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8 Things One Can Learn From Big Businesses by Silicon india.com

1. Hire the right Employees

First and foremost thing is to hire the right employees for your company. Before starting with the recruitment, be clear about certain things in your mind. For example, the company’s mission, the qualities you are looking in an employee, the way you want them to be associated with your company and more. It is advisable to recruit new people with the help of your existing employee’s references as it is mostly seen that the percentage of referred employees quitting their job is less than others. References are good but make sure that the employees you hire are equally talented and capable of handling the responsibilities at work.

2. Give them some time to improve

It is advisable that you give some time to your new employees to cope up with their working environment. Expecting a high quality and productivity from the employee right from the beginning is not correct. Once in a week allow them to indulge into some other interesting projects where they can do something innovative and learn more, simultaneously, which will help them to increase their productivity. This will be refreshment for the employees and provoke them to work more in the next week.

3. Offer those vacations or leaves

 Companies don’t grow if their employees work for 365 days continuously. In India, the maximum leave allotted to an employee is up to 20 days in these 365 days. Employees can work efficiently if he is given a good break from his work at least a day off in a week or in two weeks. As the saying goes,” all work and no play makes jack a dull boy,” and so it is better to allot your employees some vacation and make sure that they take it. This will indirectly benefit you as your employee will be happy and energetic to work for your company.

4. Make your workplace spacious

Sometimes congested workplaces discourage employees at work. Make your workplace more spacious to move around. There should be more rooms available for formal as well as informal discussions. Of course formal space will be more in workplaces but the need of informal or relaxation space is also necessary. There should be enough space for employees to perform extra-curricular activities.  Such steps act as a key to refresh your employees and keep them fit and happy both physically and mentally.

5. Team interaction with the help of games

An employee would perform better if they are given a casual and friendly environment. To make your workplace little for vibrant, allot some time, may be once in a week or once in two weeks, for games and activities. This way team members can bond and gel well with each other. Interaction and flow of communication always helps a company to grow better and makes a better place to work.

6. Make yourself free for your employees

Once in a week make sure that you fix up a meeting with your employees where they can share their feelings. If they have some difficulty in working or any work related problems you should be concerned about it. It is not that all the employees will be smart enough to come to you, there might be some who are shy or introvert, so the best way to handle such employees is to encourage them and keep a check on them. This will increase the confidence in your employees.

7. Provide trainings and educational facilities

Each and every company has their own method of training and teaching. However, it has been widely observed that new joinees get corporate training only for a certain period of time. This is not a right practice to be followed as trainings should be given on new programs even after they are onboard. Besides, educational facilities help an employee grow more, such as, if an employee wants to pursue post graduation or any professional course, they should be provided with weekend class facilities and examinations.

8. Other facilities

Many employers are known for their attractive workplaces with facilities. Attractive facilities possibly create an urge in an employee to come at work, which in a way can help with employee retention. However, you might not have the huge cash flow to provide lavish facilities like topnotch employers, benefits like day care facilities, free canteen facilities, parental or maternity leaves, fitness centers, swimming pool, and party areas can help your employees maintain a healthy work life.

6 Signs Of A Startup That Seeks New Steer by Silicon India.com

#1 One piece works better than the whole.

The story of StyleZen boils down to the fact that at times the tools that are being used to power the business may be more powerful than the business itself.

"Once we figured the technology out, we had a very strong belief that it would be more valuable if leveraged across multiple brands as opposed to my one startup brand," Wohlschlaeger explains. "An internal tool turned out to be more valuable than the shell." Unique usership and engagement are the key points to pinch so as to sense the shifting perspective as per the StyleZen founders.   

#2 You misjudged your market

All startup founders believe that the customers are waiting for the companies solutions are services however in actuality they are least interested. Neal Hansch, San Francisco-based managing director of MEST Incubator reminds everyone not to be carried away and misjudge the market.

"It's not about having failed to get in front of potential users," Hansch says. "It's that the value proposition doesn't resonate enough with the target audience to generate sufficient interest for most to give it a try, much less become regular, repeat users. That means it's time to rethink the idea and assess how the core thesis was off-base.”

#3 You're missing industry standards

Understanding the industry's key sales cycles is important to assessing whether the startup is heading in the right direction as per Patrick FitzGerald, lecturer in the Goergen Entrepreneurial Management Program at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. A thorough understanding of the sales cycle is required; whether it is 6 months or four months or in a quick form of yes or no.

"If you're finding that you're not getting a yes or no within that industry time frame, that's a pretty good red flag that you're outside the norm in your industry," he says. "If it happens once or twice, fine. But if it's ongoing, you've got to realize it's a problem and consider whether a change needs to be made."
 

#4 The money's not there

It is appreciable that you work for the growth of your startup; however making worth out of it should always be the prime concern. Alex White was a student at Northwestern University, who co-founded Next Big Sound, a site where music lovers could create fantasy record labels to "sign" artists was surprised at his company not making profits even after shooting to fame.

"You have to be brutally honest about what's working and what's not," White says. "We were able to launch products successfully and build something we were proud of, but the business wasn't viable. You can't live in this entrepreneurial world if you can't make money."

#5 A competitor is doing it better

An industry rival, outperforming your company signals to the fact that something is not in the right place. It is time that you recheck the marketing strategies, pricing and features to get cutting edge over the competitors says Jacobson at Madrona Venture Group.

