hold a mere 14.6 percent of executive officer positions. And this pattern continues with women entrepreneurs and small business owners, especially when it comes to raising capital. According to the "Kauffman Firm Survey," men start firms with nearly twice the capital that women do. On top of that, only 4.4 percent of the total dollar value of all small-business loans goes to women.

So why does the funding gap still plague women entrepreneurs today? It could be that women are more risk averse. When starting my business, I always took more calculated risks than blind leaps of faith and funding seemed chancey. Asking for money is also a touchy subject that never feels comfortable. Women could also fear that committing to funding cycles will take time away from family.

Despite the hurdles widening the funding gap, every entrepreneur needs capital to sustain a business. As a woman entrepreneur, don’t let these start statistics deter you from actively seeking funding.

Here are five tips for getting the funding you need to succeed:

1. Broaden your funding horizons.

Raising capital doesn’t always have to be in the form of venture capital or equity financing. There are many wonderful options out there, including bank loans, crowdfunding, lines of credit and Small Business Administration loans. Educate yourself on the variety of available funding sources to find out which one suits your needs best.

2. Network with others.

Entrepreneurs who build a strong network have a greater amount of resources and insight into funding opportunities. There are many women networking organizations, such as Ellevate, that support business growth, provide financial advice and offer mentorship opportunities. Make a concerted effort to connect with powerful businesswomen, and if you’re in a position to mentor somebody else, step up and do it.

3. Get involved.

You can (and should) be an advocate for the change you want to see in the business landscape. As you search for funding opportunities, support other women and any initiatives that advocate women in business.

For example, Sen. Maria Cantwell and the Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship recently introduced the Women’s Small Business Ownership Act of 2014. This legislation deserves a round of applause for increasing access to lending as well as business counseling and training for businesswomen.

4. Seek corporate and government support.

Don’t let large corporations intimidate you. Big-name players, such as American Express, are now creating support programs for women entrepreneurs by providing useful content, forums and even boot camps. The government also sets aside contracts and funds for minority-owned, veteran-owned and women-owned businesses. There are countless opportunities: You just need to take the plunge.

5. Don’t hold yourself back.

Sheryl Sandberg, chief operating officer of Facebook, is famous for promoting self-confidence in women. According to Sandberg, women leaders often get in their own way by underestimating their abilities and goals. Being cautious can pay off in some areas of business, but when it comes to raising capital, you need to approach funding sources with a winning attitude.

Accessing capital is paramount for any growing company. By facing the funding gap head-on and taking advantage of the resources and mentors available, you can overcome this hurdle and secure the funding your business deserves.

Article sourced from entrepreneur.com 

Author: ZEYNEP ILGAZ 

Franchise India Celebrates the F&B and hospitality industry at FHW Mumbai 2015

The F&B and hospitality industry: sourcing, networking, celebrating at FHW Mumbai 2015

The 24th edition of Food Hospitality World (FHW) 2015 exhibition kickstarted today at MMRDA grounds, Bandra Kurla Complex (BKC), Mumbai. The three-day exhibition, to be held from January 22-24, 2015, was inaugurated by Mr. Bharat Malkani, president, Hotel and Restaurant Association Western India (HRAWI) along with other dignitaries – Mr. Arvind Shetty, Past President, Indian Hotel and Restaurant Association (AHAR); Dr Sudhanshu, Deputy General Manager, Agricultural & Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA); Mohan Deshpande, Chairman, Hospitality Purchasing Managers Forum (HPMF);  Mr. A K Singh, principal/secretary, Institute of Hotel Management, Catering Technology and Applied Nutrition, Mumbai; Mr. Bhuvan G M, professor and principal, Apeejay Institute of Hospitality; Mr. Ravi Rawat, Director- Operations, Apeejay Surrendra Park Hotels; Chef Vernon Coelho, President, Western India Culinary Association (WICA), Mr. Thomas Zachariah, Vice President, The Indian Express; and Mr. Mehul Lanvers Shah, Managing Director, Hannover Milano Fairs India Pvt. Ltd. 

Speaking at the inauguration, Malkani, stated, "This year’s FHW exhibition is larger and well organised than the previous year. We have high expectations from the new government for the hospitality sector. HRAWI have made representations at the local, state and the central government. Last year wasn’t beneficial for the hospitality industry. This year HRAWI will be focusing on three key areas - education, dealing with the issue of multiple licencing and policy reform on taxes.” Reiterating the same, Rawat, stated, “The new government should address the issue of multiple licensing, also there needs to be a single-window platform for securing permissions. However, the future of the hospitality industry looks bright and there seems to be a lot of scope for development and growth.” 

Adding to the same, Singh opined, "FHW is the right platform for buyers and suppliers to meet and interact and learn from each other about the latest developments in the hospitality industry. I think ARR’s in the hospitality industry needs to increase since it has been constant since the past few years, once it goes up hotels will be able to adapt more technology. Under the Hunar-Se-Rozgar-Tak scheme, the ministry of tourism, Government of India, is planning to train 90,000 students in 2014-15 at IHMs and state tourism corporations for entry level jobs." 

Over the three-day exhibition, FHW 2015 will host various special events including the 9^th edition of the Great Indian Culinary Challenge (GICC) in partnership with the Western India Culinary Association.

