The purpose I open this thread is to gather all business owners to share their experience in Small and Medium cash flow business. This will be a guide to someone out there who intends to invest in small and medium business. I share mine 1st.

*Edited - Add in Equipment, Overhead, Rental, and other cost.
*All the income shown is Gross Profit only. It is not Net Profit.

Success :

1. Car wash
Capital : 20k
a. Water Jet Pump - RM 800 (3 nos) = RM 2,400
b. Soap Bomb (Snow Wash Dispenser) = RM 700 (2nd hand) *Just fill in the soap and it will come out with snow wash, and the shape is like a bomb
c. Detergent = RM 500. Always stock 10 tong (RM 50/tong).
d. Cleaning Cloth = RM 100 (50 pieces)
e. Other miscellaneous stuff = Book, Promotion banner etc. = RM 1,000
f. Minor renovation = Concrete ramp for under car wash. M&E wiring. Minor repair to the dessert house. = RM 15k
g. Some additional cash to start the day = RM 500
Partner : 1
Location : Nearby Government Office and Residential Area. Converted a dessert house to a carwash centre.
Monthly/Daily Income : Average 55 cars daily, average RM 11 per car.
Workers : 10 workers. RM 300 per person. With commission RM 1 per car and includes lunch
Duration : Manage it for 1 year and a half and sell it off.
Opinion : Good cash flow business. Easy to manage.

2. Laundry
Capital : 10k (I take over from someone who owes money to the loan shark, and he needs money urgently.)
a. Take over all the shop which includes 2 heavy duty washing machine , 3 heavy duty dryers, 2 iron and board, etc.
Partner : None
Location : Apartment area (Approx. 5,000 units). The only laundry available as there are only 2 rows of shoplot own by the same owner and I pay slightly higher rent to the owner and signed an agreement with him not to rent to any other laundry.
Monthly/Daily Income : RM 4 per kg (all kinds of clothes). Average income RM 25,000 per month. (Do not include contract wash from nearby reflexology centre, cafes and restaurant)
Workers : 10 workers. RM 400 per person. With commission RM 0.50 per kg and includes lunch
Duration : Manage it for 2 years and sell it off.
Opinion : Good cash flow business. For walk-in business, find location with medium/heavy populated residential area.

3. Western Food Stall
Capital : 15k.
a. Minor renovation of the stall = RM 2,000
b. Additional aluminum stall = RM 3,000
b. All the equipment necessary for cooking (Utensils, Grilled Plate and Fridge stand the major portion)= RM 5,000
c. Rental = RM 3,600 (RM 1,200/month. 2 + 1)
d. Cash to buy ingredients = RM 500
d. Some additional cash to start the day = RM 500
Partner : 1
Location : Food court nearby to residential area.
Monthly/Daily Income : In weekdays, average 30 plates of steak. And average 50 plates during Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Average RM 15 per plate.
Workers : 6 workers. With commission RM 1 per plate.
Duration : Half a year. Sell it off to my partner.
Opinion : Need a good chef who cooks FANTASTIC FOOD! The hours is too long and tiring. Eventually every customer has their own taste, therefore complaints are un-avoidable.

4. Room Rental
Capital : 40-50k.
Refer to my thread on this. http://forum.lowyat.net/index.php?showtopic=1240408&hl=
Partner : 1
Location : Shoplot.
Monthly/Daily Income : Average income RM 2,600 per month.
Workers : 1 worker. Ah ma. Cleaning services.
Duration : 3 years. Ended setting up 8 locations and sell it off.
Opinion : Need good management. Humans are the most complicated animals on earth. Some are fussy, some are grouchy, you name it.


Failure :

1. Computer Sales and Services
Capital : 20k
Partner : 2 (Too many chef spoils the broth)
Location : Shoplot.
Monthly/Daily Income : The peak sales is only RM 3,xxx. Lowest RM 50.
Workers : 1 worker. Based on sales commission with base salary RM 500.
Duration : Bear the lost for half a year. Lost all the 20k after deducting all things, rental deposit and etc. and still need to fork in 1k to wind up the company.
Opinion : Too competitive. Too lousy margin. Too many partners. Since then, I reject every computer venture that approach to me. (They keep pitching how they do it differently, bla bla bla.... and I still end up saying "NO, thanks".)

2. Nasi Lemak & Kuih Stall
Capital : 10k
Partner : 1
Location : A stall at residential area
Monthly/Daily Income : The peak sales is RM 600 per day. After everything sold out. RM 2 per bungkus nasi lemak. Target 200 bungkus everyday.
Workers : 1 worker. RM 300
Opinion : Fail due to the failure commitment of my partner. Today lazy, do only 50 bungkus. Tommorrow rajin, do 200 bungkus. Therefore, I close down the stall and sold off the stall for 5k. Still RUGI 5k!

This post has been edited by edyek: Dec 22 2009, 03:49 PM

from wat i c ... from all the businesses u ventured which are successfull , u had sold them out except the laundry.

while doing a business shud b long term , u had sold off 3/4 of ur profiting ventures. mind to share y?

