NOW OR NEVER by Marcus Teoh Hits #1 Bestseller in MPH Bookstore

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, October 27, 2017 /PRWIRE.asia/ -- Launched at the end of September, Malaysian entrepreneur Marcus Teoh’s first book “Now or Never” hits No. 1 weekly bestseller in MPH bookstores across the country. Since its availability in stores, “Now or Never” quickly gained popularity and shares the leaderboard with other bestselling books like “Jack Ma” by Kanyin, “Elon Musk” by Ashlee Vance and “Blue Ocean Shift” by Renée Mauborgne and W. Chan Kim.

Despite not spending a cent, Marcus has again proven that Entrepreneurs can market their products via Facebook with zero budget. Practising his own methodology, his marketing went so well that the book ran out of stock in the two largest outlets of MPH Bookstore after less than a month of its publication. “Now or Never” has won readers over with its realistic descriptions on actual business scenarios as well as the proven, purpose-designed business strategies that can be duplicated onto one’s business. In the true spirit of entrepreneurship, Marcus also discussed his own failures and setbacks on the route to becoming an inspiring speaker and business consultant.

Marcus started writing the book when he was facing one of the hardest periods of his life. Business wasn’t good and his relationship had failed. Despite being down emotionally and financially, he decided to do something “big”. He advised those who are facing major life challenges to look inside and work on oneself.


Entrepreneur and professional trainer Marcus Teoh sharing his entrepreneur journey to fans who came to the book signing event last week.

“Avoid buying expensive stuff that you believe will help you. You MUST believe that you have the power in your mind, your heart, and your hands! Believe and achieve! Dreams become reality when you say to yourself “I MUST”! One year ago, I decided to do something that will make myself, my family, and my friends proud. Today I am very happy and proud to share this very beautiful milestone with everyone.” said Marcus.

Bestselling book “Now or Never” by Marcus Teoh is available in the following locations:The Book Garden by Sinaran @ Atria Shopping Gallery, Kinokuniya Kuala Lumpur, Kinokuniya Singapore, and nationwide outlets of MPH Bookstore, Times and Borders. Or get it online at www.marcusteoh.com

“When I read it, I cried. Most of the thing Marcus wrote are exactly the truth about being an entrepreneur.” – Vera Joan Dingle, Landscape Consultant

“It’s an excellent book for entrepreneurs who don’t know how to proceed. You can’t go wrong if you follow the basic steps. It has inspired me for many years now. I even bought one for my daughter, and I hope it will inspire her as she gets older.” – Adi Affendi, TV Host.

For readers who would like to meet Marcus in person, he will be hosting a book sharing session on 25th November 2017 from 3pm to 4pm, at MPH Bookstore Mid Valley.

About Marcus Teoh: Marcus Teoh hails from Malaysia. Entrepreneurship was his passion, and after transforming multiple business ideas into fully-fledged businesses, he realized his true calling was in teaching. Today, he speaks to, consults, and trains aspiring Entrepreneurs and Start-Ups, as well as gives Motivational Talks, Facebook Marketing Training, and sharing practical takeaways from his own experience and lessons. Marcus is engaged by property companies, direct sale companies and SME business owners to help them attract business via Zero Budget Facebook Marketing (#ZBFM). The class has since attracted more than 1,000 passionate entrepreneurs. For more information please visit: marcusteoh.com/fbmarketing

Reimagining Southeast Asia’s Digital Marketing Leadership & Strategy For The New Paradigm

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, October 24, 2017 /PRWIRE.asia/ -- Outbound marketing has held sway for more than a hundred years. Paid advertising, whether in newspapers, on the radio, on TV and billboards, or across every webpage, has been business as usual even in the 21st century. This advertising amounts to an intrusion into people’s worlds – an interruption of their activities to demand their attention and instruct them as to what they should buy, usually through manipulating what they think, feel and do.

That time is at an end. Customers have become more savvy to the existing marketing channels, and ferocious competition has meant individuals have become very adept at switching off the ‘white noise’ of paid advertising – seeing it only as nuisance, never as opportunity.

The answer to this crisis is personalization. For businesses in South East Asia, this revolutionary new attitude to advertising represents an untapped opportunity. There is still space for businesses to become pioneers in omnichannel marketing, and deliver outstanding customer experience to their audiences.

Today, DMICON will be previewing some of the latest industry insights and inspirations on how brands can redefine their identities for the 21st century, creating a more responsive approach that allows brands to be what each customer needs them to be. Drawing on real life inspiration from this market will help to establish a new mindset among SEA business, enabling a convergence around a better style of post-modern marketing.

Success Stories Of Omnichannel Marketing

L’OREAL

L’Oreal is one hundred years old, and yet their marketing looks as if it was invented this morning, across more than 30 iconic brands.

They have created Snapchat filters that apply makeup to selfies, creating an augmented reality that previews their product in use with extreme personalisation.

They have created a YouTube channel with rapid-fire tutorials, teaching people how to contour in 20 seconds, solving problems and building confidence in their target consumers.

They have shifted from solely celebrity endorsements to more relatable influencers, moving with how their market has evolved.

When you talk to their marketing teams, they refer to this as “changing the way we tell our stories”, and that’s the most important thing to be learned from them.

New touch points, new strategies, new ways of engagement, all prioritizing the relatable, personal, empowering aspects of modern marketing.

