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Throwback Thursday

Throwback Thursday… to a time I was in Vegas!

This month’s Throwback Thursday is to a place.

A place that I thoroughly enjoyed – and I know, it’s not to everyone’s liking, but there’s so much on offer there… from the Statue of Liberty, to a variety of shows… to the brilliant food… oh the buffets, wow!

Yep you guess it… it’s Las Vegas!

I’ve been there a few times.

Now some people may say it’s a bit tacky, not nice, cheap, etc…

But you know what, it’s the mindset you go with. If you go with an open mind – you’ll also really enjoy it. There’s so much to do… so many places to visit, you really do need some time there.

Now, to clarify, this isn’t a sponsored post by the Las Vegas Tourism board, nor am I endorsing any of the places to visit within Las Vegas – however, there are a few places you must really visit there.

Such as the Lions in MGM…

Oh, there’s real ones there also!

Then there’s the great marketing that pulls you into the various places…

Bal, why are you sharing your trip to Vegas with us?

Well, a few reasons.

  1. There’s things, in business, we can learn from Vegas. Whilst out there, I could see how certain things were really important… one for example is, location. There’s the main boulevard… and the places on there were very busy. However, if you go a little north and further out, not as busy and a little cheaper – to attract the clientele. So where your business operates from, is important to ensure you attract the maximum number of customers possible.
  2. Offer – there’s all sorts of offers to attract you – like eat all you can buffet. Once again, businesses who highlighted these offers and were able to show, it’s a great deal – were busy. I’m sure they’re still making good money, so what offers have you got on, to attract customers?
  3. Size matters. It’s like, when they were designing it, someone said… ‘Go Large or Go Home!’. Everything is supersized. Everything is there. And what I noticed, the more attractions, the more visually appealing… the busier they were! Take the fountains… when the show starts… people were outside to see them. Take the lions in the MGM Hotel. There was something unique about every location that made people go there. And spend their money.

So, there’s a few takeaways you can apply to everyday business from my takeaways from Vegas.

Obviously, anything you do… is a gamble. But if you do it with some research, a bit of data to back your decision…. you could be onto a winner.

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What’s it like, to have non-human colleagues?

At first, you may laugh at the title of this blog…. well, Bal… I have plenty of them now! – well, I say that… they’re non-human in the manner they don’t do much work! (Insert some laughter emoji).

We joke about our colleagues – often comparing how much work they do…. how much work we do… how much work is expected….

But let’s be honest – there’ll always be a level of either doubt or suspicion on how much work is actually being done.

 

You can’t treat humans as robots. And there’s various reasons why… from reasons such as, depends on the tasks – and humans provide a better degree of thinking when it comes to particular problems… to, the creativity and passion side of things.

But then, how can you replace your workforce with robots?

It’s those repetitive tasks… like the boxes that need stacking at the end of the production line, doors onto a car on an assembly line…. maybe, it’s those tasks that require a lot of movement, in the same manner, over and over and over again.

Maybe, the way we start is by job-sharing with a robot.

Alibaba… in China, is doing just that. We can’t just suddenly jump to robot’s taking over…. there needs to be levels of introductions. Maybe this is the first step…

That’s right – the Day begins with these robots receiving their instructions in the morning like the employees would.

They do all the hard lifting, moving around… carrying things, etc… whilst the employee stays more or less in the same position and ensuring a) the work being done is right, b) packed correctly or in a certain way, because it contains variability from pack to pack… and c) able to provide further or new instructions to the robots.

So, is this the future?

I think so. In fact, I reckon so. We’ll see more and more manual tasks being completed by robotos. Then as AI (Artifical Intelligence) is ever so evolving… we’ll see some of the tasks that require variation, not needing humans.

Enjoy the time with your current co-worker… not sure, if the robots will laugh at your jokes.

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It’s not all about the product… it’s the experience!

This weekend gone…. I was over in Dublin.

Whilst there, I thought I’d visit the local sites. Well, mainly two… The Guinness factory and the home of Jameson.

