Why business does not come to us naturally

[vgane]

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I am not alluding to small individual initiatives to help stand on ones own leg like giving tuition etc...These are commendable but there is not much money to be made here..

Even in so called start ups in the IT/ITES fields we will find the enterprising Tambrahm ones a rare commodity

We are at the cusp of a digital revolution and whoever succeeds he or she will be the next (Facebook) Mark Zuckerberg's

Other areas are bio tech, cloud, analytics, nano tech, genetics, neuro tech, bio electronics, neuro informatics

 

[vgane]

An interesting article on Isreal which has the highest no of startups per capita in the world that are nurturing innovative ideas

What I liked most is the following statement

"You have 20-year-old kids here; their education is not to follow instructions, but to lead and solve problems,"

What makes Israel with just eight million people, an innovation hub - Economic Times

 

[krish44]

I am not alluding to small individual initiatives to help stand on ones own leg like giving tuition etc...These are commendable but there is not much money to be made here..

Even in so called start ups in the IT/ITES fields we will find the enterprising Tambrahm ones a rare commodity

We are at the cusp of a digital revolution and whoever succeeds he or she will be the next (Facebook) Mark Zuckerberg's

Other areas are bio tech, cloud, analytics, nano tech, genetics, neuro tech, bio electronics, neuro informatics

One lady in india Ms Kiran Mazumdar Shaw concentrated on biotech and she is the richest woman in india
areas like cloud computing,analytics,nano there are a lot of south indians. definitely one or two will come up with enterprise. I do not know much about others to comment

 

[vsubbu48]

there is a brilliant book Good dad and bad Dad. - it is about what should be taught to make a person generate wealth with enterprise and risk taking. A must read for brahmin parents and others who are wary of business

Is it not 'Rich Dad, Poor Dad'?

 

[prasad1]

In India, particularly among TB's in the 1930 it was aversion to risk. The 60 brought us a little bit of risk tolerance, at least people started to invest in stock markets. Now the average TB who comes out of Chennai is willing to take more risk, and may also start a business.

The traditional business community of Gujarati, Panjabi, and others have more tolerance for risk.

 

[Raji Ram]

behind every successful artist there is a meek husband managing the show. one famous carnatic singers husband committed suicide when his wife did not let him manage her career

Not necessary Sir! Some husbands are leading in their own field and the singer wife manages on her own.

The singer I mentioned does not depend on her husband to travel. She is smart enough to manage on her own! :thumb:

 

[kunjuppu]

So, Kunjuppu Sir, Music seems to yield more money! opcorn:

dear raji,

as one who is familiar with both natyam and music scene in chennai, you are probably right.

the parphernalia and set up costs for natyam is huge. though for many it is a one time big investment, and only upgrades later, the musician has a comparatively simpler life and group. not sure whether one can make a living out of playing pakkavaadyams.

we had a neighbour, karaikudi muthu iyer, a famous mridangam vidwan. taught all his students free. great man. but always lived on the borderhood of financial need.

 

[vgane]

Is it not 'Rich Dad, Poor Dad'?

Thanks Subbu...This is a wonderful book...26 million copies sold..Here goes the book in pdf form

View attachment RICH-DAD-POOR-DAD.pdf

 

[prasad1]

We may not be Ambani, Birla, or Tata, but there are people in this forum who have had success. One member's spouse had a successful company that was sold for a huge profit. This same person's son is a successful business man, running his own company.
Dr. Renuka runs her practice which is a business. My family members in USA are running dance academy with about 150 students, and I understand it is very lucrative business.

These are just examples from our own community. Mr. Praveen is a businessman at such an young age. So the pendulum has swung to the positive side for TB's to start and be successful in business.

 

[biswa]

Two words: Risk aversion.

 

[renuka]

When it comes to running business..just one word of caution...if you are a person who will never bend or break rules and follow the law to the dot and will not resort to Adharmic means to sustain business it is better to venture out on our own and be the sole proprietor or choose a partner who thinks like you and be sure that the partner wont change his mindset after seeing money.

 

[renuka]

Raji madam too runs her own music class that generates income.

