Ikeva Business Center

How to get a mentor for your career?

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Thu, 03 Nov 2016 06:14:00 +0000

Well! Are you looking forward to having a mentor who could trace your career path? Often, career aspirants look forward to hiring mentors who could coach them and help them to reach their goals. Coaching and mentoring are two similar activities which helps both, the coach or the mentor as well as the mentee to realize their full potential. But, a million-dollar question is, ‘How to find the right mentor for yourself?’ The only solution to this concern is networking as much as you can. Networking enables you to get in touch with the right people and finding the right mentor for yourself.

Thanks to these so called upcoming coworking spaces which enables you to strike the right note of energy and also synergises your efforts by working with like-minded people. Co-working offices provide a great opportunity to build network with valuable resources of professionals who could turn out to be the potential contacts. And, you never know when you just end up having the right mentor? Here’s how networking go hand in hand at shared officespaces:

Meeting new professionals

You surely get to meet people who are like minded and are from different laterals and verticals. These people generally are small business owners too who hire shared offices to get the required resources and to get formal business address for their operations. Networking, flexibility, value for money, formal work environment and administrative support is all that comes to your kitty at once.

Sharing the same resources

Small businesses often hire coworking spaces to conduct small meetings, conferences, etc. Often, business owners get to find people from same collaterals and can take their businesses to next level by building up formal associations and making use of them. Similarly, solopreneurs can easily tie up with individuals who could help them grow further and carve their own niche.

Modern Approach

Gone are the days of traditional offices with huge cubicles which would give opportunities to communicate and unwind only near the water coolers. These modern coworking spaces throw immense opportunities to mingle with people around and find out what they are into. Moreover, there are conference rooms and meeting rooms available to discuss any new creative ideas that come with communicating with people around.

Workplace for creators

Coworking places are workplaces for the growing network of global creators. If you have any talent or skill or an idea that you want to bring into force, then coworking spaces can surely be the trusted medium for you. These plug and play offices are availed by creative aspirants who respect their flexibility and talent and want to harness it the right way.

Our community has plenty of people who love to ideate and experiment and most of them are often found working on platforms like co-working spaces. So, why not make the best use of opportunity by exploring like-minded community of people who are interested in matching the synergies of the social spaces.

Source: iKeva

4 Things to Outsource to a Virtual Assistant/Office

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sat, 09 Jul 2016 07:20:00 +0000

There’s a lot on the platter of budding entrepreneurs – from focusing on the business to managing administrative tasks; from email responses to scheduling and setting up meetings. To manage everything, is indeed time consuming and could prove to be a major setback for a business, which in first place would need uninterrupted focus, dedication and perseverance. But what if administrative tasks could be outsourced to a virtual office support system? Yes, it will definitely help letting the steam off of an entrepreneur.

A virtual office assistant is someone who is responsible for managing end-to-end administrative tasks. The virtual office support system clasps various administrative tasks which otherwise would be a time consuming affair for most entrepreneurs. Office errands such as sending email newsletters, replying to queries, scheduling meetings, booking flight tickets etc., are now completely managed and taken care of by this smart unseen office assistant. With Virtual office mail or virtual office phone service, things are more relaxed, especially for entrepreneurs and consultants who don’t need a physical office setup. Let us look into four most-important tasks that could and should be outsourced to a virtual assistant.

Foremost: The Four-most

Emails: Responding to emails is known to be the most time consuming tasks. Of course, an email response function forms one of the most important means of communication, but that doesn’t mean entrepreneurs must devote a good amount of an otherwise productive time in looking up and replying to each and every one of them. A virtual office mail can take care of this, by filtering out the important and not so important ones and also by replying on your behalf. Redundant email tasks like sending email newsletters to clients and customers, consider it already done.

Phone Calls: Attending numerous calls is a tedious task and at times gets time consuming. The best way to get rid of them is to have a virtual assistant answer calls on behalf of the company and filter the important ones to be directed to you. A virtual office answering service enables complete management of the incoming calls (outgoing too) of a business. Apart from tracking and recording important messages it wins the cost factor by reducing the human resource expense to a virtual assistant who would also manage the company’s brand image.

Scheduling: While an established business has a dedicated team to schedule tasks and manage calendar, budding entrepreneurs do find it difficult to manage these on their own. Planning the calendar, scheduling meetings, booking flight tickets, setting up client meetings/calls etc. take considerable amount of time but will still need to be scheduled as per plan and on time. By outsourcing these functions to a virtual assistant, entrepreneurs can attend to higher priorities.

Social representation of company: Every brand has its unique identity and that needs to be reflected in every facet of the brand. While dealing with customers, you need to project your exclusive brand identity and your virtual office support can help you achieve this every time, it’s needed. For organizations, virtual assistance can definitely bring in the brand’s exclusivity and add more value.

iKeva offers a comprehensive range of virtual office support services, designed to match the needs of a business. Organizations can take advantage of the cost and time effective solutions to enhance their business and also avail a range of benefits being offered. The flexibility of scaling a business with time makes virtual office an ideal choice for entrepreneurs and iKeva has been of constant support in this endeavor. Offering nothing but the best for your business, iKeva helps you move to smarter office solutions for better business.

Source: iKeva.com

Five Reasons Flexible Workspaces Are The Best

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Thu, 09 Jun 2016 06:39:00 +0000

The meaning of the word ‘flexible’ working lies in the word itself. Flexible working translates into organization of work conditions in such a way that it suits the convenience of employees. We, at, iKeva know the importance of work friendly policies, and thus provide our clients with all options available ranging from sharing workspace to establishing virtual office.

A concept slowly catching up, work flexibility allows employees to maintain work-life balance and also contribute towards the productivity of the company. More and more companies are adapting to the work friendly work style due to a lot of reasons:

A satisfied employee is a happy employee: Flexible working allows employees to schedule their work and personal life according to the demands of time. This allows them to strike a balance between both. A satisfied and content employee proves to be more productive for the company than a complaining and brooding man.

