A friend is someone who cares for you, who looks after you in time of need, who supports you in your endeavours. I’m sure a lot of you have friends, but friends who matter count for only a few. I had lots of friends when I was employed a couple of years ago, but friends who really cared and looked out for me were probably very very few or none at all.

I’d stick out my neck for them. Spoke up for what I believed in, and eventually, lost my job despite building literally the entire web-based infrastructure by myself.

No one wants to lose their jobs. In the office, you share gossip with your workmates, and in a medium sized company, especially one with “foreign talent”, they split into cliques.

I was a senior developer in the team, I had qualifications. I had expert knowledge. I had valuable experience and insight. I imbued a sharing culture in my team, although it seems, the only one willing to share was me. I tried to create a desire to learn and contribute in my team, but it seems such a culture cannot be created in many Singaporean companies.

Why?

Simply because, everyone’s interested only in themselves. They’d protect their backsides, prevent work from being dumped on their desk, and speak nicely to the boss and give this plastic smile.

If anything, I’ve been known to dish out criticism when I see it fit. I don’t care who you are. You can be some director, or a high ranking officer. But when I think something requires redress, I will say it. I try to be polite yet honest. But sometimes, people tend to mistake that brutal honesty to bring you down.

Here’s an advice. If I’m honest, I care. Because friends don’t tell you what you want them to. They’ll tell you to wake up your freaking idea!

I’ve learnt a lot about myself, and in all my trials and tribulations, it seems that I realised I am mostly unselfish. I’d put my neck out on the line way too often than I really should. I remember fondly of my teenage years in the mosque, when I was secretary-general of the youth. I was often in loggerheads with the then-chairman of the mosque, who also happened to be a very high ranking staff in MediaCorp and the chairman of the Malay Journalists Association.

After a heated debate for which I realised no one in the LPM had balls to speak up against, I tendered my resignation as the secretary-general. the youth wing which often hit the headlines and the internet, sufferred dearly and could never pick up itself again.

Thankfully, there are friends who care about you, who’ll stick with you through thick and thin.

You see, business works the same way. The old saying, “It’s not personal, it’s just business”, would be wrong. Business is always personal.

I don’t do business with just anyone. I do business with people I tacitly trust at the very least.

Unfortunately in business, there’s hardly a way to regain trust if you made a mistake. As I said, business is always personal. And grudges often remain for a long time.

That’s how businesses survive. They’re menacing and tenacious, and they’re not afraid to bite you. Because if you give an inch, they’ll ask for a yard.

If you really want to succeed in business, treat business like you treat your friends. Go the extra mile, because your partner or your customer is your friend. They will appreciate it, and will return you the favour.

In the office, if you’re an employee, and you go the extra mile, your boss will appreciate you. But if you’re the sort that will give criticisms like me, get out of a job, and be your own boss. Honestly, I find that people who are generally comfortable have nothing to say. They’ll have complaints, but their way out more often than not is to find another job.

But if you’re fiercely independent, and speak your mind, you’re a leader. A job is not your cup of tea.

Friends also should know that you don’t date your exs. In business, it means that if you know someone who started a business, and you know him well enough to call him a friend, don’t compete with him. Don’t start a business and then literally copycat his every move.

It was very frustrating to see whom I thought was a friend enter into reseller agreements with nearly all the people I myself worked with. True, they say that copying is a kind of flattery, but in business, copying means you’re asking for a fight.

You just don’t do that. If you must enter into a business that’s of a similar domain as a friend of yours, one should cooperate. Not compete!

Unfortunately, businesses that don’t make it, are businesses that are selfish. And friends, they’re not selfish.

One might argue that the market is there for the taking. It’s fair game. But when you’re a small startup, the last thing you need is competition brewed by someone you know.

I failed in business once. I made a lot of mistakes. I had the wrong team dynamics. I trusted a cheat. I lost some money. I never took more action. I probably also entered into business at the wrong time. Perhaps, then, I should have started out getting a job.

6 months after I closed down, I started up again, with a much clearer vengeance. I didn’t try to wow. I just focused on one thing and one thing only.

