Kotak Mahindra Asset Management Company launches ‘Kotak Gold Fund’ : Provides ease in investing in gold without opening a trading,demat account: full features and specifications

Kotak Mahindra Asset Management Company, one of India’s leading mutual
fund houses, on Thursday announced the launch of its latest
fund-of-funds named ‘Kotak Gold Fund’. This unique open-ended fund will
enable investors to take exposure to gold without having a demat
account. In addition to this, Kotak AMC will offer investors the option
to invest as little as Rs 1,000 per month through the SIP route.






The Kotak Gold Fund will be open for subscription from March 4 to 18 and
its performance will be benchmarked against the prices of physical
gold.



Speaking about the need for this product, Kotak Mahindra Asset
Management Company CEO Sandesh Kirkire said, “We see a lot of potential
with Kotak Gold Fund primarily because of two significant factors. One
by providing a platform to investors to invest in gold without a demat
account and also create a discipline by systematically investing in Gold
as an asset class.”



“ In recent times, gold has shown a low correlation with other asset
classes while at the same time its returns potential has been similar to
equity assets performance. As a result allocation into gold improves
portfolio diversification and can minimize the downside risk of the
portfolio,” he said.



The fund attracts the benefit of long-term capital gains tax after one
year of investment. This is in contrast to physical gold where you have
to pay short term capital gains tax for a period up to three years.
Also, returns of this fund do not attract any wealth tax, which is not
the case with physical gold.

Nilesh Shah high-profile mutual fund executive and renound investment banker and ex-deputy managing director of ICICI Prudential MF to join Axis Bank to lead the private sector lender’s initiatives in the investment banking space.

Axis Bank, which acquired Enam’s investment banking business last
year, has roped in high-profile mutual fund executive Nilesh Shah to
lead the private sector lender’s initiatives in the investment banking
space.

The usually soft-spoken Shah, who quit as deputy managing director
from ICICI Prudential MF in December last year, will join Axis Bank as
the president – strategic initiatives in its corporate banking division.
He will report to V Srinivasan, executive director, corporate banking,
Axis Bank.

 

Shah, who had joined ICICI Prudential in 2004 as chief investment
officer from Franklin Templeton, is known for his expertise in the fixed
income space. He is a gold medalist chartered accountant and a
merit-ranked cost accountant.


At ICICI Prudential, Shah played a key role across verticals of fund
management, investor relationship and regulatory interactions.

ICICI Prudential MF’s assets under management had risen to over Rs
70,000 crore in September last year, from around Rs 15,000 crore, when
Shah joined the fund house as a chief investment officer in June 2004.

In November 2010, along with investment banking business, Axis Bank
had also bought Enam’s equity broking and insurance distribution
businesses in an all-stock deal worth Rs 2,067 crore.

Tata Autocomp Systems Ltd files for IPO to raise up to Rs 750 crore ($167.4 mn) has appointed Tata Capital Markets Ltd, JM Financial Consultants Pvt Ltd, and JP Morgan India Pvt Ltd as managers for the sale

Tata Autocomp files for IPO to raise up to $167.4 mn Tata Autocomp
Systems Ltd, an auto parts maker, has filed for an initial public
offering in addition to a fresh issue in order to raise around Rs 750
crore ($167.4 million).

As per the red hearing prospectus, shareholding
companies, Tata Motors, Tata Industries and Tata Capital Ltd, and Tata
Sons, will together sell nearly 35.63 million shares in the company.




The
company, part of the diversified Tata conglomerate, has appointed Tata
Capital Markets Ltd, JM Financial Consultants Pvt Ltd, and JP Morgan
India Pvt Ltd as managers for the sale.The issue will comprise of around
25% of the fully diluted post issue paid up capital of the firm.

Shekhawati Poly-Yarn to list its initial public offer (IPO) to BSE NSE Stock Exchange for 1.2 crore equity shares on December 27 with a target of Rs 36 crore at fixed price of Rs 30 per share : IPO buying tips, update, allotment, subscription, status and prospectus

Textile firm
Shekhawati Poly-Yarn is entering capital market with its initial public
offer (IPO) of 1.2 crore equity shares on December 27. The company aims
to raise Rs 36 crore through IPO at fixed price of Rs 30 a share.


The issue will constitute 54.54% of the fully diluted post issue equity share capital of the company. 