Cost control: When compared to traditional employees, those working in flexible environments have more faith in their companies. Chances of them preferring flexibility over more money are huge. This helps the company in managing the staff, having little trouble with the recruitment process.

No geographical constraints: Working flexibility allows companies to hire people from any part of the world, without actually requiring them to come there. This expands their reach to the best talents in the market, without compromising on their work quality.

Marching on all the time: Sudden loss in power supply or refusal of internet to work can stall a whole range of work at workplace. Flexible working saves the company and the employees from such erratic problems. Employees can work from home or whichever place convenient to them.

Contributing towards a greener world: Traditional work hours and conditions demand disciplined attendance of employees at office. This requires them to commute to work in vehicles that are contributing to global warming. Allowing employees to work from home saves the company from becoming a part of the several reasons causing major damage to mother earth. Like this, the company wouldn’t just emerge as a life-friendly workspace but also an environment friendly office.

Source: iKeva

Sanjay Anandaram StartUp Mantras

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Thu, 26 May 2016 07:33:00 +0000

Startup Mantra # 1: Never believe your own PR. The beginning of the end occurs when you start believing. PR is only for others to consume!

Startup Mantra # 2: Loyalty and Competence aren’t fungible. Startups that grow up learn this fast. Or, is it the other way around?!

Startup Mantra # 3: Who else loves you besides yourself?

Startup Culture # 4: Do you want to own 100% of a 1cr company or 1% of a 100cr company?

Startup Mantra # 5: Are you selling combs to the bald?

Startup Mantra # 6: Will you buy your own stuff?

Startup Mantra # 7: Two poor guys don’t equal 1 rich guy

Startup Mantra # 8: If the roof in office leaks, do you carry a bucket to work

Startup Mantra # 9: Think Big, In small steps.

Startup Mantra # 10: Speed is an awesome advantage

Startup Mantra # 11: Valuation is money in the mirror; Do you know how to extract value out of it?

Startup Mantra # 12: One doesn’t learn swimming reading books but only by being in the water. A market is known only by being in it, not through reports.

Startup Mantra # 13: A feature isn’t a product, a product isn’t a business, a business isn’t a company and a company isn’t an organization. Each is a log-scale evolution

Startup Mantra # 14: Be confident,, not arrogant. The former allows for humility and learning.

Startup Mantra # 15: An app isn’t a solution. It is a tool to solve a problem. Do you know what the problem is?

Startup Mantra # 16: Personalities are displayed when there’s real money on the table

Startup Mantra # 17: It takes a village to raise a child (African proverb). A startup too – outreach to different experiences, capabilities, competencies, knowledge, expertise…

Startup Mantra # 18: Founder must have Dharma-Sankata “Am I the right CEO for this company?”

Startup Mantra # 19: Business isn’t done on a spreadsheet, done between people. Developing, building and nurturing relationships matter

Startup Mantra # 20: Understand that technology by itself is only about 20% of the solution. The balance is sales, marketing, partnerships, customer experience, support, operations, people and cash management. Invest in learning the 80%

Startup Mantra # 21: Nothing happens till sales happen!

Startup Mantra #22: Go deep into a market then go wide – geo, product etc.

Startup Mantra # 23: Blaming everything and everyone except oneself is a very red flag

Startup Mantra #24: Company culture flows from the top. Bottlenecks are at the top of every bottle!

Startup Mantra # 25: Hope is not a strategy! “We will do viral marketing and then there will be customers and world peace!” Sorry.

Startup Mantra #25: If the chemistry isn’t right, the arithmetic will never work

Startup Mantra # 26: What’s good for the founder isn’t necessarily good for the startup but what’s good for the startup is almost always good for the founder

Startup Mantra # 27: Using jargon shows a muddled mind; Buzzword compliance isn’t necessary!

Startup Mantra # 28: Hiring someone by offering more money will also see the someone leave for even more money!

Startup Mantra # 29: The boss, the work and the culture are the main reasons for people to leave. Money isn’t the solution.

Startup Mantra # 30: Funding follows a team and market opportunity. Not the other way around!

Source: iKeva

Event Diary: Ergonomics and You: A workshop and a doctor consultation

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Mon, 23 May 2016 06:44:00 +0000

Ergonomics is more than a fancy word. It’s more than just “sit up straight” and “don’t slouch!” that we hear so regularly from our parents, doctors and everybody else. So, what is ergonomics, and how does it play a role in our lives? It’s a fact that bad posture can lead to bad health. How you sit, how you stand and how you walk all play a part in our health. But, there’s more to it than just that. Ergonomics is a science. It explains how we can avoid spinal problems, and other conditions that can develop due to poor posture, poor choice of chair, even a poor choice of bed. Spinal injuries are a common sight nowadays, with tens of millions of workers being affected every day. However, there are certain things you can do, to prevent pain, and to keep fit and healthy. At iKeva, we believe that good health at the workplace is important and, staying healthy now is more important than ever.

So, we have a plan. We’ve organized a workshop on Ergonomics in Hyderabad, at both the Banjara Hills and Hitech City, iKeva workspaces! Everything from choosing the right furniture, to keeping the right posture and plenty of exercises to keep your back on the straight and narrow, will be covered in the workshop, which will be held on the

11th of February from 12:00 PM onwards at iKeva Banjara Hills.

12th of February from 12:00 PM onwards at iKeva Hitec City.

Also, we’ve got a professional of Spine Care and Ergonomics to give you a check-up! Dr. G.N Sumanth, the Head of Department, Physiotherapy at Yashoda Hospitals will be hosting the session and, you can get a consultation with him after the workshop is concluded!

There’s plenty to learn at the workshop. You can learn the right posture to use while sitting and standing, how to set your regular work chair up properly, how to pick the right bed and so much more! You can learn about the different muscle groups, how to take care of them and basically how to keep healthy and fit, both in the office and out of it. With jet-setting lifestyles now just a daily routine, taking care of yourself is vital to avoiding lifestyle diseases like diabetes, joint conditions and other problems like neck and back pain too. Health at the workplace helps boost productivity and makes for happier workers. Whether it’s the design of the office space, or the furniture available, knowing how best to maintain your health in workspace helps a lot.

