ONLIINE WEDDING PLANNERS

Wedding planning is probably one of the biggest events of any woman’s life and whether it will be a big or intimate event. These future brides would want to get it done for their dream to become a beautiful bride. There are online wedding directory services catering to everything for the big day. iKahwin.my is one of the online portal that provide wedding planner for the customers. It created and managed by a group of entrepreneurs in their early 20s which are Azmierul Che Mat, Charmaine Nash, Azrul Rahim and Fakhruzzaman Jusoh.

It is an  easy-to-navigate “trading ground” website for various vendors to showcase their services. “iKahwin caters mostly to Generation Y as they are the predominant age group who are thinking about tying the knot this year and in the next five years. It is a growing industry and business in Malaysia. It has 80% rate of returning visitor.

There are about 15,000 visits per month and 70,000 page views. iKahwin.my started as an online service tool since most people, especially those in their 20s to 40s, are using the Internet as a source of information and research. In fact, 72% of iKhawin users are 23 to 28 years old. Wedding industry is still quite traditional in the way that they advertise through print media and are used to being involved with tangible forms of exposure.

 

In my opinion, it is an interesting business for young entrepreneur to start their own business through website as their media to promote product and service. Nowadays, Malaysian entrepreneurs are more confident in success compared to before with the help of government of agency such as Multimedia Development Corp for the financial, technical and training assistance. For example, iKahwin.my is a successful online wedding planner for young entrepreneur to realize the selling strategies and platform of their business. They will be able to attract customers through internet rather than selling their services door to door that made them appear irritating and desperate sales people. In addition, Global Entrepreneur Monitor Global Report will be able to assist entrepreneurs in develop their business. 

MEET INDIA’S TOP 10 SOCIAL ENTREPRENEUR HEROES

MEET INDIA’S TOP 10 SOCIAL ENTREPRENEUR HEROES

Based on the article, the top 10 social entrepreneur heroes in India are Mahatma Gandhi, Dr Verghese Kurien, Sanjit, Anil Kumar Gupta, Harish Hande, Dr. G. Venkataswamy, Sunil Bharti Mittal,  Vineet Rai, Vikram Akula, and Satyanarayan Gangaram Pitroda. When it comes to social entrepreneurship, India is often referred to as the epicenter of impact investing, and the world’s laboratory for testing new ideas. With a billion dollars waiting to be invested in social enterprises and success stories like Husk Power Systems, Rangsutra, dLight, Waterlife and Vaatsalya Healthcare regularly making the rounds in global social entrepreneurship circles, the country is clearly a very important market.

TOP 1 

Firstly, Mahatma was a man obsessed with sustainability, being environment friendly, making the best use of local resources, growth of villages, power of cooperatives, promoting local industry and community-driven initiatives. 

TOP 2

Secondly, Dr Verghese Kurien is a father of Indian’s milk revolution. He  might have founded The Kaira District Co-operative Milk Producers’ Union in 1946. Kurien’s foresight, planning and execution, India through the ‘white revolution’, went from a milk importing country to the world’s largest producer.

TOP 3

Thirdly, Sanjit “Bunker” Roy is the founder of Barefoot College. he volunteered to spend the summer mapping 100 drought prone areas in famine-affected Palamu District. He founded Social Works and Research Centre (SWRC) in 1972 to find ways to address rural poverty by using new models and strategies. 

Fourthly, Gupta is a professor at Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad since 1981, He’s famous for recognizing rural innovators, helping commercializing their inventions, protecting the intellectual property rights of inventors by filing patents and creating a knowledge network at different levels for augmenting grassroots innovations and inventions.

From my point of view, India’s journey into the world of social entrepreneurship has been led by the vision and energy of outstanding individuals. Today, on Independence Day, we salute these social entrepreneurship heroes who have shaped India’s tryst with social entrepreneurship. For example, Mahatma Gandhi described as visionaries who solve old problems with new ways of thinking Gandhi to develop Indian. In order to conduct a successful social entrepreneur, entrepreneur can develop a purpose in helping mankind. Malaysian ranked 25^th out of 144 countries in health and primary education. Hence, good social networking relationship and high determination can ensure long term business co- partnership to provide good service for residence in the country. 

