Kijiji Overtakes Craigslist

Really?

Well on October 15th Ebay reported its Q3 earnings a net income of $493 million. A significant part of this income came from its kijjiji.com business.

Kijjiji’s contribution is a whopping $250 million. Remember those days when Ebay was so desperate to up its stake in Cragislist. See I blogged about it here.

kijjiji is a rising star in the space of community based classifieds. From a revenue perspective Kijji has impressively overtaken Craigslist(whose revnues are projected to be $80 million for the whole year) We still have to wait and see if Kijiji can create the same community euphoria and loyalty that craigslist enjoys for itself.

After All You Need One Powerful Belief..

Today in this post I want to answer a common question that many of my friends and relatives have been asking me for sometime now “Given all things common, why is that a few people are so successful where as the majority of the others fail despite of their best efforts?.

If you know me ? you know I was never born into a business family. In fact my father was a cop who served the police department for 42 years before retiring with great honors.

All my education in business, self success, Marketing, Investing etc came from many failed ventures that I created. Some in shear desperation some with great inspiration.

After years of working closely with big corporations & small business, traveling many countries, understanding different cultures, starting my own ventures etc I have come to realize that everything in life boils down to our belief system. Everything that we see outside of us is a direct reflection of who we are inside.

Many people around us seem resigned to their fate and do precious little to change the condition they are living in. They believe their lives have been pre-determined by their destinies and it is just futile trying to change them. For some of them, such beliefs also have something to do with their religious beliefs. I too became a believer in destiny when I failed in some of my honest endeavors when I was nearing the end of my teens. But it did not take long for me to discard such a fatalistic attitude and realize that it was well within my power to change my life.

Haves and have-nots

I had noticed among some of my less affluent friends that they had unquestioningly accepted the state of affairs in the belief that they could never change their lives. History tells us, such a mistaken belief has dominated the thinking of several generations. They think that they are too poor to force any change in their lives and that such privileges are reserved for those who have money and everything they need. It boiled down to the belief that the have-nots can??™t change their destiny and only the haves can.

Sharing the same belief

But when I looked at some of the wealthy people I knew, they too didn??™t seem all that different. They didn??™t have so many negative barriers on their way as their less wealthy counterparts, but they still shared the same belief that it is destiny that determines their lives and they can do little to change their circumstances. So, I thought, such a negative line of thinking is not reserved for the wretched of the earth alone. Many among the rich and wealthy are also victims of the same self-defeating belief.

Self-belief is the key

Once I understood the meaninglessness of the rich-poor divide as far as belief in destiny was concerned, I realized that it is really possible for me to change my life. Earlier, a rags-to-riches story was nothing but a rare exception to me, almost an accident of sorts. It now showed itself in a different light. I realized that those, who have succeeded in life in spite of almost insurmountable odds, could do so because they believed that they could change their destiny with their own efforts. At the end they did that with one belief.

You can certainly have a much better life by changing your attitudes of mind. Just begin to believe that you can do it. A strong belief can do wonders. I am an ardent reader of books, importantly biographies, find someone fwho can help you, if not read biographies.

Believe that you can control your circumstances and you will find that you also can make your life better as so many others have been able to do.

Now stop reading the Blog :)-….Believe in yourself, and get going.

Rules Of Exemplary Customer Service

Companies that don??™t value customer service don??™t last that long. Everybody in business has to value the opinions and the satisfaction of their paying client??le. Any company that you can think of, no matter how iconoclastic they strive to be (from Howard Stern to the NFL to exiled writer James Frey) all of these people are in the business to make their target audience happy.

You must take proactive steps to satisfy your customers. Here are five suggestions often overlooked.

5. Minimize Conflict, Offer a Solution

If a customer is complaining about your company, on the phone or in business, strive to settle the conflict and offer a solution instead of a firm rejection. Make sure call center representatives or hired help understands this basic concept before you let them run your company into the ground with rude customer service.

4. Give Personal Attention

Don??™t become too high and mighty that you can??™t personally introduce yourself to your customers. Go up to your store customers, introduce yourself and ask some friendly questions. This is an old technique from restaurants that should continue to apply. Once you start hiring little guys to give all the TLC while you walk around scaring people, then you have crossed over into Lex Luthor territory. And don??™t you know that Lex always loses?

3. Keep Your Customers Updated

Successful businesses always have something going on. Whether you run an online website, a blog, a restaurant or a nuclear arms factory, then make sure to keep your customer base updated as to new happenings, new services and new products. You may do this via a newsletter, an email message, or simply by adding new material to your existing product line.

2. Send Personal Thank Yous

Some may think that customer retention programs are a waste of time or money. However, the reverse is definitely true. If you ham it up and show your customers that you care, they will remember you. This is vital in building your name identification. Never send anything (from a card, to a news letter, or coupon sheet) and your customers will gradually forget you. Any relationship, even a business relationship, must be maintained.

1. Give Away Freebies!

Everyone loves freebies and if your customers have spent so much money on your products, why not give some free gifts to show appreciation? Freebies can include anything from free software, to free music, free months of service, or even free food.