Knowing the little details, and how to maintain good health while you’re in one location all day can help you be more productive, healthier and, more importantly, free of any pain.

So, take your health in your hands and come on down to iKeva for the workshop! And remember, it’s about more than just your posture!

Source: iKeva

5 Healthy Food Ideas for you to take to work

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Fri, 20 May 2016 06:24:00 +0000

Keeping up your energy is important, especially when you have a whole day of work to look forward to. You can be more productive, creative and think a lot more clearly when you have the energy to get through the day. Now, with the jet-setting lifestyles we lead, getting tired and being unable to think are a lot more common than you think. So, what can you do to keep yourself going throughout the day? Eating as much as you can? That’s definitely a bad idea. Over-eating and eating rich foods are just as bad as skipping meals. There’s plenty of great ways to keep up with a work day if you eat right and eat healthy. So, here are five great food ideas to last you an entire day. We’ve helpfully split it up between breakfast and lunch since those are the meals most often missed, or meals that you eat at the office. Forget all your junk food and ‘masaledar khaana’ and start making healthy, filling and tasty food choices!

Breakfast:

It might not be Tiffany’s but it’s definitely better than eating Tiffin all day! Here are three great breakfast foods that should last you all day, or at least till lunch.

The Standard South-Indian: There’s nothing like a good scrumptious dosa with a nice masala filling, or a nicely made, incredibly fluffy idli accompanied by a firm vada and spicy sambar to start your day. A dosa or idli have just the right amount of nutritional value to get your day started right, with Potassium to keep you energized and, just enough carbohydrates to kickstart your day. Idlis on the other hand contain protein, enough carbohydrates to keep you till lunch and plenty of dietary fibre to keep your digestive system healthy. Pair it with a good filter coffee to really kickstart your morning!

The Classy Continental: Nothing says a good breakfast than hearing the word continental. There’s so much to choose from, and it’s not just whole English breakfasts I’m talking about either! There’s nothing like a stuffed omelette with a little whole-wheat toast and a side of fresh fruits to go with it. You can even play around with your options, like a mushroom omelette and a crispy slice or two of focaccia. You could even go with a little Indian twist with a masala omelette and a breakfast bun slathered with jam. Now what makes this such a good breakfast option? For one, you get plenty of nutrition like proteins, vitamins and plenty of fibre and secondly, you get all the energy you need to start your day from some really great-tasting food!

The Nutritious North Indian: If you’re looking for hearty, filling food to keep your energy up, all you need to do is look up North Indian food. Don’t believe me? Just think, a crisp ‘aloo paratha’ with a nice side of ‘sarson ka saag’ or even better, a paratha slathered with white butter and a side of curd. Think that’s enough energy for the day? We’d say ‘definitely’! Now, arm it with a nice soothing glass of cold lassi or a nice hot ‘chai’ and you have a good, hearty and healthy breakfast that’ll keep you energized all day long!

Lunch:

A really nice quote by Douglas Adams says ‘Time is an illusion, Lunchtime doubly so’. We agree whole-heartedly. When you’re neck-deep in work, the lunch break seems very transient and, vanishes as quickly as it comes. So, it’s good to have someone remind you that there’s food, and plenty of it to keep you going till it’s time to punch out of work. With that out of the way, here are two great ideas for lunch that give you the energy you need, and don’t make you long for a siesta after you’re done eating!

The Perfect Pasta: What better choice for lunch than a well-made, tasty and nutritious pasta? It’s healthy, made with a lot of fresh ingredients and, more than anything else, provides you with all the energy you need. It’s the perfect lunch food! While it might be too heavy for breakfast or dinner, lunch is the best time for pasta and, it can even be presented beautifully when you’ve invited your clients or business partners over for a working lunch! It looks even better when paired with a crisp side of garlic bread. Definitely a great food for a workspace!

The Finest Fish: If you’re looking for the perfect blend of tasty and healthy food, you might want to turn your sights to the aquatic world. I’m talking of course, about fish. Fish are tasty and, they also have more than enough nutrients to get you through a busy workday. Plus, fish are also rich in Omega-3 Fatty Acids. Yes, the good kind that helps lower cholesterol levels. These protein and vitamin-packed little morsels are a great choice when you want to eat light and healthy, but still want the taste!

Now that we’re done with talking about eating healthy and the right kind of food, let’s Indulge a little. When evening rolls around and you’re counting the minutes till you’re done with work for the day, let your sweet tooth out to play! Get yourself a moist, gooey and more importantly, a chocolate-rich brownie or, a frosted cupcake to tide you over till later. Plus, desserts make the heart grow fonder, especially if you share with your colleagues! So, never-mind the sugar addiction, treat yourself to something sweet! Bonus: Your coworkers will definitely like you better!

Source: iKeva

The Health Advice You’ve Been Looking For: The Nutritionist Session at iKeva

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Tue, 26 Apr 2016 07:17:00 +0000

Good Health is a major concern for all of us and, the last decade has seen a rapid rise in health consciousness. People everywhere, from workspaces to homes even have taken to heart the need to maintain their health. Proper exercise, the right diet and regular health check-ups are more important than ever in the minds of the health-conscious. Whether it’s yoga, callisthenics, dieting, supplements or intensive workouts like cross-fit, maintaining good health and wellness has become a part of everyday life. There are so many things people can do to stay fit and healthy. Still, we can’t deny the effects of proper nutrition and a proper diet.

Here at iKeva, we believe in promoting good health and keeping our members active, healthy and happy. We’ve invited noted nutrition experts from Yashoda Hospital to our Banjara Hills Center to conduct a health camp with a free health check and free advice on healthy living and wellness. Their nutritionists are also prepared to help you create a healthy diet plan for yourself too. These diet plans are customised as per individual needs. Plus, on the occasion of World Health Day, you can also avail an exclusive Diabetes Care Package. The event, held on the 15th of April, 2016 was open to both iKeva members and their families. The health camp was an enlightening look at our daily nutrition and better ways to keep healthy.

