Business after college education

A fresh graduate from college has a big way ahead.  There are two options at his hand ‘to work for someone or to be on his own’.  Real thinking needs to be done to choose one option or the other.  Those who like to play safe would most probably choose to work while some with risking inclination would go for entrepreneurial way and start their own business.  

There could be many reasons for the young to start on their own, but surely there will be an inspiration for their goal.  The inspiration could be Bill Gates,  Anji Reddy, Brian Wong, Ms.Carol Tice, JRD Tata, Dheerubhai Ambani and the list is not limited to these only.

What you need to start on your own?

If you want to start a small business on your own, you need to make a business plan, make some finance related decisions, fulfill local govt. requirements, marketing your product and finally delivering the product pleasing your customers.

What ever the ideas you have may be, put all of them on a paper and analyse them carefully till you get a feasible business idea.  Then devise a plan based on the idea to make is sustainable in terms of time and money.  you got a basic business plan for the kick start.

Raising start-up capital is becoming relatively easier due to the large number of venture capitalists surging apart from recent aggressive banking.  If you got a feasible business plan, it’s no difficult to obtain a bank loan.  As you make trails for the loan, you also need to take care of local govt. requirements for your proposed business.

The execution of the business plan is utmost important than establishing the business.  For this one needs to concentrate a lot on the product marketing.  You should have a executable marketing strategy for your product which results in attracting and keeping your customers.   The more satisfied your customers are, the more profitable your business would be.

Never mind you just graduated from the college, gear up for the growth and success race by becoming yourself a model entrepreneur.

Welcome budding entrepreneurs

Hi budding techoncrats!

Good news for you all from LOTUS LINKS.

As a proven technocrats team, LOTUS LINKS once again decided to continue supporting budding entrepreneurs with reports for execution. Though its not possible to pay 100% attention to individuals needs, LOTUS LINKS decided this time to spend specific time in working with new talented individuals.

Due to numerous mails we recieve from interested individuals without firm decisions, it is hard to identify those are in real need. Hence we advise those in real need only to contact us for eloborate reports.

Once again assuring you our best support,

Regards,

Chief Executive,
Lotus Links

Planning Home Based Business

Planning Home based Business

“Plans are of little importance but planning is essential – Winston Churchill”

Without planning nothing is achieved and every individual in pursuit of their day to day activities knowingly or unknowingly make planning. Perhaps you want to buy a mobile phone today is your plan. Certain steps are taken in order to buy mobile phone. First you would Google for mobile phone models and shops in your area. Then you would make your choice of model you like. You then decide how you reach the shop and may be with one of your friends. You and your friend decide on a suitable time and transport to shop. The procedure for accomplishing the plan is planning which defines how you are going to do it.

Even for buying an item you are making a planning. What if you want to sell, not one item but many items of the same kind? Do you need planning? You definitely need one.

If it is a big establishment or business there will be professionals doing the planning. But when you want to start home based business you need to do it mostly on your own. Hence it is very much necessary to understand various aspects of planning which would help you make your own planning for a successful home based business.

You got a home based business idea means you got a plan. Next is to make a planning for achievement. For that you need to assess whether the idea is good one? A simple feasibility study could help your plan. There are three steps in planning to know whether your business idea is a good one or not. First, is there a market for your product? Second, can you sell it and make money? And third, how much competition you would be facing?

STEP1 MARKET RESEARCH - You got buyers for your product?
Home based business is typical compared to other business establishments. No doubt your personal rapport is important to sell but you need to know whether you are offering product that your customers really need? You cannot sell trekking gadgets in a beach area. If your product satisfies the unmet need of your customers, the success rate of your business is good.

There is an old marketing adage that states, “It costs ten times more money to get a new customer, than to retain an existing one”. Another thing to consider is whether your product or service has something that will encourage a customer to return. Find ways to continually drive your existing customers back to you for service updates, refills, etc. Repeated customers ensure that your business anchors into deep success.

STEP2 PRICING PROCEDURE – Is your product profitable?

