[xcoolaryan]

but now my problem is althugh i m working on my plan since lots of days, but i m facing problems in gettin the clients as i dont have a setup as of now, i m working and side by side approaching clients through internet only, but i dont think so its gonna work out, guyz please suggest me some good ways to get some clients on my board so that i can start in a full bang. ...........how 2 convince them about my capabilities to prove my mettle in my arena...

Be4 going full swing, please go through following --

1. U need a team, as u r working as Team Leader u knw imp of team.... I am talking about team of a lawyer and CA / CS....you should consult them from start....these guys are critical to your venture

2. Join organizations like TiE they provide valuable feedback, mentoring as well as provide chance for networking

3. Network with similar minded people...people who got similar interest as of you...maybe some of them will agree to work with you....this can provide a big boost to your venture as these people will work more for less or even no money as they are driver by passion rather than desire....they may even chip in there own money

4. Read books such as Rich Dad's book -- "nStarting your own Corporatio" or any other books which focus on starting a business or read articles on net regarding this

5. Try Elance or such web site where you can get work from other companies


6. Go through this blog, it's about a software engg starting his own company

There are lot more things, if we have to discuss everything then we have very own forum like PG dedicated to Entrepreneurship

[gabriel666]

Originally Posted by xcoolaryan

.....There are lot more things, if we have to discuss everything then we have very own forum like PG dedicated to Entrepreneurship

actually that in itself is not a bad idea for a maiden venture .. a forum that discusses startups .. wat say guys ?


PS: came across this blog Gerald Joseph's Blog On Startups, VCs, Web 2.0, and Everything Else: Startups while chking the net for articles ... there are some intresting articles .. have a read

[xcoolaryan]

actually that in itself is not a bad idea for a maiden venture .. a forum that discusses startups .. wat say guys

i already had this idea and currently, I am working on launching a education forum but not related to Entrepreneurship


I did thought about Entrepreneurship forum but i thought I won't be able to get as much traffic as that of forums related to more popular subjects such as MBA etc

[xcoolaryan]

I forgot to add this ----

Do join premium membership of business networking sites such as Ryze, they can be very useful for networking as well as getting new business contacts

[Neo2000]

Originally Posted by xcoolaryan

I forgot to add this ----

Do join premium membership of business networking sites such as Ryze, they can be very useful for networking as well as getting new business contacts

From the Ryze site itself

MBA in Entrepreneurship?? Gimme a Break

How to Start a Start-Up(paul graham)

As for a forum that discussed start-ups,arent you doing something that lotsa other people are already doing? While the idea might sound like fun and exciting, is it feasible? What is your main idea/theme ?What's your market potential? How will you grow it?

In any case,
Startup Review Blog - Analyzing Web Success

[xcoolaryan]

As for a forum that discussed start-ups,arent you doing something that lotsa other people are already doing?

Well, I said I was planning to start a forum about Education not start-ups...

Nway, regarding the forum / sites that focus on education....there are a large no already exist....

But I still think there is scope for new player bcoz --

1. Education is a wast field

2. It's been fragmented into various areas n it has it's own niches

3. Other than Management n to some extent Medical field, other areas still have not been explored to there potential...( this is as per my research, I might be totally wrong.....I ran a lot of queries trying to find good forum / sites specific to indian education, but I found only couple of them good enough)

4. Even in case of management, there is scope for new player...as per my info., PG n Management Paradise rules in this area....but it'll difficult for new one to achieve same critical base as that of PG

I guess if you look at --

a. number of Internet users in India n growth rate of internert users annually
b. % of these user who are students
c. how much time they spend on net
d. how much trouble they have to go through to get the right kind of information

you might get the idea what I am trying to say here....I believe there is still scope for few more forums / sites dedicated to education ...

PS: Views n opinions of other are welcomed

[Chicane]

Originally Posted by xcoolaryan

But I still think there is scope for new player bcoz --

1. Education is a wast field

2. It's been fragmented into various areas n it has it's own niches

3. Other than Management n to some extent Medical field, other areas still have not been explored to there potential...( this is as per my research, I might be totally wrong.....I ran a lot of queries trying to find good forum / sites specific to indian education, but I found only couple of them good enough)

4. Even in case of management, there is scope for new player...as per my info., PG n Management Paradise rules in this area....but it'll difficult for new one to achieve same critical base as that of PG

I guess if you look at --

a. number of Internet users in India n growth rate of internert users annually
b. % of these user who are students
c. how much time they spend on net
d. how much trouble they have to go through to get the right kind of information

you might get the idea what I am trying to say here....I believe there is still scope for few more forums / sites dedicated to education ...