Shekhawati is presently engaged in
manufacturing of texturised and twisted yarn. Now it proposes to
commence manufacturing of Knitted Fabric from Texturised Yarn, being one
of the objects of the proposed public issue.


Issue proceeds are proposed to be used
for buying new 30 twisting machines and installation of new 30 knitting
machines; buying corporate office at an estimated cost of Rs 325 lakh
and working capital requirements.


After this expansion, the company will
have 35 machines for twisting yarn with capacity of 4,620 MTPA, 30
machines for knitting yarn with 1,980 MTPA and 20 for texturising yean
with capacity of 27,400 MTPA.


Hem Securities Limited is the book running lead manager to issue.



src: MC

A2Z Maintenance and Engineering Services will list its IPO equity shares on NSE BSE stock exchange on DEC 23 with an issue price at lower end of price band of Rs 400-410 a share: IPO Allotments, price, subscription, status and prospectus

Engineering,
procurement and construction (EPC) services provider A2Z Maintenance and
Engineering Services will be listing its equity shares on exchanges on
December 23. It has fixed an issue price at lower end of price band of
Rs 400-410 a share.

The issue was just managed to sail through, which was subscribed 0.96 times

The company raised Rs 776.25 crore
through IPO of 1,94,07,750 equity shares; it consists of fresh issue of
Rs 675 crore and offer for sale of Rs 101.25 crore. Earlier it had aim
to raise around Rs 860 crore.

The company will not receive any proceeds
from the offer for sale. Fresh issue will be used for investment in
three biomass (bagasse)-based power cogeneration projects of 15 MW each
in the State of Punjab; investment in five biomass-based power
generation projects of 15 MW each in the State of Rajasthan; investment
in subsidiaries; repayment of a loan granted by L&T Infrastructure
Finance Company Limited (L&T Infrastructure Finance) to the company;
and working capital requirements.

A2Z Maintenance provides services to the
power transmission and distribution sector with a focus primarily on the
distribution segment. 

src MC

Shares of Claris Lifesciences settled at Rs. 205.85 on BSE, a 9.71% discount to the initial public offer price of Rs. 228. The stock debuted at Rs. 224.40, a 1.58% discount to the initial public offer (IPO) price. The stock hit a high of Rs. 227.90 and a low of Rs. 198.10. On BSE, 1.54 crore shares were traded on the counter, Stock Price, date, allocation, allotment, subscription, status and prospectus

The initial public offer of Claris Lifesciences was subscribed 1.5
times. The IPO got bids for 1.61 crore shares, compared with 1.07 crore
shares on offer.

The qualified institutional investors (QIB)
category was subscribed 1.31 times, the non-institutional investors
category, comprising high networth individuals and corporates, was
subscribed 2.03 times and the retail investors portion was subscribed
1.6 times.

The company had slashed the price band for the IPO and
had also extended the IPO closing date after a poor response to the
issue. The IPO, which was to initially end on 26 November 2010 was
extended till 2 December 2010. The company had slashed the IPO price
band to Rs. 228-235 per share from earlier Rs. 278-Rs 293.

Claris Lifesciences, on 23 November 2010, raised Rs. 54 crore by selling 18.43 lakh shares to four anchor investors at Rs. 293 per share.

Claris
Lifesciences plans to utilise the IPO money to set up a new
manufacturing unit, a research and development unit and for pre-payment
of a term loan. The Ahmedabad-based firm is one of the largest Indian
sterile injectables pharmaceutical companies.

Claris Lifesciences reported a consolidated net profit of Rs. 57.73 crore on total sales of Rs. 324.95 crore for the five month ended May 2010. 

Arjun Handa, managing director and CEO, said the Rs 300 crore raised
through its initial public offer (IPO) would be utilised for increasing
its manufacturing capacity and other expansion plans.

The leading sterile injectables pharmaceutical company had fixed a price
band of Rs 278-293 for its public offer. However, since the company
received a lukewarm response, it had extended the closing date of the
IPO and also lowered its price-band to Rs 228-Rs 235.

The company plans to set up a new plant comprising a small volume
parenterals line, a PVC bag line, a non-PVC bag line and a fat emulsion
line. “We would be setting up a new manufacturing line for propofol and
other fat emulsion products at our existing plant, Clarion IV and also
construct a facility for research and development at our Clarion
manufacturing facilities,” Handa said.

The Hero Group announced that it would buyout the entire 26 per cent stake of its partner Honda Motor Company Group in Hero Honda, India's No.1 bike manufacturer, thus breaking its 26-year-old partnership with the Japanese auto major.