SEPHORA

Sephora are using omnichannel marketing to create new, integrated experiences. Designed like a showroom, their new Toronto store offers people free makeovers using digital apps informed by Sephora + Pantone Color IQ touchscreen tablets. This allows the company to give personal recommendations to shoppers on what shades and brands of foundation, blush, and more they should be using. There is even a Fragrance IQ to allow people to discover new perfumes.

This seamlessly blends the digital and real worlds, with products available in store, after a journey guided by technology. The company talks about evolving the experience for the client, in response to shifts in consumer behavior.

The company has also developed Sephora to Go, a mobile app that emulates the knowledge of a personal shopping assistant to provide valuable recommendations. This app was developed after consumer data revealed shoppers used their smartphones to look for reviews while in store. The app is there to provide confidence in consumer decision making.

Their “pocket contour class” performs a similar function – people won’t buy products they don’t know how to use. The class provides real value for free, while showcasing the product advantages and filling in the knowledge gap, allowing people to feel confident in using the product. This both removes fear, and creates need.

By integrating their retail and online customer experience, they are enriching the brands impact on consumers in a way that directly benefits them. Selling products is now a small part of a whole world.

DECATHLON: eXperience

Decathlon is a worlwide sports store that has just opened a new location in Singapore. Unassuming and utilitarian, the store places its emphasis on products and an open-world, sandbox approach similar to popular games like Minecraft. You can try our or combine any items available, enabling you to bounce on the trampolines and ride bikes around the store.

Singapore’s head of marketing Clarence Chew is just 28 years old. He is part of the millennial market that promises to prove so lucrative in the decades to come. Instead of buying and carting large and unwieldy sporting equipment home, after negotiating queues at busy checkouts, individuals can try out everything they like, then place an order through an integrated platform and have the items delivered direct to their homes.

This new kind of hybrid online and real-world space has been described as “click and mortar”, allowing people to browse 13,000 products for sixty five different sports without feeling utterly overwhelmed. Using data collected from user experience in the industry’s third largest R&D facility worldwide is allowing the company to change their approach based on feedback, to align their provision with user behavior informed by Growth Hacking methodologies.

The ways in which these brands are transforming their approach to consumer-focused business is making clear the revolution that is about to hit the mainstream. Businesses can learn from these inspiring examples and action similar approaches for their own products and services.

The Three Commandments Of Omnichannel Marketing

Unification and Alignment – all teams and departments, from R&D to marketing and PR to customer services, must work together to help create the different dimensions that contribute to a single experience, based on the same information about customers, the same principles, and driving toward the same outcomes.

Data Analysis – Actions should be informed by data & analytics on user behavior, experience and feedback. Use data to analyze and assess problems and generate innovative solutions harnessing a combination of technology, staff and products.

Impact – With a vision and information informing action, obstacles to action must be removed or heavily streamlined to allow for rapid results. Things are evolving more quickly than ever, and maximizing alignment between teams, insights and actions will allow companies to more rapidly express compelling experiences.

Expressions Of These Commandments In Business

RCT Comms – make sure that in addition to reflecting the tone of voice and aspirations of the brand, communication is Relevant, Compelling and Timely.

Push Relevance – relevance is the first thing on this list, and it must be the first priority informing your approach to any business challenge. In omnichannel marketing, this means catering to a customer’s shopping habits, including when, where and how they like to shop. It means tracking customer data and keeping it accessible, so order history can be used to predict future needs and behavior. It means creating new products based on an analysis of needs currently being met, and needs being fulfilled elsewhere.

Loyalty – Creating an omnichannel campaign is about leveraging every touchpoint to create a sense of community and cohesion around a brand for warm followers and new audiences alike. A brand must be a mission and a personality, as well as a solution. Loyalty programs are the classic expression of this tendency, rewarding those who keep coming back for more. But much more can be done, and personalized experiences based on actionable insights around individuals will create the engagement that is now missing from traditional marketing.

A Huge Opportunity

Omnichannel marketing is an opportunity for us to reimagine and redefine what South East Asian business looks and feels like to consumers. It is also a cutting-edge world in which this region has the potential to lead the world. This in an opportunity not to be missed.

If you want to learn more about this augmented approach to leadership and strategy in the new age of consumer marketing, the Digital Marketing Innovation Conference (DMICON) is a 2-Day event in Kuala Lumpur, 29-30 November. At DMICON, the emphasis will be on Innovation, Leadership & Strategy, featuring Key Strategic Thinkers representing the region’s biggest brands, influencers, industry disruptors, and business change agents across all industries, from Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Philippines, Sri Lanka, Hong Kong, Shanghai and more. For the latest, please visit: www.talentcap.com/dmicon

McParadise set to make on-demand tour a seamless experience for everyone

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, October 19, 2017 /PRWIRE.asia/ -- Tours and activity booking mobile app startup, McParadise, is planning for its official launch end of this year. The latest mobile app features location based on-demand activity booking, allowing travellers to book any activity nearby them at the eleventh hour.

McParadise & local operator
Formerly Tourders, McParadise work hand-in-hand with local operators to serve their customers with on-demand activity booking.

McParadise, formerly known as Tourders, has served more than 5,000 happy customers in the tours and activity industry in the past one and a half years. While previously focused on delivering customised tours, with the new identity, the Malaysian startup will now deliver location based on-demand activity booking through mobile application. This is made possible through FIT’s Mobile phone GPS with activities location database, detecting and suggesting activities around based on algorithm.

“Our aspiration is to help every traveller enjoy the best experience on ground. At times, travellers may not have a pre-planned itinerary, we fill this gap by providing them quick and ready access on-demand tours and activity.” said Joseph Toh, the founder and CEO of McParadise.

