A Stich in Time, Saves Nine ....

This is a very popular proverb, which aptly applies to all ( many of them ) our dear water plant starters. 

Many a times, our training attendees become doubtful about their selection of already ordered machines. This happens after they attend the training. Our training is focused on helping the entrepreneur on creating a successful business, in which selection of machinery, appointing right suppliers, designing plant capacity, correctly knowing the resources is a very fundamental thing. 

This is not something great we do, just the very fundamental. And in this, we do not recommend any particular supplier/s. Yes, we do have a list of some of them with whom , either we have dealt in past, or they are better known, and don't need any introduction from our side. Again, we do not particularly recommend them only. It is a list, from whom you can source quotes, for comparing. Don't just rely on Youtube Videos or Indiamart, Alibaba. There are many, who don't care these media platforms, but may be there from ages.

😏Is it correct to re-check our ordered machinery ?

It's like going to another doctor for second opinion, when a surgery is already in process. There is hardly anything which one can do. So, better reassure whatever ordered without any doubt in mind. Trust your instinct and be with that. And also accept whatever is the outcome.

👉 Visit your Thought Journey 

However, it would be worthwhile to check as to why are you feeling doubtful. It might be because you would have decided to finish the machinery order to meet the set-up deadline. This action without first scrutinizing the vendors could be dangerous. Just check where is the origin of this doubt. At least you can protect yourself in future.

📌If you have still to appoint vendors ...

• Don't just compare by Prices
• Check truly how many plants/Machines the vendor has installed , verify, just don't go on the Client's list
• The vendor should have supplied at least 25 nos. of his machine/plants.
• You should verify that not in presence of the nendor, enquire like a 3rd party.
• Before all this, your plant capacity design should be proper. For this, check some of our videos dedicated to "Plant Cost". You can find one inside the Videos section inside our App. Also check other Free Content

Kindly go beyond & apply your own methods too. Thes are suggestions, nothing else.

😑 Still there are chances, that our decision goes wrong

This is not business, it's life. Series of unforeseen events & choices. So anything may go wrong even after that. The most you can do is to have a Plan - B ready. What can be the plan-B ? It will depend upon the situation; however, it will need some fresh/alternate source of Cash, availibility of capital, to execute the new decision, in time. Without getting into emotions. Time to improve emotional intelligence.

What Kind of "Education" a business owner needs ?

Business owner doesn't need to be an MBA, or an IIT graduate. All created courses are a collection of workable activities to perform, if you want to reduce your mechanical work. So, please get out of the trap of "I need to know more". 

We can learn, if we feel interested, curious. Again this "curiosity" is an expression of the creative, exploratory mind. If you decide not to invest it into none other than your priority things, you will save a lot of energy.

Point : Just get whatever you require. It may be free, very expensive, might need you to go out of your comfort zones, require extensive travel for just a little time; but fine. That's the thing you require.

Sometimes, even after doing this, you won't get what you wanted, still the journey continues. And precisely this is working for our Goal , Passion.

Typically, for a Bottled Water Plant Owner, what you might seek education in :-

1. Industry Knowledge Course : Check the one we have: You can check this on our website. At present, we are conducting these trainings online, on Zoom, Instructor-Led, Alternate month, English/Hindi.
2. Finance/Accounts Course :- The course which trains you on analysing the key parameters like PnL, Balance Sheet, Different Profits. 
3. Exhibitions in Industry : Worthwhile, best learning happens through exhibitions & conferences happening. Invest in Paid conferences.
4. Local Business Related Events : Check these in your area. Good place to learn

We run a Newsletter for Bottled Water Industry, through which we are publishing this information on weekly basis.

Make a deeper impact in first interaction !

While checking follow-up methods, at one of my clients, the sales person was sending Video of their machine to their prospect through whatsapp. There were many mistakes I observed in her method :-

# The video was on her desktop not named properly.

# It was in a random folder

I suggested a better method 

1. Decide what the video is about, create a play-list on their you-tube channel

2. Grab link of the video, as well as your channel

3. Create a whatsapp quick reply, insert the message as a standard template

4. Next time, don’t send the video via whatsapp, instead send it through a quick-reply, in seconds

What is the benefit of this method ?

• You save tremendous time
• The client ( or receiver ) also knows your full range
• As it uploads on youtube, you also get the SEO advantage
• It's a long-term link ( until you edit the decription )

But, sadly I noticed ....

The didn't know exactly, which was the operating Youtube Channel

They even didn't know the "whatsapp Quick messages" technique

I have observed, the business owners truly underestimate this creation of the real game-changer :- Making a deeper, convincing impression in the propsect's mind about their organization. 

What minimum ( and maximum ) you should have is :-

1. Tetimonials from your best clients on your website
2. Business owner's Link-in profile ( accurate if not attractive )
3. A Youtube Channel with proper play-lists
4. Links of the above 3 collaterals readily available through Whatsapp Quick-messages
5. A simple CRM system with a good channel-partner support ( No harm in trying out with a free CRM initially ) 

I didn't need to tell this sales-lady about actual sales follow-up, because she was well-trained in this, and believe me all these kinda business owners are good at that. What they do lack is :-

• A system to retain records ( They prefer excel - which is random ) : This is CRM
• An approach & respect towards descipline to follow it. 
• A habit to do it again & again ( though boring sometime ).

Winter & Water "Business"

Thirst reduces with temperature falling in the surroundings.Yes. Demand reduces. However, your business shouldn't get affected. I mean.... to a great extent. 

Because ....

If you have designed your customer segments properly, you should always have those regular buyers in your portfolio. Like ...

• Banks
• Institutions
• Corporates
• Govt Offices
• Caterers
• Restaurants & Cafes
• Hotels 

Use internal Data

Whatever you are : a distributor or a producer yourself, you need to have these all segments. For identifying your customer segments easily, the best tool is your billing software. Once in a month, you can have a conversation with your buyer and get to know from him exactly which segment he/she belongs to. 

Develop further communication

Use simple tools like Whatsapp Business to furher communicate with them. This regular communication will give you a steady & reliable ( season-free ) cash-flow. You should plan your financials considering the lowest feeding months, then winter won't be a problem, it will spare you time to look after other activities. And summer will be a boom.

Business Model Canvas : A simple technique

Rather than long text lines, is it easier to just look at a fewer images to understand things better ? Yes, and this is precisely how one should be able to look at his/her business. On a single sheet of paper. And this is the use of a Business Model Canvas. It is a simple 9-blocked Sheet ( Canvas ).

Do You need a "Turn-Key" contractor for your Water Plant ?

A Turn-key contractor is the one who buys all machinery on your behalf, co-ordinates with various agencies, and helps you get your project completed. For most of the machinery & equipment, he is the single billed entity, that's the advantage. Another is that you need to co-ordinate with just a single party. There are many advantages of working with a single turn-key contractor, and some challenges as well. 

Most of the projects have failed due to 2 major reasons :-

1. Launching Business without getting prior know-how : You can always get proper information which might be available on the internet for free of cost. Can try our water business app for this.
2. Wrong appointment of Turnkey contractor. Most of the times business owners fall in trap of aggressive follow-up by suppliers. They fail to check his/her experience in the field.

Do You need a Turn-key contractor basically ? :-

It will be very handy, but very tricky. And not complete. Meaning : You will still need other agencies.The turn-key contractors in Water Business are not available in every locale. Hence local agencies need to be your responsibility only. Machinery work at the most can be handed over.

Any alternative ?

Consultants can be an alternative, again choose wisely. And check our Mentoring Service. We provide this, through which we help you find these suppliers, agencies, at the same time you save a tremendous cost as well.