Sold off my laundry business also.

In my opinion, cash flow business for me is short term to raise capital and cash to venture into my long term business (construction) and invest in land banking and commercial property.

Business : I love business. I love the thrill and challenge of it. Business provides me cash flow for monthly expenses but not assets.

Properties : I realized to have a stable financial in my late days, land banking and commercial property is the only way to go. These both does not goes out of time, but business do.

My strategy : Get in a business, build it up and sold it off for a decent profit and invest in properties.

i notice that u manage those successful business not more than 4 years, i wonder if it really provixe good cash flow, why don't u just get someone to take care of it and let snow ball roll become bigger? so what is the latest business u r doing right now?

I agree with TS. This is wat i would do if i were in his shoe as well. Most important is make profit and from there invest in property or focus only on 1 high profit margin business. It will be hard if we were to take care of so many business at a time. In the end, the room for growth for business will be limited.

TS, you sure are a hardworking businessman!
good to hear that..

i always wanted to start a business but do not have the courage to take the first step...

capital 40 - 50k just for shoplot rental?

care to elaborate further?


which is why i didn't go into COMPUTER related business.

allow me to share...........

it's volatile and you can't earn if you don't do volume.

when doing small amount (or if those distributors don't TREASURE you) then your COST per item, not inclusive of delivery, is still higher than those retailers at say Lowyat Plaza, or even LYN.

i tried before. didn't put $$$ but try to sell la. the board I sell, with sooooooooooo minimal earning and inclusive delivery, is like RM 10 - 20 more expensive than LYN / LYP sellers.

only thing that helped me was my reputation, even that also sales was minimal. let's not forget warranty issue, say your profit margin is only RM 10 - 20 each item - then what if shit happens? gone already the warranty.

in the end the profit margin just doesn't justify the amount of time and effort put in.

and that is just me selling online - as for edyek's case it's even more difficult as you need to pay rental, utilities, other hardware and stuff, buy stock.

about the volatile part - not all computer parts have fixed price. components like RAM can fluctuate. like 1GB RAM last time, from RM 140, drop to 70, then go up to 110, then so on so forth.

items like graphic card, better still! cost price RM 900, RRP is RM 950. you want to bring in stock, say even if you bring in just 5 la. so you sold 1. profit RM 50 - then 2 months later, new product come out and your goods still around. price drop, RM 800. no matter how you sell it off also you're at a loss already.

and mind you the loss is not necessarily just the retailer / seller side, even distributors have to deal with such losses.

and to add, if you go with EXISTING brands - then good luck fighting with the other established companies in selling. they get lower COST PRICE than you and sell higher volume. you can fight with pricing but how much loss are you willing to take just to penetrate the market?

to go with NEW or LESSER JNOWN brands? then also good luck, lesser brands are often less favored and to persuade people to BUY that brand alone is so difficult, sure it could be really much cheaper for the same item (eg GTS250 vs GTS250) but people's uncertainty over warranty and support is a problem. and with that, you have to put effort into marketing or have to fight with whatever means possible.

that's why you see some brands like Asus, Gigabyte, Galaxy, Sapphire are so widely available while other brands like Albatron, Colorful, Manli, ECS and those are so hard to find. And it's not that they're that bad or being NEW but rather it's just UNKNOWN to the market you're selling to. For example Colorful is #1 brand in China but in M'sia it's ....... what?

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Added on December 20, 2009, 3:13 amwhat TS did was great, however it is far from the complete picture.........

1. how long do you expect the capital to last?
2. who are your competitors and what are they offering?
3. how stiff is the competition? (eg, how aggressive are they? or are there too many around the area?)
4. how do you plan to be different?
5. what's your marketing plan?

that also doesn't add to the complete picture. IMO every business is a battleground, and they're all DIFFERENT.

you can't just jump into a business without proper planning.

what about a paintball related business?
with the paintball sports starting to bloom in malaysia,
do u think it is a good time to start a paintball shop or paintball field?

ahhh paintball. i have a paintball team.

basically are you talking about GROUND UP or what? I'm not a paintball operator BUT from the smattering of information i know - as operator also you need license since paintball markers are like firearms. they can be used to kill.

think about finding the land area, setting up a site with storage and everything, buying house markers, vests, and getting experienced people ...... phew, a lot of work. and the game is NOT CHEAP! and the pellets need good place to store. blablablbala.........

OR you can go about selling accessories and such, like Werdna Hol for example. jersey, marker, pants, masks blabablala........

As for my team does - we help organize events / games. we have our members to marshal the game, including Div III (or was it Div II, can't remember) player with experience to guide. It's on the service part la, site is at TT Sports Park. So $$$ earn through coordinating paintball games and such. quite alright for side income la, doing it out of sheer passion and having fun.

