Innovar Knowledge Solutions

I know a former boss, who preached the concept of perfection and how the little things we do right could make us perfect. This concept is true in its own essence but what happens to people or business who are not getting it right. I came across the history of the Leaning Tower of Pisa and this changed my perception - so instead of striving for perfection, I can build on my imperfections to become monumental. Read the story of the tower below and the learning points you can take from this story as an entrepreneur:  The Leaning Tower of  Pisa is the 3rd oldest structure in Italy and it is over 1000 years old. The Tower of Pisa was designed as a bell tower but its main purpose was to visually attract people to the cathedral in the town of Pisa. In the second year of its construction, the tower began to tilt - this was because the ground was too soft on one side to support the structure's weight. The construction of the tower was halted for almost a ce...

If you’re up against adversity or overcoming challenges, this story is for you. Will Smith's first career as a rapper led to him going broke in 1990 when the IRS came knocking. Will says, “They wanted $2.8 million and I had two dollars and eighty three cents.” “There’s nothing more sobering than having six cars and a mansion one day and you can’t even buy gas… the next.” Overnight, his hip hop friends disappeared and he was left trying to figure out what to do next. Early success and fast spending had led to big failure. It was producer Quincy Jones who became Will’s white knight. Quincy was planning a new comedy for NBC, and thought of his own experience bringing up his kids in Bel-Air. He remembered one call from his daughter who was away at camp: “Dad, the water here sucks. Please FedEx Evian.” So Quincy put his experience together with Will Smith’s “Fresh Prince” image, and created “The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air”. Will auditioned while struggling with no money, and...

If you are familiar with the game Candy Crush Saga, you will understand this post better. I used to wonder what the fuss was about this game and how my friends would stay up late playing this game, until I got sucked in. Now since I started this blog, I started playing this game with a different perspective and here some things I learnt from playing this game. I have come to understand that in life there are lessons around us to learn and If we are listening to these lessons and applying it to our life daily we will definitely succeed: Lesson 1: You must start at level 1 No matter how far you wish to take your business, you must take the first step. The biggest brands all took that very first step and they are successful today just because they had the courage to take the first step. Taking the first step to starting any business comes with uncertainty and different levels of constraints. My advice is do not second guess yourself or your vision. Take that business idea and...

18 months & 3 simple, not-so-simple steps to $1 billion... Instagram sold to Facebook for $1 billion. A week ago, when TIME asked Instagram founder, Kevin Systrom, if he would sell the company, hesaid “It’s not really on the top of our minds right now.” Kevin is 27 years old and started Instagram 18 months ago with Mike Krieger, in October 2010. The company has grown with just 4 staff, and today has just 9 in the team. With the $1 billion deal that was announced today, was Kevin just plain lucky, or was there some simple steps that he (and others who have had the same luck) have in common? Here’s three steps he followed. They may not guarantee you exactly the same success - but they will increase your own good fortune: 1. THINK BIG FROM DAY ONE - THEN LEARN FROM OTHERS: It was while Kevin was studying at Stanford 7 years ago that he had the idea of a photo-sharing site, from his passion for photography. That was before iPhones, and before Facebook. Step one is to...

What one small step you take today could lead to a multi-million dollar chain reaction? That’s what happened to Susan Wojcicki when she was 30 years old: “I had just got out of business school and bought a house. So I needed to get some renters in order to help pay the mortgage...” So she rented our her garage to two Stanford students, Larry Page and Sergey Brin, who used it to start up their new company, Google. Susan remembers the first year, with many “late nights together in the garage eating pizza and M&Ms, where (Larry and Sergey) talked to me about how their technology could change the world." They finally convinced her to join as Employee No.18 and their first marketing manager, when she was four months pregnant. First job? Relocate them all to a proper office. Called the “Mom at Google”, Susan was the first in the team to have a baby, and her “family first” philosophy led to Google topping the ‘Fortune 100 Best Companies to Work For’ list. The “fa...

Habit #5: Create Assets That Create Income Working to earn money is easy. Limiting yourself to what you earn from your job will not improve your income or guarantee you financial freedom. what you need to do then is to create assets that will work for you. Assets that can generate income like investment portfolios, business or investing in real estate. if you still have your regular day time job your focus should be on creating these kinds of assets and not just working to earn a salary. Creating income generating assets give you the freedom from the rat race. You may still choose to work but you won't have to because you have created assets that give you regular cash flow. Don’t think about working to earn a paycheck. Think about working to create investment portfolios, cash-generating businesses, and cash-flowing properties.  Habit #6: Don’t Quit Your Day Job—Yet Don't quit your day time job yet - because it can take time to build a business that gives you ...

Hello Everyone, I will be sharing with you 8 habits of successful entrepreneurs. Someone once said that "A bad habit is like a soft chair, easy to get into but difficult to get out of". As you read this post I want you to turn this habits to "bad habits" as it will become part of your journey to success. Habit #1: Always Be Learning Knowledge is the most valuable asset of an entrepreneur. As an entrepreneur, if you have an in-depth understanding of what you are doing then you stand a higher chance of winning in business. One major way to make sure you are one step ahead is to engage in continuous learning. To be a successful entrepreneur you have to be a student of technology, human nature and business. the pace of change in technology today is very high. As an entrepreneur, if your business is touched by technology you must stay up-to-date with the latest trends. Humans change slowly, but the nature of humans is quite complex and deep. You must c...

