Introduction

Entrepreneurship is a course where students learn how to build a business with the motive of earning a profit without forgetting the need to practice strategic values and actions to become more successful in future. While a the job scope of a manager is far more narrow, entrepreneurs can build a business by merely a small opportunity and be in the running to earn millions. This course provides an overview of essential entrepreneurial concepts in a broad and more diversified context. In this course as well, students will learn basic theories and ways to create a successful business using the concepts learned.

Edward Lazear

            An entrepreneur can also be further defined as an individual who, rather than working as an employee, runs a small business, and assumes all the risk and rewards forwarded from a given business venture, idea, or goods or services offered for sale. The entrepreneur is commonly seen as a business leader and innovator of new ideas and business processes. Entrepreneurs play a key role in any economy. These are people who have the skills and initiative necessary to take good new market ideas to market and make the right decisions to make the idea profitable. The reward for the risks taken is the potential economic profits the entrepreneur could earn. To become an entrepreneur, we must have the traits that are highly needed and applied to operate the business by the entrepreneurs. Some of the traits are networked, open risk taker, observant, visionary, failure is an option, open culture, outcome oriented, team oriented and proactive. ( Edward P. Lazear , 2005 )

Identify The Traits

            1)    Networked

Networking is a socioeconomic business activity by which business people and entrepreneurs meet to form business relationships and to recognize, create, or act upon business opportunities, share information and seek potential partners for ventures. Entrepreneurs must have this trait because it will help them to get customers and gain their profits continuously. For example, Jonathon Long who is the Founder and CEO in his company used Twitter as his social network because he said that Twitter feeds constantly pump out breaking news and information across every industry.

             2)    Open risk taker

This trait is really synonymous to every entrepreneur that wants to start their business. An entrepreneur has to put their career, personal finances and even their mental health at stake. There are several risks that entrepreneurs must take, for example they have to sacrifice their personal capital, they have to rely on cash flow and the most important thing is they have to be able to estimate popular interest among their customers. Richard Branson is one of the best-known entrepreneurial risk-takers in the game. The famous founder of Virgin has tackled everything from starting his own phone service with Virgin Mobile, to disrupting the airline industry with Virgin Atlantic and Virgin America. Ever since Sir Richard was a young lad, he has been hustling up plenty of business ideas that involved loving and learning from risk.

3)    Observant

An observant entrepeneur is good at watching and listening, good at noticing what is going on around you and careful to follow religious teachings or customs. As we all know, the Faiza company Sdn. Bhd is a sponsor of TV3 reality program titled ‘Bersamamu’. This company’s owner was born in the state of Egypt and migrated to Malaysia with her late husband, Abu Bakar after having a child. Her name is Faiza Bawumi Sayed Ahmad, and she is the eldest of seven siblings. She started her first business at home, by opening retail stores. And now, she is one of the leading rice wholesalers in Malaysia. Her company is now located in Batu Pahat , Johor. Faiza noticed that the society nowadays gave much importance to having a HALAL product. So, this company had produced a Muslim product that had a HALAL sign. Their sensitivity towards  people surrounding them had made them be more proactive and innovative in producing a new Muslim product. Their strategy was successful when their product had been sold and known by Malaysians, and other countries in the world.

4)    Visionary

Visionary entrepreneurs are known for their strategic abilities and their ability to view things with a long-term perspective. Visionaries are able to identify and capitalize on a demand for a service or product often long before others. For example, we can get it from Dato’ Syed Manshor Syed Mahmod, owner of Adabi Consumer Industries Sdn Bhd. Due to positive feedback from his cutomers, Dato Syed Manshor Syed Mahmod has made an improvement in their packaging and their marketing strategies to produce a variation in his product. This action shows that he has the entrepreneurial traits that can lead him to control his company, and at the same time can increase their profit and stablise their economy system, without having difficulties, especially in producing HALAL product.