The mobile app is strategically designed as an answer to the current travel trend, where travellers have gone on-demand and made decisions “last minute”.

“We find that the travellers nowadays are very mobile-dependent, favour instant gratification and prefer last minute booking when it comes to activity planning. Hence to answer to the trend, we designed this mobile application to perfectly match this trend.” said Raymond Lok, COO of McParadise.

McParadise mobile app
McParadise makes on-demand travel as easy as clicking a few buttons on your smartphone.

“Even for travellers with an agenda, they are bound to have fragments of free time they wish to fill up. Or at times, a pre-planned itinerary may be affected by unforeseen events thus creating free time. McParadise is the obvious app to help fill up those free times.” he added.

With the mobile app, travellers can quickly find activities available around them and join immediately, allowing travellers to fill up their time whenever they feel the need to. What’s more, the mobile app also facilitates the purchase of e-ticket on many travel spots, removing the need to queue for ticket. Such convenience provides seamless online to offline experience for travellers and empowers them with a full control over their travel itinerary.

McParadise is currently in work with destination partners from popular travelling hot spots like Sabah and Kuala Lumpur to provide activities ranging from hiking, diving, cruising, local experience and many more, within the destination. “No one knows the destination better than the local providers, they are the best person to provide the most complete experience at the destination. This is also the reason why we are not entering the market to compete with them, but to connect and grow together with them.” Joseph elaborated. The mobile application will act as an active sales channel to reach out to travellers, bringing growth opportunity to the existing local activity operators.

When speaking about future plan, Joseph stated “We are working to expand across Malaysia’s popular destinations starting from Sabah, Kuala Lumpur, Penang, Langkawi and Malacca. Eventually, we will extend our footprint across the South East Asia region. We welcome all destination partners for collaborations. We would love to meet tour operators who wish to welcome more travellers to their destinations and are seeking growth to their business.”

McParadise mobile app is currently in test in App Store and Google Play. The official launch of the mobile application is expected to be in one month time. Currently activities booking can be made through their website: www.mcparadise.co

About McParadise:
McParadise is an online marketplace that connects experience seekers and local tourism providers by delivering a one-stop-shop booking experiences via its user-centric platforms.

Contact Information:
Name: Joseph Toh
Email: hello@mcparadise.co
Phone: +6014-319 7268

What Next In 2018? Riding the Wave of Digital Marketing Southeast Asia

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, October 10, 2017 /PRWIRE.asia/ -- Digital marketing revolution has long since taken place, and companies must now compete in a whole different world. The markets are more turbulent than they have been for generations, creating both opportunities and risks, and the pace of new product and service development has accelerated considerably.

Globalization and the digitalisation of many businesses is making the market more anarchic than ever, creating fierce competition where new players enter the game every day with something new and innovative to offer. This is all happening around you right now, and that means only one thing: stagnant businesses will die.

Today, we offer a preview of how the digital marketing landscape will look in the coming year, and how businesses can effectively catch the next great wave in digital best practice to keep pace with the competition and make themselves stand out from the crowd.

Before we begin, we’ll give you the marquee term for the next twelve months: omnichannel marketing.

This will be your key to audience development, conversion and business success in the future.

What is Omnichannel Marketing?

Omni (all) channel (touchpoints) – omnichannel simply means using every platform available to you to promote your products. The mastery comes in delivering a consistent experience across all of these platforms, and making that experience seamless.

Nowadays, individuals are starting their consumer journey on one platform, but may well complete that journey on a separate platform, device, or even in person. Someone may see an ad on Facebook on their phone during their commute, check out the website on their laptop when they get home, then visit the store to make a purchase.

Omnichannel really means every channel, and that includes new and emerging channels as well. Both virtual and augmented reality have emerged into the mainstream market for the first time in 2017, and can be used to create outstanding and unique customer experiences.

Ensuring you can guide people toward these actions across all of these different platforms with a consistent tone, messaging and brand is what makes omnichannel marketing so compelling.

The key to success in omnichannel marketing is effectively bridging the offline and online world, creating a consistent and cohesive campaign across all touchpoints, and most importantly, delivering a personalised experience.

Customer Experience

The primary objective of omnichannel marketing is to create a seamless customer experience. That said, this experience must also be positive and compelling. If you feel your business has had a lapse in strategic vision, making this the center of your efforts will doubtless help you reverse this trend in the coming year.

To begin creating a compelling experience, you need to know who your customers are, what your customers buy, and why they buy it. You need to understand their needs and fears, and how your products or services fulfill those needs and alleviate those fears.

There’s a wonderful scene in The Prestige that talks about the importance of showmanship (or experience) in selling a trick (or product) to an audience. Magic excites because it feels extraordinary – more real than real. It plays on the need to believe in something greater, on our in-built curiosity and imagination. In also alleviates our fear of the banal – that life is insignificant, ordinary, and terrifying. It gives hope, and childlike wonder. People don’t watch magic for the illusions, they watch it because of what it makes them feel. The experience. That’s how magicians ‘sell’ – how will you do it?

So, how do you go about finding all this out?

Big Data and Analytics

In order to better understand the people you are providing an experience for, you need to analyse data. Before, this market research would be difficult, time consuming, expensive, and riddled with problems in methodology. Now, Data & Analytics are more accessible than ever.

The current trend is to do away with trends – stop looking at data sets as a global analysis and start breaking them down into smaller niches that will give more clues as to how to compel people more specifically.

