Good Lesson In Life : Fresh Fish Head Failure

On the 1st Aug 2009, I started my claypot curry fish head business at Tasty Corner, Taman Connaught, Cheras. It was a Saturday.

On this very first day, I only manage to get one outsider customer. The rest of it are my friends who came to support me.

On the second day, as it was Sunday, it was totally very quiet. I sell nothing the whole day.

The third day is Monday. I told myself, this is the most important day as this is actually my main aim. Very unfortunately, again throughout the day no business at all.

So, here I want to share with you one of my biggest mistakes.

1) Too Rush : Did not have proper surveying on the location

All the while I knew that a location for a business is the utmost important and I kept on telling Joanne about it. But then I am doing this business without realising it.

When I went out scouting the location for my business on the first week of July 2009, I come to this coffee shop by the name of Tasty Corner at Taman Connaught. It was at about 3pm.

I went to ask the owner if there is any stall for rental. The owner said yes and the rental is RM45o per month. Without much consideration, I immediately gave him RM100 as a deposit to rent the stall. I told him I haven't decide on the date to operate the business. I will inform him when I am ready.

I was very happy to find such a good location as it is located in a commercial and banking district. So, this is the reason why I am very confident that the business will be successful.

The location turned up to be my biggest mistake. I did not spend time on surveying the area and the consumer well. I depend solely on my instinct only.

A few days later, Taksina called me take groups. Consecutively I took 2 groups. I have planned to operate the stall on the 27th July. The last day I sent off the group was on the 24th. I have only 3 more days to start the business.

2) Poor Planning

I haven't clean the stall. I haven't buy any utensils for the business. And worst of all, I haven't even ready for the fish head curry recipe.

So, within those few days, I started to try out the fish head curry everyday. And I do the things which I need to do a step at a time.

Then I realised, I am not ready for the business yet. After discussing with Joanne, we decided to operate the business on the 1st August 2009.

So, within those few days, I tried out and improve my fish head curry recipe.

I went to look for fish head supplier. I clean up the stall and purchase what ever needed.

On the first day of running the business, early in morning, upon waking up, read the sms that my supplier could not supply me the fish head. So, I have to go to Pudu wet market to purchase the fish head.

So, I went to Pudu market to purchase the fish head and by the time I reach home, it's about 8.30am.

I haven't prepare all the herbs and spices for slicing.

Everything was in such a rush.

Due to the rush, I calculated wrongly on the ingredients for the curry. The curry is too watery and tasteless. There are so much scales on the fish head. The first day is totally in disaster.

After few days of operating of business, I realised that the location is not suitable for these few reasons:

3) Customers' Spending Power And Habits

Due to too immensed with the good location in mind, I totally forgot to survey on the clientele background of the coffee shop.

So, the mistake here is that I did not spend some time in the coffee shop to survey on the customers background.

Most of the customers would prefer to eat the economic rice or chicken rice. Even if those who order food from the a la carte stall, they will be ordering fry noodles most of the time.

Due to office hours, their time for lunch is rather limited. They will go for fast, convenient and cheap food.

4) Feng Shui of the coffee shop

When I clean up the stall, I personally don't quite like the stall because of the shape of the area of the coffee shop. It is triangular in shape. I feel rather awkward when I am in the coffee shop.

5) Competitor

The owner of the coffee shop operates the economic rice, prawn noodle, hakka noodle and chee cheong fun. She rented out the stall to chicken rice stall and also a la carte stall. When I went to the coffee shop, due to too excited about the location, I did not check on the number of stalls and what they are selling there.

6) Environment

The coffee shop is actually an extension at a corner row of the shop. It looks like it is located in the corner but then if we properly look at it, it is actually located in the middle. It looks like in the corner because there is a road cutting through the row of shops.

Due to the extension, and the roof top of the coffee shop is mainly made of iron awning. the whole coffee shop is very hot and humid.

Joanne also mentioned that there is not enough lighting in the coffee shop.

7) Pricing

I am selling the fish head curry for RM15 (Small), RM25 (Medium) and RM35 (Large). As mentioned just now, the purchasing power of the consumer is low. So, I am still contemplating whether this is also one of the reason which causes my curry fish head failure.

The price is actually the one which I copied from the JB curry fish head. So, according to Joanne, the price should not be a problem.

8) Did not want to admit mistake earlier.

