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franchisor & franchisee

How to become a franchisor?

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Small business to a franchisor

A franchisor is defined as a brand owner who has a proven system of store concepts that can be scaled for economic reasons.

Understanding what it takes to become a franchisor and how franchisors operate and grow is essential.

Having worked with both franchisee and franchisor, I have learned these tricks the hard way. 

(At Koj Est, we were both a franchisee and franchisor of brands like Mikyajy & Nayomi-private label brands)

This article brings forth a few tricks that a business needs to take prior to becoming a franchisor (i.e. appointing a franchisee to run the same business in new territory).

Deciding whether your business can be franchised.

As a business owner, you need to realize that not everything can be franchised.

You have a great concept that you can teach and that’s simple to execute. 

There must be an advantage to franchising for you & your franchisees.

The concept must make enough money both for you and your franchisees.

  • Check if your shop concept can make money, how many stores under your management are making money currently. This forms basis for the like for like analysis.
  • What is your merchandise holding costs?
  • Your merchandising stock turn ratio- is it 3 months, 6months or a year.
  • Your breakeven period based on location segmentations.
  • How long have you been in a business?
  • Do you have a franchise manual to replicate the processes, design templates, merchandising processes, replenishment processes for your franchisees?

If you have answered these questions in the affirmative “Yes” then you are ready to proceed to the next steps.

To learn how to build robust franchise systems, click here

Why will anyone want your franchise?

This is the most critical question that as a business owner you need to answer.

  • What is an ideal franchisee partner look like for your kind of business?
  • Who is going to be attracted to your franchise opportunity?

Normally, the cost of acquiring a franchisee is very high and may take a long time to find the right partner and do due diligence on them.

A successful proven system forms the basis of why your franchisee will pay you for replicating your system in his territory.

As a franchisor, you may offer support in terms of initial setup training, sales training, L&D eLearning courses;

Treasure Hunt by TJ Maxx

To learn more about franchising, click here

How much to charge for your franchise?

There are multiple models like initial franchise fees, royalties on sales, marketing, and training fees.

Few franchisors charge a margin on the products sold to franchisees and few lease the equipment or property that they have.

All these fees are deducted from the franchisee’s bottom line and hence answering the below questions becomes critical to ensure the robustness of your franchising program.

  • Will your franchisee still be profitable?
  • Will your franchisee still receive acceptable return on investment?
  • What would be your franchisee’s initial upfront investment?
  • Does your prospective franchisee support a sizeable portion of required investment? How is his banking creditability?

The best way is to work out a forecasted P&L statement for your franchisee and show them the Return of Investments over a period.

Primark saying no to Ecommerce

Franchisors need to budget for New Franchises

In the first years of operating a franchise, the costs of supporting franchisees typically exceed revenue from royalties and fees. 

New franchises will face the challenge of building enough capital to cover the infrastructure needed to support their franchisees.

 This includes support for marketing, accounting, and operation.

This is where most franchising programs fail as the franchisors run out of the patience and budget that they need to sustain the franchise program.

Franchisors should be aware of these costs and know how many franchisee units can afford to operate at a loss or break even. They should be cautious of expansion and should consolidate franchisees if necessary. 

If, you are developing your franchise program & need a retail expert to execute your franchising goals for instance.

Feel free to reach out to me at riteshmohan@yahoo.com or call me at +971502476483.

franchisor advantages.
franchisor & franchisee

About the author:

Ritesh Mohan is a passionate retail professional with over 20 years in the Retail sector, handling some of the biggest brands in the beauty, fashion, and fragrances retail & FMCG sector. He has been instrumental in the growth of some of the regional brands as well in the Middle East region. Ritesh specializes in Retail management, Product development, Brand Management, Retail Operations, Sales Management, and Franchising & Business Management. He strongly believes in empowering business owners with his wisdom & experience of around two decades in the industry

franchisor & franchisee
sustainability in retail

 3 ways to introduce Sustainability in Retail.

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Sustainability in Retail

Off lately, sustainability and eco-friendly products have become the buzzwords for every retailer.

Hence, Fashion retailers are introducing collections that are made from sustainable materials, and also shoemakers are now introducing products made from recycled plastic bottles.

Retail is seeing a plethora of brands coming up in the space of sustainability. I am talking about fashion and beauty brands.

The real question,

  • “Can a retailer adapt their product offerings to meet the expectations of the consumers who loves to care for their environment as well as love to buy products that are ecofriendly and sustainable?”

Sustainability should start with the core purpose of the business and brand.

My article answers this question and provides retailers few hacks and insights.

1. Sustainability approach : Change your instore lightings.

If you use power-consuming incandescent lamps, then it’s high time to switch to LED which consumes a fraction of the power and helps you drive your sustainability mission forward.

2. Switch to E- receipts: sustainability solution

You can capture the key customer’s data and use it for your data analytics. Moreover, also save on printing of paper invoices which in return would save trees and the environment.

Read the benefits of e-receipts here, click here.

3.Sustainability in packaging solutions

A good starting point can be your shopping bag itself. 

Areyou using plastic bags or re-usable & recycled paper bags?

Check out the innovative way to recycle the newspaper into a shopping bag.

shopping bags made from newspaper print
recycled newspaper shopping bag

Packaging is likely to be a necessary expense for your business.  

Sustainable shopping bags may even result in a cost reduction when compared to normal plastic bags.

Case study: Sustainability in luxury fragrances.

One of the most wasteful expenses in any perfume creation is its packaging. 

The hard truth is that without the attractive outer box and attractive bottle, the customer does not get attracted to the scent.

Once the customer buys the fragrance, thereafter, its packaging material gets thrown in the dustbin.

Luxury brands spend 15-20% of the product cost on the packaging itself, which according to me is a wasteful expense and can be re-looked by perfume brand owners.

Having spent almost a decade in perfumery, one of the cases which blew me completely was the launch of CK one fragrance.

I had never imagined that a perfume bottle could even resemble a cough syrup bottle.

It was a disruption in the bottle packaging.