The Hero Group on Thursday announced that it would buyout the entire 26
per cent stake of its partner Honda Motor Company Group in Hero Honda,
India's No.1 bike manufacturer, thus breaking its 26-year-old
partnership with the Japanese auto major.

Without disclosing the size of the deal, a company release said: “The
decision to restructure the equity has been reached in a cordial and
amicable manner…As per the MoU, Hero Group will buy the entire 26 per
cent equity stake of Honda Motor in Hero Honda Motors Ltd (HHML) in a
phased manner from two or more qualified promoters. Upon completion of
the transaction, Hero Group will be the sole promoters of the company.”

It was in 1984 that the Hero Group joined hands with Honda Motor Co. to
become not only India's but also world's largest two-wheeler
manufacturer.

In 2009-10, Hero Honda had sold 46-lakh two-wheelers, capturing 48 per
cent of the Indian two-wheeler market, which is the second biggest in
the world after China.

“This is the most important announcement I have made in the last 25
years... The board has approved an MoU between Hero Honda and Honda. The
two companies will sign a definitive agreement within the next few
weeks. Now, with this new arrangement, we are set to charter new
segments and geographies and develop new products. This marks the
beginning of a revitalised journey of growth for the company and its
people and business associates,” HHML Managing Director and CEO Pawan
Munjal told journalists here.

Hero Honda will continue to produce and sell the existing models, while
new models would be also launched. However, all future products will be
rolled out under the new licensing agreement between Hero Group and
Honda. Hero Honda brand name will also be changed over time.

Commenting on the deal, Honda Managing Director and COO, Regional
Operations (Asia and Oceania), Fumihiko Ike said: “In order to assure
service to the customers, Honda will grant the necessary licence to
enable continued production and sales of current products as well as
licence for new products.” Declining to share the deal value, Mr. Munjal
said: “Royalty (to Honda) will remain in line or even lower...it is
incorrect that royalty will go up to 8 per cent.” The royalty paid in
2009-10 on an average stood at 2.3 per cent to 3 per cent of sales.

The new licensing arrangement signed between the Hero Group and Honda
Motor Co., Japan, would also enable higher growth by giving it (Hero
Group) the freedom to develop its own research and development
capabilities and exploit global export and manufacturing opportunities.

The two-wheeler major will also start exporting products across the globe and look for manufacturing opportunities.

“Hero Honda can go out and can make its presence felt globally,” Mr.
Munjal said, adding that the company could now establish distribution
networks across the globe. 

src: TH

The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) made amendments to the equity listing agreement of publicly listed companies enhance the quality of disclosures

The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) on Thursday made
certain amendments to the equity listing agreement of publicly listed
companies. It said it has made these amendments to enhance the quality
of disclosures.

A company, after a public issue, will have to make public details of
its shareholding a day prior to its listing. It also said that the stock
exchanges should upload the same on their Web sites before the shares
of the company are listed.

SEBI also said that any listed companies whose capital restructuring
makes a change of more than two per cent to its paid-up share capital,
will have to file its revised shareholding with the stock exchanges
within ten days from the date of allotment of the shares that
constituted the restructuring.

It added that all listed companies should maintain a “functional Web
site” with all relevant updated information. The stock markets regulator
has also mandated that those corporates which have agreements with
media companies have to disclose such details on their Web sites and
also to the stock exchanges.

To help investors to manage their cash and securities flow, companies
will now have a pre-announced fixed pay date for payment of dividends
and for the credit of bonus shares.

From now on, those companies issuing depository receipts will have to
further segregate the details of the shares held by custodians into
‘promoter/promoter group' and ‘public'.

In order for the listed companies to meet the minimum public
shareholding, SEBI has said that companies can issue shares through
prospectus (primary market), offer shares for sale by its promoters or
by sale of shares by promoters through the secondary market. This is
just to align the Listing Agreement with the new changes to Securities
Contracts (Regulations) Rules.

SEBI has mandated uniform procedure for dealing with unclaimed shares
(both demat and in physical form). If there is no response to three
reminders by a registrar regarding unclaimed shares, the shares shall go
into the Unclaimed Suspense account. The issuer company shall
dematerialise the shares held in this account with one of the depository
participants. All benefits accruing on such shares shall be credited to
this account. The voting rights will remain frozen till the rightful
owner claims the shares.

src:BL

Tata Motors owned Jaguar brand of super luxury cars has launched the diesel variant of Jaguar XF in India priced at Rs. 48.37 lakh.

