Piran Doctor

DirectorASCII Group Of Companies

Avoidable Pitfalls For The Entrepreneur

Establishing Credentials

Pitfalls Or Mistakes

Learning From Mistakes

Wise learn from mistakes of others Average learn from own mistakes Fools never learn

Purpose Of The Session

Make Sure You Don’t Make Them

Boy, Have I Made Many!

The Circumstantial Entrepreneur

Personal Standing

Fascinated by computers Studying in 12th Std. Proficient in Applications & F1 Key Dream to own a bike Attended a course on

Entrepreneurship conducted by IMC Extremely impressed by Mr. Forbes

The Course

Identifying Projects Finance H.R. Marketing …..

Selective Listening

Motivation & Support Structure

Both parents in service Chartered Accountants Grass always greener on the other

side Business definitely the way to go Dad puts up office space Willing to guarantee borrowings

The Opportunity Franchise Advertisement For

Computer Education Low investment Immediate setup Money would just pour in Existing success stories

Not to mention a Posh Office and the Mafatlal Name

Sure Shot !

Signed Up

C.A. Dad Prepares Project Report

Loan

Zoroastrian Co-op Bank Disburses Loan

Comprehensive 1 Week Training

Rearing to go Definite beliefs on

What is going to work And what is not

Sure knew how to make it work

So What Are Your Beliefs ?

MoneyPricing

What Brings In CustomersBusiness KnowledgeScale Of Operations

What’s Needed

Let’s Get Back

Its My Story, Remember ?

Infrastructure Ready

Arguable Location Out Dated Computers Arguable Scale of Operations

The Inauguration

Small affair Called all well wishers All who would be some use

My First Employee

Not sure of volume of business Hire

1 Lecturer

Send him for training for the Course

Hold the fort till he gets back

Contribution to brand building Advertisements

I guess I was the only one that read them!

Lesson Learnt

Brand Building Advertisements For Small

Businesses A Waste

Advertisements Need To Focus On Getting Customers In

Need To Be Focused & Customer Centric

The First Student

Pre-Convinced

Yet

Took The Longest To Convince

The First Batch

8 in the Morning My Role

Open the door Keep students entertained Apologize for Lecturer’s absence

What are the problems so far ?

Lessons Learnt Business Opportunities need to be

scrutinized thoroughly Entrepreneurship NOT a bed of roses Don’t mess in something you have

no idea of If you don’t have an idea – GET ONE Keep Backups Get A Mentor

The Learning Stage

MythI need to know everything

there is

Never Happened

Needed To Get Others

Recruitment A Moderate Issue

Got Basic Help

Loan Repayments Commence

Need To Get That Money In

Thanks To Mr. Gutta

Sitting Learning Not Helping

Got to get out & sellGet my self a Sales Guy

The Sales Stage

Batches started money flowing But not enough to pay the bills

Sales Guy Gets A Break

1st School Student Batch

Kids Do Great

Easier To Teach

More In My League

School Marketing In Full Earnest

First School Contract

Hung On Pricing

Learnt About Marginal Costing

Applied, Deal Goes Through

What are the problems so far ?

Lessons Learnt

Sales is what we are in business for You need to know a good deal Not everything Planning Keeping provision for Working

Capital Your budgets are not accurate:

Provide for overflows

Pays The Bills, Nothing More

Marginal Costing Sucks

Word Spreads

Better Pricing More Schools

Business But No Money No People

Need Of The Hour

FinanceRecruitment & Training

Approach To Staff

I Needed These Guys Nothing Less Than Equals

I was Only More Equal

What are the problems so far ?

Lessons Learnt

Repay before time Earn the confidence of lenders Be prepared for growth Team has to be ready before the

business comes in Team is what makes it all work

You Gad U Dares The Unthinkable

Meeting with the Chairman of the Bombay Port Trust

Huge Recruitment & Training Contract

A Real Confidence Booster

Observation

You tend to play at your level of comfort

Lesson

Might as well play at levels of discomfort

What Holds Us Back

Self Image

Fear

First Invitation Out Of Mumbai

Pouring In Of Advice

Put On The Back Burner

Why Not ?

Respond After 3 Months

Get Thrown Out

Get The Business Any Way

Start Of A One Month Nightmare

The Nightmare

Implementation Commenced New Language No Course Material Not a clue how to teach

What are the problems so far ?