Calvin Klein perfume

Case study:

Luxury niche perfumery house Jules & Vetiver found their brand on “sustainability” positioning. 

One of the brand’s founding principles is “luxury without waste”.

It reflects in their packaging, as a result, they used the hand-stitched leather pouch as the outer packaging cover for their minimalistic stylist fragrance bottles.

sustainability packaging

Usage of recycled paper to create a multi purpose outer box.

Check out the brand’s video here: 

Jules & vetiver perfumes

Conclusion:

The sustainability aspect should become the core of Retailer’s DNA.

Until then the words “sustainability , ecofriendly” would just remain a nice topic to be discussed in webinars, conferences.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Ritesh Mohan is a passionate retail professional with over 23 years in the Retail sector, handling some of the biggest brands in the beauty, fashion, and fragrances retail & FMCG sector.

He has been instrumental in the growth of some of the regional brands as well in the Middle East region.

Ritesh specializes in Retail management, Product development, and Brand Management, Retail Operations, Sales Management, and Franchising & Business Management.

He strongly believes in empowering business owners with his wisdom & experience of around two decades in the industry.

follow me on Instagram as @mohanritesh & on Youtube as @riteshmohan

effective negotiations

Do you have a good negotiation skills? Think Again.

1

What is Negotiation?

It is a combination of Art & Science, a process wherein the disputes or differences are settled avoiding any legal hassles or arguments.

A good manager needs to be an accomplished Negotiator while dealing with his team members, interdepartmental heads, or his senior leadership.

Negotiation works on the principles of fairness, seeking mutual benefit, and maintaining a relationship are the keys to a successful negotiation outcome.

My article will narrate my learnings from the book “never split the difference” by author Chris Voss and is inspired by the Netflix web series “The Money heist” as it has some of the best negotiation scenes between authorities and banks robbers who took hostages in a bank robbery.

Effective Negotiation techniques

1)Using open-ended calibrated questions

It is one of the most potent tools in any negotiation process.

The questions to which the other side can respond but do not have specific or fixed answers.

It buys you time to think and strategize and at the same time gives the opposing party an illusion that they are in control of the talks.

2) Negotiation’s technique can be effectively used in the corporate world wherein acquisition and mergers are the rules of the game.

3) Don’t aim for “Yes” as an answer. Negotiation starts with “No”.

One of the basic tenets of any negotiation is to separate the person & his emotions from the problem.

Don’t focus on what the other side is asking, instead focus on their interests (why they are asking for it).

 

Work mutually for a win-win solution.

Establish mutually agreed-upon standards for evaluating those possible solutions.

  • Emotions and emotional intelligence would have to be central to effective negotiation, and things to be overcome.
  • Negotiation starts with the premise that people want to be understood and accepted.
  • Listening skill is the cheapest and the most effective tool.
  • By listening, a negotiator displays empathy and a sincere desire to better understand what the other side is experiencing.
  • Ask calibrated questions that start with ‘how’ or ‘what’. for example- How would you like me to proceed, what is it that brought us into this situation, How can we solve this standoff, etc.

Read why 70% of family-run businesses close as they enter the second generation, click here.

Life is negotiation

The majority of the interactions we have at work or at home are negotiations that boil down to the expression of a simple, animalistic urge: “I Want”.

Negotiation in its simplest form is nothing but effective communication.

Always establish your identity by giving your first name and designation to showcase you are responsible for taking this negotiation process forward and establishing rapport with the opponent.

Negotiation – asking the right thing.

Negotiation does not mean demeaning anyone or bowing down to someone’s asks instead it is simply playing the emotional game.

In this world, you get what you ask for, you just have to ask it correctly.

 

Negotiation – Be a mirror

One of the best qualities of a negotiator is that he makes the opponent talk, talk, and talk more about what they want.

Listening to their emotions and the “why” is the most crucial.

Voice modulation

The most powerful tool in any communication is your voice.

When we radiate warmth, understanding, acceptance, the conversations just seem to flow.

Smile at someone and they smile back as a reflex action. Understanding this trick is the core to successful negotiations.

Listen to the late-night FM channel and see how the RJ talks over the radio, with his calming voice that soothes you and takes away all the tensions. Practice talking in a calming tone when you are dealing with any negotiation process.

 

Mirroring – a negotiation technique

It is also our natural instinct when we imitate others to calm them down and establish some kind of connection or trust.

Salesman uses this technique effectively while making their sales pitch.

Neutralize the negative and reinforce the positive

People’s emotions have two levels –“the presenting” behavior wherein you can see and hear.

Beneath, the “underlying” feeling is what motivates that behavior.

Imagine an old grandfather, who is cranky at the dinner table, but his underlying emotion is that he is fighting with the feeling of loneliness.

If you address the underlying feeling, you would have comforted the old man and won his trust.

The same rationale works in any kind of negotiation process.

 Practice Empathy

The beauty of empathy is that it doesn’t demand that you agree with the other person’s ideas but by acknowledging the other person’s situation, you immediately convey that you are listening.

And once your opponent knows that you are listening, they may tell you something which you can use.

 

How to make a person respond to your emails and not ignore you?

You have been following up with some client prospect of yours and there is no acknowledgment nor any response from their end.

The best trick is to provoke a ‘No’ with this one-sentence email.

“Have you given up on this project?”

This question demands the other party to define their position and explain it to you.

There is a high probability of getting your client to say ‘yes’ to your offer.

 

To learn about the concept of Trend-Jacking, click here.

 

Negotiation skill demands Practice, Practice, and Practice.

When the pressure is on, you don’t rise to the occasion, you fall to your highest level of preparation.

So be consistent in practicing this skill set.

Personally speaking, I love the below video wherein the analyze the negotiation process in the web series “Money Heist”.

Watch it and you will love it.

YouTube video

 

I sincerely hope these tips will make you a better negotiator and will help you to brush up on your negotiation skills.

 

References: Book ‘Never split the difference’ by Chris Voss, former FBI negotiator, and ‘Money Heist on Netflix.

