Making Software Products that Customers Love
This video elaborates on the key elements of a top software product. It elaborates strategy for making software products that customers love.
https://www.kreyonsystems.com/softwareproductdevelopment.aspx
28 Positive Attitude Quotes to Bring Out Your Best
People who are positive exude great energy, give their best efforts and are always hopeful of achieving great outcomes. Positive attitude is extremely helpful in attracting success. People who are positive in their outlook view every step as a stepping stone to something big in their lives. They are constantly working hard and believe in what they are doing. They work hard, persevere and dont give up when faced with difficulties.
A 30 year study at Mayo Clinic found that optimists had around a 50 percent lower risk of early death than pessimists. It is clear to see that mind and body are linked and attitude has an impact on not just what we do, but also our health.
Positive attitude is a great asset in life which can help you conquer your worst fears. When you learn the right skills, put the right efforts and have the right attitude in life, nothing can stop you from attracting success.
1. “Once you replace negative thoughts with positive ones, you’ll start having positive results.
Willie Nelson
2. “All progress takes place outside of your comfort zone.”
Michael John Bobak
3. “Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life.”
Steve Jobs
4. “Excellence is not a skill. It is an attitude.”
Ralph Marston
5. “Good things come to people who wait, but better things come to those who go out and get them.”
Anonymous
6. “Love yourself. It is important to stay positive because beauty comes from the inside out.”
Jenn Proske
7. “The two most important days in your life are the day you are born and the day you find out why.”
Mark Twain
8. “One person with a belief is equal to 99 who have only interests.”
John Stuart Mill
9. “The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams.”
Eleanor Roosevelt
10. “Action may not always bring happiness; but there is no happiness without action.”
Benjamin Disraeli
11. “Make your life a masterpiece, imagine no limitation on what you can be, have or do.”
Brian Tracy
12. “The only person you are destined to become is the person you decide to be.”
Ralph Waldo Emerson
13. “Start where you are. Use what you have. Do what you can.”
Arthur Ashe
14. “There are two ways of spreading light: to be the candle, or the mirror that reflects it.”
Edith Wharton
15. “Don’t worry about failures, worry about the chances you miss when you don’t even try.”
Jack Canfield
16. “It is in your moments of decision that your destiny is shaped.”
Tony Robbins
17. “The greatest crime in the world is not developing your potential. When you do what you do best, you are helping not only yourself but the world.”
Roger Williams
18. “Even if you’re on the right track, you’ll get run over if you just sit there.”
Will Rogers
19. “Always be a first-rate version of yourself instead of a second-rate version of somebody else.”
Judy Garland
20. “Our greatest glory is not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall.”
Confucius
21. “Strive not to be a success, but rather to be of value.”
Albert Einstein
22. “Start by doing what’s necessary; then do what’s possible; and suddenly you are doing the impossible.”
Francis of Assisi
23. “If you can dream it, you can achieve it.”
Zig Zigla
24. “Hard work beats talent when talent doesn’t work hard.”
Tim Notke
25. “Limitations live only in our minds. But if we use our imaginations, our possibilities become limitless.”
Jamie Paolinetti
26. “I knew that if I failed I wouldn’t regret that, but I knew the one thing I might regret is not trying.”
Jeff Bezos
27. “It is our choices… that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities.”
J.K. Rowling
28. “Success is not what you have, but who you are.”
Bo Bennett
Swiggy to Acquire Uber Eats India
Uber Eats India, the online food ordering and delivery platform launched by Uber, is all set to be acquired by its local rival Swiggy. Uber Eats was launched in India in May 2017, it operates in currently in 37 cities across the country. Swiggy has been backed by Naspers and is valued at over $3.3 billion as of 2019.
The food delivery business needs heavy operations and is resource intensive according to industry experts. The business margins are also low making consolidations more likely in the space. With Uber Eats acquisition, Swiggy and Zomato are now the largest players in this space.
Uber is pushing for its exit from food business in India to cut down its losses as it prepares for a gigantic IPO later this year. The targeted valuation for the Uber IPO is likely to be in the range of $120 -150 billion.
