Perception is a powerful thing. We set perceptions and we are responsible for changing them.
I realise that we cannot just decide how we want to be perceived or remembered, but we must live through the good and the bad.
We cannot keep constantly pivoting and moulding ourselves to something that the world wants.
That is not how a brand identity works.
We cannot just be doing something just for the sake of fitting in. We should also not try to do things to compete with others. We should strive to bring value to the table in all efforts we make.
An ideal brand identity is not how we perceive ourselves, but how the public at large in general perceives us.
I took this weekend to think about this a lot. I wrote down many key aspects of my growth, the growth of this blog and also my social reach.
My social reach grew talking about SMEs and Microcaps
My mentors are from the SME and Microcap space
I primarily publish reports in the SMEs and Microcap space
The blog grew because I gave key updates from a vast ocean of updates only in the SMEs space weekly to all readers.
My last three years experience in learning research has been in the SMEs and Microcap space
The last 30 management I have interacted with in the last 12 months have been from the SMEs and Microcap space.
When I started my online presence, I saw a gap in information available in SMEs and Microcaps. That was why I started my free weekly newsletter. Today, I see that this gap is being filled by multiple people.
I think about my audience and realise that this newsletter today can reach both the novice to investing to someone who has seen cycles in the markets.
This again made me think of the concept of perception and branding.
We cannot just be doing something just for the sake of fitting in. We should also not try to do things to compete with others. We should strive to bring value to the table in all efforts we make.
I then thought to myself, how can I knowing what I know now add value to the community. I then studied the concept of the hub.
The concept of a “hub” refers to a central point or a core that connects multiple spokes or elements in a system. In various contexts, the hub serves as a focal point that facilitates interaction, communication, or distribution among connected components.
Would just sending a summary of SME Updates every week be a value add? I realise that this may now no longer add value to the readers like it did one year ago.
If today, I am at Ground Zero analysing Microcaps and SMEs, meeting managements and consuming daily every public disclosure on them, how can I truly add value to this community if the interactions are one way?
I asked myself this question long and hard, how can people truly know if I am an analyst who somewhat knows his way around SMEs and Microcaps?
The answer was simple. I need to “Let my work speak.”
I would like to quote an example here. Now, I will be in Delhi between 27th and 31st of August 2024. I will in my time there interact with 10+ promotors, all from SME and Microcap space. Now, we have two upcoming issues of The Microcap Minute coming up, one on 25th August and one on 1st September.
I thought to myself, what would the readers want to read, and would they mind if the issues did not reach as per schedule?
Would they want to read the SME updates for the week or would they want to read a summary of my meeting with 2-3 managements?
This is when it hit me. I need to “Let my work speak.”
We have a community of ~4000 readers today but the interaction is only one way. It has been for over a year now. I think to myself, rather than weekly mails just giving out SME Updates, would my readers find more value if I only write two to three times a month, but write more focused posts where
I do company analysis on an SME and Microcap company of my choice or what readers want me to analyse
I do sectoral analysis like I recently did for the Textile space
I do results analysis in the SME and Microcap space
I occasionally profile smart investors
I analysis investor presentations and concall transcripts
I write on the tools and techniques I use to value SMEs and Microcaps
I try to interview managements from SME and Microcap companies for our Blog of my choice or the readers choice
The answer becomes more and more clear.
I go back to the concept of the hub.
The concept of a “hub” refers to a central point that connects multiple elements in a system. The hub serves as a focal point that facilitates interaction.
To truly become a hub, I need to give my readers a medium to easily communicate with me and tell me each month what they want, what they liked and what they did not like. The “central point”, being the core to the concept of hub means that there should not be any confusion to my reader when it comes to channels of communication.
Now, the easiest way of doing this is to have a monthly virtual catchup. A simple virtual catchup, where interested readers can, at the end of each month come, give feedback on topics they liked/ disliked and and put in requests from what they want to read next month.
I would at this time want to mention that any matter discussed in the catchup would be purely for Illustrative, Knowledge and Informational purpose and shall not be treated as advice or opinion of any kind. It should not be construed as investment advice unless explicitly stated in a client-specific research report. I or my employees/associates shall not be held liable/responsible in any manner whatsoever for any losses the attendees may incur due to acting upon the information discussed in these catchups.
To facilitate being able to join the monthly catchups effortlessly, I shall also link them to a free Telegram Community.
With these steps, I hope to in the future manifest a perception for my personal brand and for that of my blog and research desk.
A perception that I will only be known from my work.
Going forward, The Microcap Minute will continue, but each issue may include a surprise, and we may not release them every Sunday. We will release an issue when we have something to talk about.
I now realize that if it’s not interesting enough to read, it shouldn’t be sent out just to follow a routine. So, one issue might feature a company analysis, another a sectoral analysis, the next a results analysis, and a subsequent one a deep dive into a company’s presentations and concall transcripts. I may also profile a smart investor in an issue or simply share a summary of my interaction with management.
This is now a blog I would want to read for the SME and Microcap space. Yes, in the future, others may try to fill this gap, but until then, I will focus on doing what I do best and let my work speak for itself.
Rgds,
Ayush Agrawal
Research Analyst
SEBI Registration No. INH000013013
First Floor, B.P. Complex, Baldeobagh, Jabalpur, Madhya Pradesh, 482002
Email: themicrocapinvestor@gmail.com
Number: +91 9425412028
GST Number: 23AHUPA5526E2ZJ
