2006 to 2014 - Started 4 Businesses, shut 2 down... failed as an entrepreneur... Was Broke and Broken...

2014 to 2016 - Went across India, Interviewed 300 Business Leaders to learn the Psychology, Systems and Skills to build a Profitable Business at Scale... turned my interviews into a book titled - Lead or Bleed and published it in February 2016...

2016 till date - Built Quantum Leap as a Leader in MSME Business Coaching... Have a 150+ team... We work 1to1 with Business Owners, handhold them to design their Business Model for Profitability, Marketing Strategies to scale their reach, Sales Processes to enhance customer buying process, Operations Systems to enhance customer impact, HR processes for attracting and retaining talent and Management systems so the business can grow without the business owner... 

Other Businesses:
1. Co-Founder of DreamCraft Events which helps organizations and brands enhance Employee Engagement and Customer Engagement through Experiential Events
2. Director, Strategy and Business Growth - Zoozle, an E-commerce Membership platform to help consumers enhance their savings
3. Director, Strategy and Business Growth: Contractbazaar.in - Helping MSMEs get Transparent, Convenient and Efficient Legal Support

It took me 10 years to learn this. 


People often meet Rajiv, who is confident, clear and structured. What they don’t see is the 10 year journey that shaped it.

I spent a part of my early career struggling as a corporate trainer. I felt unsure approaching HR managers and undervalued my work because keeping the business alive felt more urgent than negotiating a fair fee.

But even during those difficult years, I never stopped enjoying the work itself.

Training and coaching gave me a sense of purpose, watching people solve a problem they had been stuck with reminded me that impact is built one person at a time.

And those experiences taught me a lot because:

→ You learn humility when you’re not getting the opportunities you want.
→ You learn discipline when you have to rebuild momentum repeatedly.
→ You learn communication when you must explain your value clearly.
→ And you learn resilience when progress feels painfully slow.

These lessons today help me understand what MSMEs actually struggle with and also help me design frameworks that are practical instead of theoretical.

To everyone who believed in me, I’m grateful. To those who didn’t, I’m equally grateful because you pushed me to sharpen my approach.

There is still a long way to go and the mission is only getting bigger. 
We’re just getting started.

Rajiv Talreja

India's MSME Business Coach | Generated additional revenue of Rs.6,744 crores for 498 clients in the last one year

This is why some people get so much more done than you! 


Across every team I’ve led and every founder I’ve coached, I’ve seen that the people who consistently deliver results don’t rely on motivation or inspiration. 

They rely on certain ways of thinking that shape how they work every day.

And the more I’ve observed them, the more obvious it becomes that their effectiveness comes from how they think before it shows up in what they do.

These are some habits I see repeatedly in high-achieving professionals:

→ They think in priorities instead of tasks - Rather than trying to finish everything on their list, they identify the few things that create real impact. 

→ They respond after thinking - They don’t rush into decisions simply because it is urgent. They understand what’s actually required and act with intention. 

→ They treat consistency as a discipline - They rely on routines, standards and systems that help them show up even when the day gets unpredictable. 

What’s important is that none of these habits require extraordinary talent. They just require awareness and practice.

Literally anyone at any stage of their career can start incorporating them into their daily approach.

In my experience, the biggest difference between people who get things done and those who constantly feel stuck is not effort, but clarity.

That is what creates a difference in some of the most unexpected ways possible.

Let’s talk honestly for a moment!

Because too many people avoid this conversation.

A lot of founders are not working hard out of ambition but the fear of slowing down or the belief that if they stop, even briefly, everything they’ve built will collapse.

And this is exactly where the problem begins.

When fear becomes your operating system, your business stops being something you build but something you cling to. 

Every milestone feels like a temporary safety net and no matter what you achieve, you still feel behind. Most people won’t admit this, but they use work to avoid the parts of their life they don’t want to face. 