By crunching the data down, you can begin to provide 1:1 marketing – personalised experiences for individual clients. By following a person’s path across social media, websites, stores and even phone calls, and collating that data into a journey, you can better understand how to integrate that journey using originality, storytelling, and optimization.

The technology is now available to track these journeys, using machine learning algorithms to stitch together data from disparate sources. This enables you to remove roadblocks on your path to marketing innovation. It can even help you create better products.

Growth Hacking

The omni-ness of omnichannel marketing means that the flow of information created can go both ways. As well as understanding and providing better experiences for your customers, you can also utilize their feedback, insights and responses to shape and iterate your products and services.

This is known as growth hacking – pivoting quickly in response to rapid experimentation, identifying the most efficient way to grow your business in response to user needs.

Growth hacking can help you jump-start your business from growth stalls and stagnation, by throwing away your old assumptions and starting with a blank slate, with the direction dictated by concrete results.

Growth hacking borrows a lot of cues from the scientific method of testing hypotheses to collect data, then build actions based on the interpretation of that data. As in science, there is a lot of ‘failure’, but this is seen as an opportunity to learn and redirect energy in response to feedback. Failure isn’t failure, it’s the acquisition of knowledge that better illuminates the path toward better results.

Data capture and interpretation can help streamline this process. It provides the insight needed to use growth hacking methodology when developing every aspect of the business, from campaigns to products and services.

2018’s Holy Trinity

Omnichannel marketing, data analysis, and growth hacking. These are the three keys that will unlock greater success in 2018’s ferociously competitive market. Using this unique combination can transform your company’s processes in both public facing and internal applications. If there’s one takeaway from this article I want you to remember, it’s personalisation. The more you can deliver experiences that positively affect individuals in a real and meaningful way, the more success you will have.

If you want to learn more about this augmented approach to marketing and innovation, the Digital Marketing Innovation Conference (DMICON) is a 2-Day event in Kuala Lumpur, 29-30 November. At DMICON, the emphasis will be on Innovation, Leadership & Strategy, featuring Key Strategic Thinkers representing the region’s biggest brands, influencers, industry disruptors, and business change agents across all industries, from Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Philippines, Sri Lanka, Hong Kong, Shanghai and more. For the latest, please visit: www.talentcap.com/dmicon

PRWire Asia to speak on content outreach at BizAngel Entrepreneur Sharing in Penang, Malaysia

PRWIRE Asia’s director LIN Yi Yun will discuss the importance of timely content outreach for corporations to establish consistent brand & investor communication.

Penang, Malaysia, September 12, 2017 /PRWIRE.asia/ -- Lin Yi Yun from PRWire Asia will be attending the BizAngel Entrepreneur Sharing event on the 13th September 2017 at the Wealth Mastery Academy, Penang. The event was inaugurated last year by the organiser, Biz Angel. Since then they have organized over 10 sharing sessions, with more than 35 entrepreneurs sharing their businesses’ stories, benefiting more than 300 attendees. Lin will be emphasizing the benefits and importance of content marketing to businesses.

Lin’s talk will describe in detail the importance of content marketing, and content outreach through PR distribution. The talk will include a significant outline, including evidence demonstrating that content marketing costs 62% less than outbound marketing, while generating more than three times as many leads.

The event will take place 2pm-5pm, with registration at 1.30pm. The event will feature other entrepreneurs giving talks, including Mr. TK CHUAH from BoostOrder, Mr. Joseph TOH from Tourders and Dr. Yong Jen TAN from Idealite. “We are looking forward to meet the other entrepreneurs and to learn from them. BizAngel Entrepreneur Sharing series is a well known event among us entrepreneurs for meeting business buddies and even potential partners. The synergies created within the Biz Angel Network are invaluable for the growth of businesses within the network.” said Lin.

Content outreach is an essential part of any brand’s PR strategy, and using press release distribution can maximize the impact of new business developments to drive traffic and gain exposure.

Through press release distribution, business can gain brand mentions from the reputable media, which elevate their brand visibility and reputation. Press releases can help businesses achieve a higher level of authority and influence. With first page mentions on search engines, this can help to impress both customers and potential investors.

Lin Yi Yun himself elaborated, “We are honored to be one of the speakers at this amazing event. We hope to share the benefit and importance of content outreach with the entrepreneurial community and SMEs throughout Malaysia. Our emphasis will be on how businesses can reap the benefits from this approach. Many are not aware that through content marketing & outreach, they can drive toward a six times higher conversion rate than their competitors. We will describe the research that informs this, and exactly how people can execute a content outreach strategy for their own business.”

About Biz Angel: BizAngel.co is a Business Angel Network accredited by the Malaysian Business Angel Network (MBAN), the official trade association and governing body for angel investors and angel clubs in Malaysia. They strive to bring entrepreneurs and investors into Asia to fuel the burgeoning startup ecosystem. For more information: https://bizangel.co/

Intan Ilyani Ghazali | Astra Blooms Sdn Bhd – Face & Co – Uniting the Women through the Language of Love and Entrepreneurship Globally

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, August 30, 2017 /PRWIRE.asia/ -- Meeting beauty entrepreneur Intan Ilyani Ghazali is like a breath of fresh air. She elegantly stands out with her flawlessly-natural skin tone, perfectly-coiffured hair and sophisticated persona. Yet, she is awesomely down-to-earth, friendly and vivacious in true Malaysian charm.

After a 15-year stint with Malaysia’s biggest bank where she last held the coveted position as Personal Assistant to the Chairman, making the decision to leave everything behind to pursue her entrepreneurial journey was not easy. However, she says, “I always had the passion for beauty and personal branding. Despite the lucrative job perks and great working environment where I learnt a lot, I made the decision to come out on my own because I believed that I can do more.”

