Business advise

"Doing business without advertising is like winking at a girl in the dark : you know what you're doing but nobody else does."

By Stewart Henderso Britt.

Free prepaid reload card for Malaysian

Most of the Malaysian including me are using prepaid card and every month I need to use at least RM30. This is the minimum amount and the amount will increase when I outstation. Today I found a website that offering a reward to Hotlink, Digi & Celcom prepaid user. You are able to get a free RM30 prepaid mobile reload card by redeeming this website point.

How to get the point in this website? It is a survey program by Malaysian company by the name of "The Nielsen Company (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd". They will provide you a survey and you just need to answer without any typing (just click only). There is no fees occur. Join and earn free reload card .

The distance is nothing; it is the first step that is difficult

“The distance is nothing; it is the first step that is difficult” by - Madame Marie du Deffand

Nowadays with the leverage of internet technology, we are able to communicate easily all over the world either east, west, south or north. There is no more boundary or limitation with this intelligent invention.

For the instant, I am a professional land surveyor and nearly everyday I need to communicate with my clients with this technology and it become a common tool in business. Even we still need office telephone, fax and hand phone for communication and receiving fax information.

Internet is a powerful tool in business. Recently, I realized that there are many youngsters fully utilized this leverage and generate a handsome income for them even they still schooling. The universal law has been changed and no much people aware about it for those people still chasing for certificate, diploma, degree, master or PHD. I do not deny that education is unimportant because without education we can not read and write. If you want to rich or financial freedom then you need have a vision as what our former prime minister, Tun Dr. Mahathir did.

A vision is a target you want to achieve in a certain period which Malaysia is doing now. What is vision? A simple definition for a layman I can define it as imagination or dream.

All the people has their dream even a kindergarten kid. Combination of vision and afford will generate a strength to build your wealth.

Recently, my brother-in-laws was asking the concept of business in Chinese community.

He envied with the Chinese run a business in what even scale and he coded a Chinese bicycle owner. This old Chinese man only repairing bicycle in a small shop and able to buy insurance to his children but my brother-in-law is unable to do that even has qualification in electrical wiring. This is the difference between a business group and earn monthly salary group. In business, there is no fix income for you and you need to work very hard before you are able to taste the sweet. I can image how tough of this Chinese bicycle owner when he started the business but it was good move because he has a vision which he has been achieved now.

Yesterday, there was a client came to us regarding land matter. During the conversation, he did mention about the business. He is 60 over years old but he still actives running his tyre business. According to him, there is no off day in business. He will personally change the tyre if the workers are no available. Can you see this successful Chinese attitude, he works very work to serve the customer. In business without a customer then you will died standing.

My conclusion is business a solution toward financial freedom but it is tough journey. Please kindly download this useful article as your business mindset guide.

10 important smart financial questions

1. How long would it take you to save $1 million and how long would it take you to borrow $1 million?

Discuss : Let’s us talk about RM30 thousand only instead of $ 1 million. If my annual bonus & saving is RM3 thousand (3K) then I need to wait about 10 years to achieve RM30K. But you are able to borrow RM30K from Banker within a few weeks when you purchase a property or personal loan. This is the time frame gap between two scenarios. Saving is difficult than borrowing money from banker. Remember do not borrow from loan sharp. It is a financial trap.

2. Who is going to get rich in the long run? Someone who works all their lives trying to save a million dollars? Or someone who knows how to borrow a million dollars at 10% interest and also knows how to invest it and receive a 25% per year return on that borrowed million dollars

Discuss : As discuss on above, saving is tougher than borrowing. Principally, all the business owners are using bank to run their business. We can see that most of the richest people in the World are running a business either online or offline.

3. To whom would a banker rather lend money? Someone who works hard for money, or someone who knows how to borrow money and have that money safely and intelligently work hard for them

Discussion: Bankers are likely to lend their money to a businessman/woman with well establish business compare with an employee. This is my past experience borrow money from bank. They will see financial statement (monthly or annual income) and they will only lend 30% from your income. This is why financial statement is essential in this reality world.

4. Who would you have to be and what you have to know in order to call your banker and say, ‘I want to borrow a million dollars.’ Then have the banker say, ‘I will have the paper for you to sign in twenty minutes.’

Discussion : If you have an asset in your hand such as property, banker will treat you as KING because they can gain good income from your loan.

5. Why does the government tax your saving but give you a tax break for being in debt ?

Discussion : If you are high income employee (more than RM100K per annual) in Malaysia, you must pay 28% of your annual income to government. However, if you are earning same amount as above employee, the tax is much lover than 28% because there are many tax break can be benefited to a business owner.

6. Who has to be financially smarter and better financially educated? A person with a million dollars in saving or a person with a million dollars in debt?

Discussion : A person with a million dollars in debt must smarter and better financially educated. These groups of people are running a business. Their passion in business enables them to get richer and richer due to this leverage.

