India has recently passed the The Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013 (“Sexual Harassment Act“) and has made the law effective w.e.f April 23, 2013. This law categorically states that “No women shall be subjected to sexual harassment at any workplace”.

We take a look at some of the basic tenets of this Act and list out what it requires an employer to ensure -

What is sexual harassment according to the Act? According to the Act, ‘sexual harassment’ includes any one or more of the following unwelcome behaviour (whether directly or by implication) namely:

i. Physical contact or advances; or
ii. A demand or request for sexual favours; or
iii. Making sexually coloured remarks; or
iv. Showing pornography; or
v. Any other unwelcome physical, verbal or non-verbal conduct of sexual nature.

Does the Act specify what includes ‘Workplace’? Yes. The Act makes an elaborate note of the types of workplace that come under the ambit of the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace law. This includes:

i. Any Govt. company, corporation, co-operative society, local authority including all their branches and departments;
ii. Every private sector organisation, enterprise, society, trust, institution;
iii. Hospitals and nursing homes;
iv. Every sports institute, games venue, stadium;
v. Any place visited by the employee arising out of the employment including transportation provided by the employer for such a journey;
vi. Any residential place or house.

What are the duties of an ‘Employer’ with regard to the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace Act? The Act makes an elaborate note of the duties of an employer in ensuring compliance with the Act:

Duties Regarding Internal Complaints Committee: Every employer employing more than 10 people in his business unit is compulsorily required to constitute an Internal Complaints Committee in writing and ensure the following:

i. Provide necessary facilities to the ICC for dealing with the complaint and conducting an enquiry;
ii. Assist in securing the attendance of the respondent and witnesses before the ICC;
iii. Provide the ICC with information that it may require;
iv. Help the female employee if she chooses to file a complaint with the IPC;
v. Initiate action against the perpetrator responsible for alleged sexual harassment;
vi. Monitor the timely submission of reports by the ICC.

Other Duties Of The Employer:

i. Provide a safe working environment at the workplace which shall include safety of the persons coming into contact at the workplace;
ii. Display at any conspicuous place at the workplace the penal consequences of sexual harassment and the order constituting the Internal Committee under the Act;
iii. Organize workshops and awareness programmes at regular intervals for sensitizing employees on the issues and implications of workplace sexual harassment and organizing orientation programmes for members of the Internal Complaints Committee;
iv. Treat sexual harassment as misconduct under the service rules and initiate action for the same. misconduct.

Strained Rupee; Belt-tightening clients; Severe competition; Dire need to grow business – Sadly, all of these are a reflection of today’s business environment. And big or small, every business is finding it difficult to clinch new deals, renew older ones. Result – stressed out work places, frayed tempers.

While all of the factors involved in bagging a deal might not be in your hands and thereby, controllable, there are a few things you could do to ensure that you have done your home-work and have covered the ground. Find below some of these essentials that can bring you close to closing a deal quickly.

• Ensure you are talking to the right guy. This is perhaps one of the most important factors in effectively closing a sales’ deal. Find out whether the lead you are going to meet with, present your pitch, explain your business proposition, discuss pricing nitty-gritty’s, is the ‘right’ guy or not. By ‘right’ guy, we mean the person who will take the final call, who will be the decision-making authority, be it, on the scope of work, pricing, governing responsibilities in particular or the general assigning of the deal. Remember, if you are not in touch with the right authority, you would be wasting precious time.

• Find out about all the steps involved in signing the deal. This becomes critical if you have pitched to a large business house or a multi-national. For then, there are various departments/teams involved in the closure of a deal. You would probably start with the marketing team on the business pitch, then be directed to communicate with the operations team on the scope of work, then the pricing team and finally probably the financial officer to sign the deal. Make sure you are aware of every stage involved so that you can schedule time and resources at your end accordingly. This need will not arise if you are dealing with a smaller organisation/business, for then the deciding authority/team may be just one or at the most two levels.

• Be ready with every related data, information or explanation that may be asked for. Best is to keep a small team or an individual from your office on stand-by while you are in the deal discussion and negotiation stage. The prospective client may ask for a whole lot of data/information that you had not planned for. You should be able to get this information in no time from your office so that the talks don’t come to a stop. Therefore, keep references, data-points, materials ready at all times.

• Follow-up regularly. Once the talks are over and the final pitch and pricing has been sent, schedule your calendar in a way that you follow up on the progress of the deal at the client’s end. This is a thin rope you would be walking on. For, if you show too much eagerness, the client may try to squeeze some bit more from you on the pricing or responsibilities front. On the other hand, if you do not follow up enough, your competitor may snatch the deal from under your nose. Hence, follow up judiciously, making sure not to infuriate your contact at the other end, and at the same time being fully aware of the progress.

Small business identity theft is a major concern not just for the business but also the employees. Unlike personal identity theft, here there is a danger of employee records being compromised. The intruder will have access to employee names, addresses, phone numbers and other sensitive information of anyone who works for that firm. While, there aren’t any hard and fast solutions, there are several precautionary measures that a business owner or manager can take in order to prevent this situation.
 
So how do you protect a small business from identity thieves?
 
• Firstly, protect your customers’ information and keep the data locked. Invest in advanced encryption systems that secure your files and networks.
• Always make sure that old, dated records are locked up or destroyed beyond any use. Hard copies of documents are crucial as these are easier to retrieve. And, also limit the access to archived files only to a set of trustworthy employees
• Physical burglary is often ignored, yet a critical issue. Secure your business premises with sophisticated lock systems and alarms to provide you with immediate security against fraudulent individuals. Thus, minimize the risk of the consequent identity theft from the physical documents
• Be extremely cautious with former employees. One single entity can wreak the most damage to your company with access to your records outside the company. De-activate all accounts and revoke all access given to the staff.
• Enforce a strict security policy in place. Everyone in the company should be sensitised about proprietary information and mandates. Make sure that ex-employees comply with the signed confidentiality agreement and your corporate information will remain safe from outsider access

As an enthusiastic entrepreneur, you may want to speak volumes about your business plans and the operations. However, while pitching your business idea to investors, you not only need to keep it focussed, but also crisp, summarizing the business’s novelty, or USP, its capabilities, the customer base outlook, competitor mapping etc. Finally, you need to show them the justification why they should buy your product/service.

This is not all that tough as it appears. The golden rule is to create an elevator pitch that is short, simple and up-to-the-point because you usually have a very short amount of time to ‘pitch’ it.

We have consolidated some must-haves for your business pitch -

What is your product/service?

Explain the product/service to your client. You need to be specific here, highlighting the key problems that it solves and the business value it delivers.

Why will this idea work?

Most ideas come out of one’s own experiences. Though a good base to start with, your personal experience alone won’t sell the product. Validate your idea with your audience; tell them about your business’s capabilities, what the market opportunity is and the value proposition you are bringing to the table. Show data or case studies to back up your claims.

Who are your competitors, if any?

If it’s a unique idea and there’s not a similar concept in the market, you may have a smooth sailing. But in case of competition, be prepared with a competitor mapping; who are your existing competitors, their strengths and weaknesses. Also, you need to showcase what is it that your product can give to the customers that they aren’t already getting from your competitors.

How will your business solve your customers’ needs?

The customer’s need is at the core of your product development.

• Be creative while explaining why your product/service is better over the existing ones in the market
• Explain the USP of your product; follow it with proof that your product solves this problem better than any other product in the market
• Combine a strong product story with sales data and you will surely catch the prospective client’s attention

QuickBooks Online Inner Circle

 
Members of the Inner Circle will enjoy a mutually beneficial relationship that will put them and their business in the spotlight as brand ambassadors of QuickBooks Online and would help in product co-creation. The Inner Circle ambassadors will act as advisors to facilitate the product development, marketing communication and sales teams to gather feedback, in order to get better in meeting the customer needs.
 
The Inner Circle was launched and celebrated at a unique event organized at The Oberoi in Gurgaon. The first nine members of the Inner Circle were welcomed by Kiran Karnik, Ex-President, NASSCOM and Intuit India Advisory Board Member and Kamlesh Vikamsey, Ex-President, Institute of Chartered Accountants of India and Confederation of Asian and Pacific Accountants.
 

Inner Circle Launch - The Oberoi, Gurgaon

 
Speaking on the occasion of the launch of the Inner Circle, Nikhil Arora, Vice President and Managing Director of Intuit India, stated that, “QuickBooks Online Inner Circle is an exclusive programme for a select group of small business owners and accountants, with the benefits being very clear. We journey along to find more about the pain points and problems they go through, and in turn this helps us in creating better products.”
 

Nikhil Arora, Vice President and Managing Director of Intuit India

 
Here’s what Unnikrishnan Menon, Partner, Vasan & Sampath Chartered Accountants and an Inner Circle Pro-Advisor, feels about the initiative, “It provides us another platform to network and showcase our professional capabilities. By being a part of this group, we hope that we will be on top of the enhancements in QuickBooks Online – which in turn can help provide better services to clients.”
 
Kiran hosted an engaging panel discussion with the Inner Circle members on Growing your business with cloud accounting. On the panel discussion the Inner Circle shared their experiences on harnessing cloud accounting and the benefits they have derived, there was a deep dive discussion on the significant impact and benefit they have gained from QuickBooks Online, as well as a few areas where they’d like to see improvement. Kiran added, “I think this Inner Circle concept is a great idea which brings customers and companies closer together.”
 
Some of the exclusive privileges that the Inner Circle members will benefit from are:
 
• Two years of free subscription on QuickBooks Online Plus for Inner Circle members
• Priority customer service
• Updates, first trial, training on new products and features related to QuickBooks Online
• Quarterly advisory council meetings to get feedback on product, customer care and marketing communication
• Customer case studies and testimonials to be promoted on external and internal channels
• Profile them on the Intuit Small Business India blog and QuickBooks Online website
• Opportunity to be positioned as a small business and accountant expert via media ops and external events
 

Inner Circle Members at Launch

 
Suraj Nayak, Partner, Creative R Solutions, added that, “Being an Inner Circle member helped me to give my inputs directly to the core development team, interact with them personally and customize each and every option in QuickBooks Online to suit my business needs.”
 
Check out the launch of the elite QuickBooks Online Inner Circle on YouTube!

Build a Healthy Small Business

 
Know your customer
 
For a small business to prosper, the key would be to identify the right customers. An entrepreneur should carefully study his market and business model to know his potential customer base. Targeting the right customer saves money as well as time.
 
Identify any challenges
 
Entrepreneurs need to know the weakest link in their business. For a small business, the primary challenges would be aspects like cost control, inventory management, resources updates, customer services, etc. After the challenges have been recognized, entrepreneurs need to address these problems tactfully.
 
Tackle each problem singularly
 
At times, problems when seen collectively may seem overwhelming and demoralizing. Often entrepreneurs are intimidated by too many problems that crop up simultaneously. Instead of collectively trying to solve problems, it would be wise to break them up and see them individually. By dealing with one issue at a time, the entrepreneur is able to focus at the task at hand and accordingly find suitable solutions. These solutions prove to be the base foundation to a healthy and successful business enterprise.
 
Capitalize on your strengths
 
Each business has unique strengths of its own. This can be in any aspect: communication, finances, customer servicing etc. Being adept, responsive and exploiting these strengths helps in making the foundation of any business that much stronger.
 
Reinvent your small business
 
Adapting to change and reinventing aspects of your business is important for a small business to survive. Reinvention of a setup can be done without altering the vision and the business model. Acclimatization is what helps a company stay afloat with better business prospects.
 
Team building
 
In order to ensure a healthy business, an entrepreneur needs to ensure his team works in unison. A team that works in sync and coordination can achieve greater results. Effective team building and group dynamics help form a superior and healthier work environment.
 
