Prashant Nand’s Journey from Setback to Serial Success
In an exclusive Podcast with The Inspirepreneur Magazine, financial investor, and serial entrepreneur Prashant Nand, talks about his biggest set back, and what he learned from it.
In an era where entrepreneurship is often glamorised, the path to business success is frequently paved with unforeseen challenges and lessons. Prashant Nand, the esteemed CEO and founder of a conglomerate of businesses including My Family Finance, 123Debtfree, My Money Mastery, Prana Advisory, Mortgage Rescue, Nand Global Enterprise, and Mortgage Savings, is a prime example of resilience in the face of adversity. With over three decades in the business realm, Nand’s ventures span across various sectors, showcasing his versatile expertise and entrepreneurial spirit. Yet, amidst this illustrious career, lies a lesson learned early on that shaped his approach to business partnerships.
A Turn for the Worst: The Health Spa Debacle
At the heart of every successful entrepreneur’s story is often a pivotal moment of failure that propels them towards growth. For Nand, it was his involvement in a health spa business. On the surface, the venture was thriving but beneath lay a troubling secret. Nand discovered that his business partner was syphoning funds from their joint enterprise to support another failing business. The revelation came under bizarre circumstances; during a lunch outing, his partner insisted Nand hide to avoid creditors looking for him. This incident not only uncovered the financial discrepancies but also highlighted a profound breach of trust.
Nand’s response was decisive. He bought out his partner, settled the debts to investors, and shuttered the business. While the episode marked one of his biggest failures, it also served as a critical learning curve.
The Essence of Right Partnerships
The debacle underscored a vital business truth for Nand— not all partnerships are conducive to success. It taught him the importance of meticulous scrutiny when choosing a partner and instilled in him ten key lessons for fostering quality business relationships.
Trust Is Paramount
Above all, a partnership without trust is built on shaky ground. Both parties must exhibit honesty and integrity.
“Partnerships require investment, trust requires time, spending time with a solid operator is a business investment, and not a distraction from your main business.” – Prashant Nand.
All of business is a verbal promissory note, a deal is not operational if there is no expectation of delivery and receipt. Build trust with the person that you intend to partner with, prior to making a major deal. This might take the form of many small deals first, and then leading to a full blown partnership.
Aligned Vision and Values
Partners must share a common vision for the business and uphold similar values. Misalignment can derail even the most promising ventures.
“Short-term thinking Vs long-term thinking -whatever the deal is, regarding the business venture, make sure the parameters of the duration of it are established in advance. This might take the form of a formal contract or a verbal agreement. Whatever the case may be there needs to be a clear understanding from both parties on the expectation of duration. “ – Prashant Nand
Aligning expectations means creating a vision together with your potential business partner, one aspect of this vision is duration. Some businesses are short-term money makers, others are a brand that is slowly established over time which will eventually produce returns. The investment and expectation of return, the when and how, need to be understood prior to the business partnership starting.
Transparency Is Non-negotiable
Open communication and transparency about business operations are crucial. Hidden agendas can be detrimental.
“One way I control transparency as a multiple business operator is through use of project management tools. These tools are helpful for both myself, and the people with whom I do business with. It allows them to track their progress with me, as well as preventing me from dropping the ball on oversight.” – Prashant Nand
Complementary Skills
A good partnership leverages the unique strengths and skills of each individual, creating a synergy that propels the business forward.
“Doubling or tripling up on your own skillset is often what happens with entrepreneurs who are inexperienced, this is because like attracts like. Reaching out to people with different personality traits and skills is important. Finding the value in other people’s unique properties is essential to being a good operator. If you value your skills above the skills of others, this quickly leads to disaster.” – Prashant Nand
Financial Integrity
Both partners must demonstrate fiscal responsibility and transparency in financial dealings to ensure the business’s health.
“One of the requirements I have when entering into a formal contract with a prospective business partner is full disclosure of their financials. This includes a deep dive into their financial history, and their financial position. Resting on a partner with serious financial issues can drag a brand into the ground early in the game.”
Mutual Respect
Respect for each other’s ideas, skills, and contributions is essential for a harmonious and productive working relationship.
“One of the core values in Krishna Consciousness is respect for everyone, you must find the good in people. This means everybody, family, employees, the cleaners, everybody – that’s good business!”- Prashant Nand
Adaptability
The ability to adapt to changing circumstances and make joint decisions is vital for navigating the ups and downs of business.
“Having a small, highly skilled, fast-moving team always wins when put up against a large, unskilled slow-moving team.” – Prashant Nand
Conflict Resolution
Partners must have effective mechanisms for resolving disagreements amicably, ensuring that conflicts don’t hinder growth.
“Finding business partners who are spiritually and emotionally mature, and commercial, provides the bedrock for a stable business relationship. Conflict resolution is important in every place in a business. If you cannot resolve your issues between business partners, how can you hope to help customers with their problems.” – Prashant Nand
Defined Roles and Responsibilities
Clear demarcation of roles prevents overlap and ensures that each partner plays to their strengths.
“Early in the piece the roles can be very blurry, but as the business matures, each person’s role needs to be clearly defined. Having these clearly defined roles is the key to growth and profitability.” – Prashant Nand.
In the early game of a business, there is a lot of overlap between partner roles and responsibilities, the growth of a business needs to cause some delineation between the parties so that each individual can focus in their core area of the business. This separation of working areas provides a clearer picture on what each partner is bringing to the table, and allows for an amicable path for corrections along the way.
Equitable Give and Take
A successful partnership is characterised by balance—neither party should feel they are always giving or always taking.
“In every professional engagement, there exists a fundamental equilibrium between giving and receiving. Should one find themselves exclusively on the receiving end, they assume the role of the user, whilst those who solely dispense become the used. Inevitably, the individual who persistently takes will exhaust their goodwill with their counterpart, leading to the disintegration of the business relationship.” – Prashant Nand
Forward with Wisdom
Prashant Nand’s trajectory from a disheartening setback to establishing multiple successful businesses in finance, marketing, property investing, and consulting and advisory services, is a testament to the power of resilience and wisdom in entrepreneurship. His experience underscores the significance of choosing the right partners—a critical determinant of business success. By sharing these insights, Nand not only illuminates his path to success but also offers invaluable guidance to aspiring entrepreneurs navigating the complexities of business partnerships. In the world of business, the right ally can be the linchpin to unparalleled success, as vividly exemplified by Prashant Nand’s remarkable journey.
