Seven ways to dramatically grow your business like IPL

Cricket has drove Indians to craziness since British finally bid farewell. Broken television sets, suicides, Emotional / financial breakdowns, unofficial half days and countless other dramatic events.

IPL a.k.a. Indian Premier League is the cleverest business idea of century, Hands Down!! Even though it didn’t work out in the long run  @LalitKModi did a great job of unleashing a Brand which captured the hearts and soul of Indian everywhere.

What is IPL? IPL is based on one theme ‘The world is flat but emotions are personal’, it combines the best cricketing talent in the world with territory branding full of emotions and vigor.  Some people critique IPL for being shallow and pretentious, power to them but IPL is REAL, it represents an evolved audience and business model. It proves the old needs to transform itself to be relevant or be endangered.

As the richest sports league in the world, it commands deserving attention to adapt and learn. Here are 10 lessons for businesses to aim for success

1.    Never say Never before: Most business commit the cardinal sin of stating nobody has done it before us or focusing too much on the non-existent but IPL is based on the most popular sports of the country, BCCI always had regional cricket played. Everything was there before but @LalitKModi thought different and combined it with glamour, show business, bollywood, powerful business personality. Pretty much brought the ‘sexy back’ to cricket.
Tip: Look for the most popular trends in your industry and repackage it with vigor, aspiration and Boldness.  This applies from accounting to manufacturing shoe laces. Your size doesn’t decide your success but your passion and hunger.

2.    Sell the Dream: I mean it in the most sincere way, forget everything else you are in the business of selling dreams and this doesn’t applies to real estate and insurance only. Unless you relate to people’s better side you don’t stand a chance to be a ‘SUPER’ brand. IPL from the very beginning was all about selling the dream whether to its sponsors or its viewers. It’s a promise of  better and bolder you.
TIP: Your business should be relatable to the better side of your consumer, if you give them power there will keep coming back for more.

3.    Deliver: IPL was all about big and bold announcements and thrilling excitement but they did manage to deliver it to the mark and probably much more. IPL promoted itself as ‘Entertainment in Cricket’ not ‘Cricket in Entertainment’ and that’s what precisely its all about. Over the five years IPL has more or less delivered the public bonanza and is evolving to absorb the ever-changing and more so challenging variables.

TIP: Carefully develop a bold brand phenomena and then deliver value, don’t shy away from going the extra mile. Value is the only this which is going the build the bridge between you and your clientele for recurring business.

4.    Everybody is accessible: IPL has brought the mightiest of the lot together and anybody can tell that franchisees are not just in for the profit. Its much more,it’s a ‘TAG’ which is so rare that owning it makes you almost invincible. You might be a billionaire; a superstar unless you own an IPL team your coolness quotient can not match the ones who do. A business model which is highly restrictive, elite and yet relevant for masses will never suffer from lack of interest.

TIP: Putting restriction for access will make your business desirable to the elite of the elitist. The model works for mass market too, if you build certain behavior driven restrictive checks.

5.    Show me the Money: A recent report reveals, the revenue from tickets is lowest and franchisees make money from sponsorships , airtime, endorsements, promotions and merchandise. The report also reveled the old franchisees got way better deal than the new ones but do you see any lack of interest from the owners???. Absolutely not,  IPL has become the ultimate brand promotion property. If you got it you flaunt it, money will automatically follow where energy flows.

Tip: If your product becomes the center of gravity for acquiring customers then let the business model evolve, don’t be rigid. Create synergy driven properties to bring value to all stakeholders and mostly to your end customer.

6.    The Show must go on: IPL didn’t act like a wet cat when they got the obnoxious no for organizing matches in India for one of its season. It immediately went in to a overdrive and  ultimately maneuvered  it in its favour. IPL fans wanted a cricket feast and that’s what they got and in the process the IPL brand got a stronger foothold in its customers emotions. The travel industry got a huge supplemental benefit and so did other allied ones.

TIP: When encountered with sudden or unexpected challenges think different, think like IPL and look it straight in the eyes to turn it around in your favour. Be open to meet additional opportunities and relationships.