What I did fast realise – predominantly at the Guinness Storehouse, is how important the whole experience is.

The Storehouse has several floors – with the top one being the Gravity Bar – views all over Dublin. Now, the other 5 odd floors, provide you with an experience.

They tell you the story of Guinness – how it started… what the ingredients are… what’s so important about it… statistics…. advertisements… all of it.

And why is that important… because it builds a lovely experience. Rather then just walking in and having a few drinks, and seeing some nice articles on the wall… this is an impressive experience. Leaves a lasting memory but most importantly.. you leave educated and feeling like an ambassador.

You don’t need to have a huge building, with lots of floors… with immersive material. You can take different approaches.

This I realised with Jameson….

Here… I opted for an experience which involved me sat with a small group of people (about 10)… around a bar… on which had a number of items.

Now… i’m not going to tell you what happened. Neither am I going to tell you what takes place…. because you should really experience it for yourself… what I will say is, a) I absolutely loved it! – b) I walked away with my own blended whisky… and c) Educated on the product…. which made me feel like an ambassador.

Two slightly different experiences. Both absolutely amazing. Leaving each one as an ambassador- which means, I will speak highly of them. Not just the experience but the product also.

This is why… whatever you do, have an experience – that’ll educate and inform  your ambassadors. Doesn’t have to be anything extravagant… there’s small gestures or individual things you could do, to build that experience.

How many brand ambassadors do you have?

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Bal's Friday Thought

Bal’s Friday Thought…

Fearless… Limitless…

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Look at the face…

As you know… I travel a lot. In fact, i’m flying out tomorrow, and next week to Berlin.

I remember once when I flew to Atlanta, and at the security immigration control – where they check passports -the officer looked familiar to me, and I thought to myself… was he the one who stamped my passport last time…

Anyhow, I got to the desk… he looks at me and says… “I recognize you…” – “Coca-Cola…right?” – I replied, “Yes, that’s right!… “. He’d recognised me from last time, because we had the conversation about Coca-Cola and how he enjoys it… and also, that i’m a Sikh, born and bred in the UK. He stamped my passport and on my way I went.

There’s Facial Recognition.

Who needs technology, right? 🙂

Well.. we do. We do to speed the process. We do, so we don’t rely on the security guy… or any guy.. or any person… to remember faces. Why not just use a computer?

Exactly…. Technology has evolved alot recently. To where some of our phones can recognize who we are and unlock it…

And so it was announced recently by Ticketmaster – that they’ll have camera’s located on the entrances for venues, so you’re recognized by the camera and automatically lets you in. You don’t need to scan your phone or have a ticket…. your face is your ticket.

Isn’t that great! – The possibilities of facial recognition for companies is ever evolving so they can learn more about their customer base.

If they’re male/female… happy/sad… etc…

And with this data… that’s right, data – you can do a number of things with it. You can react… you can analyse or you can share!

Knowing your customers is very important. You shouldn’t be asking me why.

So what does this mean for the future – well, the possibilities are endless.

I know there are some Audi showrooms that use this technology to recognize who you are… that is sent to an assistant’s ipad – who then pulls up your data, and before you reach the desk, they say…”Hello Mr Smith, welcome to Audi, are you here to service your Audi A4?”

Impressive? – all because of data. And Technology.

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Happy 132nd Birthday….

On May 8th, 1886…. Coca-Cola was first served at Jacobs Pharmacy.

132 yrs old. Today. Let’s be honest… that’s impressive.

It’s impressive because we keep hearing about companies going bust, blaming technology, not adapting… we’ve heard all the Darwin based quotes before.

It all started with with John Pemberton…

I think a number of startups and businesses can learn from the above poster.

1. The What – (what is it?) A drink that is… delicious, exhilarating, refreshing… description is excellent. How would you describe your product in a few words?

2. The How – (do you get it?) – dispensed from the soda water fountain… bottles came later. So how do I get your product/service?

