Entrepreneur's Diary - Entrepreneurship 101

Ever since I started buying things from eBay and selling it to my local market, I have fall in love with the thrill and excitement of being an entrepreneur. (perhaps more of a Trader back then). Although average trade only generate of around RM30-RM70 per trade, it was actually very fun in buying at bargain and persuading buyers to buy from me. I was selling camera lens back then of Pentax Camera (perhaps you have not heard of it, I don't blame you though). It is a vintage camera lens, of which photographers whether hobyist or professional ones are buying it because of the superb image quality it produces, and it would cost significantly more if they were to buy the auto-focus lens of the same specification in the market today. 

Pentax A-Mount 50mm f1.7

Well the next thing I know, I was lost in the world of photography learning new skills and information about it every day. (Thanks to my classmates that kept bringing new cameras and lenses to school). Plus the academic life in school wa rather dull. I prefer to learn new things and my curiosity level is higher than any of my peers I guess. Well, now I realized I didn't love photography that much, but rather to learn more photography terms to better my vocabulary to sell the lenses to new customers. Sales Lesson 101, learn about what you're selling or you can't convince the customers to buy from you. (sounds pretty easy, but takes initiatives to learn). 

Fast forward to my working life, where I started my work in a Japanese Multinational Company. The working life is rather dull, working like a machine every day and facing the music from the boss and supervisor doesn't seems to make it better. Since I worked in Mid Valley, I ran down to the MPH Bookstore everyday when I have my break time, there was this book that caught my eye "Rich Dad Poor Dad". (Recommended to me by my photography classmate, which I thanked him until this day) This book had literally transformed my life as I still haven't quite figure out what my life would be yet at that moment of time. (Still Working On It) The book talks about the two dads or rather two different mindset which are the poor mindset and rich mindset. (Go Read It.. Highly Recommended)... As I read it, I started to ponder why some people are rich and successful in life, but some just doesn't quite make it in life. Part of me was thinking it is fate that binds us, part of me thinking with my own hand I can make a difference.. and the book support my theory of second half. With the correct mindset and skillset, I might get a shot to live life differently..... 

I'd Love To Share This Amazing Book With You

The author Robert T. Kiyosaki, kept mentioning the term "financial literacy" in his book in order to get ahead in life. (I'm Getting Better On It Day By Day), and to conclude the book, the best way to get ahead financially in life is to start my own business. Ultimately successful figures like Bill Gates, Steve Jobs and many others have their business empire to thank for the tremendous success they have in life. Although still now and then, some people would say that money is not the most important element in life. But try to be realistic, everything in life consumes money. (Even When I Typing This, I Need To Pay For The Electricity Bill, Damn It) In fact, money is what fuels life like it or not. 

For that, I kept looking for ways to earn money and recognizing possibilities that was not previously available to me. With the help of a colleague I managed to start selling higher end camera lenses, The business was running quite well of 1-2 transactions per month, grossing RM700-RM1300 per month. Things were good until my colleague changed his work to another company and the supply starts to stop. I admit I was kind of hopeless at that moment, knowing that my profitable revenue stream had stop flowing. Looking back, it was not the loss of side income that disappoints me, it was the drop in excitement level in finding new deals and negotiating with customers that put me off. 

The Monster Lens. Should Have Left One For Myself Though.

Well, I did not stop looking, although with my full-time job as a banker at that time. (Changing Environment For The Best..... Guess Not) Every working place seems to excite me for a while, then it starts to sucks somehow. Perhaps the idea of "Working" Sucks. The pay was in fact quite good, it pay off my rent, and have much more left off after all monthly expenses. The sense of belonging was not there, somehow my gut is telling me I am capable of better stuffs. So as part-time business, I have negotiated with a country manager which I look him up as my brother (Still Do), who would offer me a dealership to distribute electronic gadgets, I happily started and registered and formed my first company "Zeus Technology". Although this new business venture do not perform as well as I expected it to be (Due to high Expectations from Last Venture). The thrill of delivering my product to the customer still excites me, and I really don't mind to travel up and down even with tiny little profit margin, I feel fulfilled at the end of the day. 

Before fast forwarding to present day, I have encountered many obstacles and learned many life and business lessons along the way. Maybe just like what Steve Jobs said on how to connect the dots backward rather than forward. 

“You can't connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backward. So you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future.”