The reason I sold it because I want to raise some capital and cash reserve for investment in land banking and commercial property. I couldn't find any person to manage it for me, as my current status is alone. My family was not in the same city as I am right now. Therefore, I choose to sold it off. My latest venture is seaweed cultivation farm.


Yes. That is correct. Thanks for the clarification. Too much business at hand will make me haywire.


Thanks. Got the blood from my father.


I used to have the same dilemma as you when I 1st started the computer sale & service, and Yes I've fail in my 1st biz. It really needs some pushing and courage to go through this. But if you have taken the 1st step, the rest will come.

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Added on December 20, 2009, 1:29 pmI've open a thread regarding this at Property sub-forum.


Agreed, You are having the same experience as me. Nowadays, computer business are really not suitable for small players and business starters. Technology keeps shifting into more advanced stage, and you just can't keep up with all the stock.


I've look over this business and I'm still thinking is it viable to venture into this. So far, there are only 2 fields setup at my location whereby it is urban type. The one you play in a cage. I've seen some field with forest battleground and old warehouse. If I would venture into this business, I would venture in forest battleground and warehouse.

My concern is:
1. Capital - You need to buy a land/ware house or rent a land/warehouse (cheaper).
2. Equipment - All the guns and stuff
3. License - Still pondering where to get this register.
4. Staff - Experience staff and refree.

Anyone here have the experience in starting this business?

*By the look of it, I don't think it suits me. I've don't play paintball, and I guessing it needs around 50-100k to setup everything? or maybe more.

This post has been edited by edyek: Dec 20 2009, 01:34 PM

Was the car wash a long time ago? RM300 + RM150 commission is kind of low. Who did you hire?

10 workers also seems like a lot. If you average 55 cars a day, that's only 5 cars per person. If they work in teams of two, that's only 10 cars per day per person.

The laundry also seems somewhat overstaffed.

PS: There seems to be a car wash at Giant Batu Caves. Well, at least the stall was there. It was a big empty shed, with a long locked cabinet, where i suppose they keep the cleaning stuff. It wasn't open when I went there. The interesting part is they have this membership card thing, where you pay an annual/quarterly fee to be a member, which entitles you to a certain number of free washes, plus discounts on the others.

I thought that was a good idea. Get part of the money up front. If the customer don't come later, you win when they don't cash in their free washes. Alternatively, the customer gets locked-in. He's paid his money, and doesn't want to go to other places. This could be easily done for the laundry as well.

BTW, your seaweed farm, is it in the ocean like they show on TV, in which case, it might be a big plus if you're not on the west coast of peninsular. Or do you do it on-shore?

eh no, i don't have same experience as you. i just have same knowledge.

i didn't have to go through that patch because I already know the industry more or less and have tested it a bit and decided to set my time, money, blood and sweat to something else that I can do better.

it's not about what others are doing but about what you can do best. sometimes better not go into business at all if you're not cut out for it.



need to consider how long to break-even. most experienced people are already committed to their own team / group / companies already.

perhaps your best bet would be the newer / upcoming teams if you're looking for people. license and equipment, whatever those things - the guys in the Paintball Thread guarantee know better. Xtion Paintball is hanging around LYN also.

Phillipine/Indo workers. Im not located at west malaysia whereby the workers wages are more higher.
The laundry staff is local people. We wash nearly 200 kg per day. That is why 10 workers are adequate.

Yes. I'm located at the east coast of Malaysia, Sabah to be exact.

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Added on December 20, 2009, 7:36 pmCorrect. From my point of view, if i don't even play paintball, how can I ever know whats the selok belok to running the field? After some thinking, its not the business that I would venture in.

This post has been edited by edyek: Dec 20 2009, 07:36 PM

I'm just an ordinary fresh graduate / young working adult hanging around to seek some opportunities. This thread is very valuable, thanks for sharing

Hope this thread provides you a base line about what kind of small and medium cash flow business that are good for business starters. Good luck.

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This post has been edited by wodenus: Dec 21 2009, 07:27 AM

good thread, bump it up

This post has been edited by airline: Dec 21 2009, 07:32 AM

WAH...... soooooo many business ar

this is mine... and only

business-hardware cum building materials
Capital : 1mil
Partner : 1(my wife)
Location : Nearby Government Office and Residential Area.
Monthly/Daily Income : newly opened(<1 year range from 10k-15k perday)
Workers : 6 workers. RM 400 per person. 2 foreign labour
Duration : <one year.
Opinion : too many competition... big fish tend to eat smaller fish... here`s the catch... cash term, and your business is small, credit term, your sales is big and majority contractor`s term is bad and you`ll be dead...

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Added on December 21, 2009, 9:11 amthis is what I notice

and before you start, and you conuld do all the marketing survey thing and etc... but when you actually start, there`s more than meet theeye.. even more indirect competition rather than direct...

this is what I cant do in business.... just sit and ponder when customer will come in..............

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Added on December 21, 2009, 9:17 amthis is the golden rules from my mum... experience chinaman style...

