Spending on marketing, is it worth it? how much money should be spent?

A few things are clear:

• Marketing works, especially when no one has heard about your business.
• Marketing is expensive

As nothing in life is free, marketing costs money.  I am constantly trying to balance the amount spent on marketing v/s spending the money on a good cause.

I can easily funnel $100 a month more on Google Ads, will it result in more sales, perhaps but there are no guarantees.  So, what is the right amount a small business should spend on marketing? should it be 5% of your monthly sales, 10%? 15%.  It seems there are no right answers.

Lessons learned:

• We recently turned off our facebook ads, they were no effective and the money was being thrown in some bucket.
• We are trying not to be greedy, we spend a little and we donate a little, it is a good balance for us.
• If you serve your customers with the best service you can give and you are treating them well, that is the best you can do for your business and reputation.  We like to treat everyone with the same respect and courtesy, irrespective of the order size. 

We will try and switch off Google Ads for a month to see if there is any effect, I doubt it but it will be a good experiment.

Any thoughts, please email us.

finding love

As each part of my soul was cut
I could not believe the amount of hurt
I was causing

A part of me died
A new part of me came alive
I could now be attractive
I could now find love

Why are you looking at me like this?
It is the same me
just a bit more normal
Do you like me?

Hi! Beautiful
My name is Gee Singh
What is your name?
Can i buy you a drink?

A part of me is still dead
but the women love the new me
You have to agree that I look amazing
I am now attractive
I can now find love

The Guru will understand
that I am this new amazing man.
I know I caused a lot of hurt
all this pain so I can find love

My friends cannot understand
why I have a new do.
it is the same me
just a bit more normal

The new me is dashing
I look and smell good everyday
I am attractive
Soon, I hope to find love

*** this whatever was written in 3 mins after I saw a picture of a Sikh sitting in a barber’s chair after his Kesh was cut ***

I will NOT remove my Kara at any Airport {period}

My Kara is like my best friend, it has not left my wrist for more than 2 decades.  It is my 3rd Kara (in this life time).   Now that I think of it, I have know my Kara longer than most of my friends.

I wanted to give you all an update on how often I have removed my Kara at Airport Security since 2001, the answer is ONE (that is one to many times).  I cannot recall when exactly I did it but it was in the last couple of years.  As soon as I took off the Kara and put it in the x-ray machine and walked across the human machine (without a beep), I knew I had done something wrong.

I separated from a part of me to avoid secondary screening.  Now, every time I go through security and the machine beeps, I get asked by TSA agent *fair question btw*:

“Can you take off that bangle?”

to that I always reply:

“No, I will not”

“MALE ASSIST”
*I am so used it it by now, that when I don’t beep, I wonder if the machine is broken*

I must have flown at least 100+ times since 9/11 and I am happy to report that I have not been asked to remove my Turban, even once.

So, I pledge to myself that going forward, I will not separate my Kara from my wrist.  NOT for Security nor for convenience,

My home away from home.

I have so much to say.

Much to say about the Occupiers, yes, I believe I am one of them.
Much to say about our Faith, yes, I am a Sikh.
Much to say about the US economy, yes, I am as much an American as anyone else here.
Much to say about the world, yes, I am a world citizen.

I recently read that, and I paraphrase,
Religion is for those that don’t want to go to hell.
Spirituality is for those that have been to hell.

It is very important to believe and have faith. Believe in something, anything, any power, any idol. It is the best thing you can do for your Soul.

Having said that, I wanted to write and say thanks to all those Sikh brothers and sisters that have been kind to me when I visited Gurudwaras along the way.

I had the chance to visit some Gurudwaras in Europe,
Kobenhaven, Amsterdam, and Paris. The pictures I can share are here:
Danmark: http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.1926606977854.104996.1622570617&type=1&l=d1c699f3cc
Holland: http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.2064326500756.109756.1622570617&type=1&l=18e6cb7318

I have to add that visiting a Gurudwara in any part of the world is like coming home. I am not judged, I am not discriminated against. I am welcome to stay as long as I want. I get Guru ka Langar and that is one of the best meals I have when I am on the road.

I hope 2012 is a wonderful year for you all.

My best,
Guri ‘GoSikh’ Singh

Who did the most damage? Can I really blame anyone?

I have to start of by saying that I am one of the lucky souls who is able to go from Almere, Netherlands to Berkeley, California to Ninh Binh, Vietnam in a matter of weeks. I have an urge to travel and see the world and this dream is come true due to circumstances in my life. Lets just say I am making tasty lemonade everyday.