In the past 2 years of running Verbeter Group, it is today the biggest avast Antivirus distributor in (yes, I dare say) all of Southeast Asia and South Asia.

I have my own network of resellers, at least 10 of them, and the biggest of the lot is NCS Pte Ltd. Imagine a small business owner like me, having a GLC as a partner.

My reputation has grown so much, I don’t need to find new products, companies who want to push their products, come to me.

My clients are not only in Singapore. They are in India, and the Maldives and also Malaysia. In Malaysia, a client that uses my products is the biggest cinema chain and film distributor in Malaysia, Golden Screen Cinemas.

In the Maldives, I have the Government of Maldives as my client.

In India, I have Web Synergies Indian branch office.

How did I do this? By building friendships. Not customers.

In the next week and onwards, my schedule is going to be filled with meetings with top management from some of the biggest companies in the world in the IT security business. Buoyed by my successes in 2008, Verbeter Group will expand and diversify.

Does this mean I will employ anyone anytime soon? Yes. But probably none in Singapore. I’ll be setting up base overseas, with a small team in India and the Phillippines. I will also be looking at greater expansion into Malaysia and India.

Will my reseller base grow? Exponentially. My resellers will grow 2-fold next year.

What are the kind of things Verbeter Group will be doing in 2009? Basically, we’re looking at how to improve internet experiences. We’re talking to a few partners (ie. some of the biggest IT security companies in the world), and we feel that we offer a very unique 3-step solution to improving internet experiences in business and leisure.

These are the kind of things I am able to do when you treat your business like you treat your friends. Success will come to you. I’ve only been in business for 2 years. I haven’t reached my first 100,000 yet. But next year, I can just feel it. The momentum is growing very fast. I don’t even want to talk about a million. I think setting such a goal is wishy washy. For me, I set it much lower. I think when you do that, things become so much easier to attain.

Marc looks like a simple, humble guy, who speaks like any Chinese Singaporean I know. I didn’t realise he owns a business until I had his namecard.

What impresses me, behind that guarded facade was the kind of business he runs, and the ability for him to survive all this while. He has a proper office at Stanley Road. In fact, I think I pass by that road often when I used to be working in town. A team of a 11 he says he has. Mostly with a team of programmers in China.

I asked him about how he has managed to keep it together for so long. And it’s the same story I’ve heard or rather experienced. Manage your overheads. Don’t live beyond your means.

My dad used to run an engineering company. Before he was a businessman, he was a General Manager (that means boss), at this large Engineering firm in Bugis. He then left the company to start his own firm. The office was sprawling large. It was besar I tell you. But overheads, overheads, overheads killed it. We didn’t need such a big office. If he had cut the overheads in half, he would have continued until this day, he always said. And then… the Asian Financial Crisis.

Dad could never really pick up from where he left off. The business had to go. And in those days, things got so bad, he, a Masters holder, at sub-40 years of age, had to drive a cab to make ends meet.

Marc experienced the same kind of failure in his first year of business. Overheads killed him. But being young, single and unmarried, he has the advantage of trying again. He charges a hefty premium for his services, the smallest of his consultancy plans comes at $3,000, the largest at $8,000. But it’s all about killing the killer. Overheads.

I’ve seen the same thing in the place I’m currently working at. Overheads is always an issue, and it’s really about your pricing and managing those overheads. We’ve got to price our services more than our costs. And our costs, also includes our salary.

I’ve often felt that profits would be my salary. But the secret to Marc’s success I think was that he included salary as his overheads. Which is why his services are a premium. In that way, he gets to live a daily living without worrying when the next pay cheque will come. You’re not digging into your profits that way.

How do you define success? Well, Marc disclosed to me that next year’s NDP website, might go to him. That’s success. You know if the government is going to trust you with something like that, you know you’ve made it.

Instead, you’ll get Classics with 120GB at US$249. So they’re all thin Classics with an upgraded size.

But that’s nothing. Jobs is now introducing the thinnest ever Apple iPod Nano!

