by Sameer Iqbal
Hi, it’s Sameer here, your host. For this week’s ‘Thursday Connectors’ we have an exciting line-up of fantastic connectors exploring how we measure different successes at different stages of our lives.
We have an insightful connection with business and financial advisor, Palak Tewary, who outlines 12 steps to building a successful business. We’ll also be connecting with youth from Barking and Dagenham, who tell us their thoughts about why belonging to a local youth group helped them overcome the pressures and anxieties brought on by the uncertainty and mental strains of lockdown. As a special treat, we’ll connect with young chefs, Molly and Millie, who reveal their family’s top-secret recipe, telling us how to make the best cheese twists and apple crumble, yum. Great recipes for success!
However, getting down to business first, I think success is a humungous word. Its meaning is so open and 
personal to each and every one of us. What success is in my eyes, may not be success in the eyes of another person and vice versa. For one person, success may be money, a heavy wallet and a hefty bank balance. For another, success might be having a happy family and a cosy home. For others, success might be as simple, yet as strenuous, as getting through another day, taking baby steps to overcome something someone might not even consider a hurdle; yet to another, it could be running, or taking part in a marathon. The examples are boundless.
We all strive for success, but the one main lesson we ought to learn from our life experiences is to never give up. We all have ambitions and aspirations and the right to better ourselves.
Just like our first connector, Palak Tewary has, as she talks business with us. For Palak, having a clear mind and sticking to a routine and plan, is her recipe for success when it comes to setting up and running a business. I hope those youth amongst us, who have a business mind and career path, can learn something from her all-important ’12 Steps To Success’.
Hi, Palak. Let’s connect:
12 Steps To Building A Successful Business
- Set goals and write them down and remind yourself every morning what these goals are.
- Start with the end in mind. When you start your business, have a clear vision of what it will be like when your plans come to fruition.
- Research into what your customers actually want – don’t assume, don’t presume.
- Outsource what you are not good at, or what is not your ‘core’ business; don’t try to do everything!
- Just being the cheapest is a poor strategy – your customers will always find someone else who can do it cheaper – if not now, then at some point in the future. Find your competitive advantage.
- Manage your finances and cashflows: know who you need to pay and when and prepare accordingly.
- If a customer complains, make them an advocate, turning problems into opportunities.
- Use every chance to get publicity.
- Learn the art of delegation: empower the people around you.
- Question everything. Continue to strive to be better, improve and learn.
- Structure the business: chalk out the responsibilities, the tasks and the results expected, even if the business has just started up.
- And, finally, believe in yourself. Have a passion for what you are doing; it rubs off on everyone around you!
You can connect with Palak on Twitter: @palaktewary or through her blog: https://palaktewary.com
This link to Palak’s YouTube video, which explains the above steps further:
participate and send their recipes to add to the book. To be honest, when I heard of such a thing, it really made me excited because it was a ‘one-chance’ opportunity and that doesn’t happen very often. The journey we all had to go through while sharing the recipes, talking to the people who were going to help us, just made it very exciting and enjoyable. Thanks to that opportunity, I got the chance to speak to the publishers and got advice on how I could publish my own book. When I was told it was possible to do this, I had happiness going through my veins and that was all thanks to the Peer Support Group.
time we spoke. All the members of the youth club support each other and we talk about ways of coping in lockdown and different activities we can do to keep busy. Each week, we have different activities to complete. For example, the first activity was to learn sign language, the alphabet, and, or, numbers one to ten. Other activities included learning to cook a meal we hadn’t cooked before, and also to complete a DIY project.
accustomed to before the Coronavirus. My grandparents both got the Coronavirus and my grandad was hospitalised for many days. Although I had the rest of my family to support me through this, I wasn’t my usual self and didn’t quite know how to cope with the grief and uncertainty over his health. I’m glad he was OK in the end and came home from the hospital fit and well.
