Singapore's Retail Incubator!

Looking to staring your own shop but unsure if you should plunk down too much cash for a shop or even pushcart?

Here's a new concept that just hit Singapore - renting small little retail cubicles to house your wares! Called InQbox, it essentially works like a mini incubator for aspiring designers or closet hobbyists to peddle some of their wares.

Very innovative indeed.

[via : Springwise.com ]

Spice up those Presentations!

Hands up all those who are fed up being forced to sit through hours and hours of bad presentations?

Having seen one too many bad powerpointing and presenting skills, I've compiled a small list of tips which I've picked up from a couple of sites which I'm trying to pick up and thought may be useful to everyone else too:

1) Never just read off the slides - Your audience can read the text fine so unless you used to be a racecourse commentator, don't even try to speak faster than they can read. Instead, put only key points or ideas in the slides and add value by explaining those points in detail or provide examples. I would think that this is the No. 1 killer of a lot of presentations I see in school.

2) On number and size of the text - A sure case where more is not better. Do not force words into your slides till you have to put them down into font 6 to squeeze all of them in. Ensure that there are just enough words per slide to bring out your point and that they are clear enough to be seen by the guy right at the back.

3) Using Visuals - A picture is worth a thousand words, so pick the right pictures that can help you bring your point across. Using graphical representation of data (pies, charts, etc) will also give a clearer picture of the numbers you are presenting as opposed to a table choke full of numbers. However, overdoing visuals is also not advisable.

4) Using Handouts - By all means, supply handouts if they do aid the audience in memory retention. These could be different versions of the slides with more details in them but give them out after your presentation as audiences have the tendency to read ahead and ignore you during the presentation. I know I breeze though these handouts in a jiffy and would be doodling on them in no time.

5) Assume the worst for the Technical Setup - Always backup your presentation in all means possible. Put copies of it in your laptop, thumbdrive, email and CD if possible. In the worst case scenario where Murphy's Law kicks in, be prepared to deliver your gig using the whiteboard or whatever else is available.

6) Practice practice practice - This cannot be overstated but the more you practice, the better you get. Like good peanut butter, consistency is the name of the game and people take an average of 20+ practices to achieve it. Even Steve Jobs takes a full day off before major keynote addresses to work on his presentation on site.


Try some of these out for your next presentation!


(PS : Not a topic expert on presentations so I highly recommend Presentation Zen )

msPod from Microsoft?

"What mp3 player do you want today?"

This may become the latest corporate mantra coming from our Redmond friends after Steve Ballmer just tipped off the coming of a new Microsoft mp3 player in an interview with Fortune magazine.

He was quoted as saying -- " In five years are people really going to be carry two devices? One device that is their communication device and one device that is music? There's going to be a lot of opportunities to get back in the game. We want to be in that game. Expect to see announcements from us in that area in the next 12 months."

Whoa! After a seemingly successful entry into the game console industry, it seems as if Microsoft is stopping at nothing short of ubiquity when it comes to all things hi-tech. It's going to be a very interesting indeed to see how the marketing and product launch is handled, not to mention the reactions of the 2 other players in the market - Apple and Creative.

At the current product-wise standing, Apple has definitely gone the "style and simplicity" approach while Creative is struggling to jam the most number of features into its Zen Player. Wonder what significant differentiation the Microsoft Product Team will use to push their new gadget.

In any case, would love to see Ballmer leaping and yelling once again when the new player arrives.

[via : bit-tech.net]

Feature Race for Products

Had a very interesting discussion with one of the mentors at the http://www.startup.org.sg Bootcamp last weekend.

The conclusion of it was that somehow, many products on the market have failed not due to the lack to advertising dollar or the financial clout to push the product through distribution channels. It was simply because the product was too choke full of features. Sounds counter-intuitive, doesn't it?

Picture this:
Salesman : "This phone is definitely the right one for you! It comes packed with the latest 3G technology, has a 2 megapixel camera on the back, allows you to serve the web and check your e-mails on the go and also has latest fingerprint recognition to prevent unauthorised access! What's more, it allows you to also add in memory cards for more storage and has these great games installed for you. Isn't it great!"

Customer (thinking) : "I wonder if it still makes calls..."

Ok, I may have gone overboard with the scenario but here's the point to note: more features do not equate to more sales. Sales people and marketeers both typically forget that it is still essentially what customer needs to use the product for that is driving the demand for it. From the latest cell phones to sliced bread, what they seek is the value that they derive from using the product, not the 1001 features packed into the amazing miniaturized gadget. Don't get me wrong, having all those extra features are really great but one has to understand which is the single feature which makes all the difference to a particular customer.

Knowing how to spot that difference is key to it all.

Quoting from a plague hung from one of the hardware stores in the States -- " No customer who comes in here wants a 1/4" drill bit, they just want a 1/4" hole"

Leadership under Fire

Why is it that most of the famous leaders were from the military? Generals like Patton and Rommel who led, inspired and brought their armies of thousand together with a single vision and then towards victory?

It was their simplicity in vision and tenacity and action while under fire. No leader was ever born or built out of peaceful situations. From the baptism of fire till the last battle for each of these leaders, they were forced to move fast, think fast and act in the worst of conditions with enemy fire coming from all directions.

In face of such odds, these leaders remained steely faced and together with their men when overcoming the opposition. In fact, Patton confessed to frequently practicing his "war face" in front of the mirror and refuses to dress more warmly then his ground soldiers when it came to fighting winter battles.

Respect for leaders stem from the followers knowing full well that the people leading them will always be there for them and with them. Lt Gen Hal Moore from the Vietnam war promised his men this - " When we go into battle, I will be the first to step onto the field, and I will be the last to step off. And I will leave no one behind. Dead or Alive, we will all come home together!" And he did.

Little wonder than the followers of these great leaders often remark "That's the man who leads us, and we'll be sure to follow him to hell and back!"

A Journey of Self Discovery

" A Journey of a Thousand Li (miles) Begins with a single step "
~ Chinese Saying

Life is a journey where you shouldn't focus on getting to the destination. It is filled with wonders and joys that you can only see if you keep your eyes and mind wide open. The destination is just the ending to it all.

Have fun and don't forget to smell the roses on your way there!

Welcome to Wannapreneur

Greetings fellow bored netizen!

If you are here, chances are that either you know me, or have found this blog by happenstance (poor you). In any case, since you are here, why not come on in?

Basically, this marks my foray into the wonderful world of blogging, where I guess I wanna plunk parts of my brain onto the web for progeny's sake. As the name suggests, I'm on a very special journey to somewhere which I haven't found out.

Just a taster but I'll hope to be able to blog on / jot down meaningful stuff I face most of the time along the lines of entrepreneurship, leadership and management, marketing and communications as well as cutting edge technology. More may come along, who know?

Stick around for the ride!


Veni, Vidi, Yo Queiro Taco Bell ...