The reluctance to say no
 
Start-ups make the common mistake of accepting any work that comes their way. Sometimes saying no or turning down an opportunity could work in favour instead of going against. Biting more than what you can chew can result in a drop of quality and that in turn could severely hamper progress. A possible solution to this would be to share or outsource work with another business entity.
 
Leverage the internet
 
Many businesses have formed a strong base and gathered customer acceptance due to effective social media presence. Leveraging your star-up business with the help of the internet can help clients identify with your venture as well as your products and services. The internet is the future of quick marketing and capitalizing on this aspect can help your business to grow.
 
Bootstrap whenever possible
 
Small businesses need to ensure their expenses are calculated and budgeted. An enterprise that is still in its nascent stage should curtail from making extravagant spendings. An expense or investment that does not add to any increase in the business revenue should be avoided. A healthy business is one that has a check on its disbursements.
 
To develop a healthy, successful business is no mean feat. To ensure the health of your business set up, a quick check on the above-mentioned points could yield fruitful results.

In our previous articles, we have talked about various responsibilities of a young entrepreneur of a start-up, from hiring employees, training and grooming them to motivating them. But there is one other task too, which though nobody looks forward to, becomes unavoidable in certain circumstances. We are talking about those unfortunate instances when you have to let go of your employees.

The Different Scenarios when you may have to let go of your employees:

• Star Performer: This employee is the most difficult to let go of. He not only contributed to the success of the company but also made the work enjoyable. But now it’s time for him to move on as he feels there is no room for his personal growth or development, finds the work mundane and not challenging enough or just needs a change.

• Neither here nor there: This is a good employee when he wants to be – i.e. one moment he is brilliant while the next, he can behave like a total moron. You are not too happy with his performance but still he keeps the cogs of the company moving. Furthermore, he is there when you want him to deliver. Though you are not too happy to see him go, you are a little relieved at some level when he resigns.

• Good for Nothing: Hiring him was probably the biggest mistake of your professional judgement. The employee’s performance is not up to the mark and you can never count on him to deliver. You can’t wait to see his back and fire him at the first serious opportunity you get.

Tips to Bid Employees Goodbye Most Amicably:

• Respect his Decision: If the employee expresses a desire to leave, find out what was troubling him and offer to change that to the best you can. But if he unwilling to continue despite the changes offered, let go of him. Understand that your employee has given his fullest to the company and now his priority has changed. It’s not good for either your company or the employee if he is not motivated enough to work with you.

• Part Amicably: It’s a small world out there. You never know when you may cross paths again. Remember, with the influence of social-media on our lives, one bad word from the employee can put a serious dent on your company’s reputation. Part on amicable terms so that if you ever meet again, it will be with no hard feelings. Also, you never know when you might need his assistance in the future.

• Token of Appreciation: One of the best ways to bid employee goodbye is to throw a small party in order to recognize and appreciate his hard work and commitment. Invite other staff members too. Give him a token gift or an inscribed souvenir (clock, pen stand, photo frame etc) to remind him of happy times he spent with you. This will also serve as a morale booster for other employees when they see you appreciating dedication and loyalty.

• Recommendation Letter: Give the parting employee a decent Recommendation Letter (an outstanding one in case of your star performer) so that it becomes easier for him to continue his professional career in dignity.

• Open Job Offer: Though this one’s not for the employee you fired, you might want to consider it for the other employees. Let him know that if he ever wants to work with you again in the future, he can contact you without any hesitation. You will be more than happy to accommodate him in a role (if available) that does justice to his qualifications and ambitions.

Bidding your employees goodbye is not as simple as it sounds. What feelings did you experience while letting your employee go?

Succession Plan

 
Here are a few things you can keep in mind when it comes to putting a good succession plan in place.
 
Identify potential candidates: The foremost step is to identify the potential candidates, with suitable skills and qualities. Not all these candidates will go on to the helm, but most will fill up important roles in your business as it grows. While your children may want to continue the legacy, they may not always be the right candidate. Sometimes an employee or a relative may prove more meritorious and would make a better leader for your business. You can consult your family or a third party advisor in this case, to assess the capabilities of the potential candidates.
 
Mentor and monitor: You need to train the future leaders for your business by assigning responsibilities and mentoring them. Mentoring is an essential part of the succession plan where you should involve identified employees in decision-making areas of the business and then establish a sound relationship with important stakeholders such as vendors and customers. Working closely with these candidates also ensures that you can tie in their own personal aspirations with business goals. Identify these candidates’ strengths and weaknesses and work on it constructively to mould a refined and experienced leader for your business.
 
Monitor the performance of the business under these candidates and see how they are faring in various activities. Make sure the trained candidates are good at prioritizing the roles and responsibilities. They should act as catalysts that accelerate business performance and growth. Guide them where necessary and allow them to share ideas and thoughts on important matters. This way you are empowering the managers to move on to bigger roles.
 
The legal bits: An important part of the succession plan is to settle the financial and legal matters in your business. You do not want to witness a bitter battle over finances or power when you plan to step down. A legally sound will and other necessary legal documents would ensure that any conflicts are resolved as quickly as possible. The leadership transition would also be smoother. Involve legal and financial consultants to settle on aspects of business investments, tax issues, monetization plans etc. and ensure that the next successor is aware of these decisions.
 
Your post retirement plan: Ensure that you have a sound retirement plan; if you would like to serve your business for some more time or if you would like to completely retire. Ensure that your plan will help you sustain your livelihood and that you receive a monthly pension or some sort of financial support from the business that you built. Alternatively, you can also work as a dormant employee, who steps in from time to time to offer guidance.

“When you are small, you have to wear many hats, being in a room solving most of the problems yourself. That’s an asset and part of what makes you very successful. As you scale, your job is to empower other people to do those things, inspire them, to get the best out of them and not necessarily solve every problem yourself” – Andrew Mason, Founder & CEO of Groupon, the world’s largest deal-of-the-day website.

Needless to say, your employees are your biggest asset, whether at the start-up stage or at the growth stage. They not only believe in your start-up dream but also participate in the efforts to realize that dream. Is it then, not your responsibility to make sure that they are continuously being groomed for larger roles when the time comes? Yes, we are talking about training sessions for your employees.

The benefits of training, after all, are all too many:

• It improves the skills which in turn improves performance of both the individual and the business.
• It will help you stay competitive in the market.
• It increases the employee’s job satisfaction, morale and motivation which in turn help in increasing the productivity of the business.
• It creates efficient employees who require less supervision and detailed instructions.
• It enables them to adapt better to changes and challenges in the normal course of business.
• Finally, it instills confidence in them that the business-owners care for their individual growth. This in turn influences them to stay with the company for a longer time.

Cost-Effective Training Sessions: It may be a while before your business can afford large sums of money/resources for your employee’s training. However, that should not stop you from conducting routine training sessions. We help you with a few cost-effective ways of employee training:

• Regular Training:

- Spend some time in documenting a Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) that is a summary of the processes in your business. You can also ask an existing employee to create the SOP replete with pictorial/diagrammatic representations. You can use this document for your regular training/briefing needs especially that of new employees.
- Designate your experienced employees to train new recruits rather than recruiting a trainer. This method will not only help in breaking the ice but also help in building a good rapport with their new colleagues.

• Specific Training:

- Look up on the internet to look for resources that effectively use e-learning and Virtual Learning Methodologies. Often, these are not very expensive and offer flexible packages
- Identify particular employees in your office who can keep track of the latest changes in your industry. This could be related to technology upgrades, subject-matter expertise or even best-practice sharing. Make sure that these changes are routinely captured, documented and shared with the respective teams through ‘knowledge transfer’ sessions. Websites such as www.youtube.com, www.slideshare.net etc have invaluable resources on topics of particular interest.

Are you convinced about the need for your employees training? Let us know if this article has helped you identify a crucial business requirement.

Ecommerce is set to grow in India – estimates from the industry say that it will contribute almost 8-10% of the total retails turnover in the years ahead. This is a substantial number considering that it is a sunrise industry. A number of new businesses that have been featured in our very own Intuit Small Business India Blog are ecomm start-ups – eg: LazyBone Publications – online coaching class , Tupples – the online pet store, Giveter – online gift store, UnWrapIndia – online store for Indian handicrafts, etc.

Customer experience is of utmost importance in any eCommerce venture. Towards this end, a clear and fair returns policy goes a long way in building trust amongst the online shoppers. In this article, we will discuss what all to bear in mind while drawing up your returns policy.

Specify The Articles That Can Be Returned: Make a list of all the non-returnable articles and display this list in such a way that the prospective customer can find and read it easily. Take care not to include every item from your wares in this list, as you would scare away your customers then. The articles that have been identified as non-returnable should be justified and logical, say cosmetics that have been opened or under-garments that have been used even once.

Specify The Timeline Within Which Returns Can Be Made: There are a number of things that need to be considered in this category. Make sure you spell each of these clearly and in simple English in the returns policy.

• Most eCommerce businesses have a 30-day return policy. Decide on the return period permissible and put it clearly on the returns policy
• Be specific about whether you will consider the date of shipping as the returns-date, or the date of actual receipt of goods
• If you are keen to make a phased deadline in proportion to refunds permissible, spell it out

Specify Whether There Will Be A Refund or Replacement: Once again, leave no ambiguity in this. It obviously makes more sense to offer a replacement as you wouldn’t want to let go of the business opportunity. Plus, since the customer genuinely wanted that particular product, he/she will like it if you replace the returns he made. However, should you allow refunds, make sure the returns policy mentions it clearly.

Specify Who Will Bear The Shipping Charges: Logically, if the goods are being returned, the business should bear the courier/postal charges. Hence, even if the customer pays for the shipping charges, make sure you reimburse the expense so made. Should you decide otherwise, specify it in the returns policy.

Additionally, the key to a good returns policy are:

• Use of clear and plain English. Refrain from using technical/legal jargons
• Ensure the policy is crisp and to-the-point. Avoid a 3-4 paged policy document!
• Ensure that the returns policy is easy to find/refer to in your website. The customer should not have to spend an inordinate amount of time locating it

We’d love to hear from you about your experiences/ learnings in handling returns from your customers. Let us know if you consider any other point, not mentioned in this article, to be of importance.

Technology and an increasingly globalized market have changed the dynamics of traditional business. Have you noticed the rising trend among small businesses to hire freelancers? Did you ever toy with the idea of hiring one? Let’s find out when is hiring freelancers a viable option.

Have you started new?

If you have just started your own business or are testing waters by being a part-time entrepreneur, it hardly makes any sense to hire full time employees. In order to keep the costs to a minimum, hire freelancers. After all, with employees there are many costs attached – salary, employer-provided benefits, office space and equipment.

Is there an uncertainty?

If the long-term outlook is uncertain, hiring freelancers can prove to be a big advantage. For short-term assignments (projects that have a beginning and an end), temporary help can be the solution. You can hire one resource for a short/fixed period (i.e. just when business is overwhelming) and let him/her go when you no longer need the work.

Say in a Summer Activity Centre for kids where you teach different activities like Dancing, Art & Craft, Guitar, French etc, it is advisable to rope in professionals on freelance basis as the Centre will close down once the vacations get over.

But keep in mind that efficiency and quality of work don’t take a hit as you use different freelancers at various times.

Is the business doing well?

Your answer might be in the affirmative, but what if you still can’t afford a full-time employee? Hiring freelancers may be viable in such a situation. In this arrangement, you can shell out projects to them and pay as you go. Freelancers can be more cost-efficient, easier to manage and easier to fire if you don’t like their work or if the business is going downhill.

A few tips to help you decide whether you need employees or freelancers:

• If your business is related to creative fields such as writing, graphic and web designing, computer programming, digital marketing solutions etc., you will find freelance talent in abundance.
• If your work doesn’t require somebody working all the time from your office space or it can be done anywhere, you’d better consider hiring a freelancer.
• If your work needs high specialization skills i.e you need some design help to update your Web site, then you should hire an expert freelancer for that project without worrying about keeping him on payroll on an on-going basis.
• If you are one of those employers who like to rely on the same workers day after day, you are better off hiring employees rather than freelancers.

