when entrepeneurs become evaporated milk
I’ve been doing business since my NS days. You could call me ayam berak kapur business man. My plans would be well thought out, but hardly come into fruition. Hardly. Why? Because I don’t want to fail.
I started out developing my own CMS system which I modelled after blogspot.com. I wanted to make things revolutionary. (Which for some reason eventually happened). I liked making things small and simple. And which is why I’m attracted to stuff like Ruby On Rails, and Pragmatic Programming. My CMS system, which I called dotmajix, was simply a suite of small applications called blogmajix, forummajix, cartmajix and what not. And you could pick and choose whatever it is you want to form your own custom solution.
Each app is not a distinct module unlike some CMS systems like Mambo or PHP-nuke back in those days. I hated bloated software and I’ll never write an application that’s meant to do other stuff including the kitchen sink.
Then it happened. OVERHEADS! Microsoft technology is a killer, and I wondered then how my previous company ever managed to survive without strong venture capital.
There is no way, a MS-trained person could ever start out on his own unless he had some money to play with. And by some, I mean, at least $100,000.
I had to make radical changes to the way I did stuff. My dotmajix was almost complete. We even had implementations on 2 sites. It was probably the simplest piece of work anybody have ever used and my clients loved it. But costs were increasing and sales, as expected was low. How now?
I turned to open source, and I had to educate myself with the way of the Torvalds. I stopped using Windows ever since the strengthened piracy and copyright laws came into effect. I began using Ubuntu Linux as my primary machine and I started doing PHP, albeit novicely. Why? Coz of this gizmo here, the WordPress Blogging engine. WordPress was what I imagined dotmajix to be. So I stopped reinventing the wheel. I saw no place for another CMS to be created. Every site I created, I used WordPress. It was simple, smart, elegant. And most of all, it gave people like me a huge advantage.
I’m one of the few people who had probably memorised HTML 3.2 before entering polytechnic. And my transition to HTML 4.01 and later the XHTML standards was painless. WordPress was made for XHTML and it gave people like me the ability to write better code, shorter, simpler, faster.
But soon, either through horrible luck or plain fate, I had to get a proper job. I had been trying to work full-time, but my itch for making it kept pulling me back, which allowed me to accept much low paying jobs. It allowed me the freedom necessary to have an eye on my business. But through the lack of business acumen and inexperience, I made a whole lot of horrid mistakes, like choosing the wrong business partner, especially one who stole and was dishonest.
I lost everything else I owned. And it was rather painful. I managed to scrimp whatever I had left after my money went missing. If I still had that few hundred dollars, given a bit more time, I wouldn’t need to be employed today. I knew in my heart, had I persevered and continued for at least another 6 months, I could have hit the jackpot.
When you’re down, it doesn’t mean you’re out. I started back from scratch. And I needed to be responsible. I placed getting a proper job as my primary responsibility. This part of my life reminded me of the film, Knocked Up, when Ben gave up his business for a stable income with a large web design firm.
I gave myself a couple of months before everything went back into motion again. I started a small sideline business, focussed entirely on doing one thing and one thing only. Sell antivirus. I had initially wanted to resell all kinds of antivirus, and I even tried carving out niche solutions. But I had no time. And I decided, I should just stick to selling avast antivirus and that will just be it.
Why? Time. And this thing called Morals and Ethics.
I do not want to
1) lie, cheat and steal like some stereotypical Malay businessmen. It was enough for me seeing how some Malay businessmen get around the system through backstabbing and lying through their teeth.
2) be a half baked Malay businessman. There are too many of this breed. I was tired really of Malay businesses finding no other thing to do but killing their own brethren. There are a lot of Malay owned IT businesses this I can tell you. And not a single one of them is more than 3 men strength and actually have a physical office in a respectable business area. Each one of them have no idea what a saturated market this is, and all of them for some reason target the same old demographics -> Malays! Don’t they see how smaller the pie has gotten?
3) leave something incomplete. For the first time in my life, I completed a full year in business doing nothing but sell antivirus. And now, I’m coming to my 2nd complete year, and business is good, in the black and never better. Will I grow from here? I don’t know. It all depends on some people getting off my back for example. Once, my friend and I confronted a close pal for setting up an IT consultancy. We feared we would be making enemies out of brothers. We didn’t want that.
Soon, I found more copycats. It seemed like everyone I knew started up their own IT based business, and then everyone seemed to sell the exact same stuff I’m selling! CRAP! I was peeved of course. The market just evaporated. Literally.
Life took a sharp turn for me this year. I had to unstuck myself from a rollercoaster relationship, an ever ridiculous workplace, and a university course which I ended up disliking.
All of which, for year 2008, I have 3 resolutions completed before the year has even begun. I’m in a wonderful relationship with a girl that is definitely the one. I’m employed, comfortably, with familliar environments, familliar faces and safety with the first company I started out with as an intern. And I’m preparing for application to a fine institution of higher learning in NUS taking a course I love.
