Common Myths About Entrepreneurs Part 1

First lecture for BBDM3093 this afternoon. Pretty hot day. MU lost. Not enough sleep. Blur blur went for lecture. But once inside lecture hall, could feel the adrenalin rushing to the brain. Gave briefing with regard to coursework for this semester. That took almost an hour, and then we had a short break. So in truth there was only less than an hour for lecture. Wouldn't be able to finish what was planned, so quickly rushed through the definitions and focused on the myths about entrepreneurs, mainly because the tutorial case study next week is about these myths. In the text is listed ten common myths so I'm going to follow that. Anyhow, there might be others not listed here which you may have sourced elsewhere. It's perfectly okay - you can include others too as long as you can argue your point well.

Entrepreneurs are born, not made. It's all in your DNA - either you are born to be an entrepreneur or you are not. So you have to check your family tree see how many of your forefathers are entrepreneurs!!! If none, ha, you are not going to make it as an entrepreneur. This must be the biggest myth of them all - similar to the one about "leaders are born, not made" - but this must be worse. Nowadays, there are many training centers providing courses on entrepreneurship. The course that you are following now is coaching you to become an entrepreneur, not just an entrepreneur for that matter, but a pretty good and competent one too!!! Everyone can be trained to do an environmental analysis, to make decisions based on critical path, to do some calculations on risks, and so on and so forth. On top of that, we have all the hardware and software that you need to assist you. Most of us are trained to become an entrepreneur, either formally in institutions of learning or informally through our life and work experiences.

Entrepreneurs are doers, not thinkers. This is to imply that entrepreneurs are impulsive and tend to act on intuition, rather than taking stock of things and strategizing his courses of action. Put in other words - follow what the heart feels, not what the brain thinks. This is quite a debatable issue. On the surface of things, many entrepreneurs (having undergone training) would be doing a substantial amount of thinking - doing market analysis, competitors analysis, deciding on the business model to use and preparing a what do you call it - business plan? And where does the business plan end up after presenting to potential investors? It got lost somewhere. And what about the window of opportunity that act as the impetus for all the strategic thinking? Well, the window has closed. No more opportunity - you have wasted excessive time doing "thinking". On a personal note, if you really believe that there is a window of opportunity - don't "think" - JUST DO IT!!!! Time is the essence, time waits for no man. I believe that those entrepreneurs at the very top will make fast decisions. The detailed planning can wait. To me, top-drawer entrepreneurs are doers, not thinkers.

Entrepreneurs are always inventors. Why must "always"? It means 100% of the time, right? And if it is 100% of the time, how can it be right? Do you really need to invent your own stuff to be an entrepreneur? Can't you look at other people's invention and do a bit of tweeking here and there to improve on and add value to the product? Invention is just one type of innovation. We can also have duplication, right? You don't need to invent another Superman. You can duplicate a superhero in the form of Spiderman and lo and behold - you have another blockbuster series!!! Where did this idea of Spiderman come from? Oh, it's just a duplication of Superman, really, but one who is not sensitive to kryptonite. But whoever did the duplication made a ton of money!!! So, do you really need to be an inventor? No need la, copycat also can la.

Entrepreneurs are academic and social misfits. Meaning they drop out of college and are ostracized by society. You are a recluse - something like being anti-social, poor performance in school and lacking in social and communication skills. Some people may drop out of college and become an entrepreneur because they believe that there is another world outside college for them to conquer. It's not that they are morons or idiots but they are in fact pretty smart!!! And to state that entrepreneurs are social misfits is gross injustice, I would say. The nature of their endeavors would demand that they have good interpersonal skills - the ability to lead, motivate, influence, and convince. How can they be misfit? In fact, they fit in very, very well.

Entrepreneurs must fit the "profile". Meaning that there is a set of characteristics that all entrepreneurs must have. Look at Tony Fernandes. Compare him to Lim Goh Tong. Do they have the same set of characteristics? One is highly educated. The other one couldn't even speak English. One is trained, the other was opportunistic. But, they do have some common characteristics - that tenacity to overcome challenges and the unwavering will to succeed. There is no fixed profile for entrepreneurs - they can be as different as heaven from hell, but can be equally successful. Each has his own unique way of reaching out to the market, each has his own style of leadership, each with his own brand of personality - but, all are equally effective.

Part 2 will be in my next posting. I hope this blog helps you in understanding some important areas under this course. Let me know if you wish me to continue in this manner by putting in a few words of encouragement in the comment box below. Teachers need motivation from students too. :)) Thank you for reading.

Half-time MU-Spurs

Oh well, here it goes again!!! Usual fare MU's giving to its supporters. Going down to a goal by Adebayor in the 34th minute. He is a real menance to MU. 3 goals in his last 3 appearances in Old Trafford. Now, it's four. Come on, MU, I don't have too strong a heart.