A Word of Caution:

Start ups in the business of producing intellectual property with copyrights like written works, videos, art and music need to take the ownership of the creations of the freelancers as the start-ups don’t automatically own the copyright. For the same, they need to sign a written agreement transferring copyright ownership from the freelancer to the start-up.

Where to find Freelance workers?

There are several Web resources that connect businesses to freelancers. These include freelancer.com, iFreelance.com, guru.com and elance.com

Being a small business owner, we know you have your hands full with planning finances and budget, recruitment, creating new marketing strategies and keeping customers satisfied; but apart from all these you need to keep a close eye on your competitors too. The reason being small businesses feel the impact of competition more immediately and deeply. Also, knowing about their goals, target market, approach and how they market their products/services can give you an insight into your competitors’ success.

It needn’t necessarily cost you a bomb or take too much time, just some dedicated effort. Here are a few ways you can find out about your competitor’s strategies:

Identify your Competitors

Firstly, identify who your competitors are; what they stand for, what do other people think about them and how the consumers find them. Then make a list of them and track them on a regular basis.

Gathering data on all your competitors can prove to be a tedious job; hence, you should divide your competition into categories and prioritize them, asking yourself who pose the biggest threat.

Spy through Technology

Technology can be a big asset for you when it comes to knowing what your competitors are doing, planning to do and also what they are not doing.

• Set up Google Alerts -

Google Alerts (a free software) notifies you every time your competitors are mentioned online, including their news articles, press releases, blog posts, discussions, and/or videos. You can also choose what to monitor and how often you want the email alerts – once a day/week.

• Monitor through Social Media -

By liking/following your rivals on Facebook, LinkedIn, or Twitter; you can get regular updates on their products, special deals etc. You can see how their social media strategy works to get their followers interact with them. There are several social media management platforms or monitoring tools (Tweepi, Hootsuite, Tweetdeck etc) too that you can use for monitoring.

• Subscribe to their Email Newsletters -

If your competitors have an email newsletter sign-up form on their website and/or Facebook page, subscribe to them. You’ll get to know what types of information they’re communicating to customers and prospects. Don’t forget to use your personal email id for such correspondences.

Gather intelligence through Customers & Staff

Your customers and staff can prove to be a big minefield of information.
• Customer feedback can be a cheap and invaluable tool in creating a competitive edge. Check in with them on a random basis from time to time just to see how you are doing vis-à-vis your competitors.
• You can ask your staff to pitch in too. Some of them might have friends/acquaintances at your competitors through which you may get some important information.

Other possible ways

Apart from the ones mentioned above, you can also collect information regarding your competitors through:
• Newspapers, magazines and trade publications
• Suppliers and distributors
• Stock market analysis, in case your completion is big and listed
• Analytical models such as via SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats).

Gathering competitive intelligence is part of the day-to-day operation and a continuous process. Hence, create a repository of collected information e.g. folders on the server. Keep adding to the already gathered data at regular intervals. Finally, you or someone from your staff should review and analyze the data that are collected periodically, say, once a quarter. And see if you can take advantage of the findings with counter-strategies or marketing ideas.

You might have heard this term ‘Pinterest’ a lot in recent times. Pinterest was launched in 2010 and as of 2012, the number of registered users with Pinterest exceeded 10 Million. According to an Infographic by Search Engine Journal,this is way more when compared to that of Facebook & Twitter (which hardly had 6 & 3 Million users registered respectively – after two years of their launch)

Pinterest works similar to that of your bill board where you pin important items such as bills, notices & sticky notes. Now let’s get into what Pinterest is and how do we use it for our business?

What is Pinterest?

Pinterest is a social networking (photo/video based) website where users can post their own content (photo/video) or share other’s content by pinning them to their board. You can create Pinboards on your own, name them and pin images to them accordingly.You need not create a new account with Pinterest, as you could login with your Facebook or Twitter Profile. Pinterest can also be used to drive traffic to your web properties and generate leads. There are few key terms we need to know about Pinterest.

Pin – An image which has been added to the website
Pinner – The user who shares the content
Pinboard – A set of similar pins
Repin – Reposting the pin by others
Pinit Button – This is a social plug-in which can be used in your website to enable the user to share your content quickly.

Tips on how to use Pinterest for your business:

Drive Traffic to your website: The primary goal of any small & medium business to use Pinterest is to drive traffic. Pinterest gives you an opportunity to generate back links for your website, micro property or your other social media pages. You can pin interesting content from your website or blog using the ‘Pinit’ Button which would automatically generate a back link for your website. When a user repins your content, there are more chances for your content to reach new users.

Create interesting and relevant boards: It’s not all about what you have. Create unique boards and interesting pins, through which you could connect emotionally with a prospect and not just selling. Take a look at the Pinterest Page of Vineyard Brands where they hardly speak about their products. They focus more on what might interest their followers and how could they be co-related to their product benefits.

Pins and Search: Whenever you pin content to Pinterest from your web properties, please make sure it has appropriate business related keywords in its text description so that the consumers can find you through search engines. If you are a real estate agent, you could add keywords like ‘3BHK in Delhi’, ‘2BHK flats at affordable prices’ etc… When you would like to be searchable, you need to be sure about the Pinterest Settings where you can turn on and off the visibility of your Pinterest Profile from Search Engines.

Is Pinterest right for your business?

According to a report by B2C Community, more than 43% of Pinterest users use Pinterest specifically to engage with brands and retailers. Pinterest is all about engaging images and Videos. If you think pictures could generate leads and play a major role in your business, then Pinterest is the right place for you.

Post all your doubts about ‘Pinterest’ in the comment box below.

‘Lean’ philosophy was coined by Womack and Jones in in their 1990’s best-seller ‘The machine that changed the world: the story of Lean Production’. The philosophy necessitates understanding customer requirements and then designing matching services. It helps with the identification of a ‘waste’ process, thereby helping to improve service and reduce costs.

Employing Lean philosophy in your business: The Lean process identifies waste in a business’s work-flow that it wants to eliminate – for eg, eliminate defects, overprotection, transportation, waiting, inventory, motion and over processing.Consequently then, lean assumes significance for a new or small business where resources are limited and the need to maximise is constantly felt. Remember though that lean is a ‘way of life’ and hence, should not be seen as a project.

Here’s how you can go about it:

• Define the Value Offering to the Client: The first step is to identify the specific value that is being offered to the end customer. In other words, define the exact requirement of your client and put it forth in front of the team that has been chosen to execute the services.

For better understanding, let us take an imaginary business ABCD that say, specializes in digital marketing services. As soon as ABCD closes a deal with a client, it should make a list of all the deliverables/value-offerings that it is expected to deliver to the client as per the contract. This list should then be shared with the team that has been formed to service the client.

• Identify all the Steps in the Delivery Process: The next step is to identify all the steps/processes that are required for each deliverable.

• Start with how the process moves currently

• Identify the non-value added steps, or in other words, the wastes that are there in the existing process. This is in order to eliminate wherever possible those steps that do not create value.

• Draw a corrective plan or a standard operating procedure after eliminating the non-value added steps. You will see that your delivery process looks much stream-lined, i.e., leaner now

• Communicate with the team the new process plan and take in their buy-in for the necessary changes.
Going back to our example, if the digital media team at ABCD has to provide regular content for numerous social-media platforms to a client, after this stage of identifying non-value added steps, it should now be able to identify those people/process in the delivery flow that were causing latency in the delivery of a service. Hence, it should be able to eliminate that process of sending a document for multiple stages of approvals that was the cause of delay and last-minute changes. Identifying the right ‘stake-holders’ in the writing-approval-uploading process will thereby streamline the content management of this agency

• Tighten the Stream-lined Process: Now that you have stream-lined the process, ensure that it stays that way by building in-built control mechanisms.
Thus, the content team at ABCD should be given their own set of responsibilities and authority to ensure that every step in their content delivery occur in a tight sequence so the service flows smoothly toward the customer.

• Pass the Benefit to the Customer: You will now be in a state to pass the benefit to the customers – a more stream-lined process with minimal defects and rework thereby saving time and money of both parties concerned

• Create the Perfect Process: Repeat the above 4 steps across all your clients or processes in order to reach a state of perfection in which perfect value is created with no waste. Periodically review the process’s functioning in order to ensure that lean stays lean and has not become latent anywhere in the chain.

Restricted by time and money, a young business often finds it difficult to spread its wings beyond its immediate operating environment. It might be unviable to open a new office in another city which is showing promising signs for your business. Appointing agents is a good option in such cases. The Indian Contract Act, 1872 defines an agent to be “a person employed to do any act for another, or to represent another in dealing with third persons.” You, whom the agent represents or will act, are termed as the ‘Principal’.

Benefits of Appointing an Agent

• Agents bring with them specialized local-market knowledge. It will therefore allow you to have better control of your product/service in a new market.
• Agents can also help you with local rules/regulations
• They usually have an established network of traders and customer-data, which will come in handy for all your networking and marketing requirements.

What to Bear in Mind While Appointing Agents

Enter the terms and conditions of the agency in an agreement. Specify therein

• The specifications of goods/ services that the agent has been entrusted with
• The exact duties and responsibilities (also called the scope of work) of the agent for the term of agency
• The territorial limits for which the agent will be responsible
• The payment and remittances terms of the agency.
• The agent’s authority in times of emergency
• The exact calculation of the remuneration that the agent will be entitled to and the time within which he will receive such remuneration
• Termination conditions and liabilities thereof.

When can you Terminate an Agency

You may terminate the agreement with the agent in any of the following circumstance –

• Once the business that had been designated/agree upon is complete
• If the agent you appointed renounces the business of agency
• If you want to revoke the agreement
• If the agent dies or is declared to be of unsound mind
• If your business goes insolvent

What the Law Says

The Indian Contract Act, 1872 says –

• Any person who is of the age of majority and is of sound mind may employ an agent.
• An agent cannot be a minor or of unsound mind
• No consideration/remuneration is necessary to create an agency
• Similarly, a contract of agency is not compulsory. It is sufficient if a person acts on behalf of the principal and is accepted by the latter.
• An agency can be created either in writing or orally. An oral appointment is a valid appointment even though the contract of agency by which the agent is authorized has to be in writing.

As an entrepreneur, you are often required to pitch your services to a potential client, present your business plan to a prospective partner, bank or investor, or promote your business at a public event. In brief, you are required to give a presentation and for the same, you need good presentation skills.

Here are some pointers that will help you to prepare, present and deliver a power-packed presentation.

Know Your Audience

Knowing your audience and their needs beforehand will help you target their interests. You can make a better customized presentation and deliver it effectively. For instance, while presenting to a prospective client you will talk about how your company can be of use to him and while pitching your business plan, you will talk about the business profits and growth plan.

Work on the Presentation

Decide on the structure of your presentation. It should include an effective introduction, a body consisting of a set of goals that will be covered during your speech and a conclusion. Do your research well so that you can speak authoritatively and answer any difficult questions thrown in your way.

Rehearse Well

A prepared presenter is a good presenter.

• Go over your presentation a few times, keep in mind the key points and practice the best way to communicate them.
• Remember, practice but don’t memorize. Memorizing the script will not only make you deliver a stilted presentation but also if you forget a word in the middle, you will start panicking.
• You can rehearse in front of a mirror, wall or before friends. Try to video tape it and see later where you can improve such as articulation, inflection, flow, pauses, volumes etc.
• Also, rehearse with the tools you plan to use with the presentation: laptops, microphones, speakers, laser pointers, projectors, pen drives etc., so as not to encounter unpleasant surprises during your presentation.

Improve Body Language

As much as the presentation is about the script, it’s also about the demeanour of the presenter. Work on your body language. This covers areas such as facial expressions, eye contact, cultural gestures, use of hands, and others. Also don’t try too hard; but act naturally. Be confident in the way you connect and engage with your audience.