The premium car Jaguar XF, which is powered by a
3.0 litre V6 cylinder, will be sold in the country as a completely built
unit (CBU). Jaguar's six-speed ZF 6HP28 automatic transmission can
accelerate the Diesel-S from 0-100 kmph in just 6.4 seconds.

“The launch comes after we received a
huge response to our XF's petrol version. We have received a pre-launch
booking of 60 cars,' said Rohit Suri, head - premier car division,
Jaguar and Land Rover, India. 'The new Diesel XF introduced in India has
been customized by Jaguar engineers for the Indian market and adapted
for Indian conditions,' said the company statement.

Jaguar is also in the process of
developing 10 more dealerships in major cities of India. Jaguar Land
Rover will also begin assembling Land Rover models
in India from the middle of next year, said Suri. The company had
already begun setting up the plant, he said without elaborating on the
stage of construction, cost, or its location. In the last fiscal, Jaguar
and Land Rover cumulatively sold 242 units in India

"We are in the process of establishing
our network, so we are not disclosing any target at this point of
time... We hope to do very well,” said Tata Motors Head (Premier Car Division) Rohit Suri.

How to get due recognition as well as promotions in your organisation

With the world economy coming out of the shadow of recession, companies have started hiring again, besides giving usual increments and promotions to their existing staff. If moving up the corporate ladder is on your mind, this may be the right time to pitch for that. But apart from your honesty towards work, peers and organization, what can you do to ensure that you’re on the short list of candidates for a promotion?

There are, in fact, intelligent theories on the different behaviors people exhibit in their career and how one should manage one’s supervisors and subordinates. A senior HR manager with an MNC recently mentioned that there are enough people who are always confused on how can they grow and get promotions. 

Here are ten sure ways to get due recognition as well as promotions in your organisation.

1) Align with the organisational goals

It is a reality that gradually HR managers are aligning the KRA’s of individuals more objectively. One of the most common reasons for failure to get a promotion is the gap in the understanding of one’s role in the organizational setup. 

"Most often employees think about achieving sales numbers and bagging new clients, but they miss out on the bigger picture about their role in providing a direction to the team or the organization. If you really want a promotion, then do not only look at smaller goals. A clear understanding of your organisation’s objectives is a sure way of getting a promotion," says Alok Bansal, CEO, Alethia Education Services

2) Maintain momentum

Exceptional performers or people on the fast track in any organisational setup are a difficult set to handle and mentor. Success almost always becomes a habit and performers at times align themselves to believe that they shall continue to move up the ladder. 

This breeds a sense of laxity and harms the competitiveness of an individual. It is seen that even habitual performers fail to upgrade their skill sets or fail to look at the way things are to be executed, often missing out on the changing paradigms of the market. 

"People who lose steam over a period of time are the ones who ensure that they kill and miss out on promotions. Every new appraisal cycle demands fresh look at the performance and the past performance can only have little influence. So always be on the guard, maintain the momentum and sure look at a promotional avenue," says Mr Bansal.

3) Don't be content with present job

There are many people around who are too happy with their present job or surroundings and are hesitant to look at other assignments, locations or companies. 

Well, it is a perspective people continue to live with as well and hence manage to live a ‘stable’ career. But such people, when they refuse a department change or a locational change, are clearly ensuring that they continue with the present state and can hardly hope to get a promotion. 

Therefore, if you want to get promoted, look at challenges within the present set-up, grow with more responsibilities and seek change.

4) Respect your peers & subordinates

Any organisation looks at leadership attributes in an individual. In white collar jobs one always aims at finding the one who could take up some other’s job and grow. It is believed in quite a few organizations that if you groom your subordinates to take up your job, you will grow and also get promoted to handle bigger assignments. 

Here one attribute which will differentiate between performers and leaders would be a feeling of respect or acceptability in your group. Relationship issues are a reality in organizational set-ups. So people who are liked by a major logical/decision-making group, are the ones who get promoted. Thus, if you really feel that you can grow only by exceptional performance, think again!

5) Have positive attitude

In an organisational setup, there are people who are called cynics, innovators and developers. In any such set-up, such personality traits are easier to identify. There would be some people who would always be anti-establishment, anti-world, and critical of every change. Also called as wearing red hats these are the ones who manage to survive in the organization, but hardly get a promotion because they cannot bring a fresh perspective or manage a well-groomed team. 

