Chapter 1: Introduction1.1 Sam WaltonFounder of Wal-Mart Stores
Inc.Founded: 1962
"There is only one boss-the customer. And he can fire everybody
in the company from the chairman on down, simply by spending his
money somewhere else."-Sam WaltonSam Walton was born on March
29,1918 in Kingfisher, Oklahoma. He lived with his family on a farm
until 1923, when they moved out to Missouri in Shelbina. This is
where Sam had become the youngest Eagle Scout in the states
history, leading him to receive the Eagle Scout Award from the Boy
Scouts of America later on. During high school Sam was very
athletic and played both basketball and football. He was Vice
President during his junior year of high school and throughout his
senior year he became President.
The Makings Of A Business Tycoon:
Sam had grown up during the Great Depression that allowed him to
learn the value of a dollar early in life. He had to work many jobs
throughout his childhood in order to help his parents out
financially. After high school, Sam attended the University of
Missouri with a major in economics. After graduating college,
Walton worked as a management trainee at JC Penney in Des Moines,
Iowa. He quit his job there and worked at a DuPont munitions plant
in Oklahoma. He later joined the US Army Intelligence Corps, but
left in 1945 where he opened a department store with his wife
Helen. Sam had bought different department stores before actually
starting Wal-Mart. While owning these stores he made the tough
decision to move the checkout counter to the front of the store to
make it more convenient for his customers to pay for all of their
items at once before leaving.Part P.T. Barnum, part Billy Graham,
Sam Walton single-handedly built Wal-Mart into the biggest retailer
in the world, transforming the way America shopped and making
himself one of the world's richest men in the process. Thanks to
his "aw, shucks" demeanor and his strategy of targeting rural
areas, retailing giants like Kmart, Sears and Woolworth's never saw
the scrappy, pickup-driving country boy coming. And when they did,
it was too late to stop him.Walton began what would be a lifelong
career in the retail business in 1940, when he took a job as a
sales trainee at a J.C. Penney store in Des Moines, Iowa. Walton
was enthusiastic about his job, but he was never one of Penney's
most thorough employees. He hated to make customers wait while he
fussed with paperwork, so his books were a mess. His boss even
threatened to fire him, saying he was not cut out for retail work.
Walton was saved by his ability as a salesman, and he added about
$25 per month in commissions to his beginner's salary.Drafted into
the United States Army in 1942, Walton served stateside as a
communications officer in the Army Intelligence Corps for the
duration of World War II. By the time he was released from the
military in 1945, Walton had a wife and child to support, so he
decided to strike out on his own. Putting up $5,000 of his own
money and $20,000 that he borrowed from his father-in-law, at the
age of 27, Walton purchased a Ben Franklin variety store in
Newport, Arkansas.Sam Walton grew up during the Great Depression
and saw his mom and dad struggle to make ends meet. His dad was a
very hard worker who put in long days doing anything he could to
keep the family afloat during the Depression. Walton had to help
the family out financially at a very young age. He started selling
magazine subscriptions at seven years old. He also raised and sold
rabbits and pigeons out in the country in Missouri. In addition to
that, he helped his mom with her small milk business by milking
cows early in the morning. Walton learned at a very young age that
it was important for kids to help out around the house and be
responsible and contribute to the family rather than just expecting
things to be given to them. He grew up during a time where earning
money was a huge challenge and in order to earn that money, hard
work would be necessary. As a result of this, Walton learned the
value of a dollar at a young age. Because Walton had direct
experience with these struggles and seeing his mom and dad work so
hard, his attitudes were much stronger regarding hard work,
ambition, and responsibility. He acquired attitudes regarding these
values through modeling by observing his mom and dad and how hard
they worked.
When Walton grew up and graduated from college, he had the
values of hard work, ambition, and responsibility deeply ingrained
in him based off of how he grew up and the example his mom and dad
had set for him, which created the foundation for his attitudes and
how he felt about these things. He had tremendous respect for the
value of a dollar and carried that respect as he started his
business. Even as a $50 billion plus company, Wal-Mart still
remains a cheap option to get food, clothes, and much more. Walton
believes in the value of a dollar and strives to provide value to
his customers because he knows what its like to struggle
financially. It would go against everything he stood for to have a
business that charged high prices purely for the benefit of making
lots of money off of his customers. That never was Waltons goal.
