QB House - My First "Virgin" Visit

Today was my first (virgin) visit to QB House. Let me share my experience in this blog post.  

Previously I used to cut my hair in a leading Japanese brand hair salon. Each haircut was about $50 on an average. The service was good and the hairdresser always knew what I wanted. But I wanted to save costs as I was having my hair cut every 2-3 weeks. Yes my hair grows pretty quick. My last haircut before this QB visit was actually to a Malay Barber, who sorta gave me a “disastrous” haircut, in my point of view. No disrespect to Malay Barbers. I grew up having my hair cut by Malay Barbers under blocks of HDB flats. Just that the one I went to didn’t gave me what I wanted but worst. 

Alright, back to my first ever visit to QB House. I was introduced to it by my buddy, Selwyn (@krustyroll). Did some googling on the opening hours and which was the nearest branch to my residence. Upon my arrival, I was greeted by 2 friendly ladies at the shop. My initial thought was that the hairdressers were Men in their late 40s. I knew I had to insert $12 and take a queue card. But I didn’t had small change in my wallet. As I turned my back and walked away, the lady, while still cutting another gentleman’s hair, stopped me and asked if I needed change. I said Yes and she gave me nice exact breakdown for my $50 note. So I exchanged $12 notes for my QB queue card using the machine provided. For those who wanted to use their EZ-Link card, it was possible as well. There were 3 lights at the corner of the shop, Green – no waiting time, Yellow – 5-10mins waiting time, Red – 15mins & above waiting time. It was Red for me. While waiting, I was observing how they run the business and how they cut their customers hair. Of course, nervously hoping they will not “screw up” my haircut.  

Flow of Business : Before a customer sits down for their haircut experience. The hairdresser will sweep the floor and allow the vacuum hole on the floor suck in the unwanted hair, making the floor clean and looking presentable. Next they will brush and clean the seat before inviting the next customer to sit. While taking their seat, the customer would be greeted politely and asked how they wanted their hair to be done, with the hairdresser giving their suggestions as well. The hairdresser will cut/shave the hair to how the customer wants it within 10-15mins. Next they will use the mirror to show the front & back of the finished haircut to the satisfied customer. Once agreeable, they will then proceed to use the hair vacuum to “massage” and suck the loose and unwanted hair off your head & shoulders. Once done, the customer can proceed to collect their belongings in the designated cupboard before heading off. Again, to be greeted goodbye by all the hairdressers in the shop. 

I had the privilege to enjoy the above mentioned flow of business. Also I witness the kindness and patience of the hairdresser as they attended to the handicapped customer before me. I give this business concept and service two thumbs up. I will also recommend the same to any of you readers to go try this experience.

IMPORTANT LESSONS IN LIFE

We all feel like "shit" from time to time. While this is a normal feeling, you have to find a way to see yourself and your life from a different perspective. Just because things are not going "your" way at the moment, that doesn’t mean you’re a failure. In fact, it’s quite the contrary.

Here are signs that you are doing good and lessons in life:

1. Your relationships.

As we age, we should develop maturity. So maybe your relationships were drama-filled in your past, but if you have moved beyond that, then you are doing good.

2. Ask for help and support.

Asking for help does not equal weakness. In fact, it is a strength. No/Little people has ever succeeded solo. It takes teamwork to accomplish goals. Asking for help is a sign that you have grown as a person.

3. Raise your standards.

You don’t tolerate bad behavior any more – from other people, or even yourself. You hold people accountable for their actions. You don’t spend time with the “energy vampires” in your life anymore.

4. Let go of things that don’t make you feel good.

Self-love is success. Love yourself enough to say ‘no’ to anything that doesn’t make you happy, doesn’t serve your purpose, or drags you down.

5. Appreciate who you see in the mirror.

You should appreciate who you see in the mirror at every moment. But even if that doesn’t happen, if you do it more than you used to, then that is success. Love yourself. You are awesome and great.