“A friend suggested that I create a beauty brand that reflects my beliefs on being natural and beautiful inside out. I also desired to give back to society. This is how the brand Face & Co came about. It is of course not easy to enter into an industry that had already been conquered by many Malaysians, but I believe that we can reach out to the market and generate strong acceptance. I have a huge mission. Though some of my friends laugh at this idea, I intend to grow the brand to the next level, into the international arena and position it as a global brand.”

Her decision to not depend on loans or funding, but instead use her lifelong savings and compensation from a voluntary employee separation package from the bank to fuel the business startup was not easy. It meant that she had to bootstrap the business right from the beginning. It also meant learning on the go, having to solve problems on her own, and having the urgency to work harder and to continue to persevere despite the odds.

Having surmounted many challenges throughout the journey and yet, Intan remains positive. She believes that recognition has to be earned and that anyone can do it.
Intan said, “The satisfaction in being able to achieve your goals, and make people smile along the way, is truly worth it.”

She adds, “Face & Co was launched in April this year. I didn’t expect the response to be so overwhelming as we only use social media for our promotion. Not just in the stringent standards and unsurpassed quality of our products – if you look at the one-year intensive journey of product research, formulation, production and brand development – but also through our philosophy to empower women, by encouraging them to look natural and confident in their own skin, live a positive-thinking lifestyle and help others along the way.”

Face & Co’s first product, True Foundation, received overwhelming response that within the first one and a half months, stocks in her headquarters have already run out. True Foundation is a compact cushion foundation with SPF 35 that neutralizes and brightens skin for true complexion. Light in texture yet provides full coverage, it is suitable for all skin types and wudhu-friendly.

At the moment, the only stocks available are through her nationwide partners who share her passion for empowerment and positivity. “My partners are my strongest supporters and we work together to create the right business model and platform to grow the brand. I believe that we all carry the spirit of entrepreneurship. Through Face & Co, we build and nurture leaders, we learn together, we grow together. We create opportunities and income. We are beautiful and confident, and inspire one another to become better persons.”

“Face & Co’s ‘Be Bold’ campaign further inspires confidence among users, encouraging people to learn to be bold, speak their minds, recognise their values, pursue their dreams and be successful in life. Our brand lives up to its commercial values as a respected beauty brand that also practises social responsibility.”

As a single mom, Intan’s 14-year old daughter, Indah Khadeeja is also very understanding, having experienced together with Intan the entrepreneurial journey to the uncovering of Face & Co. The bond between mother and daughter is strong. A tech-savvy teenager, Indah Khadeeja often suggests new ideas of promoting the brand i.e. through international social influencers on YouTube and more besides following her mother on business meetings.

As the second in the family, Intan has always been independent since young and has grown up taking care of her siblings. That has shaped her beliefs in able to think on her own.
Her advice to other entrepreneurs is to always think positive and maintain the passion in order to keep going. It is important to have a clear intention of what we want, plan and always have friends and loved ones to support throughout the journey.

Intan’s next bigger mission in the long run is to promote personal branding as part of the Malaysian education blueprint and empower the younger generation with greater self-esteem and confidence.

This a huge task that entails huge efforts in research and planning and requires the support of relevant authorities. She understands that it will take some time. Nevertheless, she will persevere towards this aim, while growing her business at the same time.

Intan Ilyani Ghazali is a truly inspirational woman, who has prevailed against many odds in life. She is a bold and exemplary entrepreneur who believes in the powerful combination of beauty and positivity towards making life more beautiful and meaningful for all. Follow her heartwarming journey on https://www.facebook.com/face.co.my/ and embark on this purposeful mission to make life matter, not just for yourself, but for others as well.

Contact Information:

Name: Dr. Zyro Wong
Organization: Zyro Wong Consultancy
Website: http://zyrowong.com/
Phone Number: +6019-224 9663
Email: me@zyrowong.com
Address: B-1-3A, Kuchai Exchange, Jalan Kuchai Maju 13, Off Jalan Kuchai Lama, 58200 Kuala Lumpur.

SK Silkscreen Trading | Kenny Wong & James Wong | Sibling Entrepreneurs Catalyse Family Business into New Heights

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, August 26, 2017 /PRWIRE.asia/ -- Meet Kenny Wong, 25 years old and his brother James, who is only 22 years old. Their trendy, youthful appearance belies their depth of business experience. In fact, both are seasoned entrepreneurs who have between them, close to twenty years of combined experience and expertise in the silkscreen printing business.

Together with two other siblings, the Wong brothers have reinvented and transformed their parents’ traditional manual silkscreen printing company into a thriving business that is synonymous with high standards of creativity, quality, cost-effectiveness and speedy response to customers.

Complementing each other’s skillsets and interests, Kenny leads operations management and business development while younger brother, James, injects his creative flair into the design and production side of the business. Their parents are now comfortably semi-retired, having seen the siblings progressively and successfully grow the company over the years.

According to Kenny Wong, the significant transformation was achieved by digitalising the business across the value chain. Some of the business process improvements include automated order-taking to being able to provide actual order samples within two hours of receiving artwork, ensuring optimal production timing, superior quality printing standards and efficient delivery to customers.

The adoption of technology in the business processes has also meant that their company, SK Silkscreen, which has been operating for more than two decades, is able to provide customised solutions to customers, from design to production.

