Sheetal Mulay

It was month of June. All shops already announced monsoon sales & discount offers. And here it came. A new gym opened near my place. For almost a week I was planning to go in & check with them. But it was not happening. But that day I saw that 40% discount board & I went in. And I ended up opting for one year membership, after all that plan had maximum discount. The first day the instructor gave me workout, low intensity. I was wondering if that was Low intensity, god bless me. I was exhausted, drained & was dragging my legs. Next day was no different. Few exercises changed here & there. But it was same, super exhausting. Then on Sunday I took an off. It continued for a few more days. But on one Monday, I told myself it’s not a good idea to go out since it was raining so much. Next day, I observed my daughter is sneezing a lot, Next day my maid took off… & next day…. It continued. I stopped going to the gym. Every tim...

What's cooking? What are you preparing for dinner today? Don’t worry, I am not asking for a treat! J Today we are going to have some ‘Serious’ kitchen business! So same question again, normally what do you cook for dinner? Yes, I know your answer “It all depends…” True, it depends upon what you have in the pantry/refrigerator, how many guests, off course how your mood is and most importantly who is coming? How is it related to your business? Here you go… When you start your business, you MUST start selling what you have ready in your plate. Just like last minute cooking! (2 Minute Maggie) If you keep on thinking about adding fancy veggies & decorative plating, the dinner time gets over! You lose the opportunity! So start selling with what you have. (Minimal Viable Product) When you start getting some money rolling in your bank account & have a good word out, you must start providing the wholesome meal! Wheat pasta with some exotic vegg...

Want to know the truth? The world doesn’t need what you are selling! Yes! That’s the harsh reality. They were doing well before you decided to sell your product/service or they will be perfectly fine if you don’t sell anything. Does that mean you should not sell your product? No! Absolutely not! People out there shout ‘Start business to change life & not to earn money’ . I am not saying they are wrong but your product can’t change life of everybody from day one. It may have higher potential but you must sell it to the right people at the right time . My first business was homemade gourmet chocolates. If somebody would have asked me then,” For whom your chocolates are for?” I would have laughed at him and thought; there is something wrong with that person. “Hell… anyone on the earth can eat chocolates” Right isn’t it? No… I was wrong…entirely wrong. It took me a lot of hard work, time, money and many sleepless nights to realize it. Now when...

“You are kidding! If you are giving so much content for ‘FREE’ who will buy from you?”  my friend was very much worried. “Is it some kind of a social service you are doing to empower people?” she continued. Yes, she was very much right! It was not her fault. That is how exactly we had been taught about business. Keep everything like a top secret else someone will steal it! Want to know the truth? The time has changed! Thanks to internet! There is everything out there for free! Books, courses, movies, seminars, workshops, TV serials, school coaching! Everything, you name it!   Then what is so secret about your product/service? Even if you think it is some ‘Super Invention’, trust me very soon some big player will jump in & will crush the market. Remember the rice bran oil? So the point here is stop worrying & treating your product/service like a red tape file. How is it related to ‘Free’! In the modern world of internet you can’t SELL anything to anyone, but th...

Few days back, I got a free gift voucher for a newly opened spa which was near to my place. I decided to visit them on a weekend! What a pleasant surprise? The lobby & interiors were fabulous! A soothing lemon grass air freshener enlightened my mood immediately as I entered! A smiling girl welcomed me by using my name! It gave me the feeling as if they were waiting for me! Every possible minor detail was taken care! I had been told to wait for some time! A superb drinks menu was offered which included lemonade, Coke/Pepsi & cold coffee along with some beauty magazine! Wow! It was perfectly comfortable! They took me in after 10 minutes. The place was super clean & service was amazing! What a relaxing break it was? Loved it! During my next visit, everything was same except they were having only Pepsi & Coke. The clothing was not neatly washed! I was little disappointed but still it was good! Next time they told my regular massager left the job. The new one was not goo...

“I am done. I can’t take it anymore. I badly need a break!” I told my husband. “When I was boarding a crowded local train at 6:30pm, cramped at the door, literally fighting to get inside and guess what… ‘I got an idea’. When I was making roties for tiffin, I got my idea. When I was doing weekly grocery shopping in a crowded supermarket, I got an idea. When I dropped my girl to school & was walking all the way home, I got a new idea. You know what; I am so full of ideas (really?).” I continued, “The only thing I need is some peace & a break from this noisy & crowded schedule. I will be able to think about many new things & work more efficiently. I need a break” I demanded. My husband is very cooperative. He agreed. We planned it. And I was off on a three day outing in a peaceful and serene natural environment. They say good ideas come early in the morning. So I got up at 4 am. I was feeling fresh & charged. I took out my new notebo...

