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Experts’ Powerful Insights About Money And Achieving Success

Have a dose of inspiration about money and success, employees and entrepreneurs of Singapore! Take it from the legendary experts such as Henry Ford, Steve Jobs, and Coco Chanel…

1. CUSTOMERS ARE IMPORTANT

Henry Ford (Founder of the Ford Motor Company): “It’s not the employer who pays the wages. Employers only handle the money. It’s the customer who pays the wages.”

Henry Ford was right, customer’s satisfaction is important, as they are the ones who clamor over your products. Whether you are selling electronics or cosmetics, the consumers are one of your greatest assets. Pay attention to what they need and want through intensive research (e.g., focus groups).

2. HAVE NO FEAR

Coco Chanel (Founder of the Chanel Enterprise): “Success is often achieved by those who don’t know that failure is inevitable.”

Image Credits: CHRISTOPHER DOMBRES via Flickr

Success in business requires experience, discipline, and hard work. But if you are afraid of taking risks, you might miss out a lot of opportunities. Instead of dwelling on failing, dwell on you’re mastering your strengths.

3. DO YOUR BEST AND WIN

Colonel Sanders (Founder of KFC): “I made a resolve then that I was going to amount to something if I could. And no hours, nor amount of labor, nor amount of money would deter me from giving the best that there was in me. And I have done that ever since, and I win by it. I know.”

What Colonel Sanders imparts is the true essence of work: doing your best despite of the amount of hours or money one receives. Each job you take is part of your learning experience. Someday, it will all be worth it.

4. TAKE YOUR TIME TO LEARN

Vera Wang (Well-known Fashion Designer): “Don’t be afraid to take time to learn. It’s good to work for other people. I worked for others for 20 years. They paid me to learn.”

Some of you may be taunted by the idea of working for somebody for more than 10 years because of your deep desire to become your own boss. But, 10 years worth of experience and wages – that is a lot of wealth! You may be at the bottom of the company’s hierarchy now but as long as you give your all that would not be for long.

5. IT IS NOT ALWAYS ABOUT THE MONEY

Steve Jobs (Co-founder and Past CEO of Apple Inc.): “When I was 25, my net worth was $100 million or so. I decided then that I wasn’t going to let it ruin my life. There’s no way you could ever spend it all, and I don’t view wealth as something that validates my intelligence.”

For someone who had it all, Steve Jobs showed that life is not always about having hefty loads of cash. Even B.C. Forbes (Founder of Forbes Magazine) agree as he said: “real riches are the riches [we] possessed inside”. Cultivate what is within!

Image Credits: James Mitchell via Flickr

Sources: Brainy Quote and WriteMoneyInc

Off-Site Meetings For Modern Singapore Employees

Sailing through the waves of modern times, companies and bosses must think of creative ways to engage with their employees aside from meeting inside the regular office space. This is because some people do not think that meetings are necessary that even a simple email of the meeting’s summary would deliver the information efficiently than sitting down in a room with one another. But, there are decisions to be made as a whole. More so, the bond of the group is integral to the company’s dynamics.

Some factors that affect the hesitation of some Singapore employees to attend group meetings include: not being able to achieve the desired goals and not being able to go home early as the bosses would stretch the meeting beyond working hours.

To combat these factors contemporary visionaries had an idea in mind: “off-site meetings”. Brainstorming outside the halls of the office may just improve your effectiveness and camaraderie…at least that is what David Barrett (Founder and CEO of Expensify) and Nilofer Merchant (Business innovator, TED speaker, and Author) thinks.

Off-site meetings are held anywhere else aside from the office. The off-site venue is the place where the most important conversations and decisions about the company’s future are discussed. This new environment is believed to stimulate the staff’s creativity.

Here are some venue ideas that you should consider…

1. CAFES

Did you know that morning is the best time to talk about most complex tasks since it is when your body is most alert? So, arrange a breakfast meeting with your team at a cafe nearby. Cafes are inexpensive venues for a relatively small group of people. Furthermore, this will prevent discussing beyond working hours.

2. WILDLIFE RESERVES

Surround your team with the beauty of nature and the lush outdoors by having a meeting at Singapore Zoo or Night Safari. Here is the illustration of their venues and capacities:

Also, they have seminar packages starting from the price of S$55/person. Check it out here.

3. SENTOSA ISLAND

Sentosa is not only a tourist spot but also a place for unique meetings. You can have an insightful discussion while sitting in the sand or while sitting in the restaurants at the shore. Or you can take the function room route that Resorts World Convention Center offers (visit here for more details).

Image Credits: William Cho via Flickr

Experiment with the meeting venues and timings to keep your staff’s creative juices flowing. It need not be expensive as long as you focus on the quality and the objectives. 🙂

How And Why You Should Start An Online Business Now

Have you been wanting to start your own business but your intended capital would not suffice? Or maybe the thought of leaving your children at home prevents you? Well, that shipped has sailed when people from the Silicon Valley introduced the “Online Business”. Online business (OB) allow you to sell your product or service at the convenience of your own home and your own time.

Here are the other reasons why you should open your own OB now:

1. SPEND LOW COSTS ON THE START-UP

Once you settled the costs of the products or services that you are planning to sell, you can start opening an OB for S$15.48 or free! The S$15.48 only applies if you want your own website domain name. For example instead of having “myshopname.blogspot.com” you can have “myshopname.com” to appear more professional. Go Daddy sells the website’s domain name at S$15.48 for the first year.

2. WORK ON THE PROJECTS YOU LOVE

Not only do you get to explore your interests and hobbies when thinking of a business idea, you also get to work on something you are really passionate about. This will motivate you to improve your business even more.