6. Setbacks and failure are part of self-growth.

Not everyone can have success 100% of the time. Life is about victories and losses. So look at your setbacks as stepping stones to something better. In reality, there really is no such thing as setback. It’s all just part of a journey.

7. Have a support system that includes people who would do anything for you.

If you have figured out the people who “have your back” and recognized the ones who only pretend that they do, then you have succeeded. This is a painful realization, but once you learn to see the signs of betrayal, you can stay away from those people.

8. Don’t complain much.

Because you know there really is nothing to complain about. Unless you really have gone through some bad life experience and had unimaginable losses, most of what we all experience on a day-to-day basis is just mundane. And successful people know that. And they live in a space of gratitude.

9. Celebrate others’ success.

Just because other people succeed, that doesn’t make you a failure. Applaud the people who rise to the top. The more positive energy you give to other people’s victories, the more you will create your own.

10. Have passions that you pursue.

You know you have something wonderful to contribute to the world. You have unique talents and gifts. Not only do you know that, you pursue it.

11. Have things to look forward to.

Successful people create goals that they are passionate about pursuing. They let this excitement drive their life.

12. Make goals that can come true.

Even though “failures” are a part of life, you have to stick to your goals and dreams long enough to make them come to fruition. You will have some tastes of victory. It fuels you.

13. Have empathy for others.

A person without empathy is dead inside. Empathy equals spreading love and positive energy into the world. Successful people know this. They love others as if they are family.

14. Love deeply and open yourself up to be loved by others.

Love is risky, and sometimes scary for people. It’s the one thing we all strive for, but it’s also intimately tied to the one thing we fear the most – rejection. If you open your heart enough to love and be loved, then you are successful.

15. Refuse to be a victim.

You know that life doesn’t always happen to you. Many times, you are a co-creator of your life experiences. Successful people know this and refuse to be kept down by life experiences. The rise up and conquer anyway.

16. Don’t care what other people think.

You can’t please everyone. You know that the standards with which society judges people is many times unrealistic. So you just keep true to yourself and love the person you are.

17. Always look on the bright side.

Life can be full of disappointments – if you choose to see them that way. Otherwise, they are learning opportunities. No negative experience is ever wasted as long as you learn from it.

18. Accept what you can’t change.

There many things you can’t change in life. All you can change is how you view what happens. If you can change your negative perspective on situations to a positive one, then you are successful.

19. Change what you can.

There are many things you can change in life. Successful people don’t sit around accepting the negatives that are changeable. Get out there and do something about it!!

20. Be happy.

To me, this is the ultimate definition of success. It doesn’t matter what the balance is in your bank account, how big your house is, or how many fancy vacations you take. If you are happy, then you are succeeding in life.

MOTIVATION - Find It

Have Your Dreams Written Down:

Your dreams and audacious goals should be written where you can consistently see them. On what is written down are my big goals, my weekly goals, and motivational quotes. This helps me keep the eye on the prize, maintain focus, and ward of other distractions.

Focus only on TODAY:

We can get lost in thinking about the future or regretting the past. What’s terrible about this is that while you’re worrying and wishing you were in a different position in life, someone else is working.

Worry does you no good. If you truly want to succeed you need to learn how to focus your mind only on the present. Do what you can do in the moment, work on the project at hand, accomplish your daily goals and tasks, and you’ll do the same with your bigger, lifelong goals and dreams. 

Don’t Pack Your TO-DO List:

Don’t try and fill your day with too much. Sure, you’d like to get a lot accomplished, but there should only be 3 important tasks that NEED to be accomplished. Focus on these first. When they’re completed, and only when they’re completed, are you allowed to move on to other things. 

Too many people spread themselves thin. What ends up happening is they get overwhelmed, which crushes their motivation, and nothing gets done. If you’re focused, you’ll stay motivated, you’ll get more done, and you’ll be where you want to be a lot faster.