Are you ready to take charge of your health?

Source: ikeva

HOW VIRTUAL WORKSPACES THRIVE IN THE CLOUD

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Wed, 20 Apr 2016 09:24:00 +0000

One of the many reasons small business owners and consultants opt for a virtual office is the savings. Virtual offices are available at incredibly affordable prices and, also cut down on other costs like furnishing workspaces, transit costs and above all, the rent of a traditional office space. With a virtual workspace, it becomes easier to run a business remotely, with the added benefit of having a registered business address. Virtual office providers make it easy for their clients to work remotely while still maintaining a physical presence. The best thing is, virtual offices allow businesses to carry out their work entirely online, or on the cloud. There are so many services, both free and subscription-based that allow companies to move their entire business online, which lets them save on local space rentals, hiring for maintenance and all the little things that can add up and make a huge dent on their capital.

Here are five ways virtual workspaces thrive in the cloud:

Anywhere, anytime accessibility:

When all your work is on the cloud, it can be accessed from any location whenever you want. Virtual office solutions don’t usually come attached with a workspace but, with access to the internet, you can work from home, a nearby coffee shop or even on the go using a smartphone.

Flexible Resource Distribution:

The benefit to moving your business to the cloud is that it’s incredibly easy to distribute your resources effectively, and redistribute them just as easily. It could be an employee who’s working on a client, who can then be assigned to another, with their work being ported to someone else at the click of a button. Other resources like online storage, documents and other resources can be reassigned immediately.

Software Pooling:

Working virtually comes with a few other benefits. When all your resources are in the cloud, it’s easy to share software between employees and other members of your company. Take a design suite as an example. When it’s on a single system, sharing it is not easy, nor is it feasible. In the cloud however, access can be shared easily and with as many or as few restrictions as needed. This also makes it easy for individuals to collaborate on an assignment or any other work they might have.

Secure Systems:

With a traditional office, especially in businesses that handle a high volume of information or IT Companies, storage is an issue. Maintaining a server is expensive, requires regular maintenance also takes up a lot of floor space. With cloud-based storage however, not only does the headache of maintaining a server go away, it’s also easier to share documents, content and other material through remote access. Another benefit of online storage is that the onus of maintaining them and keeping them secure is on a third-party, leaving you free to use as you will, based on the package you’ve opted for.

Zero Floor Space:

The best thing about virtual workspace is that it doesn’t take up any space. When you sign up with a virtual office provider, all you get is an address in an important business centre, along with call and mail handling, as well as a few other services to make your business run more smoothly. The physical address serves as a registered business address and nothing else. All your business can be handled remotely, through the internet or on the cloud, negating the need for a physical place for you and your employees to work.

Source : iKeva

Shared Coworking Space- Five Tried & Tested Shared Office Designs

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Fri, 08 Apr 2016 10:39:00 +0000

Coworking spaces are known to be creative, flexible environments that encourage working together. So, how does a coworking space achieve this? That’s an easy question to answer. More than the people in a shared office workspace, or the companies that rent coworking spaces, it’s the design of the office that encourages interaction. Coworking spaces are brightly lit, with a vastly open floor plan and spaces where people can congregate whenever they feel they need to. For someone from a traditional office space, moving to a coworking space is like stepping out of a cage to find the savannah stretching to the horizon ahead of them. That’s the difference between the two. Traditional office spaces are very confining, with steady lighting that is almost clinical in nature, cubicles that make the office seem closed-off and confine employees and encourage little to no interaction between employees beyond team members, if even that occurs. That’s where coworking spaces are different. The entire workspace is designed from the ground up with one purpose in mind; to be more open, interactive and lively. Read on to find out some common design elements that can be found in any coworking space.

Natural Lighting:

A common element that makes any workspace better is natural lighting. While ambient lighting to set the tone is all well and good, nothing beats the sun for providing the right kind of lighting that can make any space brighter and more people-friendly. Natural lighting, whether it’s direct or reflected is energizing and helps boost creativity and positive thinking. We might not be Superman but, it’s been proven that sunlight definitely gives us a boost.

Colours:

Colours play an important part of our daily lives. Whether it’s in a presentation, in our food or in the clothes we wear, colours add a sense of vibrancy, reflect our moods and so much more. Both observational experience and confirmed studies have proved the effects different colours have on us. Brighter colours make us happier, intense, vibrant colours convey a sense of energy and drive while other colours can evoke a calming sense of peace. Colours in a coworking space have many uses; they define spaces, adding virtual separations without restricting members; they can define roles in office workspaces, like one colour for a tech team, and another for the marketing division. The possibilities and uses of colours in a shared coworking space are endless. They can even be used to simply accentuate a workspace.

Ambience:

In most restaurants, the ambience is a large part of the experience. The same is true for a coworking space too. Designing an open, flexible office is good but, without any activity, a workspace can seem incredibly dull. Having a constant hum of activity, with the option for silence when needed is a tried-and-tested way to boost creativity. The low hum of conversation, the sound of people shuffling around the coworking space lends energy and vibrancy to a workspace environment. The activity in a workspace is directly proportional to the creativity it engenders. Having a certain amount of ambient noise gives off a sense of action, a dynamic that can motivate and drive employees and members of a coworking space.

Safe and Sound:

Most coworking spaces are open 24×7, with members able to come and go as they please, working whenever they want. This though, leads to a need for improved security. You might be the only person working in a coworking space late at night. That’s when you become aware of your need for security. All coworking spaces come with a good amount of security and regulations aimed at making shared coworking spaces secure for all their members. Coworking spaces usually allow free access only to their permanent members. Coworking spaces also respect privacy, despite being known as open workspaces. Members in a coworking space can get personal lockers for their important belongings too.