Wait… how thin? Thinner than Macbook Air thin.

So what’s so interesting about this iPod Nano other than its super thinness?

Well, they’ve put all the bright things in iPhone, and squeezed it all in Nano.

Yes, tilt the iPod and it automatically goes into landscape mode.

What else is neat about this iPod?

SHAKE it. Yes, physically shake it, and it automatically shuffles your playlist.

Apart from that, Apple has tried very hard to make it the most environmentally-friendly iPod ever. I think its huge considering a lot of Apple users are people who are environmentalists.

The Nano will also be available in every colour on the spectrum. Including PINK!

Steve is now moving into the iPod touch.

The iPod touch is still the same, but it’s getting a boost internally.

• Integrated volume controls on the side.
• Built in speakers (very hard to do for something this thin)
• Genius playlist creation
• App store app built in
• Nike+ built in
• Enhance UI
• Better artwork for albums

Steve talks a bit more about the Genius playlist and now he’s talking about the App store.

He’s now introducing the things people love about these handheld devices: GAMES

The stage is now handed over to Phil Schiller.

He’s introducing a game that just shipped for the iPod Touch: Spore Origins.

He’s playing the game using iPod Touch’s accelarometer, and tilting the iPod to manouvre the character.

Now off to the world’s greatest game: FOOTBALL!!!!

Finally a soccer game for the iPod Touch! (and I assume iPhone as well?)

This game is called Real Soccer 2009 and it has a virtual d-pad that comes on screen.

And Need for Speed!!!

Again, using the accelerometer for control of the vehicle. Pretty cool!

Steve Jobs is back, and he’s proclaiming, it’s the best device to play games! Watch out Nintendo! (and Sony?)

Jobs is now introducing iPhone 2.1 software updates. It’s a big update. They fixed lots of bugs.

• Fewer dropped calls
• Big battery life improvements
• No crashes with Apps
• Backing up is faster

And it’s FREE to all owners beginning this Friday.

–END LIVE BLOGGING–

It’s not taken from a database. All the prayer time is calculated using the Egyptian method and the Sunrise and Sunset time has been set specifically for Singapore. Please note that you may notice a +1/-1 difference with the published timings.

It’s very easy to use. And you can apply it to your entire domain. Just get the API key and you’re ready to go.

Just go to http://www.typecanvas.com/widgets/prayertime-sg/ for the widget and instructions.

Beautiful…

While Singapore may be a country which supposedly guarantees equality of race, the mood on the ground may be different. Singaporeans still do discriminate according to race. There are still people who cannot leave Malays alone. Like when we have our void deck weddings, or when we rush to the mosque every Friday, or when we’re required to wear the veil or when we try to have a nice, decent, halal meal. Racial and religious subscriptions still do determine your social status in Singapore.

Trust me, even I am a victim of some racial discrimination. I long for the day when it’s possible for Malays to climb up the corporate ladder. Globalisation has made it harder for those Malay blue collars, especially those in the service industry to move up to managerial positions. Take for example our local fast food or dining chains. (I shall not disclose the companies, but it seems symptomatic across all the fast food chains I’ve visited).Malays have worked in these fine establishments for years. But those that end up in more senior positions go to foreigners. I’ve seen far too many Filipinos in managerial positions in their branches. What about those local Malays that have worked their arses since secondary school? I’d be happy to see a local Chinese manager and a local Malay assistant manager at these stores. But when their step up the ladder is hindered just because they lack the qualifications to hold such a post is simply undervaluing the contributions that employee has provided for the company.

I wonder what these franchises are thinking? The bottom line? I wish that their corporate policies are more value-principled. That there’s more to it than dollars and cents. They should be employing these experienced, quarterlifers and middle-agers because they know more about the business than any Pinoy holding onto a degree could. I’m sorry if I sound anti-filipino. But there’s just too many of them here that it can singly identify itself as a major foreign professional workforce apart from the Mainland Chinese or the Malaysian Chinese. I don’t have anything against the filipinos. I do have some good pinoy friends.

