Sitting here at the Moscone Center in San Francisco I am watching the contractor work on our booth as it comes up.
We have finally completed all registration formalities and Obelisk is a registered exhibitor at the AIA 2009 Convention and Expo. Lots of exhibitors and even though these are difficult economic times that doesn’t seem to dampen the spirit of everyone working & exhibiting at the convention.
The Convention starts on April 30 and I would keep everyone updated through the 3 days of the event.
Hope to be a big event with 22000 attendees.
More later.
Wednesday, April 29, 2009
Tuesday, April 7, 2009
Outsourcing and Recession
In a recent survey that was conducted on 600 small businesses to determine how the recession is affecting their outsourcing plans. Survey results showed that 41.9% said they planned to outsource more in the near future, either because they’ve cut full-time staff (7.0%) or because they’re simply unable to hire full-time staff (34.9%). They are also outsourcing more functions than ever before – 28.5% said they are now outsourcing something that they previously thought they couldn’t.
In light of such numbers, it’s hardly any surprise that 14.6% of them report that they have replaced employees with contractors in the last year, and 14.5% have hired a contractor who would have been otherwise unemployed or a victim of the economic downturn.
Outsource more in current recession: 41.9%
Because you have cut full-time staff: 7.0%
Because you are unable to hire full-time staff: 34.9%
Outsourcing something you previously thought you couldn’t: 28.5%
Replaced employees with service providers: 14.6%
Hired a service provider who would have otherwise been unemployed or a victim of the economic downturn: 14.5%
It should come as no shock, then, that many who have lost work recently are turning to freelancing. 32.1% of the 350 freelancers surveyed reported that they’d lost their job within the last year. A majority (59.0%) said that if they weren’t providing freelance services, they wouldn’t be able to meet their financial obligations and nearly a third (32.4%) said freelance earnings are their primary source of income. A vast majority said that there are enough freelancing jobs to meet their needs (73.9%) and feel they are earning fair rates (77.9%).
They cited “flexibility to live and work anywhere” as the number one reason for their survival, followed by guaranteed payment for hourly work and the ability to set their own hourly rate.
Lost their job in last year: 32.1%
Freelancing is my primary source of income: 32.4%
Wouldn’t be able to meet my financial obligations without freelancing: 59.0%
There are enough jobs under freelancing to meet my needs: 73.9%
I earn fair rates on freelancing assignments: 77.9%
American workers seem to be doing well in the global marketplace. 53.9% of the surveyed small businesses reported employing at least some U.S.-based contractors, while 84.3% of U.S. contractors are working for a U.S.-based buyer. Outsourcing nearly tripled during 2008, and the trend looks likely to continue.
These results certainly look good for the future and similar businesses.
(Source: The source of this information is the oDesk Blog www.odesk.com/blog posted on March 24, 2009)
This blog, including any attachment(s) hereto, is intended only for the visitors of this blog. Any comments or statements made in this are not necessarily those of Obelisk or any other Obelisk entity.
Tuesday, March 31, 2009
Waiting for the Perfect Answer ???
On one of my flights I read this book about one of the biggest business leaders of our times. He is an ex - CEO of one of the largest company in today's times.
I just wanted to write these few lines I read by him and which hold good for all new and old entrepreneurs and for all of us who want our company to grow into a strong and large organization but scared to take decisions for the fear of being wrong.
“There is no formulaic answer to a question in science.
The same holds true for most business problems. There are rarely black or white answers. Business is often smell, touch and feel as much as or more than numbers.
IF WE WAIT FOR THE PERFECT ANSWER THE WORLD WILL PASS US BY”
I just wanted to write these few lines I read by him and which hold good for all new and old entrepreneurs and for all of us who want our company to grow into a strong and large organization but scared to take decisions for the fear of being wrong.
“There is no formulaic answer to a question in science.
The same holds true for most business problems. There are rarely black or white answers. Business is often smell, touch and feel as much as or more than numbers.
IF WE WAIT FOR THE PERFECT ANSWER THE WORLD WILL PASS US BY”
Monday, March 23, 2009
Obelisk in USA
Greetings everyone from the Windy City (Chicago).
It has been a long and hectic week but finally managed to climb the first step of the ladder. Congrats to all we have a small place in downtown Chicago and even though I am alone here, trying to find clients and get them to hear about Obelisk, the thing that keeps me going is the support and vision of all of you.
Going by our values I am following the frugal way and saving up on small costs like transportation, resources and making that extra effort to get things done.
Starting this week I would be trying to meet a lot of architects and firms to network with them till the AIA convention on April 30, 2009, which will help us create awareness for Obelisk. Not sure how much this would be of help in today’s scenario, but this is the only approach we know off and by god we are going to make this work.
So like an intelligent entrepreneur once said to me, “Better to be wrong than confused”, Obelisk is going to go ahead and try all possible routes to success.
