This article is contributed By Nishant Agarwal, Founder of Proctur
Taking a break from a career can have several reasons ranging from personal to professional. Apart from working for a job and earning a salary, a person can obviously have other passions to pursue, maternity/paternity leave to take, or simply have the urge to improve oneself for a job switch. And truth be spoken, it is absolutely fine to take a break from a career. However, resuming work after a hiatus can be challenging because of various factors such as lack of relevant skill sets, inability to keep up to speed with the demands of the industry, difficulty in orienting your state of mind immediately to the working space, etc.
As the world is witnessing the emergence of Startups, MSMEs, freelance jobs, there is actually no dearth of opportunities if one starts searching at the right place and persists on upgrading their skills. Read more to learn the effective ways to reboot your career after a break.
The working environment across the globe has become a highly dynamic space, with the demand for technology related skills taking a front seat in order to stay relevant. The need to adapt to such advancements for a person who wants to restart their career is more than it was ever required. Upskilling would make a person more desirable in the eyes of a recruiter as they would be part of the workforce, which would help close the skill gap emerging within the organization. Moreover, having additional and pertinent skills in one’s quiver would not only serve as a testament of their relevance but also secure a satisfactory salary. Up-skilling would also have a massive impact on their personality and self-confidence.
Assess the skills that have become relevant in the industry that you want to enter and accordingly begin your learning through a course or talking to a mentor. Finding people who can help you with important insights about any industry is just a touch away on LinkedIn. Having a professional guide, you through your relaunch journey can make you feel comfortable with what the job might entail and also expedite the entire process.
The onset of Covid 19 has led to the digital transformation of every field. And that is why the most important aptitude that everyone needs to learn, irrespective of the industries they want to enter, is digital upskilling. Digital skills such as awareness about information technology, social media, web development, digital business analytics, digital design and data visualization, digital marketing, data science, etc. are the most in demand.
Work on Your Soft Skills
Before dwelling into why soft skills are important for restarting your career, it is imperative to understand what soft skills are. It is an umbrella term to represent various aptitudes such as adaptability, emotional intelligence, listening skills, mindfulness, motivation, teamwork, leadership skills, work ethics, etc. In a world that is becoming more and more automated, the significance of possessing appropriate soft skills cannot be stressed more.
Possessing a proper set of soft skills can make you stand out as it will definitely help a person who does not have immediate past experience to strike a chord with the recruiter. In a fast-paced world, it is not only the technical skills that find importance but how a particular individual is to work with also matters to a large extent.
Although technology driven machines play a major role in handling work, they cannot manifest soft skills that bind an organization together. Luminaries like Warren Buffet also consider “integrity” to be the success mantra of a long-standing organization. In a technologically advanced world, the recruiters tend to observe if the applicants are flexible enough to shift gears, manage uncertainties, adapt to the team’s needs, handle different responsibilities, etc. This is why people who are more open minded, agile, creative and flexible stand a higher likelihood of getting recruited.
Create a Professional Network
Having a widespread and strong professional network can work wonders for people wanting to restart their careers. Talking to working professionals can provide you with a lot of pertinent trade information; create a bond by exchange of ideas and help in reassessing your qualifications.
Just a simple conversation with the right individual may lead to opening doors to newer opportunities or provide you with much needed professional advice which will enable you to become more competent. Talking to new people on a regular basis, will also help you get out of your comfort zone and build invaluable social skills. This will charge your self-confidence which is a must after a long hiatus.
Observing the accounts and assessing the accreditations of people who are currently working will help you take further actions towards adding the necessary certifications and skills. It is a way to gain information about how the industry operates at the present time.
Try Your hands at Short Term Projects
Dabbling with short term projects and freelance jobs will give you a chance to find the skills that are required and polish them, and at the same time make money. It is basically a way to either explore new jobs or better your already existing skills. Since, someone who wants to restart their career already has some experience; therefore, getting hired for a short-term project would not be difficult as well. This is an effective way to refine one’s skills before entering a long-term opportunity and gives a major boost up to confidence.
Conclusion
What we have discussed above is an ideal plan of action that one must practise when deciding to make a come-back after hiatus. It is important to keep in mind that it will be a process before one gets comfortable after a break and not an overnight assimilation to the environment. Therefore, have a steady learning process and do not quit!
This article is contributed by Shailja Dutt, Founder of Stellar Search and weryz.
A lot has changed in the corporate world over the last few years- how we recruit, how we retain and the definition of work itself. But what has remained constant in the upheaval is the one big question- how to write great CV’s? Be it any industry, any position, any seniority, this question pops up everywhere. Here’s our take on the art and science of writing a great CV.
This is not the place to be modest or understate your own achievements.
Ask yourself- What differentiates you? What makes you stand out? And include your answers in your CV. While it’s a good idea to customise your CV according to the job requirements, you shouldn’t be quick to apply the shredder on everything else. Your strengths play a major part in any role you take, so make sure you highlight them.
Keep it Crisp and To The Point
Keep it crisp and to the point – remember no one has time to scan long profiles.
Brevity is key. Applying to jobs requires going the extra mile but if there’s one place you should be cautious of extending yourself, it’s your CV. The standard length for a CV one/two pages (on separate sheets) so it should include only your key achievements. Just saying more doesn’t make your achievements larger or more significant, it just shows your lack of being able to communicate impactfully and effectively. The average recruiter initially spends 7.4 seconds scanning a resume so keep it short and say it in a way that you make the most of these 7.4 seconds.
Don’t depend on Titles to do their work
All corporate work seems to come down to titles- we dream about going from associate to senior associate to manager, and that is the holy career trajectory. However, that’s no longer true.
Be it in any role, it’s the impact of your work that matters. The 3-4 words of your title might get the attention of the recruiter but the 3-4 lines below it should back it up. Instead of focusing too much on your industry or title, focus on what you have done and the transferable skills you bring. Be specific and present bullet points to help the reader catch important details. Results not responsibilities – look back at your achievements in previous positions. Quantify. Instead of describing a long list of tasks, focus on the results and deliverables and wherever possible provide verifiable and objective evidence of your success. You are always as good as your last project.
CV is not the place to showcase your great writing skill or verbosity or use jargons. Use short, coherent sentences so that the reader can understand and retain information. When you use jargon or convoluted phrasings, you are just adding to the work of the reader. If they have to read it again to understand, consult a dictionary to look up a tough word or think about the full form of an acronym, then you have just made it inconvenient for them to read your CV and if there’s anything employers don’t like apart from unoriginal CVs, it is inconvenient CVs. As Einstein has said If you can’t explain it simply, you don’t understand it well enough.
Align it with your LinkedIn Profile
And last but not the least align it with your LinkedIn profile. Your LinkedIn profile is your Digital resume. Align your CV with what you say on LinkedIn- your job roles, headers and brief description. Use LinkedIn to your advantage, instead of merely copying your CV content, use your LinkedIn space to complement your story and talk to your audience, something you won’t get to do in a formal CV. Bring out your strengths and put them out there.
It is possible that your prospective employer is using an applicant tracking system (ATS) or similar software to screen out applications, or simply going through the page to spot the keywords themselves. Through relevant keywords, be strategic about how you present the information and show that you have experience in specific elements of the job through your past experiences.
