Group items tagged

Business Creating software is a business. Senior managers and team leaders expect you to behave in a certain way with your clients and partners. It's about having proper email etiquettes, behavior and responsibility when dealing with clients.  Also, it's good to have some management and leadership skills. You should be aware of the latest trends and activities in your area of specialization.

Recommended book : What They Don't Teach You at Harvard Business School by Mark McCormack.

Startup Few years back, I would have never considered working for a startup or even making something on my own. I thought it was better, and easier to get into big companies and get a good pay package and that's about it. But, after about a year of learning things on my own and trying to build something independently, I can't tell you how great it feels when you work for yourself. You are free to make that software or game that you always wanted to, but didn't have time or resources.

Creativity/Drawing It's a bit difficult to explain this exactly. But, I think being creative helps you a lot, in coming up with new solutions, or looking at problems through different angles. You can be creative in any field, and the best thing is, this quality stays with you when you try to solve tough programming problems.

Spiritual I am still not sure whether I should have included this one or not. The only reason I am including this is because, I have personally benefited a lot from this single quality more than any other skills/qualities I have mentioned before. For those who don't care about being spiritual, please note that it has got nothing to do with any religion, country or society. Anyone can be a spiritual person without even being religious(I am one).

You can just start with meditation by focusing on your breathe for 10-15 minutes daily. I would love to talk more about this.

Believe me, you will feel more calm, peace and satisfaction by being a spiritual person. You won't get irritated easily and almost never have stress again if you are able to practice this for a long time.

Recommended book : Zen Mind, Beginners Mind by Shunryu Suzuki. This is the toughest one to choose because, I have literally read at least a hundred books on this subject. Honestly, I only recommend this because I am currently reading it and found it really good.

"Founders tended to be middle-aged—40 years old on average—when they started their first companies. Nearly 70 percent were married when they became entrepreneurs, and nearly 60 percent had at least one child, challenging the stereotype of the entrepreneurial workaholic with no time for a family."

"The real hero is already home because she figured out a faster way to get things done.” In other words, the goal should never be more hours but quality output. 

“Workaholics aren’t heroes. They don’t save the day, they just use it up,"

On average, these masters practiced in 90-minute spurts, three times a week, and slept 8.6 hours a day. That doesn't sound anything like the average entrepreneur’s schedule, but maybe it should, because both entrepreneurs and violinists need to be competitive and creative.

Two books that change the way I looked at innovation and creativity, The Power of Pull and Imagine, encourage entrepreneurs to step outside their “worldview” and challenge their assumptions on a consistent basis, which is also known as “taking a break." 

It pays off to take breaks and remove yourself from your company. 

Refer a Friend One of the most common ways businesses spread their product and increase their viral coefficient (how many customers your current customers bring in) is through the use of referrals.

Contests Contests help users get energetic about your brand and the thought of winning something. If you’re creative enough with your contest design, it can also get you some PR. Dropbox has gained significant PR by having their annual “Dropquest” contest. Just Google Dropquest and you’ll see all the articles written about it. As a simple contest idea, a business can encourage users to tweet a pre-set message. This message can be about a recent feature. At random, the business can pick a person who tweeted out the message. Be creative and offer a big-time prize. You may get some PR and customers to boot. Avoid giving out a prize that’s unrelated to your business. Instead of giving them a car or a television, give them an upgrade.

If you’re a Netflix customer, you’ve probably noticed their promotional ads that come with the envelope the DVD’s are sent in. Many of them encourage you to give Netflix to a friend as a gift. According to Netflix, 75% of their customers come from these recommendations.

If you run a SaaS company, put a Like or Tweet button next to new feature announcements. You might be able to take advantage of user excitement and get them to share it with friends and followers. If your business has a blog, attach the Like and Tweet buttons next to every post. All of these social media buttons help get your product in front of more eyeballs and more prospective customers.

If I give this card to a friend, they receive a 25% discount. By spreading these products, I’m helping my friends by giving them a discount.

Your customers likely know a lot of people who are like them. This is especially true if you’re a SaaS company.

a customer could give a friend a trial of your product. So the friend receives the trial, and the customer gets some sort of discount or offer.