PERSONAL STORY

Makarand hailed from a small town in India. He is an immigrant who came to US with a leap of faith and aspirations.

After having an exemplary corporate career, Makarand realized that he neither had a digital footprint nor a robust personal brand. After finding his back against the wall, Makarand achieved his initial objectives of establishing a strong online presence and then quickly moved to a noble goal of helping the aspiring business owners and startups so that they don’t make the same mistakes he had made.

Q: Why did you choose your present industry at this time?

Digital transformation is here to stay. It has changed the very fabric of the way we live, work and interact with each other. Disrupt or die is the new mantra. Regardless of the industry type and size of the business, marketing activities and branding will be done on digital channels and social media.

The psychology of human beings and their behavior always fascinated me. I also love providing massive value to the aspiring business owners, solopreneurs and startups so that they don’t make the same mistakes I made.

I found that digital marketing and social media are great vehicles through which I can make my customers the winners in the new economy and help them achieve their goals so that they can promote their business online, build authority, get their message heard, become competition-proof, charge more and increase sales.

"Disrupt or die is the new mantra."

~ Makarand Utpat

Q: What is the best/worst moment you can remember in your career?

Best moment - When I decided to go all chips in to build my personal brad amidst all the uncertainties and no guarantees and when I realized that excuses can get you only so far because nobody gives a hoot about it until you start adding value to others.

Worst moment - When I realized that in spite of possessing a great corporate profile, I had nothing to show on Google and when I realized that I was being irrelevant in the new gig economy.

Q: Who is your role model or hero?

In personal life, my heroes are my parents who broadened my perspectives towards the adversities, kindness and respecting others. They made me a better human being that I can be.

In professional life, I’ve many heroes, most notably Michael Jordan, Gary Vaynerchuk, Brian Tracy who continually have demonstrated to me that however bigger and richer you can become, you need to stay humble and that the success is no accident and that it comes to those who continually excel in their game, add immense value to others and work on themselves by taking massive action.

"In personal life, my heroes are my parents who broadened my perspectives towards the adversities, kindness and respecting others."

~ Makarand Utpat

Q: What is your favorite book?

“One Thing” by Gary Keller and Jay Papasan where they talk about how to achieve productive outcomes by maintaining a singularity of focus or single mindedness in a world that is becoming increasingly complex and where we are continually experiencing the information overload.

Q: Do you use any specific method or system to run daily operations of your business?

I try to prioritize my to-do list and focus on top 3 activities that will deliver me and my team the most outcomes for that day. In addition, I strive for capturing at least 1 win (small or big doesn’t matter) every single day. The compounding effect, when I look back, is a tremendous morale booster and is enlightening.

Q: Looking back - if you could advise a younger version of yourself to do something different - what would it be?

If you have a desire to do something, don’t wait for a perfect time or don’t ask for a permission. Don’t wait for perfection. Be ready to take risks. You will never have all the answers nor you’ll have everything available at your fingertips. Get started and you can build the plane while coming down.

Q: What advice would you give to a new business owner?

There is no free lunch in life. But I firmly believe that once you make decision and when you start putting ideas into action, the universe conspires to make it happen for you. You should be ready to act. I believe that the scarcities and hardships I have experienced and the kind of circumstances I grew up in prepared me to achieve bigger goals. This has been my inspiration to write books and help professionals and businesses with their personal branding, social media and marketing challenges.

Website: www.makarandutpat.com

Twitter: @makarandutpat

YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/makarandutpat

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Makarand-Utpat/e/B004VC0RLK