As per Statista, India is the third highest online food delivery market in the world. The online food revenue in India stands at $8.2 billion in 2019, behind US at $18.4 billion and China at $38.4 billion. The online food ordering has come a long way. It is intriguing to note that the first online food order was a pizza from Pizza Hut way back in 1994.
Swiggy has deep pockets after raising over $1.45 billion and are aggressively tapping the market. According to industry insiders, they’re burning cash to the tune of $30-40 million every month.
The Uber Eats acquisition will be channelized via share swap, where Uber would pay with stocks and will take 10% stake in Swiggy. The exit strategy is part of how Uber made its exit from Singapore based ride hailing app Grab, where they closed Uber and got 27.5% stake in Grab.
Swiggy was launched in 2014 in Bengaluru, and has emerged among the leading food ordering startups in the country. The other notable players like Zomato and Food Panda have also been ordering huge discounts after raising the capital. Food Panda was acquired last year by Ola, which is Uber’s ride sharing competitor in India.
The food ordering ecosystem is growing with the both restaurants and consumers benefitting from it. The business model relies on signing up restaurants that get access to a wider customer base. This is not possible in a traditional set-up without additional costs for waiters, staff, space, electricity, logistics etc. For consumers, the discounts, food choices, convenience is the driving force.
The online food delivery system is evolving with restaurants looking for ecommerce options to tap customers; they are also tying up with companies like Swiggy, Food Panda, Zomato and other third parties for online services and delivery.
The online platform capabilities and digitisation are driving growth in traditional areas like food ordering. The Naspers CEO Bob Van Dijk remarked, “Food delivery is a perfect example of our strategy in action with online platform capabilities that address a large offline societal need in a high-growth market. It’s still early days, but if you look at the growth in revenue and the underlying operating metrics, it gives us real confidence in the potential here.”
When Leaders Need to Act Tough
Leadership is hard. It gets harder in the world driven by technology, where people spend very little face time even when they are working next to each other. As a leader, you need to set the tone, culture and high standards. Sometimes, you need to act tough and draw the line between what is acceptable and what is not.
Great leaders act tough when they need to; they are not compelled by the circumstances and situations. They are ready to take temporary setbacks for accomplishing their long term vision. Here are some situations when leaders need to act tough:
1. Status Quo
A leader needs to get things moving and challenge the status quo all the time. No organisation or institution can excel without action and relentless pursuit of improvement. A leader needs to set the pace for their team and drive people to accomplish greater things together.
2. Politics
Nothing is more crippling for organisations than politics. It spreads like cancer. The earlier you tackle it, the better it is. No successful leader encourages politics; infact, they deal with it with an iron fist. People who take the route of politics often end up messing their own careers and achieving very little in the long run. Leaders encourage creativity instead of politics.
3. Mediocrity
Great leadership promotes excellence not mediocrity. Far too often people are keener to do what is easy rather than what is meaningful. Leadership needs to challenge mediocrity and push people to achieve higher standards.
The best way people rise in life is by raising their standards. When people take pride in what they do, they produce great work and grow. Great leaders push average employees into superstars by placing their faith and encouraging them to succeed.
4. Lack of Discipline
Discipline and commitment are non negotiable. Leaders never compromise on discipline and work ethics. When everyone breaches the code of conduct and rules, they should be dealt with proper action.
Great leaders establish great culture by enforcing meaningful rules and policies that can help them achieve synergy in the group. People who are casual about things are rarely disciplined to achieve success.
5. Negative Attitude
Negative attitude is a serious disability. When people spread negativity, lie and gossip, it creates a vicious cycle. Nothing good is achieved from it. It makes people fall into a trap where they simply create a cocoon of negativity around them.
People who are negative find a way to complain about everything. They don’t believe in what they are doing and discourage others from giving their best too. In the end, they only waste their time in negativity and never achieve anything worthwhile. Leaders need to distance themselves and their organisations from such people.
6. Dishonesty & Unethical
When people are dishonest with each other, they create an environment of suspicion around them. Top leaders encourage open communication and honesty. They like to lead with high integrity and character. When teams know they can trust their team members and leaders, they are likely to succeed.
7. Misplaced Priorities
The real world has dynamically changing priorities. Teams and individuals must understand the priorities in order to achieve what they want. The role of leadership is to constantly communicate what is important and requires attention.
