Anshey Bhatia is the founder of @Verbal+Visual. He is an e-commerce nerd, people connector, travel junkie and tech lover. Follow him @ansheybhatia.
Who is your hero? (In business, life, or both.)
Steve Jobs (in business) and my grandmother (in life).
What’s the single best piece of business advice that helped shape who you are as an entrepreneur today, and why?
Persist to the point of stupidity. Don’t stop, even when everything seems stacked against you, and have almost blind faith that you can make it happen.
What’s the biggest mistake you ever made in your business, and what did you learn from it that others can learn from too?
I didn’t have a singular focus for the company from the outset. As a services based company, you need to do one thing and do it extremely well, and then you can expand. We went the opposite way, starting broad and refining. Being an expert in just one thing makes all the difference.
What do you do during the first hour of your business day and why?
Communicate. As a services provider, I need to be in touch with my clients and potential clients, and I need to have my finger on the pulse of the team every day. So I make sure I talk to all of the key stakeholders in and around the company all the time.
What’s your best financial/cash-flow related tip for entrepreneurs just getting started?
Establish cash flow projections that are ambitious but also realistic. Account for everything and then double it. Give yourself the buffer in your projections and goals so that you can make mistakes. And always pay yourself as soon as possible. Otherwise you’ll slip into a black hole of not paying yourself for a long time.
Quick: What’s ONE thing you recommend ALL aspiring or current entrepreneurs do right now to take their biz to the next level?
Focus 100 percent of your efforts on the area of the business that you can’t grow without – that may be sales for some, and it may be operations for others. Whatever it is, nail it down so that you can grow to where you want to be. Don’t stop until you feel that this area of business is in solid shape, and then re-balance yourself.
What’s your definition of success? How will you know when you’ve finally “succeeded” in your business?
Success, for me, is all internal. How do I feel on a day-to-day basis? Am I doing things with my head held high? Am I building a team and company that I’m proud of? Money is great, but without having a positive impact on the world, what’s the point? That means having a positive impact on your team, your clients, your clients’ customers, and last but certainly not least, your friends and family. People are what matter most, and I always keep that in perspective, especially during tough situations.