On the day when I went to clean up the stall, I was there from 10.30 am to about 2pm. While cleaning the stall, I started to realise that there is not a big crowd of customers in the coffee shop.

From 11am to 1pm, there is hardly any customers. The crowd will only come at about 1pm. And after 1.45pm, the crowd dispersed. It will be a very quiet business from then on.

Even I have feelings that this small crowd of customers will cause failure to my business, but I still carry on and did not want to admit this mistake.

Should I have decided there and then, I would not have started this business after all.

CONCLUSION

Even though this is a failure of my business attempt, I will and still very determine that I will try it again if the tour season is low again. I will never give up so easily on this business. Joanne and Kim Hoe told me that the main fault is the location. It is definately not the taste of the curry fish head because there are nobody trying the fish head curry at all.

Anyway, I will take it as a lesson in life and will move forward.

I will learn from these mistakes and will not repeat them. I will have a thorough research on the location once I found a new stall.

Feeling Proud With Dad

Today is the second day dad is spending his time with me. I promised him that I will wake up early in the morning to go for jogging with him every day. So, thats why he come over to my house to spend time with me.

When I was at the Permaisuri garden walking him, suddenly I felt so proud and happy that I can have such a golden opportunity to spend more time with dad. When I look around, I found that most of the old people are together and the young ones are together as well. I can hardly find any children bring their parents to go for morning walk. So, this really made me feel proud indeed that I can spend such a wonderful time with him.

While at the garden, I also found that its really great that I can communicate with him easily. He always wanted to share his experience with me.

In my opinion, we as the children should spend more time with our parents. Actually, I found that there are a lot of lonely old folks around.

I am very sure spending more time with our parents will definately brighten up their days more than what we spend for them on either Mother's day or Father's day.

In fact I always hope I can do more for my parents so that they will be more happier. But then I know, no matter how grown up I am, I am still a kid in their eyes.

I LOVE YOU GREATLY PA AND MA...

One Has To Learn To Love Oneself First...

One has to learn to love oneself first... Why do I come to this topic?

This is because I found that in the society, there are so many men who could not even take care of himself. If he does not know how to take care of himself, how can he take care of his loved ones?

They ended up themselves in such a mess mainly due to their uncontrollable habits and bad self management. One of the main culprit for bad self management is addicted to gamble.

In order for one to know how to take care of himself, it is important that he must have:

1) Healthy Mind And Healthy Body
2) Self Improvement
3) Good Financial Management

I found that majority of the men failed to take care of themselves in so many ways. First of all, of course, it is very important for men to have a healthy mind and a healthy body. I am saying healthy mind first because I believe that if we have healthy mind then we will have healthy body and vice versa. It is the mind which controls the body. So, if we have a healthy mind, naturally we will have a healthy body.

When I say that we must have a healthy mind, naturally it means we must know which direction we are heading to. Are we doing the right thing in our career or are we just wasting our time lazing around or just doing something which did not benefit us at all for example gambling, drinking, smoking, etc?

It has been proven that if a person keeps his mind busy, he will not only lead a better life but also prolonged his life. Successful people like Mr Lee Kuan Yew or Tun Mahathir Mohammed who are in their 80's, are still in their great health.

Mom once told me that a faithful son sends his mother to play mahjong everyday for the son wanted his mother's mind busy thinking while playing mahjong for this will prolong his mother's life.

2) Self Improvements

Nowadays, there are so many youngsters who love to indulge in gambling, clubbing, taking drugs, etc. They do not realise that they can spend so much valuable time on learning some skills or doing something which interest them which will benefit them later.

There are so many things for someone to learn if one has put in some effort and interest.

Now, I have realised, while waiting for my SPM and STPM result, my parents disagree I work outside to gain some experience. They would rather I go to learn some skill instead. Its very lucky that I listened to my mother that I went to take a typing course. Due to this, I am able to type so much faster than majority of the people.

During these school holidays, I learned my computer skills. Due to having these basic computer skills, I am more advantage than most of my classmates because I am able to surf the net for information and doing my projects by using the computer.

Even I am a grown adult, I am so proud that with this computer skill, it leads me to self study on learning the computer softwares like Words, Excel, Powerpoint and Access. I bought books to learn all these softwares myself.

Most of my friends really envy me for I know how to operate these computer softwares. I am so much at advantage for I know how to use these softwares for my personal usage.