Choose Your Words Carefully

Think carefully about the contents of your talk.

• The content should be well-researched and include only facts.
• Try to relate real life experiences to give it a more human touch.
• Keep it brief yet descriptive.
• Never use culturally offensive language.
• People love a bit of humour. So try to incorporate a few good jokes but don’t go overboard. Remember, humour and not sarcasm.

Prepare Support Materials

Prepare documentation or handouts in order to support and reinforce your presentation. It makes your life easier.

Also, make use of visuals to demonstrate your points clearly.

Some Do’s and Don’t’s to remember while Presenting:

• Create value proposition by communicating the benefits of your product, service or idea.
• Ask the right questions at the right time.
• Keep it simple, direct and clear.
• Don’t be rhetoric, it kills the interest. Make your presentation credible, appealing and logical.
• Don’t mumble. Ensure your voice reaches every person in your audience or they will lose interest.
• Keep your shoulders straight, your head up and remain focused and confident.

There is more to Leadership than just barking orders and pushing responsibilities to team members. Leaders and managers not only lead the team, they also influence and inspire the team to excel beyond expectations. Remember, good leadership can work wonders for your team morale leading to business productivity while on the other hand, lacklustre leadership can lead the team members to lose their focus hampering the business growth in the process.

Here are a few pointers that can be implemented to motivate your team members into greater productivity.

Lay down Ground Rules

Lay down the ground rules and ensure that everyone understands and accepts them. Take the time with them as a group or individually to ensure that they understand the objectives and goals and what they are trying to accomplish. Promote healthy competition between the team members but explain to them in clear terms that the competition is about the team working together for the common goal.

Delegation is the Key

An important aspect of leadership is to delegate. Delegate work to your team members and let them determine how to get it done. Trust them to make day-to-day decisions on their own. This will lead to a productive environment. You will not only earn their respect but you will see your team rising without you constantly breathing down their neck.

Challenge Them

Challenges bring out the best in most people. Present a challenge before your team members and allow them to come up with their own unique and creative solutions and ways of meeting their daily tasks. A new idea that one of them provides may benefit the entire team making your position as the team leader just a bit easier.

Understand Your Team

Focus on your team and the team members. Not all members are same, understand their limitations and calibre and assign work accordingly. Address their objectives, their motivations, their fears and opinions. Nudge them gently to take ownership and responsibility. But don’t force them if they don’t take it up willingly.

Communicate Regularly

Keep the communication channels open; both ways at all times.

• Be open and clear with them about the objectives, goals and expectations.
• Don’t withhold information unnecessarily. You can’t expect your team to perform their best if they don’t know the big picture.
• Talk to them in various forums, listen to their suggestions and opinions and alleviate their concerns.

Celebrate Success and Learn from Mistakes

Reward them and praise them for work well done. Praise them publicly and reward them with small tokens of appreciation. As a team, celebrate success together; it’s highly motivating. In failure, instead of firing people or meting out punishments, meditate on the causes behind the failures. Avoid blame games; it doesn’t serve any purpose. This will help to ensure that not only the member will make the same mistake again, but the rest of the team will be more likely to avoid it as well.

As a leader-manager, it’s your job to pull your team together. It will help your team to get more work done and be more productive.

In our previous blog, while we had spoken about creating a LinkedIn profile of a business owner . In this blog, we will speak about creating a LinkedIn profile for a small business. You might wonder if there is a difference at all. Well, yes, there is quite a difference.

When an entrepreneur builds his LinkedIn profile, he highlights his strengths, his qualifications, his business in brief, experience, networks etc. While a LinkedIn profile of a business will showcase all aspects of the business extensively. It’s like a mini-website for your company located on LinkedIn which is easily searchable.

Take some cues before you create your business’s LinkedIn profile.

Include more Company Information:

Write in detail about your business. LinkedIn is a powerful marketing tool, so share more to sell more. Share business and industry news, product releases and promotions.

You can add a logo, post your status, upload videos or share links which can be seen on your homepage for anybody in your network to know what’s happening in your company or in the industry.

Promote your Products or Services:

Showcase your products or the services you provide in a detailed and focused manner. When existing or prospective customers visit this page, they see how many of their network connections recommend your product and they can add their own recommendations. You can even create different versions of this page specifying your products/services that can be customized for specific audiences, based on the information they have in their profiles.

Showcase your Team:

Company pages expose your team members and talk about their knowledge, qualifications and different skill sets. When your clients or prospects get to know the people in your company and who are behind your brand, it develops trust and confidence in them.

Mention your Clients:

Briefly mention all your clients (previous and present). When prospective customers look at the list, it solidifies your reputation.

Just a word of caution: Before tagging their name on your profile, take an explicit permission from those clients to avoid any misunderstanding in the future.

Link your Social Media channels:

If your business is active on other social media channels like Twitter, Facebook, blogs etc, link your website, twitter feeds, blogs to your LinkedIn profile. It helps in Search Engine Optimization activity.

Import your Business Contacts:

Import all your online and offline business contacts into the business profile. Remember, every network is a host to various connections that lead to new connections.

Make use of the LinkedIn applications:

Do a search of all of the LinkedIn applications and make use of all of the relevant applications to build a robust profile. You can even build a Power point presentation to explain your business and use the application to feature on your profile.

Some quick tips:

• Always welcome new connections with a personal reply. It’s a sure-shot way to build a long lasting relationship.
• Consistently refresh your company profile with current updates;products, contacts, team members etc.
• Assign someone to constantly monitor your monitor page. Any offending content should be dealt with immediately. If there is a negative remark address it quickly and in an appropriate manner.

Having a business card is not only about getting your name and contact information printed on a small card. It is about making the right impression at the very start. Remember, a poorly constructed business card will be tossed out in the bin thus failing to reach potential business prospects. Hence, it’s imperative that you make your business card stand out.

Here are a few ways to make a well-crafted business card:

Skip Unnecessary Information

• Don’t overload your business card with too much information; it creates a negative impact on the recipient.
• Include only the most important and relevant information like name, title, business name, phone, email, website, business logo. You may also include your services and products at the back of the card.

Make sure it is legible

• Avoid using fancy fonts on the card as it may backfire if people can’t read your business card.A sans serif font like Arial, without decorative flourishes at the end of the strokes, works best as it’s the easiest to read.
• Make sure that the font size is good enough to enable easy reading.

Invest in Quality

• Invest in good quality cards as your business card is probably the first thing that someone sees and makes an impression about your business.
• Give some thought before using creative materials for your business card as it might not be always practical.Avoid using dark glossy laminate finish as people can’t write on the card.
• Don’t skimp on money by printing the cards yourself. It wouldn’t have the finish of a professional printer and would probably ruin your business prospects.

Use the Space Wisely

Use the back of the card, too. You can use it to list your contact details (if you are active in social media include those links), products/services, or marketing message.But don’t get carried away and fill all the available white space. Remember to leave some area blank in order to let people write on it.

Take Care of Aesthetics

• Use colour – it’s appealing and makes your card stand out. On the flip side, avoid using too many colours as it will make the card busy and messy.
• Avoid putting too much information on the card as it will make the card look cluttered and unprofessional.
• Proof-read before it’s printed; you might not want to hand over a card that has spelling mistakes.

Consider these quick pointers before you get your Business Card printed:

• Be imaginative and original while designing your business card. You wouldn’t want your card to get blended in with hundred others in the competition.
• Keep your business card consistent with your brand image, fonts, pictures and details.
• If many people in your office carry a business card, make sure they all look the same. Different style of cards belonging to the same company will be very confusing for your potential clients.

Remember, your business card is a powerful marketing tool. Treat it wisely and see it help you grow your business.

The dream to start your own business is not letting you stay in peace and you desperately want to quit your job to turn entrepreneur; but what you can’t decide the ‘right time’ to take the plunge. Isn’t this a common problem afflicting those who are driven by a passionate dream to start and run business?

A word of caution though – Starting a business is no small feat; apart from courage and determination what you need is careful planning. We will give you a few tips in order to prepare you for making the life-changing decision when you call it a day and hand in over your resignation at work.

Definite Business Idea

No business can ever start off without an Idea. It could be the simplest of ideas but you need to strongly believe in it and be greatly motivated before you consider branching out on your own. Take some time out and consider whether this is the ‘one’ idea that’s been giving you sleepless nights or is it just a hankering after fool’s gold.

Assessment

Working on a half-baked idea won’t take you far.

• Check out the viability of your idea by making sure that there truly is interest in the market for your product or service.
• Study the challenges by assessing the local market conditions and competition.
• Carry out as much research as possible to assess the feasibility of your idea. You can perhaps approach a mentor or colleagues for their input and advice.

For example, you strongly feel the need to open a pastry shop or a gift shop near your current office area as it has none and you see a business opportunity here. Now take a step further and find out what your colleagues think about this idea, its feasibility, location of the shop etc.

Full Commitment

Remember, your own business will be a 24/7 job – you won’t get the luxury of ‘logging off’ on time or over weekends. Once you are at it, you will need to be fully committed to it — you are in it totally or not there at all. Be prepared to work long hours, go without holidays and miss important family occasions. Not only this, you have to be well prepared to go without the safety net of a regular monthly salary. Are you ready for all these? Ask yourself and come up with honest answers.

Start Creating a Safety Corpus

Keep well in mind that once you quit the job, you also wave goodbye to the salary, bonus, and other perks that come pre-designated, every month. Furthermore, you are not sure when you will be seeing the first profits pouring in, it might take months and sometimes more than that. Hence, start creating a safety corpus to take care of your imminent needs like monthly rent, provision, gas, electricity and telephone bills etc when you will be on your own.

Contingency Plan

You start your business venture on a positive note and are absolutely determined to make it work. But sometimes, things don’t work out as planned. You need to be thoroughly ready with a contingency plan in case the business doesn’t work out:

• How much time will you give your business to take off; six months, a year or may be two?
• What will be your exit strategy?
• Can you get back to your old job (only if you had left on a good note)?
• Can you pull up some strings and get a good job elsewhere?
• Can you enter into the family business if any?

The above pointers will make you take a long hard look at your decision to go the entrepreneurial way. It is a litmus test. If you are honest with your answers and findings, you will know the time when to cut the strings and pursue your dream.

Remember, if you are not on the social networks, you are not considered to be existing in today’s world. Yes, social mediums like Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn are increasingly assuming huge importance such that they are fast becoming the base for first-level talks on B2B partnerships, branding exercises and even plain marketing of products.

Hence, it is imperative that your brand/business is ‘visible’ across the various social channels available leveraging each of the channel’s unique value proposition. In this article, we will talk about why it is important for you as an SME or a start-up to have a LinkedIn profile of your business venture and how to make it business-like with suitable formal feel to it.

• Linkedin profile of business owners, investors is searched prior to all business proposal discussions
• A well-drawn out profile communicates a business approach and thus instils confidence in prospective investors, partners, professionals and hires.

It is essential to bear in mind the following while building your start-up’s LinkedIn profile.

Crop and Trim the Confusion:

• Keep the information about your venture/business crisp
• Be specific, goal-oriented and mention clearly your qualification, previous experience and your strengths.
• Do not lie about your record or even unnecessarily brag.
• Project yourself as a confident and goal-oriented entrepreneur who is ready to face the challenges and uncertainties of the world of business

Project your Goals: Every start-up must push the company forward by projecting the right set of goals for anyone to take you seriously. Having said this, there is no point for detailed elaboration on the same. Use keywords/phrases in your profile that best sets you apart from your competitors and show-off your value proposition.

Right Contacts and Recommendations: Harness your business contacts in a way that gets you to a network or group of people in the same line of business in the market-place.

