Get Some Small Business Assistance With Gourab Nanda

Gourab Nanda has a long history in big business, working in project management and consulting. His background is a mixture of technology and business; huge SAP integration projects and other large IT-related efforts. And then…and then…he went small.

Gourab recently founded MyBusinessAssistant a company dedicated to helping small business. His target is small business, but Gourab’s aspirations are anything but. He’s pulling together a wide variety of services to help small businesses, so they can focus on their core competencies.

INTERVIEW HIGHLIGHTS

• Unlike a lot of entrepreneurs, Gourab took the road of researching and planning before diving in. It’s good to get different perspectives from different entrepreneurs. He identified an opportunity, researched it and then pursued it.
• MyBusinessAssistant has an interesting business model, leveraging in-house and outsourced services together. A tricky balance, and at some points overwhelming, but still interesting.
• His answer to Question #8 makes me smile. Every time I read it.

THE INTERVIEW

1. Please give us a quick professional background. What made you take the leap into starting your own business?

Prior to founding MyBusinessAssistant, I worked for almost 9 years in Integrated Enterprise Software Application (SAP) and have vast experience in integration of business processes using SAP application. I spent the last 3 years in managing business process operations, including offshore project management and leading a team of analysts and professionals in information technology. I successfully managed the North American SAP operation for a 400m Biotech Company in Maryland. I had my Engineering degree from National Institute of Technology, India and MBA from Brigham Young University, Provo, UT.

I had been thinking for quite a while to start something of my own. Had a few ideas but nothing seemed to catch the attention of others. As you know, all the stars have to be aligned, the wind has to blow in the right direction for anybody to start a business. For me, it was November 2006 and I took the leap into starting my own.

2. Why did you start MyBusinessAssistant?

We saw a huge opportunity in providing virtual administrative support to small business owners. In fact, the VA industry was one of the fastest growing industries at the time. We wanted to take the business to the next level very shortly after launching it. After further research on virtual services, we found there were so many great services available in the market for small businesses that can help run their company more professionally and efficiently. And almost all of them were very affordable. We thought it would be a great if we could evaluate and pull all these services together and offer them to small businesses as a package and manage it for them. This is how MyBusinessAssistant started.

3. MyBusinessAssistant offers a lot of services. How do you remain targeted and focused on offering the highest quality services to the right people and offer so many different things as well?

Good question. We are often asked the same question. The key to understanding the MyBusinessAssistant business model is to view the company as a Service Management company rather a Service Provider company. We cannot be the best in everything. We do what we are best at and get other services from our key strategic alliances. Our focus is mostly trying to understand all outsourcing needs of a small business and trying to come up with the best service package, manage the services for the company and act as an extension to their existing team. We have strict internal quality control for the services provided in-house. We take extreme measures in selecting our alliances. All our alliances are focused in a specific service and have been in business for decades. Our clients work with one company but get the best of all.

4. I couldn’t find any information about you or the management of MyBusinessAssistant on your website? Was that done on purpose?

We are in the process of putting together a strong management team. Currently it is mostly me with some advisors. My wife, Devina, brings in very complementary skills and is very much part of the business. Once the formal management team is formed, it will be on the website.

5. How do you market your company and its services? What has proven the most effective?

Most of the marketing is done using different Internet marketing techniques. Since we target such a broad audience, Internet marketing proves to be the best media. Other than Search Engine Optimization and Pay Per Click, we are working on a unique direct marketing technique where a video presentation of the MyBusinessAssistant’s value proposition will be available to all website visitors. There will be a small registration form for lead generation.

We also try to create buzz in the small business community by contacting established bloggers and writers to write about our unique model and how it helps small business owners run their operations professionally and efficiently with minimum overhead.

6. How much research did you do into the market, the competition, and the opportunity before starting your business?

I think market research is an ongoing process. We had a pretty good idea when we started, and learned a lot about the market demand during business plan development. We see a huge opportunity in helping small business owners and aspiring entrepreneurs reach their dream.

7. Comparing your work at SAP (and past experiences as an employee) versus running your own business what are the top pros and cons?

I think it’s all about doing what you love and love what you are doing. That is the only mantra that I believe drives a person’s success. Although I liked the SAP application a lot, I was only part of an existing system and had very little scope for changing it. Here I’m creating a completely new system, a strong foundation on which I can see the MyBusinessAssistant empire with a brand that is always associated with small business services. It’s a whole different level of challenge and satisfaction.

8. I read a recent quote you gave talking about offering services to the growing number of small businesses in the United States (from CNNMoney), “It’s such a huge market..All you have to do is identify your customers, provide the services, and keep prices low.” It can’t be that easy? What’s your secret?

There is no secret. If you understand your customers’ needs, provide quality services and keep the prices reasonable, it’s very unlikely that you will fail. That’s our driving force every single day.

9. Do you have an end goal for MyBusinessAssistant? What about yearly goals to track your progress?

Our mission is to create a trustworthy, customer friendly, one-stop environment where small businesses can get customizable, flexible and affordable business services that will meet their needs and budget. We have a lot of major milestones to achieve first before tracking our yearly goals.

10. What are your top recommendations to budding entrepreneurs that want to start businesses?

My recommendation to budding entrepreneurs is to really focus on what they do best and find creative ways to take care of the rest. Keep up to date with what is happening in the market place and they will surely find ways to run their business profitably.

CONCLUSION

A big thank you to Gourab Nanda for his time in doing this interview. It’s always fun to meet entrepreneurs, chat with them, and see what makes people tick. When it comes to entrepreneurs it’s often the same things: passion, a bit of risk taking, an interest in making things better, and profit (don’t ever forget profit!)

If you’re in the market for some virtual assistant-type services for your business, check out MyBusinessAssistant.