Best of Luck
Maneck
It has been a long and hectic week but finally managed to climb the first step of the ladder. Congrats to all we have a small place in downtown Chicago and even though I am alone here, trying to find clients and get them to hear about Obelisk, the thing that keeps me going is the support and vision of all of you.
Going by our values I am following the frugal way and saving up on small costs like transportation, resources and making that extra effort to get things done.
Starting this week I would be trying to meet a lot of architects and firms to network with them till the AIA convention on April 30, 2009, which will help us create awareness for Obelisk. Not sure how much this would be of help in today’s scenario, but this is the only approach we know off and by god we are going to make this work.
So like an intelligent entrepreneur once said to me, “Better to be wrong than confused”, Obelisk is going to go ahead and try all possible routes to success.
Best of Luck
Maneck
Thursday, March 19, 2009
AIA Connvention 2009
Maneck along with the Sales team would be attending AIA Convention 2009 at San Francisco. Obelisk can be reached at booth 234 located in the South Hall, Moscone Center. We look forward to meeting everyone who will be attending the convention between Apr 28 and May 2.
Tuesday, March 3, 2009
New Financial Year
Last Year when Obelisk was conceived it had only 3 members. At the beginning of this New Financial Year from April 1, 2009, we would be more than 30. As we are into the last month of this financial year I look back at the past year and realize what a roller coaster it has been for us and for the world markets.
With world markets crashing and bankruptcies being filed by major corporate giants, it has been difficult times for businesses all over the world. The reason why we all moved on was primarily because of our hard work and perseverance. Amidst these tough times we managed to grow steadily and develop a consolidated infrastructure, thanks to everyone's effort.
But, some feel the worst is yet to come and I urge each one of us to brace ourselves for the future. There are really going to be tough times ahead and a major resource crunch. There could be a lot of frustrations and rejections. As they say Every Cloud has a Silver Lining, the only ones to survive and see the good times would be the patient and the frugal businesses.
So this New Financial Year let us all make a resolution that each one of us would work hard and not care about the results till we have seen these bad times pass. Let us keep our growth steady and planned and I am sure we together would very soon reap the rewards for our perseverance.
Good Luck.
With world markets crashing and bankruptcies being filed by major corporate giants, it has been difficult times for businesses all over the world. The reason why we all moved on was primarily because of our hard work and perseverance. Amidst these tough times we managed to grow steadily and develop a consolidated infrastructure, thanks to everyone's effort.
But, some feel the worst is yet to come and I urge each one of us to brace ourselves for the future. There are really going to be tough times ahead and a major resource crunch. There could be a lot of frustrations and rejections. As they say Every Cloud has a Silver Lining, the only ones to survive and see the good times would be the patient and the frugal businesses.
So this New Financial Year let us all make a resolution that each one of us would work hard and not care about the results till we have seen these bad times pass. Let us keep our growth steady and planned and I am sure we together would very soon reap the rewards for our perseverance.
Good Luck.
Monday, February 16, 2009
Recession
What is recession?
This Story is about a man who once upon a time was selling Hotdogs by the roadside. He was illiterate, so he never read newspapers. He was hard of hearing, so he never listened to the radio. His eyes were weak, so he never watched television.
But enthusiastically, he sold lots of hotdogs.
He was smart enough to offer some attractive schemes to increase his sales. His sales and profit went up. He ordered more a more raw material and buns and used to sell more.
He recruited few more supporting staff to serve more customers. He started offering home deliveries. Eventually he got himself a bigger and better stove.
As his business was growing, the son, who had recently graduated from College, joined his father. Then something strange happened. The son asked, "Dad, aren't you aware of the great recession that is coming our way?"The father replied, "No, but tell me about it." The son said, "The international situation is terrible. The domestic situation is even worse. We should be prepared for the coming bad times."
The man thought that since his son had been to college, read the papers, listened to the radio and watched TV. He ought to know and his advice should not be taken lightly. So the next day onwards, the father cut down his raw material order and buns took down the colourful signboard, removed all the special schemes he was offering to the customers and was no longer as enthusiastic.
He reduced his staff strength by giving layoffs. Very soon, fewer and fewer people bothered to stop at his hotdog stand. And his sales started coming down rapidly, same is the profit. The father said to his son, "Son, you were right"."We are in the middle of a recession and crisis. I am glad you warned me ahead of time."
Moral of The Story: It's all in your MIND! And we actually FUEL this recession much more than we think we do!!!!!!!!!! !!
What can we take away from this story??
1. How many times we confuse intelligence with good judgment?
2. Choose your advisers carefully but use your own judgment
3. A person or an organization will survive forever, if they have the 5 Cs
* Character
* Commitment
* Conviction
* Courtesy
* Courage
The tragedy today is that there are many walking encyclopaedias that are living failures. (Source: This story is from an email I received from a friend)
This Story is about a man who once upon a time was selling Hotdogs by the roadside. He was illiterate, so he never read newspapers. He was hard of hearing, so he never listened to the radio. His eyes were weak, so he never watched television.