7.     PR, PR , PR, PR & some more PR: IPL is one of the most PR savvy brand in India, it manages to remain in the news due to its high-profile franchisees almost all the time and  it’s not aggressive PR like the one nearing the event, its soft PR embedded in the story pressing itself in the psyche of its reader. IPL has mastered the art of effortless PR and that has given them an outrageous advantage. IPL understands the significance of driving content instead of just developing content.

TIP: PR is always more valuable than paid advertising in mobilizing follower-ship and business development. Although, the days of classic Press Release are dead but PR today is about being news worthy and churning out useful content on consistent basis. Investing and Developing a culture of consistent value driver PR places you up front irrespective of your size.

Compared to global leagues IPL is still young and has a long way to go but nobody can ignore its impact and business model.

The extra Dough: Stuff you can do now to get on the IPL bandwagon:

1. Run time bound category specific campaigns  relevant to your business. Indian Product league, India prospect league, Indian Chips League, Indian Make League. You catch my drift make it bold, make it attractive and put it up on your website, your email list etc.

2. Do a product launch nearing the end date of IPL and start the teasers right now

3. Run content relating to IPL on Social Media, Press, your website.

4. Organize IPL lunches, Cocktails, Dinners for your deserving clientele or potential one. Nobody can say no to cricket, food and drinks in India and it will give you an opportunity to open up and develop a cool relationship.

5. Run SEO Campaign: I searched a couple of IPL terms on google but got nothing for listing in terms of business. Why not run a time restricted SEO campaign this is especially crucial for restaurants, take away concept, sporting goods, Sports coaching and consumer goods. Get a feeling of the people who goggle IPL and accordingly show yourself to them.

6. Get some interviews with your industry peers and post it as IPL bonus on your site and other media.

7. Write a post like this if you are an individual and make it relevant to your industry.

8. Come out with a customer driven campaign featuring customers which can be used as testimonials.

Dreams and Reality

I wake in the morning,think about the dreams I had,
think for a while and enjoy,with the beauty they had,
I cherish them and wants them to come true,
But I have to commit to some of the things,
which I am not sure how to do??
Wants to get some clarity on them,
just as its the another phase I have entered into,
there are lots of new confusions 
but they are the ones which are 
leading my path of future ahead...!!!!
Wants to stay with dreams and reality,
And make it happen one day..!!!!!

Being CEO...

Daily we think its superfantabulous being a CEO like Indra Nooyi and earn in Multi Billions but, its the sweet fruit of the Seed sown...

Everyone thinks that being a startup CEO is a glamorous job or one that has to be a ton of fun. That's what I now refer to as the "glamour brain" speaking aka the startup life you hear about from the press. You know the press articles I'm talking about... the ones that talk about how easy it is to raise money, how many users the company is getting, and how great it is to be CEO. Very rarely do you hear about what a bitch it is to be CEO and how it's not for every founder that wants to be an entrepreneur. I've spent a lot of time recently thinking about what it takes to be a great Startup CEO that is also a founder. Here are some of the traits I've found.

Be A Keeper Of The Company Vision

The CEO is the keeper of the company's overall vision. I'm not talking about the vision for the next few months, but the larger road ahead. The CEO needs to be able to keep things on course for the current quarter to make sure that the large overarching vision of the company can be achieved. The takeover the world vision of a startup usually can't be achieved in one year or even in some cases, like Google, in a decade. It takes a great startup CEO to keep the company on track to achieve that vision. A great startup CEO will often judge upcoming initiatives to see if they fit in as a piece of the large puzzle for the bigger vision.

Absorb The Pain For The Team

A startup CEO needs to be the personal voodoo doll for a startup. They need to be able to take on a strong burden of stress, pain, and torture all while making level headed decisions. You can't have the troops stressing and worrying about the difficult challenges at hand. A good startup CEO will absorb the stress, so the rest of the team can carry on. He also needs to be able to mask this pain and stress. Not that he should hide or lie to the team- I'm not encouraging that. Most of the day to day nuances+stresses of a startup aren't worth having the entire team worry about and the CEO needs to bear that pain.