Make it Presentable
Presentation matters – While content is king, how you choose to present it matters. In a bid to be original, don’t resort to fancy fonts or visual elements. Just answer this simple question- How can I get my message across in the cleanest way? Balance white space to avoid making your CV too cluttered or too empty. Choose your fonts and font sizes carefully and wherever possible stick to the formal standards. Make it reader friendly.
And that is the magic formula to building a great CV!
The Article is contributed By Sanchit Malik, Co-founder & CEO of Paz care
We’ve often hear people complain about how it is so hard to maintain a proper work life balance while they work. Many times, it becomes impossible to take out time for ourselves because there are deadlines to meet. For some people, work ends in the evening and they get to utilize their time however they want. But for some people, their work takes up almost their whole day and sometimes eats up their weekends too! This practice of dragging and pushing the boundaries between personal and professional life should be abandoned. To maintain one’s sanity and to promote a healthy lifestyle, work and personal life shouldn’t be mixed but should always be parallel.
Often the employers are indirectly at fault for the unhealthy lifestyle and shrinking work-life balance of employees. It can significantly be reduced if everybody starts giving more importance to their health and personal well being. It works both ways as the employer and the employee, both need to focus on their physical and mental health. Work-life balance helps not only the employees but also their respective families as it brings with it a scope of personal growth and development too. There should be a very prominent boundary to achieve the same.
Employers play a crucial role in promoting a healthy balance and lifestyle choices of their employees. Some approaches towards taking care of the employees should be taken into consideration and acted upon. Modelling boundaries between work and home is essential so that the employees do not feel obligated to be available in the after hours. Inculcating the habit of spending quality time with family or pursuing a hobby should be encouraged. Additionally, employers should promote or devise strategies to bring in creative activities. They could partner with a company to provide creative workshops or classes for their employees. This will keep the staff engaged and occupied with something other than their deadlines!
It is not humanly possible to know each and everything about the employees and their needs, so the employers can start by taking an anonymous survey to help understand their work force better. It could be held quarterly or after every six months to ensure the policies are operational and feasible. Because of changing requirements of people, it becomes important to ensure that the purpose is being fulfilled. In this case, ensuring that the work-life balance is not compromised upon. It will not only help the employees open up but also let them know that they are being heard at work. Employers could either give a day off / half day, or give an option to take leaves, with no questions asked, for the betterment of employee mental health.
Enhancing Employee Skillset
Another step that the employers can take is to focus on enhancing their employees’ skill set. Upskilling is an integral part of an organization as it helps the employees in enhancing their quality of work. This will additionally benefit the organization too. A better quality of work will result in improved efficiency as well.
Flexible Working Hours
Flexible time is a need of the hour because of the pandemic. Hybrid working conditions have enabled the new thought process to take shape. Flexible working models have come into play which has made people realise that they can very easily and efficiently work from the comfort of their homes. Employers have made the best use of this situation by taking care of the basic needs of their employees while they work remotely. The employees in turn are also aware that since their working hours have been reduced, their productivity rates should increase. Team managers should work on their tolerance levels as well. Because of COVID-19, a number of people are not able to meet certain deadlines and their productivity levels could also drop, the managers come into play here. They need to empathise and adjust according to their employees’ needs, without making them feel as a liability.
Time Management
Time management, as a skill, should be promoted not only at lower levels of a company but on the higher front too. Employers should always lead by example. Managing their own schedules efficiently and making time for themselves and their families should be prioritised. Along with that, keeping a separate day on a monthly basis for unofficial office gatherings could work wonders for employee engagement. The employers and employees could get together for lunch. It will create a friendly atmosphere between employees and help reach each other, barring the hierarchical boundaries.
Proper Communication
Communication is one thing which could become a hassle if not done properly. There should be easy communication between managers and employees. A slight disruption in communication could pose a bigger challenge for the workers. Employees should inculcate proper mediums for free flow of information about tasks at hand. Knowing about the deadlines and adhering to them should be encouraged by all employees and employers alike. Employers should be able to promote a good work-life balance through effective and healthy communication. An onsite counsellor or in case of hybrid teams, access to a counsellor could also be a step in the right direction.
The pandemic has taught us to make the best use out of every situation. Similarly, approaching work should be done sincerely and not be transferred as a burden to people. The employees should not feel overwhelmed by the amount of work they have, but rather they should enjoy their work. A happy work culture should be promoted by the employers. Further, it will result in better employee retention.
The Article is contributed By Marut Bharadwaj, Country Head, Potential Project
As a general rule, we strive to maintain a certain degree of balance in our lives. Workplaces, too, are no exception. But the world is changing, people are more involved, and obtaining the ideal work-life balance feels like a pipe dream.
According to LinkedIn’s “Future of Employment” Study 2021 of 1,108 people aged 16 to 68, a third of Indian professionals are stressed and overworked as a result of working remotely. This has shifted focus to individual well-being and pushed many professionals to strive to achieve the correct balance of life and career. In fact, one in every two Indian employees, or 52 percent to be precise, now feels that work-life balance is just as essential as their pay, according to the same Linkedin study.
As employees rearrange their priorities and become more and more willing to explore their options regardless of the risk, one result of this introspection has been “The Great Resignation”.
In light of the changing dynamics of employees’ professional and personal priorities and the impact they have on outcomes, organisations need to reconsider their top-to-bottom work patterns, as well as their culture and values, and themselves instigate a change in the nature of the workplace.
Why is work-life balance so difficult to attain?
A work-life balance is becoming increasingly difficult as technology advances. Everyone is accessible 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and the fear of losing opportunities, acknowledgements, and in many cases, even the job itself, pushes employees to work long hours.
We tend to conceive of work-life balance as a trade-off between the amount of time we spend at work and the amount of time we spend on non-work pursuits. In a perfect world, we would be able to nourish ourselves as individuals after work, whether it was through spending time with friends, family, or participating in a hobby, as well as climb our professional peak within the limits of out predetermined work hours.
It’s not difficult to convey the concept of “balance,” but what does it truly entail? When the walls between work and home become thinner than paper, how do you know what works? Taking care of oneself begins to seem like an unnecessary extravagance when one’s very livelihood is at stake. But it should not. A lack of work-life balance not only harms your mental health, but it also hurts your company’s bottom line and job satisfaction.
Maintaining a work-life balance is not an illusion
As employees increasingly look for a better work-life balance and a higher sense of fulfilment, leaders must take on the responsibility of helping their employees find what they need. For instance, leaders must look into offering their employees more flexible benefits and time to focus on their mental health.
While employers alone cannot guarantee a perfect work-life balance for their employees, there are several ways in which they can assist individuals in finding and maintaining a balance that works best for them:
Prioritise output over hours worked
Leaders should focus their energies and attention on the end result rather than the hours worked by each employee, and urge management to do the same. Some days, employees may have to work long hours to finish a task, but this should be countered by the days when they do not have to work an eight-hour day.