With the support of strategic industry partners, personalisation may also range from the type of fabric i.e. the percentage of cotton or polyester content in the fabric composition – while in-house, the investment in state-of-the-art equipment proffered design-to-order capabilities.

On top of that, the end products and services are competitively priced as they believe in creating long term customer relationships. In the past, a lot of orders were taken manually but today with online ordering and e-commerce facilitation, they are able to serve customers worldwide. In fact, there has been a steady influx of orders coming in from countries such as Australia, Singapore, Philippines and Thailand, to name a few.

The company is now rebranded as a one-stop centre offering the complete spectrum of premium items screen printing, heat transfer, embroidery and heat transfer – serving direct clients, agencies and other advertising specialty markets. Products include t-shirts, long-sleeved shirts, uniforms, caps, fabric bags and more.

Kenny started helping out in the family business in 2006 when he was just 14 years old, studying Form 2. He related how they used to print the silkscreen using the traditional-style wooden screens but with the usage of modern machinery for the sewing, printing and embroidery, productivity has significantly increased while costs are being managed more effectively with economies of scale. Both brothers see the strong growth potential of the business, buoyed with Government incentives for e-commerce businesses and the implementation of the Digital Free Trade Zone.

James commented on the potential of online shopping platforms such as Alibaba.com, indicating that with the ease of executing transactions and wider brand presence, there could be more opportunities to reach out to a wider customer segment. Hence, they have over the recent years, invested time and money to enhance their knowledge and competencies i.e. by attending professional courses and training events such as the recent JJ Delgado Digital Marketing Masterclass in Kuala Lumpur.

Both brothers reiterated that growing the business efficiently and effective was of key priority to create a strong foundation, rather than creating accelerated growth without ensuring that all the supporting functions are in place. Their vision is to deliver the best standards in quality and service.

As part of their commitment to social corporate responsibility, there is an initiative to support projects that come in from schools, especially when dealing with students. In this aspect, SK Silkscreen Trading attempts to guide the students who bring in printing projects, on design ideation and printing best practices while providing special pricing packages. Kenny said, “I believe in creating long term relationships, and hope that the young students that we support today in their projects, will come back to us in future with bigger orders.”

The brothers have also embraced the social media platform and embarked into online marketing as avenues for publicity and marketing communications. James enthused on the phenomenal results from Facebook promotion efforts, adding that other than creating sales-driven strategies, they would also team up with other product owners to create value-added bundle promotion campaigns and leverage on unified brand recognition.

For SK Silkscreen Trading, with Kenny and James at the forefront, the entrepreneurial spirit reigns high. As they drive the business strategically and synergistically, the future can only become more vibrant.

Contact Information:

Name: Dr. Zyro Wong
Organization: Zyro Wong Consultancy
Website: http://zyrowong.com/
Phone Number: +6019-224 9663
Email: me@zyrowong.com
Address: B-1-3A, Kuchai Exchange, Jalan Kuchai Maju 13, Off Jalan Kuchai Lama, 58200 Kuala Lumpur.

Intan Ilyani Ghazali | Face & Co – Astra Blooms Sdn Bhd | Uniting Women through the Language of Love and Entrepreneurship

August 24, 2017 /PRWIRE.asia/ -- Meeting beauty entrepreneur Intan Ilyani Ghazali is like a breath of fresh air. She elegantly stands out with her flawlessly-natural skin tone, perfectly-coiffured hair and sophisticated persona. Yet, she is awesomely down-to-earth, friendly and vivacious in true Malaysian charm.

After a 15-year stint with Malaysia’s biggest bank where she last held the coveted position as Personal Assistant to the Chairman, making the decision to leave everything behind to pursue her entrepreneurial journey was not easy. However, she says, “I always had the passion for beauty and personal branding. Despite the lucrative job perks and great working environment where I learnt a lot, I made the decision to come out on my own because I believed that I can do more.”

“A friend suggested that I create a beauty brand that reflects my beliefs on being natural and beautiful inside out. I also desired to give back to society. This is how the brand Face & Co came about. It is of course not easy to enter into an industry that had already been conquered by many Malaysians, but I believe that we can reach out to the market and generate strong acceptance. I have a huge mission. Though some of my friends laugh at this idea, I intend to grow the brand to the next level, into the international arena and position it as a global brand.”

Her decision to not depend on loans or funding, but instead use her lifelong savings and compensation from a voluntary employee separation package from the bank to fuel the business startup was not easy. It meant that she had to bootstrap the business right from the beginning. It also meant learning on the go, having to solve problems on her own, and having the urgency to work harder and to continue to persevere despite the odds.

Having surmounted many challenges throughout the journey and yet, Intan remains positive. She believes that recognition has to be earned and that anyone can do it.
Intan said, “The satisfaction in being able to achieve your goals, and make people smile along the way, is truly worth it.”

She adds, “Face & Co was launched in April this year. I didn’t expect the response to be so overwhelming as we only use social media for our promotion. Not just in the stringent standards and unsurpassed quality of our products – if you look at the one-year intensive journey of product research, formulation, production and brand development – but also through our philosophy to empower women, by encouraging them to look natural and confident in their own skin, live a positive-thinking lifestyle and help others along the way.”

Face & Co’s first product, True Foundation, received overwhelming response that within the first one and a half months, stocks in her headquarters have already run out. True Foundation is a compact cushion foundation with SPF 35 that neutralizes and brightens skin for true complexion. Light in texture yet provides full coverage, it is suitable for all skin types and wudhu-friendly.

