Some business learnings

• A sale is NOT CLOSED till you have a signed contract and money in the bank account - Entreperenurship is about optimism. And this optimism many-a-times prompts your to jump up in joy when you come out of a meeting feeling that the deal is done. You go ahead and declare the great news to all and sundry and even do a small round of celebration. Its just a matter of time that the signed agreement is faxed to you. 1 day passes - 2 - 3 - 7 - you call the VP you had met - no response - 10 days - you call again - no reply. On the 15th day you get to know that you have lost the account
• Its difficult to keep your cool during trying times. But, hey that's what differentiates the winners from the crowd. And, this is often easier said than done. However, my experience has been that if you discuss the situation with others in your team , often workable solutions come out. Albeit, its very important to be totally honest about the situation.
• Always be open to spot opportunities. We had started with a line of business and still that happens to be our top revenue generator, however, some business lines have emerged which we had not even thought of 3 years back. Its fascinating to see the business evolve and mostly the final form is totally different from what you had started with
• Try 100 different things (maybe, 1000) for driving business. Always try to experiment. Thats the only way to grow. There is NO SET FORMULA.
• Your credibility and reputation "was - is - and always will be" the MOST VALUABLE thing if you are the business founder(or if you are not the founder). Nothing else can ever surpass your credibility and reputation. Period.