Focusing on outcome-based metrics once teams and people have a clear understanding of their responsibilities in terms of achieving outcomes will result in higher productivity with better performance. Netflix, for example, has no restrictions on paid time off or on the amount of “face time” that employees must spend in the office. It assesses productivity by outcomes, not inputs, and is flourishing on that principle.
Encourage taking breaks
Workplace breaks are necessary for keeping healthy, happy, creative, and focused. Many employees, however, do not take breaks during the day, and others even skip meals. It is enticing to cram as much work into a short period of time as possible if you are able to get out of the office early, after all.
However, the brain needs rest on a regular basis. Employee performance declines when employees keep at a task for an extended period of time. In one study, the Draugiem Group, a Latvian conglomerate, observed that the most productive employees took the most breaks when they measured their time and productivity. High achievers took an average of 17 minutes off for every 52 minutes they worked.
So, employers should encourage employees to take regular breaks, go for a stroll, or even work in a different section of the workplace to stay fresh and stress-free.
Re-evaluate workloads from time to time
While allocating tasks, leaders may end up assuming an unrealistic deadline for tasks that can take a single person even a whole day to do.
It is possible to better divide work among your team through the use of workload management, which not only reduces burnout among your staff but also keeps them from being overwhelmed in the first place.
Leaders who communicate with their staff on a regular basis will be aware of who is overworked and stressed, as well as who has spare capacity. Re-evaluating each individual worker’s workload, they can assign tasks mindfully to ensure that everyone has a manageable amount of work to do.
Acknowledge the unique needs of every employee
An improved work-life balance is something that many of your workers may be striving toward. While some may be content with the amount of time they devote to their jobs within the work hours, others may be willing to work more to finish the task at hand in one go. They may not mind working long hours if it means they can relax when they get home.
The best organizations recognise that each employee is unique, and develop work environments that can be tailored to each individual. There is no such thing as a “one-size-fits-all” solution in business, even in the context of employees. An individual, customisable strategy is, therefore, a leader’s best bet.
Leading Mindfully
Mindfulness makes it difficult to disregard any imbalance. Mindfulness practises like meditation and breath awareness helps employees become more aware of their feelings and physical experiences. When they pay attention to their feelings, employees can learn to recognise when they might be denying themselves something necessary in order to succeed at work.
Conclusion
For leaders, this awareness is a treasure chest for leading employees towards a self-led work-life balance that is as likely to benefit the organization as their own selves. After all, change only changes when it is driven from within. And attaining a work-life balance is a cycle whose wheels really lie in the employees’ hands.
The views & opinions in this article is contributed by various industry professionals and entrepreneurs.
In the age of digitalization, eCommerce is really real and pulsating today. Most of us love to order our products online via the trusted eCommerce platforms that surround us. Ecommerce giants like Flipkart, Amazon, eBay, Snapdeal, Alibaba, etc., have made our life easier with their range of quality products and amazing discounts that they come with. These discounts are irresistible all the more during the festive season!
No matter how little time we have at the end of the day, we never forget to check the discounts on our favorite eCommerce websites during the festive season. The E-commerce companies, Flipkart and Amazon managed to bring in around $2.7 billion just in the first four days of festive sales that started from 2nd October onwards this year! Starting with The Big Billion Days and the Great Indian Festival sale, we see countless sales that continue to offer amazing discounts to the users along with being quite profitable for the businesses, which make up for a huge part of their income at the end of each year. These online sales are surely something that is looked up to by the entire nation and beyond. Therefore, no doubt, setting up one such sale so that it remains properly organized and runs smoothly till the end, is a mammoth task. Such a task needs early preparation in all aspects along with a special focus on marketing that needs to be throughout the sale, which is why we are here.
If you are curious to learn about the best ways to market an eCommerce brand/website during a festive sale, then StartupTalky brings you all that you can ask straight from the experts of the domain!
Nehaa Juneja | Founder, SkinWorks
Nehaa Juneja – Founder, SkinWorks
Festivals, family get-togethers, and a lot of joy are all part of the festival season. People are in such a festive spirit that they are more than willing to indulge in delicacies and exciting shopping sprees. It is true that during celebrations, people are willing to spend significantly more than they would on normal days. eCommerce companies see a substantial portion of their business come in during the Festival sales, so they invest heavily ahead of time to increase capacity and add features in order to handle the surge in orders while ensuring a smooth experience for both customers and sellers.
Use the time leading up to the Festival season to segment your existing client base based on personas and purchasing habits, and provide product or bundle suggestions that are suited to their interests. The single most important component in attracting potential clients is personalization. This Festival season, create interesting and eye-catching landing pages and fill them with incentives that your visitors won’t be able to refuse.
When you assist your clients in finding the things they want, especially during the Festival season, you enhance their chances of converting. You might want to add a new Festival category tab to make things easier. People are always looking for methods to get the most bang for their buck. As a result, packaged offers perform admirably over the Festival season. You can even seek ways to give freebies with the combos while still making a profit. Promote your Festival deals on other websites or form a collaboration with bloggers, Instagrammers, or YouTubers in exchange for external mentions. If you can locate and partner with the proper influencer, influencer marketing can be a helpful tactic. Use hashtags on social media sites like Instagram and Twitter. While hashtags are available on Facebook, they aren’t nearly as popular or valuable. As a result, it’s a good idea to limit your hashtag usage to platforms that support them. The way items are presented matters a lot to today’s consumers. Companies might change up their packaging depending on the occasion.
Gaurav Jalan | Founder, Packman
Gaurav Jalan – Founder, Packman
It’s that time of the year again when several e-commerce brands launch big sales programs during the festive seasons.
When it is done right, a good marketing plan could be a quite rewarding experience for you and your customers. The customer enjoys great products at the best price, and the e-commerce businesses get to clear the plenty of inventory and bolster their capital. Also, the pandemic has forced the focus to online shopping, and eCommerce businesses this year too must have a solid festive marketing plan in place to make the most of it.
Though several look forward to the festive season having the anticipation of happy shopping and awesome deals, it could be a very stressful period for those at the selling end. There are several decisions to be taken ahead of time that can guarantee successful selling. It is critically essential to have your festive season marketing strategies ready and in place, and implement them as the season commences.
However, there are a few ways that could help your e-commerce businesses to market the brand during the festive seasons. Here are some:
Create Buzz
Try to capitalize on the anticipation of the festive season by giving information to your audience for what’s ahead: amazing products, great discounts and offers prior to they go live. In a rather similar manner to the setup e-commerce offers to its Premium customers, (e.g., Amazon Prime) provides them a special sneak peek or special discounts link where they can see everything that is up for grabs.
In return, request them for information such as their email address or other details you can then use to customize their offers for them. Give special deals, coupons, and other add-ons such as free shipping for registered users. These will prop your customers to make the purchase and complete the deal. If you are a small business having an existing clientele, these are great e-commerce marketing strategies to engage your customers and provide them great rewards and prove how grateful you are to have them.
You can also plan about floating a series of promotional videos on social media, TV showcasing behind-the-scenes, interesting facts about products, or the individuals behind them, to name a certain building up to the festive season. Go for a few things and check which ones strike the chord with your audience. This will assist you to understand your brand loyalists better.