Find The Smartest People And Defer On Domain Expertise

A startup CEO has a great knack for finding talent. The key is finding people that are smarter than you on specific topics. It might be technical team members/leaders or it might be a new VP of Biz Dev. A startup CEO has to have the ability to find these people and make relatively fast decisions to hire them. They also have to be able to show the fire and passion to convince them to leave what is most likely a better paying and more secure job to join the company. The real key to hiring as a startup CEO comes after the hire. A great startup CEO will be able to trust the hires that they make and defer to them on areas of domain expertise. It's hard to let go, but you have to learn to, especially when the company grows.

Be A Good Link Between The Company + Investors

Whether you want to believe it or not, you are not an investor's only portfolio company. Even if you are a superstar, they have a handful of other companies to help and a ton of incoming potential portfolio companies. A good investor will pick 2-3 new companies per year to work with. A good startup CEO will be a good link between progress, issues, and areas where they need help with investors. A good portion of early stage startups that raise money will have a board comprised of 3 people: the CEO founder, the investor, and an independent board member. You are the lone representative for your cofounder and other employees.

Be A Good Link Between The Company + Product

I have this unwavering belief that the best companies are those that keep a founder as CEO for the long haul. Not because the founders have the right to be CEO, but because the CEO needs to be close to the product vision of the company. Founding CEOs understand this the best and can carry out that same unified vision over time. To fill in the management gaps a great COO, other board members, and heads of divisions will come along. It's a strategy that Facebook has employed and why Apple has had a great resurgence with Steve Jobs at the helm. It's all about keeping the CEO as close as possibly linked to the product.

Be Able To Learn On The Job

Most startup CEOs didn't start out with an MBA or some background in growing a company from nothing to something. The best have an ability to learn along the way and embrace their failures to become a better leader. Zuck started when he was 19 and now 7 years later, runs the most powerful internet company. Don't worry about whether "you're qualified" as it's hard to put typical qualifications on the job. You'll learn the really core stuff along the way. The best startup CEOs will surround themselves with smart mentors to be a sounding board along the way.

No Experience Almost Preferred

It's almost better to have a blank slate of zero experience as a startup CEO. If you come in with preconceived notions and block out the scrappy methods of a startup founder, it actually hurts you. Traditional education often trains you to be CEO or manager for a much larger company, not for a startup of under 50 people. It's a different kind of leadership and company.

Have An Uncanny Ability To Say No

You will be inundated with a list of requests from potential partners, investors, employees, and more. They will all sound absolutely wonderful. As you grow, you will also have the resources to execute more of them. Don't. It's easy to say yes, but so very hard to say no. By having an uncanny ability to say no, you can keep your company on track with the large vision you maintain. It will also keep your team members (notice I don't like to use the word "employees") laser focused and feel more rewarded as they are able to focus on one thing for a good chunk of time. I've seen too many startups sink because the CEO keeps changing what the head of product and engineering should be doing.

Have Some Technical Knowledge And Skillset

A good startup CEO shouldn't be afraid of a little bit of code and a text editor. They don't need to be diving into the source code on a daily basis, but they need to understand the technical requirements. It's easy to say "go build this", but it's a whole other ball game to understand how to build it. What seems simple may be a huge mountain of a technical feat that just isn't feasible with the given resources and deadlines. It can also help lend some street cred with hiring early technical team members too.

Be Able To Break Things Down Into Sizable Chunks + Milestones

Remember that huge unwavering vision that you are the keeper of? Odds are it only makes sense to you and your cofounder. You will need to break it up into sizable chunks and milestones for the rest of the team to understand it. You also need to be able to pick when and where to conquer things strategically. What is the past of least resistance so you can gain traction? What can you do first with your given resources?

Have The Ability To Call An Audible

Nothing goes according to plan. Things fall through, people quit, shit happens, servers crash, and other random things go bump in the night. You're going to have to deal with it and fast. This is a football term:

"Seen when the quarterback goes up to the line of scrimmage, sees a defensive alignment he wasn't expecting, and adjusts by yelling out a new play."

You're going to come up against things that you didn't expect and just be able to call an audible. Launch faster, spend more money here, or even abandon a project.

