Entrepreneurship
A Life of Commas. Not Full Stops !
Co-founder, ichiban Academy
Vijay Nicole Imprints Private Limited
CHENNAI
Vijay Nicole Imprints Private Limited
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Entrepreneurship —A Life of Commas, Not Full Stops!
ISBN: 978-81-8209-025-5
COPYRIGHT © 2011, Vijay Nicole Imprints Private Limited
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. No part of this work covered by the copyright hereon may be reproduced or used in any form or by any means—graphic, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording or taping, web distribution or information storage and retrieval systems— without the prior written permission of the publishers.
Information contained in this work is obtained by the publishers from sources believed to be reliable. The publisher and its authors make no representation or warranties with respect to accuracy or completeness of the contents of this book, and shall be in no event liable for any errors, omissions or damages arising out of use of this information, and specifically disclaim any implied warranties or merchantability or fitness for any particular purpose.
Laser typeset at: Maven Learning Private Limited, Chennai - 600 091
Dedication
our parents for giving us life and allowing us to live it our voau
Contents
Acknowledgements
Making this book a reality is in many ways a first step for us young writers. Though we have been writing in different formats, putting together this book has reinforced the importance of an ecosystem in the creation of anything unique and different. Just like how a seed turns into a sapling and eventually a plant, a number of people in their own capacity, have played critical roles in bringing out the book—right from germinating the idea, boosting our confidence that this project was possible, motivating us to actually go for it to being there through the entire process.
We thank our parents for allowing us to do one more thing in our lives that didn't seem too rationally incremental. There were many instances when they had to assume other roles, apart from that of a parent, to help us maintain sanity. And for this one reason alone, we feel this and every other work that we produce, if dedicated to them will still fall short in the expression of our gratitude for them.
After our parents, our thanks are due to our teachers for being a source of inspiration.
As we started off as entrepreneurs and independent thinkers, life has played its role as a true teacher. To enable us learn wonderful lessons and grow as individuals, our clients and well wishers need salutes and not just thanks. While we have learnt from everyone who partnered with us and/or gave us an opportunity to partner, in our first book we would like to specially thank all of our earliest clients whose relationship we continue to cherish and respect. When most of the world was finding reasons why we could not be encouraged, these were the few people who dared to trust us. Hence our special salute goes to Mr Madhu Ratnayake, Mr Navneeth, Mr Venkat Ramani and Mr Vijaya Krishnan for starting us off on our journey.
From the day we decided to take this unchartered path, we have had a variety of experiences which are shaping us and our thinking, very subtly. During this period we have been blessed to have certain special people who took special interest and care to ensure that we are being shaped right. Some call them teachers, some call them mentors—and we truly do not think it is justified to bucket them and limit their contribution. These individuals have taken time off from their busy schedules to give our thoughts patient hearing, give us advise and direction, pose harsh reality checks and most of all not allow us to drift down the wrong path. We would like to thank today Ms Swati Srinivasan, Mr Omar Mohammed, Mr Srinath Jagannathan, Mr S A Raghunathanan and Ms Rajalakshmi for being there for us in our journey.
As we thank the ecosystem, two special people cannot be thanked enough for getting us into another ecosystem called National Entrepreneurship Network (NEN). From the moment of coming in touch with these two wonderful women—the journey just got even more exciting. While we take this opportunity to acknowledge and thank the tremendous support that NEN has brought to all aspiring entrepreneurs, our special thanks goes to Ms Sujaya Rao and Ms Vishnu Priya for being a part of our dreams!
Through NEN network and our other teaching engagements we have come in touch with the clan Gen-Y, our students. They have been a source of energy, ideas and many times, inspiration. We would like to acknowledge their love and their contribution to ichiban's journey today and tomorrow.
Raj would like to acknowledge the undying support and love of his younger sister Ramya who continues to be a pillar of strength in his life and thank his wife Rekha, for her patience and steadfast support in this journey.
Meera would like to thank Neela Krishnan, her mom and Mrs and Mr K Shankar who have been there in so many ways for her, that without them she cannot today, even dare to dream. Meera's son Jayanth, who has been both her worst critic and best fan, has a large part to play in this and every other milestone.
This book would not have happened without Mr P K Madhavan's interest and inclination towards publishing this book. From the very first meeting we found ourselves comfortable and in right hands, with Vijay Nicole. We thank him and his team at Vijay Nicole for making this book possible.
-Authors
Author Profile
Raj Shankar the founder of ichiban Academy, considers himself more a student of management science rather than a consultant or a teacher. Avid reader and writer, Raj divides his time between his teaching engagements and consulting for small businesses. Raj Shankar has a Masters in International Business from Symbiosis Institute of International Business. Raj can be reached at ichiban.raj@gmail.com
Meera Krishnan the co-founder of ichiban Academy, loves to work with and around people. Driven by a keen sense of curiosity, Meera derives her inspiration from her students, son and life at large. She is a post graduate from IIT Mumbai. Meera can be reached at ichiban.meera@gmail.com
From the Dreamer’s Desk
16.06,2008, e-mail from Raj Shankar, from where it all started
It is just more dreams that make us breathe...
Thought I should share some thoughts and let the ideation process to get going within our prestigious organization. I think the very feeling that we are part of a purpose filled and respected organization should make us walk tall. We should always retain this focus on "shining by contrast to competition". We should do things which others can’t imagine. We must pave the way for a larger group of like-minded people to join us and make ichiban a positive phenomenon in society. We must produce the leaders of tomorrow and in that lies our giving back, to what many others have given us.
How can we shine by contrast? We at ichiban must strive in every task to be the best and not accept anything less. We must always be on the look out for opportunities to wow the customer. Every one of us will make it a point to do something more than what we can imagine of ourselves. We will thereby do our parents, siblings, children, relatives, teachers, alma mater proud of our achievement. To this let us set ourselves a goal, a simple goal of being humble human beings before anything else and always.
Our ichiban today represents a youthful organization which is responsible, trusted, knowledgeable, entrepreneurial, friendly, fun-loving, innovative, professional and delightful. By keeping all this true, perennially, we will ensure all these adjectives get associated with the brand, the brand called "ichiban Consultants"—which is nothing but you and me. It great to be SIX today, and it will be even greater when we are SIXTY and then SIX HUNDRED!! There are no limitations in the world of dreams. Let's dream together and this oneness in our dreams will take us far.
Let us try to always be on the look out for simple ideas, like-minded people, good businesses, lovely customers and great vendors. We should be sure we grow steadily and more importantly soundly. Our foundation should be our strength as we move into the unknown and unpredictable future. We will be cautious in our approach to every aspect of the organization. We will learn from all possible sources.
Growth@ichiban should be a norm. We should grow faster than it is thought possible, but soundly (re iterate). Let ichiban be nourished by strong minds. Growth is everyone's business, EVERYONE'S!
All of us directly/indirectly will help ichiban grow. No job is unimportant and there is no place for the 80/20 rule. We at ichiban should create opportunities, jobs, and help others find lives by doing this. We grow as ichiban grows, and ichiban grows as we help our clients grow, and all this results in an overall growth in the industry, economy and society.
It is our responsibility!! Let us set the momentum rolling, TODAY. Ask what the best are doing. Also ask what the better should be doing. Let's do both.
Looking forward to hearing from each and every one of you on how we can live this dream every day in the future...
Have a great week!
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