It was a wonderful afternoon. “I am done! It was too much! “, My friend almost shouted. She just had conducted her fabulous workshop which I attended. And now we were out for lunch, in one of my favourite restaurants. We had already finished our first round of appetizers. Let me tell you something, When she said, “I am done”, she was not referring food. Because very soon we ordered our second round of appetizers & started checking for our main course. Yes, we already planned desserts too. :-) She continued, “It’s happening with me again & again & again”. “I had done a lot of research, conducted surveys, shared loads of free information, and prepared this wonderful workshop. There were more than 30 of them who already said, “I am in”. But no one came today!” “And do you know how many turned up? Six just Six…ha” She was so frustrated that she forgot that I was among those six. We two left our corporate job nearly at the same time to start our individual businesses. I starte...

I agree it’s entirely my fault; I made you wait for long. I simply disappeared & I know it’s bad. No, I am not going to give you any silly excuses like ‘I was not well’ or “Had some family priorities’ or “there was an earthquake here” blah la blah :-) In fact, today I am going to confess something. I did a mistake & I am going to share it with you. And something very important, I am going to share my ‘Back to Game Strategy’ so you can use it if you are trapped in similar situation. Here you go! As I started growing my business, many new friends joined. Or let me correct that, many newly joined people became friends. I started working on their businesses, personal consulting, on call support & a lot more. Every possible opportunity I said ‘Yes’. Sometimes for monetary reasons or sometimes just because I don’t want to hurt anyone by saying ‘NO’. So I end up in saying ‘Yes’ for many things which I never planned. And the inevitable happened. ...

‘Stop working ‘IN’ your business & Start working ‘ON’ your business’ Here is what I mean. When I started my chocolate business, I was making the chocolates, wrapping and packing them, taking orders, giving deliveries. A thousand of chocolates daily. I use to work 20 Hrs a day. All the time I was acting as a technician/worker & working ‘IN’ my business. I grew my business, I hired few people. Now I started teaching them, making them work and monitoring day to day activity. Promotion time! From a technician I promoted myself to a manager. But still I was working ‘IN’ my business. Then I started my instant tea business. Now this time I outsourced my manufacturing, packaging & branding processes. Then what type of work I was doing? I started working on my lead generation strategies, sales presentations, marketing approaches, lead conversions and customer relationship. In other words, ‘My Business’ was my product & not what I was sellin...

The other day, I was attending a workshop, and I had a conversation with two women entrepreneurs there. It went like this: Girl #1: "Sheetal, are you on Periscope?" Me: "No—" Girl #2: "Uooo! How are you not yet? It’s new & cool. I am using it like anything but I am not on Pinterest yet" Girl #1: "OMG you aren’t on Pinterest? I am planning to hire a professional to handle all my social media. It’s difficult to keep a track of it all the time you know." Girl #2: "I heard about him. He is really good. I’m going to do that soon!!" Spare me! This was a real conversation. I pretended to answer my phone, and walked away. Look... If you want to start and grow an online business, the last thing you need is a professional to handle all your social media. As a matter of fact, here is a list of things you don't need: * You don't need a Twitter account (Or any social media account which is draining you). * You don...

I have a good news for you! In past few days a loads of members joined our Gang! Cool isn’t it? Let’s welcome the Fresher. I mean newly joined members with a treat. Here is my treat! I am listing all my popular/ most read blog links. If you missed any or want to re-read them, this is your chance! Off course you can read them at your leisure time! If You Are Just Staring Or Looking For Business Ideas: Are You Scared To Start Your Online Business? Something Very Important Which Will Determine the Successof Your Business! One Big Problem That is Holding You Back and Yes There Is a Cure! What is your Special Gift? Put that passion in your pipe and smoke it! I did it! Are You Suffering From Perfection Paralysis? There Is Only One Cure! If You Have Business Idea And Wondeing What's Next ? How to Pick a Perfect Name for Your Business? How Do You Become an Overnight Success? Start Turning Your BIG Idea into Reality! 5...

We are all getting closely judged and criticized all the time. Thanks to dear Mr Internet! Let it be a one star review or a bad comment or sometime no ‘comments or likes’, it simply blows it off. We feel annoyed or ignored! I simply hate it & I know you too! Today let’s deal with that criticism. The criticism is not always directly linked with your work. Sometimes it is about how you look or what you eat, what you wear, how you talk & what you listen to. Sometimes online, sometimes offline! But the very first reaction is we feel offended, insulted & hurt. We really take it all close to our heart! Want to know the truth ? Here you go! We too criticize ourselves constantly. How many times you stand in front of the mirror and say,” I am perfect but that belly fat…” Or you listen to that video recording and feel you could have done it better. This is normal and it is part of being human. So the important point here is let it be personal or ...