1) never talk bad/gossip about anyone... if you do, your credibility drops
2) never quarrel with someone till there`s no return... you`ll never know when you`ll meet them again
3) NEVER give credits/terms... you will ONLY know how people will do just not to pay... "you need to be a professional begger before you give credit"
4) if you forcefully give credict/terms based on project basis, get a proper black and white.. you will know how people would do just to bend reality and truth
5) NEVER make a promise you cant keep
6) NEVEr lie to customer

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Added on December 21, 2009, 9:24 amI would be delighted if the battlefield is like warscence or alien planet etc rather than obstacles of baloons

This post has been edited by Awakened_Angel: Dec 21 2009, 09:24 AM

As what I saw here all are needed quite a sum for a capital,anyone mind to share about early stages?How they gain the money,how they start to build their career?That will be interesting,at least for me.

1) you are son of lee kar seng etc....
2) saving from working for decades
3) bank loans(this only apply if you have property for bank to hold)
4) partners.. which might result betrayal or quarrel...

Nowadays hardware business seems hard to survive, especially those with small capital and surviving in the city. It is not thriving as the golden age 5-10 years ago, whereby there is massive development.
In this kind of business, plus others like distributing or manufacturing etc., whoever gave the most flexible credit term is the winner. And for small capital players, this is bad bad bad. Very very bad, as you need cashflow to cover the overhead and expenses. Unless of course you have a list of major good payer, then that would be fine.

I've a friend who venture in hardware shop in a small town. And frankly speaking his business is good. As small town does not have big players, and he sweep almost all the hardware business in town.

Angel, do you go and tender some big contract? Supplying paint, ironmongery, doors, etc?

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Added on December 21, 2009, 3:14 pmCapital.
1. Family
Always approach your family member 1st, as they are the one who will always support you.

2. Relative
Sometimes in life, we do have an uncle/aunty who is rich and nice and is willing to pour in the capital for you.

3. Friends
Invite your friends to venture with you and become your partner in business

4. Bank
Personal loan, charge in your family asset such as house and land. (this I do not encourage)

5. Your savings
If you are prepare to lose the money. Business are not 100% successful.

6. Lucky strike on Jackpot, Toto and etc.


I start my 1st business when my friends invite me to join them, and I asked my dad to pour in the capital for me. Before my dad said yes, he ask me where is my Business Plan. And I told him verbally and this and that and all the things that will get him in to pour in the capital. Finally he agreed.

After half of year of loss, I closed my 1st biz. And all my dad told me was, I know that you would fail because you don't even have the slightest idea about what you are doing. You must know the selok belok of the business and dive into the sea to see the whole iceberg (not the tip only). From that day onwards, I always prepare my bullets before I fully venture into a business. And the rest is history.

*My 1st biz is Computer Sales & Services (a painstaking experience).

This post has been edited by edyek: Dec 21 2009, 03:17 PM

Pay for local worker only rm400 a month? How to survive? What is the pay of the foreign worker? Where is your shop?

from what i see la, the BEST way is to go with Awakened_Angel's point #2.

even if business fail you still lose only what you saved, not ending up in debt to others.

as for partners or family, end up we OWE people. even if $$$ paid up all then still have a TIE / BOND that's forever there.

later anything they can come say "oh don't forget when you started blablablabla.............." some after later see your success they want a PORTION and very hard for you to decline cos you owe them to begin with.

and in worst cases, partners run away. shit happens, money can change people.


there used to be Laser Quest at The Mines. now donno where the game is already. Bad location perhaps?

don't need to deal with dirt and vegetable oil but still die off, I guess time wasn't right for them. I enjoyed playing it, was back in college that time.

I love this thread, I love these type of businesses where they deal with customers/clients. This is the real deal, this is the real business. Way to go TS, I'll pray for your success in whatever business you are getting into (as long as it's a legal business).

Correct. Money do change people. Since I've tie/bond with my father, I don't mind borrow from him to venture in business.
Anyway, after my 2nd venture is a success, I've allocate shares to my father in my company (after all he had invest in me for the 1st biz).

Of course if you use your savings it would be better, but some people just don't save enough to give themself a head start in business. Eventually, they would still have to go and ask for .

Just be careful when you choose your partner to venture with you. I've learned my partnership lesson in the computer and nasi lemak venture. And now, my partners are doing great ! Never could have ask for a better one.

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Added on December 21, 2009, 4:28 pmThanks am. If I'm not wrong, I do recall from some thread that you are running a laundry business. How is business lately? Mind to share here?

This post has been edited by edyek: Dec 21 2009, 04:28 PM

true indeed..... things happen when your supply goods to you and your customer at the same price...

NOPE... NEVER think of... mine is SME.. not MEGAE.. as each contract will easily sum up to 10 of millions or 100 mills for mega projects

mine range between 10k-100k ++ for each project... for CASH..

two major player....

main con like simedarby or sunway.. or government

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Added on December 21, 2009, 4:30 pmforeign? RM 750.00...

government set the minimal line

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Added on December 21, 2009, 4:32 pmI have witnessed real brother and so called BROs quarrel till the point of no return... in partnership....

unless, you clearly stated in black and white

This post has been edited by Awakened_Angel: Dec 21 2009, 04:32 PM

Ah, so you ask for cash terms and in return you give them a better discount?