Can Motivate The Team Through Despair

People love to talk in this business. People love to talk even more when you're company isn't fairing well. A great CEO will be able to take those moments of public despair and keep the company focused. They will be able to debunk the rumors or even approach them head on by keeping the members of the company focused on the bigger mission at hand. It can come in simple 5 minute talks or motivational emails. The worst thing you can do is avoid the situation and be passive aggressive. I repeat: DO NOT WUSS OUT.

Be A Great Communicator

You need to be able to portray the energy and passion that you feel into others...over and over and over and over and over and over again on a daily basis. As a startup founder you need to communicate the vision and hope for the future of your startup to the rest of the world. You need to be able to break down the overall vision of the company into something that mere mortals can understand. You can't speak in crazy technical jargon or industry terms. It needs to be simple, clear, and compelling. You also need to be able to argue your point. Many will pick "fights" with you just to see how strong willed you are. Be respectful, but be very confident in your answer. Often wrong, but never in doubt my friend.

Don't Be A "Fake CEO"

Mark Pincus, CEO of Zynga, makes a strong case for not being a fake ceo. In short, worry about things that produce results, not fame. If it's between going to a conference/doing an interview or completing a deal, get the deal done. Don't "leave it to someone else". You need to get your hands dirty every single day.

By no means is this an exhaustive or definitive list. In some cases, the traits listed above might be counter-intuitive. What are some traits you've seen in great founding startup CEOs? Not the glamorous job you thought it was, eh?

If you think It was useful then you can mail me on...

harak.soni@gmail.com

Blog by a mobile

This is the first blog I m doing by a mobile phone. Feeling like the 21st century boom is a mobile phone.

If u have a smart phone then u must use it till the fullest extent. Sometimes I think that if u loose a smart phone then your life is lost for few days, again u buy a smart phone and the life becomes normal.

Hope that we must have the best tracker in the smart phones to track your life. :p

Thanks lord. :)

Fringe Benefit Tax (FBT)

As per AY 2009-10

Fringe Benefit Tax on the value of certain fringe benefits provided by employers to their employees to be abolished.

As per AY 2008-09

Crèche facilities, sponsorship of an employee-sportsperson, organising sports events for employees, and guest houses excluded from the purview of FBT.

For the Assessment Year 2007-08

The following amendments will be in effect from 1 April 2008: In respect of any allotment or transfer of any specified securities or sweat equity shares, either directly or indirectly, by the employer to its employees (including former), FBT will be levied. On the difference between FMV of securities FBT will be payable, for both on the date of exercise and the amount recovered from the employee. The FBT will be computed according to the prescribed method of CBDT. The benefits which are subject to FBT will henceforth be considered as cost of acquisition for coputing of capital gains tax in the hands of the employee at the time of sale of specified securities. Section 17(2)(iii) for the beneficial proviso for computing the perquisite value in the hands of the employees is deleted. The undermentioned expenses will be excluded from Sales Promotion & Publicity: Expenses on display of products. Expenses on distribution of samples, either free of cost or at a concessional rate. The following amendments is in effect from 1 April 2007: Equal proportion and due dates for the payment of advance tax on income will be applicable to advance FBT. Consequential change will be made in the process of computing interest for delay in the payment of advance FBT

As per Assessment Year 2006-07
Fringe benefit tax retained at 30%

According to P. Chidambaram's announcement in the Lok Sabha, a FBT of 30% will be levied on 20% of the fringe benefit expense. In simpler terms, FBT will work out to be 6% of the total amount.

But in end, the effective FBT turned out to be just 2% for regular companies and 0.5% for special-category companies like IT and pharmaceuticals. What's more, India Inc can avoid paying even this minuscule amount of tax if their auditors certify an expense as a genuine business expenditure.

According to industry sources, there will be 1.5 to 2% additional tax burden to companies due to items covered under FBT account for about 10-15% of total corporate profits.