If someone in the team doesn’t understand the priorities, deadlines and urgency of things that need to be done, leaders need to act tough. They need to take action to ensure that things are not repeated by others.
8. Unfair treatment
One of the fundamental tenets of leadership is to treat others with respect. Each and every team member is equal. When someone shows a biased attitude and treats other people unfairly, leadership needs to take stringent measures.
Rudeness and unfair treatment of others shouldn’t be tolerated by leaders. They must act to ensure that everyone is treated equal irrespective of their designations of what they do.
9. Excuses
There are two kinds of people, one who give you the excuses and others with the results. Leaders need to identify people who are always looking for excuses and deal with them. When the stakes are high, you cannot back off and give excuses.
Leaders need to inculcate a great spirit in their teams where they consistently give their best and resilient enough to succeed. They should adopt and attitude of learning and experimentation to produce the goods.
10. Poor Results
Leaders expect positive outcomes and progressive work. When teams and people are not producing the results, leaders need to analyse the missing pieces in the puzzle. If the teams are not really connected to their work or find meaning, they often produce poor results. Leaders need to understand the sensitivity of people, but never compromise on results and growth.
Poor results don’t lead to progress or growth. Ultimately if you need to grow, you have to deliver great results, surpass expectations and achieve excellence. It is always possible to achieve it when you give your best. Great leaders strive for progress and results.
Pulwama Scapegoat
Who is to blame for the Security lapse of Pulwama? People have found a convenient scapegoat for venting their anger.
8 Secrets to Increase Your Energy
Do you often feel tired, listless and lack enthusiasm in your day to day routine? If yes, you could be among the majority of people who lack the energy required to make it to the top level.
Can you improve your energy levels? Yes, for sure. Does it help? Yes again, studies have found that people who have positive energy are high performers. The low and negative energy can affect your performance adversely.
Energy is power. Successful people often have high energy and enthusiasm that enables them to achieve what they want. People with high energy often attract the best opportunities and luck.
So, explore the secrets to increase your energy and power your way to success:
1. Focus on the Process:
Don’t let the outcome bog you down. Go with the flow and focus on the process. When you are doing something with sincerity, commitment and full efforts, you feel energised. But when you are too anxious about the results, it weighs you down and you eventually fail to accomplish what you want.
2. Channelize Negativity with Creativity:
In a survey conducted by Gallup, it was found that people who spent time using their strengths were able to channelize negativity and emotions better.
In other words, our brains work effectively when they are engaged in something creative, meaningful and important to us. When you spend time doing things that are really meaningful, you will have less worries, stress, anger, sadness and pain.
People who spend more than 10+ hours per day had least amount of negative emotions and experiences.
3. Right Diet & Good Health:
What you eat has a bearing on your system, it affects your energy levels. When you eat heavy food, it doesn’t make you energetic. On the contrary, body needs to work overtime to digest the food and saps your energies. A balanced diet of fresh food that suits your body can help your system keep up the energy levels.
Good health is a source of abundant energy levels. Successful people devote time to stay in good health and prioritise it. It helps them keep up their energy levels and spirits high. Nothing comes without efforts.
4. Make Progress:
Human beings crave progress. It is our nature to seek progress. When we do something progressive every day we feel good about it. It creates energy that helps us strive and accomplish more.
Build routines and habits that can help you get make progress in your day to day activities. The more progress you make, the more you grow and the better you feel about yourself.
5. Conserve Energy:
In his famous book, “The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People,” Steven Covey elaborates about circle of influence. It is the things you can control. It doesn’t matter whatever your profession or whatever you do, you cannot control everything.
You have to learn to focus your energies on things you can control and stop wasting time and energies on things you don’t. When we worry too much about things which are not in our control, we lose control of what we can control.
6. Radiate Positivity & Energy:
When you radiate positivity, enthusiasm and energy, you attract the best things in your life. Your interactions with others become meaningful and encouraging. You become an energiser and it helps you accomplish great things too.
The energisers are people who raise the standards of those around them. They radiate a genuine enthusiasm for what they do and their commitment, energy levels are infectious too. These energisers are often driven by a mission that is unselfish and bigger than personal gains.
7. Love What You Do:
Stanford researchers recently studied the brains of students to see how attitude affects achievement, they found something astonishing. Your outlook on learning, is as important as your IQ.
