‘A team can either make or break a start-up because it is only as strong as its weakest link’ Dhimant Mehta of Sandhira, Inc

This Entrepreneurial Story is about Dhimant Mehta & Sangeeta Mehta who Founded ‘Sandhira, Inc.’ located in USA

sandhiraAbout

  • Dhimant Mehta (Founder & CEO): Has twenty five years of diverse blends of experiences in Business Operations, Account Management, Engineering and Sales & Marketing and over fifteen years of entrepreneurial experience in the areas of Retail Sales and Marketing in the US.
  • Sangeeta Mehta (Co-Founder & CFO) : Has done her masters in Accounting & Business Administration, and has more than twenty-five years of experience in Accounting and Retail Sales & Marketing domain in the US. She is a prodigy in finance, heads the department and brings along her vast experience.

Dhimant@sandhira.com, Sangeeta@sandhira.com

When Started: September, 2012

 Location: Head Office in USA and Operations in Ahmedabad, India.

What motivated you to start your Business?

In 2010, a terrible financial recession struck in the United States and its effect spread throughout the world immediately. Due to this recession, small business owners were shaken drastically. People wanted money to value. To resolve their issue we created a referral service through Sandhira.com to help the small business owners boost up their revenue in this downturn period. In 2012, the dream that took its initial steps in doom and gloom of recession took a concrete form as we established Sandhira Inc.

Tell us about your Business

Business Listings

Events

South Asian News

Horoscope

Weather

Hot Deals

Recipes

South Asian Leaders

Sports

Organizations

Classifieds

Jobs

Places of Worship

Articles

Funerals

Entertainment

Buy Tickets

Share Your Memory

Festivals

Forums

Business Model- Sandhira.com also offers various revenue-generated services such as Hot Deals, Premium Business Listings, Online Banner Advertisements, Jobs, Buy Tickets (movie & events), Social Media Marketing, and SEO Services. The second phase will consist of Sandhira E- Mall.

Tell us what an average day in your life looks like.

I wake up at 4:00 a.m. and get a jumpstart with dental hygiene, 30 minute treadmill, and oats-filled breakfast. I, then, shave and take a shower to freshen up from the workout. My work day begins with phone calls to and from the India office. I catch up with the previous day’s work status and business emails. I tend to have 3-4 hour meetings with all the various departments heads. During the mid-afternoon time, with lunch, I take a break and view some of my favorite websites consisting of: Time, Businessweek, Forbes, FoxNews, The Economist, & Entrepreneur to gain knowledge and stay updated with the Business World. Later, after lunch, (since I woke up early), I take a one hour snooze to recharge and energize myself to work again. I get back to my business emails after the sleep hour and reply to all of my emails. I finish my daily business tasks that I set up every day to keep a short term goal for myself and the business. In the evening, I catch up with my family during dinner time. Then, in the night, I call and update my India executive team as to what needs to be done in prioritized order, so the work is done in a timely-manner and with efficiency. I take new challenges with a positive attitude. It is difficult. It is only when you step back and realize what you’ve accomplished, the knowledge you connected together, the relationships you’ve created, the knowledge that you gained, and the assistance you’ve hopefully provided, it clicks.

One particular skill you got right and gave you best results.

To analyze and find in-depth research of the data before taking business decisions and take ownership and accountability of the individual decisions and actions.

What have been your biggest challenges in running your Business so far? How did you overcome these challenges?

After conducting a market research, we created a module for advertising through e-flyers on Sandhira.com and invested money, time, and manpower into the technical aspects of it, but after working on it for a while, we realized that people were not ready to cope up with increased rate of the e-flyers. It affected our cash-flow and marketing strategies that were planned keeping the module in mind. Currently, we are re-structuring the module to suit the needs of the client in a way that is technically and financially feasible to us.

What have you found the most effective way to get new clients?

Through Social Media, Digital Data Mobile, Mail flyers, Newsletters, or by becoming a media partner in big events.

What advice do you give to other business owners?

A team can either make or break a start-up because it is only as strong as its weakest link. We believe in investing time and efforts to build a core team that shares the same level of passion and excitement for the business. As a start-up, we believe there is no thumb rule for success and hence trial and error is the way to go. Also, it is important to have a ‘Plan B’ ready for everything.

How did you keep motivated through difficult times?

By believing in myself and my idea. When I get depressed, I read Motivational stories and get charged up for the next battle.

What are your Marketing, Funding, and Team Building Strategy?

  • Marketing Strategy: We are applying various marketing tools. These tools consist of: sending Newsletters to clients, Merchant tie-ups, Social Media Marketing, SEO activities, and Digital Media Partner in prominent South Asian events. We also plan to do promotion through radio & TV advertisements.
  • Funding Details: We did not have any seed funding for our start-up. Friends and family who have always supported in times of need helped us in this venture. We are looking to raise the first round of Capital.
  • Team Building strategy: It’s Not about me or you, It’s all about Company: There is no ‘I’ in “Team”. The most difficult concept to accept when it comes to teamwork is that nothing is about you. We may have individual jobs, individual meetings, but we are a team. A team defines determination, motivation, dedication, and enthusiasm. When you’re in a team, you have to function like a team, by putting your own ambition aside.

Your Achievements?

Sandhira.com is the fastest growing South Asian Community portal worldwide. It has more than a million visitors and more than two million page views. Our global rank is less than 25,000. In the mere time period of six months, there has been tremendous growth in our global ranking. Sandhira.com is serving more than thousand merchants throughout the United States and Canada. The Business Listing category has reached half a million with more than fifty event partners.

What’s your favorite quote?

“I have not failed. I’ve just found 10,000 ways that won’t work.” Thomas A. Edison

Also another favorite quote, ” Stay hungry, stay foolish.” Steve Jobs

Who inspires you?

Steve Jobs, Thomas A. Edison, & Dhirubhai Ambani

Do you have a Business Philosophy?

We received and learned so many good things from our family, friends, and the community. We want to give them back as much as we can. We always think about the community and their problems. We want to solve the day to day problems of the community.

 Contact links

Website | Facebook  |  Twitter  |  Google+  | Pinterest

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