INVEST AT ZERO KNOWLEDGE

A friend of mine was asking me in my FB the other day ,"Dina..if we have an excess of RM100,000, what can we do about it? How to invest? If we want to start a business, what are the possible ways to do it? Assuming we have zero knowledge". (The exact questions were, "kalau kita ada modal 100K, apa yang kita boleh buat ek? kalau nak invest, macamana? kalau nak start business, business yang macamana.....assume kita with zero knowledge.")
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My answer was this.
At zero knowledge, you should invest in yourself first. Ie Read books, listen to motivational talks, attend seminars etc. Investing in yourself will never be a waste as you continue to develop yourself into a better person, a well-informed one.

When you have knowledge then you can start investing. But it does not mean that you must know everything first before investing. I have posted in my notes the basic terms that you need to know when you invest. You can either look up in the net or message me if you need help. My presentation slide on passive income posted earlier in this blog can also give you ideas on investment. At this point of time I have not managed to write as much as I like.

Basic investment for now, for you to get started;
1. ASB/ 1 Amanah
2. Bank Persatuan
3. Unit Trust - understand the concept first from unit trust consultants
4. Gold Passbook - I think ada lagi dalam my old notes.

5. Buy Physical Gold and Silver

There are many2 more and I am trying hard to learn as much investment avenues as I can.

Having said all the above before, other sources that people would like to indulge themselves in are
1. online seminars from Renowned Speakers
2. financial books found in major bookstores etc
3. read blogs like mine regularly; there are many out there. Probably blog owners will comment and give feedback on their links
4. Learn from renowned local millionaires like Azizi Ali and Irfan Khairi
5. Browse through this link on passive income to get info

Learning should never ends as The knowledge you apply from Your Learning is indeed POWER!!!

STARTING A BUSINESS
The required steps :-
1. Find your passion
In order for your business to exist in the long run, you must really have passion for it. Otherwise, it will not stay for long.

2. Make a research on the industry of your passion
Know your competitor, who what the customers actually want, survey the appropriate price for the products or services

3. Find a good location
Good location will reduce your time and energy to market the business. Best if you can find area where people are non-stopping going to that area.

4. Strategize the marketing aspects
This is the most important aspect and it is a continuous process. Even if your business has already been established, you still need to review your marketing strategies and adapt them with the current situation. Marketing tools can be website, advertisement in media, social bookmarking avenues, exhibitions and roadshows and word-of-mouth.

5. Build the infrastructure
Essential things are 1. computer with internet connection 2. fax machine 3. positive attitude staff to administer the office

6. Develop entrepreneur attitude and characteristic
There are certain business acumens required in order for you to be successful. Among them are focus, persistent, integrity, honesty and positive. Read a lot of books/journals covering all aspects like management, marketing, economy, tax etc will definitely grow you into a well-informed business owner.

A lot of time and energy are required to build a business. The shortcuts would be
a. to buy existing business
b. to be a franschisee
c. to be an agent to existing products

Hope this helps you in looking at different angles and perspectives.
Spend most of your time now to think about Step 1 and 2 as good planning will certainly boost your business.