5)    Failure is an option

Failure happens. It is the nature of a startup and the nature of entrepreneurship to not always  succeed. Some of the most famous entrepreneurs had to fail before they ultimately succeeded. For example, we can see from Colonel Harland Sanders – Founder of Kentucky Fried Chicken. In 1939, Colonel Sanders converted his then service station to a full-fledged restaurant after his fried chicken with 11 herbs and spices cooked in a pressure cooker became a reason people visited the stop. Following the success, he made deals with several local restaurants to sell his chicken for a royalty. However, failure hit when an interstate bypass took traffic away from his restaurant, which forced him to close in 1956. This failure did not deter the Colonel from further pursuing the franchising of his chicken, so he packed his pressure cooker and went on a road trip stopping at restaurants to cook his chicken for them. His perseverance led to nearly 600 restaurants selling his chicken in 1963. He sold his company to a venture capitalist, however friends of his have said that he cared more about being known for his cooking rather than money. KFC is now the 11th largest fast food company in the world.

6)    Open culture

Open culture is a concept according to which knowledge should be spread freely and its growth should come from developing, altering or enriching already existing works on the basis of sharing and collaboration, without being restricted by rules linked to the legal protection of intellectual property. In a context of globalization, the consequence is that all citizens should have equal access to information. Chris Hirst is one of the open culture entrepreneurs in the world.  He is the chief executive of ad agency Grey London. Chris Hirst has shown how the agency built a culture with an "Open" philosophy by his efforts. As an open culture entrepreneur, Chris Hirst dedicated to create the best possible business culture and environment at Grey London and attracted the very best talent from all backgrounds. Chris Hirst brought with him a new perspective and therefore, opening up new possibilities just because he believed the culture is alive and transformational.

7)    Outcome Oriented

Outcome oriented entrepreneurs are entrepreneurs who has a clear sight of his/her goals. Their goals are usually long-term, therefore they need to be focus and have a really concrete destination of outcome. They don’t waste their time thinking about the problems in hand, rather they find solutions and alternatives that will surely lay waste the problems to get to their targeted results. An example of an outcome oriented entrepreneur is Oprah Winfrey. She is not just an entrepreneur but a talk show host, author, philanthropist, actress and many more. She would fit this trait because she was doing and influencing so much, the outcome of her actions is just superb. The Oprah Winfrey’s show had such a massive positive influence on society that it had broken many social and cultural barriers.

8)    Team Oriented

Entrepreneurs build teams to help them to expand their business. To build a successful business is not a one-man show instead, entrepreneurs have to surround themselves with talented, like-minded people to fill in the gaps. Ideas contributed by team members can be used to form best ideas by combining or modifying it. Team oriented also means that you just don't think of just yourself; you include others in your decisions. Everyone has a right to contributing an idea and deciding in the operation to be one of the contributors to the success of a business. This trait can be related to one of the most successful businessman, Datuk KamaruddinMeranun, co-founded of Tune Group Sdn. Bhd and deputy chief executives of AirAsia. The hard work was done by him to acquire knowledge to prepare himself to fight in entrepreneurship world that is full of twists. A business cannot be operated by only one person. It needs everybody, including managers and workers to make it become successful and well known. If we talked about AirAsia’s success, it is only linked to Datuk Seri Anthony Fernandes, but a big star who stood firmly behind the phenomenal success of Air Asia is Dato' Kamarudin bin Meranun. The team oriented trait that was adapted in their company makes AirAsia nowadays became well-known and one of the top low-cost airlines company in the world. The key to the success of Air Asia is the team oriented spirit between him and Datuk Seri Anthony Fernandes, they complement each other to form Air Asia.