Being a Turban adorning Sikh, I wear my Turban everyday I work, travel or go out. I am so used to wearing my Turban that I don’t even think any of it. In the past few months, I have had a chance to live in Denmark and Netherlands and also visit Paris, a few cities in Vietnam and Singapore.

It is interesting how I am treated in different situations. The interactions I have with people in Denmark is certainly
different than the interactions I have with someone at a train station in Vietnam. Some of this depends upon me the person
and some of it depends upon my appearance.

I have to say that the damage that the media has done to Sikhs, probably unintentionally, is far greater than any one person. On my recent visit to Vietnam, almost everyone made a comment that I looked like Bin Laden. Sadly, some of my local friends could not do anything about this as well. My lack of the Vietnamese language
created a communication gap for me. My friends could not pick an argument with every other local, so they suffered as I did.

I started to wonder why people were making these comments. It is clear that on this trip to Vietnam, I did go to smaller
towns and cities. Most of these people have not seen a Turban wearing Sikh before. Their only image of a person wearing a Turban
is Bin Laden. So, should I blame Bin Laden for wearing a headwear? Should I blame the media for showing his image on TV?
I think blaming someone or some entity will not solve the problem.

I passed by these small towns and I did talk to some locals in English and some of them now know that I am Indian and I am Sikh but the majority do not know that. I know I cannot solve this in one go but hopefully I educated a few people along the way.

It is fair to state that I did not get anyone to look twice in Saigon or Hanoi, so people living in big cities are used to seeing Sikhs.
I was wondering if there was a Sikh community in Saigon, as there is one in every big city in this world. I was looking out my 4th floor hostel window and thinking the very fact and suddenly I noticed that there was a GurSikh drying his clothes in the balcony of his 4th floor apartment building across from mine. Just as I was about to yell out to him, he had made his way back into his apartment. I was filled with joy, as if I had found a hidden treasure. I made my way down to the ground floor and traced his building entrance only to find that the ground floor was a massage parlor, ok! don’t assume anything. I asked the ladies if I could talk to Mr. Singh on 4th floor but they probably thought I needed a 4hr massage.
I think his apartment had a different entrance and I could not get hold of this GurSikh.

I did muster up some strength and finally wore my White Turban in Hanoi. Yes, some comments came flying but most people in Hanoi did not care or comment. My friend who was also in Hanoi visiting from Europe, did not feel any awkwardness and we proceeded to have a good visit in Hanoi.

Vietnam is a great country to visit. At no point did I feel threatened or unsafe. Vietnamese people are kind and humble. Most will help you if you ask them for help. My visit was a roller coaster of a visit, one day I had 3 young ladies follow me around in a temple because they knew I was Indian (thanks to Hindi Films)
and one of them said “I love you” as she clearly had a mini crush (one that many have had when they see a foreigner) on me. I got a chance to teach them how to say “I love you” in Hindi and
Punjabi. The next day, I had a mother and daughter make fun of me in the train cabin that we shared with an older gentleman. They were annoying to say the least but I held my ground and did not
say anything mean to them. The only saving grace at that time was my Ipod and the fact that a young lady told me “I love you” yesterday. Everything bad that happened to me pales in comparison to the
many good things that I went through on this trip.

I got a chance to spend 4 days with my friend Nam and her family in Danang, that had to be the highlight of my visit to Vietnam. A chance to eat local food with locals is a dream come
true for any visitor.

I hope to go back to Vietnam in the near future and visit the Hanoi and Sapa area. I know the next visit will be better. I will be equipped with some translated text that I can share with
locals about Sikhi.

Hen Gap Lai

The Gurus did not want a Golden Temple

* I know this will raise some eye brows *

Our Golden temple is revered and loved by one and all, not just Sikhs. It is open to all and as it should be, everyone is welcome to visit, stay, eat and pray.

I do feel that somewhere along the way, HarMandir Sahib became more of an ornament in the Sikh empire than a temple. We lost the humility that we should maintain.

Instead of covering the temple with Gold, the Gurudwara committee should make sure:
1. No Sikh should go hungry (anywhere in the world)
2. No Sikh widow should live in poor conditions
3. Every Sikh student should have a right to go to school and should have the finances provided to do so.

I want to end this short note with one small comment,
Our Gurus did not ask for a Gurudwara of Gold.

anger

Anger
Your anger towards me is not justified.
It is not my fault I cannot recognize you as one of us.
don’t be mad at me for not greeting you on the road
or the airport.
I am not here to judge you.
I am not in your shoes.
However, Your anger towards me is not justified.

* this is something I wrote after running into some Sikhs who don’t look like me. Do note that I am not saying they are not Sikhs.