Walton has admitted to being cheap and this is clearly reflected in
the prices Wal-Mart charges at their stores.
Not only was Walton a very hard-worker, but he was also
extremely competitive. When he was in Boy Scouts, he made a bet
with the other scouts about which one of them could make it to
Eagle Scout first. Sure enough, Walton was the first one at the age
of 13, the youngest Eagle Scout in the history of Missouri at the
time. In high school, Walton was involved in basketball and
football where he never lost a game. Because of his incredible
athletic career, it created an attitude of never losing for Walton.
When his business was facing challenges or fierce competitors, such
as Kmart, he knew that he could win. He claims that it never even
occurred to him that he might lose. As a result of his athletic
career, Walton also learned that team work is essential in
achieving goals and being successful. Walton knows that everything
that they have done at Wal-Mart has been a result of people working
together toward one common goal. He appreciated and valued all of
his employees and even gave them stock options because he realized
how important team work is in being successful.
Walton learned the values of responsibility, hard work, and
ambition at a very young age based on how he grew up and the
example his parents set for him. These values led to his attitudes,
like how he felt about the value of a dollar and how he felt about
working hard and being responsible after seeing and observing his
parents when he was young. These attitudes led to his behaviors and
actions he exhibited while running Wal-Mart and explain why his
store is so cheap, and why he gave stock options to his employees.
The values he learned at a young age through sports, examples set
by his mom and dad, and experiences were instrumental in shaping
him into an extremely successful business leader.
Oprah WinfreyProducer: The Oprah Winfrey Show
Born Orpah Gail Winfrey, Oprah is an American entrepreneur and
philanthropist known for her multi award winning show The Oprah
Winfrey Show (1986-2011). She is the twentieth centurys richest
African American with a net worth of 2.7 billion dollars.This
self-made billionaire was born on 29th January 1954 in Kosciusko,
Mississippi. Oprah battled a despondent childhood that included
poverty, sexual abuse, unwanted pregnancy and the death of the
child. At 13 when she finally left home to stay with her father in
Nashville who provided her with a secure life and education. Oprah
flourished and public speaking and oratory skills were her most
prominent skills. After winning the beauty pageant Miss Black
Tennessee at 17, Oprah caught the attention of WVOL, a radio
station in Nashville, who offered her a job. During this time she
won a full scholarship to Tennessee State University where she
graduated majoring in Performing Arts and Speech
Communications.Oprah landed a job as an anchor at a local TV
station. This led to another job in Baltimore where she was
co-anchor at WJZ-TV News. Her first talk show People Are Talking
became quite popular. Her outgoing and ardent personality started
grabbing the publics attention. After devoting seven years to make
this show successful, she was offered to host a morning show in the
Windy City, Chicago. In no time AM Chicago was one of the most
acclaimed TV shows. Renamed in September 1985 as The Oprah Winfrey
Show the program started to broadcast on a national level. In the
next three years it won several awards including three Daytime Emmy
Awards in 1987 and another Emmy the next year. The show targeted
various issues such as women empowerment and significance and human
rights, which appealed to people of all ethnicities, genders and
soon the whole of America was in love with this talented and
magnetic personality who ran the show brilliantly.Her passion for
producing high standard entertainment programs encouraged her to
form her own production company that she called Harpo (which was
her name spelled backwards). Harpo Productions Inc. gained the
ownership and production rights to the Oprah Winfrey Show from 1998
onwards. The company produced other miniseries including The Women
of Brewster Place and movies like There Are No Children Here (1993)
and Before Women Had Wings (1997). Oprah made her film debut in the
1985 film The Color Purple. Her movies also include Charlottes Web,
Bee movie and The Princess and the Frog.Oprah revolutionized the
trash TV format to a more subtle, kinder and truly informative
style and by the end of the 90s completely reformed the way
television was run. She co-founded a successful cable station
called Oxygen and changed the Discovery Health Channel to OWN:
Oprah Winfrey Network that launched in January 2011. Oprah has
authored five books and publishes a magazine O, The Oprah Magazine.
