Saturday, July 28, 2007

Decision Making in Bussiness

Decision making in business



I told you before that business is one of the fastest way to make money if you are serious about it. However, there are various factors you must always consider before embarking on any business because you can lose money if you do not plan it properly.

Due to globalization, everything has become more competitive, I even think that in future , doctors can lose their job due to advancement of biotechnology and pharmacology. To start a new business, you must consider the following,


1) Uniqueness- is your business going to be unique and special. If you are following what other people are doing, abandon your business ideas because you are unlikely to be successful!
2) Can you make money from your business idea? This is always the hardest question to answer, but as a simple rule to remember, if you get back what you invest in 5 years, go all out because it is a feasible business plan.
3) Marketing strategy- do you have a market to support your business? If you think that the market is so small, is it possible for you to expend to other countries by using internet marketing?
4) Viability- can your business still survive without you? Try to set up a business that can run on its own even without you because you can sell it in future for profit!
5) Cash flow- do you have enough cash flow to sustain your business? Generally, you need at least 6 months to get a positive cash flow in your business. Do not start a business if you do not have enough money!!

I am planning a business and I hope to make some money from it. If you have any business idea, kindly post your comment here!

Wednesday, July 25, 2007

Part Time Job and ' Harry Potter'

Yes, after not doing locum for the past 2 years, I did it again yesterday. Actually, I promised myself 2 years ago that I won’t trade my time again for money. I made a resolution 2 years ago that I will make some changes to my life but unfortunately I fail!!

I told you that you won’t get to any where if you continue the rat race to get money because there is no end to this journey. However, I had to do it again because I am facing the most difficult time in my life now, my wife has lost her job and I have become the sole bread winner of the family!

Actually, you may be surprised that you only get RM30-35 per hour doing locum in Malaysia. I earned RM70 yesterday after spending 2 hours in one of the clinic in Penang.

People like to do part time job to get extra income, I think it is the worst idea to get extra income sacrificing your time. I spent 1/3 of my time every day in the hospital, I come back home hoping to spend some family time with my baby and wife but I am worried too because you have to spend money wherever you go in Malaysia!! The standard of living in Malaysia is 'high' if compared to what you can get every month. Let’s look at how much a ' Harry Potter' book costs in Malaysia--------- RM69.90!! ( and you are lucky you can get this price because Tesco and Carrefour are offering this irresistible bargain, you may have to pay RM109.90 if you buy it in a normal book store!!), and look far south or east ( and west), Britons are getting this book with only 5 pounds!!



And look back in Malaysia how much a government doctor gets every month, RM3K+! Yes, three thousand Malaysian Ringgit or 500 pounds. If I work in UK, I will be happy to spend my 5 pounds to enjoy 'Harry Potter' which is only about 0.16% of my monthly salary ( if I am getting 3 thousand pounds) but in Malaysia, I have to spend 2.4% of my salary to get the special discount to enjoy ‘ Harry Potter’. Therefore, I always feel that Malaysians do not like to read not because they are not interested but simply because 'reading' is an expensive hobby in Malaysia!!

Monday, July 16, 2007

My First Baby!

My First Baby

Yes, I am a father now. My wife delivered our first baby in March 2007. I am so excited to have our first baby like most of you. However, things become more complicated to have a baby in Malaysia. You may be wondering the reason behind this. OK, let me explain this to you,


1) Child Insurance

The next day after my wife delivered the baby, you know who was the first one to call me the next hour. You are WRONG............! Not my mother or my in-laws, te person is no other than my insurance agent, she got one thousand and hundred policies to introduce to me. She told me her policy is the best in town and you can't afford to bring up your baby without this.

Frankly speaking, I hate, hate and hate agent- no matter they are property, insurance or anything. Can you imagine you pay them your hard earned money and they get the FREE tour to some exotic places that you do not even have money to go!! The worst thing is the insurance company pay thousands of dollars to have their faces appear in newspaper and still can't pay us higher return at the end of the day.

I tell you, I hate insurance company, and certainly insurance agent. You already feel the pressure after your first baby but they even give you even more pressure by telling you that you are not going to become a good father if you do not buy their policy.

I hate them!!!!

2) Child Education

I may tink that I am speaking foreign language here, to get a good tertiary education in Malaysia is difficult. I was lucky to study medicine in local university 10 years ago but if you read the paper after STPM ( Pre-university public examination in Malaysia) results are out, you are shock to find that even you get straight As in all subjects, you can't get the course you want to study in local university.

Therefore, insurnace agent comes to your house and tell you that for the best in education, my baby has to go to Australia, Canada, UK, Singapore and Us in 20 years time. The problem is do you know how much the fees like in 20 years time?? RM500K to one million provided your child does not want to become a doctor!! If you are unlucky to have an ambitious child, you may to ' cough out' ( may be with your blood together!!) RM3-4 million!!

Imagine how much a humble goverment servant can get a month?? RM 3000- 4000 per month. If I save all my money every month, I can only save RM720K after 20 years ( without spending a cent!)

Therefore, Malaysian government and some Chinese leaders in Malaysia always want to know the reason behind low birth rate among Chinese in Malaysia, the reason is simple, can you afford to have the second baby if you ccontinue to have this kind of salary!!

3) Child Healthcare Insurance

Yes, you are right, insurance again. Everything is about insurance in Malaysia, if you want to be rich here in Malaysia, you can either join politics or insurance company!! Although healthcare is free in Malaysia, you have to prepare to wait and travel! I have a patient who needs to travel to KL to get some treatments done because the service is not provided in Penang, you know what is the main problem the patient is having which makes him hesistnat to go to KL? He does not have the money to buy a bus ticket to KL!! ( You only need RM 22-25 or about US7-8 to travel from Penang to KL)

I want to bring up two issues here, a lot of services are not available in major towns in Malaysia due to severe 'brain drain' of public hospitals. The second issue here is there are a lot of very, very poor people ( you can hardly imagine the number) in this country. No matter how smart the goverment is!! ( by building the tallest building in the world , the most advanced F1 circuit or the largest court in Asia, you won't solve the problem of proverty if there is presence of favourism and discrimination)

Good luck to you, Malaysia! I love this country and I always feel that YOUwill have a better tomorrow for us and my baby.