It’s the easiest escape because it feels productive, looks admirable and keeps you “busy,” so you never have to confront discomfort.

But this also means that: 
→ You lose the ability to enjoy your progress.
→ You burn through your energy like it’s unlimited.
→ You confuse movement with improvement.

Hustling from fear is not the same as building from intention. The real skill is learning to pause without panicking, learning to rest without guilt and learning to separate your worth from your work.

Because the moment your business becomes your entire life, it starts controlling you instead of growing with you.

If you can fix that, everything else gets easier.

Why has building a business become a race?


Almost every week, I meet someone who genuinely believes that an idea today, funding tomorrow and a unicorn in two years is a reasonable plan.

The ambition isn’t the issue but the timelines we attach to that ambition are.

In the larger ecosystem, the narrative is so different.

We discuss valuations far more than value creation, celebrate fundraisers before sustainable models and treat speed as the primary indicator of success.

This mindset creates silent pressure, especially for new founders. Many start feeling inadequate if things don’t look glamorous within the first couple of years.

But things are so different in reality. 

Real businesses take time before they become exciting and most of the slow iterations and tough decisions you rarely see on social media.

So, if funding is the only plan, then there is no plan. And if the only aspiration is a unicorn label, then the foundation is weak from the start.

The founders who sustain usually focus on something far simpler and stronger.

If you’re feeling overwhelmed by the noise around you, just put your head down and build something genuinely valuable. The world eventually notices those who create real impact, even if their journey takes time.

Don’t let the unicorn status diminish your work.

You are doing real business. And you have every reason to be proud of that.

Don’t ruin what’s working!!


I’ve seen this happen across every service industry.  An employee learns the work, handles a few good clients, gets praise and suddenly believes they can run the whole business on their own. 

So they quit, thinking they’ll earn more and grow faster.

But doing the work is not the same as running a business.

Most people only understand the 10% they were responsible for. They have never handled the harder 90% like consistent sales, cash flow, client retention, hiring and the pressure of keeping everything running when money is not coming in.

So what happens?

They get a few clients initially, but then the pipeline empties. Income becomes unstable, savings dry up and stress takes over.

And the biggest trap is the business is too weak to grow, but the ego is too big to go back to a job.

This is where people get stuck for years doing random projects, earning inconsistently and having no system for saving or building wealth. Only because they jumped without understanding what the jump requires.

This is not about killing dreams but about avoiding self-sabotage.

You can build but make sure it comes from clarity and not delusion or ego.

Intention + Capability = Success
Greed + Shortcut Thinking = Trouble

Some won’t like hearing this.
But the ones who need it will understand exactly what this means.

This one mistake kills so many good deals. 


Most founders usually walk into a negotiation ready with pitches, numbers and rehearsed answers. But none of that matters if you miss understanding what the other person is prioritising at that moment.

I learnt this during a meeting where a client suddenly said, “The price feels a little high.”

Normally, that’s where people start adjusting their fees. But his tone didn’t sound like a money problem but like pressure from somewhere else.

So I asked him what would matter most if pricing wasn’t the issue.

That’s when he said he needed fast execution because his team was already behind on internal deadlines. This meant that the real concern was speed. And the moment we addressed that, the deal closed at the original price.

That experience taught me that people rarely state their true priorities upfront. You have to observe them. 

Their hesitations will reveal whether they need certainty or control. Their urgency signals whether speed matters more than anything else. And their pushback on pricing often means they need more clarity, not a discount.

When you recognise what the other person is actually trying to solve, the negotiation becomes far easier. You stop defending and start aligning with their priorities. Most deals are won by understanding what’s driving the conversation.

The best negotiators just understand intentions!

Men’s Day is over. But are men really okay?


Yesterday people posted quotes, shared reels and wished “Happy Men’s Day.”

Today, every men have returned to being the “strong and responsible one.”

And that’s exactly why I wanted to write this today.
Because men need everyday reminders that they’re allowed to be human.