9)    Proactive

Proactive means a positive attitude in terms of individual, institutional and others performing an action once thought rational, far earlier than the occurrence of a thing which requires action. Proactive people are always liable and they do not blame circumstances, conditions for their behavior. Behavior is a product of conscious decisions. Being proactive means responsible for our own behavior, both in the past, the present, and the future. Proactive leaders are able to make decisions wisely and are responsible for the decision they make, without affecting the mood or situation. When faced with a less conducive environment or conditions under which everyone, he doesn’t blame others. As we say see from Datuk Wan Mohammad Sani Salleh of 33 years of age. His position is the Managing Director Sani United Sdn Bhd (Sani Express SdnBhd, Sani Properties Sdn Bhd, and Sani Hotel Sdn Bhd). He prefers being humble and he says what he has today is abundantly given by God Almighty. What he aspires today unexpectedly, he has not even dreamed. He started his business on the basis of interest and wanted to change their life to better levels. When starting a business in the field of transport, he took several challenges that had to be taken and he will need to work hard so much that he even had to sleep in the office. He was with two other partners. But not long after the two partners withdrew, leaving him alone. The situation was indeed grave. He had to be careful because he did not refer to anyone on his decisions. A brand built on high quality and reliability, Sani Express’s distinctive red and white coaches are now familiar from the eastern coast to the northern roads. Profit has always been secondary for this young entrepreneur who primarily focused on the safety and comfort of the passengers.

Describe The Traits

OPEN RISK TAKER

An individual or business that tends to behave in a way that can potentially cause physical harm or financial loss, but might also present an opportunity for a rewarding outcome. Most business types that thrive on innovation will encourage a risk taker mentality among management to help support the creative process in other staff members. Every business has its own risk. An entrepreneur that runs a business shall be facing a lot of risks that are unavoidable. Therefore, a smart entrepreneur will be alert with the possible risks that its company might face. As a result, an entrepreneur should list out the solving methods in order to avoid unnecessary risks consistently. There are some successful entrepreneurs that can be role models of risk takers.

DATUK DR MAZNAH HAMID

Datuk Dr Maznah Hamid is the Executive Chairman of Securiforce Group. She is also known as the Iron Lady of Malaysia. In the 20th century, she intended to buy a security company to improve her standard of living. However, she and her husband only had RM5000 in hand, so they could only afford to buy an almost-bankrupt security company because at that time there was not even a bank that was willing to give loan to them as they viewed this as an unprofitable sector. However, she did not give up but put in more effort to make it a success. Due to the limited source of finance, she had to sell off their house to provide more funding in their business. Her sacrifices were worthwhile as the company emerged as a renowned security company in Malaysia (Robiatuladuhwiyah, 2013).

TAN SRI LIM GOH TONG

Tan Sri Lim Goh Tong was also an open risk taker. The Genting Highlands Resort project was considered as an  unsuccessful project that will not be implemented at once because people assumed this project was at the top of the mountain and had to bear the high risk of financial or safety. Tan Sri Lim Goh Tong dared to take all the risks involved in beginning this project as he was open to all the risks that he might face directly or indirectly. Financially, he was taking a risk by investing the financial resources available for projects that are deemed insane and nearly suffered bankruptcy. He suffered seven years without income during the project run of Genting Highlands Resort. In terms of safety, Tan Sri Lim Goh Tong almost lost many of his workers’ lives and his own life  many times throughout the project. For example, failing car brakes, loss of function and causing his car to nearly skid into a ravine. He was also hit by a tree causing his head to bleed. The risks faced by Tan Sri Lim Goh Tong finally enabled him to become a successful entrepreneur with the emergence of a world-class tourist center of the Genting Highlands Resort which can attract foreign tourists, especially tourists from China, Thailand and Indonesia.

VISIONARY

Any success in life must always begin with a vision. A visionary entrepreneur is one who is able to see what others are not able to see. In other words this class of entrepreneurs have the right kind of picture in their mind that lets them know what will be the outcome of their business venture. While every business is an investment, entrepreneurs are actually into building an asset. When the business unfolds and flourishes the way you wanted it to, then you would either prefer to keep it or sell it. If you are keeping it, the meaning is you are buying your business yourself. Remember, you will always want to buy something that is really worth the price and this should be the prime concern of an entrepreneur in developing the business to excellent heights. A visionary entrepreneur does exactly this when he ventures into his business idea.

