Ricky’s Online Business Blog

Well this is something that we cannot run away. It must be done sooner or later, for the betterment of your experience

Ok, please take note that we will migrate the web sites below to a new server tonight at 11pm:

• NextLevel Tutor Network (Malaysia) at http://nextlevel.com.my
• NextLevel Tutor Network (Singapore) at http://nextlevel.com.sg
• RickySoo.com at http://www.rickysoo.com

The migration, which involves changing of domain name server (DNS), can take up the whole night. Hopefully you will be able to access the sites in the morning.

I enjoy doing planning and strategizing, not only for business but other things as well.  I like to think of stupid ideas all the time. But who knows some stupid ideas are not really stupid.  Maybe their time just has not come?

In these times of rising living costs, some of us may need to be more frugal and prudent in our spending.  We may need to stop spending on luxurious items, eating out in expensive restaurants, and buying more than what we need…

Mixed rice or nasi campur is one most popular and cheapest meal we can get in Malaysia.  But you know even it has gone up in price!  A normal dish for RM3.50 can now cost RM4.00 or more!

What if we open a mixed rice shop where we no longer decide the price?  Customers just pick their food, come to the end of table, collect spoon and fork, and pay whatever amount they want into a donation box?  Perhaps the stall can even be left unmanned and labor cost saved.

For those who cannot pay the normal price, let them pay whatever they want.  For those who refuse to pay anything, let them eat. Those who don’t pay anything maybe because they really cannot afford, or they are simply shameless.  In either case, let them eat all they want.  It’s a service and blessing to the poor in the society.

But I’m sure there are also those who can afford to pay more, perhaps they may pay more to cover for others?  When counting the money, who knows it may be even more profitable than is a normal mixed rice shop?

Who knows some people may even get impressed by such shop that they become our PR to spread out to the whole world by word of mouth?  Maybe we can open even more branches throughout the nation?

Anyway, weird idea aside.  I started to think of such idea not from a business point of view, but as a service to the poor especially in such times of bad economy.

Moreover, in gathering people together, we can get to know these people, talk to them, fellowship with them and expand our social network!

I know it’s stupid.  But don’t laugh at me.  Perhaps one day when I have a little more resources, I may put this into practice!

A company is developing a large-scale web application which includes video streaming, chat and many other services.  You can think of it as a portal-like web site.

Expected first year membership is 20,000, increasing to 50,000 in second year, and 100,000 in third year. Concurrent users are 2000 and more as time goes by.

Services required:

1. Web application development - You will need a few months and a team of developers to build the whole application.
2. Server solution to support the web application - Consider the bandwidth usage, space requirements, concurrent connections and other issues.
3. Maintenance of the server - You need to manage the server and fix any problem whenever there is any problem.

I can’t reveal much details now. Please don’t ask me what the project is about. You can discuss with the customer later.

If you are interested to provide all or any of the above services, please contact me here with your contact details. I will pass your details to the customer. They will contact you and you can ask them then.

I will need a one-time 10% commission out of the project