Dr Narayani too runs her own practice.

I think there are many self employed people in Forum.

Out here in Malaysia..teachers make good money by running tuition centers and exam coaching classes.

Since TBs have been always been academically inclined TBs should think to start a chain of Tuition centers and allow franchise to create job opportunities too.

These centers should also allow some college students on part time basis to coach young school kids so that the college students too are able to earn some income and get used to the idea of standing on one's own feet.


Out here Education Business is very lucrative.

 

[krish44]

Not necessary Sir! Some husbands are leading in their own field and the singer wife manages on her own.

The singer I mentioned does not depend on her husband to travel. She is smart enough to manage on her own! :thumb:

there are some rare cases. such ladies are then smart enough to leave their husbands behind when they travel outside the city for programs. such a thing may not be possible in India where womens safety is a big issue. the husband who committed suicide did so because his wife wanted to manage her music career independently without him for various reasons

 

[krish44]

We may not be Ambani, Birla, or Tata, but there are people in this forum who have had success. One member's spouse had a successful company that was sold for a huge profit. This same person's son is a successful business man, running his own company.
Dr. Renuka runs her practice which is a business. My family members in USA are running dance academy with about 150 students, and I understand it is very lucrative business.

These are just examples from our own community. Mr. Praveen is a businessman at such an young age. So the pendulum has swung to the positive side for TB's to start and be successful in business.

there are some rare cases where spouses and children run their business smartly. Dance as I see in this forum appears to be lucrative. but small time musicians such as accompanying artists do not do well. they die in penury.

 

[krish44]

When it comes to running business..just one word of caution...if you are a person who will never bend or break rules and follow the law to the dot and will not resort to Adharmic means to sustain business it is better to venture out on our own and be the sole proprietor or choose a partner who thinks like you and be sure that the partner wont change his mindset after seeing money.

business has its own code of ethics which TBs may not understand .it is not 100percent dharmic. money and profit are the main dharma. those who disdain these should not go near it. sole proprietory business is risky. always blunder together and learn to run the business. also the basic belief should be -customer is king and whether what you do is fair to all

 

[krish44]

Thanks Subbu...This is a wonderful book...26 million copies sold..Here goes the book in pdf form

View attachment 3373

my business philosophy is based on this book. A must read for all youngsters wanting to make it big in life.It changes your thinking on what youngsters should be taught to be successful money wise in free society

 

[krish44]

Raji madam too runs her own music class that generates income.

Dr Narayani too runs her own practice.

I think there are many self employed people in Forum.

Out here in Malaysia..teachers make good money by running tuition centers and exam coaching classes.

Since TBs have been always been academically inclined TBs should think to start a chain of Tuition centers and allow franchise to create job opportunities too.

These centers should also allow some college students on part time basis to coach young school kids so that the college students too are able to earn some income and get used to the idea of standing on one's own feet.


Out here Education Business is very lucrative.

money is only in services -as self employed in this forum are discovering-never manufacture anything
lot of ladies from B schools and post graduates are working from home in online jobs related to finance and marketing research and maths tuitions and doing homework for students in foriegn countries. online translation of documents in indian to foreign and viceversa is very big business . These ladies are unable to leave home due to domestic commitments. there are some TB chartered accountants who free lance as guest lecturers in B schools on week ends
I have forgotten the most important -be a middle man and rake in the money on arbitrage oppurtunities. you can make a lot of money with common sense and brahmin brains.

 

[renuka]

business has its own code of ethics which TBs may not understand .it is not 100percent dharmic. money and profit are the main dharma. those who disdain these should not go near it. sole proprietory business is risky. always blunder together and learn to run the business. also the basic belief should be -customer is king and whether what you do is fair to all

Dear Sir,

Why cant business be Dharmic?

One does not have to 'cheat' to gain profit.

I personally know a few doctors who under declare their income...that is one reason why I never wanted to be a partner with anyone cos many docs make all sorts of deals with the accountants to under declare income.

Actually it is always safe to be overboard cos we have responsibility to the country too.Under declaring income does not help the economy of the country in the long run.

