Ricky’s Online Business Blog

A customer wants to create a simple web site of 6 or 7 static web pages.  The site introduces their company and products, and attract enquiries through an online form.

He asked me to introduce web developers for him.  Besides suggesting my partner web designers for any web development job as I normally do, I also suggested him do it himself, especially if it is such a simple web site.

Customer can consider using any free content management system (CMS) out there, such as Drupal and Joomla.  A good CMS enables you to develop a complete web site with little or no technical knowledge.

But CMS to some customers is still quite technical.  Why not use a blogging system like WordPress instead?  You can create static pages using WordPress, and announce latest news and promotion from time to time by means of blogging.  This RickySoo.com web site is created using WordPress.

In fact, for businesses who want to build a web site, I would suggest make it a blog, especially if the web site is not too complicated.  Businesses should use blog not because it’s the “in” thing to do now, but it could be the most cost-effective way as well.

Learning WordPress is easier than learning a typical content management system.  You just need to download WordPress, install on your web site, set up everything, put in the content, and maintain it along the way.  Find out more on how to set up a blog here.

At the beginning there will be some learning curve.  But soon my customer will become a pro in WordPress, and he will love it.  The good thing is that, he can apply the WordPress skills to replicate other web sites as he wishes.

Do it yourself!

I just finished reading the book MBA Diary, which contains a collection of articles written by MBA students and graduates, on their experience in pursuing the MBA (Master of Business Administration).

The articles are compiled by Rodney Toh and Benson Wong, who also write many chapters in it. What is so special about this book is that it is like a “devotional” book on MBA. That means it contains short articles that you can read up quickly anytime you are free, perhaps after waking up in the morning, or before you sleep at night.

What is so advantageous about having an MBA in the marketplace? The subtitle gives you an overview – “How an MBA experience enhances managerial skills, knowledge, networking and professional value in today’s competitive world”.

There are people who criticize having an MBA as useless as it is an academic qualification. I have some customers who share this view, especially those who came out from school early and built their businesses from scratch. They would rather hire MBAs to work for them, instead of going for MBA themselves.

But the second chapter “Building Competitive Advantage Through MBAs” by Rodney gives me some answers. While there are some truths behind the criticisms, and while there are poorly run MBA courses around, a good MBA is not just about studying and going to exam.

A good MBA trains our minds to see things differently (rather than always through our lens of experience) and so solve business problems creatively. It is is much more than a course. It is also a self-development training, an eye-opening experience, a life journey, a networking opportunity, and more.

The book is one of its kind in the market. There is no other book on MBA like this (not the kind like the dry “The Ten Day MBA”). The book is a blue ocean product for the authors. I envy the authors must have earned a lot

Besides being a great promotion tool for MBA, the book is also like a dream book for would-be MBA students to “preview” their MBA dream before pursuing it. Am I interested to take up MBA? Of course, otherwise I would not have bought the book!

Too much to share here. Better go buy and read the book yourself!

Recently I reconnected with a friend who came from a family of feng shui (风水) business.  He shared to me about his business. I’m not familiar with his industry.  But I know some real estate agents and interior designers are very much into feng shui in order to serve their customers better.

But according to my friend, the real feng shui masters in Malaysia are few and far between.  Yes, we have heard of some big names who tout their expertise in feng shui.  But although their marketing is excellent, some of them may not be real experts in feng shui and may not have respect among feng shui masters.

On the other hand, there are those who are real masters but are not good in marketing themselves.  But after all, why need to market so much?  Their daily schedule is already packed up and they are already earning good money.

I myself don’t believe and don’t practise feng shui.  But here I’m writing from a business perspective only and nothing else.  I asked my friend who is computer-savvy why he doesn’t use the Internet and even blogging to promote his business.  Perhaps the web site will not generate many leads.  But he can use it to build his reputation.

But he said those who promote on the Internet expose themselves for challenges from the real masters in feng shui.  If one is not yet ready, better not have a web site, much less a blog.  Ok, sounds reasonable to me.

There are web developers and Internet marketers who think that EVERY business should go online.  But I think there are businesses which should not have an Internet presence, perhaps because the Internet does not fit into their business model, or they are not yet ready for Internet presence.

So perhaps a feng shui business is one such example?

“Don’t be evil.” What a well-known statement Google declares to the world. Unlike some companies who don’t practice what they preach, I guess Google is doing a pretty good job in living out their promise. Read about their well-documented code of conduct here.

Is there is a seed of evil in us? Is it why we need laws, rules and ethics to “regulate” us so that we don’t do evil? Otherwise we can just go amok and the world becomes upside down as everyone is free to do anything that satisfies his or her own selfish desires.

There are businesses who “do evil” by shortchanging customers and employ unethical means to compete in the market. There are business people who think “touching on the borderline of the law” is perfectly OK. After all, we are all in business. You want to be nice to everyone? Don’t be in business!

What some may not realize is that businesses who don’t believe in having good ethics may not be a sustainable business in long run. They may win something today but their evil conduct can hit them back later, perhaps even hit them so hard that it costs their very existence.

There are proper ways to compete and win over customers in the market. Those who have good corporate ethics like Google are well respected. Not like those who act evil today and think they can repair their image tomorrow.

This does not apply to businesses only, but also to individuals, non-profit organizations, government agencies and yes, even political parties. What’s good in it to win a battle now only to lose a war later? And in politics, what’s good to win a state now only to lose the entire nation later?

So businesses, don’t be short-sighted. Justice will prevail. The customers will decide…