I finally get to appreciate the more important things in life. And I’m definitely happy.
Money isn’t everything. But it does make the world go round. And for me, doing business is just an act of faith. Therefore, one always has to do it in the right spirit and intention.
Thus, it is wrong, that if you know me personally and we’re friends for quite some time, and I trusted you, and you start your own business selling the same stuff I did. That to me is not in the best spirit.
It is wrong, lying and cheating to secure a deal so that one can get the monies for his family to live comfortably. That to me is not in the right spirit.
It is wrong, NOT PAYING and then lie coz you made errors in business which cost you financially. That to me is not the right intention.
It is wrong, doing everything right, having a good business plan, the luck to meet the right people and yet not being ikhlas (sincere) in your dealings. That to me is not in the right spirit.
You see. I’m sure a lot of us are good people. And a lot of us probably want to lead good, comfortable lives. And a lot of us are getting this entrepreneurial bug and starting their own businesses. But the moment you set up shop, your responsibility is not only on yourself, it’s to the entire jemaah. You need to be wise in business and not make foes out of friends. Suddenly, the chain of brotherhood that locks us together is broken. You see the seriousness of this?
Then 2 years later, your business is gone. And all you have left are people who used to call you abang. Milk evaporated.
NEVER do this.
I hate dealing with Malay businesses and I have headaches dealing with them. It’s an irony I chose to employ myself with a malay-owned business, but only because I felt that they are doing their muamaallat in the right spirit with the right intention. I admit that the company I’m employed with does has its flaws, but which company doesn’t? At least the stuff here isn’t horrible or unmanageable like the shit I got from my former workplace in an expat owned firm.
At least, I’m happier. I get to do the stuff I wanna do. Though sometimes I have to do the stuff I don’t really like to do. But at least, when I do the stuff I wanna do, complete it and showcase it, they’re supportive.
Malays should wisen up. Tread this entrepreneurial route carefully. Do it in the right spirit, and in the right intention. And where there is a valid, compelling reason to collaborate, network and share, then don’t pass it up. And if you find that being self-employed isn’t your cup of tea, well, being employed isn’t a terrible thing either. Life goes on. We do need to make a living. If you do make it big, don’t forget the people who helped you along the way. Don’t be stingy, but don’t blow your money off easily either. Fandi Ahmad’s biggest mistake was to undercharge or not charge at all, because he felt bad taking money from friends. He was afterall the only sports millionaire in his time.
Where is he now? Coaching in Indonesia when he could have started a football school in his name. He had tried everything after football. From auto repairs to God knows what, I fail to comprehend why he did not start a Fandi Ahmad Football Academy. He could have gone back to Holland, get the rights to start a feeder squad to Groningen FC and charge a hefty premium for the only soccer academy of its kind in this region. Everyone across Southeast Asia would flock to Singapore just to enter the Academy. And he would still remain the wealthiest, humblest sports millionaire Singapore has ever produced.
I hope future football stars as well as other Malay millionaire sportsmen like Mardan Mamat don’t dabble into unnecessary territory. I hope Mardan starts a Golfing Academy for future pro-golf aspirants. He could even charge personal training fees to businessmen and diplomats. I just hope he does it. It would be a shame if he becomes another falling star.
hey, u’ve voiced out my thoughts. *actually im juz lazy to type this long…wahaha* im starting very slow now with my photography biz and applying wat i learnt in ameleora.
business is like what you said…once you do something and it’s successful, everyone starts to follow…see bubbletea? and now donut shops are springing all over the place too. thats why, as entrepreneurs, we must always have plan B, C, D…..Z should initial plans be copied. people will always want cheap. people still believe that half-good stuffs are ok as long as they’re completed. a lot of my peers are like that. its even worse nowadays. dslrs are cheap…anyone who buy a dslr envision themselves to be photographers; thus undercutting others. as long as they make money..can already.
but i tell myself. at the end of the day, what kind of photographer do i want to be? a cheap photographer who takes lousy shots and have many2 clients. or a good photographer whom less people will pay. both adds up to the same actually but i would rather be known as a photographer who takes good photos for that little amount of people and build up from there.
p.s. im not that partner you’re referring to, kan kan kan?
p.s.s i tink one of your books is still with me since zaman ameleora. halal kan sudah lah eh? haha.
Good piece of writing which got me wondering: are there any good examples of Malay-owned business for us to follow? Or should we disregard the factor of race and ?objectively learn from whoever is best?
And the entrepreneurial route: surely, being self-employed is the way to go?
no lah. u left early remember? this particular partner came after the original ameleora. and what book that i give u eh? i can’t remember sey. haha. halal jer lah. tapi kalau aku nak baca balik pass kat aku eh?
true also that gadgets are getting cheaper. a macbook now costs 1,699. with much better specs than the one i bought last year. thankfully though, not everyone who buys a mac suddenly thinks he can be a whiz at programming.
i think where you’re heading is right. in recent times i do remember encouraging you to charge more for your work. your end product is of very high quality and i’d pay good money for it (if i had the money at all. haha).
but venture out more. try to do non-malay weddings. that would really catapult your business further.
