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Write it down!

If you’re not documenting what you do, you’re setting the stage for failure.

There are 2 grocery stores in my neighborhood. I mainly go to one, due to fast service. But sometimes the shop is out of stock.

I asked the shopkeeper why he doesn’t keep stock all the time. He said he does the purchasing only when the need arises.

So, I told him that he could keep track of his inventory by writing down the quantities of each item sold every week, allowing him to make purchases ahead of time so that he doesn’t lose customers.

And that should also allow him to forecast demand as well as identify fast moving items, which ultimately allows him to plan a budget and calculate profit/loss.

He was very excited about the suggestion. Hopefully he implements it and benefits from this.

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Surviving the Fittest

I’m not a big fan of the ‘survival of the fittest’ concept.

It breeds a competitive, cut-throat environment. People (and businesses run by them) need a nurturing environment to achieve their full potential.

Competition is only with one’s self, to always strive to outperform our own selves, against our previous achievements.

Every small business out there deserves a leg up, a helping hand. I believe that small businesses can do better than what they are used to. So much good can come out of it.

MSMEs (Micro, Small, Medium Enterprises) are the backbone of the economy. These are also the entities that an average consumer deals with mostly.

Everyone wins when MSMEs do well.

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Ant & Bee Stories #1

Sometimes you need an outside perspective on things.

“They always come to me for the smallest thing. Even after I’ve given them the solutions!”

My client felt that his employees are lazy and don’t follow procedure, even after he had clearly laid it out for them.

Turns out the employees are afraid to take initiative since the boss (my client) used to give them an earful for mistakes in the past.

The lessons here are:

1) If you want your employees to take initiative, you need to allow them to make those mistakes first and provide criticism in a positive manner.

2) There are 2 sides to any story. And most of the time, you need an outside perspective to see them both in an objective way.