Get Prepared
Utilize the time prior to the festive season to segment your existing customer base as per their personas and buying patterns, and come up with suggestions for products, brands, or bundles tailored to their preferences. You could even float some early-bird specials for those who like to get their shopping done well ahead of time. Today, many customers align with brands that uphold and share their values related to the environment, or other concerns. Send them updates about your achievements in like the sectors, tied in with product info.
Promote on other Platforms
Promote the festive offers on third-party sites or enter into an alliance with bloggers, vloggers, or YouTubers for external mentions. Influencer marketing could be a useful strategy if you can find a good partner in the right influencer. That can go a long way in enhancing your brand value.
Pooja Nagdev | Aromatherapist, Cosmetologist & Founder of INATUR
Pooja Nagdev – Founder of INATUR
Marketers in India, which is a land of diverse cultures, have a lot of scope in playing with various themes and colors in each festival. While the celebratory mood here never goes out of season, it is this time of the year that people wait for the most. While consumers witness the discounts during the festive season, marketers have to work hard to attract consumers’ attention, much before the season commences. Brands can increase their visibility on social media websites by posting engaging messages/visuals on their pages.
Stand apart by using innovative methods with new players entering the market, the competition for brands is rising exponentially. While the customers are riding high on the online shopping trends, brick-and-mortar stores have maintained their charm. Even though online retailers deliver a convenient shopping experience to the consumers, the offline approach can allow them to experience the brand’s offerings.
Using its website, social media handle, and offline store, the company should create a seamless omnichannel experience to increase customer engagement. Many companies, despite having a good online presence, like online furniture brands, are setting up stores or even concept studios in different cities to make their customers’ experience a differentiating factor.
Customization and Packaging –
The presentation of products matters a great deal to the new-age consumer. Companies can give their packaging a new twist as per the occasion. Indian festive season is one of the best times to make investments backed by the emotional bond brands share with their target audience. That said, they can curate marketing campaigns centering around emotions, which are on top of the mind of their target audience. By segmenting the customers for a personalized experience, making the campaigns easy shareable and relatable, and delivering irresistible deals across all the channels, brand marketers can unlock enormous sale opportunities and even positioning themselves with maximum success spell during the auspicious festive period.
Goldy Nagdev | Managing Director, Hari Darshan Sevashram Pvt. Ltd.
Goldy Nagdev – MD, Hari Darshan Sevashram Pvt. Ltd.
If we consider the past few years, it is noticed that everyone is planning their strategies for the festival season sales. To prepare you in advance, we have brought down a list of marketing campaigns, digital platforms & promotional strategies. Explore further to know what marketing strategies you should follow, the major digital platforms you can promote your business on, and drive more sales.
Here are a few marketing strategies you can follow to gain exposure for your brand and businesses to have a successful festival sales season –
Launch video marketing campaigns, it is said that a minute of video is equivalent to eight million words. So, we have bought a list of digital marketing strategies you can adapt to uplift your business this festive season. Different tools are available to enhance your email marketing campaign this festival season.
Social media marketing strategy, in case you are a seller having a B2C business, promoting your products on social media could be your ultimate strategy this festival season. There are several social media platforms you can choose from, such as Facebook, Instagram, Whatsapp business, and many more, to uplift your business.
The festive season holds the utmost importance for the sellers and the customers. Thus, it won’t be wrong to say that the festival season has the potential to make or break the revenue goals for the merchants both in online and offline stores.
To help you boost your sales during the time of the festive season, we have listed some of the digital marketing services, marketing hacks, and tactics you can follow this festive season and win potential customers. So, start planning your strategies by keeping your customers in mind.
As the festive season is approaching, e-commerce sites begin promoting brands listed on their platforms by offering various deals across different product categories. The demand for Fashion also takes top priority in the festive season. As e-commerce acts as a strong discovery platform, customers use specific keywords to search for products they like to purchase. Top brands on these platforms have access to the analytics like for example the most searched keywords and the items that are in demand on these sites. Brands can use these analytics to market their products, reach the right target customers and increase sales. As we are a new-age fashion jewelry brand partnering with these marketplaces from their early days, the products get better organic priority than the others listed in the same category due to the high consumer impressions. This ensures visibility for our products and the brand is able to maintain its position in the top searched items. Sukkhi’s overall sales are driven by a healthy mix of organic traffic through these deals/offers and paid traffic to maintain its visibility across platforms.
Sukkhi is a leading new age online- first fashion jewelry brand. Founded in 2012, Sukhhi began with a vision to provide quality and trendy fashion jewelry products. The company makes high-quality products from allergic-free material that is beautifully crafted and designed using the latest technology.
Rajiv Kumar | Founder & CEO, StoreHippo
Rajiv Kumar – Founder & CEO, StoreHippo
Modern e-commerce is all about customer experience and personalization along with ease of shopping. Brands should go for personalized product suggestions and deals to keep their customers engaged and nudge them to checkout. Along with this, to get the best out of the current festive season e-commerce brands should have a well-designed omnichannel strategy where they can connect with their customers on multiple touchpoints like their e-commerce website, mobile apps, mobile website, social platforms, and any other modern IoT devices. Also, brands should leverage PWA stores to reach the hinterland (tier 4 and beyond cities) which has seen the biggest rise in online orders during the last festive season. To facilitate more regional orders brands should transition into multilingual stores that facilitate the buyers in ordering in their native language. Along with these multiple payment options should be offered to the buyers to make the checkout quick and frictionless. Finally, the success of an e-commerce business will be dependent on fast and error-free deliveries. Brands should go for automated shipping options with multiple logistics partners to streamline and optimize their fulfillment and keep their customers happy and buying more and more.
Mr. Rajiv Kumar Aggarwal is an Indian Internet Entrepreneur. He is the founder and CEO of the SaaS Ecommerce Platform StoreHippo. Kumar is an industry veteran and highly skilled technologist with 20+ years of strong experience in Internet Technologies and E-Commerce.
The festive season always means higher sales than the rest of the year.We as a brand aim to give something new and niche to our renowned clients. Every buyer has a different budget and a sense of style and as a brand, we aim to cater to one and all. We plan to market the upcoming festive clearance sale a month before the new collection launch to keep the buyers hooked on our products. Another idea is to keep the clearance sale and the new collection launch together with an offer that will generate sales for both lines. It can be along the lines of buying the newly launched product at full price and get a certain discount on the old products. Buyers always love the idea of getting more than one thing at the price of two or three and the festive season is the perfect time to execute this idea. The promotion for all the discounted products will be hyped with the marketing plans focused on the same. We would start marketing the date and time on which the products will go on sale and shall keep it for a limited period of time in order to have quicker checkouts than the rest of the year.
The opinions & views in this article are contributed by various industry experts & entreprenuers in the startup ecosystem.
The first priority of a business or a company is to meet the demands of the customers. Though the demands of the customers are growing, the impressive customer service is attending these demands only too well. Extending the best customer service is the rule of thumb for every business, young and old. No doubt it brings a wide range of benefits for the businesses, which is why more and more enterprises are lining up to empower their customer service.