I think you can approach some small and medium housing development. My friend approach a medium developer lately to supply paint, doors, ironmongery, WC and tiles. And he contra back half of his contract sum for a unit of terrace house. Not bad actually, considering the developer don't want to input heavy payment, and my friend wants a housing property so that he can sell for higher price upon completion of the project.

@edyek

My business is currently running well at the moment, I even supply plastic, hangers, liquid detergent and fabric softener to other laundries as well.

I do dry cleaning for other 6 laundries too but for now I have reached the limit (can no longer accept dry cleaning from any new laundry).

Now I'm in the process of learning the methods of cleaning hotel/hostel linen and bedsheets using proper procedure, chemical and machines. My friend in Kuala Kubu Baru is doing such and getting a hefty RM40k per week from linen/bedsheets.

It's good to hear that. So basically, you sub dry cleaning from 6 laundries because they do not have the technology/knowledge to do dry cleaning? Good strategy.

40k is good money. Must be a 5-star hotel? Considering hotel contract contributes the major income for the laundry. There is no such thing as free lunch, and hope your learning is a smooth sailing thus adding a major income to your business. Good luck !

Btw, did you take any government contract?

This post has been edited by edyek: Dec 21 2009, 05:04 PM

40K looks big for those makan gaji people, but it takes more than just the gut, sacrifice and determination to do business. People always think that by doing business, cash flows into their account freely while they sleep at home. That's wrong. This is the typical mindset that brings his/her business down !

5-star hotels have their own laundry for their linen, these contracts normally comes from 2-3 star hotel/hostel, private college hostels and institutes.

Other laundries could easily do the dry cleaning but they don't want to waste their sweat for this complicated type of cleaning. I'll do the job for them. I do the dry cleaning by myself actually, I never allow my staffs to touch any dry cleaning items. This dry cleaning, if you do properly, it might beat the price of any hotel contract.

this is another option for baddebts.. but its the same where contrators unwilling to pay and will mark up the house price slightly higher...

I have few contractors who would contra

for some @$$h0l3 one, some would threatened to burn my house if I dare to ask money or resort ahlong or debt collector

This post has been edited by Awakened_Angel: Dec 21 2009, 06:09 PM

- Deleted -

No point sharing cos this forum already has a brilliant and smart-mouth businessman in Awakened Angel.

This post has been edited by wirelessdude: Dec 21 2009, 07:09 PM

I want to ask this freelance amateur "consultant" ....

are you willing to be responsible for anything else??

as consultant earn their title for it........

and often people provide "lip service" tend to call themself consultants

as consultant bear their decision and be responsible for it... they get sued and get in jail for wrong advice given....

It's because of such negative comments and name-calling that people aren't willing to share.

You call me an amateur without even knowing my background or work. Sigh!

If really wanna earn in hardware or paint line...you'll have to be one of the taikor or else you won't really earn a lot..
just my 2 cents..

i've watched some documentary on how large 5-star hotels in Las Vegas outsource their cleaning to dedicated cleaner companies.

i know it's off-topic but you mentioned it so i'd just like to add. don't be surprised 5-star hotels come to you, they have huge volumes especially during holiday seasons (ok la i think every hotel also).

one thing about business is that starting is NEVER easy. often it goes to "negative", it's more about cost and waiting for customers at the start.

i came to know about a business that was setup by a family (IIRC it's brother and sister), they opened a supposed restaurant at a corner lot. reno and have a few stalls there, not even 3 months they decided to close it. I was like WTH?!??! - news came about that the brother see like no business, then call it quits or something like that. damn stupid, what a joke la.

in the end some Indian took over, setup a mamak restaurant and it's operating so well now. Don't need that many stalls also. 1 nice Malay stall cooking dishes with decent price and their own staff make the nasi kandar, roti and drinks.

the difference between them? Preseverence! oh and of course, being REALISTIC in running business. Clearly the earlier party had no wisdom and knowledge when it comes to running business, having stupid and unrealistic expectations, and then resort to quitting when things don't look good.

Maybe that's because you only paid your 1 worker RM300

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Added on December 22, 2009, 8:03 amand again, only RM500 pay, and only just 1 worker doing everything

This post has been edited by mylife4nerzhul: Dec 22 2009, 08:03 AM

The worker is just helping to sell every morning. Its my partner problem for not supplying enough food to sell.


That one worker is just a part time computer technician, working from 12pm to 5pm. Basically all the work is done by my partner.

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Added on December 22, 2009, 8:46 amCorrect. Perseverance is one of the key to business. Sometimes the pioneer is not always the winner but instead the survivor is the winner. Most indian is good is doing mamak business, but often I hear my friend complaining that they tend to pay their rental late, and sometimes carry forward.

