Can you tell a little about the firm history and milestones achieved by you?

 [History] The first milestone that the organization reached was to gain a customer base. For a while, the focus was only on targeting the audience and attracting customers to the organization. At the start, it proved to be very difficult because the firm still didn’t have a firm ground to stand on. In its primitive stages, it was crucial for the organization to gain customers and there was a major hurdle of how to attract them in the way.

There were different ways through which the audience could be reached and it only made the choice of choosing the most effective way of reaching difficult. For days, the priority was to find a medium through which audience could be attracted immediately. Gradually, a gamble was made on combining social media with traditional media. Mainly, Facebook and Twitter were used to advertise the organization. They proved to be the primary methods while TV advertisement was the secondary method.

            Using social media allowed the organization to use creative advertisements and effective messages for building an internet presence. It took a month before results began to be produced. Clients began to contact the firm and sales were made.

At first, clients only tried to test the services but it took only a little time for them to come back and contact the organization for real. This was the first milestone which was achieved by the organization. The second milestone was to make a loyal customer base by keeping clients satisfied. In order to do that, the expectations and requirements of clients were analyzed closely. In fact, after analyzing them, different strategies and plans were studied thoroughly for making the most reasonable and plausible one which could produce the expected results.

After making an effective strategy, it was implemented and results were evaluated. Consumer patterns were analyzed and it was determined that customers had been satisfied. This process took several months before the management could say that the organization had a solid base of customers. This was the second milestone that was accomplished by the organization.

            The third and most important milestone was to expand the organization. For two years, the organization had been successful in making sales and revenues had also increased. The firm was profitable but the revenues were not substantial enough to grow without taking loans. Though there was an option that the organization could continue to function at the existing size and grow when there were adequate revenues.

However, this option could not be considered because the market demographics were not only stable but also appeared to be profitable. If this opportunity wasn’t taken the organization could have missed a great opportunity which might not even come again. Thus, the risk was taken and in order to operate without taking loans, costs were raised but clients continued to reach the firm and sales did not decrease. In only a short time, the organization had become stable and costs were lowered again.

Entrepreneurship Style

Opportunity Recognition: Although there have been several opportunities recognized and utilized by the entrepreneur, one of the most important ones was concerned with purchasing a small firm and combining with it.

This opportunity appeared after the organization had been established for five years. All the processes and operations of the firm had been effective in the last five years. They were being managed effectively and profits were also being made but the growth of firm had been nonexistent for two years. The management was significantly concerned due to it and there was no opportunity which could be utilized for expanding. Then suddenly, a competitor decided to close the organization and finish operations. It was a relatively small firm and management believed that it was the right opportunity to use.

Exploitation: Once it was recognized as an opportunity, a team was set up which included senior manager and the entrepreneur himself to find more about the opportunity.

The aim of this team was concerned with finding more information about the opportunity and whether it was plausible to even take this opportunity or not. After studying the demographics of the opportunity, the idea of purchasing the firm was presented to the board of directors. Their opinions were asked and it was analyzed if the future appeared to be profitable or not after taking this opportunity.

New Venture: After determining this opportunity to be profitable, a deal was made with the owners of that firm and it was purchased. Before making the deal, all stakeholders were told about the change that was going to be implemented and they were informed beforehand about what they should be doing.

Their work would remain the same but they would be required to communicate with the new staff. In a week, the firm was purchased and it took only a month for the management to integrate all processes and start anew. In order to manage this large-scale organization, new positions were opened and employees were hired.

It took only a month or so before the organization started to function in the same manner. The only issue was that existing employees were not comfortable with the new ones.

Existence of the Firm: In order to survive in the market, new strategies were implemented which focused more on human resources and less on organizational processes. For instance, several activities were held which required employees to work with each other in a collaborative manner. Teams were made and they were given goals to accomplish. This way, employees worked with each other to reach mutual objectives and effective teams were rewarded.

            This strategy proved to be quite effective in changing and improving the dynamics of the workforce. In the workplace, an innovative culture was developed in which employees were not hesitant to communicate with each other. This also enabled the firm to benefit from the enhanced productivity which was resulted from a better workplace culture.

Major Challenges

What are the major challenges faced by you?

Past Challenges: As described before, the most significant challenges faced by the organization in the past were concerned with attracting customers in its primitive stages and expanding after five years of working in the market. These are considered important because they led to unparalleled success in the market.

            For any firm, starting in the market and making profits is one of the greatest challenges. For example, imagine you have just started an organization and you have to make sales now. However, you don’t have any customers to purchase your product or service. What will you do? This was the same question that took the entrepreneur several days to answer. The second challenge was to expand the firm after five years of operations.

The organization had not been growing for three years and it was a significant time. Although it was producing profits but there was not even a single opportunity which could be taken to practice growth.

Responses: In order to overcome the challenge of targeting customers, digital media was utilized. It had been several days before the entrepreneur gambled to use both traditional and social media to advertise the organization and target consumers. Social media was utilized more and it proved to be effective in building online presence of the firm. Gradually, social media users were attracted to the firm and sales began to be produced.

