The Morning Quietude – Why Rising Up Early is Important

A hectic day in the life of an entrepreneur calls for a good night sleep. For lesser mortals, however, knowing the sleep patterns of successful entrepreneurs doesn’t count for much apart from learning how disciplined their lives are. As studies on successful entrepreneurs have covered everything right from their protein intake to music preferences, how could these not conclude the time of day most want to wake up, making most of the available hours in a day? Going by what these studies suggest, it can actually teach us one thing: it is far more productive to get up in the morning than to sleep late in the night. In addition, the number of hours spent sleeping is way less than the standard 8-hour sleep.

After all, who would want to spend their special and exciting lives sleeping? Lot of articles on popular entrepreneur-focused forums too suggest the same. So, what must be reasons these successful barons of huge companies want to maximise the morning time instead of night. Let’s learn them like the back of our hands.

Saying No To Distraction: At 5 or 6 in the morning, the distractions are less likely to happen than in the mid of the night. So, all the personal time they want to spend in leisure and hobby pursuing, it can best happen during the wee hours. Taking up hobbies after a long day at work is unpractical.

They Have All the Good Reasons: If you do not have a good reason to get up and start working, you probably wouldn’t get around to getting up early. All entrepreneurs have good reasons to compromise on their sleep.

Taking Advantage of the Extra Time: The earlier the better. The entrepreneurs make most of the early morning time (from 4 am to 7 am) because that is the time one is most efficient, active and lively.

The Experience: The experience of seeing and feeling the daylight taking over the darkness of the night is most fulfilling and wonderful. It is the experience the morning peace and the quietude provides, away from all the madness that surrounds one through the day, that can take away all the pressures which are so intrinsic of any entrepreneur’s life.

What Good Does Fear Do?

This particular post has been taken from Take Charge, Building an Entrepreneur Mindset by Gaurav Marya. And it has been written from the perspective of an entrepreneur.

Fear is a basic emotion; it remains with all of us. All of us face the same fears whether we have two lakh, two crore or two hundred crore rupees. We are afraid of losing status, reputation, market share, people, opportunity…. These are real concerns. We all have played a high-stake game while dealing with an obtrusive government administration, crumbling infrastructure, unreliable suppliers, uncertain market environment. . .All is cause for worry.

The fear is the same, yes, but the scale differs. For an individual, our family’s wellbeing rests on our decisions. For an entrepreneur, the wellbeing of those entire dependent on his or her enterprise rests on the decisions made.

For entrepreneurs, carrying on an enterprise set up by an earlier generation, the stakes for failure are higher. The spirit of entrepreneurship is burdened by the legacy of past success and often the second generation, and sometimes even an early entrepreneur, settles within the relative comfort of jobwork, for fear of losing what has been gained. These entrepreneurs fall into the ‘guardian’ role – living in the fear of failure and loss.

Fear is not all bad, it has its positive impact. Fear teaches us caution and keeps us away from complacence. It is fear that gets us on that early morning flight, fine-tuning our presentation on that cramped airplane seat, for that appointment with the difficult client. We could have just turned off the alarm and snuggled back warm in bed. So let us own our fears and search for the fun that makes life worth living.

Franchise India to make way for Fresh Graduates.

The proverbial story of graduates in India is all too familiar. The average age at which students graduate in India is 21, and soon after, in fact when in final year/semester in college, are expected to answer a plethora of dated questions by family and peers alike: “So now that the studies are over, which company are you applying to?”, “Your dream job?”, “How soon are you starting with your job?”, “Is it a reputed, well-known company?”, “How much are they paying?” So on and so forth. The trails of questions seem never-ending and repetitive. Succumbing to join a big corporate or giving in to the temptation of shepherding across their father’s business to the altar, the options to choose from after one has “completed” their education are far from many. However, many examples shed light on the third category, too, that of graduates who go for starting their own business and becoming entrepreneurs.

The times are changing! And the shift is for all to see from ordinary to extraordinary. But it is not easy to become an entrepreneur. Many a time people do not know why they want to join a business. What is it that attracts: the money, sense of ownership or the glamour that it involves? Starting and running a business requires elaborate planning and organising. One has to maintain his interest even through the lows that are so intrinsic of the concept of owning a business. The ability to think on your feet, a commercial sense to understand value, revenue and profit, ambition to accommodate aspirations of all the stakeholders, financial discipline, etc, are only some traits out of the many that an entrepreneur needs to have – in abundance – before even thinking of starting a business.

That is where Franchise India thinks franchising is the way forward for you. Not only will it provide you with a platform to become an entrepreneur, there are a number of powerful incentives that will motivate you to make the plunge. By opting to take up a franchised business, you are becoming a part of the success story. You are simply adopting a time-tested system for success that is a result of years of trials and errors. Plus, for earning a profit with minimised risk, you have the satisfaction of owning a business. Lucrative and appealing as franchising may seem, it is wise that you take a hard look and weigh each stage with extreme care before you take the leap. It is in fact a major decision and requires careful deliberation.