It is of no use if only one person is rich and everyone else suffers.

As long we do our duties right..we can never be on the wrong side of anything.

Sole proprietor is not risky...that is how a person starts small scale and when business improves we can venture into more as time goes on.

Many doctor here have started out on their own and then ventured out to Franchising their Clinics and the returns are very high.

Its always better to start low scale first..test the waters..so in case there is a loss it would not be that great a loss.

When I first started my practice I made sure I had enough back up money in case business did not work out..I did not depend on husband cos I wanted to feel how business will be.

So I imagined a worst case scenario..that is what if the business takes 1 year to show profit and what will I do meanwhile to run it? So I made sure I had 1 years amount of money to run the business in case it took a longer time to catch up.

Back up plan is always important..make sure back up plans are there.

Many of my friends did not have back up plan and depended on their spouses to help them till their practice caught up.That obviously ate into the savings of their spouses which in my opinion is not that good cos in case business fails..the whole family savings need not come down with that.

Business is all about smart planning and try not to depend on loans too unless its a big time multi dollar investment.

 

[Raji Ram]

there are some rare cases. such ladies are then smart enough to leave their husbands behind when they travel outside the city for programs. such a thing may not be possible in India where womens safety is a big issue. the husband who committed suicide did so because his wife wanted to manage her music career independently without him for various reasons

There are many divorces but this extreme step is very very rare!

 

[krish44]

Dear Sir,

Why cant business be Dharmic?

One does not have to 'cheat' to gain profit.

I personally know a few doctors who under declare their income...that is one reason why I never wanted to be a partner with anyone cos many docs make all sorts of deals with the accountants to under declare income.

Actually it is always safe to be overboard cos we have responsibility to the country too.Under declaring income does not help the economy of the country in the long run.

It is of no use if only one person is rich and everyone else suffers.

As long we do our duties right..we can never be on the wrong side of anything.

Sole proprietor is not risky...that is how a person starts small scale and when business improves we can venture into more as time goes on.

Many doctor here have started out on their own and then ventured out to Franchising their Clinics and the returns are very high.

Its always better to start low scale first..test the waters..so in case there is a loss it would not be that great a loss.

When I first started my practice I made sure I had enough back up money in case business did not work out..I did not depend on husband cos I wanted to feel how business will be.

So I imagined a worst case scenario..that is what if the business takes 1 year to show profit and what will I do meanwhile to run it? So I made sure I had 1 years amount of money to run the business in case it took a longer time to catch up.

Back up plan is always important..make sure back up plans are there.

Many of my friends did not have back up plan and depended on their spouses to help them till their practice caught up.That obviously ate into the savings of their spouses which in my opinion is not that good cos in case business fails..the whole family savings need not come down with that.

Business is all about smart planning and try not to depend on loans too unless its a big time multi dollar investment.

I was talking about business dhama and not cheating anyone. I clearly mentioned we should be fair to all .
solo has its advantages. you are answerable only to yourself. it puts a lot of pressure. wonderful to have a plan B
small interest loans for small professional businesses if available in your country can give you wonderful arbitrage oppurtuniities.
In india women enterpreneurs can have a gala time with small interest loans and various subsidies such as power other utilities,backward area concessions etc. they can float self help group of minimum 5 nos and an obliging bank manager will happily part with money at low interest. of course a middleman may also crop up somewhere

 

[kunjuppu]

.....
Business is all about smart planning and try not to depend on loans too unless its a big time multi dollar investment.

dear renus,

i dont know how it is in msia. whether you have a govt aided health plan for all citizens. or people have to take care of it on their own or through health schemes at work or thru insurance.

in canada, the doctor is essentially an employee of the govt. which pays him a set fee for each type of examination. the client pays nothing. out of this money, the doctor has to pay his expenses - which is usually a rental fee in a hospital or consulting building or in small towns, an office space.

