Interested in starting your own entrepreneurial journey in business development but unsure what to expect? Then read up on our interview with Nilakantasrinivasan J., Managing Principal of Canopus Business Management Group, located in Chennai, India.

What's your business, and who are your customers?

I help organizations become client-centric. In this digitised and globalised world, the only way organizations can grow is by creating more value for their clients. The first step is understanding the clients, their organization's culture, business model, and changing needs. Equipped with client insights, they need to transform every aspect of their business by constantly aligning people, processes, and technology and refining products and services toward their clients' needs. I work with large corporations—usually Fortune 500 brands—to refine their client-centricity practices and processes.

Tell us about yourself

I started my career in the corporate world, doing different roles, mainly in business transformation and improvement, for nearly 15 years. I worked for brands like Bank of America, HSBC, Standard Chartered, Whirlpool, TVS Suzuki, etc., and I always wished small businesses had access to similar tools, resources, and techniques as large corporations. Coupled with an innate desire to express myself, which wasn't easy within the well-defined structure of the corporate world, I decided to start my own consulting practice 12 years ago.

Since then, a lot of things have changed. Business models, economy, technology, and my target segment. I don't work with small businesses anymore. But my desire to "leave everything a little better than I found it" has been my driving force and motivator to date.

What's your biggest accomplishment as a business owner?

Anyone in business for a few years will tell you, "There are no winners, only survivors." I have been able to survive and thrive and establish a name in the corporate world. I have been able to acquire and retain large corporations as clients. Not a single client has been unhappy with my work in the last 12 years. I'm also lucky to have been able to pursue my passion for teaching through digital and classroom courses for professionals and help them progress in their careers.

I have been able to author three books. My last book, "The Client Centric Protagonist," has been well received. I consider myself a "lifestyle entrepreneur." I worked almost every single day in the last 12 years, including weekends, but I have also been available when my family needed me.

What's one of the hardest things that comes with being a business owner?

I believe it's "accountability." As an employee, you also have your boss or someone else to cover for you. But when you are a business owner, the buck stops with you. This has both positive and negative implications. The quicker a business owner realizes and accepts this, the faster she will grow her business and the happier she will be.

What are the top tips you'd give to anyone looking to start, run and grow a business today?

Reflect and introspect if "greed" drives you to start or grow the business. (I want to be on the cover page, I want that car, I want to live next to him, I want to have this big office, and I want to get this much funding, etc.) If yes, then re-evaluate your decision. The same goes for "proving to the world you can do it." If that's your driver, then again, re-evaluate your decision.

Both of the above will blind you. You will make many wrong decisions. Running a business is like a marathon, not a sprint. Be patient and keep making progress. Have an open mind. Be willing to accept and adapt to a new and changing environment. Constantly realign. And be a good listener. 90% of your effectiveness comes from "listening."

Where can people find you and your business?

Website: https://www.collaborat.com/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/neilsrinivasan
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nilakantasrinivasan/

If you like what you've read here and have your own story as a solo or small business entrepreneur that you'd like to share, then please answer these interview questions. We'd love to feature your journey on these pages.

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