An Entrepreneur's Diary

Articles and insights in an entrepreneur's diary

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An Entrepreneur's Diary13 articles
How to beat Goliath
An Entrepreneur's Diary

How to beat Goliath

You are among those to whom personal safety is not Goal # 1 in life. You are among those who recognize that everything has a price and that if you want to achieve great things, you have to be prepared to pay the price they demand. It’s not that you don’t recognize the danger. To recognize danger is a sign of intelligence and you are no fool. It is that you are willing to take the risk for the reward. So you ignore the advice and step forward.

4 min read
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Challenges for the Entrepreneur
An Entrepreneur's Diary

Challenges for the Entrepreneur

Entrepreneurship is the logical psychological progression of the individual which marks his/her maturity as an adult who is willing to take responsibility for themselves and the world around them. Entrepreneurship with the right frame of reference represents all that is good about the human condition because it reflects not only the drive to do something good for oneself but also for others.

16 min read
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Entrepreneurship Dilemmas & Their Answers
An Entrepreneur's Diary

Entrepreneurship Dilemmas & Their Answers

Every time we stand and say, “I am ready!” a challenge will come forward. If we see the challenge and run away then we are back to square one. It is only when we take a step forward towards the challenge that we actively make the choice which will lead to victory. Notice that I use the word ‘will’ instead of ‘may, can or probably’. That is because I speak as an entrepreneur who knows that every time you take a firm step in the direction of the challenge, victory has already been written. The first step is a sign of that.

13 min read
businesscourage
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I want to start a business
An Entrepreneur's Diary

I want to start a business

The desire for entrepreneurship is a strong natural urge which in my view is the logical development of leadership in a person, which encourages him/her to become independent and strike out on their own. In days of old, they called it, ‘seeking your fortune’, which ranged from traveling across the world to trade, to buccaneering and banditry masquerading as adventure and conquest. Be that as it may, the crux of the matter was as in the song, “A man and his will to survive”, where you pit your wit and overcome challenges and build a future for yourself, different and better than your compatriots ‘back home’. That spirit remains to this day as I believe it is a primordial urge and the fulfillment of all that one aspires for. Today, that is usually in setting up a business of your own, becoming an entrepreneur. Not quite as dangerous physically as sailing the high seas on a Dhow or Clipper ship or leading an army across the land but equally anxiety generating in terms of facing the possibility of financial ruin for oneself and one’s family.

21 min read
commitmentcourage
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America first time
An Entrepreneur's Diary

America first time

Building bridges is about focusing on commonalities, not differences. It is about inviting. Not forcing. It is also not about compromising our principles to become ‘acceptable’ to others.  In this life you can be one of two things. You can be a wall builder or a bridge builder. I am a bridge builder. That is because walls keep people apart while bridges give them a way to meet. Building bridges is not about bringing someone from one side of the canyon to the other. But to create a way where they can visit the world on the other side. Sometimes the first meetings happen on the bridge itself. That is the benefit of a bridge. You can meet on it, suspended high about the abyss, but safe from falling.   That is what I am, a bridge builder.

16 min read
building bridgesbusiness
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No risk, no gain
An Entrepreneur's Diary

No risk, no gain

I believe that for consultants the two things which are most important are demonstrable self-development and articles and books. If you can demonstrate that you pay and work for your own development and if you publish regularly, it is a competitive advantage, and you stand out from your competition. The joy of entrepreneurship is that it puts your development in your own hands.

28 min read
businesscompetition
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First Breakthrough
An Entrepreneur's Diary

First Breakthrough

Integrity for me has always been an all-or-nothing value. Like the famous quote, ‘You can’t be slightly pregnant,’ I believe that you can’t be slightly dishonest. But of course, you must be willing to pay the price for your convictions. I got a reputation in the market for being completely inflexible on ethical matters. The result of it was that to this day, no client of mine including multinationals like GE, Motorola, Microsoft, and others have ever asked me to sign an NDA (non-disclosure agreement) which is a standard policy with them. That is a badge of honor for me. Many clients also invite me to very sensitive board meetings and policy formulation discussions, knowing full well that their competitors are also my clients. That is because they know how strongly I respect confidentiality and that whatever I participate in, remains with me, and will never go to anyone else.

14 min read
clientcommitment
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The Journey
An Entrepreneur's Diary

The Journey

I have always had an abundance mentality and happily share my thoughts, ideas, even intellectual resources with anyone who asks, including my potential competitors. Some of them, now good friends, have asked me why I give away my ‘capital’. I do it for two reasons. Nobody owns thought and knowledge. You get it from someone or somewhere, you add to it and use it and bless those who shared with you. Secondly, the only way to grow knowledge is to share it. The more you share, the more returns to you value added. Hoard it and it shrivels, and you take it to your grave.

15 min read
challengedestination
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Paying my dues
An Entrepreneur's Diary

Paying my dues

Entrepreneurs make active choices. When one sees a successful entrepreneur at his peak, one tends to forget all that he had to do to get there. Entrepreneurs make what others call ‘sacrifice’ but which the entrepreneur himself knows is an investment in his own learning and development. He knows that without this investment in time, effort, and money he will not be able to live his dream.

11 min read
businessclients
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Step One
An Entrepreneur's Diary

Step One

If those who taught me had charged me a fee, I would never have been able to pay it. That is why I don’t charge anyone a fee if they want my advice in learning to be trainers. Having said that, I have yet to find anyone who had the determination and willingness that I did, to do whatever it takes to learn. I don’t mean to boast but to drive home the point that if you want a mentor to do his best for you, you must demonstrate to him that you are worth his while. And that means making no excuses, doing what it takes to demonstrate total commitment, and demonstrate your learning so that the mentor also feels satisfied with the teaching. For my part, I doubt if they could have found a more willing and attentive student. And they appreciated it.

21 min read
businessclients
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Breaking Free
An Entrepreneur's Diary

Breaking Free

Entrepreneurship is about taking charge of your own life. It takes a lot of courage, some insanity, strategic thinking, a thick skin, boundless energy, resilience like a truck tyre, sincerity, and hunger to succeed. If you don’t have these, get them. They are on the discount shelf in Walmart. You don’t think so? You are right. You can’t buy these. You must earn them. With sweat, tears and sometimes blood. I did. And this is my story.

9 min read
anxietyeffort
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Entrepreneurship is the ultimate test of commitment
An Entrepreneur's Diary

Entrepreneurship is the ultimate test of commitment

Entrepreneurship is all about spirit. But first we must recognize our purpose and then we need to consciously accept it. That is the scary part. But that is the threshold that must be crossed to demonstrate that we are in and not out. Choices are not always easy. As a matter of fact, all the important ones are difficult. The most difficult thing is to choose between two apparently good alternatives. But the choice must be made. Everything else depends on that.

6 min read
choicefreedom
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