Taxable or Exempted items under Fringe Benefit Tax (FBT)

Taxable	Exempted
Use of telephones, including mobile phones, the base for valuation will be 20%	Expenses on advertising
The base for valuation of FBT will be 20% for expenses on entertainment, hospitality, sales promotion and publicity, employee welfare, conveyance, tour and travel (including foreign travel) and use of hotels.	Expenses on leased lines will.
50% for expenses on festival celebrations, use of clubs, scholarships and so on.	Charitable institutions, trusts and funds.
For superannuation funds, FBT will be levied on the entire contribution made by the employer for employees.	Individuals and Hindu Undivided Families (HUFs) engaged in a business or profession.
Tax on foreign tour and travel. Infosys, for instance, spend about 4% of its revenues on foreign travel. Phone bills account for close to 1%, another expense attracting the fringe benefit tax.	Conference expenses, only the fee for participation
Repairs and maintenance of cars have also been brought under the purview of fringe benefit tax now. The only saving grace is that only 5% of maintenance costs for transport companies will now be subject to FBT.	Employee welfare expense, only the expenses incurred to fulfil any statutory obligation or to mitigate hazards or to provide first aid facility that too only in a hospital or dispensary run by the employer.
Any privilege, service or amenity provided directly or indirectly by an employer by way of reimbursement or otherwise to employees will attract FBT, which is to be paid by employers.	Guest houses for training.
Fifty per cent of expenses on club facilities.	Expenses incurred due to sales promotions
Expenses borne by companies on foreign travel of their employees will be under the purview of FBT. FBT on travel expenses has been cut to 5%.	Medical expenses.
Any free or concessional ticket provided by the employer for private journeys of employees or their family members and any contribution to an approved superannuation fund for employees will come under the purview of FBT.	Companies that are loss making.
Expenditure on employees welfare will attract FBT, but not the expenditure incurred or payment made to fulfil any statutory obligation or mitigate occupational hazard or provide first aid facilities in hospital or dispensary run by employers.
Other expenditures that will come under FBT are conveyance, tour and travel including foreign travel, use of hotel, boarding and lodging facilities, repair, running, maintenance of motor cars and aircraft and the amount depreciation on them.
Maintenance of any accommodation like guest house except those used for training purposes, festival celebrations, use of health club and similar facilities, use of any other club facilities, gifts and scholarships will come under FBT.

% of expense under the fringe benefit tax

	Earlier	Now
Use of telephone (other than leased lines)	10%	20%
Entertainment	50%	20%
Scholarship to children of employees	Actual	50%
Hospitality	50%	20%
Maintenance of accommodation like guest houses	50%	20%
Conference	50%	20%
Employee welfare	50%	20%
Sales promotion, including publicity	50%	20%
Festival celebration	50%	50%
Gifts	50%	50%
Use of club facilities	50%	50%
Use of health clubs, sports and similar facilities	50%	50%
Conveyance, tour and travel, including foreign travel	20%	20%
Hotel, boarding and lodging	20%	20%
Repair, running (including fuel), maintenance of motorcars and depreciation thereon	20%	20%
Repair, running (including fuel), maintenance of aircraft and depreciation thereon	20%	20%

Tax of 30% will be levied on the value of the fringe benefit calculated at the above rates

Indian / Hindi Name of Spices

English Name Indian / Hindi Name

1. Aniseed Saunf
2. Asafoetida Heeng
3. Basil Tulsi
4. Bay leaf Tejpatta
5. Black Cumin seeds Shah Jeera
6. Black Pepper Kali Mirch
7. Black Salt Kala Namak
8. Cardamom Elaichi
9. Caraway seeds Shah Jeera
10. Carom seeds Ajwain
11. Cinnamon Dalchini
12. Clove Laung
13. Coriander seeds Dhania
14. Cumin seeds Jeera
15. Dry Fenugreek Leaves Kasoori Methi
16. Dry Ginger Saunth
17. Dry Mango powder Amchoor
18. Dried Pumpkin / Water Melon seeds Magaz
19. Fennel seeds Saunf
20. Fenugreek seeds Methi
21. Jaggery Gur
22. Nigella Kalonji
23. Mace Javitri
24. Mustard seeds Rai / Sarson
25. Nutmeg Jaiphal
26. Onion seeds Kalonji
27. Pomegranate seeds Anardana
28. Poppy seeds Khus Khus
29. Salt Namak
30. Saffron Kesar
31. Sesame seeds Til
32. Sugar Shakkar / Chini
33. Tamarind Imli
34. Thymol seeds Ajwain
35. Turmeric Haldi
36. Vinegar Sirka