 

About the author:

Ritesh Mohan is a passionate retail professional with over 22 years in the Retail sector, handling some of the biggest brands in the beauty, fashion, and fragrances retail & FMCG sector.

He has been instrumental in the growth of some of the regional brands as well in the Middle East region.

Ritesh specializes in Retail management, Product development, and Brand Management, Retail Operations, Sales Management, and Franchising & Business Management.

He strongly believes in empowering business owners with his wisdom & experience of around two decades in the industry.

Ritesh can also be followed on Instagram as @mohanritesh & on Youtube as @riteshmohan

Buy a “ Simplifying retail” book for powering your retail careers & retail stores.

Amazon. ae: Link of the book: https://amzn.to/361bNHy

how does stitch fix make money

Stitch Fix – Is it a fashion or tech company?

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Stitch fix – A Retail transformation story.

Recently, I completed a program on retail transformation from one of India’s Premier B-school (IIM-B), and during the course, we undertook several case studies like Threadless and big basket, Webvan, and stitch fix.

Stitch fix is one of my favorites as I relate myself to the fashion & beauty world.

I am writing this article to help my readers and retail fraternity members to take learnings from the real-life case of Stitch fix and learn as to how Katrina lake (founder of stitch fix) transformed her business model.

 

What is the stitch fix model?

The Basic idea with which stitch fix started was of providing a Personal styling fashion experience and provide customers a personalized fashion outfit, all at a subscription fee model.

Stitch fix selects and mails clothes, shoes, and accessories to its clients based on an extensive style survey (i.e. data).

The better the “stylist” selects the clothing, the more money Stitch Fix makes.

Basically, it is like Netflix of the fashion world.

(Similar to how Netflix suggests programs on your viewing behavior or patterns).

Since its business model is based on predicting the styling that will suit their customer’s preferences hence it became obsessed with Data analytics and understanding their customer’s fashion sense and preferences.

Challenge is “Getting the style and outfit right for the subscriber every time”.

 

Learn how Rent a Runway is on its way to becoming the Netflix of fashion, click here.

 

Data is oil – Stitch fix “tinder for clothing”

As part of their Style Shuffle—a “Swipe right” type of “Tinder for clothing”— Stitch fix has found a way to reach beyond the feedback they’d get from customers through buying alone.

By letting customers swipe through different styles in their entire collection, they amass tonnes of data that helps them better understand the customer, as well as age and demographic trends shaping the fashion industry.

More the customer spends time swiping the garments, is leaving a digital cookie which is then analyzed towards his or her liking for the fashion garment.

stitch fix story

 

The model is very addictive as Tinder since you are shown garments that a professional stylist has shortlisted for you.

Data points on their customer’s preferences make stitch fix’s proposition more profitable.

Stitch Fix makes money on clothing sold more so than subscription fees.

The more clothing from one box that fits or flatters, the more profits they will make.

 

Why Stitch fix is successful?

Stitch fix changed the paradigm

Stitch fix is not fashion but a “tech company which deals in fashion”.

Instead of fighting head-on with physical fashion retailers and eCommerce companies, stitch fix has created a blue ocean strategy for them by finding their niche in data analytics.

They share the data points with the designers who in turn ensure that their garments are made in line with their customer’s preferences and likings.

“Feedback” is the main crux that stitch fix has provided to designers who never knew about their designs and creations sales movement.

Now with stitch fix, they feel engaged with the customers.

With enormous data points, Stitch Fix is able to see not just products people buy, but products they want to buy.

That’s why I give them the credit for changing the paradigm completely.

Whereas traditional fashion brands are either competing on prices or eCommerce companies on the fastest deliveries, Stitch fix has found their niche is providing personalized fashion experiences to their subscribers.

Their commitment towards their “why” (purpose) is so strong that the founders chose to start the company in the Silicon Valley (being a tech hub) rather than moving to New York City (fashion capital).

They had clarity on the core strengths of their business right from the start.

 

Learn 10 growth hacks for eCommerce business, click here.

 

Algorithms & Data analytics coupled with Human stylists – Recipe for success.

They aim to bring personal styling to the masses, using data and machine learning to deliver personalization at a mass scale.

Watch the video on why stitch fix clothes have better sizes and fits.

YouTube video

 

From filing a lengthy questionnaire when customers sign up – evaluating factors like lifestyle, body type, and most-wanted items ;

Stitch Fix’s ‘Style Shuffle’ feature on its app and website allows it to amass huge amounts of data.

 

Is Stitch Fix the best?

Building robust communication channels with subscribers

On receiving the box containing five clothing and accessory items, the customer gets a sense of belongingness as they’ve provided their preferences and selected by the stylists, just for you.

Customers provide feedback after each shipment since they know that their feedback will help stitch fix deliver more garments that they want to buy and not what stitch fix wants to sell to them.

It’s two-way communication.

 

Want to learn the basics of category management in 5 mins, click here.

 

Combing the art of discovery and convenience

The fun of discovering the most sought-after garments, that are personalized and customized as per your body type/fit is beyond capturing in the form of words.

Getting your fashion quotient boosted through personal stylists gives a confidence-boosting to the subscribers which remain loyal to the brand since their self-esteem & social needs are getting fulfilled at the convenience of their homes.

In an interview, Katrina Lake, founder once said,

kristina lake founder stitch fix

“Our business model is simple: We send you clothing and accessories we think you’ll like; you keep the items you want and send the others back.

We leverage data science to deliver personalization at scale, transcending traditional brick-and-mortar and e-commerce retail experiences.

 Customers enjoy having an expert stylist do the shopping for them and appreciate the convenience and simplicity of the service”

I believe this statement from the founder summarizes the brand’s purpose.

 

References; HBR case study – case study reprint 2018 (IIM-B) , CMO network, Guy Raz book-how I built this.

 

About the author:

Ritesh Mohan is a passionate retail professional with over 20 years in the Retail sector, handling some of the biggest brands in the beauty, fashion, and fragrances retail & FMCG sector. He has been instrumental in the growth of some of the regional brands as well in the Middle East region. Ritesh specializes in Retail management, Product development, and Brand Management, Retail Operations, Sales Management, and Franchising & Business Management. He strongly believes in empowering business owners with his wisdom & experience of around two decades in the industry.