“A positive encouraging and open attitude helps one get acceptance in an organization and is also a way to ensure that you get your promotion,” says Mr Bansal.

6) Be in the good books of your boss

You might be a good worker and a constant performer. But if your boss does not like your face for some reasons, the chances of getting a good raise or getting a promotion are very less. 

Therefore, always try to be in the good books of your boss. This doesn’t mean that you need to become a sycophant for getting promoted. But making a good rapport with your boss always helps

7) Know what your boss wants

Keep getting the feedback from your boss as well as other colleagues regarding your performance and the way you handle a job. For instance, if your boss is not happy with a job executed by you, ask him/her how you could have done better on that assignment. 

This will help increase your boss’ confidence in you and you will be able to know what your boss expects from you. You will also be able to identify both your week and strong points, and then work out your strategies according

8) Upgrade your skills

If things are not going the way you want, you should first go for self appraisal. Are you able to execute your work well? Does your employer values your work but does not let it get reflected in your pay hike or promotion? 

Or are there some areas where you need improvement? There’s a good chance that you might be lacking some of the necessary skills or qualifications for a higher-level role. 

If this is the case, then first work on your shortcomings, upgrade your skills and then seek results.

9) Go for self-promotion

You might be working hard and even harder than most of your co-workers. But are your seniors — especially your boss — also aware of your performance and all that you’ve been doing in connection with your job? 

"You might hate to brag, but the boss should know what you have been doing day in and day out. After all, in today’s world and in many organisations, self-promotion seems to work more than the actual performance,” says Ashish Kesharwani, chief learning officer, UEI Global.

10) Talk to your boss

You might be very much keen on playing a larger role in your organisation and getting promoted, but does your boss think you worthy of that? Is your boss also aware of your plans and that you are willing to advance in your career? 

It is better, therefore, to talk to your boss about your long-term goals and plans, as well as your desire to grow your career as your promotion depends to a large extent upon his willingness to give you additional job responsibilities or not.

New Year Discount 40% on Sony Handycams and Cyber-Shot with free 4 GB memory stick and a carrying case

New Year 2010 is just outdoor and to welcome 2010 with great zeal, Sony India announces a new promotional offers on several products.

The company is said to begin its year 2010 with a price drop in the Handycam and Cyber-shot range alongside the launch of a new Walkman with Speakers. In addition, users can take home a new portable PSP 3004 by sharing their special walkman experience.

The limited New Year offer will let users avail a discount of 40 percent on Sony Handycams while DCR-SX40 and DCR-SX60 and DCR-DVD650 are now priced at Rs. 14,990, Rs. 16,990, and Rs. 12,990 respectively.

The Cyber-Shot DSC-S930 earlier priced at Rs. 7,990, will now be available only for Rs. 6,990. Well, Sony will also let users take home a 4GB memory stick and a carrying-case for free. Dressed in Lovely Pink and Bold Black colors, this Sony device is attractively priced at Rs.7,990.

Users can now clutch their favorite devices by taking advantage of these offers.

src: techgadgets

Power Project Investments in Bihar

One of the key focus of the Government of Bihar has been infrastructure development. We have seen the government invest in roads, Primary healthcare and education. The government also realizes that power will also play a major role in the development of Bihar and hence has increased focus on power generation projects in Bihar. Thus between 2006 and 2009 power generation projects worth more than 73,000 crores have been approved or are in the various stages of approval. If all these project materialize, then the total power generation capacity of Bihar will have increased by more than 18,000 mega watts. This will definitely go a long way in the development of Bihar.

While SIPB (State Investment Promotion Board) of Bihar has approved or conditionally approved all these projects, the Bihar cabinet is still taking its sweet time to approve the projects.





The Bihar cabinet has only approved 3 projects that will result in a total of 5,440 mega watts of power generation capacity with an investment of 22,779 crores India rupees.

As the government of Bihar has itself said that Bihar will need more than 8000 mega watts of power in the in next 5 years, it should speed up the process of making more approvals. The projects that are approved by the cabinet are 

Company : Type : Power capacity (MW): Location : Inv (Cr) 

JAS Infrastructure Capital Pvt. Ltd. : Thermal : 2640 : Banka : 11120

Adhunik Power & Natural Resources Ltd. : Thermal : 1000 : Kahalgaon, Bhagalpur : 4369.45 

M/S Nalanda Power Company Limited : Thermal : 1800 : Pirpainti, Bhagalpur : 7290

On another note, the Bihar government should also focus on giving approvals to green energy projects which will benefit Bihar more in the long run. Thus solar energy projects and Biomass projects should be encouraged. Currently most power projects in Bihar are Thermal/Coal based.