GICC 2015 powered by celebrated food brands such as: Unilever Food Solutions, Nestle, Dawaat Basmati Rice and American Pistachios as ‘Ingredient Partners’ and Aura Essentials and Sai Shraddha Hospitality as ‘Equipment Partners’ opened to a cheering audience of business visitors who greatly appreciated the live cooking and food presentations! This is set to continue across the 3 days with around 150 chefs competing live from various leading hotels and hotel management institutes. The Great Indian Culinary Challenge is a food preparation competition involving senior and apprentice chefs across India. The competition provides a professional platform for culinary professionals from India to showcase their individual and collective skills, learn, share experiences, partner and network in a competitive environment & an opportunity for winners to fly to Milan, South Africa to our international food and hospitality show networks : Tuttofood Milan, FHW Capetown, Host Milan among several others!

Apart from the GICC, FHW 2015 will be organising several interesting and engaging events. One such event would be the Hospitality Think Tank: The GM's Conclave, a panel discussion to be held on the topic of Effective People Management in the hospitality sector. This discussion will witness participation from general managers of leading hotels across western India who will share their insights on mentoring, team building, manpower shortage, skill development to name a few. The second panel discussion 'Hospitality Knowledge Exchange: Serving up in Style' will cover emerging trends in cutlery, crockery, food presentation, tableware, etc. This discussion will have a mix of restauranteurs, chefs and vendors in the panel. Another panel discussion, The Power of Purchase organised by the Hospitality Purchasing Managers Forum, will be a knowledge initiative that will discuss the role of procurement, its growth, present and future trends. The final seminar will be organised by AHAR – on Technological Innovations & Social Media in Hotels. The other special show features include a Wine-tasting by Pause Wines for the F&B and media and the celebrated Cornitos Food Bloggers Meet 2015 - The contest will be judged by Master Chef Shipra Khanna, where contestants will be challenged to showcase innovative preparations, toppings and decorations with Cornitos (nachos and decorations provided at the venue). FHW Mumbai 2015 in partnership with the Food Food Channel is pleased to feature ‘live cooking’ sessions with celebrated Food Food chefs : Chef Shantanu Gupte, Chef Shailendra Kekade and Chef Harpal Singh Sokhi across 3 days!

The FHW trade show, organised by Global Fairs & Media – a joint venture between Hannover Milano Fairs India and The Indian Express, presented exhibitors coming from different segments of the food and hospitality industry namely F&B, interiors, kitchen equipment, housekeeping, bakery to name a few. Spread across 10,000 sq mtrs of the MMRDA grounds, the trade show hosts approximately 250 national and international brands this time. The trade show aims at providing solutions to various industry-related problems faced by hoteliers, restaurateurs, facility managers, prospective students and distributors.

3 Must-Use Tactics to Differentiate Your Company From the Competition

Every business faces an identity crisis during its evolution. Executives of young companies are constantly questioning how to build a differentiated identity in a saturated industry. Even pioneers in uncharted territory will, before too long, need to find their voice.

Intense competition means you’re onto something good. It also means your industry will shape you if you are not tenacious about defining yourself.

There are three fundamental strategies that are instrumental in distinguishing a company from its peers:

1. Cultivate a work environment that enables you to hire exceptional people.

The prospect of achieving true value-driven business hinges on your ability to recruit the best talent in the industry. “A” players want to work alongside “A” players, so there is nothing more important than building a strong nucleus of talent. Hiring hastily during an inflection point of your growth can be the kiss of death in creating a culture of excellence.

Nothing gets top-tier employees more excited than being challenged to take on outsized responsibility, yet most work environments still adhere to a stripes-earning, teeth-cutting, dues-paying mentality that stifles growth.

One of the ways we’ve been able to succeed in attracting exceptional talent is by showing we strive to be a perfect meritocracy, unfettered by the requirements around age or experience.

2. Question everything but challenge selectively.

Adhering solely to industry standards and best practices is a surefire way to camouflage a company in the market. Businesses strongly positioned for long-term success tend to believe adamantly that their industry’s best practices have yet to be discovered. There is an important distinction between questioning every industry assumption and assuming that every industry practice is flawed -- it is a thin line between curiosity and arrogance. In the quest to innovate, leave no stone unturned. If the industry got it right, turn that stone back over.

For instance, when we set out to build Urban Compass, we aimed to innovate on three fronts:

Scope: while most real estate firms tackle a very thin sliver of the real estate experience, we wanted to build a product for the holistic experience – search, schedule, visit, purchase, move, and connect to your new neighborhood.

Technology: we wanted to bring data and technology to a space in which no one had found a way to harness these elements in a valuable way.

Compensation: we challenged the assumption that agents should be paid on commission and piloted a salaried real estate agent model, in which agents received bonuses for delivering good customer service.

While we’ve gained tremendous traction because of our innovation on scope and technology, we found that our initial innovation on compensation was actually detracting value: it prevented us from hiring top performing agents who wanted to benefit from the upside of commission, and misaligned incentives for our current agent base, who were being paid to be nice, not to help their clients close deals. We’ve since turned that stone back over, and we now match the industry standard on paying out commissions.

This was an important lesson for us: Be exhaustive in questioning industry assumptions, be selective in challenging them.

3. Focus relentlessly on value.

Proclaiming the need to focus on value may sound like a truism, but it is remarkably easy to forsake the path of substance.

Businessman and author Ben Horowitz aptly said in order for a customer to switch to your product, it needs to be 10 times better than the product they are currently using. The only way to ensure this is by employing a laser focus on value and eliminating all distractions. This demands not only discernment between value and distraction, but requires the discipline not to pursue the distraction.

As a young company, you’ll face this challenge every day, and sometimes the choice is between less engaging tasks to create value or more interesting tasks destroying value. Making the choice to select substance over splash is critical in building a deep, unique product.

Article sourced from entrepreneur.com 

Author: ROBERT REFFKIN