Attacking, and attacking but missing the clinical finishing touch of RVP. Maybe Rooney will weave his magic wand. Oh no, he just got himself a yellow card in the 41st minute. He's getting mad!!! And when he's mad, he does crazy things. There's going to be a red card in this game. Hopefully, Rooney's not the recipient. Looking at things, there just might be a penalty coming in this game. Calm down, Rooney!!!!

Valencia is very actively involved in this game. Lost count already how many times he flies down that right wing. Oh no, Smalling just gave away a corner. Clumsy - easy chestdown and he nearly handballed it.

Spurs has been quite brilliant. Quick on the counter and defense to frustrate United.

Half-time. What can you expect from Moyes? Hairdresser treatment for his team? Keep cool, United supporters!!!! MU will come back in the 2nd half. Remember? We came back from 3 goals down against Spurs to win 5-3?? Now, it's just one goal - have faith!!!

Man United News #6 Review BIG FOUR

This is the 1st game of the second half of the BPL season. 38 matches to be played. 19 played. 19 more coming starting from tonight.

Arsenal is top at the moment with 42 points. Have been performing above themselves. Never expected them to be here. Kudos to Wenger. He is quite lonely now that SAF is no longer around. I remember those times when I was looking forward to every Arsenal vs MU match and the two protagonists - Vieira and Keanes. Missing all these firebrand characters!! And the flying pizzas too, right in the face of SAF!! Those were the days!! Anyway, Arsenal plays Cardiff tonight. I think the Gunners will shoot the pants off Vincent Tan tonight!!

Manchester City's just a point behind Arsenal. They are most people's choice to end up top of the heap. I have to disagree - Pellegrini in his maiden season will go bonkers with the crammed nature of British football. He's already complaining of players' fatigue in their match on Boxing Day. They are playing away against Swansea later. Expect a shock result here as MC are poor travellers!!!

Chelsea is my realistic choice as champions this season. They won't be playing exciting football, but they do have the one guy who counts -  Jose Mourinho the Special One. He will be doing what SAF did to MU last season. Through sheer willpower, Mourinho will pull his team across the finishing line. His brand of football - score 1 goal and then park a bus in front of goal. Won't be exciting but it's a winning formula. They are playing at Southampton and what score are you predicting? Of course 1-0 to Chelsea. :))

And of course, we have my beloved MU playing Spurs in the Theater of Dreams at 1.30 early early tomorrow morning!!! OMG!!! I have a lecture tomorrow at noon - WFDL - watch first die later. Currently MU is 8 points behind Arsenal. It's okay, we've done it before on Newcastle most notably, and we can do it again!!! Yeah, I'm a diehard optimist. I got this feeling - it's going to be a weird season with lots of twists and turns. What's your prediction for this match? 3-1 MU? Hey guys, put all your predictions in the comment box below. And haters of MU - you can have your say too!!!!

New Year, New Beginning - Start Attending Class

Happy New Year, Everyone!!!!!

Any resolution for the new calendar? Read my cousin's posting on FB that his resolution is to make no resolution. Usually, resolutions don't stick and his resolution not to make any resolution only stuck for 2 seconds. In his next statement, he's already resolved to starting work on his new book.

Saw another posting by my colleague regarding attendance for his lecture on the last day of last year. LOL!!!! He always sends attendance statistics to me, but what can I do? The desire to learn must come from the inner self of the students, even if they are forced to come, they are physically there but may not be learning. Worse still, they may prevent others from learning!!!

The New Year is a good opportunity for all of us to start new. It lets us have that fresh start kind of feeling - "Ok, forget about the past, let's look to the future. Let bygones be bygones". It's an opportune time for you to wipe the slate. LOL!!!! I see this as the positive point of starting the university's new semester this week!!! Psychologically, this should motivate students to attend lectures. So, I'm expecting a good attendance for my lecture tomorrow!!! You don't have to wait for New Year to rejuvenate yourself - your birthday can be equally inspiring, the beginning of the month will also do.

So, guys, make your resolutions. Your resolutions CAN stick even though your resolve may waiver. But we can have other points in time to regularly have fresh starts.

Scoring in Exams & Assignments

My last post for 2013. Goodbye 2013. Thanks for everything - I exit 2013 with lots of hope and optimism for the future, and I wish everyone the same.

Now that exams are on, and at the same time, the commencement of the 2nd semester of the Bachelor's Program, there have been some queries as to how to score high marks whether in exams or coursework assignments. Here are some tips for you:

Markers/Examiners love examples from exam candidates. Give at least an example for each point. The example that you give should not be taken from lecture notes or your reading text. It should come from your own observations of the environment. It's your example - not somebody else's example. Given your own version of things, it demonstrates to the marker that you are able to relate what you study to happenings in the real world. You will be given credit for that!!! So remember to give examples to support your explanations.