Simply put, when you do something with love, attention and care it makes a world of difference. The attitude with which you do things goes a long way in determining its outcome. When you work with love, it creates a positive vibe and energy that is hard to miss. It reflects in what you do.
People who derive pleasure and love what they do often surpass talented individuals. The sheer love and passion opens door to learning, which leads to achievements.
8. Control Your Mind:
Your mind is the most powerful supercomputer on the planet. It is capable of elevating you to the highest things in human life. But when it is constantly wandering and out of control, it can dissipate energy.
Whether it is the top level Olympians, artists, or professionals, they know how to control their mind when it matters the most. They practice breathing techniques, exercise, meditate and build routines that help them gradually control their minds.
When the mind is quiet and devoid of thoughts, it generates great energy. This energy comes from the depths of our being and can be channelized to achieve great things.
10 Powerful lessons from War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy
This is a short video on the lessons from War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy. It is rated as one of the best books of all time. The lessons are full of wisdom & timeless.
8 Awesome Ways to Increase Business Visibility
Visibility is one of the biggest challenges that businesses face today. It’s not easy to get noticed in the age of information overload. There is a saying that goes that aptly summarises it, ‘What is seen is sold.’ If your potential clients are unaware of the services or the products you are offering, how they will reach you?
Increasing visibility and creating brand awareness is not an easy task especially for young companies, due to the crowded marketplace. It is hard to differentiate yourself and standout. Your message needs to be spot on; consistent and tailored for your audience, else it will be perceived as marketing noise.
Data from Google shows that 87% of potential customers use mobile and other electronic devices to search for business information, before making any purchase. Hence having a strong digital presence can lead to increased visibility and business opportunities. As per Statista, the global m-commerce sales will surpass $693 billion by 2019.
As per Social Media today, 1 out of every five minutes is spent on social networking accounts. A digital and social media presence is indispensable for business visibility. Here we look at some of the awesome ways you can increase your business visibility:
1. Good Location:
A good location multiplies business opportunities and a bad one ruins them. Always choose the best possible location for your business, where your potential clients are coming frequently. If you are willing to open a fast food restaurant than, any place which is situated nearby schools or college will be the best option for your business setup.
Do not forget to apply a attractive name plate of your business with visible fonts, it will automatically grasp the attention of your audience, attract potential employees and will market your brand.
2. Great Website
A stunning website with great designs is a basic requirement in the digital world. When visitors search your business, they should feel the wow factor.
Having a good website is a essential part for increasing the visibility at local as well as on global market. So make an attractive website which has the clear description of all your services or products with graphics or images. A clear NAP i.e. Name , Address and Phone number will make your website more search engine friendly.
3. Business Directories:
Register your business in Local Business Directories, having a business account on social business pages on digital platform likes – Google my business page, online trade directories, yelp, yellow pages etc. can help to increase your brand awareness. Trade service directories offer a simple way for people to find out more about you and contact your business.
Most of the business directories offer free listings, you could also opt for paid listings for premium services like web leads and full services details on these trade directories.
4. Print Media:
Print Media is one of the most traditional ways to gain visibility for your business, but it works. It can increase walk-ins for your business. You can make attractive hoardings, banners, brochures and pamphlets with attractive images and graphics to convey your message to
your targeted audience. The electronic copy of the marketing materials can also
be distributed via digital platforms and social media channels.
You may also print your company’s Logo on some household things like – pens, paper wait, calendars, diaries, etc. and distribute them to create goodwill with your prospective customers.
5. Blog & Digital Content:
An interactive blog with great indepth articles, Infographics and videos etc can serve as a great way for brands to establish themselves. It takes lot of effort to create quality content. But the blog can serve as a great means to advertise about your capabilities, strengths and knowledge in your industry.
Your blog can be built around your customers and address them. The interactive videos etc. can be shared on social media to create a buzz around your offerings. Blog is also one of the most effective ways to improve your SEO and search engine rankings.
6. Sponsorships, Events and Conferences:
Giving sponsorship to events where your targeted audience is expected to come is also a persuasive approach for brand visibility. Do not forget to put your company’s banner having a short description about your services with your clear address and contact details
when you attend events.