I have extracted a list of power projects in Bihar and am listing the ones with more than 100 MW production capacity.The list of all projects approved from 2006 to July 2009 can also be accessed here : Power Projects Bihar

Road Show On Food Processing Policy of Bihar on 17 September 2009, Hotel Windsor Manor, Bangalore

Agriculture and food processing sectors are crucial to the economy of the state of Bihar. Government of Bihar is driving several initiatives for growth of the food processing sector. It has recently launched two schemes viz. Integrated Development of Food Processing and establishment of Food Park scheme. The state government's Vision 2015 envisages investment of Rs 1,670 crore in the sector, and this would generate further investment in food processing sector in the state making the total investment to about Rs 4,175 crore.

Bihar government is taking proactive steps to invite investors and entrepreneurs by devising attractive incentive schemes and policies. In order to explore business opportunities, a Road Show is being organised in Mumbai, Pune, Bangalore and Hyderabad.

The Road Show at Bangalore is scheduled on 17 September 2009 at Hotel Windsor Manor from 1100 Hrs – 1330 Hrs followed by Lunch.

The objective of the business-focused Road Show is to sensitize decision makers from Business and specific agribusiness  about the opportunities  in Bihar in Food Processing Sector. Government support will be available for such project, which will be one of the focus areas of the agenda for this interactive session.

The Session would be addressed by Mr. Ashok Kumar Sinha (IAS), Principal Secretary – Industries, Government of Bihar and Mr. S Mukherjee, Chairman of Bihar State Electricity Board along with other Government officials and CEOs of food processing companies.

The deliberations would be followed by a One-to-One Meeting where interested industries/entrepreneurs may interact with Government officials and discuss the existing facilities and support available.

Please participate and nominate your colleagues in the Road Show and explore business prospects in the State of Bihar.

List of all the Investment Proposals in Bihar

The Bihar State Investment Promotion Board (SIPB) has cleared (or cleared with conditions) 194 investment projects worth more than 115,000 crore rupees (over 23 billion dollars). These projects include



26 Thermal, biogass and solar power plants

25 sugar mills

34 agricultural/ food processing units

18 steel and cement plants



For all who are interested, the entire list of proposal is posted on the Bihar government website and also on http://sites. google.com/ site/progressive bihar/project- approved 

How to have Passive Income using internet: Get in easy 7 steps

Is passive income in your success plan? If not, it should be..... 

Seven Steps to Leverage Your Expertise into a Highly Profitable Business

Is passive income in your success plan? If not, it should be.

Smart professional women develop multiple streams of income in their business. They know that financial freedom begins with passive income. They sell their ideas, not just their time.

You can turn your passion and what you love into profitable income streams. Coaching, consulting, speaking and delivering workshops are examples of active sources of income. Selling products, assessments, licensing your programs, and affiliate marketing are examples of passive sources of income. To be really profitable and free up more of your time, you want to shift the mix so that most of your income comes from passive sources.

You can redesign your business around your ideal lifestyle and free yourself from feeling trapped in your business. You can design your business so you work less, make more and live life on your own terms.

To build a very successful business in the new Web 2.0 marketplace you must learn how to create information products. You can leverage your expertise into a very profitable business by turning what you know into products and programs.

You can use the internet to create instant passive income. You can automate some of your income so that you can sleep on it and let the money roll in. Automate your marketing and sales to make it a no-brainer that happens independently of your time. What you need are technology, automation, systems and support.

I have learned a very good strategy to build a highly profitable business: position yourself as an expert in a profitable micro-niche and create information products. Teach people what you know, and solve their problems with your information and how-to expertise.

There are seven specific steps you can take to redesign your business around your strengths and turn your expertise into lucrative profit centers.

1. The first step is to establish your reputation

Create a national or international reputation and a brand in your segment of a profitable niche. Why is it important to have a strong personal brand in your area of expertise? Because the more people who know of you the more who will buy passive revenue products from you.