But at least when it comes to the service industry, particularly the Food and Beverage industry, where the heck are the Malays!? So much we’ve built for ourselves an expertise in this field, that not many are there in middle or senior positions. Most remain stuck in the lower echelons of their organisations. And I wonder, really, what is it that they lack that makes it so difficult for them to be promoted? I mean, come on guys, they’ve worked hard for you. Don’t you think you should reward them for their loyalty and their excellent service?

It is often an understatement that the local Chinese here have no issues with other races. The overuse of the Mandarin language to the extent that it becomes an exclusivity, that one must be able to master the language in order to converse with clients… local… clients? I wish language, the mother tongue that you were brought up in, that you speak with your family and friends, that define you as a person, be a redundant factor towards your ability to get a job, at least in a job that makes sense that it shouldn’t have this ridiculous language requirement.

Don’t get me wrong. I’m not sulking at having to learn another language. I love languages, and I take the opportunity to learn them. I understand some Chinese. Particularly those that require parental advisories. *winks*

But at least, if you’re serious about multi-culturalism, give the other languages breathing space. Give Malay and Tamil equal access in the working space. That the ability to speak your own mother tongue, regardless of its origin, will not result in a hindrance to securing a job. We need more Chinese to understand Malay and perhaps even Tamil. And don’t get me started on many of us Malays. We know a lot more Chinese than you think. (Heck, I watched Chinese serials when I was young, and it seems this is still popular with the younger Malay generation).

Can we for once be colour blind? Can we? Singapore is built on this ideal, where anyone, regardless of race, is guaranteed a dignified life, free from discrimination. But Singapore as it is, is still not close to this ideal. More needs to be done, and I hope Singaporeans of every creed, every colour, can get past their stereotypes, and not judge a book by its colour (cover).

I was walking around Ang Mo Kio yesterday, when I chanced upon this wall ad on HSBC’s Ang Mo Kio Branch. It’s trying to brand itself as a global local bank that knows and understands the different cultures here. But the thing that struck me was the use of generalisations in this ad. For example, on one side, there is a picture of a Chinese family who runs a jewellry shop in where else but Chinatown. It reflects a sense of upper class that seems to suggest that the Chinese are rich. Very rich. Using a jewellry shop as an exemplary Chinese business seem to mean that the Chinese could afford them.

On the other side of the pic, is another race. I’m sure a lot of people are not surprised to find a picture of an Indian family there. But the generalisation comes to a point of sheer ignorance in my opinion. Guess where this Indian family’s electronic shop is located?

Little India of course!

Wow! No prizes for correctly guessing that one. Which leaves me one question. Where are the Malays?

Maybe the ad wouldn’t look so nice with a “Chicken Rice business in Geylang”.

Malays constitute 15% of Singapore’s local population. 5 times more than the Indian community. So technically, shouldn’t we also have 5 times many more successful businesses? Unfortunately, that doesn’t seem to be the case.

If statistics were actually true, well, we do have a lot of Malay entrepreneurs. But not many are first class at what they do. At least in my industry, there seems to be quite a few Malay owned IT-based businesses. But like I said, not many are first class. The ones that I do see, like Ten Fingers (the people behind the now… well kind of dead, anakmelayu.com), who started off from the ashes of the dot com bubble continue to exist today. I think that’s a good thing for them. They built something really interesting (then), and survived long enough after the novelty faded away. But they are still kind of run-of-the-mill in a way. Except for the fact they are able to do IVR systems, it doesn’t define them as IVR specialists. Malay businesses should find niches.

Malay businesses shouldn’t look at this as a depressing reality. They should see this as room for improvement. There are a lot of things they could do to make it one day.

But there are no shortcuts to success. I strongly believe in education. I strongly believe a University degree for every Malay youth is necessary to have that opportunity to be someone. And we should do that with our youth. If my rudimentary research counts for something, well, do you know that a Malay youth is 60% more likely to get arrested than go to University? Let the numbers do the talking. Just don’t let it get to you. Numbers are numbers. People invented numbers. We can change that.

Take a look at this fascinating work I’m doing.

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