The goal of any business is to make a profit. When setting up a business, consideration should be made on how to price the product according to what the market will bear. Pricing is a pretty simple issue. Customer will not pay a single penny more than its true value.
For a successful home based business, the offered service or product price is to be decided based on the cost of production plus the profit margin and also the customer. If the customer is not ready to pay for services or product at the minimum estimated price based on your costs and profit margin then the feasibility of the business is in question. If the customer is ready to pay more than the minimum estimated pricing then sure the intended home based business would be successful. Set product pricing based on feasibility study to make a more sustainable and profitable business. Profit motive should be optimum and not maximum for a successful business.
STEP3 BUSINESS COMPETITION – Are you into a pricing race?
"Never fear of facing competition because it makes you better. – Vason M".

When there is hectic competition, first question comes up is who is cheaper? Some times this price war may turn bloody requiring you to make an aggressive decision. Don’t think that reducing the price is always the solution. An aggressive decision could be to keep the price as it is and to promote the positive differences of your product compares to others. Some customers are more interested in quality or a company’s experience. Refining your product and your marketing strategy can help compete for a customer segment not interested in buying solely off price.

Understanding the above three steps you can prepare the methodology or essential planning. And in addition you can evolve a feasibility study from the collected information and devise a successful home based business plan for yourself.

What is a business plan?

A business plan is essentially a blueprint for a business and the best way to illustrate any business is by providing a business plan. For any travel you need to have a destination and the proposed path to reach it. So is a business also ‘the travel to success entrepreneurship’. Hence it’s important to develop a business plan to achieve whether the business is small, medium or large scale.
In the book The Entrepreneur’s Manual, Richard M. White, Jr. states that business plans are “road maps” for business creation: “You identify your origin, select a destination, and plot the shortest distance between the two points.”
A business plan also serves many other purposes:
· A business plan is a detailed blueprint for the activities needed to establish a business (i.e. product or service, the market demand, and the management of the business).
· A business plan is also the ‘yardstick’ by which a business owner measures success in meeting set goals and objectives.
· Also, a business plan is a tool for obtaining a loan from a lending agency, or for attracting venture capital.
What a business plan consists of?
There is no standard format for a business plan, but there are many common components of a business plan:
· Executive Summary : providing a general overview of the plan’s main points.
· Table of Contents : it’s the index of details of plan.
· Background and History: nature and basis of proposed business explained.
· Business Goals and Objectives: the set targets are listed in detail.
· Description of Products/Services: details of proposed products and services discussed.
· Market Description/Assessment: Feasibility is assessed comparing the market trends.
· Competition Assessment: status of the propped business in the regional market detailed.
· Marketing Strategies: plans proposed for the product marketing listed.
· Manufacturing Plans: Plans for the proposed manufacturing and capacities listed.
· Pro Forma Financial Analysis: Various financial details tabulated.
· Contingency Plans: Troubleshooting/preparedness plans devised in totality.

Many business plans will also include appendixes with additional information related to the business, its operations, its owners/managers, marketing/promotional plans, etc.

STEPS TO BUSINESS LOAN

STEPS TO BUSINESS LOAN
You have a great idea to start a business. You are fully dedicated to make it a successful venture. But you also need money, may be in the form of a loan. A Business Loan for a start-up is not that easy to get. You need to prepare a good feasible business plan for lender’s approval. Here are some important steps one needs to take for a start-up loan:
1. MARKET ANALYSIS: As part of the business plan, you should include a detailed analysis of the market, trends, customer base, the volume of industry. Your expected market share and cash flow in the first few years which could be translated into estimated profit returns is utmost important. This helps your lender to assess how much you understand the market and industry, and in turn your repayment potential.
2. FUNDS DISTRIBUTION: make estimates as exactly as possible so as to justify the funds requirements for each type of purchase. Every penny accounted for adequately allocated resources leads to a more feasible business plan. Prioritization of funds requirement helps your lender assured of the investment returns.
3. EXPERIENCE BOOST: Never hesitate to share your experience through the business plan. Any type of experience is counted whether it’s managerial, technical or commercial since it helps you to handle business challenges.
4. PERSONAL STAKE: lenders expect you to make a financial commitment to the business and inject your own cash into your new business. If you show confidence in your new business by investing in it yourself, your lenders would also show confidence in your business plan.
So, for a successful business loan, gear up yourself with a detailed business plan presentation to the LENDER.Good luck