Proof that entrepreneurship doesn’t depend on your company size, but on your mindset: Here are the top four company comebacks - each from the jaws of billion dollar failures. STARBUCKS In 2008, Starbucks' over expansion into music, movies and too many loss making stores led to an exodus of customers as quality fell. 977 stores closed and its stock price plummeted 80% from $40 to $7.83. In the midst of the crisis, founder, Howard Schultz returned as the CEO, saying Starbucks had “forgotten what we stand for.” He refocused 100% on the coffee, closed all stores for a day to retrain the baristas, brought all 10,000 store managers to New Orleans to rediscover their sense of mission and purpose. As he says, “If we hadn’t had New Orleans, we wouldn’t have turned things around.” Since then, Starbucks has doubled in size and profitability, growing to over 23,000 stores, $16 billion in revenue and $3 billion in profit. Howard remains as both Chairman and CEO today. NETFLIX I...

Hello, So I was going through Facebook last night and I stumbled on something really interesting that I will be sharing with you. As aspiring entrepreneurs there is the tendency to feel discouraged or give up before we achieve our set goals. Today we are surrounded by successful business people whom we look up to and one thing is certain - "Rome was not built in a day". They are successful because they had a dream, they took a risk and they were resilient. As I share the stories with you, I want you to find a connection point and let this drive you to success. A STORY OF WHAT'S POSSIBLE A story of what’s possible - In 1990 Jim Carrey, a broke, unknown 28-year old comic in LA, decided to write a check to himself: For $10 million. “I wrote myself a check for $10 million for ‘acting services rendered’, gave myself five years and dated it Thanksgiving 1995. I put it in my wallet and it deteriorated, and deteriorated.” Jim went from year to year, check in pocket,...

Tip 1: Start Small Dream Big Either you dream big or small it takes the same effort, so why not dream big! Dreaming big does not make you materialistic or greedy. Whatever voices you have in your head telling you that you don’t deserve the best life has to offer you, you have to drown that voice and take the bull by the horn. Successful business people have developed the ability to visualise their success before it becomes reality. Developing the ability to visualise your success before it happens will make you see opportunities that no one else sees. While you visualise your dreams, you need to take it one step at a time- to realise your big dreams you have got to start small. Sometimes you might get excited about those big dreams and want it to play out right now but before you quit you daytime job ensure that you have developed a plan that lays the ground work for your ideas to manifest. Remember that it might take a while before the profits start to come in. In other to be...

TIP 5: F.O.C.U.S. If being an entrepreneur or investor were easy, everyone would do it. According to Robert Kiyosaki to be successful as a business owner or investor, one must F.O.C.U.S. F.O.C.U.S simply stands for: Follow One Course of Action Until Successful Being an entrepreneur is rewarding but it requires hard work, resilience and determination.  To be successful as an entrepreneur you need to FOCUS!  This days people want fast money and are unwilling to go through the process required for creating a sustainable business, they want immediate results.  The truth is that it takes a while before you begin to see positive cash flow from a business and as a result you will need to stick to one course of action, believe in it and trust that results will come.  In other to realise your dreams you have to master your craft. Mastering your craft does not come over night.  Mastering  your craft does not come from taking the path of...

Tip 4:Create a Solid Team The major difference between the business owners/investors and the self-employed in the cash flow quadrant is how they approach a given task. The Self-employed like to get down and dirty and do the job themselves. The self employed are determined but this approach could be limiting in the sense that there's just so much you can achieve as a person. As a start-up entrepreneur , you must accept the fact that you cannot do it all alone. You will need people to sound off your ideas or professionals in your field of business to give you insight. Steve Jobs had Steve Wozniak. Bill Gates had Steve Balmmer . Mark Zuckerberg even had the Winklevoss twins. According to Robert “The bottom line is that if your business or investment venture only has one “founder, ” it probably means you are unable to talk any of your friends into starting the company or investing with you”. In other words, it is a vote of no confidence. Part of what you stand to ...

Fail Fast & Fail Often Most entrepreneurs are not afraid to take risks, if they were they would still be at their regular jobs. In order to be successful , you need to take risks . Take advantage of any opportunity you have , it may scare you but  playing it safe will only make  your journey to financial freedom longer.  One thing is certain, mistakes will be made and lessons will be learnt.  Don’t look  at mistakes as something that you must avoid, instead see mistakes as learning opportunities for you and your business. The faster you make mistakes and learn from your mistakes the faster you can grow your business.  Fail fast and fail often simply means that you can leverage th e power o f repetition – practice makes perfect sounds cliche but it’s a proven fact. Your ultimate goal as an entrepreneur is to keep your business alive and thriving. In order to achieve your goals you must practice  until you find your breakt...

Tip 2: Identify Your Priorities, but Be Flexible   As a start-up business you need to identify your key priorities and go after them with resolve. Prioritize your work by separating the good from the best. This will give you both flexibility and freedom. In the process of building your business, identify the essential elements that will sustain the business in the long-run. Do not underestimate the time and cost it will take to execute your business plan. Success does not come over night; it takes time and deliberate effort. Speak to people who are experience in the field you want to venture into; they will give you firsthand experience on the risks and positives of the business. After careful planning, avoid going over your planned budget and keep to the time-frame you have set for your business. Remember to set SMART goals. If you do not prioritize you will risk spending so much time and achieving nothing. Every business has important pieces that create the successful r...

Hello Everyone, Do you have that idea or business plan you think will take you to financial freedom? Are you dreaming of owning your own business in the nearest future? Are you tired of the 9-5 rat race and desire financial freedom? I will be sharing with you 5 Success Tips for a Start-Up Business based on my learning’s from The Rich Dad Poor Dad coaching series. Tip 1: Start Small Dream Big Either you dream big or small it takes the same effort, so why not dream big! Dreaming big does not make you materialistic or greedy. Whatever voices you have in your head telling you that you don’t deserve the best life has to offer you, you have to drown that voice and take the bull by the horn. Successful business people have developed the ability to visualise their success before it becomes reality. Developing the ability to visualise your success before it happens will make you see opportunities that no one else sees. While you visualise your dreams, you need to take it one ste...