7. Who has to be financially smarter with money? Someone who work hard for money or someone who has money work hard for him.

Discussion : Before we have money to work hard for us, we need to work hard for money if you start with nothing.

8. If you have a choice of education, would you choose to go to school to learn how to work hard for money, or would you rather go to school to learn how to have money work hard for you

Discussion : This is a survival world and no person like to share wealth.

9. Why is it that a banker will gladly lend you money to speculate in real estate, but will hesitate to lend you money to speculate in the stock market

Discussion : Real estate is permanent asset which is existing forever and valuable compare with stock market. Stock market will be a piece of blank paper if the markets bear.

10. Why do people who work the hardest and save the most pay more in taxes than people who work less and borrow more

Discussion : The road of business is tougher than work for people. Initial stage of business perhaps you gain nothing

Progress Report

I still remember when I was a Planter and every month before middle of the month I need to submit progress report to Headquarter. In the progress report I need to report the yield, operating cost, work being carried out such as spraying & manuring. These entire figures can be extracted from the account and daily record book. The main reason of progress report is to enable HQ to monitor the estate operating and maintain the operating cost within the budget .This is why plantation company able to generate profit with reasonable cost.

Similar with our personal financial status, we need to review monthly or quarterly to avoid overspent. Most of us are busy with our career and ignore our financial status. I work very hard for the company when I was a junior planter. There is no much entertainment in my life and in my mind only duty and duty. I work nearly everyday and never feel tired during young time. I start review my life and financial status when I promoted to senior post. This is the difference between you live in comfortable zone with “poor” zone. When a person is poor in financial, he/she is unable to see his/her future because his/her time is used by their employer. However, when you are in comfortable zone, you are using people time and energy to do your duty. This is why we must look for plenty of money to live in comfortable zone. No because we are greedy in money but when we are in comfortable zone, we are able to review and think out of the box.

Progress report is a powerful tool even you run a small business. You need to sit down to think and review what you have done during the month. This is why I need to retire as young as possible from financial trap. When you have retired then you are able to appreciate your life. Time is precious and don’t waste it….appreciate the time.

Why & How

In reality there is no an actual equation HOW to get rich and nobody like to share their secret. This is the nitty and gritty of human attitude. Therefore, we need to ask ourself WHY we want to become rich? Without a strong enough WHY, even the easiest HOW to get rich will be too hard. Find your WHY and subsequently you will find HOW or the solution to become rich.

“Where there is a will there is a way” this old phase is telling us that cease dreaming and talking about your future. Immediately take a pen and a piece of paper and start sketch down your idea of your future.

Basically, you divide the paper into 2 columns and written WHY & HOW on top of paper.

I thing there are many WHY we want to become rich and perhaps part of the list in below are what you are facing at the moment.

-No enough saving for children
-Can’t afford to have own home
-Monthly income just enough to cover the monthly expenses
-Can’t afford to change a comfortable vehicle
-Can’t afford go for vacation when holiday
-Totally no much saving in future
-Piles of bill need to settle end of the month
-Can’t afford to buy medical insurance for family
-Live to survive
-Mind always thing how to get extra income
-Work very hard to earn a monthly income
-Need to borrow money from parent or sibling when there is an emergency
-Live in fear due to unstable financial status
-Doing things I don’t want to do

There are many WHY and perhaps you can share with me.

HOW to solve the above statement? The answer is look for more money and we need to change present attitude. Self-doubt and laziness are the core culprit to everybody. We need to think positive and think big that we can do it.

The important of money

Asian people find difficult to discuss about money matter and treat it as sensitive issue especially to family or superior. I agree that many people claim that money does not make you happy but money are able for me to buy other people time and talent to do what I can’t do or I hate to do. For the example, my mother-in-laws asked to in-charged a joint venture with developer because my status as a land surveyor. I do not want to get in trouble and get trap because of this uncompleted agreement. Therefore, I am using a lawyer whom well known in land matter to amend and advise me on the agreement with my mother-in-laws and the developer.

Similar with our financial status, you must always ask yourself why my financial status likes this and how to improve it. This is a basic quote to enable us to realize why we are in average group. Average group are the person like me that only waiting for monthly income and most of the income will use to settle credit card, bill, loan and minimum saving for emergency.

This is why government encourage Malaysian to start a business either small or medium scale. This is one of solution to generate side income to family. It is sad to tell that nowadays many professionals unable to complete with enterprise in term of financial.

Creating a business sounds simple but it involve of skills such as business skills, money management skills and investment skills. There is no easy road and shortcut to generate wealth. Nowadays there are many schemes either in internet or non-internet claim to generate handsome income with minimum effort. The question is how many people will success without work hard on the business.

All the people want to be rich and it is normal to everybody. I solute those people because they have a bright direction to success. They have a plan in their business. Even in Islam religion, the religion also telling that we need to work hard to generate wealth and subsequently with the wealth we are able to give zakat and assist those in poor categories.