November 24, 2020 5 min readOpinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own. Every time the world experiences an unprecedented shake-up, things evolve quickly, and a lot is expected of us all. In the middle of 2019, Covid was still unforeseen. But it has since become a defining feature of the world and business at large. Historically, such times are critical and often see Darwin’s “survival of the fittest” theory come into play. In the past, multi-million-dollar businesses have been upended during pandemics, wars, and plagues. One lesson stands out from this history: only a business that learns how…

The much-awaited rally 2.0 in emerging-market stocks may already be under way. Investors’ risk appetite got a boost after Joe Biden’s US presidential win and successes in vaccine development, pushing the benchmark MSCI gauge toward its best month since March 2016. The emerging-market equity rebound since the coronavirus rout in March is now worth $8.3 trillion, meaning more shareholder wealth has been added in the past eight months than in the two- year rally beginning 2016. When the earlier advance was halted by US-China trade tensions in January 2018, most money…

November 23, 2020 4 min readOpinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own. The pandemic is resulting in underlying structural changes to the U.S. economy. That obviously includes a tectonic shift towards ecommerce. In August, ecommerce spending grew 42 percent year-over-year to $63 billion (according to Adobe Analytics) as Americans stayed home and bought products on the web. Consumer spending comprises 70 percent of the economy. Sellers, distributors and marketers face lucrative opportunities to sell in-demand goods and services. A quick and effective way to get conversions is pay-per-click (PPC) advertising, although there are risks to avoid. Here’s how…

The corner office. The water cooler. The cubicle farm. So many of our place-based work clichés feel suddenly anachronistic in a world of remote work and Zoom fatigue. Many people will be happy never to return to the office, and some organizations will be OK with that. And as we navigate toward the new normal, it isn’t just where we work that will change — how people work together will evolve, too. We’ve also redefined what it means to be an essential worker. Clerks, technicians, health aides, and others once dismissed as a low-skill, high-turnover segment of the workforce have…

Equity benchmarks made a winning start to the week on Monday as positive results from another Covid-19 vaccine candidate bolstered investor confidence globally. After touching a record intra-day high of 44,271.15, Sensex ended 194.90 points or 0.44 per cent higher at 44,077.15. Similarly, the broader Nifty rose 67.40 points or 0.52 per cent to close at 12,926.45. ONGC was the top performer on the Sensex chart, surging 6.84 per cent, followed by IndusInd Bank, Infosys, Tech Mahindra, Bajaj Finserv, Reliance Industries, HCL, and TCS. Index heavyweight Reliance Industries climbed…

November 12, 2020 5 min readOpinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own. Branding is the most commonly used phrase in business circles, but is also often the least understood. For Jonathan Jadali, CEO of Ascend Agency, a PR form that works with top Fortune 500 companies, a brand is not a tangible thing. As he told me in a recent conversation, it is “a strong feeling that a business creates in the minds of its customers, that creates an emotional bond and passion for their businesses and produces loyalty.” Here are some more insights into Jadali’s three-step approach…

Five of the 10 most valued domestic firms suffered a combined loss of Rs 1,07,160 crore in market valuation last week, with Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) emerging as the biggest loser. Tata Consultancy Services Ltd (TCS), HUL, Infosys Ltd and ICICI Bank Ltd were the other bluechip firms that witnessed a drop in their market capitalisation (m-cap) last week. However, HDFC Bank, HDFC Ltd, Bajaj Finance Ltd and Bharti Airtel finished with gains. RIL’s valuation tumbled Rs 69,378.51 crore to Rs 12,84,246.18 crore. The m-cap of TCS plummeted Rs 4,165.14…

November 6, 2020 5 min readOpinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own. We know the economy is shrinking, unemployment is up and the future of retail will remain digital during this seemingly endless pandemic. On top of that, we’ve just started the holiday season, which accounts for 40 percent of brands’ annual revenue. As a brand management expert, with experience working at L’Oréal and Nike, and as a founder of a boutique digital marketing agency, I know that consumer product brands have been planning their holiday strategy for months — photographing new value sets, fine-tuning promotions, honing hero…