Please Contribute a little

873 Days, 20953 Hours, 1257120 Minutes....Tooo long a time isnt it?? Yes offcourse it is!! This is what it took me to write my next blog post. So what did i do during this time...Well i would say time well spent..traveled 15 countries, met new people, worked on like millions of business presentations and propositions, polished my photography skills ( Clicked some really nice Models ;) ), read 53 books,  learnt a new language - Mandarin ( That wasn't easy ), shifted my base to a new country, changed my 1st job,  put on a little weight :P, may be got a bit more mature ( At least i think so....no one else does...lol) and most important Got Married :) :)

But then i had to get back to my Long Lost Love!! Blogging. So off late i have been thinking on how busy people in corporate can contribute to the society and making world a better place to live. Today millions of people express their views/opinions/happiness/anger about issues existing today. Well appreciate your concern but what are you doing to contribute towards the execution???? Some of the classic examples i have seen in my network of friends.

1. Mr. Escapist....escapes again!!!Utter Non-Sense!! ( On a Chief Minister's resignation )
2. Really feel sad for the farmers situation..
3. May God give strength to the survivors from the Hurricane.
4. Met a group of Blind young students, very impressed with the progress of Blind School. Wish you very best for the future.
5. Cancer Research is doing a phenomenal job!! Keep it up!!
6. Just read about underage workers in Cocoa Fields. #Enraged

And there are many others examples..It is good that you are having a view and spreading it to people..But what did you personally contribute??? Did You ??? Most of the time the answer is NO.

Besides what is depressing is that the next status update is "Planning a beach holiday...Anyone interested?"..Is this is how we contribute to the society..There is nothing wrong in voicing a concern or an opinion but my request is contribute in making the change even though its tiny. Sponsor a child's education, take some time out of your schedule and spend it volunteering for the causes. help financially by supporting cancer research programs or by buying basic necessities for people in need or for people hit my natural calamities. There is always a way in which you can contribute it..You got to identify it.

I have a friend who gave up a highly paid corporate job to start a non profit organization.I was speaking to her and told its great there are so many people talking about it and helping in publicity. Do you know what she told me..of all the people who appreciate and talk about it hardly 3-5% actually contribute.....

Every minute little aid/contribution/time/support/grant ( You can call it anything) helps in making a DIFFERENCE.

I feel proud to say that i am contributing back to society..... DO YOU???

Regards,
VD

PS: I didn't want the blog to go in this direction but my thoughts overpowered and i am glad they did!!! By expressing my opinion if i am even able to make 1 person contribute back to the society..I will take it as a great start.

Turned on Boulevard 26 with Automatic Mode!!

Et al,

Its been two days since i started feeling ancient, loosing hair quickly, some getting white, kids calling me uncle...Woaaahhh i turned 26!!! OMG, i cant believe , i still feel am a 20 year old , enjoying my college days with all the memories afresh. I think i need a makeover :P

It was 18 when i had decided i want to be an entrepreneur in my life, no matter what i do , what scale i do , i always thought i will be an entrepreneur. I had plans of starting my own company by the age i was 25 and here i am 26 Without Control. Its time i get aligned to my dreams and start building it, as they say its never too late :)

One thing which i have learnt is , once one gets into a white collar decent paying job. A layer of cushion starts wrapping up us and one becomes too lazy to get out the cushion and venture out alone. The risk appetite reduces and one looks forward to last day of the month for more cushion to be added in the bank account.

I think i need to get my thoughts aligned, come out of cushion as soon as possible, gobble up more risk and do what i have always dreamt to do. I have to switch the Automatic mode off and get onto Manual mode to get control and steer my car wherever i want and stop wherever i like :)

"Time to switch to Manual Mode ASAP"

Regards,
VD

Strictly for Rich

!!!!!!!Wish you and your Family a very Happy New Year!!!!!!!

Its 2010 and i hope it turns out to be a Marvelous year for you and you grow exponentially every day:-). Its been long time since i scribbled on the blog, thanks to the tight work schedule. Its a holiday today and am lazing out at home with friends. We had a mind blowing party on 31st night, Thanks to Karan, Aniket, Vishal, Sid, Rohit and Divya. You people must be wondering how is all the above text related to the Blog Title. Thought i will wish you all happy new year first:-)

Well, few days back i was reading some news on various business models when this brain wave struck me. But this is strictly for People who have lots of money and are ready to take Infinite risk with the money. The idea is like you start a company and your business is to buy franchises of various Business (across industries). I will elaborate, After a thorough market research you identify a Tier 2 city, and you buy a franchisee of food outlet (E.g. McDonalds, Pizza Hut, Dominoes etc), Next you plan to setup a bookshop (E.g. Crossword). Next you get into Investment , you may open a Reliance money outlet, After that you do some more market research and realize there is a need for a gym here and u open another franchisee and so on for different sectors.

This was a sample example. In order to build a successful model, you will have to research thoroughly on the need of the place, spending power of people, Competition in the market, Investment to Return ratio, openness of people to new idea, Operational and Capital expenditure, Administration and Logistics issues, Connectivity (Travel and Information) and many more micro and macro economic factors. There may be a case where after a solid research you realize its only feasible to open an insurance franchisee in a particular place (And then you realize the investment you have put in research is quite high which in turn will reduce your ROI). You will face lot of challenges while implementing such a model, but i strongly feel you can earn significant profit if this model is implemented after comprehensive research.

People like me who don't have so much capital to implement this kind of model, this model is our inspiration and motivation to work really hard and gather the capital required to be able to implement such a model. All the best to everyone.

I am looking forward to your valuable comments on this model.

Regards
VD