3. The Why – (why should I buy it?) – it delights every palate… (also a Brain Tonic….). So why should I separate from my hard earned money for your product/service?

Anyway… back to the story. 132 years old… and still going strong. And there’s reasons why…. from the change in top management and leadership recently, where the strategy has slightly changed… to introductions of new products and moving drinks which are successful in one area of the world to another…. adaptable is the key word here.

Another key word is Innovation.

Share a Coke with…. how awesome was that? Did you know the idea was first generated and shared in Australia? But everyone was sharing a Coca-Cola around the world.

But going back to this blog post and remembering it’s 132 years ago… when the beverages was first available.

When you look at your organisation, your business, your startup…. how long will it keep going? Are you working short term or long term?

A number of startups fail. Why? – Going too fast?… Not doing it properly? Trying to over-achieve? Stretched goals? Profit in the first year? Expectations too high?

My advice… and my thoughts I’ve shared with a startup recently is… take your time. Evolve… learn… and grow.

As hard it is to appreciate… don’t spend all your time thinking about profit and monies now. Focus on your product, your service and your brand. Get the name out there. And then build on that…

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Are you Failing or a Failure?

 

Last week, I was listening to some great people talk about ‘mindset’. How important it is…. to have the right mindset.

Our brains are programmed in such a way, it can be difficult… or take time to re-programme them. Because our influences… years of thinking in such a way… programme the brain in such a way.

But if you can realise you’re programmed in such a way… you can re-programme. Just like a computer. Just like how you update your mobile phone. You need to update your thinking.

I saw this, and thought it was very powerful…

So what is the difference between failing and being a failure? It comes down to you mindset.

You have to think differently when you are failing.

Easier said than done.

You’ll go through the change curve. However, it’s how you understand the problem. Understand the failure…. let it be clear it’s an event… one moment in time, most importantly… an opportunity to learn from.

I’ve done plenty of things in my life – at the time, my mind said… i’m a failure. But quickly… as time passes… I realise, it was just a moment.

For example… I was at Kodak, and I was on a project. We had to bring a new manufacturing line, that wrapped boxes from Bologna, Italy. My job was to ship some samples over to the factory to make sure we could test it in Italy, before it got shipped over.

So, I did as I was told… got some samples, shipped them over, with the correct address, marked for my attention. I even rang the factory, told them these samples are coming and to leave them to one side… they said sure (in Italian).

We got there… and this was my first work trip abroad.

Got to the factory… all excited… my boss asks, where’s the samples? – i’ll get them. I ask the factory manager, bring the samples over. He says, what samples?

At that moment… time stood still.

“The ones I told you about.. that were arriving”….. he stood there looking at me. “Oh, we didn’t receive any”. To my amazement… “what?! – and you didn’t tell me?!”

So at this point, i’m stood, in Italy, with my boss, on my first work trip, first major project… and I’ve failed. I’m a Failure.

I explained it to my boss… he was a really nice guy. He said, let’s figure this out… let’s trace them and where they could be.

Which we did, they were held at the local postal sorting office… needed a signature. So we sent someone, got it signed and in the afternoon, the samples were with us.

I learnt a couple of valuable lessons.

Believe you me… never have I let that same mistake occur again.

 

So.. remember about your mindset. How you’re thinking…

We’ll always make mistakes. But the key thing is to learn from them. It’s a temporary moment in life.

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Throwback Thursday

Throwback Thursday… with my friend, Amir Khan.

Usually, I do my ‘Throwback Thursdays’… on the first Thursday of the month. However, next Thursday… (3rd May)… is my birthday, so I won’t be publishing anything on  my blog, as i’ll be taking the day off…

So, Bal… you’re now going to tell me, you’re friends with the boxer Amir Khan and want to share a conversation or two, you’ve had with him?

Yep 🙂

 

Back to a time, when I was at Amir’s gym in Bolton. Sitting in the ring, talking about boxing, cars and other things… but I don’t want to share all that… what I want to share is, how he’s taken time out, re-focused and come back!