This post has been edited by edyek: Dec 22 2009, 08:46 AM

Yes 5 star hotels do send their linen to laundries but I would say only about 5%. The volume is indeed huge even their own laundry cannot cope with the works. But the bad thing about 5 star hotel is that they want things to be cleaned as new that gives too much hassle to the contractors (that's quite impossible btw), that's the reason they don't really trust 3rd party laundry and that's why they set up their own laundry.

I dont have biz but this is good thread. Keep it up!

many young businessman aren`t realistec.. many tend plan to be bill gate in shortest time possible...

many fallen into traps of deceive and lost all their money

True enough. My relative is having a small budget hotel with 15 rooms, and he do send his linens to laundry. And astonishingly he have to pay more or less RM 5k per month to get his linens clean and smell nice. I would say the major hotels sending their linens clean would be 2-3 star hotel or budget hotel.

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Added on December 22, 2009, 9:09 amI do have this wild dream when I first started, until I get a heavy whack from the failure from my 1st biz, I realize dream is just a dream. Being realistic and having an achievable dream is the right way.

My dad advice to me is "Don't wander too far off from your goals."

This post has been edited by edyek: Dec 22 2009, 09:09 AM

everyone wants to be like lee kar seng or bill gates.. but miracles don`t happen....in real life...

hard work does...

and if things are too good to be true, it is not true

can someone Help Me about Game Shop...

just A kiosk..

can someone advice me????

Replied to your thread.

I really admire your siggy, they are nothing but the truth !

Business In Nature: Photocopying and Printing

Location: PJ, near a few college/uni

Modal: Start up modal is at least 25k only, inclusive of simple renovation, lease machinery (printer, photostat machine) and the necessary item for binding and stapling, 1st month rental,... registration, exclusive of computer for printing purpose and electricity, salary of staff....

Profit: Applicable throughout the year, especially during the 1st moneth of the college/uni commencement date, student will "photocopy" their book.

Point of consideration: Whether photocopy of the wholebook is lawful.

Criteria: Break-even in shortest time. Making profit in large mass.

Involvement in the business: Low (Can simply hire an indonesian to help)

Plz leave a comment for the "point of consideration"

This post has been edited by z21j: Dec 22 2009, 11:36 AM

It is not legal.
However in Malaysia, there are no enforcement to enforce those copyright laws. My friend is studying in Australia, and their Uni strictly do not allowed photocopy Text book. He come back to Malaysia to buy the text book using RM (which is way cheaper), get a few extra books and bring back to sell in AUD.


*If the Uni is providing architectural course, therefore your colour printing services will have a big boost.

This post has been edited by edyek: Dec 22 2009, 11:50 AM

last time when I studied at TARC, the publisher came with a police and lawyer..

Rm 10,000 for each copy...

the tauke bancrupt on the spot....

our law enforcement organizations are useless la. pirated VCD / DVD shops are all over the place but they never take action also. at night no need to work already. like that how the ORI shop sellers going to survive?

edyek - i love your post but would it be possible to go a little more detail like items than incur cost (eg estimated total start up cost for equipment, worker blablablal.........) then i also just want to check with you - are you TRULY referring to INCOME or that's REVENUE?

Unless of course the publisher are pissed off. If not, there are no one to enforce those things. But better not to take the risk.

goldfries, I have updated my post with all the items you asked.

This post has been edited by edyek: Dec 22 2009, 03:55 PM

one thing funny though

they are busy capturing pirated cd owners while everywhere in shopping mall people are selling it

One thing for sure, there are the dark side of it. I've seen a guy selling pirate CD in a shop at the mall and after 1 year he opens another 1. Until recently he just open 4 shops at different mall.

from what i could imply from edyek...the story about his fren from aus, perhaps getting the same product at different country which has lower currency will be an advantage for any type of business....

Yes. Could be a viable business. International Trade.

Any bro can guide me in f&b line... can elaborate how does thg woks n management of it.... any bro succeed in f&b line r most welcom to share thk....

research your self.... google,

or do like what I did.. go to any kopitiam/mamak or mega chain restaurant, order a drink.. sit there for hours... see how their supply chain works.... from ordering to delivery

F&B line is a wide industry. What do you have in mind? Cafe? Kopitiam? Restaurant? Franchise F&B?

Well said.
There is a time when I decided to open a rest stop with food court. And I've been to MacD to work just to see how their works to apply to the new food court.

I love this thread man. I'll continue reading everyday on your success stories! Ha xD

Might even pick up a thing or two, as I'm planning on looking at student room rental as I was once a student renting rooms and I just KNOW its super damn viable. Those area near the new Taylors College Lakeside Campus sure untung gila now @_@

This is MALAYSIA BOLEH spirit!

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Added on December 28, 2009, 12:24 pmPlease consider transportation / freight charges, custom duty, tax, etc.



