I am writing this post right after finishing a long call with representatives of one of the most premium entrepreneurship platforms in the country. I had the privilege of being invited as a mentor on this platform. And the agenda of our call today was to discuss the “key takeaways” of my mentorship sessions. I started off on a high note, with my core thought — entrepreneurship is a mindset, not a power position.

The call progressed. I talked more about the idea of building a healing organization, how love & joy are central to our work at Jaipur Rugs, and how obsolete the command & control model of business is. And then, I was presented with an interesting opinion from the other side: “Do you really think leadership, love, and joy are relevant topics for our user profile? These are very early stage founders, struggling with minor issues, and our mentorship for them must be about tangible business practices.”

This comment sent me back to the day at my undergrad college when I proudly answered one of my professors: “Business is next to love. It is the creator and preserver of civilization.” This statement itself is the Jaipur Rugs business model in totality. I had to bring myself back to the ongoing conversation and ask them to elaborate on their point. 

In retrospect, I was questioning 20-year-old Nand Kishore’s need to say something this strong. Somebody who was not an early-stage founder, somebody who did not even dream of being an entrepreneur until that day. And I was struggling to answer the need of learning to love for young entrepreneurs. Here are 3 main observations from our business model of love: 

1. Love is our USP. Love is a unique human experience that drives most actions on this planet. It is the core of our existence. And the deeper you go into your core, the harder you make it for people to copy you. Hence, love is the USP of our business. 
2. Love is bankable. Love is an investment that we are making in our future. In business language, it can be termed ‘goodwill’. Love frees us from the fear of taking risks and builds trust that we draw from. 
3. Love transforms fear into freedom. If you’re not driven by love, you’re driven by fear. Fear builds the need to prove our value, mostly because we suspect ourselves. And this is where the purpose of business is lost.

Perhaps this is a good business experiment: for a month, practice love with wisdom in everything you do – at work and outside work. Allow your authentic self to show up everywhere. And observe how a business starts healing you. 

Love is an investment you are making in yourself and your business.