If you are now curious to learn about the companies that are prominently prioritizing their customer service, then here we bring you a list of startups that are keeping their customers ahead! Read about how these entrepreneurs deliver commitment and gain trust from their customers with actionable insights, tools, and strategies.
Vinayak Shrivastav | Co-founder and CEO, Toch AI
Vinayak Shrivastav – Co-founder and CEO, Toch AI
“Building a good customer experience does not happen by accident, it happens by design.” – Clare Muscutt. At Toch AI we take our customers’ specific requirements seriously and deliver with commitment.
Every new inquiry is guided by a complete demonstration of our platform and product. With diverse clients across the globe, it is imperative to process the definite and precise needs of each client. It is then assessed over face-to-face virtual meetings. With technology bridging distance, a personalized solution delivered across geographies needs to be seamlessly integrated; such that demand meets the expected workflow efficiency. The next step is an effortless onboarding process that is comprehensible in the form of flowcharts and direction for unobstructed services that eradicates remote chances of disruption. A Slack channel is created with the client for fast and direct communication with a quick turnaround time, in case of any queries, suggestions, or problem-shooting. The success team steers smooth adaptation of the new work profile with precise timelines. A step-by-step discernable communication is chalked between the client and the concerned team.
At Toch providing solutions to every customer’s unique needs is our best business plan. Our work has been the best branding we have ever done through the life of our company, where each team member is involved in ensuring delivery exceeds expectations. The patrons might forget our faces, but they seldom forget the work we do. It is an intangible feeling of pride, being associated as a dependable company that never backs down.
Prashant Radhakrishnan | VP of Sales & Marketing (India), SemaConnect
Prashant Radhakrishnan – VP of Sales & Marketing (India), SemaConnect
Companies need to wire all design thought – whether it be products or services ground up from a customer-centric viewpoint & usage, instead of spending a lot of time and effort in getting the policies, processes & people approach around customer service. Now, providing effective customer service is important – however, the overall goal of an organization’s need to revolve around eliminating said customer contacts (typically negative or catering to issues).
While this is easier said than done – it involves crafting organization structure, processes & culture across all functions from a customer at the center viewpoint.
At SemaConnect, the endeavor is to build the relevant products and services after extensive understanding of the “Voice of Customer” – each iteration of a new product or service is user-centric – this user-centricity in design is not restricted to external customers but to internal customer groups as well. For small startup companies, this is always a challenge – hence a “Guiding Principle” on user-centricity in building new products or services can only be done when the clarity of thought on Customer-Centric design is part of the DNA of the organization.”
SemaConnect, established in 2008 is a leading provider of Electric Vehicle Amenities to North American and Indian Commercial & Residential Market. For over a decade, SemaConnect has installed over 14,000 charging stations in North America, while its IT development, R&D, and manufacturing are based out of India.
Harsh Shah | Co-Founder, Fynd
Harsh Shah – Co-founder, Fynd
Fynd is a one-stop omnichannel retail platform, with customer service at its core. Our key focus while serving our brands is to offer hassle-free coordination between all points of service, be the expert solution providers, and engage in our brands’ growth with regular checks and market insights.
We offer business insights and monitor a brand’s performance overperiodic weekly/monthly calls. Going a step beyond the basic technology platform-based omnichannel solutions, this demarcates us from our peers and attracts most brands to sign up with us. Our clients look to us as solution providers and place their trust in us for a resolution in times of crisis. Brands like Sportstation & Ruosh have appreciated that even if something gets stuck at 11 PM, it will be taken care of to ensure a smooth running for the brand.
Brands often run tight on schedules around the mega sales time (both, in-store and eCommerce). That’s where our customer support has been a great relief for brands like Mothercare, Hamleys, Red Chief, allowing them to focus on core sales, while we take care of the rest. Another highlight in our service offering is our user-friendly Fynd Order Management System (OMS) that allows a brand’s store and warehouse staff to adapt to technology with an appealing UI and UX. Our collaboration and experience with logistic partners ensure a speedy delivery for our clients giving them an edge. There have been instances where the product manager himself went out to deliver so that the brand’s customers do not suffer.
Shubhi Agarwal | COO & Co-Founder, Locobuzz
Shubhi Agarwal – COO & Co-Founder, Locobuzz
When it comes to customer service, the secret to success lies in personalization, consistency, and timeliness. In the post-pandemic era, we witnessed a voluminous spike in digital customer interactions that have coerced even the most traditional businesses to innovate their service scope and digital engagement methods. Today, brands across sectors constantly deal with delivering timely customer experience at scale. Through AI-led automation solutions, we aim to give customer service the human touch and personalization it needs for a brand to succeed in volatile markets. To us, ‘personalization’ is the result of rich, real-time, actionable insights that help eliminate the chance of a neglected customer.
Social listening and response management, therefore, is not just about AI-technology at its ‘always-evolving’ best; but about a brand’s utilization of AI-tech to deliver the best customer service. With simple things like faster responses and interactive social media engagement, one such BFSI brand celebrated 40% sentiment score uplifts and extended to nearly 700 new leads every month. One of the services we often suggest to clients is CRM integrations (Customer Relationship Management) – A Retail brand that leveraged CRM in its response management was able to garner organized intelligence about its customers and converted those insights into a consistent engagement strategy wherein; they captured 16,000 unique visits over WhatsApp Business alone, and measured 264.6k brand replies from customers within a year on social platforms.
Essentially, it is a fact that people appreciate being heard and cared for by the brands they are loyal to. With AI-powered Listening and Response mechanisms, advanced automation lets brands deliver tender and attentive customer service to their clients. For all thought leaders of the new age, it will be interesting to see how fast-paced tech advancements in the future will be employed, while keeping customer simplicity and service at its optimum.
Chaitali Das | Associate VP of Marketing, Sprink.online
Chaitali Das – Associate VP of Marketing, Sprink.online
Customer services have changed a lot in the last decade. Providing better customer service in today’s world goes beyond “professionalism” and “positive attitude”. It has become more than just solving problems but about how creatively the problem can be solved. It is about understanding the customer’s psyche and helping them provide solutions for not only what they might need for the moment but also about how the interaction can add value to their experience. Customer services now demand to be more personalized, where the customer wants to feel more than just a ticket number. Today, companies are developing more full-proof customer service strategies than just deploying just call centers. Many food businesses are utilizing technology to a great extent and as a part of customer service offer online forums, detailed & self-sufficient FAQ pages, and automated chatbots along with human help that gives customers the chance to help themselves in cases where queries are taking more time to resolve.
At Sprink, our customer care strategy revolves around building human-centric customer service through great customer care representatives and the utilization of technology where it is needed. A lot of our menu and services have actually evolved into what our customers are actually looking for rather than just providing them with one-dimensional services. Our customers are living testimony of how they feel about us. We feel confident and lucky when customers residing in a foreign country or in a different city wants to book meal subscriptions for their elderly parents in Bangalore due to their trust in us or when a happy customer recommends us to their loved ones because we delivered food to their door-step beyond our predefined delivery slots when they were sick with corona. All in such cases and more, our focus is and will always remain working towards making a better customer experience.