But enthusiastically, he sold lots of hotdogs.
He was smart enough to offer some attractive schemes to increase his sales. His sales and profit went up. He ordered more a more raw material and buns and used to sell more.
He recruited few more supporting staff to serve more customers. He started offering home deliveries. Eventually he got himself a bigger and better stove.
As his business was growing, the son, who had recently graduated from College, joined his father. Then something strange happened. The son asked, "Dad, aren't you aware of the great recession that is coming our way?"The father replied, "No, but tell me about it." The son said, "The international situation is terrible. The domestic situation is even worse. We should be prepared for the coming bad times."
The man thought that since his son had been to college, read the papers, listened to the radio and watched TV. He ought to know and his advice should not be taken lightly. So the next day onwards, the father cut down his raw material order and buns took down the colourful signboard, removed all the special schemes he was offering to the customers and was no longer as enthusiastic.
He reduced his staff strength by giving layoffs. Very soon, fewer and fewer people bothered to stop at his hotdog stand. And his sales started coming down rapidly, same is the profit. The father said to his son, "Son, you were right"."We are in the middle of a recession and crisis. I am glad you warned me ahead of time."
Moral of The Story: It's all in your MIND! And we actually FUEL this recession much more than we think we do!!!!!!!!!! !!
What can we take away from this story??
1. How many times we confuse intelligence with good judgment?
2. Choose your advisers carefully but use your own judgment
3. A person or an organization will survive forever, if they have the 5 Cs
* Character
* Commitment
* Conviction
* Courtesy
* Courage
The tragedy today is that there are many walking encyclopaedias that are living failures. (Source: This story is from an email I received from a friend)
Monday, February 9, 2009
TRIVIA
The building in the picture.
Hint 1: It is one of the tallest sky scrapers in its city of origin.
Hint 1: It is one of the tallest sky scrapers in its city of origin.
The Bank of America Tower at One Bryant Park is a 1,200 ft (366 m) skyscraper under construction in the Midtown Manhattan district of New York City, in the United States. The US$ 1 billion project is located on Sixth Avenue, between 42nd and 43rd Street, opposite Bryant Park. It has been designed by Cook+Fox Architects and Gensler to be one of the most efficient and ecologically friendly buildings in the world. Construction is expected to be complete in 2009.
Hint 2: Its city of origin was a 17th century Dutch colonial settlement.
New York was a 17th Century Dutch colonial settlement, and its earlier name was New Netherlands.
Hint 3: The city is often referred to with the monicker - "the huge forbidden fruit".
The Big Apple (the apple was the forbidden fruit that Adam and Eve ate to be thrown out of the Garden of Eden) as New York is referred to.
Thursday, February 5, 2009
Govt. of India Notification
Government of India has developed an 'Online Grievance Forum' @ http://pgportal.gov.in/. Can you imagine this is happening in INDIA ?
The govt. wants people to use this tool to highlight the problems they faced while dealing with Government officials or departments like Passport Office, Electricity board, BSNL/MTNL, Railways etc. Many of us say that these things don't work in India . Couple of months back, the Faridabad Municipal Corporation laid new roads in an area and the residents were very happy about it. But 2 weeks later, BSNL dug up the newly laid roads to install new cables which annoyed all the residents. A resident used the above listed grievance forum to highlight his concern. To his surprise, BSNL and Municipal Corporation of Faridabad were served a show cause notice and the guy received a copy of the notice in one week. Government has asked the MC and BSNL about the goof up as it's clear that both the government departments were not in sync at all. So use this grievance forum and educate others who don't know about this facility. This way we can at least raise our concerns instead of just talking about the 'System' in India.Invite your friends to contribute for many such happenings. PLEASE SPREAD THIS MESSAGE IF U WANT OUR INDIA TO HAVE A BETTER TOMORROW & FORWARD THIS TO AS MANY AS POSSIBLE.
The govt. wants people to use this tool to highlight the problems they faced while dealing with Government officials or departments like Passport Office, Electricity board, BSNL/MTNL, Railways etc. Many of us say that these things don't work in India . Couple of months back, the Faridabad Municipal Corporation laid new roads in an area and the residents were very happy about it. But 2 weeks later, BSNL dug up the newly laid roads to install new cables which annoyed all the residents. A resident used the above listed grievance forum to highlight his concern. To his surprise, BSNL and Municipal Corporation of Faridabad were served a show cause notice and the guy received a copy of the notice in one week. Government has asked the MC and BSNL about the goof up as it's clear that both the government departments were not in sync at all. So use this grievance forum and educate others who don't know about this facility. This way we can at least raise our concerns instead of just talking about the 'System' in India.Invite your friends to contribute for many such happenings. PLEASE SPREAD THIS MESSAGE IF U WANT OUR INDIA TO HAVE A BETTER TOMORROW & FORWARD THIS TO AS MANY AS POSSIBLE.
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