We grow up hearing that a man should “handle it,” “be strong,” “don’t overthink,” “don’t feel too much.” And slowly, that fun, loud, messy, curious boy inside gets replaced with someone who is constantly managing.

So here’s a reminder for every man reading this today…

1. Keep the boy inside you alive. You don’t have to be responsible 24x7.
2. Do things for the joy of it. Not everything needs a goal, timeline or ROI.
3. Say what you feel. Tell her you love her. Your emotions don’t make you less.
4. Stop racing time. Deadlines matter but so do you. Give time… time.
5. Add madness back into life. Try something new or do something impulsive.
6. Ask for what you need, be it a hug, listening ear, support.

Celebrate yourself even when no one posts about it and choose yourself even when no one says it out loud.

The world expects a lot from men but men deserve a lot from the world too.

So, if no one said it yesterday, let me say it today - 
You’re allowed to live, not just function.

And you deserve to feel celebrated, not once a year, but every day you show up.

Are our lives already written before we live them?


Some people believe destiny has a plan. Others believe everything is shaped by our choices. And honestly, I’ve never been fully convinced by either side.

What I do know is that the moment I start assuming that everything is predetermined, I start giving away the power that makes life meaningful and the ability to dream, decide and take responsibility for the direction I move in.

Whenever I fall into the belief that “what has to happen will happen,” I notice something subtle happening within me.

I stop trying as hard, take fewer risks and become more accepting of outcomes I’m not happy with. And slowly, life becomes something I adapt to rather than something I actively shape.

That’s when I remind myself that even if destiny exists, human will is still the force that moves our everyday life. 

Our decisions, responses and persistence change the opportunities we attract, the people we meet and the outcomes we create.

I’d rather live with the belief that my effort holds weight than surrender to the idea that my future is already sealed.

Because choosing effort makes me participate and keeps me aligned with the life I want to build.

When I imagine reaching the end of my journey, I don’t want to look back and realise I lived in resignation. I’d like to know that I made decisions consciously.

Maybe destiny plays a role but until someone can prove that to me, I’d rather trust the part I can influence.

At the very least, it makes life more intentional.
And at its best, it shapes a future that feels like it was built.

My journey from a one-person to a 100+ member team has been crazy.


Honestly, it didn’t happen because I kept hiring but because I finally understood how teams actually scale.

In my early years, I assumed that growth was about hiring more when needed. 

But that approach only created temporary momentum. The real problems like culture, ownership, accountability, kept resurfacing, no matter how big the team became.

It took several failures to realise that building a company is not the same as assembling a workforce.What matters is a core team that cares like the founder.

And that shift changed everything.

I started spending time understanding the people who were closest to the business and supported them in a way that felt meaningful.

This was the moment I stopped following the traditional “customer first” philosophy and adopted a team first, customers next attitude.

Because when your team feels supported, respected and invested in, they treat customers with a level of care that no policy or training manual can enforce.

Another reality we don’t talk about enough is that a founder never manages 100 people. At best, a founder directly works with a handful of key leaders. But those leaders are responsible for the culture that flows through the entire organisation.

My responsibility is to lead those few well.

Looking back, the actual growth came from building leaders who could multiply the impact of the organisation. 

That’s the real secret to scaling.

This is the biggest lie entrepreneurs tell themselves!


“I’ll make time later.”

I know you’ve lived the unseen hours.

The late nights, early mornings and weekends that were supposed to be a break but turned into more work. This is honestly every business owner’s silent story.

But I want to bring up something most of us don’t say out loud, “Family Time”.

We talk about work-life balance, but we treat it like a yearly event instead of a daily habit. 

And if you’re someone who says, “Once the business stabilises, then I’ll spend more time with my family” you’re delaying something that will never magically happen.

As you grow, the work will increase. There will always be another call, another meeting and another crisis that feels urgent.