Her website Oprah.com has an average of 70 million views and 6
million users every month. She signed a 55 million dollars contract
with XM Satellite Radio to launch a new channel named Oprah
Radio.Rightfully called the worlds most powerful woman by Time.com
and CNN, Oprah has influenced the lives of millions of people by
building a consummate association with them. Her endeavors as a
media leader and philanthropist have made her as one of the most
admired people of our time.The Makings Of A Business TycoonOn
January 29, 1954, the woman that would make a meteoric rise to
become not only the richest female in America, but also the first
ever African-American billionaire was born.
Oprah Gail Winfreys beginnings were modest. Born on a small farm
in Kosciusko, Mississippi to a housemaid mother and a coal-miner
father, Oprahs early years was filled with much adversity. Living
her first six years with her religious grandmother Haitee Mae Lee,
it was here where Oprah first learned to read and write and where
she developed her lifelong love of literature. Her grandmother has
said that ever since Oprah could talk, she was on stage. She began
reciting Bible verses at their local church, displaying the first
signs of the future broadcaster that the world would soon know all
too well.
When she was six, Oprah would embark on one of the more
traumatic phases of her life. After moving to Milwaukee to live
with her less supportive mother, Oprah was raped and sexually
assaulted by members of her own family. With no system of support,
she turned to a life of rebellion and drugs, winding up in numerous
juvenile detention centres. After delivering a stillborn baby,
Oprah finally escaped the horror by moving in with her father in
Nashville, Tennessee at the age of 14.
Imposing strict rules, Oprahs father attempted to regain control
of his unruly daughters life by making education a priority. He
forced Oprah to submit a weekly book report to him, and the effort
would eventually pay off. Oprah became an honours student and
received a full scholarship to Tennessee State University, where
she majored in Speech Communications and Performing Arts. At
atimewhen few African American women even attended high school,
Oprahs accomplishment was significant. At the age of 18, she also
went on to win the Miss Black Tennessee beauty pageant.
While Oprah had begun her media career working at her high
school radio show, it was in her freshman year when she got her
first true opportunity to work in local media. She become both the
youngest news anchor and the first black female news anchor at
Nashvilles WTVF-TV. In 1976, Oprah relocated to Baltimore to
co-anchor WJZ-TVs local evening news. Her popularity led to her
being recruited as co-host of WJZs local talk show, People are
Talking.
Oprahs warm smile was quickly gaining appeal across a wider
audience. In 1984, she relocated to her current home of Chicago,
Illinois to host WLS-TVs AM Chicago. Following a massive jump in
ratings with Oprahs takeover, the show was renamed The Oprah
Winfrey Show and extended to a full hour. With her powerful screen
presence and friendly demeanor, the show went national just two
years later. It became the highest-rated talk show in television
history and would retain its leading position for the next twenty
years, with an estimated 30 millions viewers in the United States
alone, and a larger following in the 109 countries around the world
in which it is seen.
Sumit GoyalVice- President- Akash Ganga Couriers
Sumit Goyal was born on 2nd February 1991 in Delhi. His father
started this company called Akash Ganga Courier services with a few
of his brothers. Sumit has been some hardships in his early life
when he had to change his college a couple of times. He finally
studied from Pillais College in Panvel finishing his Bachelors in
Financial Markets. Sumit was keen on taking up a job in financial
markets and didnt want to join his fathers business.
About the company:Akash Ganga Courier (AGC) is one of the
pioneer players in the Indian express Industry and it is a
well-established Brand. AGC began its journey from the small town
of Rajasthan, Loonkaransar in the district of Bikaner. In the last
22 years it has spreads its wings to all part of the country. AGC
covers more than 4000 Pin codes through its own network and 1809
franchisees. To gain the foothold in the Competitive market, AGC
primarily focussed on the Textile segment. Textile industry
requires its products to reach every corner of the country
including small towns. AGCs visionary Board found big opportunity
in this segment and remained focussed on it. This has helped AGC to
spread its network all over the country and emerge as a market
leader in the most important textile industry. Today AGC serve to
more than 40% textile units in India and has earned the Tag of
reliability and integrity.
