#69 - Notes on Think Weeks, Sales and Travel
Education Coffee is a 2xWeekly Newsletter about People, Ideas and Culture.
In each edition of this newsletter, I will share some inspiring web resources that I have curated after hours of research to ensure that you have the best education coffee in your inbox. In upcoming editions, I will focus on sharing insights, notes and realizations that I gather from people, ideas, books, films and podcasts.
1. Learning from People
On Episode 28 of #LearningStories we chat with Shagufi Habib. She is a teacher from Ontario, Canada. She graduated from York University (Toronto, ON) with an Honors B.A. in English Literature. She then completed her Bachelor of Education from Western University. Her interests include reading, cooking, watching films, and spending time with her family. As an aspiring educator, Shagufi aims to empower students to find their strengths and create positive change within themselves and subsequently, the world around them. She considers herself a lifelong learner and looks forward to what the future holds.
2. Learning from Ideas and Questions
A Think Week, as inspired by Bill Gates, are dedicated periods set aside to spend time thinking deeply and creatively. It is a 7 day window where he stays away from his phone and focuses on reading and thinking. Inspired by him, I started doing something similar in the last week of each year. I clear up my schedule and take some time to reflect on the year, plan for the coming year and absorb new ideas with any agenda. You can have think weeks throughout the year in your own small ways. You can set aside some time at the end of each day or at the end of a week to do the same. This period helps you step back and look at your life from a larger perspective. It sets you up with new ideas, new goals and new strategies for the coming day, week, month or year.
3. Learning from Books, Websites and Blogs
I’ve always been frustrated by the lack of access to libraries in a city like Mumbai. I loved the public libraries in Mississauga and Toronto and wanted to find a creative way to replicate the same experience here in India. I didn't have the same kind of tax money to build something similar. So I thought about the next best idea. I am going to create an Airbnb for books called Bookbond.
It is an online social network for book lovers. I started off with Linkedin and Facebook groups to build an online community. I created a sample prototype of the profile page of a user for the website.
Here is a breakdown of the idea right now.
What is Bookbond?
A website about home libraries (physical books that people have at home)
People create a 1 page profile
People will add their name and photo
People will add a book quote and a book story
People will add pictures of the physical books they have in their library
People will add pictures of the physical books they want to read or borrow
Button to send a message to person to lend or borrow a book from the home library
Here are images of the logo I created:
How do you access physical books in a Tier 1 city in India? Share you thoughts with me on twitter at @AbhishekShetty_
4. Learning from Films, Videos and Shows
I have been binge watching this travel show on Discovery Channel called #IndiaMyWay. Hosts Meraj Shah and Paloma Monappa embark on a road trip to travel the length and breadth of India and visit all 29 states in order to explore things the country has to offer. I love how they share off beat and fun things to do in different cities around India. I grew up spending a lot of time watching travel and food shows on these channels and really enjoyed this one.
5. Learning from Podcasts and Music
I loved this episode from the Barbershop with Shantanu channel. It is a roundtable with some investor and entrepreneurs from India. They discuss how they sell to New India in their own companies and organizations. They also challenge each other and share alternate points of view on the role of sales in the growth of a business. Here are some of my notes from this chat:
Understand the size of your market.
Understand the customer need before you try to sell.
India is digitally equal but financially unequal.
Effective Selling is about relationship management.
Marketing cannot sell a bad product.
Develop quick feedback loops to improve marketing.
Thank you for reading this edition of #EducationCoffee. I look forward to writing weekly editions of this newsletter this year. I hope to continue to share resources that will add value to your life. You can also review the archive of Education Coffee for free at this link (68 past newsletters).
Please do send me your thoughts and resources on any edition of this newsletter through email at abhishekashokshetty@gmail.com, Linkedin or on Twitter @AbhishekShetty_. You can find my work online at my website. If you would like to read pieces in the future please do consider subscribing to this newsletter by clicking the button below. I love taking these discussions forward on those platforms and look forward to hearing your feedback.
Abhishek Shetty