• Having the right contact persons in your profile with similar start-ups, journalists, bloggers are important as they reflect your business proposition.
• Do not add random contacts to your profile – they may dilute your standing in the market.
• Someone who is genuinely interested in your profile will have a brief look on who your contacts are and also the number and quality of the recommendations you have received. Hence, find the right contact to write a good recommendation for you.

Complete Profile with a high-quality Picture: Make sure you have uploaded a smart photo of yourself dressed in a good business suit as your profile picture. Remember, a professionally attractive profile picture always makes the right impression.

Employee is the biggest asset for any start-up. To keep your start-up venture well-oiled and running smoothly, your employees need to be motivated constantly. A motivated employee leads to improved productivity, reduced employee turnover and reduced employee absenteeism. The benefits are many. Hence, employee motivation is not a subject that an ambitious and growth-driven start-up can ignore.

We give you a few pointers on how to keep your employee motivated and your cash till ringing.

Open Work Culture: Letting your employees know in both words and gestures that you are always there for them goes a long way in establishing their trust in you.
• Try open door policy where you are reachable to them as much as possible.
• Don’t give up on your employees – listen to their problems, understand where they are coming from and give them wise solutions.
• Don’t impose things on them rather invite suggestions from your employees on how a particular work could be done. You will be surprised at how efficiently the work is done with minimum fuss.
• Avoid criticizing your employees.
• Never indulge in comparisons between the employees. Remember, all employees are different; hence their work capacity is also different.
• Keep regular open forums where employees can discuss their problems. It will help in team bonding which will lead to job satisfaction.

Personal Recognition: Always appreciate for a job well-done. Simple and non-time consuming gestures like sending a ‘Thank You’ mail or a pat on the back go a long way in reinforcing your relationship with the employees. Organize a ‘Rewards and Recognition’ activity for your team of employees where in you recognize the efforts of your team employees once a month by giving them cash vouchers/small token etc. It increases their sense of self-esteem and makes them feel better about their job.

Play Santa Claus: Catching them off-guard with pleasant surprises will keep them interested in the otherwise boring and routine job. Taking them off to lunch, ordering a pizza for the team, celebrating an employee’s birthday by cutting a cake, taking them on a picnic or giving them half a day off will keep their motivation levels up.

Employee Growth: Doing the same work over and again every day becomes monotonous after a while. Employees lose their interest in the work leading to poor productivity and customer satisfaction, and increase in employee absenteeism and turnover. Chart out an employee growth plan and share it with your employees. Show them how they can progress individually within the small start-up. This will renew their interest in the work; works well both for the employee as well as the start-up.

Flexible Work Schedules: Instead of the traditional 9 to 5 work timings, allow your employees flexi work hours. This helps employees getting their personal work done during those prime hours (bank or government related work) which in turn helps relieve stress. The employees will be happy which will reflect in their work.

Remember, it’s not as simple as it sounds. As all employees are different, their motivation criteria are different too. While one employee might be happy with a raise in salary, another might be motivated with a change in position. You need to understand individual needs and take care of them.

While large businesses have more scope, means and resources to adopt a socially responsible behaviour, they should not be the only ones carrying out philanthropic work. Small and medium enterprises are equally accountable for their behaviour in society and they need to adopt policies along those lines right from the start. Companies like Body Shop and Ben & Jerry’s started out as SMBs and were committed to social responsibility from day one.

In Asia, the understanding and penetration of social responsibility among corporates lags behind when compared to the West. It is important for Asian companies to understand the significance of giving back to society. Only when they understand it well, will they appreciate the need for it. The Indian SMEs have an important part to play in narrowing the social gap and paving the growth path for India.

As a first step, SMEs need to promote ethics in business. They need to provide a healthy work environment, pay all taxes and duties and adopt green technology. They must shun all corrupt practices to solicit business. All these actions will collectively contribute to a more equitable society. SMEs account for forty five per cent of Industrial output and forty per cent of Indian export market. They are the backbone of the Indian economy. SMEs should realise that they are dependent on the local communities for their basic needs like water, power, land and must learn to return the favours to these communities. SMBs can help these communities by providing them employment opportunities, use their agricultural produce, and employ the locals in day-to-day business activities.

According to a Nielson survey customer confidence in business has seen a decline globally. Businesses today have a fight on their hands as they struggle to increase sales and turnover during the last few months of 2012. Customers need to be assured now more than ever that they would be spending for a good reason. It is imperative to convince them to spend and when they have a strong cause attached to their spending, they would be easily convinced.

However, inculcating social responsibility in an organisation is a long term process and cannot be achieved in a short span of time. It requires a change in the mind sets of people, the cultural fabric of society. Businessmen need to think and act differently keeping in mind the long term effects of their business endeavours on society. Small Businesses need to be as socially conscious as large businesses for this change to take place.

Small businesses and their fans can quench their competitive thirst in Intuit’s Small Business Games, a contest to support entrepreneurship worldwide. Every time someone participates, Intuit will donate to Kiva.org, the nonprofit organization that raises money to help people start small businesses around the world. Intuit India has been at the heart of the small business ecosystems by providing innovative financial solutions like – QuickBooks Online Customized for the unique needs of Indian businesses, QuickBooks Online is a small business accounting software that has proven to help small businesses around the world save time, easily organize their finances and get peace of mind.

This competition tests financial fitness – no muscles or gruelling training needed! Enter by answering six small business trivia questions. Correct answers win gold, silver and bronze medals. Your reward: Boasting rights on social networks, and scoring donations from Intuit to Kiva.org on your behalf, up to USD 10,000. That money will help entrepreneurs secure micro-loans for their businesses all over the world.

So, let the Games begin! Show your small business spirit and compete here.

Sharing his joy over the results, Vijay Anand, Vice President, Intuit India Development Center stated that “I am delighted to see Intuit India moving up consistently in the top 50 best companies to work in India for the last 3 years and breaking into the top 10 this year. This ranking is a testament to the values and principles that we are founded on as a company, specifically our ‘people first’ philosophy.”

The recognition comes as a tribute to the company’s motivated employees and our unique work culture. Intuit’s values and leadership principles play a significant role in making it a Great Place to Work. The award recognizes our culture that inspires innovation through initiatives that include Design for Delight, unstructured time, Brainstorm, and idea jams. These initiatives have played a pivotal role in improving Intuit’s ranking.

The other companies that made it to the top ten lists are Google, Intel, NTPC, American Express and many more national and global organizations of repute.

“We are very focused as an organization, which helps us drive customers’ success and provide our shareholders with exceptional value. At Intuit, we believe highly engaged employees will lead to delighted customers and shareholders. Our success in making Intuit a great work environment reiterates the fact that employee engagement programs has been at the core of our growth and makes us unique amongst others,” added Nikhil Arora, Vice President and Managing Director, Intuit India.

Intuit was also recently ranked number two in the country in the Best Companies for Rewards and Recognition 2012 category in a survey conducted by the Great Place to Work Institute in association with Edenred.

This is a question that must have plagued every entrepreneur at some point or the other in the course of business. Carrying out ethical business practices is at the core of any business. And more so for small businesses – high principles and moral standards are the differentiators that keep them afloat in the hyper-competitive world.

For a start-up facing frequent financial upheavals, it’s all too easy to compromise principles to clinch that much-needed deal or to cut corners by providing inferior quality products/services or by delaying payment to vendors and employees.

Here are a few benefits enjoyed by businesses that take their ethical values seriously:

Integrity Pays:

In times of seeking bank loan, inviting venture capitalists or borrowing funds from other financial institutions, a business with high integrity and moral values will command greater success rate. Keep in mind that banks, venture capital firms and other financial institutions would want to check up on your business code of conduct to satisfy themselves if your business will do right by the customers, employees and investors.

Moral Boost for the Employees:

When employees see that you stick to your convictions and principles in difficult times too, they too will follow suit. In a transparent and honest work culture, you will find employees that are honest, who don’t steal and cheat your customers. When you pay them fairly and treat them well, they will reward you by being faithful, trustworthy and sticking to the firm resulting in low turnover.

Business Profitability:

In a research conducted by the Institute of Business Ethics, it was found out ethical behavior in business pays off in financial returns. When customers, vendors and community realize your ethical work practices, they are more likely to want to do business with you. If you treat your customers fairly, pay the suppliers on-time and embrace social responsibility for the community, they will stick to you which says a lot in the loyalty-scarce economic world.

Command Respect:

If you treat your customers and employees fairly and respectfully, they are bound to notice it. When you take care of their issues and listen to them, they too will respect you in return which is invaluable for long term success and growth.

Start-ups should realize that though it’s easy to dupe people to earn a few extra bucks but at what cost? Word-of-mouth spreads more quickly and rampantly in the small business world. Remember, reputation and goodwill take years to build but can be lost in no time if ethics are not maintained. Hence, if you are in for the long haul, stick to your moral standards and business ethics.

Henry Kravis, the co-founder of the American private equity firm Kohlberg Kravis Roberts, known as KKR, summed it up “If you build that foundation, both the moral and the ethical foundation, as well as the business foundation, and the experience foundation, then the building won’t crumble.”

Coming together is a beginning. Keeping together is progress. Working together is success.
- Henry Ford

A business cannot be successful due to the standalone efforts of the entrepreneur. It requires joint labour of his employees as well. An employee is, perhaps, the most valuable asset for any business. Long-term growth and progress of the business demand sound investment in its employees and what better way to do it than promoting team-building exercise.

Here are a few benefits of team building in a small business.

Open Communication:

Team building helps foster better and open communication between employees themselves, and also between employees and the entrepreneur. It helps to reduce the chances of confusions, misunderstandings thus making the communication more effective. It leads to employees being very clear about their goals and objectives and what exactly is expected from them.

Improves Quality of Work:

It leads to understanding, co-operation and trust between the employees. Team Building activities improve the relations and strengthen the bond among the employees. Stress disappears, chances of mistakes reduce and people stop complaining and blaming others. They get a sense of belonging and responsibility and that reflects in the quality of work done.

High Productivity:

Simple team building exercises help employees to get into a better mood and they feel happy to go to work daily. They start concentrating on their work, enjoying their work, and willingly take more work. People take less leaves and hence the objectives are achieved at a much faster pace. It boosts morale and motivation.

It’s proven time and again that the productivity increases when individuals work as a team.

Customer Satisfaction:

When employees are respected and trusted and their value is acknowledged, they are far more willing to take the extra steps necessary to achieve beyond the expectations of the company. The positivity in the work place affects the customers too. Timely and effective work combined with pleasant conversation with happy employees will shoot the customer satisfaction rate tremendously up.

Employee Growth:

Interactive exercises, self-assessments, feedback sessions and group discussions enable an employee to define his growth objective and lay out his career plan. Such team building exercises help in improving personal confidence, morale, planning skills, problem solving, decision making, time management etc.

For so many benefits to gain and nothing to lose, team building becomes a very important activity for any business. To ensure that all the team members work diligently and give their best to the work, an entrepreneur needs to indulge in team building activity from time to time.

Yes, team building is not a one-off activity; but it needs to be repeated in regular intervals to reinforce the team morale and continuously capture the benefits.

In our two-part series on Intellectual Property, in the first part we had discussed Copyrights. In this section, we will talk about Trade Marks.

As a business entity, you have a ‘Trade Mark’ when you have a distinctive sign or indicator (name, word, phrase, logo, symbol, design, image, or a combination of these elements) to differentiate between your goods/services vis-a-vis offered by different producers/ service-providers.

Upon registration at the specified office, your trademark will be designated by ™, trade mark symbol and ®, registered trade mark symbol.

You need to be aware of the following legal aspects with respect to your Trade Marks:

Governance: The registration of Trade Marks in India is governed by the Trade Marks Act, 1999.