Mahmud Kotebagil | CEO & Co-Founder, Beyond Garage
Mahmud Kotebagil – CEO & Co-Founder, Beyond Garage
Providing good customer service is not an accident rather it’s a design that involves people from all the level of an organization. We at Beyond Garage believe that will never have a product or price advantage eventually, as they can be too easily duplicated. But a strong customer service culture cannot be copied and excelling the customer service every time builds a huge gap between a successful company and a normal company. Also, a brand is no longer what we tell the customer or other people but it is what customers tell each other in the market hence we collect reviews in an open forum from all our customers. And it’s easy to understand that, people will soon forget what we said. They will NEVER forget how we made them feel and that’s our effort all the time.
Naman Shah | Co-Founder & CEO, NowPurchase
Naman Shah – Co-Founder & CEO, NowPurchase
Customers enjoy customized experiences from B2C brands on a daily basis. Companies like Amazon Prime, Voot are known to provide personalized suggestions, similarly, eCommerce platforms like Flipkart provide excellent customer service, but it’s a different scenario when it comes to B2B enterprises.
The average customer experience score for B2B companies is less than 50%, compared to 65 percent to 85 percent for B2C companies.
Customer experience is a top focus for many B2B organizations, but their actions don’t always match their statements. However, the trend is gradually shifting. B2B organizations are beginning to see the significance of investing in customer experience and the competitive advantage it can provide, especially in light of the uncertainties surrounding COVID-19 and its influence on global industries.
NowPurchase strives to give the finest customer experience to all of its stakeholders, including purchasers, production managers, and business owners. Some of our clients, for example, requested a live tracking system to keep track of their delivery progress. As a result, we created a WhatsApp notification system that alleviated their worries. We also discovered that clients preferred to receive information via WhatsApp notifications, so we developed a WhatsApp bot that allows them to receive daily pricing updates depending on market trends.
Priyanka Salot | Co-founder, The Sleep Company
Priyanka Salot – Co-founder, The Sleep Company
In today’s highly competitive business world, how you handle client complaints can either help you thrive or consign you to failure. Customer journeys are evolving based on specific customer personas, which is helping D2C firms improve their final mile. Customer attitude has evolved dramatically in some areas, to the point where there is no longer a blueprint.
So, we see innovation in the digital environment as a strategic opportunity. It benefited us in communicating with our customers and responding to their feedback and suggestions. Taking into account customer feedback has been one of the biggest advantages for The Sleep Company. We try to initiate one-on-one conversations with customers in order to have a deeper knowledge of their requirements.
Tech is at the forefront of our customer experience. We are using a website chat feature through which customers are addressed as per their inquiries. We also listen to our customers via social media and apps like Whatsapp. We have integrated the latest CRM tools to enhance the after-sales service. When it comes to human intervention, we also have dedicated teams for sales and support.
Customers have also expressed gratitude for taking their complaints seriously by providing speedy responses. It has also helped us to determine what needs to be improved. Listening to their complaints has helped us identify issue areas that we can improve on in the future, to create a positive customer experience.
Customers have evolved, and they now prioritize a brand relationship over a brand product. Customers want to have meaningful conversations. Brands should take the lead in identifying answers to issues that directly affect their target audience, as well as societal and cultural concerns that their customers care about.
Sandeep Aggarwal | Co-Founder, Candes
Sandeep Aggarwal – Co-Founder, Candes
We are a Delhi-based D2C brand of home appliances that aims at offering the best to its consumers. Be it technology, innovation, style, convenience, or after-product services. One should trust our company especially when it comes to your home appliances because we give a minimum warranty of 2 years in most of our product range. Also, we provide free door service to keep you tension-free, having over 1 million trusted users. We make sure to keep your electricity bill to a minimum and we have the highest ratings all across the marketplace. At Candes we make sure you get the best service and live a comfortable life with the help of our product lines. If there are any problems that you face, then you don’t have to worry as our customer service is always available to assist you. You can call us anytime between 10:00 AM to 5:30 PM from Monday to Saturday. We have a very convenient interface to register your complaint and resolve the same on a priority basis.
Customer service ought to be a strong point of every business and most companies now are strengthening the services offered to their customers like anything. This is also resulting in a growth that is longstanding and built on the pillars of trust.
We hope you liked our article on the best customer service providers. Feel free to share your feedback about the article and also subscribe to StartupTalky for more articles of interest!
The opinions & views in this article are contributed by various industry experts in the mental health domain.
“Health is wealth” goes the famous quote. It is true that most of us take care or have grown to focus on our physical health, the mental health and well-being have always been alarmingly abandoned. The health of our mind is almost as important as our physical health and results in damaging aftermath if not proving to have the most perilous of effects on our body.
Though quite a few of the startups of today have been founded to focus on our mental health, scaling these startups has been quite a challenge. If you are interested in the mental health startups and the challenges faced by them, go through this StartupTalky article to know further about them!
Dr. Anuneet Sabharwal | Founder & Director, The Happy Tree
Anuneet Sabharwal – Founder & Director, The Happy Tree
Happy Tree is a de-addiction, rehabilitation, and mental health hospital based in New Delhi, with a particular emphasis on the rehabilitation of addicts.
In my (Anuneet Sabharwal) opinion, one of the main reasons why mental health startups haven’t worked is because most of these startups are not founded by professionals in the field. Because they are not founded by professionals, the ins, outs, and subtle details that make or break a mental health or deaddiction business are not properly understood by the founders. Make no mistake, there is humungous demand. But the quality of mental health apps and businesses is not substandard. On the flip side, the mental health professionals who are doing a fantastic job, are simply not business or tech-savvy. So, while they are rendering excellent services to their clients, they don’t have the vision for scalability. The Happy Tree has been a roaring success within just 5 years in the mental health and deaddiction space. The industry needs a visionary who is also a professional practicing in the field, to take charge and build a scalable business.
In the last 5 years around 500+ new mental health startups came into existence. Interestingly, the market for mental health looks very attractive to investors and they invest in technology-driven mental health startups led by non-medico/non-clinician anticipating an exponential growth curve, however, mental health is a complex and linear business model.
Unfortunately, technology, mobile apps, AI BOT, etc., can be a supplement not a solution when it comes to mental health help hence failing to create the right product offerings. Another set of startups led by clinicians sincerely lack growth and impact strategy. The B2C market demands a strong sense of vision, structure, and right implementation.
The global corporate wellness market size was valued at USD 52.8 billion in 2020 and is expected to expand at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 7.0% from 2021 to 2028. Hence attracting more and more players in the market who offer basic products like EAP (Employee Assistance Program) as their primary offering
However, EAP is a low-impact product and does not appeal to the business leaders anymore who are looking for concrete solutions. Another reason why Mental health startups are not taking off is because of the lack of product knowledge, industry knowledge, poor research & analysis, and a non-holistic approach.
In a nutshell, Startups are failing in creating the right products due to lack of understanding of the market, lack of industry knowledge, poor or no research, lack of appropriate training, qualified but untrained staff, less experienced team members, lack of innovation, investing in infrastructure than its people, trying to quick fix the infrastructural requirements, heavily relying on technology and social media.