PROFILE OF A SUCCESSFUL MALAYSIAN ENTREPRENEUR

Name of entrepreneur : Ms Helen Elizabeth Read

Age                               : 55

Company                      : Ms.Read & DELIcious Cafe

Based on the article, entrepreneurship is said to be the symbol of business tenacity and achievement. Entrepreneurs are the pioneers of today’s new business venture successes. Their keen sense of recognizing opportunity, their passion and drive for creativity and innovation, and their capacity for excellence and achievement have become the standard by which free enterprise is now measured.

Ms Helen Elizabeth Read, Founder and Managing Director of MS READ related her success story as an entrepreneur as well as her personal struggles and achievements. We had a first-hand glimpse into a real success story and lessons which we can learn from our own successful Malaysian entrepreneur.

Entrepreneurship is the process by which individuals pursue opportunities without regards to resources they currently control. The essence of entrepreneurial behavior is identifying opportunities and putting useful ideas into practice. This standard has spread to almost all countries throughout the world, and Malaysia is no exception.

An entrepreneur assembles and then integrates all the resources needed-the money, the people, the business model, the strategy and the risk-bearing ability to transform the invention into a viable business. The tasks called for by this behavior can be accomplished by either an individual or a group and typically requires creativity, drive and a willingness to take risks.

In my opinion, this article is encouraging women to become an entrepreneur. There are some of the characteristics of successful entrepreneurs which are be passion for the business. For example, Ms Helen Elizabeth Read is a successful women entrepreneur in Malaysia. She believes that she can be success like male entrepreneurs as long as she has great potential to contribute in the economic growth of Malaysia. Besides that, she also focuses in product and customer. Women entrepreneur continue to involve in their business venture and breaking out the mindset that women can only good in selective profession. From the article, I believe that tenacity despite failure can overcome difficulties of a person in order to achieve his/her goal. 

REFLECTION OF BLOGGING EXPERIENCE

At the beginning, I was afraid of what if I cannot understand its tool or how is it working. After the review paper of my blog, I find the blog is enjoyable and useful. It is easy to write ideas or experiences. I can work and share my ideas, thoughts, news about the entrepreneurs. It is like working in collaboration. Day by day, I found that this is the new techniques to explore the idea through blog posts. To know this blog will read by others, people from every part of the world can follow me and read my reflections and make comments on my blog. This is an advantage for me because when I use the blog, I’m situated in a bigger group or a community. This blog make me improve my reading abilities. On the other hand, I have also improved my research abilities to write some posts in my blogs. 

In develop the blogging, there are three entrepreneurs who succeed in developing entrepreneurship which are Tony Fernandes from AirAsia, Tan Sri Dato' Kee Sin Liew from SP Setia  Bhd Group  and Mr. Tan Eng Soon from Tan Chong Motor Holdings Berhad (TCMH) .

Besides that, there are six articles that in my blog as the review article for the people. It makes the blog more interesting and provides more information in order to attract viewers. Profile of a successful Malaysian entrepreneur, meet India’s top 10 social entrepreneur heroes, online wedding planners, Malaysia’s search for young entrepreneurs, the innovation secret of Steve Jobs and 4 approaches introduced by Malaysian Prime Minister to encourage the growth of entrepreneur and local business are the articles that provided inside the blog.

In addition, I had put in the business set up of my business with my course mates in the blog. Our business is selling handmade crepe roses and brooch in the University. From this business, I had learnt a lot of experiences which strives my entrepreneur skill for me to become a better person in my future. It provides a good experience for the new learner in develop their business.

I have learnt many experiences from the development of my blog. First and foremost, before I access the blog, I learn how to propose a concept paper of my blog to attract and alert more people about my blog. Secondly, I have selected 6 articles regarding to entrepreneurship that consider interesting for the people. This is because a blog is a useful tool for me to reflect, but it also useful for people by giving an opportunity to reflect on their methods and practices. 

Thirdly, blogging created a space for open dialogue. It is an effective tool to facilitate reflection of people’s idea and comment regarding to the post in the blog. I can review and explore different kind of ideas and comments from different kind of people that all around the world.