Ritesh can also be followed on Instagram as @mohanritesh & on Youtube as @riteshmohan

Buy a “ Simplifying retail” book for powering your retail careers & retail stores.

Amazon.ae :

https://www.amazon.ae/Simplifying-retail-Ritesh-Mohan/dp/9390396042/ref=sr_1_1?crid=3P05GBWPB6ANR&dchild=1&keywords=simplifying+retail&qid=1606116153&sprefix=simplify%2Caps%2C450&sr=8-1

Amazon.com :

https://www.amazon.com/Simplifying-retail-Ritesh-Mohan/dp/9390396042/ref=sr_1_2?keywords=simplifying+retail+book&qid=1606116248&sr=8-2

 

marketing principles book

How to apply Basic Marketing Principles in Digital world?

4

Marketing Principles in the Digital world – A transformational reality.

Off lately, I have seen many entrepreneurs struggling to market either their e-commerce sites or their digital ventures.

They lack the key basic premise of marketing & advertising.

The age-old marketing principles are still relevant.

My article is dedicated to those early-stage entrepreneurs, who are on their way to scale and consolidate their digital business.

Difference between Marketing & Advertising?

The most common mistake that most entrepreneurs make is that they don’t truly understand the difference between marketing & advertising.

They use the marketing term the same for advertising.

Advertising is the Art of Persuasion.

The textbook definition is, Advertising is a way of communication to encourage an audience for making a purchase decision about a product or service and conveying information to viewers.

It is considered a vital and essential element for the economic growth of businesses. It is a paid form of communication. (Digital social platforms has revolutionized this medium in terms of organic growth).

The major aim of advertising is to impact buying behavior;

However, this impact on the brand is changed or strengthened frequently through people’s memories.

For instance, you still recall the fragrance or scent of Vicks vaporub.

Marketing is all about finding the needs of the customers, their pain points, researching insights which could be leveraged in the ad campaigns.

Advertising creates Influence in the consumer’s mind in terms of changing the perceptions.

Learn how advertising influence buying behavior, click here.

 

How you can apply these traditional marketing principles in your digital e-commerce venture?

 

Marketing Principles – Sales funnel creation.

In order to make your digital advertising work for you, you need to create a sales funnel which includes

  • Create content which is attractive and creates curiosity for the consumers
  • Create a call to action in your communications; terms like Buy now, start your trial, click here.
  • Use a retargeting campaign i.e. run ads on digital platforms to those you had either liked or commented or clicked your ad.
  • Create a simple landing page for the customers to check your offer or service and enter their details for you to reach out to them.
  • Create some freebie or gift freebies in case they register on your landing page
  • There are tools like click funnel etc which are very useful in converting your web traffic to customers.
  • Always give and respect “Goods returns”, “100 % money-back guarantee” etc.
  • Leverage email marketing. There are many free online tools for the same.

 

Learn about the Branded content form of advertising, click here.

 

Marketing Principles – Go Hyperlocal.

New eCommerce sites should try to leverage Hyperlocal marketing.

 

What is Hyperlocal marketing?

Hyperlocal marketing is the process of targeting prospective customers in a highly specific, geographically restricted area, sometimes just a few blocks or streets, often with the intention of targeting people conducting “near me” searches on their mobile.

In terms of objectives, hyperlocal marketing’s primary purpose is to drive foot traffic to physical locations and capitalize on near-me searches, which have strong commercial intent.

Near-me searches have become immensely popular in recent years.

Data from Google indicates that near-me searches grew in volume by 130% year-over-year between 2014 and 2015 alone;

If you find it complex, do not worry;

Just go to “Google my Business” and enter the details and you are on.

Hyperlocal marketing helps to increase your SEO initiatives as well.

 

Marketing Principles – Use Local Awareness ads on Facebook ads

This ad format was introduced for local businesses seeking to raise awareness of their physical location and drive foot traffic to stores.

Simply select this ad format from the list of ad formats in the Ads Create tool, then enter the address of your business.

Next, you’ll see a visual representation of the coverage area of your Local Awareness ad, which can be expanded or reduced by selecting the desired radius in the drop-down menu to the right of the address field. Facebook will provide you with an estimate of the potential reach of your ad.

Use Facebook’s Local insights” –

One of the most useful tools that Facebook offers hyperlocal advertisers is Local Insights.

Page Insights report has this functionality.

The Local Insights report tells the advertiser just how well their local ads are performing & when most of the targeted consumers would be seeing your advertisement.

marketing principles

Book “Simplifying Retail” is now published and is full of powerful insights that can empower your retail concept. Grab it from Amazon (global or amazon.ae) or click here (for within India deliveries).

Marketing Principles- Persuasive communication:

Following Persuasive communication, techniques are still relevant in the digital world.

Social proof

Ensure on your eCommerce site, you can add social proof wherein you can mention – ‘5 people bought it today’.

Add social media sharing buttons for consumers to get a share on their platforms and get social validation.

Scarcity

Use ‘only 1 unit left’ or ‘last chance offer’

Create inbuilt Referral program –

Lush cosmetics is using this strategy very effectively.

Hashtag #LushShowAndTell wherein the customers post their product usage using this hashtag and get featured on Lush’s Instagram feed.

 

Use of the power of reciprocity

In marketing psychology, the reciprocity norm means consumers often feel somewhat indebted to a company if the business gives them a product for free.

For example, when you taste or sample a juice in a hypermarket, you feel indebted to purchase it as well from the sales promoter.

In the digital world, it can be e-books, invite to exclusive launch, etc.

 

I am confident, the above points will help my readers to scale their eCommerce ventures more effectively. In case you need any input or advice, you may feel free to reach out to me at riteshmohan@yahoo.com

 

About the author:

Ritesh Mohan is a passionate retail professional with over 20 years in the Retail sector, handling some of the biggest brands in the beauty, fashion, and fragrances retail & FMCG sector. He has been instrumental in the growth of some of the regional brands as well in the Middle East region. Ritesh specializes in Retail management, Product development, and Brand Management, Retail Operations, Sales Management, and Franchising & Business Management. He strongly believes in empowering business owners with his wisdom & experience of around two decades in the industry.

