RE: Fear can paralyze you & how to come out of it

So guess what? 
The biggest obstacle in our damn hearts (I use the word "damn" because to me, sometimes i'm so frustrated with myself for not being courageous enough and this, mind you -is a personal opinion) is FEAR

So here is an article which I came across online and I wanted to share it to remind mainly myself on:

Don’t let fear paralyze you

One of the biggest obstacles in becoming an entrepreneur is fear. Think you are not afraid? Do you keep searching for the right opportunity but just can’t find the perfect deal? That’s fear. Your aversion to risk keeps you in constant analysis and research. This is commonly referred to as analysis paralysis. When this happens, you may end up doing nothing. Don’t let fear or perfection paralyze you.

Matt Clark, our featured entrepreneur guest these last few blogs, has this to say about perfection:

When trying to develop the “entrepreneur mindset” you must stop trying to be perfect. Frequently, if you haven’t achieved a goal it’s because you’re trying to do the perfect action or take the perfect path to achieving that goal.

The problem with this is that you don’t know what the perfect path is or else you would have already taken it. Being perfect leads to the perfect way to fail… doing nothing. The only way to make sure that you get anything done is by not trying to be perfect. Instead focus on taking action. Take that leap of faith, or take a lot of little hops of faith.

Don’t reflect too much on whether what you’re doing is perfect. If you experience a setback, the fastest way to get back on your feet emotionally is to take more action.

When you start taking action, and you stop reflecting on whether that action is perfect, you stop reflecting on your current situation. In order to take that new action, you actually have to focus on it, which means that your focus is not on the negatives of the current situation or how much stuff you have that you don’t like or don’t want. Your focus is on actually doing those new, positive action items.

Matt is right. Perfection is the enemy of motion. 

Perfection stops entrepreneurship. That is not to say there is no need for setting high standards and going out and achieving them. What we are saying is that too much focus on being perfect leads to inaction and focusing on the wrong things. Too much focus on perfection is usually a subconscious focus born out of fear.

You have your left brain—the logical, analytical, practical side of your world – which is usually where the need to be perfect lives. And you have your right brain—the creative, innovative, intuitive part of your world. And then you have the physical, the spiritual, and everything in between. Rising to meet your financial dreams takes all of it. It takes all of you. Just be careful not to let the desire for perfection ruin your dream of being an entrepreneur.

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RE: Investment Guide: RM1,000 - Now Where Do You Invest It?

So what do you do with RM 1,000? 
Here's a good guide on growing your money in investing!

Investment Guide: You Have RM1,000. Now Where Do You Invest It?

You may scoff at the idea of getting into investments with just RM1,000. You might think, “What can I do with that meagre amount?” A lot, actually. You’ll be surprised at how much you can gain in years to come if you invest that money right now.

You don’t need to invest hundreds of thousands up front to see a healthy return. With just RM1,000, you can kick-start your investment portfolio and see money rolling in.
According to your risk appetite, here’s an investment guide on where you can put your RM1,000 and see it grow.

Amanah Saham Bumiputera (ASB)

Risk: Low
Average return: 8% to 10% per annum
Example: If you invest RM1,000 over 10 years, your return will be RM1,367.36 excluding dividend and bonus

ASB is a premier unit trust investment specifically for Malaysian Bumiputera. It is managed by Amanah Saham Nasional Berhad (ASNB), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Permodalan Nasional Berhad (PNB).

It is meant as a long-term investment, with the longer you keep your money, the higher the possibility of higher return.

Some of the ASB features:

• Capital guaranteed – low risk
• No sales charges – higher return
• No redemption charges – higher return
• Maximum investment amount: 200,000 units

Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs)

Risk: Medium
Average return: 6.82% per annum
Example: If you purchased 700 shares from Sunway REITs in 2012, and sold them in the first quarter of 2014:



REITs are meant for investors who would like to invest in property, especially retail lots, but do not have the capital to buy them outright as investments. These trusts are formed by companies that purchase and manage real estate using funds pooled from shareholders. Dividend payouts can be generous depending on which REIT you are buying.

Like most long-term investments, the longer you leave your money in it, the higher the return will most likely be.

* DPU stands for Distribution Per Unit, or also known as, dividend per share of the financial year. It is listed in sen.

Unit trust funds

Risk: Low to medium
Return: Depends on portfolio and funds
Example: If you invest RM1,000 in the AMB Lifestyle Trust Fund Today for five years on Fundsupermart.com.my, your return, based on the historical performance, may be:

 Performance figures (as of July 22, 2014)

Unit trust funds are a form of collective investment that allows investors with similar investment objectives to pool their funds to be invested in a portfolio of securities or other assets. A professional fund manager then invests the pooled funds in a portfolio which may include cash, bonds and deposits, shares, properties and/or commodities.

The return on investment of unit holders is usually in the form of income distribution and capital appreciation, derived from the pool of assets supporting the unit trust fund. Each unit earns an equal return, determined by the level of distribution and/or capital appreciation in any one period.

However, investing in unit trust will usually involve certain costs like sales charge, platform fee, annual management charge, trustee fee and other charges. By investing via Fundsupermart, investors can reduce these fees and charges as compared to investing through a fund manager.

With a unit trust fund, you can still maintain liquidity and security, but it is no longer a savings account – it is an investment. Unit trust is the most suitable investment for the common man who is interested in equities but lack the funds to diversify independently. Unit trusts offers an opportunity to invest in a diversified, professionally managed portfolio with lower starting capital.