3) Good Financial Management

Everyone wants are unlimited. So it is very important that we must know how to control on our wants. Sometimes, when we have the urge to buy something, it is wise to ask ourselves that are we buying the item out of need or wants?

Of course, we have various crave for wants. However, the financial for everyone is always limited. So, it is good that we should be able to control our wants.

I believe that if one knows how to take care of himself, then he will definately be able to take care of his parents, wife and children. He will lead a successful life.

Females Should Be The Phoenix...

My wife, Joanne, read this interesting article which she found in the China Press to me.

According to the article, before marriage, a lot of females tend to put importance on their appearance in order to attract more males.

But as time gets along, usually after marriage and having a few children, the females will no longer put importance into their appearance.

They will give all kind of excuses saying :
1) The fat due to hormonal changes after few pregnantcies.
2) No time to put on make up due to attending to house chores and children.
3) No longer emphasise on the clothings because want to help the husband to save money.

So, as time gets along, the husband will do well in his career and turns up into a dragon.

Unfortunately, the female is no longer attractive to the husband. As the husband has better income and status, the husband will feel that the wife is lagging far away in terms of attractiveness, social status, etc.

So, this is one of the reason why so many husbands tend to stray.

According to this article, it is very important for the females to be a phoenix before the husband turn into a dragon. This will prevent the husband from straying around.

Something Special Will Always Win The Hearts of People

An inspirational encounter with a rickshaw driver in Mumbai

This article is doing its rounds on email and I thought it was ideal to put it here. This is by Mr. Suvendhu Roy of Titan Industries

Last Sunday, my wife, kid and I had to travel to Andheri from Bandra. When I waved at a passing auto rickshaw little did I expect that this ride would be any different.

As we set off, my eyes fell on a few magazines (kept in an aircraft style pouch) behind the driver’s back rest. I looked in front and there was a small TV. The driver had put on the Doordarshan channel.. My wife and I looked at each other with disbelief and amusement. In front of me was a small first-aid box with cotton, dettol and some medicines. This was enough for me to realise that I was in a special vehicle. Then I looked round again, and discovered more – there was a radio, fire extinguisher, wall clock, calendar, and pictures and symbols of all faiths – from Islam and Christianity to Buddhism, Hinduism and Sikhism. There were also pictures of the heroes of 26/11- Kamte, Salaskar, Karkare and Unnikrishnan.

I realised that not only my vehicle, but also my driver was special. I started chatting with him and the initial sense of ridicule and disbelief gradually diminished. I gathered that he had been driving an auto rickshaw for the past 8-9 years; he had lost his job when his employer’s plastic company was shut down. He had two school-going children, and he drove from 8 in the morning till 10 at night. No break unless he was unwell. “Sahab, ghar mein baith ke TV dekh kar kya faida? Do paisa income karega toh future mein kaam aayega.”

We realised that we had come across a man who represents Mumbai – the spirit of work, the spirit of travel and the spirit of excelling in life. I asked him whether he does anything else as I figured that he did not have too much spare time. He said that he goes to an old age home for women in Andheri once a week or whenever he has some extra income, where he donates toothbrushes, toothpastes, soap, hair oil, and other items of daily use. He pointed out to a painted message below the meter that read: “25 per cent discount on metered fare for the handicapped. Free rides for blind passengers up to Rs50″.

My wife and I were struck with awe. The man was a HERO! A hero who deserves all our respect. Our journey came to an end; 45 minutes of a lesson in humility, selflessness and of a hero-worshipping Mumbai-my temporary home. We disembarked, and all I could do was to pay him a tip that would hardly cover a free ride for a blind man.

I hope, one day, you too have a chance to meet Mr Sandeep Bachhe in his autorickshaw MH-02-Z-8508

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

This is something we ought to learn from Mr Sandeep Bachhe.

First of all, no matter which profession we are in, it is very important that we always put in the heart to do and provide something special, be it service or product. From what Mr Sandeep did on to his rickshaw for example by providing magazines, tv, first aid box, fire extinguisher, etc. is really something extraordinaire to be learnt from.

This is what I call it as putting in the heart to do something that is by putting in the brain to be more creative to provide something special.

With a meagre income, Mr Sandeep has to work more than 12 hours a day. He did not complain but yet he has a big heart for providing special prices for the handicapped.

He is striving so hard to live but yet he still manage to donate part of his income for charity. This is something we should learn.