With changing market scenario and business dynamics, AGC
successfully entered in to Banking, finance, insurance, Automobile,
education and pharmaceutical industry as well. Now AGC offered
products and services on par with any leading courier companies in
the country. AGC provide online tracking system to its customer
with excellent customer and operation support. We offer the
services and products that suits every segment of the industry and
our products includes,
1. Akash Ganga Express services2. OLT Regular , Premium &
ODA3. AGC Air and Surface Cargo 4. AGC International
AGC has gone one step ahead with the launch of OLT product.
Under this they provide their customer premium services with money
back guarantee offer. An OLT will serve the ODA location (Out of
area delivery) at the same speed and assurance as that of premium.
The ODA services have been introduced keeping in views the growth
of industries in the rural and interior part of the country.
AGC believe in Integrity first and that is a foundation of our
success. Their Board Of Director led by Dr.Subhash Goyal has
maintained the Customer First approach and they are proud to be
associated with large customer base.
DOMESTIC SERVICES
COURIER MODE Akash Ganga Express Services: Express Services
designed to cater services to documents & small parcels (up to
5 kilos) within India.
CARGO MODE
Air Cargo: Air Cargo Services geared to handle the heavier
consignments, which need priority deliveries in the domestic front
with available flight schedule.
Surface Cargo: Their Surface Cargo Services to optimise their
transportation charges, whilst offering the benefit of door
delivery to customers consignees across the country.
PREMIUM SERVICES
Under this segment we offer three services to our customers
OLT Regular: This offers their customers guaranteed next
business day delivery to direct stations and 48 hour services to
the transhipment stations. They provide 100% tracking of OLT
shipments.
OLT Premium: This service is offered to select locations with
time definite delivery schedule. They also offer money back
guarantee to this product in case of non-delivery without any valid
reasons.
OLT ODA: This service has been specially designed to serve Out
of Delivery Area locations, which most other courier refused. AGC
offer these special services with extra charges by sending special
messenger from the last point of delivery.
INTERNATIONAL SERVICES
AGC International offers Services through its strategic tie-up
networks with TNT, DHL, and FedEx. This offers our customers a wide
range of services to choose from. AGC International Services
comprise of Document, Parcel and commercial Services, spanning
virtually all the countries across the globe.
An interview with Sumit Goyal:
The company started off in 1989. We got incorporated as a
Private Limited company in 1991 and became public limited in
2005.The company has 5 city offices as Company Branch Office
[Mumbai, Delhi, Surat, Jaipur, Banglore]. These are self-offices
having local franchisees under them in the respective cities.For
example, Mumbai Regional Office has 3 branch offices viz Andheri,
Ghatkopar and Kalbadevi [Marine Lines] and 30 franchisees across
the city. Delhi has 2 branch offices viz Karol Bagh and Punjabi
Bagh and 75 franchisees. And so on.Rest in over 250 cities across
the country we have our franchise offices that are working under
the same banner and exclusively for Akash Ganga. We cover over 850
destinations across the country having presence in all metro and 2
tier metro cities. Around 4000 pincodes serviced through these
offices.North is the strongest region we have.We deliver over a
crore shipments in a year. These 5 offices have a combined annual
turnover of Rs. 10 crores. We pay around a crore just in Service
Tax to the central government every year. Over 10,000 Blue Collar
people earn their bread and butter because of the company. We have
a clean record with our creditors and employees for payments
terms.
Being a member of regional or local Courier Associations, we
help, support, promote and work for betterment of the express
industry.I am Managing Committee member of The Bombay Couriers
Association. Mumbai Branch has an average sale of 20 lakhs a month.
5000 shipments every day are booked in Mumbai through the 3
branches and 30 franchisees. We deliver around 4000 shipments
everyday in Mumbai.Chapter 2- Entrepreneurial Characteristics
2.1 Sam Walton
1. Creative: Sam Walton always knew he wanted to be an
entrepreneur. Innovation and creativity can push things forward for
an entrepreneur. Sam lets his imagination grow and has built the
biggest multi-retail store.