You can still earn active revenue from delivering your services and offering workshops and seminars, but if you're like me, the passive sources are a lot more appealing because you can maintain your ideal lifestyle without working so many hours one-on-one or traveling all the time.

2. Map out your passive income marketing funnel

The marketing funnel is a basic marketing concept that can have a huge impact on your profitability. First, you get lots of prospects in your funnel, then you guide them through the funnel. You need a plan for bringing people from your free talks or your free newsletter to your lowest priced offerings and then on to your highest paid services. The mistake many professionals make is to try to sell people directly into their high end services. That rarely works.

Instead, your information products will allow potential clients to get to know you with less work on your part and little risk or cost to them before they try your higher priced services. Your clients move down through your funnel so when they are ready to work one-on-one with you, you have already developed trust with them and you don't have to sell them.

3. Learn passive income skills and info-preneur strategies

You can multiply your profits by turning what you know into info-products and using the internet to create instant passive income. Learn the many ways to package your information and sell it online. Learn about content development to leverage the content you already have from your talks, articles and workshops. Learn general information about article marketing, web 2.0 marketing, affiliate marketing, blogging and pay per click advertising to determine which tactics are right for your business. Then, delegate those tasks to the specialists who can support you in growing your business.

4. Nurture your creativity

If you're so busy all the time that you don't have the energy to come up with new ideas or to spend writing or creating programs, you may not be able to earn passive income. Creativity and innovation are key to coming up with new ideas. You need to carve out blocks of time out in your week for creative right-brain, intuitive thinking.

I encourage my clients to take time for what I call 'creative silence'. It's in these moments of silence – when we are in the flow and a 'non-doing' state of mind – that inspiration comes to us. Get into the habit of capturing your ideas and writing regularly to develop information products to position yourself as a credible expert.

5. Create systems

Systems are the key to leveraging your time and expertise. You can create a system for every function in your business so that you do something one time, and then it is either delegated or automated to be done in future. You don't want to be doing all the work yourself and reinventing the wheel each time. You can have systems for getting client referrals, for contact management, for delivering your newsletter, for your recordkeeping, and for product development.

In fact, everything you do in your business can be made into a system. Leverage the power of technology and the internet to reduce the mundane tasks that take your time and energy.

6. Delegate and automate

It's impossible to build a highly profitable business by doing it all yourself. Learn to delegate. Build your team to help you create your 'information empire'. You can start small with delegating the tasks you don't like to do to one person a few hours a week, then build from there. To know what to delegate, make a list of all the things you don't like to do or are putting off doing. I call this my 'not to-do' list. These become the first tasks that you delegate.

Automation is also important to free up your time. You can automate your follow-up messages using autoresponders, such as AWeber and Get Response. Automate your sales using a shopping cart system, such as the 1 Shopping Cart system through Practice Pay Solutions. Automate your article marketing using a paid service like Article Marketer. Have your teleseminars recorded automatically using one of the many free services, such as Free Audio Conferencing

7. Play a bigger game

Do you have a big vision for what you see as possible for people and for the world? What's your contribution going to be? To play bigger and make more money, you need to enroll other people in your vision and create accountability and support for yourself by joining a coaching program or mastermind team. You need to take a leadership role in your industry to make a bigger impact. You can leverage your expertise through joint ventures and collaboration with others. If you have a purpose and passion for your work, you can develop a base of lifetime followers that will sustain your success for years to come.

Bihar has opened its trade doors for state’s Industrialists and Entrepreneurs

Bihar’s invitation came at a programme “Road show on food processing policy of Bihar”.

Offering a host of incentives, principal secretary of Bihar industries department A.K. Sinha took centre stage at the event to answer questions posed by Jharkhand industrialists. Entrepreneur Prakash Tekriwal posed questions regarding the time it would take a firm to set up a rice processing unit in Bihar and if it would be entitled to capital subsidy. “It should not take more than a month. One can directly purchase land to set up a unit or can approach Bihar Industrial Area Development Authority. For reliable source of electricity, one can set up a captive husk-based power generation unit” .

A film on the industrial potential of Bihar being screened at the road show in Ranchi. Picture by Prashant Mitra

The department secretary who had served as a sub-divisional officer in Jamshedpur and deputy commissioner of Hazaribagh in unified Bihar, claimed that the neighbouring state’s industrial inceptive policy was one of the best in the country.

He added that so far Bihar had received over 200 proposals with an expected investment to the tune of Rs 1,20,000 crore in several sectors, including food processing — a core area for industrialists.