3. GET BROADER NETWORK OF POTENTIAL CLIENTS

Since you are setting up a business in the Internet where anyone from anywhere can have an access, you gain a wider scope of clients. This will allow you to transact and ship worldwide.

Sold by the idea of an OB? Here is how you can start yours:

1. DO RESEARCH

Know what is available on the market today. See something that interests you? Incorporate that and add something unique. This will be your niche. Also, research on marketing ideas and budget plans by asking your family, colleagues, friends, or even Google.

2. DEVISE YOUR BUSINESS TYPE AND GOALS

Choose the business you would like to start by tapping into your interests, time availability, and accessible funds. Set goals not just for the business but also for your budget plans.

3. FINALIZE YOUR PRODUCTS OR SERVICES

There are a few products that you can sell at a low cost such as essence oils, Ebooks, and stationary. Given that you have sufficient knowledge of Web Designing, you can sell your services online and charge per project.

4. START OPENING YOUR STORE

If you want to set up an online store without spending a dollar, try selling your products and services on either tictail.com or carousell.com. Tictail.com, established in 2012, allows its users to run a nice online store in minutes. Carousell.com, on the otehr hand, allows its users to sell through its mobile App. Both are definitely free and easy to use! Say you are in need of new materials, you may save money by buying bargain items at these websites too.

5. PROMOTE YOUR BUSINESS

To promote your business, you will need to have visibility in various social media websites such as Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook. The good news is that it is totally free to open your accounts in these websites. Also, you can set up a newsletter or a mailing list so people can receive regular updates when promotions or new items are coming up.

Image Credits: springwools via Flickr

As you can see, it is surprisingly cheap to set up your own online business! But, keeping it may take hard work. So, it is important to find a business that follows what your heart desires. 🙂

Things To Do If You Feel Underpaid And Overworked

In 2014, a research showed that 61% of Singaporean employees felt that were underpaid and overworked compared to the existing market rates. To put that in perspective, that is about 6 out of 10 employees. As the increase of talents from all around the world rise, satisfaction of pay and loyalty to the company will be tested. Now, if you feel that you are underpaid and overworked then, here are the 3 things you shall consider doing…

1. ENHANCE YOUR WRITING SKILLS

Your potential can be assessed by how well you construct proposals, e-mails, and reports. Poor writing skills can cost more money or inadvertently offend others especially the valued clients. Proper grammar along with being direct is very important when responding to your superiors and to your clients. Brush up on your English skills by watching free tutorial videos on YouTube.

2. SPEAK UP MORE

Did you know that Narcissists (i.e., overly self-involved individuals) give out a better impression of themselves in the workplace because of their outspoken nature? They like to brag about their tasks and achievements hence, they are perceived by the bosses to be smarter and to have more initiative. But we all know that geniuses that are extremely quiet exist and are often overlooked (e.g., snob in promotions or pay raise).

To assert yourself more, try to join Public Speaking Workshops. In fact, there is an on going deal for a 3 Hour Public Speaking Workshop at GROUPON for only S$15. Grab it now, as it is valid until June 2015 only.

3. ASK FOR A RAISE

Living in Singapore with a deeply rooted Asian culture, it is usual for us to be silent and underrate our worth. Hence, it is not surprising how many people hardly negotiate pay at interview. During employment, they fail to negotiate a pay raise too. But, if you do not ask then you would not get it. You are more valuable than you think; otherwise, they would have fired you a long time ago. Realize that your bargaining strength is all in your head. You can do it! 🙂

For detailed ways to negotiate salary increase efficiently, read my other article here.

Recruiting Millenials (Gen Ys) In Singapore’s Workplace

BACKGROUND

In a detailed survey by Robert Half, more than half of the local bosses in Singapore felt that people from the Generation Y (Gen Y) are hardest to recruit because of their unrealistic expectations. Following Gen Y is the Gen X and the Baby Boomers.

With a whopping population of about 90 million individuals of Millennials all over the world, the range of the generation is still debatable. Scholars defined the beginning of Generation Y as 1977 – 1981 while its end as 2002 – 2008. Studies on Gen Y, that are mainly comparisons of the different generations, are continuing to surface.

ISSUES AND SOLUTIONS

To prevent the costly process of recruitment and training here are some issues and solutions that may help…

1. UNREALISTIC EXPECTATIONS

Issue: Going back to the study done by Robert Half, it showed that the major challenges faced to retain Gen Y employees were unrealistic expectations on career advancement and wages.

Solution: Stella Tang, director of Robert Half Singapore, imparted that it is optimal for companies to engage the Millenial employees and give them roles that challenge their strengths in order to keep them. Also, employers must draw a comprehensive promotion path. While, Gen Y employees need to pace themselves and gain more experience before expecting a promotion

2. TECHNOLOGY DEPENDENCE

Issue: Employees from Gen Y often find the “shortcuts” to achieve tasks with the help of technology.

Solution: Embrace and accept technology. There is nothing wrong with going with the new tides because some of the marketing tools online can help your company advance. While, Gen Y employees need to perform the job effectively – even by shying away from technology at times.

3. CRITICISMS AND FEEDBACKS

Issue: Some Gen Y employees complain when given criticisms and feedback about their work.

Solution: Coming from the Gen Y, I know that we are more opinionated and outspoken about our rights than the previous generations. But, it is important to realize that constructive criticisms and feedbacks improve the company – its dynamics, products, and services. On the other hand, employers must approach them differently by giving constructive criticisms and feedbacks that instill confidence and direction.

Image Credits: Robin Hutton via Flickr

Ultimately, these are just guidelines that vary on every situation. I laud Gen Y for their enthusiasm and drive! Employees in Singapore and in the world must not be judge by their generation groups. Rather, they must be judge by their work ethics, experience, abilities, and growth.

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