The Culture Club:

Coworking spaces are defined as open and flexible workspaces for everyone. There is a line however. The point of an open coworking space is to encourage interaction with other members of the office space. True interaction can’t be achieved if the coworking space doesn’t respect cultural differences. A coworking space is meant to be accessible and friendly to people from different walks of life so, a degree of cultural sensitivity and a line drawn in the sand of openness will be appreciated more than just a blanket “do whatever you want” rule. Coworking spaces should be open to everyone, regardless of the community they belong to, the religion they follow or any other criteria and, providers of coworking spaces should be aware enough to account for them when creating their workspace.

Source

Discuss Digital Marketing with Raghu Seelamsetty

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Fri, 11 Mar 2016 07:14:00 +0000

The first question came from Dr. Pranav, Founder at Sugar 365 days “ What are the effective digital marketing strategies in the healthcare space?”

Raghu Seelmasetty (Raghu) answered that – “Search, Social and Content marketing works well. Spend more time on Google and social especially with Facebook. The next question to answer is – ‘How do you get prominence on Google?’ – run adwords however, this is short lived and expensive at times. SEO works well for healthcare companies, especially through content marketing. Build content that is shared and link back into content to perform well on Google. Make your website a living organism using content. Your goal should be to get people naturally onto your website. With a pun intended, Raghu also mentioned that, “the best page to hire a dead body is the second page of Google.”

Tip: Outbrain and Taboola are two content tools that you should explore.

Alok, BD Consultant wanted to understand more about the Digital marketing B2B scenario especially if the case is in ERP for transportation industry.

Response to ‘How should we use digital marketing for B2B?’ Define your audience. Start targeting using Linkedin. How to reach out to CEO at Gati? – subscribe to specific people on Linkedin. You need to position yourself as thought leaders by publishing content as much as possible.

Chaitanya from Perceptive Analytics asked, “Content needs content writers and graphic designers. How should we tackle this?” and a question about website, “Full screen backgrounds. Great videos being played – how does it work from a conversion perspective?”

Raghu’s solution for the first question is ‘Outsource content building – Fivrr is one platform to hire content writers. Full screen backgrounds are popular and need to tested to which type of websites they work for. You will only that by testing. For display ad campaigns – Sizmek can be used.’

Leeladhar, Founder at Happy Minds Staffing Solutions was curious to know about his app that notifies about the jobs, create a selfie video and share it with the world. How do we get more action happening to the app?

Here is a step-wise process suggested at the event:

Run an analysis of your business.
Analyse at what point the conversion is failing.
See where your visitors are dropping off.

Gautam from an IT startup wanted to figure out – In e-commerce industry giants spend a lot of money. What are the tools that startups could use?

Raghu says, ” Look at the unique proposition if you are an ecommerce company that can be offered to your target audience even before creating your digital marketing strategy”

Pawan Bhusari, Co-founder Abiogenesis mentioned targets both managers who are non technical with decision makers who are in the technical domain. How should I fill the gap between the two mindsets?

Raghu shares an analogy ‘Don’t sell medium temperature coffee to 2 people where one likes hot coffee and the other likes cold coffee.’ You will have to create two different communication and digital marketing plans with different content that attracts both mindsets.

Sathya, from Chennai asks how can digital marketing can help the HR industry? Raghu says tools are indispensable for digital marketing. Hence, constantly look for tools that meet your needs.

Content Source: iKeva

Five Reasons Co-Working Spaces are on the Rise

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Fri, 11 Mar 2016 07:05:00 +0000

The days when we used to work in set offices belonging to a single company are quickly coming to a close. Offices belonging exclusively to one company are becoming a thing of the past, mostly due to the rise of co-working. There are many reasons why co-working offices have increased in popularity, whether it’s money constraints, a search for a more creative office or even as a convenience. Shared workspaces are especially popular among freelancers, independent workers, consultants and small enterprises. Here are a few of the reasons listed below.

Why Co-work?

Every answer begins with a question. The question asked here is “Why the rise in co-working spaces?” There are many different reasons as to why this is happening. Here are five reasons why

Co-working spaces are growing in popularity.

1> First and foremost is the rise in start-ups and small businesses. When you’re a new company, capital is at a premium. The endless effort in setting up and ensuring success, to the rigorous search for investment, sparing the money to lease an office space is a burden on most start-ups. Generally speaking, office spaces are mostly located in premium localities, making the price for workspace rentals prohibitively expensive.

2> The second reason for the increased interest in co-working spaces ties in to the first one.

Renting or leasing office space, especially one that meets your needs is a daunting prospect.

You have to find the right one location-wise, size-wise and one that fits your style. What makes this even more troublesome is that you’re locked in to a rental or lease agreement for a specific period of time, whether it’s a year or more.

3> Offices generally follow a one-dimensional structure, like a top-down work structure. Co-working spaces on the other hand encourage creative workflow, collaboration and more importantly, networking and “career fluidity” as Anne Kreamer, a writer for the Harvard

Business Review described it.

4> Co-working office spaces also come with many benefits. You get plenty of opportunities to share ideas, communicate effectively with others, collaborate on projects with your co-workers and brainstorm when you need to.

5> Another positive of co-working spaces is that they are incredibly flexible. They can be designed according to what a company needs and, the layout of the office can be changed as needed too. Co-working spaces are also flexible in their rental agreements, whether it’s for a day, week, month or year.

There is so much more to a co-working office. Increased productivity, better networking, more creativity and a higher level of freedom compared to a traditional workspace are even more reasons for enterprises and freelancers to go the co-working route!

Content Source: iKeva

Life at iKeva: Productivity Through Activity

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Fri, 11 Mar 2016 06:43:00 +0000

As The Dalai Lama once said, happiness is not ready-made. We know that to be true, especially in a workplace. This however can change when there are plenty of engaging events and activities planned to keep spirits at the office high. With that in mind, we create experiences for our clients and employees that help lower stress levels and bring them closer together.