Be Original (BOR) / I M Original (IMO) / ….
Our NGO will work the uplifting of the students who have the potential to make our world bright with
their potential. As in our India there are many Government school were the meritous and the bright
students of the country take their education.
Survey says that 66% of the students study at Government school.
Even the survey says that those students give up their education due to economical instability, though
they are bright in their studies they have to leave it for earning their bread. Its very sad condition of our
country. On one side India’s GDP is growing by 9% and on the other hand our Diamonds are getting lost
in Coal Mines. If our slum and BPL students study properly then we can achieve all the dreams seen by
our loving president Mr. Abdul Kalam. This NGO is created to achieve all the dreams which we have
dreamt since centuries. There were great intellectual who started working on this project but the
biggest drawback was that Youth were untouched by them. But now the situation will change, we all
Indians not only Elder but youth and each and everyone will work to make our dreams to get completed.
If the person takes proper education then the country is bound to grow with higher rate. Today’s
scenario says that though a person wants to buy some needy good, they cannot buy because firs they
have to plan for their bread. We have listened since ages that most of the people don’t even get meal
twice a day. But please think have u ever helped a person to get rid of this situation. Majority will
answer honestly that they haven’t.Why?
We are the biggest country with 60% of the total population as youths. This organization will work for
betterment of all the Living beings. Though you want to do social service u r not doing, why? There is
clear reason you never had any proper and managed organization. But now we will change the scenario.
Only you have to do very basic thing, we are not talking about any economical help. We are saying as u
spend your 3hours in watching movie of better nation and u spend 2 hours to watch a movie which
shows the best living and luxurious life foreign people. So now please put that 2 hours in making our
Indian people life luxurious and satisfied.
Let’s take a small step towards the dream of the better and beautiful world.With satisfied and healthy
people. I just want only 2 hours from your busy schedule just once in a month. We are not gonna see a
movie but we will create much better movie of “Real life not of Reel life”.
In those 2 hours we want you to teach the student. This will be totally and planned and managed
schedule. We are not asking you to teach everyone, anywhere, any time.We are not asking u to teach
some one who don’t want to learn today.We want u teach the student who all r studying at govt.
schools. Just your 1lecture will help them to achieve there dreams.
The biggest thing after teaching an hour will be you will find ultimate satisfaction that u did a small step
to make the nation strong. This hour will help u to face the worst situation of life. This hour will boost
infinite confidence in u. U will always feel proud to be associated with such Organization.
Only an hour will change your perception towards life. We want u to be original in this hour. We won’t
force u to teach anytime, anywhere, any subject.We will leave it up to. To choose the timing, the day
and the subject. The subject which u can teach the best will only be given to u. we are not forcing u to
join but only we can say is that. Please once in life visit a govt. school u will understand the condition of
our original India. Though we are speaking about growth, development, success…. U will better
understand where we stand originally. As we have visited them and seen the drastic situation, now we
want to change our image. Please think calmly don’t u want to be successful in life? Doesn’t u want to
earn whooping money? Then why doesn’t u understand that it’s very essential to uplift all the people
around us. If the people around us start growing then definitely we will also grow along with them.
Our success and growth depend on the person around us. If their purchasing power increases then it’s
for sure that you will also affected by it. Don’t ever forget we all are human beings and everyone was
born without any bank balance and will go without it. So please do think about your success and
definitely they will also get better and healthy life.
Now please stop blaming our politicians and related authority they had tried their best to do. But till
today the youth didn’t participated it such activities but now we will, and we must.
Now a days we have hour’s for doing social networking but do we have little time to do social service?
If you get the honest answer from your pure heart then u will definitely start working for the better
world and your successful life.
Will assure you a grand success after taking the small step to help the world