in addition he has to pay a secretary, a nurse, electronic filing and such. but the beauty is that it is a single billing system for the doctor. he charges the govt on a single sheet per patient per visit and get reimbursed. there is ofcourse audit, and even my family doctor, a well established university prof also, for whom we got papers from the govt asking for verification

specialists are available only through referrals. in the rural areas, it is a captive market for both doctors and specialists. but in toronto, where choice is aplenty, it is chummy clannish friendship which makes the specialist his/her money. here the jews are at an advantage as they have a large set of specialists and get referred by their doctor colleagues. chinese/indians are just breaking into this.

the specialists appointments and surgeries are done per need. for example, someone we know, had been diagnosed with gall bladder infection, and also suspected through biopsy of being cancerous. surgery within 10 days. others non life threatening can take months. but all is free and the poorest and the richest get the same quality care.

doctors also own buildings and labs here. but it is illegal to even suggest they go to a particular lab. if word gets around (because some indian doctors tried the same tricks they do in india) they get delicensed

 

[renuka]

I was talking about business dhama and not cheating anyone. I clearly mentioned we should be fair to all .
solo has its advantages. you are answerable only to yourself. it puts a lot of pressure. wonderful to have a plan B
small interest loans for small professional businesses if available in your country can give you wonderful arbitrage oppurtuniities.
In india women enterpreneurs can have a gala time with small interest loans and various subsidies such as power other utilities,backward area concessions etc. they can float self help group of minimum 5 nos and an obliging bank manager will happily part with money at low interest. of course a middleman may also crop up somewhere

Yes..small interest loans are available but its better to not depend too much on that so that if business fails we do not get into debts.

Before venturing into own business..work for someone else first and SAVE!

I did not start my own practice right away.

I worked for 2 senior doctors day and night to save up for my own practice.I saved like hell.

I Observed how they ran their business etc asked them guidance.

Made all contacts with drug companies that supplied them and kept all contacts with medical representative and suppliers too.

Then after I had gained enough experience I chose a location far far away from my ex bosses.

I know some idiot docs who worked for other doctors and then build up a clientele and opened near by and to "steal" patients from their former work places.

I dont believe in doing that..If we learnt from someone..never make his business fall becos of you.
Open a clinic in a total far away location so that you do not bite the hand that fed you.

 

[Jaykay767]

Many TB’s have entered the business field in the last 20yrs !! so for a community that was traditionally in learning, teaching,technical jobs etc… this is a big jump.

However, I think some of the people here assume, thatdoing business is something great & hence we need to do in !!. Grass isalways greener on the other side.

In the past, there was a case to do business given thatJobs were few in India due to the socialist mess.

Today, there is NO point in doing business, if you canearn fantastic salaries in MNC. If you exclude the really big businesses whichare less than 1%, the rest are struggling with hand to mouth in Business.

People working in MNC’s have made huge money,particularly if you can become a Director/VP, then it is even more.

As TB’s, we need to be smart & do what it takes tomake money with smart effort. Lets NOT get carried away by this “business isgreat “ idea & misguide our younger generation to mess up their lives !!!

 

[tks]

Dear Sir,

Why cant business be Dharmic?

One does not have to 'cheat' to gain profit.

I personally know a few doctors who under declare their income...that is one reason why I never wanted to be a partner with anyone cos many docs make all sorts of deals with the accountants to under declare income.

Actually it is always safe to be overboard cos we have responsibility to the country too.Under declaring income does not help the economy of the country in the long run.

It is of no use if only one person is rich and everyone else suffers.

As long we do our duties right..we can never be on the wrong side of anything.

Sole proprietor is not risky...that is how a person starts small scale and when business improves we can venture into more as time goes on.

Many doctor here have started out on their own and then ventured out to Franchising their Clinics and the returns are very high.

Its always better to start low scale first..test the waters..so in case there is a loss it would not be that great a loss.

When I first started my practice I made sure I had enough back up money in case business did not work out..I did not depend on husband cos I wanted to feel how business will be.

So I imagined a worst case scenario..that is what if the business takes 1 year to show profit and what will I do meanwhile to run it? So I made sure I had 1 years amount of money to run the business in case it took a longer time to catch up.

Back up plan is always important..make sure back up plans are there.