PS: Views n opinions of other are welcomed

The points that u mentioned do seem to indicate that u have some weight in ur plans. However, let me play the devils advocate here

1.When u start a venture in any field, ur expertise in ur chosen area would matter a lot.Its not that u need to know the ins and outs on everything but generally if ur not aware of whys and whats and hows of ur start up then its going to be difficult.
For eg, if u plan to start something on say engineering(huge potential large population base) and if you are a commerce student, u might miss out on the needs of the market/junta.

2.Taking that fwd, specifically when you talk about the potential of education fora the scope is there but the space is already cluttered.

3.Whats ur USP apart from the fact that u have started a forum on say engineering or career counselling which hasnt been done before in the country?

4.Can u arrange for experts to share their views on your forum?

5.Repository of knowledge?(w.r.t say PG?)

6.How do u plan to make the venture self sustain itself eventually???

Also a large membership base is not the only way to make money. The strengths of PG lie in its huge fan following which has been channelised into marketing ads.
In ur case it could be a small forum but with paid memberships and quality posts.Again for this quality of information wud matter which sometimes is not necessary/the case in a large forum.

Best way would be to start off small and combine it with loadsoffline activities in your city with a base of 20-30 odd ppl.Maybe arranging daily tutorials or discussion sessions.
One this is done u can then seriously think about an online forum.

Hope i made some sense.

[xcoolaryan]

Can u arrange for experts to share their views on your forum?

Currently I am working on this area....

Whats ur USP apart from the fact that u have started a forum on say engineering or career counselling which hasnt been done before in the country?

As i mentioned in my earlier posts, a new venture need not to be totally innovative or need not to do / try something that never has been done before...

To quote Micheal Dell - "Innovation is dead."

Again, Please don't fall into impression that I don't value innovation. I highly do. I just degree with the prospect that for a new venture is has to be something else out of the crowd.
With a period of time n work, it will make it's own place n will have it's own USP.

Repository of knowledge?(w.r.t say PG?)

Yes, It would be difficult to match PG initially, I mean you cant compare a forum which just has started with someone who has more than 1lk user (i guess fig is right)
But, if you notice, many user stays loyal to the forum bcoz they get answer to the queries they ask for,
now if your forum has members who are willing to answer each and every question / query, at least in for initial 6-8 month ( hope by that time forum will gather enough user base)

I guess, I am not able to answer this properly, I'll get back to this question again....

Taking that fwd, specifically when you talk about the potential of education fora the scope is there but the space is already cluttered.

I guess I tried to answer this in my previous posts, I still thinks if one tries to focus on niche areas, there's still some scope

if u plan to start something on say engineering(huge potential large population base) and if you are a commerce student, u might miss out on the needs of the market/junta.

Who says one can't do it? expertise in ur chosen area would matter a lot but this is not the only criteria,

eg, when we talk about reliance, i doubt Dhirubhai has much expertise in oil industry when he started with Reliance Petrochemeical Business & build Jamnagar Refinery (AFAIK, he has worked in a petrol pump, but i doubt that explores him the technical as well as other complexities of oil industry

[xcoolaryan]

How do u plan to make the venture self sustain itself eventually???

This is one area, I don't have answer to your question.... :(

I mean I am finding more information regarding this....

I have found out following ways --

1. google adsense n other such online ADs placement servcies

2. Direct Referral program with sites such as ebay or godaddy

3. Premium membership option

4. Link up with other educational institutes...

I am unable to come with other ideas / ways ...

I would love to get a look at PG's adnsese stats...I guess with more than 1lk member he must be getting quite a big amount....

Btw, I found PG' PR(Page Rank) equals to only 5...

I hope this can be easily improved with proper SEO technique...

wat PrinceParas has to say regarding this?

[gizmora]

Your idea is defintiely interesting...there arelots of wanna be entreprenaurs out there...i guess your idea could work out...it defintely sound interesting....