Challenges...

In Week 11, Pn Rafidah gave us a lecture talk on preparing for evaluating the challenges of growth. Benchmarking is one of the main steps that should be taken against successful growth firms. A firm usually would be willing to help if it is an indirect competitor. She then explained some examples on the fast food found in Malaysia where Marrybrown is kind of like another version of Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC). In the process of growing a firm, there should be typical challenges that includes cash flow management, price stability, quality control and capital constraints.

Meanwhile for the dedication, we found a suitable supplier in Changlun who offered high quality and low costs products after doing several surveys. After collecting the essential supplies of dedication materials, my group members and I started packing the dedications. It had to be done quickly to make sure dedications can be delivered on time before the Mid-Autumn Festival which falls on 3rd October 2009. Due to the difficulties to deliver a big amount of dedications, we had delegated the task among our members by separating and scheduling the delivery to respective residential halls. However, there were challenges that we faced during delivery process that involves several factors like weather, transportation and the unavailability of the recipient but we finally manage to pull it off.

From the lecture, I realised that identifying challenges that are bound to happen is important to sustain a healthy growth of a business. Besides, I have learned to always be prepared for worse situations and at the same time, improve my time management to reduce unnecessary workloads. I am just worried that the challenges are too much for me to handle as I'm a novice in this field.

Surprise!surprise!

It's week 10. All of us were surprised when we first entered our class as we saw a man lecturer stood before us. We thought we have entered a wrong class. Later we got to know that he is Prof Madya Azizi Bin Zakaria and he replaced Pn Rafidah for that day. His purpose was to inform us about the MSC Malaysia-IHL Business Plan Competition (MIBPC) and at the same time, to encourage us to participate. MIBPC is held with the collaboration between Multimedia Development Corporation (MDeC) & Institutions of Higher Learning (IHLs) in Malaysia with the mission to build an ecosystem for the growth of a critical mass of sustainable K-based ICT companies that will contribute to high economic growth. To make the session more interesting, he also showed us some pictures of the events that were taken in the previous years.

It is now the week where we closed our dedication orders for the Mid-Autumn Festival. This will enable us to do the final calculations on how much products we should be buying because the purchasing task will be carried out during the Raya break. After the finalization, we did not anticipate by the amount of dedications we get as it exceeded our expectation.

From the talk, I have learned that sharing business ideas and form teams that leverage on both technology & business competencies are important steps to produce good business plan. MIBPC gives us an oppurtunity to provide exposure and knowledge of key competencies required in becoming a successful technopreneur. I have also learned to always accept new things in life and always be prepared for unexpected situations.

Because the Mid-Autumn festival is approaching right after the Raya break, we will then have only a few days to pack all the dedications before delivering them. My concern is the shortage of time we will face as our workload for packaging and delivery increased consequently after the unexpected orders. I am afraid that I won't have the time to participate in the MIBPC competition though it seems interesting but I guess I will attend the next workshop and see how it goes.

Some Pointers on Business Plan

Week 9. Pn Rafidah gave us some guidelines on the business plan report. She also adviced us to focus on the business plan report as presentation is not necessary. Besides, she asked us to refer to the slides she gave and also, to look into the internet for samples and examples of business plan reports for additional informations. After that, we were given time to discuss about the business plan. My group leader decided that parts should be divided fairly among us to smoothen the report progress.

As for presentations on Thursday, Pn Rafidah pointed out that we should not enclose everything we do as there will then be no surprise during the last and final presentation. Instead, we should make the audiences feel interested to know more about our business activity. Next, a quiz is conducted to test our understanding towards what we had already learned.

This week I have learned that a good and precise business plan is needed before a business can be run. Therefore, we must learn to do a business plan correctly to ensure the direction of the business is clear. I am worried that our business plan is over-ambitious and we may fail executing the business operations.

Business Model

On Monday, we had a day off as its the National Day. Merdeka! This week Pn Rafidah discussed about business model after the second presentation on weekly activity progress. Business model usually include all activities that define how a firm competes in the marketplace. She took Dell as an example as the company succeed by starting off their business in a different way. Using online applications, users can choose specifications. Everything is done without even physically seeing the product. She also said that every business start-up should have mission and scope.

Meanwhile, my group and I are also distributing the Mid-Autumn Festival dedication as part of our business activity. Besides going room to room to promote our dedications, we also ask everyone around us. Everything becomes easier when each one of us do our part. We planned to deliver the products on the week after the Raya holidays.