A Strongly Recommended Book To Read : The Secret by Rhonda Byrne

After finishing reading the book, The Secret, I decided to write in the blog about this book. This is also one of the best book which I ever read. So, I decided to write about it.

All the while, I read two books which influenced my life greatly are Men are from Mars and Women are from Venus by John Gray and also The Seven Habits of Successful People by Stephen Covey.

Ms Amanda Lai, Joanne’s boss even asked her employees to read this book. Initially I was quite reluctant to buy this book. But after for a while, I manage to buy the book. This book did not really arouse my interest. So, after buying it, I put it in the book shelf.

Of late, I started the reading habit again. After reading Dale Carnegie’s , I thought I must read The Secret.

While reading through the book, I was so greatly amazed by the content of the book. I started to practise some of the skills thought.

I was so influenced by the book that I thought I should buy the dvd as well. When I went to the bookstore, I got a shocked. The price of the book is RM135.00. Initially, I was quite reluctant to buy it as it is very expensive. But after thinking for a while, I decided to buy the dvd because I believe that the dvd can help me as much as the book.

After watching through the dvd, I found that the content of the dvd is actually the same as the book. But then I found that it is better to read to book for it is easier to understand.

From this book The Secret, I really found a lot of advantages by practising and applying what have been taught from this book.

My financial suddenly getting better and better. I was able to pay all my house and car instalments on time. I have even cleared up all my credit card and closed the credit card account. I found that while taking tour groups I started to earn more money and money comes to me easily as well.

I even started to learn and practice to meditate. I will try to meditate twice a day and for about 10 to 15 minutes a day. I found that my health is getting so much better and I even have better concentration.

As for my health, I will go to the gymnasium whenever I can find the time. Ever since I go to the gym, I have built up my confidence and stamina tremendously.

Even though all the while I was having good relationship with my wife, Joanne and my kids, after reading the book, I found that my relationship with them is even better.

Ever since practising the Secret, I really found lots of fulfilment in my life. I really felt that I am more organised and also do things which I like.

The book by The Secret by Rhonda Byrne has indeed influenced me greatly and I certainly encourage any one to read this book and get the benefits from this book.

While I was reading this book, I keep on reminding myself that I should read this book again and again till I fully understand the contents of the book. Now, I am on my way reading this book for the second time and I am also writing down the important notes from this book.

Habit of Writing And Recording Notes

During the month of May, 2009, it was a very quiet season for me due to the H1N1 crisis. Its very lucky that I was called up by Tekkee to be a translator at the Trade Ministry for the Chinese businessmen who are keen to set up business in Malaysia.

I was at the ministry and be a translator for only 1hour. Later, one of the businessman, requested me to be his driver using my car to places he wanted to go.

While I was driving him around, the Chinese man will occasionally asked questions about Malaysia. I noticed that he has a habit of writing and recording of I mentioned to him. I found that this is very good habit and tell myself that I should build up this habit on my own too.

Ever since that encounter, I will try to note down which ever I feel that is important for me.

From that day onwards, I will write reminders or any plans on the following day which I should do.
One good example of this habit is when I was trying to get the modem connection from Maxis. I was called by a guy from Maxis broadband by the name of Ang offering me the broadband service. The offer is by paying extra RM28 per month, I will be able to surf on a new line and I will also get a modem for free.

I thought this is a very good offer. Since Joanne has just bought a new notebook and she might need it. I could not asked Joanne as she was on tour. So I told And to call me back next week. After waiting for more than a week, Ang never called. I called up Maxis centre to reach to Ang. I left message for him to call back.

After waiting for another week and there is no phone call from Ang. So, I decided to write to Maxis to lodge a complaint. Immediately the next day, I received a phone call from Maxis by a gal Anusha.

I immediately note down her name and her direct phone line. She promised to deliver the modem to me in a week time but after waiting for 2 weeks finally I managed to receive the modem.

Because of writing her name, I am able to refer to her whenever I need her service for the broadband.

To Love And To Cherish

Sunday January 18, 2009

Sources: The Star

To love and to cherish

SUNDAY WITH T.SELVA

The secret recipe for a happy and harmonious partnership is effective and frequent two-way communication.

LEARNING to adjust and compromise is an art of happy living because almost every moment we are faced with situations that require a give and take approach.

It is not a question of whether we like it or not but such conditions are bound to occur due to the complex and fast lifestyle most of us are involved with daily.