"Look at the metrics," he says. "If two apps launch at the same time, and one absolutely skyrockets because of virality, feature set, better marketing or whatever reason, you can see that difference in growth rates. If it's a winner-take-all type of market, then maybe that's a good indication you should go do something different."

#6 The thrill is gone

Every startup founder initially may have lot of inspiration and enthusiasm, but as time elapse the fire automatically dwindles and goes off. Next Big Sound’s founders noticed that they started drifting off from the purpose and goal.

"We didn't jump out of bed in the morning, and we didn't stay up all night working on it," Alex white says. "Entrepreneurship is so difficult; if it's not gripping you and exciting, that's probably a clear sign to switch, because it certainly doesn't get easier."

1. Restaurateur: Jon Taffer
#See Every Detail Of Your Business

Sacred Rituals of a Telugu Wedding

Though every region in the country has a different set of rituals and traditions that they follow in their weddings, Telugu wedding traditions are quite similar to the Tamil ones. Also a unique feature of the Telugu weddings is that they focus mostly on spirituality and not solely on religion.

In a Telugu wedding, functions and rituals are considered to be complete only when women participate in them. They give utmost respect to women and consider women as an equal to men when it comes to marriages and family life. Here are some basic rituals that are involved in a traditional Telugu wedding.

Pre-wedding Rituals and Traditions

Muhurtam

In this ritual, the auspicious wedding day is finalized by the priests in the presence of the elderly family members. Tamil weddings usually do not take place in the months of Aashad, Bhadrapad and Shunya.

Pellikuthuru

More like the haldi ceremony up North, in this ritual, a paste of turmeric and oil is applied to both the bride and the groom. After this, they are required to bathe and wear fresh clothes. The bride’s hair is then adorned with fresh flowers.

Image Courtesy: Mahima Bhatia Photography

Snathakam

This ritual takes place at the groom's place. In this, he is made to wear the holy silver thread. This is a mark that he is now ready to graduate from bachelorhood to become a family man.

Kashi Yatra

Similar to the Kashi Yatra ritual in the Tamil weddings, here the groom pretends he is off to Kashi for a holy pilgrimage and is no longer interested in worldly pleasures. He is stopped by the bride’s brother who promises his sister’s hand in matrimony to the groom.

Wedding Rituals and Traditions

Mangala Snaanam

This is a ritual that takes place on the wedding morning where the bride and groom take a purifying holy bath after which they attend the aarti.

Aarti

After the holy bath, the bride and the groom are applied oil in their respective houses. After this, their families perform an aarti and pray for the couple's happy life together.

Gauri Puja

This ritual usually takes place at the bride’s house where she offers her prayers to Goddess Gauri and seeks the deity’s blessings.

Ganesha and Gauri Puja

The groom is supposed to perform the Ganesh puja at the mandap before the arrival of the bride to ward off all evils and any obstacles.

Bride’s Entry

The bride is accompanied to the mandap by her maternal uncle. At the mandap, there is a curtain between the groom and her, while the priest recites the holy mantras. In some communities, the bride is carried to the mandap in a bamboo basket by her uncles.

Image Courtesy: Inderjeet Gill Photography

Jeerakalla-Bellamu 

Here, the bride and the groom apply a paste of jeera (cumin) and jaggery on each other’s hands from under the curtain. This ritual denotes their inseparable and unbreakable bond.

Kanyadaan

This ritual is performed by the bride’s parents where after washing the groom’s feet, they offer their daughter’s hand to the groom. The groom promises to love, respect and protect his bride for life.

Madhuparkam 

In this ritual, the bride is made to wear a cotton saree with a red broder, while the groom wears a white cotton dhoti with a red border. This is the traditional wedding outfit of the bride and the groom. These colours symbolise their purity and strength respectively.

Mangalsutra ritual

During this ritual, the curtain between the couple is removed and the groom ties a mangalsutraaround the bride’s neck with three knots. This signifies their mental, physical and spiritual union with each other.

Image Courtesy: Inderjeet Gill Photography

Talambralu

In this ritual, the bride and the groom pour pearls or turmeric coloured rice on each other’s head. They cup their hands and hold rice in it. The couple then slides the rice over each other’s head as a priest recites mantras.

Kanyadaan Akshata

Here the couple exchanges flower garlands as their friends and relatives shower flowers and turmeric coloured rice on the couple.

Saptapadi and Sthaalipaakam

In this ritual, the couple takes seven rounds around the holy fire while taking their marriage vows. After this, the groom puts a silver toe ring on the bride’s toe.

Image Courtesy: Inderjeet Gill Photography

Appagintalu

This is similar to the vidaai ceremony in the North Indian weddings. Once the wedding is over, the bride is traditionally considered to be a part of the groom's family from then on. This is a bittersweet moment for the bride and her family.

Post-wedding Rituals and Traditions

Grihapravesh

After leaving her parent’s home, the newlywed couple reaches the groom’s house. Here, the groom’s mother welcomes the couple by performing a small aarti.

Different Telugu communities have different rituals and customs for their celebrations. But generally, Telugu weddings attach a deep spiritual value to whatever customs they may follow.

Cover Image Courtesy: Inderjeet Gill Photography