Being Your Own Boss

Being Your Own BOSS!!!
Human wants to be independent always by all means. It’s the same reason anyone wants to be an entrepreneur, primarily for independence and the opportunity to be my own boss. A person, being his own boss, can enjoy the freedom to give shape to his own dreams and aspirations. There are both risk and rewards but there is no hierarchy and office politics to cruise through for a boss.
Entrepreneurship has the potential to teach real-life skills. Every aspiring entrepreneur, who is fully engaged in growing his business, is learning in one year what others may gain in several years of corporate working life.
CHANGE-GAME : A person want to be an entrepreneur cannot look for a smooth ride. It’s the uncertainty swells an entrepreneur needs to navigate through. So an entrepreneur needs to accept every change in his journey and adapt himself to that change effectively.
MENTOR MARK : Entrepreneurship doesn’t follow any critical path. One can be passionate about his own ideas than others. Entrepreneur needs to rely on his own conviction though there are enough around to inspire with. Advice from those who are experienced always could make valuable difference. Hence never hesitate to take a clue.

CENT PER CENT : Once a decision made then put cent per cent into it. Before the decision, understand the expectations of your family and loved ones, because that defines how far you are ready to go and whether it is really worth it for you. Just be clear about the reason you are taking up entrepreneurship and be ready to act on your convictions, the rest will follow.

Passion as Business

MAKE YOUR PASSION AS YOUR BUSINESS
“WITH PASSION, MAN IS MORE SUCCESSFUL”
Everyone, starting a business, wants to do something he is good at and sell. Simply manufacturing and selling is not one man work as it involves manpower and other resources. But the fruits of the business sure belong to one man ‘the entrepreneur’. So when any one wants to start a business, the first question comes across is what to start?
Every entrepreneur wants to be successful but only a few are more successful because of their passion. Exploring avenues of creativity and finding your passion is the Success key. Your passion is likely the quickest route to launch a successful business.
So uncover your passion through some exploring process that leads to your successful business.
EXPLORER 1
Even at the age of forty some people like to play loads of video games. You know the reason why? It’s because they enjoyed playing games a lot when they were children. It’s true that we were disconnected a lot from what we loved to do as children.

Make a list of all the things you remembered enjoying as a child and think over them whether you enjoy them the same now too? Then question yourself whether those passions can become part of your choice now?
EXPLORER 2
Make a big board or poster with new business in the center and place images, sayings, articles, any inspirations as a cluster around the new business.
When you surrounded yourself with images of your intention ‘what you want to create and what you want to become?’ your passion grows big.
As you are more focused on the board, you would surely recognize the missing one and could find ways to realize your vision.
EXPLORER3
Start doing what you love even though there was no business plan written down. Do what you enjoy even you haven’t figured out how to launch it into a profit spinner. Test what it is like work in an area you are passionate about. By this you can establish a network and ask for feedback that is a lot helpful in refining your business plan.
It's a way to not only show the value you would bring, but you can also get testimonials that will help launch your business when you're ready to make it official.

EXPLORER4
Identify similar persons and study their success. Study the successful people in the area you want to pursue. During the economic slump many people keep away from stock markets but a few enter and succeed. So figure out how and why they are successful when others running away and then devise a plan for your successful business entry.
"It's not the plan that is creative; it's the process that you go through that opens up so many possibilities."

EXPLORER5
Your mind needs sometimes rest from thinking as it’s bogged down with loads of ideas and plans. Take a break by putting away business mode and get into leisure mode by taking up hobby for some time.
After taking a mental vacation, start fresh again reviewing your ideas and plans. Missing links would be visible clear now as your mind could see creative connections that we often neglect to notice.