-Steve Jobs

Finally fast forward to present day, I have started my new chapter in entrepreneurship. By forming the company "Readers Reviewer" which aims to solve all the problems that the current students are facing. ....... (Continue in Next Chapter) 

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Next Stop: Melbourne Australia_Chapter 3

Flinder Street Train Station

The next thing that captured my eyeballs would be the yellow-ish ancient train station. Flinder Street Station that have the crowd coming in and out every second of the day, I saw this famous train station in some of the pictures of my friends that had their vacation in Melbourne before. But watching it before my own eye is a brand new experience. As usual I was blast away by the level of detail in the architecture itself, makes me wonder with the advance of construction techniques and sophistication nowadays, will the builders be able to craft something this beautiful? The homes in Malaysia sad to say have little to no detail in it. I'm not talking about those small houses, but those were built with millions in prestigious residential areas such as Mont Kiara, Country Heights and even our government buildings. I can't see the culture or civilization that the buildings in Malaysia are trying to present to the public, they have mixed architecture styles, being the most common with two Roman Pillars in front of the house, and whole building painted in white colour. Correct me if I'm wrong, But I see no specialization of construction in the building structures in Malaysia. However, the traditional houses like the Minangkabau's with the building roof resemble the cow's horn. Does make some difference. 

Funny thing I said to one of the train officers was that I want to go to "Flintstone Station", he patiently put up with my ignorance and checked the transit map again, there's no such station, and thus corrected me it's actual "Flinder Street".. It was indeed a funny experience. Because Flintstone reminds me of one of the childhood cartoons back in my childhood. What kept me amazed was the timeliness and integrativeness of their train system, using the same MyKI card and trains arrived precisely on the time specified on the LCD screen in every train station. Passengers running to catch the train before it departs, me being one of them. I can go every corner of Melbourne with it, Jolly Good. Saving my transportation cost of taking cabs or renting a car. (Not that I can drive yet) 

As you might have imagined, the burger I consumed last night was not really enough to last through the whole morning. So my first priority was to find any food that can fill my hungry stomach. One problem with Melbourne is that they have so many Coffee Shops and they sell too many buns but not Rice. Of course I could get some rice from the Chinese stalls, but why would I eat the same things that I can get from eating in Malaysia, doesn't make sense right? So in the process in looking for food, I got into this alley filled with coffee shops and some food stalls, I got a Vietnamese Rice Roll and a small bowl of Meat Soup. The food I got typically cost me around A$5 in total, which I think it was a good bargain, but think closely it would be around RM15.00 for just two informal food like the picture below on the right. Advice from my friend is to stop converting the price in Australian Dollar back to Malaysian Ringgit. (Kudos to those have the same complication. lol).

Vietnamese Rice Roll & Tomato Meat Soup

The afterthought of the food is that the rice roll with pork within the rice wrap, tasted not fully cooked and raw, and was served cold, or maybe I'm just too Asian, wanted everything in hot and rice. Though the Meat Soup was hot, exact name is Morrocan Meatball Soup, which in my opinion is just some beef meatball covered in Tomato Sauce. Doesn't have much other seasoning or flavor in it. Well, you got to try it to believe it. One man's treasure is another man's poison. Perhaps it might just be the right food that you have been looking for your whole life. Anyhow, it fulfilled the duty to filling my empty stomach, and I'm good to go. Another thing that I must mention is that all the food in Australia are served in large portion, typically 2 times the normal size of the food I order in elsewhere. So it would be a great saving for people that are traveling in pairs or pack. The weather in the morning is still freezing cold and the hoodie protected me from the cold blasting wind. I would really love to have a pair of glove the next time to shield my bare hands too. (To be continued...) 

Next Stop: Melbourne Australia_Chapter 2

Fast Forward to Day 2. I woke up around 6 a.m. in the morning (which is around 4 a.m. in Malaysia), literally I didn't sleep at all, still getting used to foreign bed and temperature. When I travel whether domestically or abroad, I have this habit of not wasting any time and optimize my time fully to explore the foreign land. Factoring in the cost to get here, every minute here is money and it's not a good practice to waste time especially when time=money. I went for a shower and found that the water here is freaking cold as well, considering the fact that I don't really use hot shower back in Malaysia. And you would've known the hot water knob and cold water knob are all messed up worldwide. It took great amount of effort to get the right composition of hot and cold water. Then I was all set to take on the world...

Bernard on The Way to School. Guiding Me to Tram Station

Surely I have done some research prior my arrival in Melbourne. The best advice I got was to come with something warm, like a hoodie. It appears to be the best advice ever, although, at times, the disparity of weather is huge where you can have a Super Cold Windy day in the morning, and a bright sunny day or gloomy rainy day in the afternoon. The funny thing is that the rain will last at most 30 minutes on and off, giving me enough time for the cool blasting wind to dry off my hoodie.

Bernard brought me to nearby Tram station and give me some basic guide to navigating in the city. And later off he is off to his university for classes, leaving the whole Melbourne to me. Everything thing is new to me, the air I breathed seems fresher, the road seems cleaner, the people here seems friendlier and it is just endless excitement for me as I am about to explore the city...