2. Risk taker: He could have been laid back and continued his
sales job, but he took the risk to do something on his own when he
had a wife and a kid to support.
3. Confident: When everyone was writing him off, he believed in
himself and his ideas. He even borrowed some money to start
Walmart.
4. Perceptive: Sam was perceptive enough to understand the
mindset of the consumers and thus come up with retail outlets to
suit these customers. He worked as a sales guy in a retail store
and he hated to make the customers wait. This is what brought
success to Walmart.
5. Determined: In spite of the criticism he received initially,
he did not lose his determination to work towards his goals.
6. Proactive: Instead of waiting around for things to happen, he
takes tasks at hand himself and makes sure they work his way.
7. Sense of ownership: The zeal to be your own boss is what Sam
had and pushed him to go ahead and start his venture.
2.2 Oprah Winfrey
1. A Goal-Oriented: You become what you believe, says Oprah. You
are where you are today in your life based on everything you have
believed. Oprahs unwavering belief in her abilities is what drove
her to focus all of her lifes energy on reaching her objectives.
Focused on a career in broadcasting, Oprah ignored all other
diversions until she had achieved her goals. 2. Focused on Growth:
Once a successful talk show host, she continued to diversify in
areas within broadcasting. Oprahs single-minded focus allowed her
to concentrate all of hertimeand energy into achieving the life of
her dreams.
3. The Ability to Overcome Diversity: Having experienced much
abuse and adversity as a young child, Oprah developed the survival
instinct at an early age. She learned the lesson that if you wanted
to not only stay alive but also make something of yourself you had
to fight. This would well prepare her for the obstacles she would
later face in the worlds of broadcasting and business.4.
Passionate: Oprah has always been inclined to have her own
business, and thus she is very passionate about what she does. She
is motivated with her zeal and joy for her own work.
5. Risk taker: No business is risk free. Risk is the cost for
profit. Oprah risked by diversifying into many different segments
too fast. She was not afraid to venture into the unknown or
reinvent herself through various media.
6. Opportunist: I dont believe in coincidences, says Oprah. From
hosting a talk show, to acting, to utilizing the Internet to bring
her company online, Oprah has listened to her inner voice and
grabbed every opportunity she believed was necessary to achieve her
goals. 7. Ability to say no: Her success also lies in the
opportunities she has turned down, such as thousands of dollars
worth of brand endorsements, which might have put her company in
jeopardy. Listening to her gut instinct has allowed Oprah to take
advantage of numerous opportunities, which otherwise might have
gone unnoticed.
8. A Sense of Responsibility to Others: Early on in her career,
Oprah asked, How can I be of service? How can I use television as a
service? Oprah has since demonstrated that social consciousness can
make goodbusinesssense. Her dedication to the causes in which she
believes and thepassionwith which she appeals to her audience for
support has set her apart from other television personalities. Her
desire to give back not only to her own community, but also to
communities around the world, has endeared Oprah in the eyes of the
public.
9. Courageous: I was called to talk, to use my voice in some
way, says Oprah. From the very moment that Oprah discovered her
natural flair and passion for broadcasting, she directed all her
energy toward feeding that passion. It was her passion for what she
was doing that drew people in and made her so appealing to
audiences worldwide.
I dont think of myself as a businesswoman, she says, but Oprahs
success proves otherwise. While these factors for success may not
be unique to Oprah, their combination and the manner in which they
were embraced enabled her to reach to new heights.
2.3 Sumit Goyal
1. PassionAs said above, many if not all-great ventures are
found out of passion. If you dont have at least a fraction of the
passion of the founder, it will be hard to convince your customers,
employees, and other stakeholders to stick around.
2. Opportunist: A good entrepreneur always recognises his
opportunity and acts on it. SRK saw he had the finance he needed;
he saw the opportunity to expand his brand and took the leap with
Red Chillies and his VFX special effects studio.
3. Resourceful: He is more resourceful in terms of technology
than his father. Strategy execution is almost entirely dependent on
the resources to carry on.
4. Knowledge: He says it feels like he has been doing it for
years now. He has a lot of knowledge about the industry and the
company. He wants it to grow and wants to grow with it.