Our creative office workspaces come with various activities that integrate the work with plenty of fun. Keeping morale high with plenty of engaging activities has proved to increase productivity and keeps the work moving smoothly. In keeping with the Christmas spirit, we organized a Secret Santa for everyone in our offices. Everyone across our workspaces picked someone for whom they could play Secret Santa for a day. It was a fun event, made all the more interesting with many people from different companies participating and getting to know each other.

We organize plenty of activities at iKeva. Carom competitions, dumb charades and Antakshari are just the tip of the event iceberg in our offices. These activities encourage discussions and conversations among the individuals from different companies in our workplaces. It’s these things that create a work friendly culture, making a healthy work environment for everyone.

We also plan activities and outreach programs for audiences beyond our workspaces like community-building activities. We held a Quiz competition on Gandhi Jayanti just for this, with the main topic being Mahatma Gandhi. We believe it our duty to reach out to society as a whole as well as other communities out there, building a network and establishing channels of communication with them.

Another regular feature at iKeva is the Q&A session. We organize panel discussions as well, with pioneers in society and their respective fields as a regular part of our schedule. Social Media Guru Raghu Seelamsetty came down to iKeva as part of a digital marketing workshop/ panel discussion. We held plenty of other such events, like the workshop on lean patenting for startups, using Facebook as a lead generation tool and many more events. We also hold tight to our Corporate Social Responsibility with events such as environmental awareness programs, donation of clothes during events of disaster and frequent health camps that increase health awareness and ensures that the people in our offices, employees and clients alike are in the best of health.

Happiness is a big part of our business model. We believe strongly that happy people make for happy, productive workspaces. We pride ourselves on being creative, engaging and providing the best experience to our clients and employees and so, we work towards strengthening the bonds in our workspaces so you can have a creative, productive and incredibly collaborative and social workspace. Unity in Diversity is a motto we firmly believe in and, we include it in all we do, for a complete productive workspace experience.

Content Source: iKeva

Community Matters: Celebrating New Year as part of a working community

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Fri, 19 Feb 2016 07:34:00 +0000

The New Year to a lot of us is about having fun, spending time with friends and family or loved ones and generally having a good time. And so, the thought of spending New Years’ eve at the office is a thought none of us like to think about, or even enjoy the idea of. The end of a year is a time for joy, of celebrating the turning of a year, reminiscing about the year gone by and contemplating the future.

With work however, and constant deadlines to meet, celebrating the New Year might not always be possible. There are times when you have to remain at the office on 31^st December, or even have to come into the office the day after. Not an appealing prospect to anyone. So what can you do to have fun at New Years’ when you’re stuck in the office? Make the celebrations as part of your work day, and bring in your co-workers and colleagues to make it a community-driven event.

Celebrating New Year at a workplace can be fun with the right elements and, holding a celebration with your colleagues is not a bad idea either. It brings employees together, increases camaraderie and cooperation. It works even better to boost creativity and productivity in the workspace.

Let Your Silly Side Show: There’s plenty you can do to make New Years’ at the office more enjoyable, and what better way than to engage in a little silly fun with your colleagues, especially when the boss is not around to watch? Hold an impromptu singing competition or a karaoke, have a good old egg-race, because there’s always room for the classics. You can even hold some fun games like dumb charades or card games.

Contest and compete: Contests are a really fun activity. Holding singing competitions, or a fitness competitions with special gifts for the winner are all interesting ways of lightening the atmosphere in your workplace for the New Year. Contests help build healthy competitive attitudes in the workplace too.

Food Fiesta: Food is a great way to celebrate and bring people together. Organize a potluck, with people bringing in home-cooked food, or hold a cooking competition where the best chef wins! Food makes any celebration enjoyable.

Go Thematic: Speak to your colleagues before the New Year and decide on a theme for your workplace! It could be anything from a dress-up event, or a day where everyone dresses up as their favourite superhero or TV character. Make a theme to go with your New Year at the office to make it interesting all around!

Spruce up the office: What’s a New Years’ Day without any decorations? Pick up some streamers and silly string, or decorate your office to go with the theme you chose to make your day at the office a little more fun!

There are so many things you can do to make your office awesome for the New Year, especially when you’re celebrating with your colleagues and workplace community. The possibilities are endless!

Content Source: iKeva

We care about people’s smiles! Dental Camp at iKeva Chennai

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Fri, 19 Feb 2016 07:21:00 +0000

We care about people’s smiles!

Dental Camp at iKeva Chennai

Society as a whole is becoming more and more health-conscious. It’s no longer about just being generally healthy either. More and more people are making active lifestyle choices to be in the best of health, keep themselves in the best shape and, more importantly, look their best! Everything from the condition of skin and hair, to their food habits are gaining ground. Oral health is a major part of this. People are doing their best to prevent dental problems by making smart choices with their teeth. Whether it is teeth whitening to rid themselves of stains, to dental implants. People are increasingly conscious about their teeth. Dental care is a vital part of a healthy lifestyle. At iKeva, we believe in oral and dental health and so, we have invited Dentistry experts to our Perungudi, Chennai Office on the 8th of January to speak about the importance of dental care, and proved a free dental check-up to our employees and our clients! Boost your confidence with a winning smile!

Who can attend?

The iKeva dental Camp is open to anyone interested. Our employees are a major part of this event, as are people who have opted for our serviced offices. We also extend invitations to the members in our co-working spaces, and they can bring their friends too! If you are part of our virtual office network, you can come on down too. If you, the person reading this are interested too, you’re welcome to join us as well! This event is open to anybody interested.

We, at iKeva strive to be more than workspace providers. We believe in offering a complete experience that is not limited to our office spaces. We provide networking opportunities, a community for our members and many more benefits. We also believe in healthy lifestyles and promoting quality of life. At iKeva, we care about people’s smiles!

Content Source: iKeva

Your City is Choking You! Act Now.

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Fri, 19 Feb 2016 07:03:00 +0000

Delhi’s odd-even rule, while quite ambitious proved to have worked, with the hourly particulate air-pollution concentration cut down by at least 10-13 per cent. While a more long-term plan is anticipated, this sudden plunge into an issue much neglected for a long time, has thrown light on other cities too that need to take a step now.