Practice Discipline:

Discipline is necessary. It’s in discipline that we gain freedom. We gain freedom to get more done, to improve, and to remove regret from our lives. When you’re focused only on today, doing only what needs to be done in the now, nothing else matters. But discipline needs to be practiced everyday. 

If you practice laziness and distraction, that is what you’ll be, and you’ll be left with nothing but regret and failure. Practice being successful by doing what successful people do everyday: they remain disciplined. Remember, take it one day at a time. Don’t get overwhelmed with eternity when the present should be your only concern.

 

Motivation and excitement about your vision, your ambition, your goal, give you energy and an ability to do what others can, but won’t do. If you’re motivated, you work longer hours, but are also more productive and focused in those hours you work.

Chasing The Lifestyle - Right or Wrong ???

Our grandparents or even parents grew up in a time when they had to learn to be resourceful. Things were fixed and not replaced, women made their own clothes and neighbors shared one phone. Things were purchased because they were necessary, not because they were simply wanted. No one would ever have dared to refer to them as “cheap skate”.

So how about our generation? People in their late 20s and early 30s carry significantly higher credit card debt than older generations and pay it off way much slower. Much of this can be attributed to the rising costs of education, but the bigger problem in my opinion, is our generation’s fear of looking “cheap”.

Success is naturally related to wealth, and no one idolizes or looks upto someone who is not successful. On top of that, the “lifestyle” has morphed into a whole other level of status and luxury. In the culture of today, having the appearance of wealth trumps actually having any money. What needs to be understood, though, is that people who are really wealthy actually attribute frugal (or “cheap”) habits to getting and staying there.

The number one quality of successful people is living below their means, and this means being frugal. For example, there are millionaire households living in homes valued under $1,000,000, yet at the same time, 86% of people driving the most expensive “status” cars are non-millionaires. People who actually have money are not scared of looking cheap.

 

 

The right thing to do is to put yourself in the position to have the money to invest in my future – to create more opportunity and success for yourself. Who knows, maybe this is what will separate the rich from the poor, like a survival test. Those who know how to sacrifice will be the ones who ultimately live in comfort, and those who feared looking cheap will ultimately live in their parents’ house when they’re over 35.

Wondering where you fall in all of this? Well the next time you put your credit card down, ask yourself what kind of “lifestyle” you’re investing in.

TIME FOR A CHANGE

Someone once said “experience is a hard because it gives the test first, the lesson afterwards.” However, it can be difficult to figure out exactly what that test is. We are not going to go into the usual about taking up a hobby, going for a jog, or joining a self-improvement group. Changing our lives can be complex. But, the flow of life is onward and upward irrespective of our need for self adjustment. 

 

 

Having said the above, it is TIME to create a POSITIVE change in my life. If any of you need some advise on how to go about doing do, below are some good pointers. 

Get over it. Stop making life more complicated than it is. Everything happens for a reason, and when one door shuts, another one opens. Once we stop resisting life and live it, we will see dramatic changes take place. Learn your lesson, get over it, and move on. 

 

 

If you are dreaming of something bigger, it won’t come to you. You will have to go out there and get it. Sometimes, it will take much longer. But patience will pay off and you eventually will get it right. 

Good things come to those who do not give up, not to those who wait! Change requires action but those changes won’t usually happen overnight.  

 

 

Go on a diet. Many of us have tried various diets whether to lose weight or gain it. But those are not the types of diets we are referring to here. In order to make significant changes in your life you should try a “mental diet.” Get out all the clutter that’s been stuck in your brain for eons. That means releasing yourself from the negative thoughts that keep you from being the person you wish to be. 

Instead of wondering through life like an ungrateful tormentor always wanting more, maybe its time to appreciate what you already have. It may not seem like much, but making this type of change in your life will help you feel better about yourself, thereby, changing your outlook on life. 

