The Confused Investor

Slowly moving around this foreign world called "Finance" I regret the day when I decided to chose to take up the role of being an investor. It looked so great out then, I had the money, the opportunities looked so great and so tailor made for me and today as I write this blog, my money has now become a toilet paper for the various potential project promoters...

It all started from one of those days when everything went really great, greater than usual and I suddenly felt that what ever I touch would turn into Gold, (I surely did take my bed time stories just a lil too far) and there I was discussing the possibilities with my associates and circle of trusted friends of taking out my funds lying there in the savings account, doing nothing. Doing Nothing??? what do I mean by that, did I want it to run away some place and make my life exciting, looking and hunting for it, trying to bring it back, guess, that is exactly what I wanted to do, now that I decided to invest it through potential projects.  Anyway, I cannot recall when I started the discussions and soon I was this....

What is so special about being an Investor that pulls people to them like Magnet does to metal?

Let me turn the table around now, let us think, I am the one looking for investments, what would my priorities be? 

1. To create a project which would protect the funds invested to the best possible way

2. To form a structure which would just not eat into the core of funds but ensures a best feasible growth plan is in place, a practical one for starters

3. Build a strong trust between my investors, my team and my project by having clear cut plans which are not meant to be altered or changed, not even for the investor himself, to some extent, if I cannot stick to my Business & Revenue Model, trust it and make it fool proof, then how can I expect a total stranger to believe on my business model and also invest in it

and last but not the least

4. Invest myself into my project, well in advance, even before you are expecting some one to dump in large chunks of dough on to us. This shows the commitment and the drive in me to take this ship to its destination.

But, all this seem to just not exist anymore with me being the investor and looking for opportunities. I need not mention all the things which exist as all you have to do is put the opposite to everything I wrote above. Why is this?

People say, India is becoming a heaven for Investor, I guess this is the reason they say that. The  investments are done on angels. Angels who show the best possible projects, angels who are the best example of a character, angels who would sell their blood to return your investments but we investors are not looking at angels who can also disappear with a blink of an eye. We are looking at humans who have the fire and drive to make my funds grow, who have it in them to understand the art of the kill in the jungle of business and who knows to survive. Especially, in this "Recession Age". Recession is become "The thing", a fashion statement in the business world. So, we look out for this...

 No angel would ever know to get this for me, just incase, it is the hard core survivor, who would be able to do that and it is that person I am looking for... will my search end is a question yet to be answered but what I am excited is the power to understand people, in this hunting spree which I am in, I have learnt so much that I do not think, I would have learnt it with another 3 decades of existence in the business world. 

I am sure when you read the title of this blog, you expected to get some really big finance terms, some real stylish blog on finance and investments and opportunities and more, my writing would never have that, you would get many out here with all that. I would just be able to write about the practical world out here and that is all I am made off. Practical Writing, Practical Business, Practical Marketing, Practical Solutions, Practical Ideas, Practical everything. 

I agree that not many investors would like to agree to many things I wrote here, but I also know that I write what I believe and this is what I believe. Making your own rules, believing in them and walking on them. Standing out in a crowd is a tough job, but it feels great when you actually do it. You have no fears once you reach there. As an Investor, as a promoter or as an individual. 

For both Parties, Investors & Promoters, I have realized that you need to have your priorities in place. Once, you have that, you have nothing to fear. I for one, have my priorities in place. I would be moving my funds, only if the project has a promoter with a straight head, his/her priorities are intact, his/her marketing team is strong and someone who know to pull him or herself from any sticky situation.

Finally, two statements which keeps rushing through my head, every single time I am working out my investments... Questions, hope you would be able to answer them for me....

1.  Why do the people who ride the Rolls Royce take advice from those who take the Subway 

2. It is only when the tide goes out that you can see who is swimming naked - so, are we as Investors ready to wait up for the tide to go out?

Marketing - Facebook - You ?

Facebook... a success story for all young entrepreneur and I am sure every young mind out here does challenge itself "If Mark could do it, I can do it too" and then moving on a little further, we are positive that to climb the steps of success, we will use the same tool Mark used to become so successful. We are positive that we do not need to keep any huge budget to market our offerings to the masses, why? The answer just pops up - " I am on Facebook and I have 800 friends on line and I can reach out to another 3 times of that, why do I need to spend on any kind of marketing."

Very nice... sounds good to read about it or even hear it but trust me when I say, WAKE UP FRIENDS.... IT DOES NOT WORK THAT WAY... I mean it.

Look at the picture above, what do you see? It is my official Facebook group page of Exotic Explorers, through which we try to promote exotic holiday destinations across the world. In the past 5 months, we have added around 400 and more members and we keep putting up various events and offers exclusively for the group members. Result or conversions - Zilch - Zero... On line friends do help, I would be wrong to say that they do not, but you cannot depend on Facebook as any kind of marketing for your offerings. You would get many likes, one odd comments here and there and a lot of "May Be" for your events but even "Will Attend" will also not make it. So, let Mark's success story be just an inspiration of being at the right place at the right time and create our own success stories. What ever the size of the success be.

