What we do in our working hours determines what we have in the world. What we do in our play hours determines what we are. " - George Eastman

I was going over a business plan with one of my students ( I am teaching Entrepreneurship to a Masters of Management program for my alma mater and getting a kick out of it!).

He had a great business plan, but there was something that I felt he did that was extremely risky that could also be food for thought for would-be entrepreneurs.

He was risking virtually all his savings to build up a fast food restaurant.   Not only that, he was going to borrow an amount that was twice his own money to fund the remaining amount.  What’s more, in order to be able to build the restaurant, he was going to build the restaurant on a lot that he proposed to lease - as a way to lessen initial investment and a way to get a better location.

He had a great concept of the restaurant, and that was a busy thoroughfare,

Read the rest of this entry »

Bizdrivenlife was featured in the Carnival of the Capitalists, a regular listing of the best business blog articles.   The february 26 edition of CotC is found here.

 We were also featured in the Carnival of Biz Intelligence,and the Carnival of Biz Finance. 

We also made it to the Carnival of the Entrepreneurs. 

I understand my blog address is a little bit long, and it was also registered in the comments.  Also recently, I reprogrammed it so that it would go to http://www.ngkhai.net/bizdrivenlife/writings/category/frontpage/  which incidentally is the front page.  This is where I normally put writings if I feel it is something very worthwhile, but ocassionally, I also write short comments and observations, and put it directly into the categories itself, so please feel free to click on the categories for some minor posts that does not get to the front page.

However, my friend James Endicott did impressed on me the importance of getting my name as url, so I registered www.wilsonng.net which you can use to remember this blog as well.  You can also reach the blog through www.bizdrivenlife.net

Report: Offshoring to Have No Sudden Bad Effects

While offshore outsourcing is expected to affect wages and employment in developing countries, it won’t have any sudden negative impact on developed countries’ economies, according to a report released Feb. 22 by the McKinsey Quarterly, the business journal of the global management-consulting firm McKinsey & Company.

Maybe others should follow suit?

Slashdot | Australia Outlaws Incandescent Light Bulb

“The Australian Government is planning on making the incandescent light bulb a thing of the past. In three years time, standard light bulbs will no longer be available for sale in the shops in Australia (expect a roaring grey market) and everybody will be forced to switch to more energy efficient Fluorescent bulbs.

I read this with mixed emotions, and reiterate sometimes that what can be more difficult in these times may not be how to be rich, or successful, but rather how not to let success corrupt you.

What I think is important in success as in Britney Spears case  ( and about a week after what happened to Anna Nicole Smith)  is not whether other  people think she is a success but whether she herself thinks she is — and most recent behaviors are so far indicated that she does not seemed fulfilled, happy or emotionally pleased with herself.

Britney Spears checks into rehab - Yahoo! News

Britney Spears has entered a rehabilitation center, her spokesman said on Tuesday, after the troubled pop star’s recent wild ways escalated this weekend to a bizarre incident in which she shaved her own head.

Promos meant to build Business sometimes have the unintended effect of slowing them down.  This is one example.

Entrepreneurs profit from free Web names - Yahoo! News

Entrepreneurs have been taking advantage of a five-day grace period to sample millions of domain names, keeping the relative few that might generate advertising revenues and dropping the rest before paying. It’s akin to buying new clothes on a charge card only to return them for a full refund after wearing them to a big party.

The grace period was originally designed to rectify legitimate mistakes, such as registrants mistyping the domain name they are about to buy. But with computer automation and a burgeoning online advertising market, entrepreneurs have turned the return policy into a

Last November, I went back to the university - to teach.
Not a whole lot of commmitment, but just an Entrepreneur subject to a Masters of Management Program 3 hours a week for 14 weeks. It has been more than 3 months since I started, and it has been fulfilling and educational. Getting their feedbacks and listening have not only meant that I taught, but also learned.

I noted that one of the cardinal things a new entrepreneur will always try to do - when asked how he could be successful in penetrating an established market is one strategy Read the rest of this entry »

I am not a particularly big fan of Donald Trump. I think most Asians generally don’t favor the crass self promotion that is generally associated with him. Maybe it is just an American culture thing that most Asians still don’t accept.

On the other hand, I must admit that his business style have affected us all enormously, such as the importance of image, as well as the focus to get results. IN an interview with Business 2.0
magazine he gave the credo that the most important thing you need to succeed is an ability to focus on solutions intead of problems. That forces you to focus on thinking yourself as a possible winner instead of being a loser. I’ll say amen to that.

You can’t be a winner by thinking like a loser.