At the moment, the only stocks available are through her nationwide partners who share her passion for empowerment and positivity. “My partners are my strongest supporters and we work together to create the right business model and platform to grow the brand. I believe that we all carry the spirit of entrepreneurship. Through Face & Co, we build and nurture leaders, we learn together, we grow together. We create opportunities and income. We are beautiful and confident, and inspire one another to become better persons.”

“Face & Co’s ‘Be Bold’ campaign further inspires confidence among users, encouraging people to learn to be bold, speak their minds, recognise their values, pursue their dreams and be successful in life. Our brand lives up to its commercial values as a respected beauty brand that also practises social responsibility.”

As a single mom, Intan’s 14-year old daughter, Indah Khadeeja is also very understanding, having experienced together with Intan the entrepreneurial journey to the uncovering of Face & Co. The bond between mother and daughter is strong. A tech-savvy teenager, Indah Khadeeja often suggests new ideas of promoting the brand i.e. through international social influencers on YouTube and more besides following her mother on business meetings.

As the second in the family, Intan has always been independent since young and has grown up taking care of her siblings. That has shaped her beliefs in able to think on her own.
Her advice to other entrepreneurs is to always think positive and maintain the passion in order to keep going. It is important to have a clear intention of what we want, plan and always have friends and loved ones to support throughout the journey.

Intan’s next bigger mission in the long run is to promote personal branding as part of the Malaysian education blueprint and empower the younger generation with greater self-esteem and confidence.

This a huge task that entails huge efforts in research and planning and requires the support of relevant authorities. She understands that it will take some time. Nevertheless, she will persevere towards this aim, while growing her business at the same time.

Intan Ilyani Ghazali is a truly inspirational woman, who has prevailed against many odds in life. She is a bold and exemplary entrepreneur who believes in the powerful combination of beauty and positivity towards making life more beautiful and meaningful for all. Follow her heartwarming journey on https://www.facebook.com/face.co.my/ and embark on this purposeful mission to make life matter, not just for yourself, but for others as well.

Contact Information:

Name: Dr. Zyro Wong
Organization: Zyro Wong Consultancy
Website: http://zyrowong.com/
Phone Number: +6019-224 9663
Email: me@zyrowong.com
Address: B-1-3A, Kuchai Exchange, Jalan Kuchai Maju 13, Off Jalan Kuchai Lama, 58200 Kuala Lumpur.

KLC Language Center Education Group | Sean Chia and Jacelyn Tan | Entrepreneurs empowering young learners through cutting-edge education

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, August 24, 2017 /PRWIRE.asia/ -- Can you ever imagine that a 5-year child can read and accurately pronounce university-level academic text? Interestingly, this has been proven possible through programmes offered by Kids Planet Education Group, which comprises Kids Planet Education Sdn Bhd and Kids Planet Language Centre Sdn Bhd. In fact, the learning model is so successful that there are even parents who are willing to drive their children a massive 200 km, all the way from Endau Rompin, just to attend the weekly class in Johor Bahru.

At the helm of this innovative education system are Sean Chia and Jacelyn Tan, a dynamic entrepreneurial couple who have creatively integrated their engineering and accountancy backgrounds into the education business. Their trail-blazing success story stems back to Jacelyn’s passion for teaching. As a teenager, she was already providing tuition to children during her free time after classes in secondary school. Even after she graduated with an accountancy degree and entered working life, her interest in teaching never waned.

When the couple got married, although life was comfortable and finances were good with both commanding high paying jobs – Sean however had to spend time and energy commuting daily to Singapore for work. They realised that they needed something more stable and contemplated on starting a business. Children’s education was a natural option, given Jacelyn’s lifelong interest in teaching.

Getting started was toughest, as Sean had to quit his job and start from scratch. It meant that they had to use up all their savings, move out from their own home to their parents’ home in order to generate rental income and sacrifice other resources to cover the rental, teachers’ salaries and other operating expenses to start their first preschool for kids in 2009. To create the right product to meet the children’s education market pain points, they saw the potential of assimilating technology into education as Sean was very interested in technology and systemic ways of creating results.

Having to juggle between cash resources, space limitations, finding the right teachers as well as designing the right teaching system and even managing both family time and work life was challenging. Despite these trials, the entrepreneurs attest that it has been a great and fruitful journey all the way.

Both Sean’s and Jacelyn’s vision for the preschool is more than just education. From expanding the preschool to a bigger premises and incorporating value-added learning techniques, the business diversified into a language centre in 2014 and there is no slowing down for this dynamic couple. There are now 2 KLC Preschools and 8 KLC Language Centres.

Their vision to make KLC Education Group a centre of excellence for child development, by teaching essential life skills and laying the foundation for future academic success. Compared to conventional education methodology, the KLC learning experience promotes creativity that utilises all the five senses, promotes personal development and inculcates proficiencies in the English, Malay and Chinese languages.

In fact, the couple is continuously exploring new ideas to create more advanced learning methods, by combining education technology, environment-aided concepts and dynamic educational systems. KLC Education Group’s track record has enjoyed significant achievements as it can customise its programmes to meet each child’s individual needs and interests.

Last year, in March 2016, the Ministry of Domestic Trade, Co-operatives and Consumerism issued them with a franchisor licence and the future is more rosy than ever before. According to Sean, “We intend to open more preschools and language centres, not just in Johor but also nationwide within the next few years. The way we operate is different, our focus on results by improving the learning system and delivery of our training programmes ensure that we are constantly improving and staying ahead. We also intend to diversify the business, not in other industries but more towards children education products as we have the data and knowhow on this industry.”