The only way it changes is if you change the boundary. So shut the laptop at 7 PM, stop taking calls once you reach home and be present, not just physically around.

Because when you show up for your child’s cricket match or actually take a weekend off or give your mind the space to breathe, you come back to your business with more clarity, patience and energy.

So as you prepare for 2025 with new plans and bigger goals, remind yourself that growth at work means nothing if life outside work is shrinking.

Work hard and build well, but don’t forget the people who make all of it worth it.

“You won’t be able to make it.”
“You’re too young.”
“You don’t have any experience.”

These were the first things people told me when I went door to door looking for work. I remember standing there, wondering if they were right.

But somewhere inside, a small voice kept saying, “Keep going.”

Years later, that same voice helped me build the journey I’m known for today.

Well, here I am, Business coach Rajiv Talreja, founder of Asia's leading training and coaching firm through which I have
- Trained 8,00,000+ entrepreneurs
- Hand held 5000+ SMEs through 1 to 1 coaching in the last 7 years
- Generated INR 7339 crores of revenue from 779 SMEs in the last 1 year alone

And the list goes on.

It still feels unreal sometimes because all of this started with a young guy who everyone thought wouldn’t make it.

What changed everything for me was a simple mindset,
To show up → Do the work → Don’t stop when it gets tough.

If I could do it with no support, experience or “perfect” timing, trust me, you can too.

It’s just that are you willing to back yourself when no one else does?

Why are most founders just blindly OBSESSED with execution? 


They live in the “doing” zone of closing deals, hiring, managing crises and chasing revenue. 

They pride on being action-oriented, but if you just spend 100% of your time doing, you’re spending 100% of your time running yesterday’s problems.

I realised this myself after my first few years of running a business. I was constantly in execution mode, thinking that grinding harder would solve every problem. And it did… for a while. But then I hit a ceiling. 

Decisions felt reactive, growth slowed and I kept repeating the same mistakes over and over without even realising it.

That’s when I decided to experiment. I consciously blocked 20% of my time for learning. Not reading generic “how to scale” content, but targeted learning and exploring systems that could prevent recurring problems.

Within months, the impact was obvious. I started making decisions faster and with more clarity. Problems that used to take weeks to solve now had simple, structured solutions. 

So always know that execution without reflection and learning is just busywork. Doing alone creates momentum, but learning multiplies it. 

The founders who scale from 1CR to 50CR aren’t necessarily working harder than you but surely smarter because they intentionally create space to evolve.

So if you’re grinding every day and feeling stuck, stop the nonstop execution. Dedicate at least 20% of your time to learning, experimenting and understanding systems that prevent repeated mistakes. 

You will thank yourself for it.

Last week, I watched a founder burn through ₹1.6 crore trying to “power through” a problem that had at least 12 easier solutions.


Most people think entrepreneurship is about being brave, bold and relentless.

But here’s the part no business coach puts on a PowerPoint - Startups don’t die because the problem is too big but because the approach was wrong.

90% of failed founders kept charging at the same bull in the same way and yet expecting it to magically move.

So here’s what those 4 approaches actually look like in real business:

--> GO THROUGH IT - Sometimes brute force works. Most “I’ll figure it out” moments are just stubbornness. Your energy isn’t unlimited so spend it wisely.

--> GO AROUND IT - The best founders are the most resourceful. A clever workaround can save you months of burn and thousands in cash.

--> GO OVER IT - This is where real strategy happens. Instead of asking, “How do I fix this?” ask: “How do I redesign the system so this never exists again?”

--> DON’T GO NEAR IT - Sometimes it’s simply choosing a different battle. Not all problems deserve your time and not all opportunities are meant for you.

Entrepreneurship isn’t about fighting every bull but knowing which fight actually moves you forward.

If you’re stuck on a problem right now, see if you are going through it, around it, over it or should I not be near it at all?

Your answer might save your startup.

For years, I hated the “slow months.”