Ritesh can also be followed on Instagram as @mohanritesh & on Youtube as @riteshmohan

Buy “ Simplifying retail” book for powering your retail careers,

Amazon.ae :

https://www.amazon.ae/Simplifying-retail-Ritesh-Mohan/dp/9390396042/ref=sr_1_1?crid=3P05GBWPB6ANR&dchild=1&keywords=simplifying+retail&qid=1606116153&sprefix=simplify%2Caps%2C450&sr=8-1

Amazon.com :

https://www.amazon.com/Simplifying-retail-Ritesh-Mohan/dp/9390396042/ref=sr_1_2?keywords=simplifying+retail+book&qid=1606116248&sr=8-2

Amazon.in:

https://www.amazon.in/Simplifying-retail-Ritesh-Mohan/dp/9390396042/ref=sr_1_1?crid=2X4S9PUT0F9C4&dchild=1&keywords=simplifying+retail+book&qid=1606116323&sprefix=simplifying+ret%2Caps%2C261&sr=8-1

Ebook –

https://www.amazon.com/Simplifying-retail-Ritesh-Mohan-ebook/dp/B08LVYSSNX

 

mastermind alliance napoleon hill

3 Ways Mastermind Alliance will help You get more Business

1

What is a Mastermind Alliance or group?

When the minds of two or more people are coordinated in a spirit of harmony and they share similar values and purposes, the collaboration that comes out is called Mastermind alliance.

The Riches are struck when the creator of an idea meets the seller of an idea.

Recently, during my work trip to Bahrain, I met with few retail stalwarts who are also my business associates (they have been always inspiring me in whatever I do) and we ended up discussing a couple of business ideas and then & there I realized the power of having a mastermind alliance and its importance in self-development and self-learning.

This article let me narrate you 3 steps to build your mastermind alliance through case studies or examples.

  1. Southwest airlines:

Let me narrate a story of Herb Kelleher (seller of an idea) – one of the founders of Southwest airlines and Rollin King (idea creator of southwest airline concept).

Herb Kelleher was a lawyer and Rollin was an investment adviser. Rollin ran an unprofitable air charter service between Texas cities.

Rollin got this idea from his own pain point wherein he never used to get a seat on flights that flew from one city in Texas to another, besides prices were too high.

His idea was to launch an airline that flew only between three big cities in Texas. Being an investment advisor, he quickly developed a business plan and raised $100,000 and then approached Herb Kelleher to create legal paperwork for launching Air Southwest Co. (later southwest airlines)

Rollin’s idea faced legal challenges from inception from governmental agencies wherein Herb used his legal skills into action and got Rollin an approval from the country’s civil aviation to fly after a long legal battle for over 3 years.

By this time Herb got enthralled with the concept of the airline that he gave up his legal practice and became a co-founder of southwest airlines.

One of his innovations was the peak and off-peak pricing and another was 10mins turnaround time for the aircraft.

The 10 min turnaround allowed the three plane airline to maintain a busy schedule and improve its cost efficiencies.

Their advertising slogan was “Now there is somebody else up there who loves you”.

Southwest began to climb its way up.

By 1978, it was the most profitable airline in the United States.

Herb Kelleher advice to wannabe entrepreneurs:

  • Stick to your ideas
  • Think of what the customers want and then give it to them
  • Overcome obstacles by taking positive steps and breaking the bigger issues into smaller and solving them.
  • Keep open to new opportunities and when they arise, grab them.

Say no to stay focus, learn why saying NO is important, click here.

Why do entrepreneurs need a Mastermind Alliance?

 

2. US steel corp by Andrew Carnegie.

The reason is simple, no one is perfect nor does one have the capacity to be master of everything.

Andrew Carnegie knew very little about making steel, yet he created the steel empire (US Steel corp).

Carnegie surrounded himself with the experts who could do all that he could not do, people who created ideas and men who put ideas into operation and made themselves and others rich.

His mastermind group consisted of over 50 men with whom he surrounded himself for the purpose of manufacturing and marketing steel.

Carnegie advises to entrepreneurs:

  • There is never a favorable time or scenario.
  • Be action-taker once the seed of an idea has been planted into your mind.
  • Desires and imaginations combined with persistence are powerful tools for success.

We all can benefit from it and grow our powers to achieve success.

 

Learn about Persistence, read here.

 

Opinions are the cheapest commodities on earth.

Take no one into confidence except the members of your mastermind group and be careful in selecting your mastermind alliance.

You have a brain and mind of your own, Use it and reach your own decisions. Fall back or refer to your mastermind group in case you need some information to make sound decisions.

With Persistence will come success:

Those who cultivate the habit of persistence, no matter how many times they are defeated, they finally win.

Every failure brings with it the seed of an equivalent advantage.

Watch the audio video explaining this concept further in the voice of Napolean Hill.

YouTube video

 

(This article is my learning from the book “Think & Grow Rich” by author Napoleon Hill.).

learn about Retail trends in 2022, click here

About the author:

Ritesh Mohan is a passionate retail professional with over 20 years in the Retail sector, handling some of the biggest brands in beauty, fashion and fragrances retail & FMCG sector. He has been instrumental in the growth of some of the regional brands as well in the Middle East region. Ritesh specializes in Retail management, Product development, and Brand Management, Retail Operations, Sales Management and Franchising & Business Management. He strongly believes in empowering business owners with his wisdom & experience of around two decades in the industry.

5 steps for goal settings

Want to make year 2020, the most remarkable year of your life? 5 steps for Goal settings

6

 5 steps for goal settings will set you up for success.

Goal setting is of key essence when it comes to being successful and writing your own destiny. I am going to share 5 steps for goal settings with all my readers.

I had tried it on myself for the last couple of years and believe me, it worked wonders for me both in my professional and personal life.