TAN SRI LOH BOON SIEW

As a successful entrepreneur, Tan Sri Loh Boon Siew is seen as a person who has high vision for the company he set up to bring in Honda motorcycles in Malaysia. This can be seen from the construction of the first motorcycle factory in Malaysia Assembly Plant, which is owned by Boon Siew Sdn Bhd in Mak Mandin Industrial Estate, Penang. With the construction of this plant in 1969, Honda motorcycles are no longer installed in Japan but it is installed in Malaysia so as to save the cost of installation and sales. With the construction of this plant, Boon Siew Sdn Bhd has introduced several new models of Honda motorcycles beginning in 1971, first introducing the Honda model S90Z. In this current era, there are various types of Honda motorcycles in the market with different engine capacities for all age users. His high-minded attitude is what drives Tan Sri Loh Boon Siew to continue to succeed in the field of motoring. Not all entrepreneurs have the ability to look ahead like Tan Sri. A positive attitude is the main weapon in his efforts to continue to move forward in the Malaysian automotive industry.

FAILURE IS AN OPTION

Generally, failure means that something suddenly stops working. As an entrepreneur, one of the entrepreneurial traits is that failure is an option to be successful in the business. If an entrepreneur is afraid to face the failure, then this particular person will not achieve the goals of the business at all.  Richard Branson said it best: “Few first ventures work out. It is how a beginning entrepreneur deals with failure that sets that person apart. In fact, failure is one of the secrets to success, since some of the best ideas arise from the ashes of a shuttered business.” If you understand that failure is part of being an entrepreneur, you will take those failures and use them as learning experiences. Real world experience, even failing, will teach you more than you would ever learn in a classroom.

PUAN FARIDAH ZAKARIA

It is undeniable that failure is a very bitter pill to swallow. While it is difficult for us to pass through, but if we see the failure of the positive side, it certainly will be a point of failure of the transformer to our lives. That was passed by the Managing Director of Fareeda House of Scarfs, Puan Faridah Zakaria. She  considered a failure in her business before the trials and tribulations that have shaped her life in the future. Her enthusiasm never faded to rise again to achieve success. Her determination to change the fate of her family made her strive and  she never know the meaning of despair, and as a result,Fareeda House of Scarfs was born. It is a yearning business for Muslim women in hijab nowadays. At the foot of the cockerel's luck, good luck man is anybody's guess, and that's what happened to her as shenever thought that she would occasionally manage to build her own business brand . Women born in Singapore but raised in Penang was initially bountiful in beauty and has opened a beauty salon in Penang. However, the business is well received and only lasted for one year only. After the failure of her beauty salon business, she did not have any other job and this put pressure on her because her  life was really difficult at that time. She thought  that she needed  to support her family, she was not able to sit silently without a job again. She needed to do something to change the fate of her family, and that's when she started doing business on a small scale by selling scarves.Her business escalated quickly to importing scarfs all over the globe such as Dubai, Indonesia and Singapore.

BILL GATES

Secondly,Bill Gates a young hacker quickly figured out the intricacies of the machine, found the weaknesses and started causing trouble – they broke the defense, which on several occasions led to a system failure and changed the files that contained records of computer time. CCC noticed that breach, and set them aside from working with computers for a few weeks. Meanwhile, the company’s business began to suffer from constant failures and poor protection. Remembering the destructive activities of computer users from Lakeside, CCC invited Bill Gates and his friends to identify flaws and security holes. As a payment, the company offered endless computer time for young hackers. Sure thing, Bill and his friends could not refuse. Since that day boys couldn’t say if it was a day or night outside – they were hanging out in the lab all the time.  For instance, one project of Gates was a program for scheduling classes. ‘Somehow’, it constantly redefined Bill to the classes with the prettiest girls. In addition to troubleshooting, they studied each material on automated calculations and improved their skills.

OUTCOME ORIENTED

Outcome oriented is sometimes referred as result oriented. Generally, outcome oriented is a term used to describe knowing what outcomes are important, and focusing resources to achieve them. It is the opposite of process oriented, which focus more on process.