5. Network: The business founder knew all the customers, the
employees, the businesses in the neighborhood. The mayor, the chief
of police, and the owner of the restaurant down the street. With a
passion for the business he wanted to meet everyone because they
never knew where business may come from. Over time it became quite
a wonderful network. He wishes to do the same.
6. Good Manager: Management is the art of getting things done
through others. In short delegating. He delegates well and
understands where his presence can be better matched with that of
an expert. Thus the his team is very important to him.
7. Motivated: Perhaps the incoming owner isnt lazy in general
but just motivated to work hard on this business. We have all met
plenty of second-generation business owners that can play golf and
vacation like it is nobodys business. He is very motivated to
change the face of the company.
7. Not SelfishSumit celebrates birthdays of all his employees
and treats the entire office once a quarter. There is something to
be said for charity starting at home. Some second-generation owners
take this a bit too far. As the business ebbs and flows their
lifestyle never does. They proceed to lead a life of fancy cars,
vacation homes, and lifestyles while the employees dont see bonuses
or raises. Trust me, people are taking notice. If the founder has
passed, they are rolling in their grave because even if they were
selfish they knew that success of the company was key to their own
selfish desires.
The second generation isnt doomed, but they do have to work
harder to find the love and care that was given to the business by
the founder.
Chapter 3- Entrepreneurial Decision Making Process
3.1. Sam Walton Big responsibilities for raising family Low
paying and dissatisfying job Previous experience in Retail store
Best sales person in retail store Not meant for a job
3.2 Oprah Winfrey Network Renowned all over the world
Availability of Finance Maturity stage of her own show Peers and
friends- around people with business empires
3.3 Sumit Goyal Culture- Marwadi family Available resources
Management expertise Always wanted to be his own boss
3.1 Sam WaltonChange from existing lifestyle: Work
Environment:Sam Walton chose to go ahead with his Entrepreneurial
Aspirations in an industry clearly his own. He worked as a sales
guy in a retail store. He saw things he didnt like and he
implemented in his own venture. He excelled as a sales guy and was
good at networking. He had a graduation in economics and hence he
was well versed with the concepts of demand and supply. Disruption:
Sam was forced into the army and he didnt like it one bit. He was
working as a sales guy and meeting his daily needs. However, he was
with a wife and a kid when he returned from the military service.
He knew he had to earn a lot more than he did. He invested all of
his own money and borrowed some from his father in law.
Desirability of New Venture Formation:
1. Family: Sam was forced into military service. When he was
done and was sent back to the US, he had a family to raise. He
didnt have enough funds to riase them. He even didnt have a decent
job to raise his family. Sam had a fair idea about the retail
industry. He got into the industry and never knew he had to work in
it for his lifetime.2. Financing: having 5000 dollars, he set our
to start his own venture. He borrowed 20000 dollars from his father
in law who believed in him. He went on to buy and sell many retail
stores before starting out with Walmart.3. Market need: Sam didnt
like the fact that customers had to wait for so long for paying. He
knew about the gap in the market. He implemented counters at the
entry so that people could pay once for all purchases. He
therefore, had the idea about the market.4. Ownership: Oprah was
extremely succesful and a name known to the world. She wanted to
grow but for her own. She wanted ownership and wanted to produce
her own shows. She also went on to produce movies and other
shows.
3.2 Oprah WinfreyChange from existing lifestyle: Work
Environment: Oprah started on a TV show which was later named as
The Oprah Winfrey Show. She was already into the entertainment
industry. Oprah chose to go ahead with his Entrepreneurial
Aspirations in an industry clearly her own. That shes a marketer,
can be said without doubt. She understood her own brand value and
thus went ahead with the production business, leveraging her talent
as the Best Orator. Making the business work was no trouble, with
brand Oprah as a backing. Thus, from an actor/host on her own show,
she turned to be a Producer too.
Desirability of New Venture Formation:
1. Peers: Oprahs status in the society puts her up with a crowd
of similar status. While most of her friends and peers are from the
entertainment industry, a lot of them have their own business
ventures. 2. Marketing: Oprah the brand sells in itself. With the
goodwill that Oprahs name brings to the business, along with her
superb oratory skills, theres a lot for any venture to gain from.