I come to a conclusion that starting up a business is not as easy as what I initially thought it would be. Providing good services and support will sustain a business and gain customer loyalty. My only concern is that prodcuts cannnot be delivered on time as there is not much time left after the holidays.

Debriefing Business Idea and Progress of Business Activity

In week 7, Pn Rafidah continued with the lecture regarding debriefing business ideas. She asked everyone of us to question ourselves if we are a creative person.Then, she gave some advices on how to create a successful business idea. To make us understand better, she often tagged along some examples of value proposition like Air Asia : "Everyone can fly".

On Thursday, the class begun with presentations on the business activity progress where each group sent a representative to present on their activity progresses. We are also required to submit a report for lecturer's references. After that, Pn Rafidah handed everyone of us a set of quiz questions. We finished them earlier than planned, so she continued with the next lecture which is feasibility analysis.

At the same time, my group members and I had started selling some costume accessories according to schedule made. Because most of our group members are females, we decided to sell the products from room to room besides going to study room and television room located at each floor of both YAB Residential Hall and Bank Muamalat Residential Hall. Although I had to record every single transaction made, but I felt glad that we have achieved something.

I've learned that content knowledge, process skills and habits of mind are important factors to be considered in order to produce a good business idea. Before any idea can come to fruition, one must identify a problem, generate the idea and last but not least, to select the idea. I will also learn to be more creative, imaginative and innovative to apply my thoughts in different situations. I am afraid that my group and I done some mistakes by choosing ideas without much consideration.

Presentation and Preparing for Business Activity

This week, we were asked by Pn Rafidah to present our business ideas on the "One Malaysia" iCAAp Competition after a short lecture on debriefing project business ideas. I was actually very nervous at that time as I was one of the presenters representing my group on the "multimedia design" part. Fortunately, Pn Rafidah asked us to be seated in a circle consists of two groups where we can present to and evaluate each other. She then commented on our mistakes and advised us to put in more effort to deliver a better presentation.

On Thursday, Pn Rafidah handed us an assignment on business activity. The theme is Social Entrepreneurship and will be carried out until the end of week 13 of this semester. After briefing us through, we were then given some time to do some group discussions on the project. Initially, we faced a lot of challenges during brainstorming session, mainly in choosing the best ideas and compromising between them. However, after considering the trade-offs and weighing the pros and cons, we have been able to narrow the ideas down. Some of the considerations are cost, time, target market and materials.

I realized that in order to start a business, we need a lot of thinking and considerations. Therefore, time management and team work are some of ways to accomplish tasks effectively. I am concerned that we are not able to come out with good business activities due to the shortage of time, lack of planning and also a small amount of capital. To overcome these problems, I think my group members and I should be more organized. For example, having everything including plans and ideas to be written down on papers. In addition, we can opt to make schedules and of course, try to keep up with the schedules arranged. Checklist of goals can be made to be aware of current status of the project.

Opportunity Analysis and E-Commerce as Globalizing Catalyst

In week 5, Pn Rafidah gave us a lecture on opportunity analysis plan where she discussed that it is mainly focused on the idea of the business and its marketing idea. She gave an example of a successful franchise, Secret Recipe, which is successful because they have a thorough analysis plan.

She also discussed about e-commerce and how it could benefit businesses. Taking Yemen as an example, they are known as a producer of honey, and integrating their business with e-commerce, they would be able to reach out their products to various parts of the world. Hence, e-commerce plays a huge role in globalizing the product to reach to different types of target markets. Another example would be online-based dedication e-commerce website that provides convenience, affordable and quick.

Next was, oral presentation skills. She gave us a walk through on the importance of presentation skills in this course especially whether as a student or an entrepreneur. This is crucial mainly because this course requires a lot of project presentations to be conducted. Students sometimes fear while doing presentation which is why preparation and practice is really essential to improve presentation skills. Using scripts as an aid to practice or cue cards are some of the good practices before a presentation. On top of that, spoken words also have to loud and clear while remaining eye-contact with the audience.

Based on the lectures, I have learned that opportunity analysis plan is important to sustain as well as succeeding in a business venture. Whereas e-commerce is one of the ideas that brings a wider range of opportunities to an existing business. I have achieved to understand the part & parcel of business start-ups and operations and my only concern is to apply this principle for future entrepreneurship projects. I have gained the general idea of what makes a presentation good and how to be able to present something in the right manner. My greatest concern is the risk of venturing into e-commerce,a business with great oppurtunity with well structured analysis plan, because it seems challenging and requires a lot of brainstorming and considerations. Also, in the oral presentation, to not performed well in front of many people.