Chill!! Today, it seems so difficult for people to simply relax. Beating the walls and making a big hoot about everything will only make you a nuisance, and no one will want to be around you. There’s a difference between hard work and working hard. If you have the “all or nothing” attitude, change it. 

Be less sensitive. Sometimes changing ourselves requires “seeing ourselves as others do.” Our own thoughts about ourselves are always the most important, but delusional musing is a great obstacle to change. 

Have a sense of humor. Nothing changes the heart and mind like a good laugh. Laughter creates an opening where tension and fear once closed the door. 

Show some Love. It’s easy to point the finger at others but love understands because we are not perfect ourselves. It changes you because you become more perceptive.  

You can probably think of a few other ideas that can result in changes in your life or someone else’s. All that is required is the desire to change.

 

 

Tips for a Great Business Plan

Entrepreneurs should prepare a business plan regardless of their venture. Although an idea is what often gets investors interested, a business plan is definitely needed to get financial support from them. The simple act of writing down your idea and outlining how the business will operate can be helpful to ensure that you communicate your vision and that everyone is on the same page. It also helps you benchmark and check your progress as the company grows. A business plan is crucial to get support for your vision because it shows that you have thought through an idea clearly. Your business plan doesn’t have to be some manicured document in order to make it successful. Your business plan should be clear and provide a roadmap for your company. Without a plan, you’ll find it more difficult to communicate your vision and see a path to growth. 

Here are some business plan writing tips I’ve found useful during my career: 

Get rid of the unnecessary: You should always be as concise as possible and remove any filler language. Even if it sounds nice, fluff gets you nowhere and wastes space. Plus, no investors want to read a long business plan. Get to the point quickly. 

Be realistic: You should be honest with yourself in your business plan, which is why it’s important to consider challenges and opportunities. If you’ve got a strong idea, let it stand on its merit. 

Show you’re conservative: Everyone says they’re “conservative” in their business plans, but most aren’t. You should be. Use examples to demonstrate that you’re conservative in your approach and projections. 

Visuals are good: Whenever possible, and without overdoing it, use visuals in your business plan. Graphs, charts, and images can help bring your concept to life. Plus, it breaks up the text and helps a plan flow better. 

Be creative: Include a creative element in your business plan so you stand out and grab someone’s attention. You can use templates, but don’t look identical to a template. Do something unique to make the plan yours.

 

 

How to be Successful??

It is the dream of most people to be successful but unfortunately, they won’t because they don’t know how to. So in this blog post, I will be sharing with you strategies and ways to become successful quick.

“Anyone who has ever struggled with poverty knows how devilishly expensive it is to be poor.” – James Baldwin

1. Prepare your mind to become a success

To become a success fast, you must see yourself as a success already. You must believe it is achievable. Ultimately, you must prepare your mind to face the challenges associated with your dream of becoming a success. You must also be prepared for disappointments and setbacks along the way.

Preparing your mind also entails abandoning the employee mindset of working for a paycheck. It’s all about transiting or changing your mode of thinking; it’s all about thinking like an entrepreneur. In the process of preparing your mind to become a success, you must also develop the necessary entrepreneurial skills needed.

“To be successful, you must act big, think big and talk big.” – Aristotle Onassis

One of such skills is that you must develop a tough skin towards rejection and criticism. You must not give up on your dream just because somebody said it’s impossible.

2. Set a goal to become a success in 1 a year

The next step is to set a goal to become a success within a time frame of one year. After setting the one year goal, break it down into monthly, weekly and objectives. The goal and objectives must be written down. Writing it down will help you must make sure each new day is fully utilized to the realization of your goal.

3. Look into yourself and list out your strengths

One of the easiest and fastest ways to make money and become a success is to utilize your potential. Every human being is blessed with a gift or has a unique talent that needs to be discovered and harnessed. Even if you think you are not gifted, there’s definitely something that drives you crazy; something you are never tired of doing. Something you are very passionate about, something you can do and do excellently well.