Types of Trade Marks:

• Product Trade Marks: To identify goods

• Service Trade Marks: To identify services
 

• Collective Trade Marks: To distinguish goods/services in connection with which it is used in the course of trade and which are certified by the proprietor with regard to their origin, material, the method of manufacture, the quality or other specific features

• Certification Trade Marks: Are registered in the name of groups, associations or other organizations for the use of members of the group in their commercial activities to indicate their membership of the group

Registration of Trade Marks:

Application for registration: If you are using a trade mark currently or plan to use one in the future, and want to register the same, you need to apply in writing to the Registrar of Trade Marks

Fees: Your application for trade mark registration should be made on Form TM-1 with a prescribed fee of Rs. 2500/- at one of the five offices of the Trade Marks Registry located at Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata, Chennai and Ahmedabad depending on the place where you reside or have your principle place of business

Documentation:

• Your full name and address in case the business is a proprietorship or of all partners in a partnership concern or all directors of a company as the case may be
• True copy of identity and address proof or Partnership Deed or in case of a company, the Memorandum of Association

Duration and Renewal of registration: The registration of a trade mark is for a period of ten years, but may be renewed upon re-application. The renewal is made for a period of ten years from the date of expiration of the original registration or of the last renewal of registration, as the case may be.

Infringement of registered Trade Marks:

A registered trade mark is infringed upon if a person who is neither a registered proprietor nor has been granted permission to use it,
• uses a mark that is identical or deceptively similar to the trade mark for goods or services for which the trade mark is registered
• and in such manner that the mark seems likely to be taken as being used as a trade mark.

Remedies for Infringement:

Violation of any provision of trade mark law in India is a cognizable offence. As the owner of a trade mark, you may initiate legal proceedings for trade mark infringement to prevent unauthorized use of your registered trade mark. The penalties are subject to different sections for different levels of violation.

Read the complete act here – Trade Marks Act 1999

Most often than not, when an person turns entrepreneur armed with his ‘new’ business idea, he and his team gets so immersed in turning the business idea into reality and then a success, that he completely forgets/puts-off the protection of the intellectual property that his business produces. Intellectual property refers to creations of the mind — inventions; literary and artistic works; and symbols, names and images used in commerce. It can be studied under two categories:

• Copyright that covers literary works (such as novels, poems and plays), films, music, artistic works (e.g., drawings, paintings, photographs and sculptures) and architectural design.
• Industrial Property that includes patents for inventions, trademarks, industrial designs and geographical indications.

In a two-part series, we will discuss how, as an entrepreneur, you can protect your copyrights and trademarks. In this section, we will talk about copyrights.

Copyright and its Governance

Copyright is a form of intellectual property protection granted under Indian law to the creators of original works of authorship such as literary works (including computer programs, tables and compilations including computer databases which may be expressed in words, codes, schemes or in any other form, including a machine readable medium), dramatic, musical and artistic works, cinematographic films and sound recordings.

You need to be aware of the following legal aspects in order with respect to your copyrights:

1. Governance: All rules and regulations related to copyrights is governed by the Copyright Act of 1957, further amended in 1994.

2. Copyright Ownership: As per Section 17 of the Act, the author or creator of the work is the first owner of copyright. An exception to this rule is that, the employer becomes the owner of copyright in circumstances where the employee creates a work in the course of and scope of employment.

Copyright Register: Copyright registration is invaluable to a copyright holder who wishes to take a civil or criminal action against the infringer. Registration formalities are simple and the paperwork is least. In case, the work has been created by a person other than employee, it would be necessary to file with the application, a copy of the assignment deed.

The owner of a copyright should make an application in the prescribed form accompanied by the prescribed fee to the Registrar of Copyrights for entering the particulars of his work in the Register of Copyrights. However, remember that non-registration will not deprive the owner of copyright of his right to bring both criminal and civil action.

• Mode of making applications:

• Application of registration need to be made to the Registrar of Copyrights, New Delhi (Address: Registrar of Copyrights, B.2/W.3, C.R. Barracks, Kasturba Gandhi Marg, New Delhi- 110 003)

• Every application for registration of copyright shall be made in accordance with Form IV and every application for registration of changes in the particulars of copyright entered in the Register of Copyrights shall be made in accordance with Form V.

• Fees: Fees for different copyrights depend on the Second Schedule of the Copyright Act (to be hyperlinked with http://copyright.gov.in/frmFeeDetailsShow.aspx ). The fees is payable to the Registrar of Copyrights, New Delhi, by:

• A postal order or
• A bank draft issued by a Scheduled Bank or
• By deposit into a Government Treasury or a branch of the Reserve Bank of India or the State Bank of India under the head of account: Major Head – ‘XLVI – Miscellaneous’. Minor Head ‘Naturalization, Passport and Copyright Fees’

3. Infringement of Your Copyright: Copyright in a work is infringed upon when any person, without a licence granted by the owner of the Copyright or the Registrar of Copyrights:

 
• Does anything that he is not legally permitted to do
• Sells, lets on hire, distributes or exhibits to public the copyright work.

4. Remedies for Infringement: As an owner of your work, if you discover that your copyright has been infringed upon, you will be entitled to all such remedies by way of injunction, damages, and accounts and otherwise as are or may be conferred by law for the infringement of a right.

The Copyright Act in India is strong and effective enough to take care of the copyright of the concerned person. It covers both traditional cases as well as modern cases that are brought about by changed circumstances and latest technology. It is important that, as an entrepreneur, you are aware of the protection requirements of your intellectual property and take due measures to secure them from unauthorised use.

Women have entered sectors known to be male dominated and written their own success stories. The trend is visible in the business sectors too, where not only have they climbed up the corporate ladder but have struck out on their own as entrepreneurs. Most of these women entrepreneurs have gained the requisite experience in a corporate environment and feel the need to establish their own small or medium enterprise. Some of these women are mothers who wish to be their own boss, and manage their lives on their own terms. Indeed, it is time to make way for Mompreneurs!

She’s efficient, confident and a multi-tasker par excellence. She has perfected the balancing act between family commitments and work challenges. Going by the recent trends, the mompreneur is here to stay. The share of female entrepreneurs in India is showing a healthy growth of 71 per cent per year. This comes as a welcome relief after the World Economic Forum ranked India at the 131st position in the list of economic participation and opportunity of women among 135 countries.

Why do women in their mid-thirties take to entrepreneurship at that stage of their lives?

There are several reasons for this self-initiated transition.

Passion for their own ideas: It is that time in their lives when they want to give vent to their own creativity, having worked for an organisation and learnt the ropes of running a business. They are brimming with enterprise and want to achieve their long cherished dreams.

Challenges for self-fulfilment: More often than not women take on these challenges to gain satisfaction at a time when they wish to prove their worth after a hiatus from work due to family commitments.

Internet has removed the gender bias in India: Studies have revealed that Indian women entrepreneurs are using the internet to be successful at their work. The internet has become a channel for e-commerce opportunities that have enabled women to explore a variety of business prospects. With the growing use of e-commerce, women entrepreneurs can save time in every step of the business cycle. Identifying business opportunities, purchasing raw materials and even selling products have never been easier.

Women as risk-takers: Women are increasingly taking on huge projects and have started taking risks in order to bring about change. They are open to the introduction of new innovations in business and also provide effective leadership.

The time is ripe for more moms to take on entrepreneurship and provide employment to the workforce. Special entrepreneurship programmes and policies for women will further help pave the way forward for women.

In the previous article (All about Contracts – Basics), we spoke about contracts, when it is used, what all should be included in a contract and the tips for making a good contract. In this article, we talk about the legal angle of contracts, their enforceability, options available for revoking a contract and recourse available in case there is a breach.

But first, what constitutes an enforceable contract? As per the Indian Contract Act,1872, a “contract” is an agreement enforceable by law. The agreements that are not enforceable by law are not contracts. An “agreement” means ‘a promise or a set of promises’ forming consideration for each other. And a promise arises when a proposal is accepted. By implication, an agreement is an accepted proposal. In other words, an agreement consists of an ‘offer’ and its ‘acceptance’.

It is important to note the following points relating to a contract:

• It is made by the free consent of parties competent to contract. A person is ‘competent’ to enter a contract when:
o He has attained the age of majority
o Is of a sound mind, and
o Is not disqualified from contracting by any law to which he is subject
Thus, minors, persons of unsound mind and persons disqualified from contracting by any law are incompetent to contract.

• It should be for a lawful consideration and with a lawful object, and
• It is not expressly declared to be void
• The contract must be definite and its purpose should be to create a legal relationship.

What if you want to revoke the contract?

The law allows you to revoke a contract provided –

• Such notice of revocation is communicated to the other party
• The time prescribed in such proposal for its acceptance has lapsed
• In cases where no time is prescribed, if no communication of the acceptance has been received within reasonable time;
• The acceptor of the contract fails to fulfill a condition precedent to acceptance; or
• In the case of the death or insanity of the proposer

Compensation for loss/damage caused by Breach of Contract:

In this section we talk about your rights in the case a contract is broken. In such a case, you, as the aggrieved party, are entitled to receive compensation for any loss or damage caused to you from the party who has broken the contract. If the amount is specified in the contract as the amount to be paid in case of such breach, such amount is to be paid as penalty.

In case such amount is not specified, the loss from the breach is estimated by:

• The actual loss as arose naturally in the usual course of such breach, or
• Which you and your counterpart agreed during the make and signing of the contract, to be likely to result from the breach of it.

Remember however that such compensation is not given for any remote and indirect loss or damage sustained by reason of the breach.

A business contract is an important key in ensuring success and continuity for your business venture. Contracts often represent a tool that companies use to safeguard their resources. Contrary to popular belief, a contract is equally important to small businesses as it is to a larger and more established one.

A business contract is often used when:

• Hiring employees
• Purchasing or providing goods or services
• Purchasing/selling land
• Taking a loan
• Leasing or renting office space/ warehouse
• Entering into partnerships or joint ventures
• Entering into confidentiality agreements

What do Contracts include?

The following are some of the terms a business contract should include which outline a fair view for any issues between the contracting parties:

• Names of the contracting parties
• Contract dates (start and end dates in case of lease/service contracts)
• Renewal terms if any
• Payment terms and details – payment date and amount
• In case of sale/purchase of good/services, specific products or services to be delivered, delivery time
• Person responsible for any problems, disputes and status reports
• Disclaimers to protect your company from errors or omissions
• Cancellation and notice terms – in case the goods or services are not delivered.

Tips for making a solid Business Contract:

A well-drafted contract is vital for a business as it spells out the rights and obligations of each party and protects you and your business in case of a litigation.

1. Simple and Clear. Keep it simple, clear and focused laying out all the terms, conditions, expectations and responsibilities very specifically and in detail in order to avoid misunderstandings and delays. In case you are not drafting the contract, outline the conditions for your business before you begin negotiating.
2. Know the Legal Requirements. Certain types of contract require the knowledge of state and local regulations. For example, Establishment Act or law regarding leasing a property may be different in different states. Research online, check with your local chamber of commerce, or consult your mentor or attorney.
3. Terms of Dispute. If you and the other party are located in different states, you should choose only one of your state’s laws to apply to the contract to avoid complicated legal disputes later. In addition, set out the circumstances under which the parties can terminate the contract. Also specify where you will mediate, arbitrate, or bring legal actions under the contract.
4. Consult an Attorney. Business owners entering into binding agreements should be aware of all the legal risks and implications. Take help of a good attorney to make your contract into an airtight one which saves you headaches and exorbitant legal fees.

Also, it is important to record and securely store agreements/contracts with customers, suppliers and employees. These documents may come in handy in the event of a dispute.

In the initial days of starting your business, you are the ‘one-man army’ running the entire show. But as your business grows and you find yourself incapable of handling all the operational activities, you hire a team of people to meet the growing demands of the business.

Hiring and building a team done, then comes the tricky part – effectively managing the team of people and keeping them focused on the goal all the while resolving the conflicts arising due to operational matters or internal policy diktats .