Many of my friends did not have back up plan and depended on their spouses to help them till their practice caught up.That obviously ate into the savings of their spouses which in my opinion is not that good cos in case business fails..the whole family savings need not come down with that.

Business is all about smart planning and try not to depend on loans too unless its a big time multi dollar investment.

Actually there is a feeling unsupported by actual facts is that business can be better by doing Adharmic means.
This stems from not really knowing what the Samanya Dharma is (Covey calls it Universal Principles) that operate on us without our permission.

A trade oriented Dharma is a particularization of the above Samanya Dharma and is applicable to a particular profession. A cook has to keep his or her hands clean but a auto mechanic cannot function that way.

So following Dharma is never an option if one wants to be successful in whatever business they undertake. It is not about doing some good optionally for others if we align ourselves with Dharma.

Following right Dharma means the business activities are aligned with the right principles but knowing what they are (the principles that is) may be common sense if one were to think but not common practice.

There is a myth that those that follow Dharma are 'Sadhu types' and easily fooled or taken advantage of. This myth is silly. When you do the right things that act alone produces strength that cannot be matched.

Bill Gates is not known to be a easy business leader but by and large he did act in a Dharmic manner in big things that are reported. For example sharing the wealth via options liberally was key to his success. I know many Indian CEOs who are Kanjoos types and want to exploit the work force - they never succeed and see all they could have accomplished.

Treating the customer right with Integrity is what saves a business during hard times. Some of the greatest sales persons (those that have made close to million dollars even in one deal that I personally ) are tough minded, ready to take risks but highly trustworthy - their reputation to deliver as promised is key to their success.

A smart business person is one who knows what the right principles are (and there is no need to study any scriptures for that) and abide by them especially during trying times.

The net result cannot be better optimized when integrated over time. One can temporarily prosper by Adharmic means but such people never succeed in the long run to achieve their full potential

PS: I have two friends (one a year junior from IIT) - both classified as Brahmins (one TB) became Billionaires (with a B) and lost a few hundred million but still very rich. They made this by starting from practically nothing

 

[renuka]

dear renus,

i dont know how it is in msia. whether you have a govt aided health plan for all citizens. or people have to take care of it on their own or through health schemes at work or thru insurance.

in canada, the doctor is essentially an employee of the govt. which pays him a set fee for each type of examination. the client pays nothing. out of this money, the doctor has to pay his expenses - which is usually a rental fee in a hospital or consulting building or in small towns, an office space.

in addition he has to pay a secretary, a nurse, electronic filing and such. but the beauty is that it is a single billing system for the doctor. he charges the govt on a single sheet per patient per visit and get reimbursed. there is ofcourse audit, and even my family doctor, a well established university prof also, for whom we got papers from the govt asking for verification

specialists are available only through referrals. in the rural areas, it is a captive market for both doctors and specialists. but in toronto, where choice is aplenty, it is chummy clannish friendship which makes the specialist his/her money. here the jews are at an advantage as they have a large set of specialists and get referred by their doctor colleagues. chinese/indians are just breaking into this.

the specialists appointments and surgeries are done per need. for example, someone we know, had been diagnosed with gall bladder infection, and also suspected through biopsy of being cancerous. surgery within 10 days. others non life threatening can take months. but all is free and the poorest and the richest get the same quality care.

doctors also own buildings and labs here. but it is illegal to even suggest they go to a particular lab. if word gets around (because some indian doctors tried the same tricks they do in india) they get delicensed

Dear Kunjs,

Here right now its still an open system but the government does have plans to make it like Canada in the near future may be in a few years time.

Dont know how it will turn out to be..will have to wait and watch.

Right now here our Government hospitals cater for the needy and their services are good that even the rich go there to save on money.

Here we engage a few labs to conduct blood tests.

So we take the sample..call the lab personnel to take the sample to the lab and they give us the results as soon as possible.

We have to pay the lab for their services and there is a doctors price and a patients price given by the lab to us to follow.

Here patients do not have to go to the lab we send the blood to the lab of our choice.

We do not make any deals with any lab cos labs here do not offer such deals cos both the doctor and lab will be deregistered if such a deal ever took place.