Mustaq Ahmad, the owner of Mustafa. Ok, so maybe he’s not Malay. But he’s probably the only Muslim businessman I know who’s in the big time. There’s also a Pakistani guy who ran streetdirectory.com. I lost contact with him now, but what he started was revolutionary in this part of the world. He had the right spirit and intention and when I started a website for the mosque and linked it to streetdirectory.com, he offered to install a free streetdirectory app on the website, ikhlas. Of course, my LPM was too embarassed that a punk like me could get the interest of people like him among others. (One of my previous projects got the involvment of Halimah Yaacob once, and I did it without the help of the LPM at all). So the offer wasn’t taken up. Sad really.
Now you got me thinking. Is there really any noteworthy Malay businessman? My answer is no. I do see potential. And there’s this education-based company called Al-Nihtak doing astronomy programs. That’s really interesting. And the last time I saw them, they were at En-Naeem’s family day, not charging a single cent for a free observation of space using a telescope they brought.
I think it’s best to experience different types of business leaders. Non-Muslims may be more cunning. But I’ve seen a few that are straightforward and honest. Expats tend to be demanding, and most here do underpay. Doesn’t mean you get employed with a white man, you earn top dollar. Most expats here start small businesses, which does actually impact the SMB market a lot. Locals lose out quite a bit.
There’s always something to learn from even the worse businessmen. I like to think that I’ve learnt a lot of what not to do. And that’s probably the best lesson anyone can have.
I like to learn from many business leaders, particularly iconic ones like Sir Richard Branson. I’ve been fascinated with his ideals and how he runs his life and his business.
Is being self-employed the way to go? That question, one can only answer himself. If all of us become business owners, who then becomes our employees? Not everyone can be a top-rate businessman, like how not everyone can be a first class honours student. My mantra is this. If I can’t eke out a decent living, and in decent, I mean earn at least 6k a month from my business, then it’s not worth being a businessman. Might as well get employed and work up the corporate ladder. Dad was a businessman once setting up his own engineering firm. The venture failed. But he came out of it better I think. Now he’s a Senior Supervisor with a German engineering firm earning close to 6k a month. That’s enough to give comfortable lives to your family in my opinion.
read some fast facts a while ago about warren buffet:
1. He bought his first share at age 11 and he now regrets that he started too late!
2. He bought a small farm at age 14 with savings from delivering newspapers.
3. He still lives in the same small 3-bedroom house in mid-town Omaha , that he bought after he got married 50 years ago. He says that he has everything he needs in that house. His house does not have a wall or a fence.
4. He drives his own car everywhere and does not have a driver or security people around him.
5. He never travels by private jet, although he owns the world’s largest private jet company.
6. His company, Berkshire Hathaway, owns 63 companies. He writes only one letter each year to the CEOs of these companies, giving them goals for the year. He never holds meetings or calls them on a regular basis. He has given his CEO’s only two rules!
Rule number 1: do not lose any of your share holder’s money.
Rule number 2: Do not forget rule number 1.
7. He does not socialize with the high society crowd. His past time after he gets home is to make himself some pop corn and watch Television.
8. Bill Gates, the world’s richest man met him for the first time only 5 years ago. Bill Gates did not think he had anything in common with Warren Buffet. So he had scheduled his meeting only for half hour. But when Gates met him, the meeting lasted for ten hours and Bill Gates became a devotee of Warren Buffet.
9. Warren Buffet does not carry a cell phone, nor has a computer on his desk.
His advice to young people: “Stay away from credit cards and invest in yourself and Remember:
A. Money doesn’t create man; it is the man who created money.
B. Live your life as simple as you are.
C. Don’t do what others say, just listen to them, but do what you feel good.
D. Don’t go for brand name; just wear those things in which u feel comfortable.
E. Don’t waste your money on unnecessary things; just spend on those who really are in need.
F. After all it’s your life so why give chance to others to rule your life.”
Amazing, I must say!
I love the last entry of this post.
Thanks Norza for sharing with us some seeds of life.
Im still young (i think) and there are too many things fr me that i need to learn from.
I do have this problem of mine, that is i wanted to have a full time job, but seems like the one i employed with is too demanding of my time. then i tot of taking many part time jobs instead.
but then, the cpf issues rise up. so wat is best for me now?
I wanted to start a very small neighbourhood business.
but then, capital is a problem for me.
Do really need some advice. Thank you.
there is no such thing as an easy job. i think particularly for you, you’re still young. go get a proper job with a decent income. spend some time in the industry first. then you have a better idea of the working world.
to start a business is not easy. and if you don’t have the capital, it’s harder. my suggestion for you to cultivate your entrepreneurial potential is to start a very small sideline business doing something you’re good at. not something that makes money. remember, it’s all about your passion, not your pension.