While most of us struggle to keep our business in the black, this one takes the cake for staying in business for the last 1,400 years.

The world’s oldest continuously operating family business ended its impressive run last year. Japanese temple builder Kongo Gumi, in operation under the founders’ descendants since 578, succumbed to excess debt and an unfavorable business climate in 2006.

How do you make a family business last for 14 centuries? Kongo Gumi’s case suggests that it’s a good idea to operate in a stable industry. Few industries could be less flighty than Buddhist temple construction. The belief system has survived for thousands of years and has many millions of adherents. With this firm foundation, Kongo had survived some tumultuous times, notably the 19th century Meiji restoration when it lost government subsidies and began building commercial buildings for the first time. But temple construction had until recently been a reliable mainstay, contributing 80% of Kongo Gumi’s $67.6 million in 2004 revenues.

Continue reading at BusinessWeek.com

While brushing up on my ‘accounting skills’, here’s a list of profits that is constantly being used:

1. Gross profit = Sales revenue – cost of sales and other direct costs
2. Operating profit (EBIT, earnings before interest and taxes) = Gross profit – overheads and other indirect costs
3. Pretax Profit (EBT, earnings before taxes) = Operating profit – one off items and redundancy payments, staff restructuring – interest payable
4. Net profit (PAT) = Pre-tax profit – tax
5. Retained earnings = Profit after tax (PAT) – Dividends

I believe the opportunity is hidden in the places where it’s obvious, but it’s hard to see for those of us who are looking at the wrong places.

It’s not that we are not smart, it’s just that we are not trained enough to see these rifts. It’s always there, but no one’s bothered to exploit it. Just look at the stories in the business world, where it’s always other people who ‘discovered’ these business opportunities.

I think it’s not because these people are born in the right places at the right time or they happen to ‘know’ people in high places, I just think that these people looked at the same thing using different lenses. That’s what I think we should start doing.

And if we keep at it, we might just get good at it ;-)

A friend of mine recently brought up the issue of starting one’s own business and the risks involved in it. He pointed out very bluntly that how most people are so focused on the risky side of losing their capital when starting a new business that they forgot that there’s actually an upside to it. Yes, indeed, you can and should be making profit as long as you learn the ropes and do not repeat the same mistakes over and over again.

Okie, I am not going to oversimplify the struggle of starting businesses lest I get dozens of hate mails flying my way from entrepreneurs.

His next point was even more interesting, that we are more willing to go into the bank and put a down-payment of RM25,000 on an automobile and take up a loan that last for 7 years or more. And the best part is, we know very well that the automobile is only going to go down in value the moment you step on the gas pedal. And yet, of all the wisdom that we’ve learn about money and investment, we simply gave up our opportunity cost and went ahead and ‘procure’ these depreciating assets anyway.

And that RM25,000, if it was used to fund a simple business idea, might potentially show some results 2-3 years later. And even if you are going to lose it, you would definitely learn something worth that amount, if not more. Unless of course, you are into get-rich-quick schemes.

But for the most part, a down-payment for a car would often be enough to start a little start side venture, don’t you think?

My friend Yusno has recently just launched his event management system which he started developing early this year. With a dedicated team of developers, he managed to ship this project and is ready to do business! Yes, the tough part is always to ship. Shipping on time is everything when it comes to software development.

The Log On Screen for Evenesis - the event management system developed by Yusno.

And here’s an email interview I had with Yusno on Evenesis’s BETA launch.

Yow Chuan (YC): What is Evenesis all about?

Yusno (YUS): Evenesis is an online web application that offers a full spectrum of event management features such as event planning, event scheduling, event invitation and event response tracking. It also allows you to design your own floor plan, manage your guests’ seating arrangement to suit your event’s theme and coordinate with the venue’s host. There’s also a feature for you to get evaluation and feedback from your attendees. Finally, there’s an ‘Event Report’ that acts as your dashboard where you can see a summary of your event’s statistics such as number of attendees who turned up or absent in a single view.

The Dashboard in Evenesis also features services that can come in handy for event planners such as florists, photographers and even insurance companies.