The kind of network that Oprah has, only adds to the customer base
from within the industry.3. Financing: Having had a successful
career as an actor/host, Oprah had the ability to self-fund all her
ventures. She was the first African American women to be a
billionaire. 4. Ownership: Oprah was extremely succesful and a name
known to the world. She wanted to grow but for her own. She wanted
ownership and wanted to produce her own shows. She also went on to
produce movies and other shows.
3.3 Sumit GoyalChange from existing lifestyle: Work Environment:
Sumit wanted a career in financial markets. He had also found a job
with a broking firm. Sumits dad wanted him to join the company.
While he was free for 2 months before his job started, he started
helping out his dad in Mumbai office. He saw how the company lacked
management skills and use of technology. He wanted to change a lot
and had only 2 months at his disposal. Sumit started doing all he
could to change things around and his dad liked his work so much
that he told sumit to join as an employee and paid him double the
salary of what he was getting at his job at the broking firm.
Disruption: Sumit was forced into joining his dads company. He
joined for 2 months as he had nothing to do but then he was forced
into staying with the company. His dad was unable to travel a lot
and hence couldnt meet with franchisee members which Sumit claims
was one of the reasons for stable profits.
Changes brought by Sumit Goyal in AGC:
1. Technological advancementTechnological change is in large
part responsible for many of the secular trends in such basic
parameters of the human condition as the size of the world
population, life expectancy, education levels, material standards
of living, and the nature of work, communication, healthcare, war,
and the effects of human activities on the natural
environment.Sumit conducted training in Microsoft Office for all
his office members. His company across all his franchisee never
used any computers. He made investment in buying 2 computers per
office and implemented e-billing.
2. Social mediaSocial media has become an integral part of
modern society. There are general social networks with user bases
larger than the population of most countries. There are niche sites
for virtually every special interest out there.Sumit himself
started the AGC facebook and linkedin pages. He answered each and
every query himself until he hired someone to handle the social
media.
3. Regional meetingsSumit conducted regional meetings every
quarter end with his franchisee owners. He started this trend in
the orgnanisation. Also, this initiative worked fine for them as
they discussed implementations of new ideas.
4. Franchisee visitsHe visited franchisees all over india.
Recently, he was out on visits for 3 months at a stretch.
CHAPTER 4: Common Characteristics1. PassionIn business, as in
life, all you need is love (well, and some financing). Passion and
a love for the craft are what keeps entrepreneurs going all day
every day, and the above 3 entrepreneurs are no different. Sam
Walton and Oprah Winfrey no doubt have won so much success only on
their passion. This trait is common in all successful
entrepreneurs. 2. Self- drivenAll 3 entrepreneurs are self driven.
They made things happen for themselves. The present generation
entrepreneurs look them upon. Infact, Sumit Goyal looks upto Sam
Walton as his inspiration.
3. NetworkingWell, Sumit Goyal being the new gen entrepreneur
has already learned the art of networking and used it well for his
benefit. Oprah became what she is today only because of her
networking skills. Sam also became close with all the top
government executives in the early stage of his career.
4. MotivationThis trait has brought them where they are. Oprah
and Sam have struggled more than Sumit, ofcourse. But they have
been driven by this strong force that has kept them going.
Biblography:http://view.fdu.edu/default.aspx?id=2341http://12most.com/2011/08/19/12most-second-generation-business-owners/https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/186994/ChallengesFacedByFGEsinIndia.pdfhttp://www.incomediary.com/own-it-15-inspiring-business-lessons-from-oprah-winfreyhttp://www.evancarmichael.com/Famous-Entrepreneurs/514/summary.php#authnobloghttp://www.evancarmichael.com/Famous-Entrepreneurs/514/Building-an-Empire-Oprahs-Formative-Years.htmlhttp://www.evancarmichael.com/Famous-Entrepreneurs/514/The-Makings-of-a-Business-Tycoon-Oprahs-Early-Years.htmlhttp://www.leader-values.com/leaders.php?lid=18http://harvardleadership.wordpress.com/2011/01/25/ten-rules-of-success-from-sam-walton/