From a great writer and a passionate photographer to an out-of-the-box entrepreneur, Pinaki Ghosh seems to be constantly evolving. Owner of Power Publishers, a publishing company that gives freedom to first time writers to publish their works, he has glided in the media industry with an artistic ease and gone on to build a very successful business. Or has it all been that easy? Let us hear the story from the man himself.
In conversation with Pinaki Ghosh.
Tell us a little about your many creative ventures.
Pinaki: I am the founder of Power Media and Entertainment Group, which operates several media websites catering to different segments, the main ones being:
- Power Publishers (www.power-publishers.com); leading self publishing company of India. It is an ISO9001-2008 company, 9 years into business, with 1000+ published titles.
- The Screenplay Writers (www.TheScreenplayWriters.com); leading screenplay writing service; with over 75 screenplays written for films and television shows across several countries of the world.
- Comic Book Artists (www.comic-book-artists.com); popular comic book art service employing some of the best comic book artists of India.
- Writer4me.com (www.writer4me.com); ghostwriting and general writing service; 11 years old; completed 1900+ writing assignments with a large team of freelancers.
- Other sites include www.power-book-trailers.com, www.ghostwriter.in, www.indianscriptwriter.com, www.portraitnpainting.com, www.animationwriter.net, www.songwriter.in (upcoming), www.createaudiobook.com (upcoming), www.storyboardartist.in.
How did so many unique ideas come about?
Pinaki: Well, I was a writer. At an early stage of my career I joined an airline company, but soon felt it was not my cup of tea, as it did not cater to my creative desires. After sometime I quit the job and set up my first writing service with a British friend who was a digital marking expert. After a year I set up my own business (writing service) in India, with a team of writers and it became successful. Soon I launched our screenplay writing and publishing divisions, followed by our comic book art service.
As you can understand these are all interrelated and lead to cross sales. One who gets a book written is told to get it published, and also get a screenplay written; and then a comic book done from the same story. Most of these online businesses are successful and have been operational for over 6 years. I have opened new services related to song writing and audiobooks this year. Again these are related and help grow the business not only vertically but also horizontally.
What would you say are the qualities that have helped your business grow?
Pinaki: Being creative and thinking out of the box. As an entrepreneur I always try to think out of the box. I spend months in thinking, planning and research to come up with fresh ideas, which others have not tried before. It is no fun following others' footsteps and being in the crowd.
Set targets and goals. Monthly, yearly and 5 year targets and goals and giving each target a timeline. For example, this year I want to launch audiobooks and an app which people can download to access audiobooks. I set this as a goal in the beginning of the year with a timeline of September-October. Each major target should be spaced out enough so that they do not collide with each other.
Focus on quality and customer satisfaction. Give importance to customer feedback, take care of small things, small changes and improvements lead to big improvements.
· How important has marketing been for you?
Pinkai: Digital / online marketing. SEO (search engine optimization) and SMO (social media optimization) are the most effective forms of marketing for me, for years. We also use traditional marketing like print ads, but the former is more effective and better value for money. But you need to understand it very well to effectively use this tool of marketing and remain updated about the latest updates.
· Tell us about some mistakes you have made and what they have taught you.
I had earlier tried partnership. While it works for many, it did not work for me. I had a British partner 10 years ago, where I took care of the backend of the business from India and he took care of the front end; the marketing and sales, from Scotland. The revenue first came to him and then to me; after 1 year of running an online writing service successfully, he took a large loan of US$30,000 from the business, which he did not return. I split from him and started my own writing service from India, under my proprietorship and it flourished in months and still exists.
I had also tried collaboration, where my company was marketing the publishing services and the editorial and printing part was handled by another company. While it worked for 6 years; I finally decided to set up our own editorial and printing units to avoid miscommunication and delays in service.
Do you think Indian govt. is doing enough to help & raise small businesses in India?
I don't even know what the government is doing for small businesses. We do not depend on the government or get any sort of help.