            The opportunity of purchasing another firm and integrating with it posed a significant risk to the firm because the integration was complex and there was not substantial personnel for handling the changed produced by this integration.

However, this risk was taken and integration became successful because changes had been communicated effectively throughout the firm, to employees and to all other stakeholders. Thus, stakeholders were prepared for this integration and when it really took place, they didn’t resist the change but rather accepted it.

Present Challenges: The most important challenges that the organization is facing at the moment are concerned with providing flexible working hours and lenience to employees. In a recent survey, it was determined by the management that employees frequently suggested that flexibility and leniency should be provided to them since some employees are married while some are in relationships.

They have their social lives and need some time to spend with their families. However, this hasn’t been an easy task because workload is increasing even after hiring new workers.

Responses: Since these challenges have occurred in the present time, new strategies haven’t been implemented. However, they are ready and require some time.

For instance, in order to provide flexible working hours and lenience to workers, workload has been decreased and new employees have bene hired. It would serve to decrease the workload and also enable the firm to allow workers to not come on time but also reduce some of their work without affecting their wages. This strategy hasn’t been implemented in the firm but planning is complete and it has been analyzed that it will fulfill the requirements of workers.

Reflections of the Entrepreneur

If you were given a choice, what would you do differently?

            Actually, there are several mistakes which I have made in my career. Ever since I have been running my organization, I have never taken a decision without taking guidance from the board of directors. All of my employees know that I don’t make a plan or a decision without having an extensive discussion about it. There was a time, however, when I used to take decisions all by myself without listening to any person. I believed that I could easily implement a process or a change. This thinking was supported by the effectiveness that I normally acquired whenever I performed an operation.

            Gradually, I began to work solely and I stopped depending on one of most trusted business partners. I didn’t even involve him in what I was planning to do and how I should even approach the issue. Rather than that, I planned, worked, and implemented a process. It wasn’t long before I faced the consequences of such an approach.

            I believed that employees could work in a better way if I created a new system of providing them with half of their wage if they met the performance standards. Although this system appeared to be efficient, it had a serious flaw in it. The system identified all employees underperformed and deductions were made. In only a short time, all of the employees began to resist the new system and intentionally performed below the standards. When they were asked about the reason for their underperformance, they consulted me and resigned from their posts. After resigning from their posts, they explained that rather than imposing a change on them, I should have asked them if they even wanted this new policy or not.

            This not only influenced the organization but also how I used to think. This is a mistake that I cannot forget because those employees were more than just a little valuable. They had helped the firm when it required them the most and when they needed support, I was unable to provide it to them. If I had the chance, I would change the decision that I made in the past.

            Although it was a significant mistake, it taught me something which has made me successful. I got to know that employees are the most important asset of the firm and as long as a firm has the support of its workers, it can survive any challenge. I learnt from the mistake that whenever a new decision or policy must be made, employees should be consulted first. Their opinions should be obtained and it should be analyzed if employees are even looking for a change or not.

In every plan, I take suggestions from my business partner and my employees, which allows me to create an effective strategy.

Personal Question

How did the idea of business come to you and do you think anyone can start a business?

Response: Well, that is an interesting question. I have been asked about the idea but no one really asked about whether anyone can start a business or not. You see, I was still a student when I thought about becoming a businessman just like all students do.

I used to study and never really worked on it until I graduated. Even though I wanted to be a businessman, I never really had an idea about the business. It wasn’t until I worked on a project of mine with my friend and we thought about working on the idea to start a business.

            That was the beginning of my journey and for years, I only worked on the required resources for running the business. When I usually think about it now, I say to myself that if I hadn’t talked about the idea with my friend back then, maybe we wouldn’t be here and I would be working for someone else. What I mean to say that it was an opportunity that I unintentionally utilized and worked on it. Honestly, I am not a genius and even though I might be an entrepreneur, it doesn’t mean that as soon as I started schooling, an idea occurred to me and I continued to work on it. No, I took help from my close people and I even took guidance from my parents to understand whether this idea was even effective or not.

            I took help, failed several times, and achieved success when things almost became impossible. The road that I have covered was tough but rather than giving up, I didn’t lose hope until there was no returning back.

            Now, coming to your second question, I believe that anyone can start a business. As long as you know that you wouldn’t give up even if circumstances became difficult, you can lead your firm to success.

If I consider myself, even after discovering the idea, I worked for years until I didn’t have substantial resources to start the business and enter into the market. It was not only difficult but also tiring. Starting a business is not magic and in order to run a firm, you have to bear the pain. I still remember how I could not sleep due to work stress as I used to work overtime just to accumulate resources and facilitate my family.

 If you have an idea, you can work on it, but it doesn't mean that you should invest everything you have in it and become empty-handed. Rather than that, you should be smart and start working. For instance, you can begin working at an office and gain relevant experience until you believe that you have sufficient knowledge about it. Until you have everything you need, you should not stop working. Even if you start low, you will rise to greatness one day.