getting to know o-shima

Assalamualaikum…peace!

How is everybody? Feeling great today? Me? Hm…just so so..haha..so, what’s new today?? Finally I paid my study fee for this semester..huhuhu..*feeling excited and relieved*.. of course I am feeling so, after few times postponed (actually the bank is not so far though, about 5 minutes by walking..:P). After withdraw my money today and seeing the balance, I cannot accept the reality..you know, the feeling when your money is gone in a large amount leaves a very few balance..yes, that exact feeling..*sigh*..I think I have to minimize my expenses more strictly after this.

money..money..money..($_$)

Well, this week we had an industrial talk. It was very interesting one. The talk is given by Puan  Asnidar Hanim Yusuf, owner of O-shima restaurant. Her restaurant serves Halal Japanese foods mainly sushi, the traditional one..you know, the one which give you natural flavour instead of the new invention one. She previously studied degree and master level in engineering and currently taking PHD in USIM. Because of interest, she and her husband open this restaurant together. She had shared with us her experience in opening a business. She said we have to be tough and strong in this field. She had faced many hurdles and hardness to achieve her success now. For instance, have to close some branch because of workers’ problem (fighting in kitchen) and her business information got dig by her friend and open the same restaurant. Some hurdle gave tears to her but she never feels discouraged but instead she bounced back and strived more. She said we have to be always positive, Allah is always beside us and we have to believe Him and ensure that in everything we do, we must have a sincere intention because of Allah. I really agree with her. Her passion and sincerity in doing business really motivate and encourage me be a success person and insya Allah a success entrepreneur like her. May Allah ease my path. Amiin..

I think that’s the end of my writing right now. Assalamualaikum and goodnight everyone!  

dealing with foreign markets

Assalamualaikum readers and viewers..

I just got back from my hometown yesterday after mid-semester break. I did a lot of things when I was in home..hehe..well, let’s story..first, we went to a vacation!! *happy*..well, it just in Teluk Batik which we frequently went to but this time we spent a night there. My younger sister booked a chalet called Crystal Bay chalet. It is nice and very affordable (RM100 on weekdays, RM125 per night on weekend). What I like the most from this vacation is the foods offered in restaurants we went to are mostly cheap and most importantly I don’t get sunburn..haha..the weather was so nice as it is cloudy so I don’t have to worry to stay long at the seaside. But what disappoint me is the trash litter was everywhere as the day before was Deepavali and the cleaners which mostly Indian had two days off. During the break also, I made my first PASSPORT..*feeling excited*..finally, after two times failed(Pudu-closed because of the electricity problem and Kuala Selangor-run out of numbers). I succeed in getting passport in Teluk Intan. Luckily, the process was fast and I didn’t have to wait for long.

my passport..tihihi

cannot enter Israel la

p/s: no pic for my vacation as i forgot to ask some from my mother (our camerawoman).

Last but not least, I made a strawberry cake (first time) and chocolate cupcakes at home. Although it looks clumsy but it full of sincerity...hehe…thank you Umi for the decoration of the strawberry cake..it took me a night to make the strawberry cake (with decoration), well, first timer..hihi..while for the chocolate cupcakes, I made it for my beloved friends..

my first strawberry cake

made by me, decorated by my friends (ada, nisaa, kinah, sahidah)..:D

Okay, now let’s get back to SM. This time lecture is about strategies for competing in international markets. Most of entrepreneurs must have a will to spend their business not just locally but also into foreign markets. This is because the bigger the market, the better for our product expanding. Through this chapter, I can see that it is more complex and hard than the previous chapters as we are now entering a bigger scope in business. It is because different country will have different cultures, policies, climax, taste and preference and etc. which we have to consider and understand first before entering the market. In home country, which is the country where we begin our business, we don’t have to worry for all these as we know better people in our country. But in host country; the country where we spend our business and open branches there, these all matters. The risks are also higher and we cannot take it lightly. Talking about risk, Miss Ummi had shared with us the issue of LINAS. She said that LINAS came from Australia to our country to dump the radioactive wastage. It obviously cause harm to us but some Malay people just gladly welcome them. Did they ever think on why the company do the project in our country instead of theirs? Well, you can just think about it..is there any country which want to harm their own people? I must say there is, it is Malaysia. I think I get little bit emotional here..hehe..

      We also learned about the strategic options. I interested in franchising strategy which is widely used by companies like KFC, McDonald’s, Starbucks, hotels, and etc. It is simpler and easier. Maybe I can also franchise my own bakery shop in the future..huhu..Insya’Allah. Lastly, Miss had shared an interesting video of Oreo sales in China. Oreo originally came from US but it gets a high sale in China. The company had invented many types and shape of it which coincide with the preferences of local people.

yummy!

Well, I think that’s all I can write for this post..feeling so sleepy right now..may meet you again in the next post..nyte!

what makes our company strong

Assalamualaikum..hye!!

As usual, I want to share my story first of all things. I would like to name the story; ‘a very long day for a KFC’..wah, it just come to my mind in a second..I must have a gift in naming things..*self-admired*..ok, this story just happened yesterday. It started when my two friends and I planned to go to Puduraya station to make a passport where we need to use it for our industrial visit. We took ‘prebet’ (don’t know how to translate it into English, kinda like taxi but cheaper and commonly offered by students), KTM, and then LRT to arrive Pudu. Such a long journey..BUT..arrived there, the entrance to the immigration centre was locked and we found a notice written ‘we are sorry. There is electricity problem in immigration centre during this period. Any activity is temporarily stopped until the problem is settled.’ We felt very disappointed and upset. Luckily, I did not go there just for making passport as I also need to buy bus ticket for Saturday. After I bought my ticket, we went to KFC to fill our empty stomach. As I got to try the new set of KFC, I felt slightly happy..hehe..then, we just went home and took LRT, KTM and ‘prebet’ once again. =_=..

this pic makes me crave for it again..*drooled*..:-P

Okay, now we move to the real topic. This week chapter is strengthening a company’s competitive decision: strategic moves, timing and scope of operations. Just like its name, this chapter discuss about a really wide scope about how to amplify our company and products throughout the market. We have to know when will we use offensive (attack) and defensive strategies. I was interested to a strategy called blue-ocean strategy; a market space, where the industry has not yet taken shape, with no rivals and wide-open long-term growth and profit potential for a firm that can create demand for new types of products. It means we produce something new and unique which others never done before. If I want to succeed as a food business successor in the future, I have to start to think about it now. Hmm..any idea?? As the definition, any company who try to create something new called a first mover. It can be advantages and also disadvantages. It will be advantageous if your product gets a good and favorable response where many customers will look up for your product and you get a drastic increase of sales. But, it will be disadvantageous if your product fail to attract people and you already invest a lot of money into it. We also learned about merger. Merger is basically a combining of two or more companies into a single corporate entity with a new name. It can be categorized into two which are horizontal and vertical, but I still have to read more to fully understand the difference. There is also outsourcing where a company has to use outside vendors for their value chain activities mostly because it is cheaper and more flexible.
     I think that’s all for now. Please look up my previous posts also..hehe..*sudden self-promote*..ahh, so tired..k, goodbye everyone..Assalamualaikum..;-)