Ravi Ranjan Mishra, vice-president of IL&FS CDI Limited that has been appointed by the Bihar government as a project management agency for handlooms, textiles and food processing, added that a wind of change was blowing through Bihar. Vice-president of Jharkhand Small Industry Association S.K. Poddar concured. Industry sources revealed that Bihar had received quite a few proposals from Jharkhand, including those from Usha Martin Group and rice mill owners. Rice, litchi, maize, makhana, jute, tea and sugarcane were identified to have the potential to value-add to the economy of the states.

Mahesh Prasad, the technical director of the Bihar industries department, said similar shows were organised in Delhi, Calcutta and Varanasi.

The department is contemplating to visit Bangalore and Mumbai, too.

The Telegraph Report

10 Steps to Use Workplace Conflict to Your Advantage.

Is there such a thing as a good fight? The willingness to

embrace conflict and turn a bad fight into a good one is a

hallmark of a great leader. And if you want to learn, there are

steps you can take to help turn negative conflicts into creative

opportunities. 

1) Don't Despair, Prepare! 

First, and most importantly, know that sometimes it's best to

walk away from conflict. Know your `exit point' -– the point at

which it makes more sense to walk away from a conflict than it

does to work to manage the issue. There are times that it will

be your best option. 

Everyone has their own style of dealing with conflict.

Understand the different styles, identify yours and the styles

of your team. Learn to appreciate the diverse styles of others,

assume leadership when conflicts arise, and value the creative

spark that conflicts can kindle. 

2) Follow the Yellow Brick Road 

What is your goal? If you can agree on a common goal – to

creatively solve a problem, to generate a new idea or to sell

more product -– you'll have a better chance of harnessing the

conflict. Sometimes the root of a conflict is that you don't

even agree on what the problem is -– or that you're struggling

to address different issues. 

3) Reveal, Don't Conceal 

You must agree -– at least some extent -– to be vulnerable, to

reveal why you want something, and to declare what's really

important to you about an issue. When we're in conflict, we

always have a story – usually one that justifies our proposed

solution. Listen and try to understand the other person's story.

If the other person won't reveal their needs or interests, ask

open-ended questions and look for clues. 

4) Tackle the Problem , Not the Person 

Focus on the problem and persuade the other person to join you

in solving the problem. Make the problem your common enemy

rather than blaming the other person for causing the problem.

Try and discourage conflicts from becoming personal. 

5) Play Within Bounds 

Sometimes conflicts are caused by process problems rather than

substantive issues. If the other person remains difficult, start

talking more about standards and procedures than about the

problem. This can help you creatively manage a conflict that

seems like an unmovable object. 

6) Stir Up a Storm 

Brainstorm -- welcoming all suggestions -- then sort through

them all and determine which ones merit further study. Many of

us fall in love with our solutions and decide that our idea is

the only possibility. The best resolution for all concerned may

not be the one we had previously discussed. 

7) Take a Time Out 

Classic advocates of creative conflict management have used

this move throughout history. Martin Luther King Jr. suggested

we "go to the mountain" during conflict to gain the higher

ground and a better perspective on the problem. Gandhi retreated

to meditation and fasting during the most intense periods of his

struggle to free the Indian people. When things get heated or

stalled consider taking a time out to regroup. 

8) Talk Until You Drop 

People don't allow enough time for creative conflict

management. In our modern, instantaneous world we have lost our

patience. If you have decided the conflict is worth your time

and energy, make sure you allow sufficient time for management.

It usually takes longer than we think to produce good fights

instead of bad ones. 

9) Circle the Wagons 

When you reach an agreement or a creative solution, you need to

go through some sort of closure process. Arrange a time in the

future to review how the solution is working. Agree upon an

action plan to accomplish the goals of an agreement and decide

who does what, when and where. 

10) Write to Avoid New Fights 

Write down what you think you've agreed upon at various

stages. The process helps clarify your own thinking as well as

the agreement. We all tend to assume the meaning we ascribe to a

certain word or discussion is the same for everyone. This one

act will save you a world of hurt down the road. 

These ten steps can provide a roadmap to lead you skillfully

through using conflict to generate creativity. While you may not

need to use all ten for every situation, it's good to review

them before you try to resolve an issue. Then, you'll be able to

see where you're stuck and what you need to do to move forward.

For complex disputes, you may very well need to work your way

through all the steps with all the parties.