As we embark on embracing a new year, which offers us new hope, new energies, new visions and new goals to achieve.

My article would provide some tips for my readers to write their own goals.

What do the statistics say about Goal settings?

A Harvard Business study revealed amazing statistics relating to goal setting and success.

The study went on to find that the 14% who have goals are 10 times more successful than those without goals. The 3% with written goals are 3 times more successful than 14% with unwritten goals.

  •  83% of the population does not have goals
  • 14% have a plan in mind but are unwritten goals
  • 3% have goals written down

So if you are an entrepreneur or even a student, you have a greenfield to outperform your competition by setting goals for your organization or for yourself.

5 steps for goal settings:

I had attended a day workshop with leading behavioral and change management guru in Dubai and learned about this technique called SMART.

A SMART goal is one that’s:

S – Specific: In other words, it’s not vague.

M – Measurable: It’s detailed so you’re able to track your progress.

A – Achievable: It’s attainable and realistic.

R – Relevant: It relates to your values and the area of your life that needs improvement.

T – Time-Bound: It has a concrete deadline so you’re motivated to achieve it.

A sales manager can use this technique to set the sales targets for his team, his region, etc. He can break the targets into months keeping the seasonality of the product and historical sales trend in mind and allocate the sales numbers each month.

Later monthly sales numbers could be divided into weekly or fortnightly targets.

Any deviation, if observed could be corrected by means of tactical campaigns.

Make your goals specific.

When setting goals, they should answer the highly specific questions of who, what, where, when, and why.

For each specific goal you make, you should ask yourself why it is a goal and how it helps your life goals.

To lose weight, you have created the more specific goal “burn 300 kcal daily,” which begins with the short-term goal “burning 100, then 200 & so on.” You would need to answer, which gym would you go, what diet regime to follow etc.

 

Break the big picture down into smaller and more specific goals.

As explained previously (using sales target example), we need to break a bigger goal into smaller milestones. Achieve those milestones, celebrate your win and then move forward.

Consider areas of your life that you either want to change or that you feel you would like to develop with time. Areas might include career, finances, family, education, or health.

Visualize your goals on a daily basis.

Writing them down is a great practice.

Visualizing your goals happening is even better. With visualization, you use the power of the subconscious mind to engrave your goals.

“If a mind can conceive, the heart can believe it, your body shall achieve it”, this quote is so true when it comes to goals settings and goals visualization.

Learn as to why Men’s Grooming industry is booming, read here.

Goal setting example, Watch a video of actor Jim Carrey, explaining the power of Visualization.

Jim Carrey during his struggling years wrote himself a cheque of 10 million dollars and kept in his pocket. The cheque reminded him that he needs to excel in whatever he is doing.

YouTube video

 

Lastly but the most important point, in case you miss out on the 5 steps goal settings process or drop out chasing your goals in the middle of the year, then don’t worry.

Take a deep breath, give yourself a pat on your back that you were amongst the top 3% of the population that had written their goals.

This would inspire you again to chase your goals.

To sum up, I would quote Pablo Picasso statement

“Our goals can only be reached through a vehicle of a plan, in which we must fervently believe, and upon which we must vigorously act. There is no other route to success.”

Personally I would like to congratulate & thank each of my readers for following my content regularly and wishing you all “Happy New Year 2020”.

About the Author:

Ritesh Mohan is a passionate retail professional with over 20 years in the Retail sector, handling some of the biggest brands in beauty, fashion and fragrances retail & FMCG sector. He has been instrumental in the growth of some of the regional brands as well in the Middle East region. Ritesh specializes in Retail management, Product development, and Brand Management, Retail Operations, Sales Management and Franchising & Business Management. He strongly believes in empowering business owners with his wisdom & experience of around two decades in the industry.

Musuem of Ice cream

What is Experiential Retail? 2 case studies to energize retail.

5

What is Experiential Retail?

Experiential retail is a type of retail marketing whereby customers coming into a physical retail space are being offered experiences beyond the traditional ones.

The physical store becomes the center of customer’s engagement, the brands are not selling here but are becoming advocators & taking a consultative approach towards creating a memorable experience that results in building trust for the customers.

In the recently concluded, the Middle East Retail forum, experiential retail was the trending topic.

experiential retail examples

The retail stalwarts came together for 2 days and brainstormed on the topics which are shaping our current retail concepts.

I have taken two brands i.e. Museum of Ice cream from New York and homegrown Project Chaiwala from the UAE.

Both these concepts embody the experiential retail in their brand’s salience.

 

What is the experiential retail engagement?

Experiential retail is a trend that is being practiced by the brands to create experiences over possessions, stories to tell over the product specs, create memories instead of selling products or services.

It is the new kind of retail marketing wherein building trust and engagement with the new customers’ i.e. Millennials are the priorities.

Case study 1: Museum of Icecream

The Museum of Ice Cream (MOIC), was co-founded in the summer of 2016 by Maryellis Bunn.

MOIC is an acronym for the “movement of imagination and creativity,” not the Museum of Ice Cream.

Since its start, the MOIC has approximately 394,000 followers on Instagram.

“Food is a language which we all understand,” says Bunn.

“When you have something as simple as ice cream, it’s something that’s spread happiness and brings people together in a way that’s unexpected.”

Store concept:

The concept of store color is Pink.

experiential retail 

“For women…pink leads to happiness and good thoughts,” Bunn said, speaking about the soft millennial pink, the color that covers many walls of The Pint Shop.

It is a place wherein the women could come and connect with fellow friend and engage in sweet treats (ice creams) and create a memorable experience which is later shared on Instagram.

The brand encourages its customers to engage with the interiors of the store and share their experiences, it is a kind of pop-up retail revolution.

Start with your own pain point

When Bunn moved from calif to New York, she found that even in a city with more than eight million people, she felt lonely.

Insights:

“People are desperate for connection”.

“Everybody’s on their phones. Where do we have to go to connect?”

Bunn couldn’t find one, so she decided to create one with the Museum of Ice Cream. The pop-up, which Bunn referred to as a “passion project.”