DATUK JIMMY CHOO

Firstly, An entrepreneur who has the traits of outcome oriented is Datuk Jimmy Choo. His father started the shoe making business by opening a shoe shop.He gained exposure on techniques in making shoes from his father, who was a full-time shoemaker. He continued his studies in London in the manufacture of footwear and fashion. He did a part-time job as a cleaner in the restaurant and in the shoe factory for getting the money to eat and pay for his cost of study. After graduating, he was trying to open a shoes store by renting an abandoned former hospital. He worked hard for four years and finally his designs earned coverage in Vogue, which is a famous fashion magazine in the United Kingdom.  After four years, Princess Diana liked  his design and bought his design around the year 1990. Start from there, Princess Diana was interested in his designs and had caused his name to immediately jump on the international stage. He founded Jimmy Choo Ltd with Tamara Mellon, who is the editor of British Vogue in the year 1996. In April 2001, he had sold a 50 % stake in the company for £ 10 million to focus on the work that had been done by Jimmy Choo Couture that was produced under the license from Jimmy Choo Ltd. Now, the brand of Jimmy Choo has been associated with style, luxury and authenticity as well as the madness of artists and celebrities around the world. A pair of women’s shoes is sold in the reaching thousands of US dollars. Many famous people have worn and booked his shoes. He has managed to establish his own company with the results from his own effort. He also has to face many challenges before becoming a successful entrepreneur. As the designer of shoes and handbags, he should choose the most effective communication channels to market their latest designs. Finally, he was awarded the title ‘Datuk’ by Sultan Pahang on his success in fashion. He was awarded the title of ‘Professor’ by the University of the Arts London for his contribution in the fashion field. He was the first Malaysian to be awarded the ‘Order of the British Empire’ OBE (Knighthood) by the Queen of England, Queen Elizabeth II in the year 2002.

TAN SRI MUSTAPHA KAMAL

Tan Sri Mustapha Kamal Abu Bakar also is an outcome oriented entrepreneur. As a result, he successfully completed his largest housing project that is Damansara Perdana and Damansara Damai, both in Petaling Jaya to attract the attention of  many people interested in it.Apart from that, he received numerous awards from many governance agencies when he successfully completed his housing project .For example, he accepted the Outstanding Entrepreneur Award in 1995 by the Selangor Malay Chamber of Commerce Malaysia, FIABCI Property Man of The Year Award 1997 and the Award for Outstanding Personality of the Year 2001 Construction Industry Construction Industry Development Board (CIDB) Malaysia. In the same time, He also received the 2002 Fellowship Award from HRH DPMMKL Yang Di-PertuanAgong and the Special Award MaalHijrah 2003 from Raja Muda of Perak. These acceptance of awards shows the outcome oriented behavior of a well deserved and model entrepreneuR.

OPEN CULTURE

Open Culture is a concept according to which knowledge should be spread freely and its growth should come from developing, altering or enriching already existing works on the basis of sharing and collaboration, without being restricted by rules linked to the legal protection of intellectual property.

MOHAMED BIN GHULAM HUSSEIN

This trait is showed clearly from Mr. Mohamed Bin Ghulam Hussein. He is the founder of Mydin which is one of the largest and well-established Malaysian-owned Companies involved in wholesale and retailing. With his own savings, without the help of government or anyone else, he began to start his business empire with his small shop that had a really small space equivalent to the size of a grocery shop. After 2 decades, Mydin Mohamed was finally able to expand his business to the nearer country. One of the factors why  Mr. Mohamed could be so successful is because he is a person that is of very open culture. To Mr. Mohamed, business is a culture and a way to live. Malaysia is a country that is very diverse in ethnic, economics, religion, and cultural. He accepted this diversity and used  it as a weapon in his business. Mydin sells various type of items that is suitable for the public and also the specific items for different cultures. Mydin products range from food line, household, soft lines and hard lines. This makes Mydin popular in public and brings success to Mr. Mohamed.

NETWORKED

Networked is about interacting with people and engaging them for mutual benefit. A successful entrepreneur should be outgoing, sincere, friendly, supportive, a good listener or someone who follows up and stays in touch. The ability to network is one of the most crucial skills any entrepreneur must have. It can help entrepreneurs to establish a new business or grow an existing one. They can use networking as a tool for finding investors, customers, staff, suppliers and business partners with minimal cost to their business. They can also network face-to-face at social events, conferences and through industry associations (Entrepreneur, n.d.).