Couple of things I wanted to relate what’s been happening with Amir and the business world.

  1. Things not really happening…

We know, it’s been a while since Amir had a fight. Good fight. And won it convincingly. And there’s a number of reasons for that…. there’s been a lot in the press about him… his family… his wife…. etc… and he sent tweets, which, maybe he shouldn’t have.

You could say, it’s been a difficult time.

Relating to business – this can happen. When things aren’t going your way. Customers leaving, business not going well… you, as the main person are not in the right frame of mind…. etc… so what do you do? – sometimes you need a break. Sometimes, you need to gather your thoughts. Go do something different. Go into the ‘jungle’… steal some strawberries and make new friends.

2. It’s all about the People

Amir has a new promoter. New trainer. And this has given him a new lease of life. He’s even said in an interview recently, how he’s doing things he didn’t know… or was not aware previously… he’s feeling refreshed.

Same in business. Have you got the right trainer? – I’ve spoken about mentors… Have you got the diversity in the team to make you think differently and/or get you doing things you hadn’t known or were previously aware of.

These are my main two points I wanted to share… from watching and seeing what Amir has been doing for a few years…

… wouldn’t it be great, for him… to have a match with Brook! Who knows… if he beats him, who could he face next?! – is he back… being bigger and better than before?

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A Million at 16….

I thought, it’s been a while since I’ve shared with you a good questions and answers interview.

So, I decided to reach out to someone young… someone rich… someone who’s made it… and someone who’s really helping others. I suppose, most importantly, someone you can learn from.

Dhillan Bhardwaj.

Started a clothing brand when he was 16. Making a million within a very short space of time. Had superstars such as Rihanna, Miley Cyrus and many more reach out to him…

So, I decided to ask him a few questions…. Enjoy!

  1. When you were younger, did you think you would be so successful? – and who has been your biggest influence on your journey?

When i was younger i was already told i would be working for the family. of which i didn’t enjoy at all. It was car mechanics, cleaning, just boring shit that i don’t think i really wanted to do for the rest of my life. So no i didn’t think i would be anywhere near successful with my own self. My influences were nobody, nobody knew what to do when i had the idea, clothing isn’t anyone’s strength in my family so they were pretty lost with it all lol. But my mum and dad used to guide me and advise me, most of the time i probably didn’t listen but i think it’s ok to break the rules.. sometimes. Oh and my sister was everything to me, my 4 sisters Kd. Rickee, Nikki & Monica helped me when i reached my peak when i started. 

  1. What do you think is your biggest threat? 

Myself, my mental mind is my biggest threat. I try and think positive as much as i can, be nice to everyone,always have good vibes. It takes a second to think or do something wrong and then everything is left in your hands. People assume other brands threaten me in the industry, but i don’t have time to think about other people. i stay in my own lane and do me, im way to busy to think about what someone is doing. I know for sure i have inspired a huge amount of start up brands because they use my ideas and designs. But they won’t credit me, i dont mind i just think with that kind of attitude, don’t expect to go far.

  1. How has technology helped you and your brand grow? 

When i started it was amazing, it was free to use. but now you have to make Facebook etc for your posts to be seen by everyone who follows you, which is shit because people can’t afford to do that which is why a few brands fail. SOCIAL media is everything to a start up brand.  

  1. If starting again, what would you do differently? 

nothing. if i made changes maybe i wouldn’t be where i am today. 

  1. For all those, who look up to you… and want to learn from you… what is the one bit of advice you would provide them with?

you’re gonna get rubbish days, weeks maybe months. Don’t let that stop you from reaching your goal. It takes alot of time. Stick with it and success will come your way. 

Wow!… what a guy. Hope you enjoyed it… and are able to take some of the great insights that were shared!…. For me, it’s the last one. Stick with it and success will come…

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Bal's Friday Thought

Bal’s Friday Thought…

0-100…. real quick.