But, the response was so overwhelming that the temporary museum moved to Los Angeles and Miami, and it’s currently in San Francisco.

Key Lessons from MOIC:

Experimental, physical, and sensory experiences that are seamlessly integrated with Instagrammable, social media-friendly moments are reinvigorating and redefining retail.

In other words, brick and mortar businesses are here to stay and are giving way to new, connective experiences.

Case Study 2: Project Chaiwala

During the Middle East retail forum, I met with Mr. Ahmed Kazim, co-founder of Project Chaiwala.

Ahmed along with his co-founder Justin Joseph saw a gap in the market especially for their love of traditional tea or chai (as it is famous in Southeast Asian countries).

experiential retail

The gap in the market:

To create an ambiance to showcase creativity in the tea business, in terms of brew, selection of finest leaves from foothills of Darjeeling, Assam.

Both wanted to create a concept that could bring creative, intellectual, artistic people together to enjoy a cup of finest chai in a traditional and more authentic way.

Hence Project Chaiwala was born.

They have created a simplistic and artistic ambiance in their store in al Serkal Avenue, al quoz, Dubai which is experiential.

Brand promise

Putting a smile on their customer’s face while providing them an ambiance which fulfills their creative urge while sipping the finest teas from the Indian sub-continent and providing them the experience which they relish back home i.e. authentic way of having tea.

YouTube video

Social responsibility:

Though the brand is new with 3 stores currently but the founders are following their corporate social responsibility from day one.

They source artisan’s matkas or popularly called Khullars (a type of cup made up of mud) from the rural villages in Tamil Nadu, India.

experiential commerce

Thus ensuring they help protect the environment from plastic cups and in return, help uplift the rural artisans.

Result:

Today the brand caters to youth, especially females cutting across the geographies while enjoying a traditional cup of Karak chai. The brand serves various varieties of teas, herbal, Chinese, Japanese green teas and of course their famous signature chai shot.

 

What’s common between MOIC and Project Chaiwala?

Besides both being experiential retail concepts, there is a lesson to learn i.e. both the concepts are born from the pain-points experienced by their founders.

Hence I always say to my readers “Start a business and not a startup”.

Read my article on 4 tips to startup owners, click here.

To sum up my article, Mr. Ahmed Kazim, advises upcoming entrepreneurs, “Life is full of challenges and that’s the beauty of it, Keep hustling”.

This is a great statement that every entrepreneur should follow.

Read my article on Believe in yourself, click here.

 

About the author:

Ritesh Mohan is a passionate retail professional with over 20 years in the Retail sector, handling some of the biggest brands in beauty, fashion and fragrances retail & FMCG sector. He has been instrumental in the growth of some of the regional brands as well in the Middle East region. Ritesh specializes in Retail management, Product development, and Brand Management, Retail Operations, Sales Management and Franchising & Business Management. He strongly believes in empowering business owners with his wisdom & experience of around two decades in the industry.

weaknesses

Ignore weaknesses & focus only on strengths to be successful

0

How often do we hear “ convert your weaknesses to strengths”? I am sure you all would have heard it a zillion times.

In a recent study, psychologists and behavioral analysts have challenged this management adage.

A new study revealed that you don’t grow by overcoming your weaknesses but you grow by strengthening your core strengths.

Find out what you do well and do more of it.

In a recent study, researchers gave reading training on the reading techniques to the group of readers (average readers and good readers).

The poor readers, who started at 90 words per minute, made an improvement to an average of 150 words per minute. But the top readers who started at 350 words per minute, multiplied to more than 2000 words per minute.

Result :

Researchers assumed that the poorest readers would make the greatest percentage gains. But in reality, the speediest readers grew the most and profited most from the training.

The paradigm change from weaknesses to strengths.

Companies shall not grow by improving on their weaknesses but they grow by studying their competitors who are successful even in the economic slowdown. By studying these competitors, you may get some tips for improvement.

 

Practice makes perfect transitioned to Practicing a strength makes it perfect.

In my retail career, I came across a buyer who was perfect in supplier management, placing orders on time and getting very competitive rates for the goods we bought. She was perfect in product sourcing and product conceptualization & negotiations.

Based on her excellent performance, the company promoted her to the position on Sales head, thinking she would utilize her product knowledge in training sales team and also convincing the new customers to buy.

The moment she took charge of the sales team, her performance started deteriorating. She could not manage the sales team nor managed to sustain the earlier sales level.

Do you want to know the reason?

She was excellent in making product presentations and talk about the products but she was hesitant to ask the customer for their sales order or persuade them to purchase. She was not meant for Selling. By practicing a weakness, she was undermining her self-respect.

The company thought that sales techniques are something that anyone could learn and Selling is the easiest task.

Does this case sound familiar to you? It happens in all the companies across all sectors.

The greatest chance for success lies in reminding people or organization of existing strengths and getting them back on track while initiating a management strategy for the weaknesses.

Learning for all management professionals…

“Focus on strengths and manage the weaknesses”.

 

Weaknesses to Strengths: The Strength Theory.

In 1984, china retained the gold medal for Table Tennis (China has a terrific record in winning medals in table tennis)

One of the sports journalists interviewed the coach and asked him on the team’s success recipe.

“We practice eight hours a day perfecting our strengths” – coach replied.

He further explained, if you develop your strengths to the maximum, the strength becomes so great that it overwhelms the weakness. Our winning players play only “forehand” (a type of playing style), they cannot play backhand. Our competitors know about this weakness but his forehand is so invincible that it cannot be beaten.

This theory can be easily implemented in the corporate world, Instead of thinking in terms of employees’ weaknesses, the focus should be on identifying strengths and developing those strengths while managing the weaknesses.

Implementation in Daily life

We all can practice Strengths theory in our parenting activities at home; It is important that we teach Discipline to our children but that does not mean controlling them or putting undue restrictions on them.

Studies have revealed that children growing up in over strict and disciplined environment turned out to be Introverts i.e. lacking self-confidence and were rebellious.