Anyone who wants to take up a franchise (and/or open up a business) in areas such as food, fitness, education, apparels, salon and spa, etc, and is exploring options, right from business plan to business modelling, to finances, to real estate, to hiring teams, to expanding and business growth, so on and so forth, are our potential clients. Franchise India provides end-to-end consulting and that’s how it’ll help these entrepreneurs take a well-informed decision. Since our company’s inception, FI has interacted with a little more than 25,000 budding entrepreneurs. We have consulted over 500 large and small corporations in making informed decisions about their business growth. Always remember the more answers you get to all your business related questions, the better prepared you will be to face the challenges that are so intrinsic of it.

How to Bounce Back from Failure.

What does the phrase “Bounce back” mean? I remember one of my friends reiterating the fact how he was a good bike rider, every time we came close to a “near miss” experience with other vehicles on the road. The incident happened recently and his explanation came as a response to my evident fear and subsequent request to “be on the safer side of the road”. He didn’t like hearing that, much as the Gen Y lot of entrepreneurs who take pride in having made peace with their failures. As I was still reeling off the near miss incident on the road, my biker friend explained to me his version of looking at incidents such as these: “You must compare this journey with the journey of life. We come into this world, learn the ropes, come face-to-face with hiccups and learn to bounce back to focus ‘on the road ahead’. Have the right attitude, learn from mistakes and move on.” I was dumbfounded at the analogy drawn and thanked my friend for the explanation that hit the bull’s eye, aside from giving me food for thought for my current article.

If only it was easier done than said.

Everyone is bound to face failures in different stages of life. The ones who claim to have remained unaffected by it are either lying or aren’t as successful as those who have failed (been there) and collected themselves right back up (done that). If you are averse to facing failures, chances are that you are browbeaten by the growth possibilities it offers. Let us see how overcoming failure can be a mix of resilience and the right attitude.

Solving is Necessary: Be realists and be optimists. Keep ready with a B-plan when faced with a sudden problem. Become a problem solver and don’t fret about the bygones.

Shift the Focus: Don’t focus on yourself when grey skies have engulfed you. Remember, the farther you are from negativity, the more insight, positivity and wisdom you can gain from your encounter with the failure.

What’s in the Name? Oh, you heard Mr X’s new venture failed miserably?”, “He was always a no-calibre-guy, what’s the brouhaha about?” While critics will do what they are best at – criticise, you should focus on what is best for you – start again.

Failures are Teachers: Some say one should fail on purpose while others counsel you to take a leap of faith in pursuit of your dream, to fail but successfully. So go the whole hog and ditch mediocrity.

Disappointments can be turned into meaningful successes if you yearn to find learning in your failure. You must know that there isn’t anything personal and given that in life nothing is certain, one has to keep going and keep finding opportunities in the most adverse of situations.

The Emergence of the Abundant Economy.

In continuation to the previous post on the current scenario, the era of abundant choice. . .

As students of school-level economics will testify, we have always accepted as a given that the “resources are scarce and needs are unlimited.” We are, today, witnessing the emergence of abundance.

A survey testifies to this: “the fast changing consumerism in India over the last two decades has made life ever more puzzling for marketers, analysts and policy makers who have been trying to understand the changing dynamics of the Indian marketplace. Gone are the days when Indian consumers could have been neatly slotted into different categories, since consumers and consumerism have turned into a more complex proposition looking for more value and satisfaction for their money.” (How India Earns, Spends and Saves.)

The survey report goes on to state: “The wheel of fortune continues to spin in India, with each level of household income set to move a notch higher by the end of the decade. The maximum impact of the growth has been estimated to be on the middle-income households.”

A McKinsey report in 2007 was more bullish in their projections: “Our analysis shows that if India continues on its current growth path, over the next two decades the Indian market will almost triple and India will climb from its position as the 12th largest consumer market to become the world’s fifth-largest consumer market by 2025.” (The ‘Bird of Gold’: The Rise of India’s Consumer Market published after a year-long research project.)

Quite frankly, I don’t really understand country-level statistics. For me, these statistics are a mere confirmation of the entrepreneurial energy I have seen in the many business shows that we, at Franchise India, have organised across the country. Last year, we did some 50-plus shows. These were not just in the metros, but also in the tier II and III cities and towns.

My marketing communication colleagues say that we bind India from Jammu to Cochin, (North-South) and from Pathankot to Dibrugarh, (East-West). These are shows where individual investors, early entrepreneurs and established enterprises come together to buy and sell business opportunities in franchise and retail. We have been doing this for 14 years now and each year we are not only revisiting old destinations, but are going to new ones. The show at each repeat destination has been bigger than the previous one.

I am not saying this in a self-congratulatory mode. We have done nothing except tapping into an overflow of entrepreneurial spirit that is welling up within the belly of our nation. Entrepreneurs are just waiting for opportunities. I am an optimist in that I know that the change for the better has happened and will happen faster. The change rests on the shoulders of the new entrepreneurs I daily meet; who keep coming forward to take on more challenges and build new businesses. It is this community of entrepreneurs that will build enterprise solutions to all the pain points we continue to face today, in India and across the globe.

We shall continue with more on the abundance economy, its problems and the ways to tackle those in our forthcoming articles. Write in to us for your feedback and opinions.

