Stephen Covey, the world famous author of “The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People” describes how in order to manage a business successfully, one needs to first manage oneself well. There are of course many benefits in being able to work in cohesion with your colleagues and employees – your business gains, you have financial gains and of course, you get a lot of personal satisfaction from your work. And yet, if you still tend to think or act in ways that do not quite benefit the business then you need to look at ways in which you can master yourself and thereby achieve true success in your business. Read the rest of this entry »

You have just started a company and believe that your product or services are already proving to be popular. Sales are up, customers are happy and you think that your business has made it. Well, not quite really. Your company will do well only till such a time that another new company comes along. If they have a product or service that is better than yours or they are able to market it better than you, you will soon find that new sales are down to a trickle and that even some of your old customers are thinking of leaving you. One solution is of course, to keep talking to customers to understand what you can do to improve your product or service. The other and more overlooked aspect is of building your company name and brand. In fact, your brand name is one of your most valuable assets and the best way to retain customers and build value in a business would be by learning how to build your brand. Read the rest of this entry »

Jack Welch, the past Chairman and CEO of GE, has been very rightly hailed as one of the top business leaders of all times. He not only headed GE during tough days and then through a heady rise, but in the process, came up with some pioneering business strategies that few have been able to match till now. Much of Jack Welch’s leadership advise continues to resonate throughout the business world even today and by learning from this advise, you can improve your business and achieve maximum performance. Read the rest of this entry »

You probably own a small business or are thinking of starting one. As is the case with all small businesses, chances are that you are the product designer, the marketing chief and the creative head all rolled into one. In which case, once your business is launched you are going to be spending a fair amount of time in coming up with innovate ideas to market your company. You know that you cannot compete with the big brand names with their mega-million dollar advertising and marketing budgets but nevertheless, you believe you should try all possible creative means to make your company succeed. One excellent, but often overlooked means of getting in touch with prospective customers is through strong visual communications. Read the rest of this entry »

Whether you are a small start-up or part of a large corporation, chances are that your business has had to seek advice regarding certain aspects of its business from experts in that field. For example, with rapidly evolving technologies playing such an important role in business operations, managers are constantly looking for ways in which they can implement these new technologies to grow their business. However, as with any new technology, it is not easy to know what to do, how to do it and even where to begin. Read the rest of this entry »

One of the most often quoted figures in business today is not an economist, not a business strategist and certainly not a management guru. He was Sun Tzu, the ancient Chinese philosopher and military strategist, who is best known for the book he wrote ‘The Art of War’. However, his philosophy and strategies for dealing with different people and situations are believed to have great relevance in business and even in life. In fact, in retail business and franchising, Sun Tzu’s statements matter even more. Read the rest of this entry »

Ted had a day job as a car salesman and had been going through the same routing for over four years. From nine to five in the morning, Ted’s job was to sell cars and though he was good at it, he knew that this was not what he wanted to do. Ted was very good with his hands and could turn out intricately carved wooden boxes in just days. He used to present them to his friends or family who would be amazed at the kind of skill he had. For a long time, Ted had been wondering if he should quit his job and start doing something on his own. However, the uncertainties of business always filled him with apprehension and prevented him from thinking further in that direction. Read the rest of this entry »