On the other hand, In order to be professional and progressive, I must be willing to reflect upon the comment in the blog, and provide constructive criticism to make the respond of the blog as effective as possible. This is because a blog is likely to be about a topic that viewers are interested in and gain more information. It is a best time for me to reflect and recap on what to put inside the blog as the good topic for all the viewers. It is an effective way for a learning environment in recent years.

In addition, I can explore the blog on how to create, monitor, respond to, and participate in those experiences that create trust, foster relationships, unleash advocacy and drive business results. People are welcome to participate, criticize, praise, critique, expand, or correct the information and opinions found on this blog.

From the blogging experience, there are few ways that this exercise affected my life. The blogging experience has been so fantastic. I have developed a real skill for blog writing and a broader way of thinking about topics involving the media. There are two main part of my blog posts, which I think best reflect on the weekly topics from the 6 articles perhaps I could have delved a little deeper into the articles. However, I think I met the requirement of the task with my blog posts, especially with the use of links to relative articles.

I feel that the blog posts gave a very light-hearted view on the whole concept of sharing via the internet and I think that by using the links to online articles on the subject may support my concept paper of the blog sufficiently.

MALAYSIA’S SEARCH FOR YOUNG ENTREPRENEURS

           From the review of article, development in entrepreneurship has had a positive and significant impact on the local business sector. The government has always given attention to developing young entrepreneurs into resilient and competitive players in the global market.

Firstly, Masterskill Education Group Bhd’s founder Datuk Seri Edmund Santhara, Masterskill, which is the country’s largest operator of non-government nursing colleges. Under his leadership, Masterskill has seen student population growing to over 9000 through the implementation of innovative measures. 

Secondly, Ganesh Kumar Bangah is the co-founder of MOL and group CEO of Friendster. He basically built his company from scratch and is now the biggest online payment service provider in Asia.

Thirdly, Mark Zuckerberg, founder of Facebook, is the richest young billionaire in the world at the age of 26. His great insight and intelligence allowed him to incorporate pre-existing concepts and turn it into ideas that have swept the world. 

In addition, Jerry Yang from Taiwan, moved to the United States of America when he was 10. He created his web directory in 1994 with partner David Filo when both were Stanford grad students. The Yahoo! co-founder made his debut among America’s richest at age 29.

From my point of view, young Malaysian entrepreneurs can learn from these people. They can start from their humble beginnings that were able to turn their ideas into something of great value. They were able to overcome challenges presented before them and go on to become what they are today. It is possible for young Malaysian entrepreneurs to emulate these people. It needs some hard work and effort, and the inspiration to succeed. A paradigm shift among young people is highly imperative, as their contributions to entrepreneurship would stimulate the country’s economic growth. In conclusion it can help young entrepreneurs to move forward in becoming a developed nation by 2020.

4 APPROACHES INTRODUCED BY MALAYSIAN PRIME MINISTER TO ENCOURAGE THE GROWTH OF ENTREPRENEUR AND LOCAL BUSINESS

            From the review of article, Malaysian Prime Minister, Dato’ Seri Najib Tun Razak unveiled the 4 Approaches for Entrepreneurship Growth to create a vibrant environment in order to cultivate more interest towards pursuing Entrepreneurship. Firstly, it is creative in introducing the new ideas to encourage the growth of entrepreneur. Najib said among the approaches or new ideas that should be practiced to the extent the margin or profit to entrepreneurs was negligible. Secondly, inject innovation in business can enhance and expand the business. He said government encouraged networking so that the product of an entrepreneur can sold in domestic market and nationwide.

           Thirdly, apply strong and popular branding is another approach in business development of entrepreneur. Najib said, it was important and be given attention if a brand was accepted by consumers. Cost of a product may be RM10,000 but with intensive branding, we can sell for RM20,000 to consumers. Lastly, we can use website to expand the market. Najib said entrepreneurs should also take full advantage of websites like the internet to sell their products. Government had earlier launched the Rural Transformation Program in Gopeng. It is a fresh initiative towards empowering the rural entrepreneurial sector.