WHO Research shows that India has 13 out of 20 most polluted cities in the world, and the country is practically choking on toxic and unhealthy air. Booming industrialization, exceptionally crowded cities, rising traffic fumes and the widespread burning of trash are converging to make our cities the most polluted in the world.

While that is the case with urban India, rural areas paint a bad picture too, with major sources of pollution including being fuel wood/ biomass burning, and fuel adulteration. Large scale crop residue burning in farming lands as a low cost alternative to mechanical tilling – continues to be a major source of smoke, smog and particulate pollution.

As such, it is easy to overlook the health impacts of air pollution. Millions of Indian children are suffering from lung damage due to the toxic urban air. Exposure to particulate matter often leads to a rise in asthma, bronchitis, lung cancer and heart attacks rates in the population. In fact, a report suggested that outdoor air pollution was the fifth-largest killer in India with over six lakh deaths that occurred due to this in the year 2010 alone.

As early as 1981, the Government of India passed the Prevention and Control of Pollution Act in 1981, aiming at regulating air pollution and deciding upon measureable goals. Despite these efforts, India still ranked 155^th of 178 countries, on the Environmental Performance Index.

This is why it is realized that public education and outreach on the issue of air pollution is highly important. Besides, it could be the only workable way to ensure extensive and lasting impact of efforts in the direction. In this direction,Greenpeace India is visiting all facilities of iKeva to educate on this rising crisis, share insights from their latest findings and discuss what each one of us, can do to help. The following activities would be held.

Here are few things you can help yourself with

Documentary screening: Videos depicting the effects of air pollution on day to day life will be screened

DIY Pollution tracker: Interested participants will be taught how to make a creative and easy pollution tracker, helping them know the quality of air they are breathing

Direct Dialogue: Greenpeace representatives will interact with participants on a one to one basis on the specific issue, and tell us how one can join the air pollution drive by signing the online petition and pledge for a clean air movement.

Sapling distribution: The importance of planting and nurturing a tree and the amount of pollution it absorbs thereby helping in cleaning the environment will be shared, and saplings would be distributed

Participants can also choose to contribute long-term to Greenpeace Campaigns across India and beyond, by becoming a volunteer/ contributor.

Event Details:

Venue: All iKeva Centres
Date and Time: 25th February, 12.00 pm to 3.00 pm

Content Source: iKeva

Dumb charades, the Game Hour at iKeva Banjara Hills

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Mon, 08 Feb 2016 06:59:00 +0000

Each time we host a game hour it helps us understand how a break matters for the team working with me. We had a fun-packed game hour of dumb charades atiKeva Banjara Hills. This time it was Bollywood and Hollywood guesses.

At iKeva, it’s not just about working and our workspaces. It’s not co-working, or serviced offices; it’s the people in them that make them what they are. Without people, an office space is just space. It’s the people who make them come alive, bring in the creativity and the buzz. We love to make it just a little more worth it and so, we have our exciting office activities to add that element of life to our workspaces. We discovered over this game hour, that dumb charades is not just about fun, it brings out some interesting traits about your team.

Motivation – While the participants were divided into two groups without a leader, the team by itself started motivating each other to share the best mime. They brought out the winning spirit by genuinely helping with clues that would help the team win. As moderators, iKeva facilitated this aspect. This could also be tried at workplace.

Creative thinking – Some of the participants came up with wackiest forms of expression but turned out just perfect when their team had to recognize and guess. The name of the movie was nowhere in the mime but rather used famous scenes, actors and features to break the silence.

Ice breaker – Since, it was mandatory for each person to mime during the game, it helped the rest of the community know about a member and their abilities during the game. The neighbourhood just got closer!

We love our dumb charades at iKeva and we’re firm believers that a mime is a terrible thing to waste! It was a fun-filled day at iKeva on the 11^th of December, much fun was had, many gestures were made, and many things were guessed. Our fun activities are a big part of the iKeva culture; the people in our offices are entertained, we get to know them a little better and, it even inspires teamwork and creativity!

It’s a regular feature for us to hold office-wide activities like dumb charades, carom tournaments, Pictionary, Antakshari and other fun activities (Don’t ask us about the beer bash; none of us remember!)

Games like these make our offices more dynamic, involved and creative, with the added bonus of encouraging camaraderie, teamwork and inspiring people to create. Games like dumb charades are a great way to build interpersonal skills, reading body language and improving communication skills. And that’s just the tip of the iceberg. There are plenty of things to do that can make an office more vibrant, and we love them all! Keep watching this space and stay tuned for more on what we do to make our workspace experience that much better.

Content Source: ikeva

Four Ways Coworking Encourages Community

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Tue, 12 Jan 2016 06:33:00 +0000

Changing workspace trends over the last decade have seen the gradual move from traditional cubicles and office spaces to other, alternate places to work from. We’ve seen people running their businesses from homes, or working out of coffee shops. The downside though, was that home workspaces lack social interaction and, coffee shops and home offices both share a problem with distraction.

That’s where coworking spaces made their entrance, filling the gap between the need for a workspace, and the need for social interaction. Coworking spaces offer the best of both worlds. This change, one very much to the positive, has seen more and more people actively opting for these spaces, to make the best of what they offer. There are many benefits to working in a shared office space. Each coworking space is different, and the culture in each is different too, based on the city the shared office space is in. The culture in a Bangalore coworking space will be different from the culture in a coworking space in Hyderabad. That’s another way these offices promote community and togetherness, by reflecting the culture of the place they are located in.

Here are four ways coworking spaces encourage community.