Business has only 2 factors to be taken care to be successful - Innovations & Marketing. Innovations are your products and / or services and Marketing is the backbone to keep any business intact. It is very important that you need to sell your products, your services and yourself. Create a brand for yourself, no matter which industry you are in. Names sell... Names are trusted... people connect each service / product with its promoter (individual) and the connect is created with your customers. Let us play a small game out here... I shall mention the product and leave it to you to tell me what comes to your head first.

IPod - ......................
Nano - .....................
Big Bazaar - ....................
Microsoft - .....................
Indian Independence - ..................

I hope I am right, when I say this but for me, the first thing which came to my mind were the names behind those products / services. There would be people who would think of companies but I believe that the individual behind the product / services matters a lot. I have been working in creating that with my clients, my guests who travel through Exotic Explorers. I would not have reached very far but I know I am on that road, when I get calls from my clients and travelers asking exclusively for me, even if I am away.

How do you know that you are a good marketer? It took me some time to realize that myself but today, I know that I am a true Marketer and that realization is something I see as my first step towards success.

I have realized from the past 2 decades that marketing can be really easy with just one tool with you. Your tone of speech. It is very important that you have a clear tone and loud enough to be heard clearly. Your communications play a vital role in you being a successful marketer. I would come face to face with a sales person of a product which I desperately needed but if he/she is whispering and it takes a lot of effort from my side to understand that sales person, I do not think twice before letting that product go. It is that simple.

Believing in what you sell. You would have heard and read this many times by now but I would like to share an experience with you. My father was an inventor and he would invent new gadgets and machines, sometime in the industrial side or sometimes in the automobile segment but I, the Managing Director of the company was to sell the products or its patents, when it is on the drawing board itself because by doing so, we get the funding support for the development which usually runs in Crores. If I am not able to sell those products, the fundings needs to be provided by my marketing company into the R&D company which is developing the product. So, with a sword on my neck, I would get the marketing plans in place, my team and its training and get firing and I can very confidently write today that what ever the potential of the end product be in the market, I always failed to bring in a investor or funder for those products, which I had doubts on. I am not a technical person, nor do I have anything to do with Engineering but if there was any doubt in my head that what ever the inventor or engineers team are predicting (even with all calculations and formulas working out) will not work out, then, with every effort and with all the initiatives, I have never been able to bring about a tie-up but on the other hand, there was this product which my father was working on. A fuel stabilizer, for the efficient use of Petrol for Internal Combustion Engines, I believed it from the moment I saw the first Lab type of the product and trust me when I write this, that in a matter of 3 months, I had two investor lined up, one from Singapore and one from Chennai. So, the moral of the story... believe it the product / services you have to sell... and watch the fun...

Bottom line... Marketing is a very interesting and fun filled profession to take up but are you the fun loving person is the question only you can answer....
  

Hectic Days

Hectic day for a person at a 9 to 5 workplace would be a number of open windows on the desktop which never seem to close, a phone which never seem to stop ringing and a colleague, who just does not seem to stop cribbing about his/her busy schedules. But, a hectic day for a self employed person like me, a person who choose to set up a business entity for herself, is self created business meetings which seem to pop up from all directions, the mails, calls and many times, sudden drop-in at the office. A phone which never stops ringing which, I willingly carry with me every where and willingly answer every call and a set of employees who I have hired with my free will who seem to just not do anything the right way. This hectic day is my own creation.

Have always told my self for many years “Skills pay the bills” but I am yet to understand what kind of Skills actually pay the bills. It is 1 am and I am still working and I am satisfied with it, so what if my day begins at 9 am, Good, but never seem to end. Even at 1 am I feel bad that I could put in some more hours and here I am filling out my journal of the day. So, the Skill which would pay my bill is actually the skill to work my self out endlessly, then, yes, I do not think I need to worry about my bills any more.

Anyway, coming back to my today’s schedule. Something really interesting for all those readers out here, who would have just started in a Self-Employed role or ones who have moved on with it long time back. I, for the first time in my professional life was able to put a point across to a business associate who had all the experience in a line of Hospitality and I am a new born here and I was proved right as well. How was I able to do it? It was complete confidence on myself and nothing else that I did this and won my case as well.

We are in the process of setting up a resort in a hill station and we had our projections ready as well but something bothered me about it, something did not seem right, I wanted it to be more heavy on investments so that we could focus on guest satisfaction, HR training modules and not bog ourselves down for sales from the first year it self. I am happy I took the right decision and put my point across and got it my way too. We are re-structuring the complete financials as per my discussions. My lesson for the day – do not give up on your gut feeling, if you feel you are in the right, then, stand up for it, you would not have the qualifications for it, you would not have the experience but if your business mind tells you to put your foot down, then you do exactly that, the worst that can happen is your decision would slow down the growth of your business a little bit, so be it, it is your business after all, who else would have more rights to screw it up than you, so why fear and always remember, “Every successful business has at least 2 or 3 failed business ideas behind it” – Good Night…