TAN SRI SYED MOKHTAR AL-BUKHARY

Tan Sri Syed first started his business by buying a shophouse in Alor Setar under a signed contract with UDA or the Urban Development Authority. Later in 1975,Tan Sri Syed started Shah Company and applied for a licence in the trading of rice. This was obtained from BERNAS. Fruitful from his networking efforts,Tan Sri Syed successfully obtained a contract to supply rice to various government and state linked companies such as FELDA,MARA Senama,Pernas Edar and Sergam Sdn.Bhd (a subsidiary company under the Johor state economic development comittee). His successful networking ordeals then landed him a government contract to supply mil and other controlled items to the government. His product under his Susu Mas Sdn.Bhd production line was marketed under the Fernleaf and Anchor brands.(Ashadi Zain,2005,pg 4-5)

T. ANANDA KRISHNAN

T.Ananda Krishnan worked closely with Petronas through his wholely-owned company,Usaha Tegas Sdn.Bhd to bring up KLCC with a 43% share owntage in KLCC Holdings. His company also ownes 33% of shares in Tanjong Plc which houses TGV cinemas. Through his close networking with neighbouring countries such as Taiwan,Indonesia,India,Indonesia and Philippines,ASTRO owned by T.Ananda Krishnan now provides satellite TV services to these countries with close to 850,000 subscribers with a net worth of RM 4 billion.As the first satellite TV company in Malaysia,ASTRO was given a monopoly advantage till 2017. His networking efforts also earned him a spot in the oil and gas,shipping and film industry. Proving this statement, his company Objektif Bersatu Sdn.Bhd owns 49% of shares with Bumi Armada Bhd. (a shipping company) ,Zodan and Zodavi (both oil and gas companies in Indonesia) and Celestial Pictures Ltd (a film company) bought from Shaw Brothers valued at RM292.6 million in the year 2000.

OBSERVANT

According to the Oxford English Dictionary, the adjective, observant, can be defined as an individual that pays a lot of attention to things and notices more about them than most people do (2010, p.1499).In this highly competitive society, entrepreneurs should always be observant towards their business surrounding. By having proper observation, entrepreneurs can predict the type of products or services that may improve people’ lives in that community and this will direct them to achieve their business goals.

ROBERT KUOK

Robert Kuok is known to many as the sugar king due to his massive involvement in the sugar business. Kuok formed the Malayan Sugar Manufacturing Co. Bhd in 1959 with two Japanese partners and also involving elite UMNO politicians and Malay royalties as directors and shareholders. He invested heavily in the Malaysian sugar market with 1.5 million tonnes of sugar refineries equivalent to 10% of the world production. This was through owning several sugar plantations in Malaysia nad Indonesia. Noticing the changes in tax expenses in Malaysia during 1974,Kuok shifted all his operations to Singapore . Robert was observant enough to expand his company interest into various other growing fields such as the retail and services sector,media and real estate. Robert then expanded his business to Hong Kong and China. Kuok was the first Asian to open the renowned hotel chain Shangri-La with hotels in Asian and European countries. Kuok also helped in the opening of Malaysia’s first airline MAS. In 1968 he helped with the establishment of MISC,Malaysian Bumiputera Bank Bhd and PNB.