Rather, Spend time in developing relationships with them and help them grow rather than controlling them. This would inspire them to listen and cooperate with you.

The theory stresses that focus must be on the strengths while weaknesses are to be aggressively managed, not ignored.

Strengths vs Advantages

In one of my recent meetings with a senior retailer in Kuwait, she pointed out that being from Ivy League management school is a huge strength.

“Is it a strength or an advantage? I asked.

Having a degree from Ivy League colleges is only an advantage that can open the door for you but in order to sustain and achieve success, you need to build on your strengths.

You need Persistence, discipline and never give up attitude.

A million-dollar inheritance is an advantage but the ability to build on (and not lose) an inheritance is a strength.

Learn how to build persistence, click here.

 

Don’t fix if it isn’t broken

Most entrepreneurs when they start, their only focus is on sales, sales, and sales, which is the right thing to do in order to make your business sustainable and scalable.

But the moment, they achieve slight success, they start working on their loopholes and fixing their weaknesses and this is when they start losing the ground of their entrepreneurial venture. Always remember this management mantra.

Processes that have been working for your venture only need to be strengthened so that you grow and scale your business.

But focusing on improving weaknesses will hamper all your efforts.

 

Learn How Rent The Runway created its empire, click here.

To end this article, I would sum up by saying “Manage your weaknesses and Grow with your strengths”.

Watch this video which resonates with my article completely.

 

YouTube video

 

Reference: My learnings are from the book “Soar with your strengths” by Donald Clifton and Paula nelson.

 

About the author:

Ritesh Mohan is a passionate retail professional with over 20 years in the Retail sector, handling some of the biggest brands in beauty, fashion and fragrances retail & FMCG sector. Ritesh has been instrumental in the growth of some of the regional brands as well in the Middle East region. He specializes in Retail management, Product development, and Brand Management, Retail Operations, Sales Management, and Franchising & Business Management. He strongly believes in empowering business owners with his wisdom & experience of around two decades in the industry.

digital disruptions

How to thrive in an era of digital disruptions?

3

We all are hearing or have heard about digital causing retail disruptions i.e. what we known as a retail apocalypse.

Big retailers and big brands are shutting their stores, the latest to follow the trend is Gap and Toys r us & 125 years old Sears have filed for bankruptcy.

So how does one do business in the era of digital disruptions?

We live in an environment wherein everything can be copied, any innovation can be copied and launched in a better & fine-tuned service or in the form of a product.

No copyright lawsuits or trademarks can protect your innovation or innovative service, there is always a way out in legal terminology which we call as loopholes.

My article is my attempt to list out some tricks & strategies for the businesses to overcome this problem and would help you become a disruptor in your own domain or category of expertise.

 

Rule no 1: If you cannot beat the opponent, change the rules of the game.

 

Case study: Harry’s a hip & trendy razor club.

Razor category is dominated by P&G Gillette and the founders of Harry’s were quick to realize that they cannot afford to fight with MNC giant.

Using a digital platform and using influencer based content, Harry’s launched their trendy razor subscription service.

Today, Harry’s attracts more Instagram followers and product subscriptions through its website than a fully stocked Gillette aisle in a supermarket ever could. And so Harry’s has been growing 35% year-on-year between2014 to 2016, three times faster than the industry average, commanding 9% of all online razor sales.

Whereas the Gillette aisle in the local supermarket targets exactly one catchment area or neighborhood, Harry’s website reaches millions.

Rule no 2: If you can’t reinvent yourself then buy out your competition.

Unilever was quick to understand the ball game of e-commerce and how it could affect their future sales especially in a category which was dominated by rival P&G Gillette.

Unilever acquired dollar shave club for 1 billion USD; benefits are plenty, ready ecosystem of e-commerce platform, a ready customer base of millions of subscribers and moreover a commanding position of a category which was earlier dominated by Gillette.

 

Case study 2: Xiaomi –Chinese mobile company.

Chinese smartphone maker Xiaomi had invested in some 55 startups, generating products from power banks to air purifiers.

What Xiaomi offers to startups is a combination of funding and incubation by “taking non-controlling shares” and “leaving maximum interests to the startups” so that they are much more incentivized and willing to fight on the front line.

Startups typically get access to Xiaomi’s brand and distribution—its online channel, its app, and its 300 offline stores. As a result, Xiaomi has positioned itself as not only a low-cost phone maker but also an emerging powerhouse among the makers of the all-important “connected home devices.”

Advantages:

Xiaomi’s ecosystem gives customers unusual new products that they never knew existed.

Example-Internet-enabled rice cooker, and air purifier (the first affordable one in China).

Xiaomi by investing in start-ups has created an entry barrier for its competitors when it comes to innovation and developing innovative products.

That’s what I call a masterstroke of a strategist.

Want to learn about leadership skills in 2019, read here.

Rule no 3: leap into the future.

 

Take learnings from your past experiences. With a curious mind try to seek new knowledge which would help you to take your business in search of new opportunities, resulting in leaping forward your business.

Rule no 4: Execution is everything.

 

Everything in today’s world can be copied in the shortest time possible, however, what cannot be copied by your competition is

  • Your passion for your product or service
  • Your hard work and persistence
  • The execution of your vision into strategy.

 

I would like to share an interesting video to validate my article, watch it here

YouTube video

 

Hope my article would have given my readers some valuable insights to become disruptors in their category.

In case if any of my readers need cutting edge advice or strategy for their business, then you know who your GO TO person is.

I can be reached on riteshmohan@yahoo.com.

 

Reference book: Leap by Howard Yu. (One of my best read books in 2019 so far, a must for strategist enthusiasts).

 

About the author:

Ritesh Mohan is a passionate retail professional with over 20 years in the Retail sector, handling some of the biggest brands in beauty, fashion and fragrances retail & FMCG sector. Ritesh has been instrumental in the growth of some of the regional brands as well in the Middle East region. He specializes in Retail management, Product development, and Brand Management, Retail Operations, Sales Management, and Franchising & Business Management. He strongly believes in empowering business owners with his wisdom & experience of around two decades in the industry.

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