Jacelyn added that even during family holidays, they take the effort to visit education centres in other countries to compare best practices and learn from other systems. Their children, aged 2 and 6 years old, are part of the family and work culture. The eldest, in fact, participates in the same learning programmes and provides useful feedback to Sean and Jacelyn.

Both of them complement each other. According to Jacelyn, “There is no conflict at work as Sean focuses on business strategy and growth while I concentrate on teachers’ training and children’s learning development and programmes. We respect each other’s opinions.” Sean quipped, “We have a good balance and this is important in fostering the family and work-life balance”.

Kids Planet Education Group’s success has not gone unnoticed. After receiving the Asia Honesty Enterprise Award in 2015 for his brand, in 2016, Sean was accorded the 100 Most Influential Young Entrepreneur award and this year, his hard work received two strong accolades in the form of the ASEAN-China Top Business Award as well as the legendary Golden Bull Award 2017 for SMEs.

Jacelyn encourages all budding entrepreneurs to “Go all out and never give up. Don’t say I will try my best but say I will go all out.” Sean emphasises on the importance of setting goals and remaining focused, and to be able to adapt and improve approaches to solving problems in order to achieve goals.

Together, this powerhouse couple certainly has an amazing journey ahead of them. Their dedication to making a difference in creating cutting-edge education systems for children is on the right track and the future can only be more abundant.

Contact Information:

Name: Dr. Zyro Wong
Organization: Zyro Wong Consultancy
Website: http://zyrowong.com/
Phone Number: +6019-224 9663
Email: me@zyrowong.com
Address: B-1-3A, Kuchai Exchange, Jalan Kuchai Maju 13, Off Jalan Kuchai Lama, 58200 Kuala Lumpur.

Fei Fei Crab Restaurant – Passion and Persistence Reap Rewards for Award-winning Restaurateur

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, August 22, 2017 /PRWIRE.asia/ -- Despite having just turned 30 earlier this year, Tan Nam Kun or as he knows to his fans, Chef Minamikon, still looks boyish and has the demeanour of the friendly, dependable young man next door. Although he has achieved massive fame with multiple seafood restaurants spread throughout Kuala Lumpur and Johor Bahru, received three entrepreneurship business awards and is said to be the “Culinary Crab King”, he has not let glory get to his head.

Tan shares that life has always been challenging from young as he did not come from a rich family. He had to build his business empire from ground zero, learning the ropes and fine-tuning his skills and knowledge day by day.

Initially trained in multimedia design, operating a food business, what more, a gourmet crab and seafood restaurant was never in his mind 10 years ago. After graduating from college and starting his first job doing multimedia in a TV station, he felt cooped up and could not see the future.

Reflecting deeply, he realised that he loved food and decided to leave his training before and start afresh by helping out in a restaurant. He vowed that he would learn the ropes, learn as much as possible and do whatever it took to understand the restaurant business. His perseverance was demonstrated by being one of the earliest to reach work and often he was the last to leave, taking whatever spare time to understand and learn finer culinary skills but also discover how to manage operations and finances.

Tan is indeed an extraordinary, self-made entrepreneur who is deserving of all the recognition and accolades accorded to him. After winning the SME & Entrepreneurship Business Award early this year in the Enterprising Inspiration category, he has gone on to win the International Prestige Brand Award for Best Brand in Crab Restaurant and the China-ASEAN Top Business Award 2017. What is the secret of his success? Good food, good quality, good people. In fact, his Fei Fei Crab chain of restaurants are so popular that long queues are seen during weekends and they even have a no reservation policy.

Tan has never forgotten his roots. He speaks of his childhood days and his dreams of desiring to be his own boss and create financial freedom. Saving every bit of money left from his meagre income and trying to make ends meet, he made sure he understood enough about cooking, operations, management…the whole works.

He soon opened a small stall in a neighbouring food court, testing out his own recipes in crab dishes. Soon he won himself many loyal customers who encouraged him to start out on his own standalone restaurant.

Bootstrapping right from the beginning with only a capital of RM50,000, Tan’s life has never been the same since he opened his first Fei Fei Crab restaurant and today with 8 flourishing outlets, a host of signature dishes and creative new dish innovations, his hopes and dreams are more vibrant than ever hope.

“I hope to open 10 restaurants by end of 2017 and eventually, expand overseas as well”, enthuses Tan. He has even visited neighbouring countries as well as China to evaluate the business prospects and sees ample growth opportunities.

He says that to grow and to maintain customer support, “It is important to always maintain consistently high standards of taste, quality and the customer experience. This is my credo for growth”, enthuses Tan.

“I have never thought of challenges as stressful. Whenever there is a road block or barrier, I just charge forward. I learn from my mistakes and evaluate what to do next. All I know is to just do it. Success is just around the corner. I never give up no matter what circumstances I may be in”, he says.

I also try to network with other like-minded entrepreneurs so that I can learn more and develop my own knowledge and skills at the same time. My business circle has also been greatly enriched as a result.

Tan Nam Kun epitomises true entrepreneurial grit and spirit, an exemplary model to those who wish to start a new business. He is an inspiration to seasoned business owners that change and growth come to those who are hardworking and persistent.

Contact Information:

Name: Dr. Zyro Wong
Organization: Zyro Wong Consultancy
Website: http://zyrowong.com/
Phone Number: +6019-224 9663
Email: me@zyrowong.com
Address: B-1-3A, Kuchai Exchange, Jalan Kuchai Maju 13, Off Jalan Kuchai Lama, 58200 Kuala Lumpur.