Priya Kumar | Chief of Content & Founder, Genius Inside
The pandemic has worsened the mental health crises around the world and India was no exception. One in two people aged 18-29 years is possibly subject to anxiety and depression and another 17% are probably affected by it as per the latest reports. While it’s been a phenomenal time for the startup ecosystem in India as is evident, we are yet to see a surge in mental health startups. Many Venture Capitalists understand and see a huge demand for mental health startups, however, very few want to invest in these endeavors as they think these business modules would not scale.
We want to change the way people approach mental health issues and their cures by developing an ecosystem that is safe and can make people feel like they are in good hands. At Genius Inside we thrive on aiding individuals in personal and professional transformation. We aim to be at the forefront of bringing change and battle the invisible but evident threat.
Mental health startups in India haven’t received the kind of response that the overall startup industry has received. This could be due to multiple reasons like lack of awareness, lack of support, lack of reach to all age groups.
Mental health as a point of conversation is gaining traction, but yet the mindset of multiple people is still to change, especially of the older age groups. It will take time for them to recognize mental health issues within them and in their younger generation and support anyone who needs helps to seek the same. This shift in mindset, however small it is, is prevalent only in the urban regions of the country, while other areas still do not give regard to mental health the same way they do to physical health.
Trust, sense of security, and breach of privacy are also factors that contribute to people not being completely accepting of mental health startups. While online counseling and therapy did see a rise during the lockdown, being completely open about having mental health issues is also stopping people from spreading the word about it.
For mental health startups to take flight in India as an industry, it is key that the mindset of people changes and awareness about mental health increases. Along with giving recognition to mental health at the same standard of physical health
Nitin Bindlish | Founder & CEO, Mom’s Belief
Nitin Bindlish – Founder & CEO, Mom’s Belief
It’s been quite a while that mental health which was once a taboo is now an important subject of discussion. The startups dedicated to upscaling mental health have been trying to put their best foot forward to spread awareness about the importance of mental health and mental health issues. What is also worth mentioning is that the pandemic came as a silver lining and rendered a helping hand in increasing awareness about these subjects. Consequently, people not only know but are also trying to accept the need for mental health measures. But they do face their fair share of challenges. The spending capacity for mental wellness by people is not considered as it takes them time to accept that paying for a mental health issue isn’t a big deal. Just as other countries prioritize mental health, India also needs to look at greater investments in this domain. Another major hurdle is that experienced trusted senior talent is unable to cope with the new-age developments in this field. The age-old concepts won’t fit into the present times’ industry landscape.
One of the major challenges for the field of mental healthcare is for people to accept the need for mental healthcare services, especially for the kids. This problem would amplify when kids will join offline schools and they will face obstacles in adapting to the changing environment. This is where courses helping in bridging the gap would emerge as a saving grace. We at Mom’s Belief are the largest mental healthcare providers in the Asia-Pacific region for children. We offer a plethora of programs & services for building emotional intelligence to interventions that help kids counter the challenge with the help of AI/ML. We ensure deep learning of actions, brain signals, and emotions for a quick, accurate, and insightful analysis of children dealing with developmental delays. On the whole, we aspire to empower each parent and touch a million lives with our offerings. (for regular and kids with developmental delays).
Conclusion
Though the mental health startups are striving to make their own mark among the startup companies of now, most of them are not able to reach their full potential due to the rising list of challenges that they are facing. This was thus an attempt to highlight a majority of them.
We hope you liked our article! It would be great if you let us know how you feel about it via your valuable comments and feedback. Also, let us know what else we can cover in this article and the upcoming ones.
You might be familiar with the term Guest blogging if you are serious about blogging. When you ask someone else to write an article for your website, it is called guest blogging.
According to a survey, 60% blog writes 1-5 guest posts per month and 76% editor says that they publish 1-10 guest posts per week. It is something like featuring someone in your YouTube video. There are many benefits of guest blogging for everyone, viz., the writers, the website owner, and the audience. Let’s see some of the keybenefits of guest posting.
If you want to pursue writing for your future, but don’t have enough experience, then guest blogging might be perfect for you to have a boost. Try sending your articles to some of the best guest blogging sites and ask them to feature them on their blog. Observe the audience’s response to the article and then work to improve your writings. One of the few guest blogging benefits is that you can do this for free at the beginning in order improve your skills. Many guest blogging sites will be happy to feature you on their blog.
2. Backlinks
If you already have a small blog, then you can consider guest blogging to make it a big one. A backlink is the most important factor to build authority. Another benefits of guest blogging is that you can get some backlinks from the website you guest blog for. Include one in between the article itself. Becoming a guest writer for blogs might give a boost to your own blog, however, this authority will not work if you are not consistent with your blog.
Guest writing helps you test your writing skills and get feedback from hundreds of people if you guest blog on a big platform. If you are not sure whether you are skilled enough to quit your job and rely on your blog, then you can become a become a guest blogger and test your writing first. You might already have a good response to your writing from your readers, but you can’t make this decision on the response of a bunch of people.
4. Brand Awareness
If you are a person who loves being famous, then you might love guest blogging. When you will frequently guest blog on different guest blogging sites, people will notice your name. If you are a guest writer, people will remember your name too. You can then create your influential brand on social media like Instagram or Facebook.
5. Bring More Referral traffic
Guest writing for blogs will help you to drive more referral traffic to your site. Your guest blogging websites already have the relevant target audience base. Thus if you provide through your guest posts then they will automatically come to your site to read further. Many websites invite invite guest bloggers to increase their traffic on their own websites.
If you are a specialist in something, people might reach you with their problems via that guest blog you wrote. You can provide your email in the writer’s bio or link to your website. If you are good at guest blogging, people might even come to you for giving you a freelance writing opportunity. One of the guest blogging opportunities, is that you can just provide a link to your blog in the writer’s bio to divert some traffic and earn through your blog.
7. Become An Expert
Another guest post benefits is that it allows you to share knowledge among the relevant audiences. Ths why you can be a guest blogger and provide valuable information consistently while slowly build your credibility. Hence, why writing on a guest post site will help you position yourself in front of your Industry and become an expert in that particular field.
How to be a Guest Blogger
One of the main benefits of guest blogging is that you can earn some extra income by asking for payment in exchange for your blog. There are many other advantages you will come across when you will start guest blogging.
When you feature a guest blogger on your website, you get some time to spend on yourself. Guest article writing will hep you get a small break in between the work is great to boost your energy. So, have a break, have a guest writing on your site.
2. New Content
No matter how much you know, but there will be someone out there who knows more than you. You might be the world’s biggest expert in cybersecurity theories, but you can’t have expert level knowledge about everything related to computers. Which is why another guest blogging benefits, is that when you feature someone, you get to see the world from their perspective. It is great to have a change in your website, you can also convert your website into a guest blogging websites. Your audience will get to know something new and in a new style of writing.
3. Backlinks
Yes, not only for the guest writers but this is a benefit to you too. Most of the guest writers will have their own blogs. So, they will give you a backlink in the near future. It will strengthen your authority over your guest post site.