Here are a few pointers that you can observe for an effective team management:

Clear Communication

Communication must be clear, concise, consistent and transparent for an effective team management. Make sure that every team member gets the same information in order to avoid ambiguity. Also ensure that tasks and goals are clearly laid out with the what’s, how’s, why’s and when’s properly defined.

Understanding your Team

Don’t expect your team members to start performing from day one, they would need time. And secondly, not all the members perform equally. You might also encounter some conflicts as some of them might not get along well with their colleagues or have other issues with each other. Internal conflicts in the team can affect the team’s performance. Take some time out to understand your team members, their behaviour and their different backgrounds. There will be times, when you will be a guide, a mentor and a boss to them.

Effective Work Culture

Build an effective work culture that the team members will adopt and follow:

• Share a healthy relation with your employees. Don’t impose things on them. Avoid criticizing your employees before other people.
• Motivate your team members on a regular basis. It pays to adopt incentives like ‘Rewards and Recognition’ in case of extraordinary performance. It will boost productivity and help reduce inefficiency.
• Make your team realize the importance of keeping business-secrets and how it is unethical to leak information or any other confidential data.
• Make sure you are accessible and available as much as possible with an open door policy.
• Invite suggestions, feedbacks and improvisations. Keep an open forum where all members can discuss freely and give their invaluable inputs.
• Discourage team politics, comparisons, back biting etc within the team members. It makes the work environment unhealthy.

Proper Delegation

A good manager is one who has the ability to recognize the skill sets of his employees and delegate work accordingly. Identify what you can do best and give the rest to other people. This will give you time to focus on crucial business activities without the added burden of other responsibilities.

Building Trust

Bonding among the employees and a friendly environment based on trust are very important in any team. It’s proven that when team members trust and respect one another, it reflects on their performance leading to a company’s success. The onus is on you to set an example. When you delegate a work to a team member, let him know that you trust him with the work. If an employee is right, then stand up for him before other employees or even with a customer. This will build confidence in the team members and will create a healthy and positive work environment.

Team management doesn’t come to you in a day. You develop the skills only over a period of time with trials and errors and some success and failures.

History is witness to the fact that a student-teacher relationship, when metamorphoses to a mentor-mentee relationship, kings are crowned, dynasties established and opposition overthrown. Much what Chandragupta Maurya and Alexander achieved in the able tutelage of Chanakya and Aristotle respectively. Both these learned gurus helped shape the character and paths of two of the greatest kings in ancient history.

In ‘kalyug’ or the new-age, business enterprises are nothing less than kingdoms that require both day-to-day management as well as strategic thinking. Getting started on a business idea and launching it, is just the start of the game of managing your sails as you steer through innumerable ‘weather conditions’, nay business/market conditions. In your business journey, you will face a lot of hurdles and make a number of mistakes. Of course, there will be your friends and family, ex-colleagues, web content and periodicals to give you information, suggestions and supposed help. Then there are consultants, coaches and networking contacts who can share their expert knowledge in particular situations. But it is only a mentor who can share his wisdom and experience with you on demand.

Who is a mentor?

A mentor is an individual with a vast entrepreneurial knowledge and business experience who is willing to share his experience, wisdom and expertise.

Why he would be a mentor?

• Many successful individuals would agree to do mentoring as their responsibility towards the community.
• They get to hone their skills as a teacher, consultant and guide.
• They like to interact with young and aspiring entrepreneurs with new ideas.

The following are the benefits that you get from a mentor:

• Being there: Most often than not an entrepreneur flies alone, so a person who lends an ear always helps. A mentor will listen to your ideas attentively and understand them fully. Most importantly, he would be there when you need him the most.

• Sharing Experience: He has been there and done it all! He might not be from your turf or he might not be updated with the newest technology and trends. But what he would have is his wisdom and experience gained over the years through mistakes and successes that he would impart to you.

• Planning and strategizing: Through proper planning and focused strategies, he would navigate you through challenges and tough situations. Moreover, a mentor would also keep you focused on your short-term and long-term goals and help you achieve them through support and necessary resources.

• Lending encouragement: He would encourage you in your ideas and lend a positive feeling for undertaking constructive risks. On the other hand, he might criticize you on your performance if he thinks you have deviated from the goal or urge you towards self-evaluation.

• Building Contacts: When you need to find investors, equipment and legal/accounting advice, your mentor has the necessary contacts and knows where to find the must-have information. Furthermore, a mentor urges you to build and maintain your own list of contacts.

• Long-Term Relationship: A mentor plays an important role in the careers of most successful entrepreneurs. He helps you build your strengths to avoid pitfalls and overcome challenges. The relationship based on trust and mutual understanding evolves over time and often grows into strong friendships.

Finally, as Bob Proctor, Author, Speaker and Success Coach says, “A mentor is someone who sees more talent and ability within you, than you see in yourself, and helps bring it out of you.”

How about confiding your business-related aspirations and fears with such a person then and getting help in becoming ‘business-fit’?

 
*********************

Intuit partnered with ET NOW, a 24X7 English business news channel to present Super Angels, a path breaking program which will showcase India’s best startups competing to raise funding. Join 30 million viewers as they watch the primetime telecast of Super Angels on ET NOW! The show will broadcast on Saturday April 7th with a repeat telecast on Sunday April 8th.

Super Angels will feature five of the country’s most innovative startups and five prolific Angel Investors comprising Mahesh Murthy (Managing Partner, Seed Fund), Vishal Gondal (Founder, Indiagames), Vijay Shekhar Sharma (Chairman & Managing Director, One97 Communications), Karthik Reddy (Co-Founder, Angel Fund) and Sanjay Parthasarthy (Entrepreneur and Angel Investor). The angel investors have signed on to award between Rs. 80 lakhs to 2.5 crores worth of funds to the winning participants.

Super Angels Grand Finale was hosted at the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) in front of an audience comprising India´s leading technologists, entrepreneurs, venture capitalists and angel investors. Lakshman Gugulothu, CEO, BSE–SME Exchange, delivered the key note.

Intuit India’s own VP and Managing Director, Nikhil Arora, presented the five finalist startups with the Intuit Super Angels awards and one year free subscription of QuickBooks Online – the world’s leading accounting software for small businesses. Speaking about the rationale behind presenting the show Nikhil Arora stated that, “In our quest to promote entrepreneurship and develop engagements with the startup community in India, we came across Super Angels, which is a fantastic platform that recognizes and rewards the best startups in the country.”

Show Broadcast Timings:
Saturday April 7, 2012: 6.00 to 6.30 pm & 6.30 to 7.00 pm
Sunday April 8, 2012: 5.00 to 5.30 pm & 5.30 to 6.00 pm (Repeat telecast)

Often neglected, but absolutely crucial – your office space can set the tone of your small business work culture, right from the start

Gone are the days when barely done up offices would suffice to start a business. If you want people to take your organization seriously, you have to make the right impression at the very beginning. One of the best ways to do so is through your office.

While a few may consider the décor and layout of their office space as mere super ficialities, these factors can influence how you work, how your business is viewed and also how it will develop in time. The location, layout and infrastructure of your office space can help reduce overheads as you go along. But with all the other details to think about while you setup a small business, the look of your office might be the last thing on your mind. Here’s a handy list of things to consider while creating your office space.

Selecting your look

Depending on the kind of business that you start, you will have to think about the overall look of your office. Will it be a formal space with a traditional layout, or if you are a creative business, you might want to think of a casual layout. For a formal look, choose furniture with conventional angels and colours. If you are creative, you can play around with shapes and colours.

Green Zone

Creating a sustainable office area, with an environmentally conscious design is vital. Though initially you might have to invest more on sustainable infrastructural elements, this will benefit you in the longer run. You could drastically save on recurring expenses by going green.

Colour Coding

Choose a good colour scheme in your office as colours have the power to influence people’s mood. Vibrant colours like orange, red and fuchsia can energize you and your employees. Making your conference room look lively would be a good choice too. If the line of business you are in tends to be extremely stressful, then go for some soothing shades of ivory, blues and greens.

Ergonomically Speaking

When deciding the layout, selecting the desks and chairs, think about the ergonomics of your office. Buy chairs that will not hurt your back and that will help better your posture. With the desk, make sure that they have the right height and width. Important and frequently used paraphernalia should be housed within easy reach.

Storage Solutions

When setting up a small business, you are most likely going to invest in a small or medium size office space. However, you need to shop for some innovative space saving storage ideas that fit your office. Look out for overhead shelving units, stackable boxes, compartmentalized folders, etc.

Safety First

Double check you office space to see if there’s provision for proper ventilation. Check out the fire exists and make sure to visibly place fire extinguishers. Brief your colleagues about the safety policies and keep them aware of any emergency measures to be taken.

Scope for expansion

Think long term when you invest on the office space. Does it suit you short term needs, as well as long term organizational goals for expansion? Does it have the flexibility to expand as you start to hire more employees? Can you fit in more technical equipment if you need to? These are some of the questions that can help you choose the right sized office space.

Being a genius photographer doesn’t necessarily guarantee a profitable business in photography.To think about photography from a business perspective, you not only need talent and artistic vision but also a competitive edge and business know-how.

A business plan with clear strategies and smart tactics will help in growing your bottom line. Here’s how:

Determine your target market

The following are the most elementary questions that need to be answered to identify your potential clients and establish a foundation for your strategy.

Types of Photography: Photography is a broad art. It has various categories like photo-journalism, documentary, action, fashion, art, portraiture, advertising, travel or forensic photography. Try to answer “What type of photography do I find most interesting?” You may stick to one photography specialty that you are passionate about or simply choose to focus your photography business in one of the various categories at which you excel.

Products and Services: The question is “What are you selling?” Photography services or photographs, art or memories? Keep in mind that photography is a skilled base service. The end product, the photographs, forms only a fraction of the costs while a major share of the costs is for the creative talent of the photographer.

Competitive Market Analysis: The field of photography is wide and competitive. Research the marketplace and look for those segments that are under-served.

Get your Equipment

As the cost of photography equipment is quite high, when buying the necessary equipment, make a judicious selection based on priorities, budget, space availability and kind of photography that you do. Purchase high quality core equipment. For equipment that will be used infrequently, buy at lower cost or consider rental sources.In addition, identify the office equipment that you will need such as computer, telephone, fax, scanner, office furniture, etc. Do not forget to take a sufficient insurance cover on your equipment.

Finalize Suppliers

For a long term business goal, start developing relationships with your film, processing and camera equipment suppliers. If you are not planning to develop your photos yourself, select a reliable photo lab based upon the quality of work, their ability to meet promised deadlines, and the ability to get a complex order correct.

Price your Services

Considerable thought has to be given to pricing strategy. Setting too high a price might throw you out of the market while setting a lower price might make it difficult for you to meet overheads. A good reference point would be professional organizations for your specialized branch of photography or books that quote ballpark prices.

• For advertising photography, include basic daily fee to cover the overheads, your creative fee plus a reasonable profit. Your overheads are all the out-of-pocket expenses associated with the shoot like film, props and the services of hair stylists, makeup artists and models.

• If an assignment involves travelling, then you should add travel and food expenses.

• For retail photography, you are expected to quote an all-inclusive price for a product. For example, a wedding assignment, you can set a flat fee per hour of coverage; for portfolio, you can fix a price per package that depends on a set number and print size.

• Stock photographs are priced on a per photograph basis.

Start Networking

Marketing is an essential aspect of any business. Hence in addition to a portfolio, your own website and advertisement in yellow pages make sure you:

• Look into professional organizations in your area, join photography groups and participate in local exhibitions and fairs where you meet a lot of potential customers.

• Offer to teach a photography workshop in your community. Remember word of mouth marketing is not only free but also reaches the target customers within no time.

• Collaborate with local art galleries and museums where you can distribute or display your work.

A photography business involves an investment of lot of time and money, hence make sure that you’ve carefully researched and thought about all the practical aspects that you’ll need to handle and the challenges that you’ll need to face.