When content stopped landing, client calls felt heavier and when I was working just as hard but nothing seemed to move.

I assumed something was wrong with me. Until I understood something every entrepreneur eventually learns that business moves in seasons.

There are seasons where ideas flow without effort. Seasons where everything clicks and opportunities come faster than you can handle. Seasons of harvest where the work finally pays off. And seasons that feel cold, quiet, almost still.

But those quiet seasons are also foundations.

Your mind needs the slowdown, creativity needs space, systems need rebuilding and most of the progress you can’t see is happening in these phases.

The entrepreneurs who last aren’t the ones who adjust their pace based on the season they’re in.

During high-energy phases, they build aggressively and during slower phases, they refine, learn, and reset.

So if you’re in a slower season right now, don’t panic. Your next wave is on its way.

Ever noticed how 2 managers with the same title can create completely different workplaces?


One makes you want to do more. The other makes you want to hide mistakes.

Some managers grow teams while some shrink them. 

I’ve noticed a pattern that shows up in almost every organization.
Managers generally fall into 2 categories.

The first group develops people. They treat mistakes as information and clarify expectations, highlight gaps and help you build the skills you’re missing. 

Teams under these managers operate with confidence because feedback is often given as support. The outcome also gets a lot better with good decisions, faster learning and teams that take ownership.

The second group monitors people. Here, mistakes are catalogued to protect authority. People start optimizing for safety, leading to reduced initiative and teams that hesitate more than they execute.

A simple way to know where you stand is to think of your last mistake. Was it used to guide you or to score you? That reveals the leadership system you’re part of.

If you’re reporting to the second type, you don’t have to fight it, but you do need to protect yourself. Document your work and seek clarity in writing.
 
Don’t let someone else’s insecurity shape your career trajectory.

What’s one behavior from a great manager that stayed with you?

“I’ll do it when I feel like it.”
Is the most common excuse people make!

That sounds honest and also practical. But things don't really work that way. 
Because in reality, the outcomes that actually shape your life don’t wait for the right mood.

A degree doesn’t get completed because you were motivated every day. A career doesn’t grow because you felt inspired each morning. Money for a trip, a license, or any real goal doesn’t come together based on emotion.

They come from effort that happens consistently, whether the day feels exciting or ordinary.

Mood changes. Some days you feel driven, some days you don’t. But if your progress depends on how you’re feeling, your results will always be uneven. This is where most people get stuck because they rely too much on motivation.

What actually works is much simpler and less dramatic, which is planning your effort and sticking to it.

People who seem disciplined aren’t always highly motivated. They’ve just decided what needs to be done and built systems around it, so the decision doesn’t have to be made again every single day.

When effort becomes routine, results start showing up quietly.

This isn’t about ignoring how you feel or pushing yourself endlessly. It’s about understanding that feelings are temporary, but consistent action creates lasting outcomes.

If you wait to feel “ready,” you may keep waiting. If you commit to steady effort, even on average days, progress takes care of itself.

That’s the lesson most experience teaches you slowly, but clearly.

If you are unsure of what to do in life, read this!


You know the beginning of any journey is always messy.

You feel unsure, you delay decisions and you constantly fight between who you are and who you think you’re supposed to be.

Because clarity rarely comes first. It usually comes after the confusion, hesitation and the uncomfortable early phase no one likes to talk about.

What changed things for me were a few honest conversations with people I trusted. I finally said out loud what I wanted and what I was scared of.

Those conversations moved me forward more than anything else because:

→ The right people give you structure and stability, especially when it feels unclear.
→ They point out the blind spots and push you to make decisions you’ve been running from.
→ Most of the time, it only takes one or two people to help you make a real shift.

And when you finally look back, the turning points look like small moments that changed the way you saw yourself.

If there’s one thing I’m certain about now, it’s that your journey starts the moment someone helps you face the truth you’ve been delaying.

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