Your relationship with the guest writer is not limited to that post only. You can invite guest bloggers again to write for your website, or you can even hire them if you like their writing and they are performing well. Moreover, you can collaborate with them on any project in the future.
5. Expand Reader Base
Your guest blogger may have fans of his/her own. One of the other guest blogging benefits is when you will post an article written by them, you will attract their fans too. Many of the best guest blogging sites use this tactic to get more traffic and subscribers.
6. Earn Money
You can monetize your website by adding a guest blogging feature and inviting many well known guest writers. If you have a strong audience base or a high amount of organic traffic on your guest post site, startups may show interest to feature on your website. Hence, you can charge for those sponsored posts. For example, if you are running a travel blog, then startup travel agencies may show their interest to write a guest post on your website as they have a similar set of target audience.
Conclusion
Guest blogging is a great way to attract more traffic. Also, when you invite guest bloggers, they may invite you too. The audience will love guest bloggers when they get new knowledge. Also, everyone has a unique style of writing, so when a guest comes to write a blog, they get a chance. Go and invite a good guest writer you know or just give a chance to a small blogger. Even you were a struggler once, so make someone happy by allowing them to earn a backlink.
Have you ever been a guest blogger for anyone? How was your experience? Share this post with all your friends.
You might be familiar with the term Guest blogging if you are serious about blogging. However, when you ask someone else to write an article for your website, it is called guest blogging.
Should I accept guest posts on my blog?
Obviously, You should accept the guest post. It is a way great way to boost the traffic on your website without having to do a ton of work in creating contents.
How do you become a guest blogger?
Approach guest blogging sites offer to work for free until you build your portfolio and then charge for your guest article writing.
Is Guest blogging good?
Yes because, Guest Blogging allows you to target high-quality websites and improve your chances of successfully securing backlinks.
What are the benefits of guest blogging?
There are many benefits of guest posting such as brand awareness, building links and improving your website’s domain authority.
In this series, we plan to bring real stories from professionals who have been there and done that!
Spokesperson: Puneet Gupta, Founder & CEO Clensta International.
Raising funds is one of the most challenging and all-encompassing tasks that a founder can do to take their startup to its next milestone and ensure it lives to its full potential. It is a scary step – one that is full of rejections and can leave founders emotionally drained. Failure to raise capital could very well spell the end of a startup. After all, lack of funds is often cited as one of the reasons why start-ups fail.
In a healthy economy, it was already difficult for startups to get noticed by investors, much less get a call or face-to-face time with them. Throw COVID in the mix – with the uncertainty and selectivity it brings, the drastic reduction in physical startup fundraising meetings and events, the subsequent pivot to “online” meetings, and those trying to raise in this climate need to ‘up the ante’ to get noticed by investors.
Before approaching an investor, the real step is knowing why you need funding and how much would be the approach?
The initial is the basics: Reaching out to a potential investor
Approaching an investor requires some homework. Every investor needs facts, basics, and numbers. Before you reach out to an investor, understand your needs. Answering basic questions like:
The future of your business. How sustainable is your business?
Your competitors. Make them understand that you know the market.
What makes you unique? Why are you?
Your team. Describe who does what
“As a founder and with ideas to approach the investors I consider the vital pillars of any organization, Teamwork, integrity, and entrepreneur mindset. However, the factor that gives the boost to scale is the problem a startup is solving for, its scalability and the agility of the team in handling difficult situations.” – Puneet Gupta, Founder & CEO Clensta International.
Puneet Gupta – Founder & CEO, Clensta International
With an aim to build a retail tech platform exclusively for SME retailers, Mr. Rajesh Subramanian started Ghoshak. In this article, Mr. Rajesh shares his insight on the Hiring culture of a bootstrapped startup. He shares his experience & the challenges he faced while hiring the right talent, accordingly, he insightfully suggested measures, tips/advice on what Bootstrapped Startups can follow to hire right!
Before moving ahead, let’s get a background on the speaker. Rajesh Subramanian, Founder, Ghoshak, has previously worked for Amazon and SAP. He has built several teams at Amazon from scratch and took more than 1000+ interviews. Ghoshak is an All in one Business App. From generating bills to inventory management, Ghoshak brings all your business operations in one place.
Let’s see what Mr. Rajesh Subramanian (Founder, Ghoshak) has got to say on GAME OF HIRING for Bootstrapped Startups-
Remember the day when there was sudden lightning that struck through your mind and there, you had the idea for your startup. It is amazing to see so many innovative ideas coming to life every day. As a startup founder myself and going through every step of the journey, coming up with that one strikethrough idea, finding partners, setting up the place of business, getting yourself registered to make your first sale is an experience and learning for life. One aspect of a startup business, especially bootstrapped, that challenged me was hiring and coaching the right talent. The general notion attached with bootstrapped startups is getting the funding and finding the investors. If your idea caters to the demands of society and you believe in yourself, then you will easily attract people who will believe in it too. But getting people to work for you or with you is a different ball game.
When you are solving the puzzle, you make sure that every part fits right. Anyone can work for you, but not everyone can work with you. When I was hiring, the CGPA and educational qualification were not my focus area. Instead, I looked for a person’s ability to solve problems and how intelligently they could navigate through ambiguous situations.
I took 120+ interviews before I hired my first two engineers, and I can proudly say that they are my top performers to date. It’s not just identifying the talent but also the effort you spend in training and coaching them. Appreciate the strength they bring in and support them to work on the areas that need polishing. I am building an organizational culture where we refer to an individual’s shortfall as areas of improvement instead of weakness. Everyone has a scope of improvement, including me, therefore, learning should never stop. I want to create an environment where our employees can be vocal about their weak points and are ready to work on them.
When you are laying the foundation of your business, it is wise to hire strategically. Especially when you are bootstrapped and have to allocate funds in a calculative manner.
A timeline can help a lot, and here is the one that I followed:
6 months – Lay the foundation with partners.
1st year – Have the core team members, Tech & Sales team to build the product and Finance team to regulate the money flow.
2nd year – Now you need the support, get your HR, Marketing & Design team to accelerate the growth.
Money v/s Belief
The truth is that a bootstrapped startup cannot pay as much compared to a funded startup. So how do you work your charm? Let your product or service do the talking. What you are putting out there is so convincing, and it helps society then hire people who believe in making a change too and can look at the bigger picture. History is proof that what started in a garage is a world-dominating mobile & computer giant today.
Gone are the days of Job Descriptions; this is an era of Opportunities
By posting a job opening, you may get a pool of CVs. Apart from the right skillset, one must gauge a person’s attitude and determination towards life. If a person is not ambitious from within, then no external push can work the magic. As a startup employer, the responsibility relies greatly on us, and I always try to set their expectations right. The definition of startup to many is a funky office, high pay, and great perks; while you may offer all that but when you are starting from scratch there will be possible ups & downs, restrategizing, and everyday hustle. One has to be a jack of all trades and not necessarily the master of one, which is the reality. In a bootstrapped startup ecosystem, we ideate, implement things, learn from them and grow together.
65% of business failures are due to management issues that can be avoided by hiring the right mindset, skill, and training. In the end, it’s all about the culture you build. If the foundation is strong, then the structure will always remain strong.