Without Leaps of Imagination, or Dreaming, We Lose The Excitement of Possibilities. Dreaming, After All, Is A Form of Planning.

-Gloria Steinem

Australians with Beautiful Faces and Big Eyes.

My first encounter with the Tram Service is that the tram is quite punctual and it is designed to give comfort to both seating and standing passengers. You have a place to lean onto like the beautiful girl in the picture. This is totally different from the public transport we have back in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The tram sailed smoothly amidst the traffic and cars would need to give way to the tram. Passengers would need to touch on the machine for payment like Touch'N Go back in Malaysia, the difference is that once you've touched more than A$7.50, the machine will stop deducting from the MyKI card once the amount is achieved. After 45 minutes since boarding, finally I have made it to the Melbourne City, the view is spectacular and the architecture is as beautiful as what you can see in the movie or on the drawing. Building since the British Colonial era all is well-preserved. The views in Melbourne is just beautiful and vivid in my memory until today.

As I stepped into the city, the first thing that captured my eyes was the grand church built by the roadside, called Anglican Diocese of Melbourne. (Which I thought It's called St. Peters Church or something. Guess I'm wrong on this..) I've watched such building previously through the documentary or travel programs on Television. It is truly hard to believe one stands right in front of me, I was both moved and excited at the same time. It would be great if I could take a peak inside, but it was not open to public at that time. It's more than enough to take a great look and engrave it into my memory, this is one of that moment that will last forever for me. 

Beautiful Church Along The Road Side. Clear Weather Too.

The First Encounter

I am not going to hide how excited I am to finally be able to be in Melbourne, considering it is my first oversea trip, practically alone without a companion. Some of my friends and family members figured that I might have gone nuts for a minute when I started telling them my plan. That's just me, I like to walk around and experience the world by myself. I guarantee that you will have the time of your life, if only you decided to stop listen to Nay Sayers and live according to your own will. Break free and live up to your full potential. The fact is that I was hungry for companionship the last time, and I ended up a few trip with my friends for a local getaway. It proved to be too much hassle and is much detrimental to the relationship. People just can't pull themselves together and it's practically impossible to find a time where everybody is free at the same time. Even after boarding the same plane, they would have different opinions on where to go and what to have for lunch and dinner. It brings out the "Hulk" in me. I am fairly upset they often screwed up my original schedule (which everyone agreed to it). So today I am proud to say, I am fairly proud to renounce myself as one of the backpackers that would travel the world solo. The world just never felt the same again, after you embrace the inner self and let go of any chains that were binding you before.

Next Stop: Melbourne Australia_Chapter 1

This was a trip that was done few months ago, to be exact it would be March earlier this year. Ever since my friend started studying there, I have a pretty good impression on Melbourne and always wish to drop by to see and feel the country myself. 

The thrill of stepping inside the cabin is indescribable with words. Since this trip was actually planned roughly 6 months in advance, going through hassles like applying for Electronic Travel Authority (ETA), double and triple checking the luggage, and of course the excitement that tends to build up over time is somewhat killing me. 

"Great Things Comes To Those Who Waits, but only the things left by those who hustle"  - Abraham Lincoln

I guess the wait does worth the while. The flight took somewhat 9 hours to reach, which I underestimated the duration. I should have prepared for the long hours, but I thought I can pass the time by sleeping (obviously I'm wrong), note to future self: Bring iPad for movie or leisure. The battery of my iPhone and Laptop just died off 4 hours before reaching the land of Oz...

Finally after the 9-hour flight, the plane landed and the first thing that came into my mind is that the weather in Australian is FREAKING COLD. It's around 15-20-degree celsius according to my phone when I check the next day. Due to cheaper ticket pricing to arrive in the midnight, I chose the midnight flight and have my friend, Bernard to fetch me from the Tullamarine Airport. Stepping into Australia is definitely an eye-opener for me, nothing comes to my expectation but certainly surpasses them all...

It took nearly 1 hour to go from Melbourne Tullamarine Airport to my friend's house which resides in Burwood (45 mins to Melbourne City). I was drop dead tired at this very moment, not to mention the time difference of 3 hours between Melbourne and Malaysia... Before I reach his house, he sends me to grab some fast food along the way considering the conventional restaurants are all closed by the midnight. We ended up in a burger joint that looked somewhat familiar to what we Malaysian known as "Burger King", but called "Hungry Jack" in Australia (probably due to copyright issues I guess).. With just 3 Australian Dollar, I managed to buy a decent burger for midnight supper. (End of Day 1)