YC: What are the type of events that I can manage with Evenesis?

YUS: With Evenesis, you can manage weddings, exhibitions, conferences, birthdays, anniversaries, convoctions, fashion shows, movie premieres, open houses, product launches, seminar, conventions and trainings. We are currently adding more type of events based on our event managers’ feedback. Don’t worry if your event type is not listed here. Do inform us and we will add it to our list.

Adding event in Evenesis is simple and straightforward. Each event is currently priced at 50 credits.

YC: What type of users would benefit most from Evenesis?

YUS: Evenesis would be indispensable for anyone who is involved in event management activities. Hoteliers and Event Management Companies are also welcomed and encouraged to use Evenesis to help with their day-to-day event management operations.

YC: So, how can the public start using Evenesis?

YUS: Evenesis is now on Beta version and it is free. Simply go to www.yus.com.my, click the sign up link, and we will provide you with an account immediately.

YC: What can I do with my BETA account?

YUS: You will have 59 credits in your account to create and manage one event, whereby each event would cost 50 credits. You can send up to 60 email invitations (60 x 0.15 credit = 9 credits). Our SMS invitations is not available yet. However, users can still access to all Evenesis modules and functions.

YC: What is this credit thing that you’ve mentioned? Is one credit equivalent to RM1.00?

YUS: Yes, that’s right, a credit is equivalent to RM1.00. Any transaction in Evenesis will be conducted in credits. For example, to create an event, you must have a sufficient credits.

YC: Where and how do I buy and top-up my credits?

YUS: Credits can be bought in multiple of fifties, for example 50, 100, 150 and 200. If you are low on credits, simply go to ‘My Account’ and click ‘Buy Credits’. We accept payment via credit cards (VISA, MasterCard, American Express-AMEX) and Paypal.

YC: Is there any cost involved when setting up and using Evenesis?

The Floor Plan Design module allows you to create your floor plan with ready-made objects such as Projectors, Tables, Podiums, Walls and Stages. It's like setting up a restaurant in PlayFish's Restaurant City.

YUS: Evenesis is free to use if you sign up as our Beta user (with limitations). You can upgrade to full version (once it is launched) and only pay 50 credits for creating a new event. With a full version account, each email invitation will cost 0.15 credit and each SMS invitation will cost 0.50 credit.

YC: Sounds like Evenesis is going to make life much easier for event management planners. Also, I can see myself DIY my own events since all the information regarding reservations, event venues and rates are easily available on the Evenesis platform. As with everything ‘technology’, I deem support as a very important aspect to ensure a pleasant user experience. I know I can call you directly if all my events disappeared from the Dashboard but how do users contact the support team if they have any problem with Evenesis?

YUS: You can email me directly at support@evenesis.com and I will response to you personally! Also, I am open to any kind of collaboration work that can benefits the public. As a matter of fact, I am now inviting any business owners to advertise their products and services that are related to event management for free for a limited time.

The invitation module gives you the option to send your invitation by email and SMS. At the point of this interview, the SMS module is not yet available.

YC: Thanks bro for your sharing on Evenesis. I wish you great success in your full version launch!

YUS: You are most welcome YC!

Disclaimer: Meshio.com does not have any ownership or direct financial interest in Evenesis. Meshio.com does not guaranty or make any warranties, express or implied, as to the quality of services or products that may be provided by Evenesis. You are advised to contact the owner of Evenesis at support@evenesis.com for further information.

The Small to Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) are the backbone of a country’s economy. As a whole, they provide more job opportunities, pay more in taxes and contribute much more to the local community than the big corporations.

No doubt SMEs takes more risks in their business, but if you want to see real growth and opportunities, you can count on these gung-ho SMEs enterpreneurs. During an economy crisis, they are the ones that would work hard to make sure the orders continue to come in and also to keep their employees on the payroll, while big corporations won’t even think twice about laying off their crews.

Here’s a list of microfinance institutions available for SMEs in Malaysia and the various products they offer:

Source: www.smeinfo.com.my