This post has been edited by bekman: Dec 28 2009, 12:24 PM

renting business can be considered as a side income, however you have to concentrate to a business where you can commit most of your time successing it. renting a property you may consider it as your bonus income.

yes... there were once where I drew their supply chain on paper....

still, they really perfected 5S, Kaizen, JIT etc....

learned a lot today, well done on this thread while i will be hookin up with u guys.

lets say if I wants to start off a business via Internet, can any tai kor advice?

currently found 2 partners and got tons of idea been rejected after a clear calculation has been done.
F&B would be a great idea but as my fren says we nid to know how 2 cook, just liked thread owner said. I dowan my chef run and my restaurant jz started/stopped without a chef = =

Just do any buiness that you are capable of and you are way better compared to your employee. That chef runs away situation is a good example. From what I know, starting a business with partners is like suicide.

My point of view about a beneficial business partner - someone who does a job not the same as what you are doing, I take myself as an example. I operate a laundry outlet and my friend sets up new laundry. Together we provide training to newcomers where he teaches machine installations and operations while I teach those laundry steps and procedures. Independently, we are able to expand our businesses respectively without intefering each others' operations.

If the partnership you mean like you and your friend operate the same business and doing the same job, there will be WAR later on.

but the best/fastest way to gather capital for SME should start off by partnership right ? We do understand the situation that about all partner was doing the same work and WARs happend, so we do prefer to seek for a good chances and start to plan, actually we do all the research and planning job after we came out for an idea and yet we will know whether is it really can be done, few points to concern were : Capital to start the business , Profit of the business, Competitor of business, future of business, Sources of supplier, and also the 4P of course , Plan, Place , Promotion, Price, and 2M : Management, Manpower. This would be the few facts we will concern on.

Thumbs up to room rental for students. Area nearby Taylors college is a good location. Good luck in searching for a good location.

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Added on December 29, 2009, 9:30 amCouldn't agree more. Have the same experience in the computer sales and services venture.

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Added on December 29, 2009, 8:59 amToo many things to consider...
Up till now any idea what biz you plan to start?

This post has been edited by edyek: Dec 29 2009, 09:33 AM

its too many for us to calculate, but cant find for a best one so far......so we plan to work for a longer period to gather more capital =)

Nike says it better. " Just Do It ".

edyek sums is best sometimes we get too overwhelmed by info that we are just paralyzed and afraid to start. one can never fully analyze anything actually. so, do look for opportunities and grab it before it flies away.

Get a part time job in any F&B outlet. Start from either waiter or cashier. From there, find your way to learn from shop floor to kitchen, beverage,cashier & people management. In F&B line, kitchen(the chef) is the most important that you should be focus on.

Correct, as a boss, we must know every operation from labour works to management skills. We can still operate it even the employee runs away although it's a bit tiring (I've had this experience before) but the business runs as usual. All (I mean all with no exception) employees are not trustworthy at all. All bosses must be ready for this.

bro anyway to prevent agains tis kind of half hearted employee & usually wat de choice for woker to hire? indon or local?

local ppl should be consider 1st....
don't u realise that KL is flooding with a lot foreign worker nowadays...sorry no offended.
Just my opinion!!

@Jamzz & @IGax2000

Yes we have to search for local worker first but we all know that locals are the real scumbags (not all but most of them) and I'm not siding on the foreigners neither. You see the situation here, a cheap foreign labour accepts a RM600 salary per month compared to a RM1000 per month for local for doing the same work. Yes all business owners are able to give that amount but you people have to take note that most businesses hire foreign worker to cut their costs. As their costs can be cut through that, they can reduce the price of their goods and services. Compared to the business owners who hire 100% locals with RM1000 payout monthly, surely they can't survive it if their price of goods and services are similar with those who hire foreign labourers. If they increase the price just to cover the salaries of the locals, nobody would come and buy goods and services at their shops/outlets. We as business owners must also imagine ourselves as a consumer, in general, we will go shop at outlets where the price is the cheapest disregarding who works either local or foreigner. We as consumers really don't care. It's the price that matters. I wish my employees are all locals but for now, it would kill me as my rivals around me only hires Indonesian/Bangla workers to run their businesses. I got no choice. They problems with locals, you know, they are smart, they know how to lie, they like to skip coming to work with millions of excuses, they want long long holiday ( dad is getting married again, mother's friend is sick, friends's birthday party, fever, cold, cough, H1N1, AIDS, HIV and so on but all are bullcrap ). I wish the government allow the business owners to increase their price just to give job opportunities to locals and prevent foreigners from getting in. But again if this rule is enforced, many bosses will take advantage to increase the prices but maintains their illegal foreign workforce instead of replacing them with locals. This problem until now I can't figure out how to solve it.

IMHO, you can try Burmese and sabah & sarawak. These people are hardworking and has no problem in communicate. Though vietnamese can consider but they have problem communicate.

Same thing goes with Sabah & Sarawak. They are locals. And locals are not cheap considering they are in fact at least primary 6 educated. I'm using foreign workers as well as they are more cheaper than the locals. More hardworking and more loyal (compare with the locals).