Though it has been over a decade since Who Moved My Cheese? was published, the lessons it can teach small business about change management still hold good.

Dr. Spencer Johnson authored Who Moved My Cheese? in 1998, to create a generic guide on change management that would create a lasting impact. The book remained a New York Times Bestseller for five continuous years and is still considered one of the best business tools in spite of being simplistic. Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in India are at the eye of the storm when it comes to changes. They face constant political, legal, economic, social, technological and even cultural changes, though they still function in familiar territory. These changes are more often than not, fast to happen.

For instance, most of the core business functions in the small business sector are now getting digitized. Be it accounting or marketing, companies are forced to take it online in order to outdo their competition and carry on. While a few thrive on change, many adapt slowly, reluctantly and sometimes do not adapt to the changes at all! At a time when a company’s very survival depends on its ability to not reactively adapt but proactively go after change, Who Moved My Cheese? is a resourceful read on organizational change management.

The book sums up the universal laws for tackling change with “The Handwriting on the Wall,” where one of the characters writes messages as he cautiously changes his habits and thought process.

Change Happens

This literally means change is the only permanent thing, so one might as well start looking forward to it! For a small business it is important to understand this and be flexible.

Anticipate Change

Instead of waiting of a wave of change to come and hit when you least expect it; keep a keen eye out for change. Follow industry trends both locally and globally. Make sure you start innovating systems and processes that are in place.

Monitor Change

Anticipating change gives you an insight into exactly when you need to abandon the old and switch to the new. This will help you realize when your goals, way of working and communicating and your technology have become obsolete or stale.

Adapt to Change Quickly

 
The quicker you adapt to change and stop missing an old habit, the more effective you can get in a newer arena.

Change

Once you move on to a fresher way of doing things, you can leave any insecurities behind and have fun staying ahead of the pack. This way make you can beat the competitors and get there first.

Enjoy Change

This message urges one to enjoy the process of change and the place where you have reached now. This positivity will increase the effectiveness of you, your employees and your entire organization.

Be ready to change quickly and enjoy it again

Never get too comfortable and complacent about anything. Repeat the entire exercise, since change is permanent!

Blink, the book by New York Times bestselling author Malcolm Gladwell, introduces its readers to a whole new way of making effective rapid, split second decisions.

The lessons learnt from this book especially hold good for small businesses that have more direct interactions with customers and stakeholders when compared to multinational companies. While businesses think about employing complex decision making techniques, Blink offers a refreshing take on the cognitive aspects behind snap decisions.

The book mixes wit and everyday examples to enable one to practice better decision making within a few seconds. This book is for decisions makers from various walks of life who deal with time and financial constraints, apart from an overload of information that they need to scrutinize in order to reach conclusions.

What Blink is not about is intuitive, rash or emotional decision making. The author tries to drive home the point that, “there are moments, particularly in times of stress, when haste does not make waste, when our snap judgments and first impressions can offer a much better means of making sense of the world.” Gladwell provides plenty of examples of these from science, sales, advertising, music and more.

Practice makes perfection attainable

While practice doesn’t necessarily make perfect, it does bring one close to perfection. Blink urges its reader to practise exposing themselves to newer experiences; to move out of their comfort zones in order to break mental stereotypes, redefine normalcy and to be very conscious about the kind of preconceived notions one holds when they approach people or situations. This makes it easier for a manager’s snap judgments to be more rational and less biased. It also gives the decision maker fresher angles while looking at a challenge.

Less is more

In a world filled with excessive information, arriving at a decision can be a Herculean task. It has also been scientifically proven that the human brain can effectively only process a maximum of seven pieces of information at a time. Small business decision making can be especially challenging. While more information adds to confidence in the decision making process, excessive information and over-analysis can be detrimental to the decision making process. The author calls this phenomenon “analysis paralysis,” where information surplus can lead to self-doubt.

Not fool proof

Here come the disclaimers. Like all other decision making tools and techniques, Blink is not without flaws. It is very easy for a manager to get carried away with his or her gut feeling and make a reckless decision without considering the repercussions. Snap decisions are not recommended under volatile and risky circumstances. It is recommended for people who can keep calm under pressure situations and people who can quickly identify and push aside any prejudices. So to repeat- practice does make rapid decision making come close to perfection.

We all make them at the beginning of every year, only to slowly let them slide as the months go by. Individual resolutions are a person’s to make or break. However, a few simple resolutions could help a small business owner keep their priorities in line and the end goal in view as they go through the daily activities of running a business.

Here are some intuitive, but sometimes sidelined ideas for things you can start doing in the New Year:

Reach out to your customers: Between all the pressure involved in planning and managing your operations, it is easy to ignore one of your most important guiding elements: the voice of the customer. Take some time out to find out what the customer wants and thinks through email surveys, social media, or face-to-face conversations. You may find that you need to rethink certain services or products that you currently offer. Whether or not it results in any change in the way you operate, establishing this communication channel with the customer is critical for a small business.

Keep an eye on cash flow: As a small business, you can’t afford to let your receivables run high especially when they are matched by bigger and more frequent bills that you need to take care of. Communicate your ‘no delay’ payment policy to customers in no uncertain terms. Being upfront with them about your ‘small business’ financial status will help them understand where you are coming from.

Hire with the future in mind: Try to avoid a knee-jerk, reactive approach to hiring. Rather than aiding your growth plans, such an approach will prove to be counterproductive and distracting if you find that you have to cull and prune the dead wood in your team from time to time. Hiring with a view of where you want to take the business will yield you much better results.

Explore a new form of marketing: A new look for your website, getting on and regularly using a social media platform, a blog, mobile advertising….try something new with your marketing strategy this year. You may hit gold with one or more of these ideas in the form of increased visibility, positive online traction and a direct, authentic line to your customers.

Give yourself a breather: It is easy to get consumed by the demands of running your own enterprise. Schedule periodic breaks for yourself during the course of the year to allow you unstructured time to both unwind and think about where you want to take the business. You will find that you come back from these breaks feeling recharged and more clear-eyed about your business goals and strategy.

Even though the new-year brings with it newer plans, strategies, resolutions, a few fundamentals remain the same — chief among them being that your business needs insurance cover. No matter how small your business is, it needs adequate cover against uncertainties, risks and abnormal loss.

An appropriate insurance cover will rid you of haunting thoughts of financial losses, liabilities and allow you to plan ahead.

Types of Insurance: Take a look at the type of cover that may be appropriate for your business. Remember, while the different covers under the Commercial Business Insurance may not be compulsory, the Employer Insurance covers are mandatory in-case your business falls in the prescribed limits specified in the respective acts.

• Commercial Business Insurance:

Commercial Property Insurance:
 

• Machinery &Equipment, Plate Glass, Neon Sign: Covers for losses incurred on account of damage and business interruption due to fire, breakdowns, vandalism, etc.

• Burglary & Housebreaking: Covers contents of insured business premises (excluding money and valuables) against loss or damage by burglary and/or housebreaking.

• Money: Covers loss of money in transit, loss of money/valuables whilst contained in a locked safe, loss of money contained in cashier’s till and/or counter by burglary/housebreaking.

• Baggage: Covers loss or damage to accompanied personal baggage of insured or baggage in connection with his trade, whilst anywhere in India, by accident or misfortune.

• Loss of Profit:Covers loss of profit due to interruption of business consequent upon loss or damage sustained by property insured due to insured perils.

Liability Insurance: Liability Insurance Policies cover you for the cost of defending and resolving a suit against your business and includes:

• Malpractice:Covers you in the event of any malpractice by any member of your team

• Error and Omissions: Covers you for mistakes or oversights that causes damage to a third party.
• Directors’ and Officers’ Liability:Covers the costs of lawsuits against directors and officers.
• Legal liability: Covers accidental death or bodily injury to a third party or accidental damage to their property during performance of any act in connection with insured’s business.

Employer Insurance:

• Employees State Insurance: A mandatory requirement under the ESI Act, 1948, for all factories employing ten or more workers to cover the workers against sickness, maternity and employment injury.

• Workmen’s Compensation Insurance: Again, mandatorily required under the Workmen’s Compensation Act 1923 to provide for the payment by certain classes of employers to their workmen of compensation for injury by accident.

Safeguard Yourself with the Right Information: It is worthwhile to arm yourself with the right information while dealing with insurance policies, claim procedures and denial redressal.

• Before taking a new policy, disclose everything to the best of your knowledge in the form, including all existing and proposed insurance.

• In case of improper issue of policy, the same can be rectified even after a loss in case it was found that there was a genuine mistake.

• Laws require insurance companies to provide written explanations for claim denials. Insist for it in case your insurer doesn’t give you one while denying the claim.

• In case you are not satisfied with the decision/resolution of the Insurance Company, you may approach the Insurance Regulatory & Development Authority (IRDA) or the Insurance Ombudsman. The complaint may relate to any grievance against the insurer. For eg:

o Any partial or total repudiation of claims by the insurance companies

o Dispute with regard to premium paid or payable in terms of the policy

o Dispute on the legal construction of the policy wordings in case such dispute relates to claims

o Delay in settlement of claims

o Non-issuance of any insurance document to customers after receipt of premium

People who want to start their own business venture have to face a very difficult question right at the outset — how to structure the venture. Should they go the sole-proprietorship way, or float a normal partnership, or even a Limited Liability Partnership (LLP). This is often a very confusing situation. One must remember that every business has to be judged based on its dynamics before the structure is chosen.

Over the past couple of years, LLP has gained a lot of popularity among entrepreneurs because of it numerous advantages. We bring you a comparison study between LLP and other structures for a quick view of the advantages/disadvantages and assessing the applicability.

LLP Vs Sole-Proprietorship:

• Liability: In a sole-proprietorship, the owners are the owners are personally responsible for business debts. If the assets of the sole proprietorship cannot satisfy the debt, creditors can go after each owner’s personal bank account, house, etc., to reclaim the debt in total. By contrast, if an LLP goes bankrupt, the owners are not liable. However, there are certain circumstances in an LLP where an individual member may be liable for the debts of the firm. These circumstances include:

• If a member personally guarantees a debt.
• If personal funds are intermingled with LLP funds.
• If the LLP has minimal capitalization or insurance.
• If the LLP fails to pay taxes or otherwise violates regulatory and enforceable laws.

• Fresh Capital Requirements: While sole-proprietors have limited choice for raising capital for their expansion plans, LLPs can admit new members by selling membership interests, and it can create new classes of membership interests with different voting or profit characteristics. Plus, investors will be assured that they are not personally liable for company debts.

• Transfer of Ownership: In case the owner of a sole-proprietorship wants to sell the business, hehas to sell/transfer the assets, licenses and permits individually. However, ownership interests in a LLP may generally be sold to third parties without disturbing the continued operation of the business.

LLP Vs Partnership:

• Legal Entity: While a partnership firm is not a legal entity, a LLP is.

• Liability: In a partnership, every partner is jointly and severally liable and the firm is also liable for the wrongful acts or omissions of any partner.

In a limited liability partnership, the firm is not liable for the acts done by the partners outside the scope of their authority and the partners are also not responsible for the wrongful acts of any other partner. Similarly any obligation of the Limited Liability partnership is the sole obligation of the Limited Liability Partnership and not of its partners personally.

• Registration: While a partnership firm is under no compulsion to register itself, registration and incorporation of a LLP is compulsory as per the LLP Act.

• Financial Disclosures: Once again, it is not mandatory for partnership firms to file financial disclosures. On the other hand, a LLP has to compulsorily file its disclosures to the requisite authorities.

• Taxation:However, in matters of taxation, both the structures are treated a legal entity and hence, taxed accordingly.

As already mentioned, business dynamics and business requirements vary from venture to venture. Consequently, the applicability of one structure over the other changes depending upon the nature of business, location, clientele, market reach, etc. The ‘structure’ decision, therefore, needs to be assessed and taken based on these contingencies.