                     From my point of view, the 4 basic approaches that the Prime Minister described tend to mirror the patterns of businesses. It is introduced by the Prime Minister in committing the government’s support towards Entrepreneurship. Most of the entrepreneurs in Malaysia are lack of creativity in developing their business. Creative in introducing the new ideas can build a supportive, competitive and vibrant Entrepreneur eco-system in Malaysia. Besides that we can inject innovation in business. For example, MATRADE’s initiatives can promote Malaysia’s innovations globally. Moreover, we can apply strong and popular branding to entrepreneur’s product. Proton can introduce hybrid car in the market to get strong and popular branding in Malaysia and all over the world. Lastly, we can use website to expand the market. Nowadays, many entrepreneurs use website to promote their product. Customers can get the latest information from the website easily and more convenient. 

THE INNOVATION SECRET OF STEVE JOBS

            Steve Jobs had led one of the most interesting, successful yet challenging lives as an entrepreneur. Steve Jobs is a maverick entrepreneur from being he fired from his own company which he founded. Then he returns back to the helm and revolutionize the digital products and services industry.

             In ‘The Innovation Secrets of Steve Jobs’, there are the four core principles of Jobs’ core business philosophy and how others can adapt it. Firstly, do what you love. Following your passion might sound like a soft skill, but Steve Jobs has said it's responsible for much of his success. Jobs was once asked point-blank what advice he would give a young entrepreneur looking for career advice. Secondly, put a dent in the universe. In 1976, when Jobs and Steve Wozniak co-founded Apple, Jobs' vision was to put a computer in the hands of everyday people. He knew immediately that the technology would make computers appealing to "everyday people.

            Thirdly, kick start your brain. Creativity leads to innovative ideas. For Steve Jobs, creativity is connecting things, Jobs believes that a broad set of experiences expands our understanding of the human experience. Fourthly, sell dreams, not products. To Steve Jobs, people who buy Apple products are not "consumers." They are people with hopes, dreams and ambitions. He builds products to help people achieve their dreams. 

                  From my point of view, Steve Jobs enhance the support of both the consumer market by presenting nicely designed innovative products. He is creating new platforms that have allowed people and households to be a part of the vast Apple products eco-system. For example, he has invented iPod Nano, iPhone 4, iPad and so on. It is a simple innovation which can create deeper, emotional and connection to the customers. The creativity and innovation of Steve Jobs create more potential entrepreneur as the technology of the product keep increasing. 

Entrepreneur of Tan Chong Motor Holdings Berhad (TCMH) , Nissan in Malaysia - Mr. Tan Eng Soon

                           Tan Chong Motor Holdings Berhad (TCMH) - Mr. Tan Eng Soon

            3.1       Background of Entrepreneur 

Mr. Tan Eng Soon has been the Chairman of Tan Chong International Ltd. since November 28, 2005 and serves as its Chief Executive Officer. Mr. Tan served as Group Managing Director of Tan Chong Motor Holdings Bhd from February 1, 1989 to June 30, 2012. He has been involved in the Tan Chong Motor Holdings Berhad Group's operations since 1971. He served as Deputy Chairman of Tan Chong International Ltd., from January 2000 to November 28, 2005. He has been an Executive Director of Tan Chong International Ltd. since January 2000. He served as a Non-Executive and Non-Independent Director of APM Automotive Holdings Berhad from November 1, 1999 to May 22, 2013. Mr. Tan has a Degree in Civil Engineering from the University of New South Wales, Australia.

            3.2       Business development of Tan Chong Motor Holdings Berhad (TCMH )

Tan Chong Motor Holdings Berhad (TCMH) was incorporated in Malaysia on 14 October 1972. It began as a distributor of small motor vehicles back in the 1950s, TCMH Group is one of the largest national conglomerates involved in a myriad of business activities. It come from assembly and marketing of motor vehicles and auto parts manufacturing to property development as well as trading in various heavy machineries, industrial equipment and consumer products in both locally and abroad. It act as part of a restructuring exercise to strengthen the foothold as an industry major player in 1998.      

            3.3       Reason to choose Mr. Tan Eng Soon as entrepreneur

Mr. Tan Eng Soon is able to communicate and understand the customers’ needs by kicking off a ‘Business Made Easy” promotion package that consists of free first 5-year warranty program for Nissan Light Commercial Vehicles. He makes the company being cooperated within one another for whole Malaysia merchants. He also get the sole distributor of Nissan vehicles in Singapore which joins the drive towards a ‘no gas, no tailpipe’ zero-emission future by introducing the all-new Nissan LEAF to the world. 

