The end of the year is always a busy time -- a time for revelry, joy and reflection. For entrepreneurs, it is a good opportunity to reflect on the year gone by to gain insights that would help them in the future. Time once passed will never return but one’s learnings from the past can make future endeavours more meaningful. We asked entrepreneurs about their greatest learnings from the year that was. From business and personal learnings, to musings about significant accomplishments, members look back on 2016, with a view towards making 2017 even more significant in terms of business growth. 

Rachita Mittal - Founder, InsideVerve

Greatest business learning
A good entrepreneur never says “no” to an opportunity. Circumstances do not build businesses rather businesses are built on grit and the ability to execute. In today’s competitive scenario feel glad that a customer chose you. Always deliver beyond your customer’s expectations because they do not just have option B but all options from B to Z.

Greatest personal learning
A woman is God’s masterpiece. The way a woman can juggle her role as an entrepreneur, mother, wife, daughter, sister; is almost impossible for a man to achieve. She could be writing a mail while feeding her baby and simultaneously fixing her doctor’s appointment on the phone.

Significant accomplishment of 2016
Becoming a mother! And I was ready for client meetings within a week of delivery. One just needs better planning; you can’t fail as either – as a mother or as an entrepreneur!

N. Sridhar - Founder, Innovatus Systems

Greatest business learning 
I have read somewhere that it is six times cheaper to get business from present customers than gaining new customers. This was proved time and again in our case. It wasn't just a case of our customers coming back to us but also giving us referrals that led to new business. Hence I would say, my business learning is that if we continue on our path of being customer-centric , business will continue to stream in.

Greatest personal learning
As an entrepreneur getting time for your personal life is not always easy. However, by clearly demarcating what one should do and when, there was enough time for me to pursue my personal goals. I could spend time on several new online courses that have really enriched my knowledge on entrepreneurship and other aspects of business. I follow the great saying ‘This too shall pass’ and hence do not get stressed when things seem to be going bad or feel overly elated when it is all rosy.

Significant accomplishment of 2016
At the beginning of the year, we went through a worrying period due to lack of orders. But there was no panic. Now we have a healthy bank account and a steady order pipeline. I would say this significant accomplishment is not just due to my efforts but also great team-work and I thank my colleagues, my customers and well-wishers. If I were to write something very specific: We were awarded a project for the development of software from a multi-national giant with a simple request – to make it right the first time. They said this was because they were taking a big risk in asking a small IT company to do the job while they could have gone to any of the big names. We completed the work 30 days ahead of schedule apart from meeting their conditions. This is due to the emphasis we give to three factors - cost, schedule and quality.

Shriyans Bhandari - CEO Greensole & Director Heritage Girls School

Greatest business learning
To achieve anything you have to be in it for the long term. Never underestimate the value of preparation and be cautious of any assumptions you make.

Greatest personal learning
At times everything goes wrong but if it ends well, all is well. Always talk about important things in person.

Significant accomplishment of 2016
Getting an appreciation letter from US President Barack Obama for Greensole was the highlight of the year for us. Also, we donated 25,000 shoes to children in need which will help them walk to school. We also got featured in Forbes.

Sanjay Aggarwal - CEO, Clover Organic

Greatest business learning

It is very important to have tangible information rather than qualitative reports as what you cannot measure, you can never manage.

Greatest personal learning
People come and go from your life but each of them has an important role to play.

Significant accomplishment of the 2016
Relying on innovation rather than investment to realise substantial growth in business on the business front and giving up smoking on the personal front!

Karma Bhutia - Founder & CEO, iShippo.com

Greatest business learning

Most people are afraid to start something because they think they need to put in a lot to go somewhere in this world. You should not be afraid to start small. Everyone has to start somewhere. Don’t be afraid to take risks. But any risk you take needs to be a calculated one. Taking risks without weighing your options is just foolish and reckless, but calculated risks tend to lead to the biggest rewards. No matter what journey you take in life or where your professional goals take you, there are certain lessons in life that you can always apply to your own path. It doesn’t matter where you came from or where you are going. Money is a big motivator in all of our lives, but one should never travel down a road just because of financial gain only. It is very important to have real passion for what you are doing

Greatest personal learning
One of the most important lessons I’ve learnt is that a good team can lead you to success and a bad one to failure. Your team needs to be productive and efficient and you need to cultivate & hire strong players. You must work with a team with common vision and goals to smell success. There are just so many variables at play that it is impossible to create a winning formula right out of the starting blocks. There are definite things that you need to do: you need to know your product, how you want to sell your product, marketing ideas, etc. But it is really up to you on what you feel are the best ways to approach it, how you build, how you plan and how you execute to scale. You also need to listen to feedback and be open to changes - always. What it takes to become an entrepreneur is having a solid idea, determination, and ability to solve problems. There are so many resources available online that what you lack intuitively you can make up for by researching. The right attitude to have is to keep a curious mind. Keeping all that in mind you should coach yourself to 'Never Give Up'.

Significant accomplishment of 2016

In just one year of its existence (started in April 2015) iShippo has been recognised as one of the top five e-commerce startups to look out for in 2016 by TechNewsToday, USA. We have partnered with the Ministry of Textile - Government of India and various organisations like Central Cottage Industries Corporation (CCI), Digital Empowerment Foundation (DEF), Craftmark, Indian Handloom & Cauvery Handicrafts Emporium who have listed their products on our platform. At iShippo, we're working on solving the challenges that take us a step closer to our mission every day - to support local artists and artisans by connecting them with admirers of handmade crafts across the globe. We help in building beautiful products that go towards helping millions of people discover great handcrafted products from all over the country.

Disclaimer: This article is based solely on the inputs shared by the featured member. GlobalLinker does not necessarily endorse the views, opinions & facts stated by the member.