ENTREPRENEUR SPECIAL...LESSONS FROM A SERIAL ENTREPRENEUR … GS Bhalla

LESSONS FROM A SERIAL ENTREPRENEUR … GS Bhalla

The Challenge is to Convince People About Credibility of Your Product by Creating a Niche for it

My first startup was a trading company in 1996, which grew fairly successfully till about 2000, when I started my KPO business. Thanks to my habit of venturing into uncharted territories, I have started four businesses so far and each has had its unique set of challenges and learnings. For instance, with my KPO business, for the first 16 months we did not sign a single account and finally I had to sell my car to pay the salaries of my employees. And then, suddenly, we signed our first account, which brought in about $1,600 a month that helped us stay afloat. Today we employee over 1,000 in that business and it is a leader in its space. I have always wanted to innovate and give my own unique spin to any business. Of course, there is a bit of risk. But then, every novel enterprise entails a fair amount of risk. The challenge is to be able to convince people about the credibility of the product by creating a niche for it. Let me share with you my learnings during my journey of entrepreneurship.

5 Lessons to Remember
    Having battle scars is good. Never be afraid of failure because, as someone said, failures are the stepping stones to success. To be successful, an entrepreneur must face failures, learn from them and overcome them. So, welcome challenges, as each of them gives you a new opportunity to learn.
    Keep up your passion and don’t slow down after achieving limited success. Don’t get complacent when you make small profits. At the same time, don’t get bogged down when you encounter failures as they will only help you toughen up. Hold yourself through the ups and downs, using your passion as your driving force.
    Hire a great team. In fact, this can include people with superior talent as well because it’s the collective talent and effort of your team that makes your brand outshine the rest. Communicate with your team, because often the right idea/suggestion that entrepreneurs look for outside is hidden within the organization.
    Uphold your values. A successful entrepreneur should not be known for the revenues he has generated over a period of time, but for his integrity. This includes value for his customers, brand, employees, or for society.
    Don’t let your hunger die, and don’t feel comfortable. Because if you are comfortable, then you are probably not doing it right. The moment a comfort level seeps in, you should realise that you are probably moving down the growth ladder. True success lies in the challenges and hardships you face to expand business.
Things People Overlook
    The success of every product/service lies with the customer. So persist in understanding customer insights at every stage before developing any new product. Also, since customer preferences keep changing, it’s important to stay connected and seek their views on a regular basis. For that matter, startups can even look for cost-effective communication channels such as social media or on-group activations that involve customer engagements.
    Successful entrepreneurs don’t think differently, they do differently. Be passionate towards developing big ideas but fructify them in a smarter way so that you subsidise the cost and enhance productivity.
    A startup should be focused towards building a brand. Building a brand is a gradual process. However, to build a successful one, it is important to stay focused on developing the specific value and positioning of the product. All strategies should be integrated keeping the core positioning and vision of the brand in mind, because the bottom line is to establish it successfully and not confuse your customers with myriad communications.
    A customer should be able to identify the brand. Every brand strives to create a niche. However, often a product may not be unique, which makes it a challenge for the marketer to present it as something special. Remember, success does not lie in the uniqueness of the product, but in the way it is marketed so the customer can easily identify it even in a cluttered space.
    An entrepreneur should take ownership of everything that goes right as well as everything that goes wrong.

GS Bhalla
CURRENT DESIGNATION
CEO & MD, Cocoberry
COMPANIES FOUNDED
Horizon KPO, Cocoberry
ONE THING I’D DO DIFFERENTLY
If I were to start my first company now: I would raise a lot more capital
THE MOST EXCITING SPACE TO BE IN
Health and wellness, and online

ET121020