Entrepreneur of SP Setia Bhd Group - Tan Sri Dato' Kee Sin Liew

                                        SP Setia  Bhd Group - Tan Sri Dato' Kee Sin Liew

                2.1       Background of Entrepreneur 

Tan Sri Dato' Kee Sin Liew has been Group Managing Director of SP Setia BHD since May 3, 1996. Tan Sri Dato' Liew also serves as Chief Executive Officer and President at SP Setia BHD. He started his career in a local merchant bank in 1981. After gaining 5 years of extensive experience in the banking industry, he ventured into property development. He does not have any family relationship with any director or major shareholder, nor any conflict of interest with S P Setia BHD. He has been an Executive Director of SP Setia BHD since 15 January, 1996. He has Bachelor of Economics Degree in Business Administration from University of Malaya. He has no convictions for any offences over the past 10 years.

            2.2       Business development of SP Setia Bhd Group

Tan Sri Dato' Kee Sin Liew has expanded his business in Klang Valley (KL Eco City ,Setia Alam, Setia Eco Park , Setia Nexus 1 , SetiaWalk , Duta Tropika , Duta Nusantara, Setiahills Ampang, Putrajaya Precinct 9, Putrajaya Precinct 15 and Pusat Bandar Puchong). Johor Bahru ( Bukit Indah, Setia Indah , Setia Tropika, Setia EcoGardens , Setia EcoCity). Penang (Setia Pearl Island, Setia Vista , Setia Greens).In addition, SP Setia Bhd Group has expand the business in overseas in Vietnam (EcoLakes MyPhuoc) , Singapore (Eco Sanctuary) and Battersea Power Station in United Kingdom.

            2.3       Reason to choose SP Setia Bhd Group as entrepreneur

SP Setia Bhd is a reputable home-grown property developer that delivers on quality, well designed and innovative property projects. It has been awarded the overall champion of the Aon Hewitt Best employers 2013 in Malaysia Study. He says that empowering the staff is the key of succeed to live up the vision internally and externally. Team spirit is instilled in our daily work life to induct the culture of the organization. On the other hand, he focuses on talent development and management to meet its human resource needs. He has expanded his business in Vietnam, Australia, Singapore, China, Indonesia and United Kingdom which can develop internationally savvy talents and pursue international mobility opportunities in national. 

Entrepreneur of Airasia - Tony Fernandes

            1.1       Background of entrepreneur   

Tan Sri Anthony Francis "Tony" Fernandes, CBE who born on 30 April 1964 is a Malaysian entrepreneur. He is the founder of Tune Air Sdn. Bhd, who introduced the first budget no-frills airline, AirAsia, to Malaysians with the tagline "Now everyone can fly". He managed to turn AirAsia into a failing government-linked commercial airline, into a highly successful budget airline public-listed company. He has since founded the Tune Group of companies. Besides that, he proposes the idea of open skies agreements with neighbouring Thailand, Indonesia, and Singapore. As a result, these nations have granted landing rights to AirAsia and other discount carriers.

            1.2       Business development of Airasia

Fernandes' biggest achievement has been to turn the AirAsia airline into an international carrier. Before the creation of AirAsia, countries in the region did not have open-skies agreements. In Thailand and Indonesia, AirAsia holds a minority stake in the respective local companies. Thai AirAsia, a joint venture with Shin Corporation, Thailand’s largest telecommunication conglomerate, took to the skies in Feb 2004 and has to date carried over 1 million passengers in its first year of operations. PT Awair, re-launched as a low fare airline on 8 December 2004 and subsequently renamed Indonesia AirAsia, presently serves 5 domestic destinations in Indonesia.

            1.3       Reason to choose Tony Fernandes as entrepreneur

“In AirAsia we consider ourselves basically a dream factory…We deliberately decided that we wanted a company where people can pursue their passion and we wanted to make use of all the talent that we have in-house.” Tony Fernandes tells people to dream the impossible.  He uses unique culture and management style to transform AirAsia into one of the fastest-growing and most successful low fare airlines in the world. He also encourages people to pursue their passion to create an environment where people can learn, grow and do what turns them on. Besides that, he breaks down hierarchy to encourage people to speak up, relax formality and break down the walls in an open floor plan.