It could be an acquired skill, an in-born talent, your hobby or just anything that thrills you; even if it’s the world’s craziest idea, it’s your strength. Debbi Fields took her passion for baking cookies and made a lot of money out of it with her company; Mrs. Field’s Cookies.

Bill Gates discovered at an early age that he loves tangling with computer programs and this passion evolved into Microsoft. Oprah Winfrey utilized her gift for speaking and became the richest black woman in the world; while Rachael Ray took her passion for cooking and became a famous millionaire.

No matter what your strengths are, you can make something out of it. All you need to do at this stage is list them out in written form. Now if you feel you don’t have any talent or skill to leverage upon, which I doubt; then you have to ask yourself the following questions:

• What do I have around me that I can leverage upon to become successful?
• What drives me crazy?
• What do I know that others don’t?

4. Analyze your strengths or idea and figure out if it interests others

After listing out your strengths, you need to go to a quiet place and reflect on your strengths. Analyze each of them and tick the ones you are very strong at. After analyzing each one of them, you will need to carry out a preliminary research to know which of your strengths or ideas has potential for success in the market place.

This research might require you ask questions, read journals, magazines and books and even spend time on the internet. Any of the research vehicle you choose, just make sure it yields the desired result.

5. Draw a plan on how you intend to profit from your strength or idea

If you can get to this stage, then you are half way down the road to becoming a millionaire. This is where you sit down to draw a plan of how you intend to leverage your strength or idea to make money. This is where you to convert the results of your feasibility study into a business plan. Your plan is going to contain tactics and strategies that will help you surmount business challenges and achieve your goals faster.

6. Make sure you are legally protected

Many budding entrepreneurs strive to pass through step one to five, only to bypass step six and proceed to seven. This single business mistake has resulted in the death or painful loss of brilliant ideas and opportunities. I have also seen smart entrepreneurs being launched into a world of tremendous wealth simply because they protected their ideas.

Never test run your idea or launch it without first protecting it using patents, trademarks, copyrights, non-disclosure agreement or conformity forms. If you are leveraging someone else idea or product, be sure to obtain a license, distributive rights or exclusive right from the owner. Legally protecting your idea will cost you money in the short run but it will be highly beneficial to you in the long run.

7. Test run your idea and note down the result

After protecting your idea, you can now test run it to see its workability and identify flaws. Test running your idea might require you to; give out free samples of your product, grant access to experts to scrutinize your idea or join a focus group. The end point of your test running should be to gather feedback and improve or proceed with the idea. If the product is not yours, you will still need to test the market with it. Nobody wants to be stuck with a dying product.

8. Assemble a team to help you expand your idea

If you are smart and open minded, you will assemble a team during the test running of your idea because few will see potential in your idea and will want to be part of it. If this happens, then you need to be selective of who you bring on board as team member. But if not, then you will need to find your own team. Whichever way it works, just make sure your selected team members sign an agreement highlighting their roles and stakes to avoid future dispute.

9. Form strategic alliance with stronger external teams

After kicking off with your idea alongside your team, you will surely meet some business challenges and some progress. You may decide to maintain status quo and work strictly with your team but if you need accelerated growth and speedy achievement of your goal, then you need to seek out external assistance.

You need to form strategic alliance with stronger external teams; teams bigger than yours. This will reduce your overhead and help you grow faster while still running on a lean budget.

10. Stick with the process

Finally, we are at it. What else do I have to say, what advice do I have to give at this point? If you have steadfastly gotten to step nine, I say congratulations but I’m still sorry to say that all your effort will be null and void if you ignore step ten; the most important step of all.

In the game of entrepreneurship and life in general, many start the race with enthusiasm but along the way, most lose their enthusiasm and others their focus. Only about ten percent will make it to the end of the race. Are you going to be among this ten percent? Only you can decide that.

“Anything the mind can conceive and believe; it can achieve.”