Entrepreneur Commonalities – Five.

Quitters in its this phase of writing, titled “Entrepreneurial Commonalities”, is committed to take its readers through the journey of learning and sharing, questioning and being counter-questioned, applying and becoming, realising and teaching the stages that make up any and every entrepreneur’s life. We have talked about 20 common characteristics of successful entrepreneurs so far, covering five in each of Quitters’ previous post. This is the fifth and the last post, which will complete 25 common characteristics of entrepreneurs.

They Believe in Taking Action: Remember that action can result into knowing your true potential by negating fear and hesitation. They are realists who believe the limitation of time and energy and therefore stay focused to achieving their goals, however difficult and grumpy the road. It’s the passion to reach their aim that drives them. And it is this zeal that inspires others.

They Know Who They Are Inside Out: You would never come across an entrepreneur who makes false statements and takes pride in them. They know their strengths and weaknesses and based on that assessment build an able team that helps them realise the business idea’s true potential. They’re never far from truth when it concerns them, their personalities and the kind of people they are. They do not believe in conforming other people’s beliefs about the entrepreneur in them.

They like To Be With Their Tribe: Many entrepreneurs have tried going the distance alone and realised that they cannot do it alone. They are always surrounded by people, friends, family and colleagues, who share the same passion as theirs. And that is what makes their ideas and the desire to implement those ideas click.

They Fail Truly: They’re not afraid of the fear of failure, because it can paralyse anyone. They negate it completely in that they try fully the tasks they plan for, not worrying about being doomed if they failed. They fail truly, completely and learn from their mistakes. More often than not, it is the failure that takes them closer to their dream, sometime even giving them a brilliant idea to achieve it by giving another shot.

They Work Hard: To say that their business and the entire technicality involved make them boring people is wrong. They work day and night in the initial phase of striving to realise their dream. But once they’re closer to their dream and can delegate work to their team, they believe in partying hard.

Every entrepreneur has examined his/her characteristics and they’re well aware of what their business journey is going to be. The last five posts consist of commonalities that unite them, in their overall personality and working style. Although there’s no formula to achieve success, it could be really hard to succeed without having these traits.

Write in to us for your suggestions, opinions and ideas in the comments’ section.

Entrepreneurial Commonalities – Four.

In the fourth post of the series, Entrepreneurial Commonalities we explore five more traits that are commonly found in all the successful entrepreneurs. If you have read the previous three posts, you will agree to these facts: entrepreneurs like to do what they like to do; for them, meticulous planning is a business need and they can’t do without it; the customer is always considered a king and is respected and valued; they know team work is their number one sales tool and never underestimate the power of their business team; cash flows are never interrupted while they make sure that any/everyone gets their due, including themselves; they consider promoting self as another marketing tool; worship their work; use technology to leverage their business needs; are conscious about their business’s reputation in the market; are experts of their field and know consulting like the back of their hand; they’re involved like none other in their business and keep the faith; their penchant for an organised environment is for all to see; they believe in taking up and delegate the remaining to their team.

Quitters in its next phase of writing, titled “Entrepreneurial Commonalities”, is committed to take its readers through the journey of learning and sharing, questioning and being counter-questioned, applying and becoming, realising and teaching the stages that make up any and every entrepreneur’s life. We have talked about 15 common characteristics of successful entrepreneurs so far, covering five in each of Quitters’ previous post. Let us now talk about five more commonalities.

The Importance of Follow-ups: Even the new entrepreneur knows how important is following up and keeping in touch with their business alliances, associations, vendors, suppliers, customers, et al. It helps in various stages, such as converting a new customer into a regular one, adding weight to the otherwise usual transactions, cross-selling and earning more from the existing lot of customers, forming solid relationships with your suppliers and business team.

Relax and Take Time Out For Self: When you are in complete control of your business, you want to work round the clock. However, it does have some repercussions. Make sure you take out the time your mind and body needs to freshen up, schedule weekend breaks or vacations, break in for lunch and relaxing, etc. Do not try to work 24 hours in a day, it would never really help. Have a flexible schedule, so the customers see a “happy” you.

Fine-tuning Negotiations: Businesspersons across the globe practice and hone the skill of negotiating almost daily. It is an integral part of any business and needs to be dealt with during every business/individual transaction. Negotiating is not only cost-cutting and saving money wherever possible, it is also making the other party believe in the occurrence of a win-win situation.

Not a Seeker, But a Grabber: Every entrepreneur has this uncanny ability to get noticed in their circle, marketplace, friends, businesses, etc. Especially for a start-up on a tight spend budget, they rarely are investing millions on advertising anyway. They never let an opportunity of self promotion go waste, especially when they can continue to grab attention to grow their business.

USP is Their USP: All the successful entrepreneurs have businesses that have a clearly defined unique selling proposition. They know well what is it that separates their business from the rest and know also why the customers would not buy their competitor’s product/service. Entrepreneurs are known to create a competitive advantage over all their competitors.

We will come with 5 more traits of successful entrepreneurs before we complete this week’s special offering, “Entrepreneurial Commonalities”. You can share your views and suggestions in the comments’ section.