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Suhasini is CEO of Ad Astra Media, publishing www.winningedgemagazine.com and soon launching the print magazine, Winning Edge. She is a consultant to Imagilon, a New York based media company. She also works as a marketing consultant to Compulink Systems, Pune. Marketing professional with over15 years of experience in sales, marketing and corporate strategy – including PR, sales team training, sales force automation, marketing material creation and event management.

What are your most recent achievements ? I am currently directing a lot of effort and energy towards creating Winning Edge - a print magazine focused on sales and marketing, that would help readers to grow their business and enhance their careers. I do hope this will become an 'achievement' - once the magazine is launched and well accepted by readers.

My other recent achievement has been the creation of the online news sharing community - Jhanki.com. I have done this in conjunction with a New York based media company that I represent in India. A software team in India developed the site, and now I am working on popularizing it. We have recently concluded a contest, which has achieved a good popularity for the site. So that there are now almost 4000 stories on Jhanki, all of which have been added by readers.

What are the challenges you are facing ?
Well - the biggest challenge I face is common to both Winning Edge and Jhanki, and that is, creating awareness about a new magazine or site, then creating a loyal community, and then - providing the community with what they are looking for in terms of content. All this is related to marketing and customer relationship, at the same time, with our new businesses, we do not work on unlimited budgets. So - establishing a loyal reader community through innovative marketing and at a low cost is my major challenge.
What are you currently learning for your ongoing development ? My current area of study is - how is marketing adapting to new technology. I read a lot - the material for this subject is mostly online - about leveraging new technology and new media for marketing and sales. I also look at products and solutions that will help marketing and sales professionals.

What kind of opportunities are you seeking right now?
I am seeking opportunities related to advertising in Winning Edge and on Jhanki, and also special focus group events, such as seminars. So I am seeking corporate advertising and sponsorship relationships.

What are your plans for the next 12 months ?
Again - the plans are to grow the Winning Edge readership and advertising. And to grow the Jhanki community to critical mass, where I believe that Jhanki will become an important force to voice and influence public opinion. Once this has been achieved, I would look at extending the Winning Edge offering to some more publications.
Who would you like to connect with ? I would like to connect with anyone who is interested in business growth,specifically through better sales and marketing. Also, to anyone who has something interesting to share with me, or would like to gain from some knowledge that I may have.

What message would you like to give to all our visitors and members at ITVidya.com ? My message is - the sum total of 'knowledge' in the universe is increasing at an exponential rate. We need to be able to find knowledge that is relevant to us, we need to keep abreast of it, and develop expertise in our chosen areas. Reading and studying are key to reinventing ourselves constantly, and keeping ourselves relevant even as the world changes. Luckily, with the march of technology, there are so many interesting ways to study - online or through eLearning, in addition to excellent books and magazines. So what I will say is - gain knowledge that will give you the 'Winning Edge'.

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