Fighting or challenging such situations will not take us anywhere other than to sour our relationships at home or work and resulting in developing hatred, anger, stress and tension.
Some people have a wrong notion that adjusting and compromising is a sign of weakness but it is actually not.

Instead it reflects on the individual’s wisdom, maturity and understanding of being able to see what others can’t.

Such act is in fact viewed as noble and dignified.

I write this week’s column following news from two couples from Penang who have stopped talking with their spouses owing to some differences and they are now planning to go separate ways.

This is a worrying trend because last year about 20% of registered marriages in the country ended in divorce.

No two individuals are the same and it is not unnatural to find two persons having different interests, likings, hobbies, past-times, routines and knowledge.

Owing to this, sometimes such differences may interfere with their relationship and some hiccups are bound to happen but making up quickly and emerging stronger with improved ties is vital here.

The secret recipe for a happy and harmonious partnership is exercising words like compromise and adjust, and adulation and sweetness of speech.

Removing ego and showing respect for each other is another crucial aspect to the success of a relationship.

Every relationship has to pass through good and bad times but what is important is standing by each other through tough times because such test is to strengthen the vow the couple have made to be together.

Effective and frequent two-way communication verbal or written have been found since ancient time to be the key to the success of this bonding because it helps in understanding the dynamics of each other and prevents conflicts and misunderstandings.

A good relationship depends on a combination of many things but top among them all is treating your spouse as your best friend and not taking him or her for granted just because both have made a lifelong commitment.

In a close buddy relationship, the love and affection continues to ignite and grow daily whenever they come in contact, thus leading to a healthy connection.

For instance, when a couple have something they don’t like about their partner, they should communicate it rather than just keeping it in their heart.

Of course, they should do so in a respectful way so as not to offend their partner.

People are often known to share funny stories with their life partner prior to their marriage but after the wedding, the hilarity disappears and this is not good.

Such openness and funny side of communication should apply forever because laughter is the invisible glue in a relationship.

Simple gestures of showing appreciation, having at least one meal together daily, having weekly or monthly time-out, remembering and celebrating events like birthdays, anniversaries and special events bring constant spark to a relationship.

One long-term activity that should be exercised by any couple is allocating quality time regularly for each other.

Investing time in a relationship is imperative as this exercise allows each other to discover themselves deeper for a compatible and loving association.

Trust is another ingredient because it allows both parties to feel secure and believe there is a future for their relationship.

Just like it takes two hands to clap, a good relationship involves both sides.

While one side can take initiative, it still requires the other side to make the relationship work and only by working together can this union reach its full potential.

I truly believe nobody is perfect but everyone can grow to improve and give their best but both sides must be willing to change.

Instead of blaming their partner when something goes wrong, they should look inside themselves to see if there is something they can change.

When both sides have this attitude, the relationship grows stronger and stronger.

Basically, building and maintaining a healthy marriage takes time and a lot of effort and it is a life long process.

With the day-to-day pressures of work, taking care of the children and household tasks, it can be easy to neglect to nurture our relationship and to take our mate for granted.

It is necessary to remind ourselves constantly about the importance of fostering a healthy and loving relationship which is the foundation to build a successful marriage every day.

Relationships cannot be built in a just day or two; it is a lifelong journey when two people decide to make a divine bond to be together.

■ T. Selva, The Star’s Sunday Metro editor, says that a good relationship blossoms when two people decide to share instead of trying to change each other.

Tips to build a happy relationship :

● Be willing to change.
● Be honest to your spouse.
● Avoid competition between the two of you.
● Both must complement each other.
● Avoid being possessive and selfish.
● Be kind, gentle, patient and loving.
● Keep romance alive in your marriage.
● Say sorry if you have made a mistake.
● Be supportive in whatever he or she does.
● Have integrity and this will gain honour.
● Be a good listener, pay attention and be open.
● Give surprises as it adds tonic to the romance.
● Cracking jokes helps to build cheerful relationship.
● Never bring past problems and unpleasant incidents.
● Develop compassion for your partner and yourself.
● Know the likes and dislikes to shape the relationship.
● Exercise sweetness of speech and never use harsh words.
● Treat your spouse the way you would like to be treated.
● Leave little notes for him or her when you miss each other.
● Express appreciation by saying thank you even for everyday things.
● Practise forgiveness as sometimes mistakes are made unintentionally.