Small gifts and giveaways that bear your company’s signature and contact details can help your branding too.
7. Group Associations and Affiliations:
Your business visibility is directly affected by its network and reach. By joining communities, business groups and targeted groups, your business can get good exposure. For e.g. joining London Chamber of commerce can get you in touch with many business persons there. When you join a peer group of industry, you know the latest developments in your field and also connect with others who have similar interests.
Getting in touch with those who are already in your field & doing well can help you learn many business traits from them. You can also share, learn and grow from these cumulative experiences. Most businesses often have complementary products and services. A bigger network can bring you more opportunities.
8. Online to Offline Strategy:
According to Google, ‘near me’ mobile searches have grown over 500% in the last two years. It goes to show how important local optimisations can be for connecting with the local customers. Whether you’re a retailer, online store or an established business, you need a
way to connect the online and offline world for success in the digital world.
Conclusion:
The successful businesses are able to execute their strategies for creating visibility for their products and services and staying on top of the mind for their customers. Visibility is proportional to growth and profitability. The more people see you , more they will buy things from you. As a business, you need to remember that people are not interested in who you are, they are interested in what you can do for them.
“Your visibility is the result of your efforts and how consistent you are with posting and connecting with the people in your Network.”
Denise Wakeman
5 Reasons Why Brands Should Use Videos
Short videos are all over the internet. People like to share clips of videos for fun, learning and out of curiosity. Brands around the world are using videos to engage their visitors, tell stories about themselves and even improving their conversions.
Short videos typically less than 2 minutes are powerful attention grabbers. They are used by brands increasingly to build brand awareness. Consumers are hooked to Youtube, Vimeo and other video platforms.
1. Build Brand Awareness
Videos are great way to build brand awareness, introduce your ideas, products and services to the customers. A video can help your brand to deliver its messaging in a very subtle way without intending to sell things directly. As per study done by Google, 90% of people say they discovered new brands on Youtube.
Videos capture users attention and improve your brand recall value. If your videos are done creatively, people even share videos with their friends and family. A study conducted on Understanding the role of digital video marketing revealed, 4 in 5 people say digital video helps them learn new things or reduce stress.
2. Position Your Brand as Expert
Videos are creative ways of introducing concepts to the audience. These videos can help your brand to establish itself as an expert by addressing customer’s concerns in the video. The videos can address the key issues, concerns and questions of your customers. Once you start to do that, you can establish yourself as an expert in your industry.
Advertising and marketing can be done with lot of creativity using these short videos. Many companies are creating videos to educate their consumers on a wide range of topics like how to videos, lists, and other developments in their fields. These videos can great traction for them and open new avenues for business.
3. Content Marketing & SEO
Videos are a great way to create compelling content and connect with the audience. When brands are churning out so much content to entice the users, videos are particularly useful in helping them standout.
With billions of pages on the web, videos are very effective in improving SEO rankings of a web page. One of the important metrics for ranking high on Google is the time spent by visitors on your website or webpage. This time increases significantly on web pages with engaging videos. It also helps to improve search rankings for the web pages.
Videos are very effective for SEO and content marketing. These are also shared by people on social media increasing chances for generating more links to your web page and improving its rankings in search results.
4. Convey Your Story & Connect
A gripping video can convey the story of a brand, why it exists and what it intends to do. It can help a brand to articulate its purpose and connect with the world. Videos are a great way to humanize a brand.
Videos can show emotions, convey meaning and connect with consumers. These videos can make your brand more appealing by building an emotional connection with people and increasing trust.
5. Videos Can help Your Sales
Videos can help you sell your products and services. It can improve conversion ratio of your web pages and help you grow your business online. As per Google/Ipsos study titled How People Shop with Youtube, More than half of shoppers say online video has helped them decide which specific brand or product to buy.
The video is emerging as an important aid for consumers in every stage of their buying cycle. Whether it is discovering a brand, gathering information, or making a purchase, video is influencing consumers. As per Video brewery, 64% of people who visit a business website are likely to buy their product after watching a video.
Apparently, videos are emerging as a very potent tool for brands to woo digital consumers, articulate their stories and grow their business. Videos are emerging as the new frontier for companies to engage, entertain and create customers.
