Exciting week ahead: Gather & Grow - an SMB Connect Fair, other top stories
This week, SMBStory will be hosting a flea-cum-networking event that aims to bring together MSME players and industry experts.
Mark your calendars, as the SMB Connect Fair is just around the corner!
The event, to be held on June 30, 2023, aims to bring together entrepreneurs from various sectors, creating a vibrant platform for collaboration, knowledge exchange, and fostering growth in the SMB ecosystem.
Additionally, it will feature a flea bazaar, showcasing an array of products from the micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs).
The event presents an incredible opportunity for MSME players to engage with industry experts and acquire invaluable insights on how to successfully manage and expand their enterprises.
By participating in panel discussions and interactive sessions, entrepreneurs can arm themselves with the necessary tools and knowledge to streamline their business operations. Moreover, they can find inspiration in the journeys of their peers and fellow business owners.
The event will take place at YourStory’s office in Bengaluru.
Other top picks of the week
MSMEs seek business coaching
The concept of business coaching, widely embraced in the West, is gaining traction in India as well. It involves a professional coach guiding entrepreneurs and businesspersons in the pursuit of their work goals.
Unlike business consulting, which focuses on offering direct solutions to specific problems, coaching aims to enhance entrepreneurial skills and problem-solving abilities. Business coaches also rely on the coachee’s existing knowledge and encourage self-discovery and self-directed learning.
For long, MSMEs ran their businesses following their own methods, rarely deviating from the tried-and-tested path. However, for several, their failure to elevate their game with the changing times proved to be their Achilles' heel.
But now, entrepreneurs are keen to adapt to the vagaries of the business environment and up their game with the guidance of business coaches. The pandemic also played a significant role in accelerating this shift in the mindset.
According to Ratish Pandey, Founder of Ethique Advisory, a management consultancy and business coaching firm, the dynamic market environment necessitates businesses to be agile and adaptable. In this context, the guidance provided by business coaches becomes invaluable.
New entrepreneurs seek the support of coaches to establish effective systems and processes that enable business scalability. On the other hand, business coaching assists leaders of family-run businesses in thinking beyond traditional approaches and not confining themselves to the knowledge passed down from previous generations.
Ashnam Retail
Despite encountering numerous obstacles since establishing his artifacts manufacturing company, Ashnam Retail, in 2012, Manoj Kumar Sharma, the founder, has consistently faced challenges head-on.
However, the most devastating setback struck him in 2021 when his beloved wife and Co-founder, Mona Sanghvi, passed away. This profound personal loss not only shattered Sharma emotionally, but also had a significant impact on the business they had built together.
Yet, with unwavering determination, he has rebuilt Ashnam.
Today, Ashnam has a wide range of figurines, home decor products, wall paintings, and silver and gold-plated items in its portfolio. It specialises in manufacturing handcrafted polyresin artifacts.
It currently supplies its products to various modern retail chains, including Royal Oak, Home Centre, Home Town, Shoppers Stop, and The Bombay Store.
Looking ahead, the company is planning to actively expand its presence in offline retail spaces. Its brand, Siddharas, launched in 2021, is available in all Metro Cash and Carry stores, and negotiations are underway with major retailers like Archies, Royal Oak, Pepperfry, and others to house the brand.
Edited by Megha Reddy
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