Lesson Learnt

Know your customers Know their requirements Get good local people Setup good systems Outsource what you cannot do Right amount of involvement Personal control

The Stage Of Growth

Turnover Crosses A Crore For The First Time

Natural Diversification

Planned This Time Around

Self & Staff Roles Change

Levels Of Management AddedTime Allocations Change

Availability Change

Birth Of The Boss

Cant be expected to visit over 30 centers myself

Brewing Unrest

Dot Com BoomMass Exodus

Staff Retention an Issue

What are the problems so far ?

Lessons Learnt

H.R. A very important function Organization growth linked with

individual growth not enough Growth should be in line with other

opportunities The better you train them the faster

you loose them . Train anyways.

New Challenges

Large staff strength Multi location operations Rising overheads Staff turnover Competition at every corner Ploughing back mostly

EVERYTHING

Lessons Learnt Clear job definitions Accepting staff turnover as inevitable Greater emphasis on systems Innovate or perish No deal better at times All eggs in one basket Business is done for what you can take

out

Lesson From Avoidance

People Will Pay Your Price - If They Want What You Got

BPO Boom

New Challenges

Still working on cost based pricing Pricing bound by contracts Inability to Compete With Salary

Structures Rejuvenating Innovation Pampering Staff Reduces Quality

What are the problems so far ?

Lessons Learnt Value based pricing Customers understand your plight but

expect solutions Involve customers in the solution Work around the problem Change your Business Model Balance systems & freedom to innovate Blow Hot Blow Cold

A Few Pointers

The Gyan

Job People And Entrepreneurs

It’s A Frame Of Mind

Our Conditioning Plays An Important Part

After all you are a sum total of every thing you have picked

up on the way

Look Before You Leap

A Rolling Stone Gathers No Moss

But you definitely get polished

More to be worried in case you are a first generation business man

Get Clear Why You Want To Get Into Business

Not Just Any Business - THIS Business

You Are An All In One - Till You Can Afford Others

Plato on blindness

The Discomfort Of Something New

Pointers On Learning

How To Use Learning

Especially Contradictory Points Of View

Ask

If you don't knowIf you want something

No matter how stupid or audacious

Ask the right questions to the right people

Try, Keep If It Works For You

Don’t emulate big businesses - It’s a different ball game

Internalize Or It Will Just Be Your Knowing

Take Advise - But Make Your Decision

After all the consequences are yours

Model On Success

Go into details

Smart Works. Smarty Does Not

Fear & Insecurity

Don’t try to be fearless They are your allies Listen to them They are warning signals Acknowledge them get the

message Set the situation right

Beliefs

Question them Check to see if they are your own See if they serve you well Drop them if they hold you back Strengthen them if they empower

you

Your Beliefs Form Your Limitations

Self Image

Don't identify your self image to your role as an entrepreneur

or It becomes a roller coaster ride

Put A Person In A Situation And He Survives

You too will survive

Courage Is Not The Absence Of Fear , But

The Ability To Do What Is Right In Presence Of It

Take Calculated Risk

With Ideas With People With Money With Whatever You Got

The Imagined Risk Is Always Greater Than The Real Risk

Making Choices

No Golden Formula You cant have everything You cant do everything Make them one at a time If they were right, good for you If they were wrong, get the lesson

Pick Your Niche

Pick Your Battles

Great things come out of warBut you need peace to enjoy the

fruit

Adapt & Innovate

Give More

Let Others Grow With You

It Is The Fastest Method

Share Your Vision And How The Business Is Doing

Keep In Touch With Customers

Relationships Are Everything

Integrity Is Important

Go For The Long Run

Change Is The Only Constant

People Closest Resist Most

They Have Invested In You

It Is A Continuous Discovery

Don't Work Because U Have Nothing Better To Do

Certain Things Are Cast In Stone

The Rest Are Shades Of Grey

As Kenny Rogers Puts It

Know when to hold them Know when to fold them Know when to walk away Know when to run You never count you money sitting

at the table until the dealings done

Please feel free to contact me

Piran Doctor, Kamani Chambers, 32- R. Kamani Marg,

Ballard Estate, Mumbai 400001Tele:22613516, 22617597

Email:piran@ascii-india.com