Compare the performance of different funds to find the best one to invest on using our unit trust comparison page.

Blue chip stocks in Stock Exhange

Risk: High
Return: Possibly high return, depending on market and company
Example: If you invested RM 1,000 in Axiata in 2009 (five years ago), it would amount to about RM2,340 now.

AXIATA 5 Years                                                                          Source: Bursa Malaysia

 

Investing in blue chip stocks are recommended not just because of the capital appreciation, but also the attractive dividends, depending on the company. In the example above, Axiata is a well-known and reputable blue chip company.

Blue chip companies refer to reputable and financially sound companies, selling high-quality, and widely accepted products and services. These companies are known to weather downturns and operate profitably in the face of adverse economic conditions, which helps to contribute to their long record of stable and reliable growth.

However, if you’re risk averse and not well informed, stocks should not be used as a short-term investment in order to make a big profit. This action is not investing, but pure gambling. There may be times in which stocks have put a record on short-term growth, but these occurrences are very rare.
Making short-term transactions with stocks can lead to high cost of investment due to the various brokerage and transaction fees. Depending on your investment amount, these fees can add up to a significant amount.

As Warren Buffett once said, “If you aren’t willing to own a stock for ten years, don’t even think about owning it for ten minutes.”

No matter which investment vehicle you pick, it should have a long-term flavour. That way, you don’t get eaten alive by trading fees on a relatively small amount of money invested, and there can potentially be higher return on your money.

For most people who are struggling to save up on some money to invest, remember, it can always be done over time. You can always top up your investment in various investment vehicles as and when you have saved up some investment fund. If you keep at it over time  you will gradually build up a pretty secure and diverse investment portfolio. It’s always good to start early!

SOURCE

RE: 3 keys for an entrepreneur just starting out

Hey,
any richdad readers out there? I'm sure all, well maybe not ALL, NUT most of us want out of the rat race right?
So, we think of being an entrepreneur just to start the business and be on the way to owning those BMW's, Big houses with pools, travel the world and wake up at whatever time we want.
Now, hows that for a "life"?
Just to post a photo on social media (facebook, instagram) and say to the world "I've made it"! Proud and oh, so very loud! 

But is it easy to be a millionaire? This article by Robert Kiyosaki at his richdad website strikes a very good point here. Here he talks about a young adult that hasn't even reach his 30's yet and had achieve what I would like to personally call the "million dollar dream" 

Here is the article, a certain good read for start ups and budding entrepreneurs!: 
----

3 keys for an entrepreneur just starting out

Posted on: Monday, September 08, 2014Written by: Robert Kiyosaki

I recently spoke at a large event in Las Vegas. After the event I met a young man named Matt Clark. Matt has built two multi-million dollar companies from scratch and he is not even thirty yet. I was so impressed with his success at such a young age I wanted to sit down and talk with him. I was not financially free until my 40’s and that was with the teachings of rich dad. Had business changed at all from my day as a start-up?
Matt attended one of the top entrepreneur colleges. When I was young there was no such thing. The university taught Matt about customer service, brand-building, operations, finance, accounting, marketing, etc. But Matt said that’s not really where he learned the most. The best education he received was by actually going out there and just doing it. Matt’s best teacher was experience. That hasn’t changed since my day. Nothing teaches better than going out there and just doing it.
I asked Matt what advise he would give to an entrepreneur just starting out. He said that after building and starting two multi-million dollar companies and talking with lots of very successful entrepreneurs along the way, there are three fundamentals that, if any entrepreneur implements into his or her business, will increase the likelihood of creating a fun, profitable business immeasurably:

1. High Margins
2. Recurring Revenue
3. Measurement

High Margins

For a successful business, not one in which you’re scraping by, you should shoot for a 500% or more markup on the products or services you sell. Matt struggled for many, many months operating a business with only 30-40% profit margin. It wasn’t until he started selling his own brand of private-labeled products with a 600% margin, that he really began to experience the level of profitability a small business needs to survive.

Recurring Revenue

Matt’s second fundamental is recurring revenue. This is one of those business mindsets that become more and more powerful with time. Recurring revenue can be a subscription model business or a business that that sells an add-on product. Matt uses the example of the Keurig coffee brewer and the little K-cups you HAVE to buy each and every time you want to use the machine.
If you implement a recurring revenue component right now into your business, you’re only going to get those same people re-billing next month – nice, but that’s not the big payoff. But, if you keep it up, continually adding more and more recurring customers each and every month, 6 months, 1 year, 2 years down the road, you’ll have more than your company is making now on AUTO-PAY.
Matt is right. The recurring model does not make you an overnight success but if you keep at it, it can be very profitable. I’ve found the key to recurring revenue is quality. You are only as good as your last customer experience. Rich Dad just started our Insiders subscription model. I know that if I do not deliver quality lessons and insights ever week the Insiders members will stop paying. My team’s job and my job is to keep delivering quality.

Measurement

Lastly, measurement is a MUST for any business of any size. For any business, online or offline, if you’re spending money on advertising, your business will never experience the gigantic leaps in growth a profitable advertising campaign can produce if you are not measuring.
What Matt calls measuring I call feedback. Feedback comes through results, through listening to customers and through the numbers you get when you measure. Being in business is not a hobby where you do what makes you feel good. You need to get the numbers, know how to read the numbers and adjust based on what the numbers are telling you.
I asked Matt about the importance of your businesses’ mission. He looked at me with a smirk and said, “that’s a given.” I knew I liked this kid.

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