What next Mr. Ramadoss?

Mr. Ramadoss must be a very worried man right now. He must be thinking what can he take up next after banning smoking from films, and advising actors not to use liquor and chips (!!) in their movies? Here is an idea - he can ban showing cars in movies, and ban all car related ads too! Here is a perfectly good logic for that -

1. They pollute air which is certainly bad for health
2. Bigger sin - people get killed in car accidents

So if we dont show cars, younsters wont get influenced & will not buy cars. This would not only lead to safer roads and cleaner air, it would also force them to walk to their destination which is again very healthy!

Go ahead Mr. Ramadoss, and I am sure your last year in government would be as successful as your last four!

My Top 10 Things To Do For An Entrepreneur

Some of the things that have helped me in my entrepreneurial journey so far -

1. If starting as a team of 2 or more partners - make sure that you know each other well, and that you are ok with strengths and weaknesses of your partner. Starting an organization together is like getting into a marriage with your partners (you would actually be spending more time together then with your spouse!), so knowing each other, and ability to respect your partners is very important for long-term sustainability of relationship.
2. Have blind trust in your partners. However, create a framework (e.g. regular board meetings) which would allow any one of you to discuss any action/issue/initiative etc. - this is very helpful as it allows everyone to get together and brainstorm regularly, discuss and find solutions to specific problems, and diffuse tensions (if any).
3. Have a vision, and business plan in place when you start out. However, be flexible to change your plans as per requirement.
4. Make sure you have working capital, or source of working capital for the projected break-even date + 6 months (or more depending upon nature of your business). DO NOT START WITHOUT HAVING FINANCIALS IN PLACE (we have already faced failures in 4 initiatives because we started action before financial closure).
5. Burn all your boats - there is no other option for you other than making a glorious success out of your venture - it's with this attitude only that you can succeed. If you have an option to bail out, you most probably would take it when the going gets really tough.
6. Stop bothering about your peers salaries or progress. In my opinion this is one of the biggest reasons why bright, young entrepreneurs give up when their initial plans don't work out. Have complete confidence in yourself (remember that's the reason you started out in first place!), and believe me success would eventually come to you.
7. In continuation of the above only - Be Patient, & Persistent. Remember its not a 100 meter race - its the longest, and toughest marathon you would ever participate in, and it's all about being strong mentally and not necessarily about running the hardest.
8. Try understanding financial world (specially for techies who start out on their own) - take help from friends/seniors and keep your records straight from day one.
9. Always keep trying to differentiate yourself from your competition (by however small margin that may be). Not only will this help you sell yourself better to your customers, over period of time you would create an edge for yourself which your potential investors would appreciate and invest in.
10. Get good people as soon as possible, empower them to take decisions, let them know that failure is acceptable, and then let go of the reins. However, do put processes in place which would guide your team to stick to organization's vision, values, and objectives.

And most important of all - don't forget to have fun along the way!