How to get a mentor for your career?

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

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

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

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

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

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

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.