Knowledge alone will not get you high marks in the exam. I'm taking about courses at higher levels - not first year diploma. You know, those courses with codes starting with 4 or 5 and also those degree ones. You just cannot depend on memorizing your lecture notes and vomit out those points in the exam. The lecture notes are just meant to help you to follow the lecture and act as a guide for you to do additional reading. You need to read extensively (journals, articles), think critically, adapt and apply to the current environment. What you read may have come from research done sometime ago and from then till now, the environment would have changed a lot. Remember we live in a dynamic world - things are constantly changing. Therefore, what you read may no longer be true or applicable in the present circumstances. That's why you need to adapt. Knowledge gained needs to be applied. It's not meant to be kept inside your head or given back to your lecturer. You must know where and how you can apply the knowledge. For example, you study about price elasticity of demand, you know the formula and you can calculate and you can interpret whether it's elastic or inelastic. But where do we apply such knowledge? That's the thing. Application. Knowing that demand is inelastic, and you are a cigarette firm, you would want to pass whatever increase in tax to the consumer through raising prices. You are not going to absorb the higher tax. Do that for a product which has elastic demand and you are a gonna!!!!

Think out of the box - don't be constrained by stereotype thinking. Don't think whatever is written in the text is the gospel truth. Be adventurous and come up with your own unique way of doing things. Your lecturer may not agree with your suggestion, but most probably he will give you due respect. You may be right and lo and behold - you have set the wheel of revolution into motion!!!!

And of course, write with passion. Present with passion. Just write what you think, I always say, write from the heart. Just make sure that what you write is rational, logical and reasonable. When you do presentations, speak with power, authority and faith.

You may add your comments or suggestions or questions in the comment section below. 

Inspire the crowd for social good

Oh boy, this is interesting!!! Just found out that there is a crowdfunding platform in Malaysia whereby individuals can source funding for their projects. The company's name is pitchIN. Any Malaysian citizen above the age of 18 can pitch their projects in pitchIN. Joining pitchIN is FREE. It is only when your project is successful in getting the required funds will you be charged a commission of 5% and a processing by Paypal. If your project doesn't get the required funds, there will be absolutely no charges. Here's the link if you are interested to find out more:

http://pitchin.my/learn

There is an interesting story I got from the pitchIN site. Seems that crowdfunding was already applied in Malaysia way back in 1982. Yeah, I remember that time - I was studying in UM then. There was no Astro back then, but the World Cup was on in Spain. RTM would only broadcast live the opening, semi-final and final matches. But, Malaysians wanted more, so Patrick Teoh suggested hey, why not Malaysians donate RM1 each to raise money so we could watch more. One local newspaper (if I remember correctly, it was the Malay Mail) picked up the cue and started a People's Live Telecast Fund. There was overwhelming support and the amount raised was RM300,000 and we got to watch an extra live matches. Those were the days!!!

I am now toying with the idea of getting Entrepreneurship students to do some crowdfunding. Hmmm, wouldn't it be interesting? Let it be part of the coursework - if successful, get a straight A for coursework. LOL!!!!

Anyway, for those of you still in the blur as to what crowdfunding is, here's a bit of enlightenment. Crowdfunding is a way of sourcing for funds for a personal creative project. Funds are raised through people in the internet. They don't know you and neither do you know them. They contribute non-equity money to you to help you kickoff your project, mainly because they share in the cause that your project is fighting for. You don't do crowdfunding to startup a chicken rice stall!!! But you may try out crowdfunding if your project has something to contribute to society, for example, you want to start a center to teach single mums how to be economically independent. People around the globe who love your idea may pledge monetary support to you. That's it - just like that. But, it is important that your project has a cause that you are passionate about.

Man United News #5 Canaries clipped by Devils

News filtered through that Rooney's out of this game. Oh, sh*t!!! Our top 2 strikers out!!! Who else do we have? Chicharito and Welbeck? Chicharito got the nod over Welbeck. Oh no!!! You must be joking!! Chicha's a supersub in the mode of Solskjaer aka The Baby Faced Assassin. He can only score as a sub!!! The turning point of the game? That would be the start of the 2nd half when Welbeck replaced Giggsy.

Anyway, the Devils started well enough in the first few minutes, having 70% of the ball. Gradually, Norwich began to play more and more as the game progressed and in fact looked the more dangerous and more likely to score. Evra was a disaster and the midfield was without energy. The whole team must have got fried by Moyes in the dressing room. Whatever treatment they got inside, they came out with more purpose. Welbeck's coming on made all the difference really. Suddenly there was speed, yes, that's what's needed. You need to fly faster than the Canaries. 57th minute, the two forwards, Chicha and Welbeck combined for the goal.

Final Score:
Norwich 0 Man United 1

Hymmm, first time I got the prediction right!!!!!