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HOW TO MAKE YOUR FIRST MILLION!There was something very interesting that happened at Christies (the auction house) in Londonon September 29, 2010. The auction was very unique. The room was packed and beyond people had even formed queues outside Christies; the heightened interest made the authoritiesshift the auctioning to a bigger room. People were bidding not just inside the room, many were

on telephone, many more were registered online, from countries all over the world. From NewYork to Dubai, nobody wanted to miss the action It was the auction of 300 items from LehmanBrothers London headquarters paintings, miniature battleships, et al. Its interesting to notethat while not many were interested in the sale of Lehmans European business (which was

bought by a Japanese company Nomura), this auction was evidently different and the mostinteresting bid was for a large metal nameplate that used to adorn Lehmans Londonheadquarters. An anonymous bidder bought the sign over telephone at an exorbitant price of42,050. It was symbolic, for these letters symbolised the beginning of something new. Thecollapse of Lehman Brothers had ignited the global financial crisis, which changed the worldforever.

Incidentally, Lehman Brothers mission statement was another sign that fetched record prices!

It read: We are one firm defined by our unwavering commitment to our clients, ourshareholders and each other!

A company that once seemed invincible is today gone!

The old order changeth, yielding place to new, these words of Lord Alfred Tennyson from thestory The Passing of Arthur should never be forgotten if you dont want to become redundant.Its the mantra to help one keep growing.

LOOK WHERE NO ONE IS LOOKING

Daimler, the worlds no.2 luxury carmaker, was in for a pleasant surprise when its largest order

in Asia came from a dusty small town in India, one which most people probably have neverheard about Aurangabad. 115 Mercedes-Benz vehicles were ordered by the AurangabadChamber of Commerce. It seemed like a prank, but it went on to prove a point. If you dont learnto look beyond, you may miss big opportunities. Dont do what everybody is doing. Mostmultinationals, when entering a new market, simply look at the top 10 cities of that country.

If you want to race ahead, think ahead, for according to Boston Consulting Group, your nextbillion consumers will not come from the biggies, but small towns that have quietly grown whileno one was noticing. Aurangabad drew the worlds attention by this gimmick of ordering 115sedans (Mercedes, eventually sold some 148 cars there!). There are places like Curitiba in Brazil,Xiaochang in China, Yekaterinburg in Russia, and Amritsar in India, where the new markets lie.Not surprising, Wal-Mart has opened in Amritsar and guess what it caused a huge traffic jamas Amritsaris in BMWs lined up to check out the new store!

If you want to make a quick buck, look beyond the obvious. The one multinational that has donethis is Unilever. It never feared stepping off the beaten track and exploring new markets. Italways succeeded. So can you!

SHAKIRA, CHANGE YOUR BEAT

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Shakira recently sang the line: Its time for Africa... Well, in business circles, the new songwhich hopes to set the cash registers jiggling to a happy tune is: Its time for Asia!

UBS AG, Switzerlands largest bank discovered that a large majority of its richest clients werefrom Asia. The number of ultra-rich Asians climbed 37% in 2009, which is double the globalpace. With so much wealth-creation happening, Asia becomes a very important market. This

quarter, UBS AG is focusing on its Asian clients and their needs.

India is Asias rising power. Its 9% growth rate, its rapidly increasing middle class, is making itthe hot destination for the low-growth Western governments!

As if Slumdog Millionaire was not enough to showcase Indias dirty underbelly, theCommonwealth Games gave the Western world a display of how India functions. The worldcriticised our corruption, lack of planning and shoddy implementation. However, the flipside is:its these very nations (Canada, Australia, New Zealand) that are fighting hard to get into tradeagreements with us. Its also interesting to note that not one of the 54 participating counties

backed out of Indias Commonwealth Games despite such negative publicity! India is today tooimportant for the world. We may not work like the West, but the world has to accept our way,

however chaotic we may be and however much we may have a habit of getting things done at thelast minute. As Mr. Lee of Center for Independent Studies in Sydney quoted, North Korea hasgreat military parades with 2,00,000 people, but no one looks at them even though they areexecuted with perfection. The world is watching India. Yes, its definitely time for India. If you

want to test your entrepreneurial skills, look no further. India is your playground. Vijayawada,Ujjain, et al, may be difficult to find on the map of India, but you may find your best businessopportunity in these places!

DONT STOP LOOKING

If you think you can, you are right I believe in this quote from the book Count Your ChickensBefore They Hatch. There is nothing more powerful than a strong resolve. Napoleon Hill in his

world famous book Think and Grow Rich writes: Thoughts are things and powerful things,when mixed with purpose and persistence. Most great entrepreneurs have started not with bigmoney, a great education or a strong circle of influence, but a steely resolve and the will to win.

Know first where you want to go and keep going no matter how hard the going is. You know notwhen you will strike gold!

Who had ever imagined that the once financial powerhouse Lehman Brothers would beauctioned off, that America would lose its sheen and that the world would change? All of ithappened; and those who kept working are reaping the rewards. The new emerging nations India, Brazil and China are making the developed nations stumble. Save one. Germany! Itsgrowing faster than US. Its citizens for years have accepted wage cuts in return for life-longemployment. And today, unemployment there is lesser than US. Of all the developed nations,its the strongest right now. Today, its the showcase of eurozone. This year, as Germanycelebrates 20 years of its unification, it has shown the world that it is ready. Its beaten all, andas the world gets ready to come out of the recession, Germany is prepared.

However, India is ready too. It has become too important to ignore. Look no further, for the world is coming here, looking for their next billion consumers, their next growth opportunity.You get ready too. Your pot of gold could be buried right under your feet! Get ready to be a partof this growth and lets prepare to make our first million right here!

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