Business Cycle

It is part of our life for every success or achievement and failure to happen. I am no exception for this life cycle nor does business. Most people will never discuss or talk about their failures in business. May be it’s a kind of taboo or a myth to talk over about it. Most business people will only talk about their glamorous success or just success.

Honestly speaking, I will write more in this blog in the coming article about my true encounter of failure. For me failure is the greatest lessons learn to be a successful entrepreneur. No body will be so successful today in their business without knowing the pitfalls or learn from their failure.

One good lesson here is from Dato Timothy Ong, one of our great entrepreneurs. He is a good reader on most books and magazines especially in the business field. One day he found Asia Inc, owned by one of the Thai business people and it was offered for sale during the Asian economic crisis. As a businessman, Dato Timothy thought it’s a good deal and opportunity to grab it as it fits his interest and he knew most of his friends in the business community like reading.

He bought the company, run the company and markets his company product. He thought marketing a business magazine was not that tough as most of his colleague will read it once in a while in a month, and it does not cost a fortune to buy or subscribe one.

Marketing part failed and he has no idea what went wrong. The content was good, the presentation was good. Then after sometime he turns to somebody he could trust and soon realized the failure. Marketing for a magazine will be successful if it were to be handled by a party or person or organizations that focus in the field of advertising. Not just a publishing company. Then after, Asia Inc is famous and selling good as we know today. It was being well received in most part of Asia including the European, North America and the Australian.

The lesson above told us to never narrow our field of study but thought us to broaden our study in the business field. It also told us to use professional service if we want to be successful and not to ever do it alone. Working together in a team will bear good result.

However, in my point of view apart from the above lesson, cash flow is the king for success combined with business intelligence. Never underestimate the power of cash flow, never underestimate your competitor, never over estimate the market and be ready of the unthinkable, such as act of Mother Nature.