The Collaborative Force: Coworking spaces are a very open environment, making it as easy as leaning over a desk or pushing you chair back to ask someone’s opinion or ideate on a project. Coworking spaces also make it possible to hold brainstorm sessions with a varied group of people, each with their unique opinions and ideas. The idea of coworking encourages working together to solve a problem and a focus on being a community rather than just individuals working together.
Easy Networking: There are many good things that can be said about Coworking but, one that really stands out is the ease of networking. If you’re a fresh start-up looking to expand your network or just hire new people, a coworking space is a great source for leads. It’s even better for freelancers, who can expand their network and find new sources of work from the same workspace. They could even get hired by start-ups looking to expand.
The Social: We’ve spoken about how coworking spaces are collaborative and good for networking. The reason for this is because they’re structured to be really social and encourage interaction. Coworking spaces also have a lot of events organized, from seminars and workshops to office parties, and celebrating festivals and other holidays. This makes for a really social work setting, which is a big plus!
Relationships that matter:

When you work in a shared office space, one of the great things is the people. When you find an office of people who share the same ideals, the same thought processes as you, is when coworking spaces really shine! You meet so many new people and, most of them end up being more than just colleagues, coworkers or contacts. You meet interesting people who might become really close friends, someone who shares hobbies with you and much, much more!

That’s why coworking spaces are such a great draw compared to normal, boring old office spaces. There’s so much to see and do, and so many new people to meet! Coworking spaces are definitely a great community-builder.

Content Source: ikeva

Optimizing your Co-working Space: Five Things You Should be Doing

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Tue, 15 Dec 2015 10:34:00 +0000

The number of small enterprises and start-ups is rapidly growing. With this, the demand for workspace and for creative work environments is rising quickly. A majority of the companies started recently are highly innovative technological start-ups or creative works like media agencies, social media marketing or advertising agencies. As real estate is increasingly becoming a commodity, and with start-ups focusing on better utilizing capital, the need for shared workspaces is high.

Here are five things you should be doing to optimize your co-working space.

Furnish and Supply:

Structure is a vital part of any office. The way an office is structured can affect everything from productivity, to workflow and creativity. Your office sets the tone of your workspace. These are just a few of the things to keep in mind when furnishing your workspace. Make sure you have absolutely everything you need to keep your office running. Choose your furniture depending on the type of work atmosphere you need. As an example, if your office is meant to be a creative, energetic and happy workplace, choose bright colours and warm lighting, with comfortable chairs that one can sink into while working.

Another important facet is resources. Resources matter, especially in a shared workspace. Your workspace will need enough office supplies and anything else that is required in a modern office in ample supply. Essentials like charging points, internet access, and access to stationery are all necessary.

The Nerve Center:

A shared office is meant to boost creativity and, what better way to do it than with a brainstorming session? Having a dedicated space where you can gather your team and brainstorm is essential to success. In co-working spaces, the need for a “nerve center” or a place meant for brainstorming is immensely important. For one, it gives you and your team a place to think and discuss in peace. As a second point, it allows you to carry out your meetings without disturbing the people you share your office with. On occasion, you can even invite them to join in your discussions!

Scrum Mastery:

The secret behind the success of most creative teams is the scrum; a regularly held meeting meant to discuss the things of importance happening in your business. Holding a regular scrum, whether daily or weekly serves as a reminder of goals, allows you to establish objectives for you and your team and, on top of it all and lets you know where you stand in your business.

Open The Floor:

Contrary to most office spaces that are divided by cubicles, co-working spaces flourish better when they have more room, or at least the appearance of more. Cubicles are generally considered stifling, cramped spaces. So, open up the floor of your co-working space with interspersed furniture. This helps create a feeling of togetherness and removes the feeling of separation that working from a cubicle causes. Having an open office floor boosts creativity, team spirit and allows for more open communication with the people you are working with.

Grub and Glug [OR] Food values:

In any office, break time is valued highly. It allows people to wind down from a day’s hard work, catch up on other concerns or just spend the time getting in touch with friends. One of the most important things for any break is food. Having a well-stocked and equipped break room is vital. Here, your employees can interact with their co-workers during the break over a small bite to eat. This helps boost camaraderie in the office as well as providing a small energy boost to keep the productivity going. Stocking up on healthy snacks and beverages also helps keep energy levels, productivity and an overall healthy, positive attitude in the office.

Source: iKeva

The city might be down, not your workspace

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Tue, 01 Dec 2015 09:00:00 +0000

Last week, when a cyclone hit Chennai, the entire city suffered a lack of connectivity, dead telephone lines and erratic power fluctuations. While schools and colleges took a convenient break, businesses took the hardest hit; especially those businesses that worked across multiple locations nationally and internationally.

However, the case wasn’t so at iKeva.

iKeva’s operations remained unaffected despite the bad weather conditions. Throughout the week, iKeva members enjoyed uninterrupted facilities and services and stayed empowered to deliver work with the same efficiency as before. iKeva took additional measures to ensure that work-as-usual wasn’t affected, and to adhere to its promise of a productive workspace – always!

High-Quality Infrastructure: iKeva members enjoyed an uninterrupted internet and landline access, despite the storm. This ensured that they weren’t cut off from their teams in other locations and had access to work email and documents throughout.

Further, with effectively managed power backup, iKeva ensured that there was practically no power-cut throughout. Further, the infrastructure was designed to withstand voltage fluctuations that usually come with heavy rains. This preempted a data-disaster, improved information availability and prevented latency.

Well-trained support staff: iKeva’s team was amply trained to work around a complex situation, and provided immediate on-ground solutions to the members. Working as an extended team, to each member – iKeva supported them in completing work efficiently.

Quick decision making: As the situation demanded an extra hand, iKeva flew down a senior resource from its head-office to guide and help the team around the crisis, and ensure seamless operations. The fact that the situation did not get overwhelming, at any point, is proof of the excellent way in which the crisis was managed by the iKeva team.

Being prepared and having a disaster recovery plan in place, is a key element defining a great workplace. Ensuring business process continuity and productivity helped our members steer clear of a loss of time, money, business and reputation.

iKeva is proud of its cutting-edge infrastructure, facilities and quality service – and its ability to deliver, no matter what challenge awaits! Most importantly with a personal Human Touch with a Community to support in case of disasters.

Content Source: ikeva