It depends on what you recruit them for purpose. For me, I dont classify the CHEAP to recruit a good labour. I wiling to pay if they serve their job good. Perhaps you should try out sabah & sarawak workers. I have a lot business & contractors friends that recruit this people (From 1k-2k range). They are strong and hardworking. Just treat them as a HUMAN & part of your family in your company. I was suprise when a business friend of mine told me he gave his worker(sabahan) which work for 6 years at salary 2k.

This post has been edited by Gary1981: Dec 31 2009, 10:02 AM

Yes. That is correct. You just have to treat them right. That is the whole point of it.
Sarawak - Iban
Sabah - Kadazan Dusun

I think besides telling the success / failure of the business, it's better if any business sifu can tell about how they start the business, things to do before start the business to make sure you won't be in trouble in future, where they go to get all the thing needed, the obstacle etc

It's will be good for anyone that want to start small / medium business, in my opinion

Hoho nice topic and thanks for sharing!

i'm currently final year student taking civil engineering.

I started my business in this forum. I decide to do online business rather than playing game. to be honest doing online business just like played games.

At first I start by selling second hand stuff in this forum.
then i apply to be distributor for computer and laptop. Selling laptop and computer in online and to juniors at my university. (i'm so proud of my self manage to convince supplier to allowed me to be their distributor - same supplier for lowyat plaza shoppers) - manage to do it by email and 1 phone call

like most people said, computer business is very low profit margin. petrol,time and problem not worth for me to go on. so i stop selling IT product.

then I dont have anything else to do and get bored. so I get item from other websites and sell it here. manage to get decent profit. one of the thing i sold are boxing bag .

Now i'm trying to import few goods from US and sell it back here. owh.. I also invest in rubber state in thailand. invest rm1k and get rm2k in just 10months.(i have friends over there). land owner need money and agree to give the rubber state to us for 10months .

Now i'm helping my mom to monitor/repair and collect money from her rental house.

she also have 4 acre empty agriculture land. basically she "give" me this land and ask me to do something with it. this land strictly for agriculture only.still doing my research what the best agriculture to do rite now. i have very limited capital(she will give me).

I have 2 ridiculous idea. 1 to produce civet coffee and another 1 is to make malaysia 1st venom/snake farm. I dont think it possible to do this. but i like this idea especially venom farm. as we know venom are highly valuable in biomedical industries. I wish i have expertise in handling snake


sorry for my bad bad english. i'm not good in language dawg . hope this will give motivation to student or youth who want to start business. honestly i said there is plenty2 of business opputunity out there. everyone will have the chance to do it. to be successful u have to have guts and the most important thing is to be hardworking!

This post has been edited by mousepad87: Jan 2 2010, 11:30 AM

That will be very a long story. If you are interested in which business, then you can request for that particular business.

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Added on January 2, 2010, 8:46 am1) You definitely cannot operate a snake farm. Those reptiles need license from Jabatan Haiwan to be rear, and those license are unlikely to be approved. Operating a snake farm is not as easy as you think, and how would you want to make a profit out of it? If you are selling venoms to hospital, i highly doubt you can do that as you need license from Jabatan Kesihatan. If you sell snakes, you need buy/sell license from Jabatan Haiwan again. Therefore, before you even make a profit, you've broke you bank in applying those license.

2)As I've said, if you are producing civet coffee (Kopi Luwak), hence you ALSO need license from Jabatan Haiwan to do so. If you tend to use animals in your business, you cannot run away from applying license from Jabatan Haiwan. It will be a different story if you are rearing those civet in Indo and start your business there. I know civet coffee is one of the most expensive coffee in the world, and there is a reason why it is so rare. The cost of taking care the civet is huge, and you need human labour to process the coffee after they poo.

3) If your 4 acres land is in the path of future development, I suggest you to go to Land & Survey Department to convert your land into residential or commercial purposes.
If the land is not in the path of future development, you can think of something to plant/cultivate. If you want to save all the headache, you can rent the land to some farmers to plant padi, veges, rear animals and etc.

This post has been edited by edyek: Jan 2 2010, 08:46 AM

thanks for suggesting me to convert the land from agriculture to commercial land. honestly the land is in the middle of on going agriculture land but at the same time few km from small/medium town in Selangor. I wonder if it will valuable enough or able to attract buyer to buy property there, science they have to travel between fish and chicken farm .

anyway i will try ask L&S Department, so i can have my future planing. maybe I can develop this land when i'm already be a contractor, let say in next 10 years?

If i rent the land to farmers, would they asking for long term contract. surely they tried to minimize the cost of mobilization. if they asking for 20years rent contract ..then i dont have my chance to do my own farming there. unless i rent half of the land .

one other option is to find partners instead of partners maybe I should go to ministry of agriculture and see what they can help.

I should have enough knowledge before i making my final decision. I will let u guys know what my final decision. if u guys have any recommendation, i'm well appreciate