“Starting a business…but who stole my heart & my dream?”

• Subang Jaya, 19^th & 20^th July 2013

It’s always easy to blame circumstances and external factors, when things go wrong. But then again, how often do we ask ourselves: “Could I’ve done better? Could I’ve made the best of a bad situation?”

That was the essence of Miracles of Capital founder, Dr. Wong Jeh Shyan’s final seminar – prior to the Global Business Forum 2013 in August – at Subang Jaya’s Empire Hotel, last Friday and Saturday (July 19^th & 20^th).

Dr. Wong Jeh Shyan, founder of Miracles of Capital, engaging participants in a lively discourse

Addressing a capacity classroom of entrepreneurs and business owners, Dr. Wong’s seminar was made all the more interesting, with many an occasional anecdote shared by his guest speaker from China, Mr. Li Wen Yu. Mr. Li’s story was one that must be heard, to be truly appreciated. Despite his troubled past, Mr. Li was living proof to all present that while one’s past may influence one’s future, it doesn’t necessarily set the latter in stone.

Participants listening closely to Chinese guest speaker, Mr. Li Wen Yu, as he shares an anecdote

Throughout the entire duration of the seminar, Dr. Wong challenged many a popular notion most people – including entrepreneurs – would have. A brilliant and experienced academic himself, his anecdotes even bordered on the metaphysical; inspiring food for thought. And respond to his questions and thought-provoking discourses, his audience did!

LINs Comm director, Mickie Teo, kick-starting the seminar, by welcoming fellow participants

LINs Comm is proud to be associated with the Miracles of Capital and Dr. Wong Jeh Shyan, and equally proud to be the event manager of choice, for the Miracles of Capital’s many seminars and forums, including the upcoming Global Business Forum 2013.

LINs.AD Director Shares Business Insights at 1st Ever Public Seminar

Kuala Lumpur, 17^th July 2013

Addressing a capacity crowd – consisting of business owners and entrepreneurs – at the Kechara Oasis Restaurant at Viva Home, LINs.AD Director, Mickie Teo, shared his numerous insights on the advertising industry, at the “Social relationships as a component of successful organizational DNA” forum.

Mickie began with an introduction of LINs.AD Malaysia, where he ran his audience through a brief history of the agency’s inception in Malaysia in 1996, to its accreditation as a 4A’s organization in 2008, and the company’s present stead and diverse portfolio of clients.

Mickie engaging his audience in a lively discourse, at the Kechara Oasis Restaurant

Peppering his speech with humor, he then posed the question constituting the gist of his talk: Are Advertising and Marketing the same thing?

With his audience paying rapt attention, Mickie proceeded to debunk the common misconception that `Advertising and Marketing are the same thing’. While acknowledging that both constitute different sides of the same coin, he emphasized that Advertising is the form of communicating to people about a product or service available, while Marketing is the process of doing so.

Mickie then shared a few key statistics regarding the local SME/SMI industry, before moving on to the coup-de-grace: How, by investing in Advertising, Marketing and Branding, an SME/SMI can actually carve a niche market for itself, both locally and overseas.

The Director’s talk was well-received, with many amongst the audience posing Mickie the occasional question, as he shared his insights with them. And perhaps, the best takeaway message everyone procured from the talk, was the knowledge that “it’s not just what you do to succeed, it’s HOW you go about doing it”.

Key to Successful Marketing Campaign

And let great advertising take care of the rest!

Open your local paper, or simply check your emails at any time of the day, and chances are, you’ll find yourself bombarded with a slew of forgettable `Buy this’ or `Get me now’ ads, vying for your attention.

And yet, people wonder why marketing and advertising are such hard work.

We’re perpetually seeking to change the way people think and behave, by positioning brands and businesses in the middle of a relationship that is only on the peripheral of our customers’ minds.  And while we – the business owner, brand manager or creative agency – know that there’s a real centrality in our relationship with the brand we’re trying to push to customers, it’s simply NOT the case for the vast majority of the people we’re trying to talk to!

The fact is, many businesses still struggle to create awareness, amidst the plethora of social media channels at our disposal, today.  Some of the most commonly asked questions include: “How will it drive sales”, “What’s the relevance” and “Where’s my ROI?”

While these are important questions, they fail to consider one important thing in any laissez faire economy: “What is it that people really, really want of my product or service?”  And the sad truth is, very few businesses have the knowledge and capability to determine the answers – let alone the capacity to integrate these answers into a comprehensive brand and engagement framework.

In short, our channels of communication have matured, but our organisational understanding of addressing “What people want” continues to lag.  We’re so pre-occupied with making people want things…that we fail to make things that people really want!

What if we went further, and understood our customers’ journey from the outside-in?  This means, rather than pushing advertorials and messages designed to interrupt and stimulate, we provide such incentive, surprise and delight that our efforts prompt purchases and create business relationships with our customers?

With careful planning and foresight, it’s actually easier done than you imagine.  Here’s what you can do, to engage customers, give them what they want, and be rewarded for it:

• Start small.  Rather than thinking of how you’re going to change the world, what is your vision that will change one person’s experience of what you do?  By all means, have the big vision in the back of your mind, but start as small as you can.
• Be quick.  Stop thinking about what you can do and actually start doing it!  Think about what you can do with the budget you already have in your hand.
• Engage.  Don’t just plan and do nothing else.  Talk to your customers.  Engage with them on social media, and bring them into your planning process.

Do these, and honestly, within a week or so, you will have a deeper understanding of what your customers really, really want from you.  And that’s when great marketing or advertising comes in…to support and promote your product or service, which your customers really want or need!

BRAINS + MONEY = DREAM REALIZED

An idea is just what it is.  No more, no less – if you don’t share it.  And what’s the use of a great business idea, without the capital to convert a dream into reality?

Enter the Global Business Forum (GBF) 2013 – a growing platform where innovative ideas meet capital, synthesizing into the creative entrepreneurs of tomorrow.

Complete with this year’s theme, “Collaborative Action in Building the Catalysts for the Future MNCs”, the GBF provides a convenient, immediate platform that:

• Brings “The Miracles of Capital” Alumni Members and potential Investors together, under the same roof
• Creates opportunities for Alumni Members and Investors to network with each other
• Allows for an exchange of know-how and ideas on how to consolidate resources and grow a business
• Allows Alumni Members to share their success stories with all present

The idea behind this Forum is remarkably simple: Meet, present to and network with the people who’ll help you launch or kick-start your business plan, minus the hassle that normally comes with having to seek for investors via conventional channels.

Put simply, it’s all about being in the RIGHT PLACE, at the RIGHT TIME and with the RIGHT PEOPLE.

The GBF 2013 will take place from August 14^th to 16^th 2013, at the Marriott Putrajaya Hotel.  For more details:

• Visit http://www.gbfinternational.com
• Email info@gbfinternational.com
• Contact Phyllis Chow (+6012 – 404 1243) / E Cheng (+6012 – 217 2925) / Shirly Tan (+6012 – 209 8968)