ALI HASSAN MOHD. HASSAN

Ali Hassan Mohd.Hassan is the founder of Al-Ikhsan. Ali paid great attention to determination in business forming an empire called Al-Ikhsan. He has been fostered with interest in business since childhood helping his mother sell homemade ice cream. Today, a total of 59 Al-Ikhsan boutiques exist nationwide and is a great evidence of the teaching principles of Islam that is strongly held by Ali Hassan. Al-Ikhsan company is a company that provides international standard sports equipment and the products offered are exclusive and closely linked to the world sports arena such as the Football League, European Cup,Olympics and Formula One. His achievements started off small with a meagre capital and great humility. He said in the success of a business there are several key elements that exist such as patience,determination,and preseverance. If we fail once to obtain bank loans, we have to presevere and continue to try and not give up. We should not be shy to ask for customer feedback as their complaints will help our business to grow to a higher level. The key to Ali Hassan’s success is fully devoted to to his faith in Islamic teachings. Besides his religious beliefs, Ali Hassan also beleives that his marketing strategies were to be one step ahead of his competitors in terms of pricing and affordability. Now there are over 75 boutiques of Al-Ikhsan nationwide and currently growing.  Model sports equipment worn by famous stars are available in this store. He plans to open up a sports shop for women named Al-Ikhsan Sports Girl in future. This will meet the demands of women who said that clothing and equipment for females of leading brands were scarce in the market. Al-Ikhsan store is now a leading store chain along with other known sports shops like Nike,Adidas and Raebok. Ali Hassan validates the saying ‘where there is a will,there is a way’.

TEAM ORIENTED

According to Indiana University on the ‘Defining Performance Standards’, team oriented is a quality which a person can works effectively with others. This particular individual which is team oriented can actively contribute to the achievement of group and organizational goals. Individual who is team oriented can accept shared responsibility and ownership of projects. Besides, they can also maintain open communication among team members and utilize strengths of individuals within group to the benefit of the team. Many successful entrepreneurs admitted that they cannot build or run their business without others’ helps. Delegating responsibilities to team of employees or even outside consultants will not only allow the company to focus on its core competencies, but also will improve the efficiency of its operations and provide avenues for creative ideas to filter their way up to management (Gary, 2001).

TONY FERNANDES

Being team-oriented has always been one of the main traits needed to run a business effective and efficiently. Tan Sri Tony Fernandes is the perfect person that portrays that specific trait in all his decisions. Tony Fernandes owns Air Asia Sdn Bhd and also Tune Air Bhd. To be oriented is to be positioned in a direction relative to something or someplace else, and it’s often used with the preposition towards or away from. Tan Sri Tony Fernandes is the founder of Tune Air Sdn Bhd who introduced the low budget airline, Air Asia. With the unique tagline, ‘Now Everyone Can Fly’ Fernandes managed to turn Air Asia a failing government-linked commercial airline,into a highly sought after public-listed budget airline. He has since founded the Tune Group of companies that ranges from talktime sim cards to well-known budget hotels. He was also instrumental in lobbying Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad to propose the idea of open skies with neighbouring countries like Thailand,Indonesia and Singapore. As a result,these nations have granted landing rights to Air Asia and other discount carriers. To him ,employees come first before employers. He believes that in having a happy workforce, his staffs will look after the customers anyway. His company is said to have a culture department whose sole job is to organize parties. He looks for people who are driven,ambitious and humble to help him in his venture. Being invested in his employees will portray a leader as a caring and understanding family in business rather than just a worker and boss relationship. In conclusion, Tan Sri Tony Fernandes is team-oriented in both his charismatic and leadership features.

TAN SRI SHAHRIL SHAMSUDDIN

Tan Sri Shahril Shamsuddin is a Malaysian oil and gas entrepeneur.Tan Sri Shahril aged 54 is currently the President and Group Chief Executive Oficer and non-independant executive director of Sapura Kancana Petroleum Berhad. He has a diverse portfolio ranging from eduacation, aviation services, property development, automotive component manufacturing and secured communications technology. He is also serving as the Deputy Chairman of Sapura Industrial Berhad and a non-executive director of Sapura Resources Bhd. He is also a member of the board of trustees,treasurer and Executive Comittee member of Perdana Leadership Foundation. Starting in 19 areas, he who was when aged 30 years has begun to take over the company of his father. Being an observant entrepreneur, he makes his father as his mentor. He sees his father who worked hard with one goal, which is to provide better education to his family. Since taking the helm at Sapura Kencana, Tan Sri Shahril has steered the company into a range of new businesses and projects in Malaysia, Australia, Brazil, Mexico, Vietnam, China, West Africa and several other countries. At the day, Sapura Kencana has a market capitalization of RM 22 billion, assets worth RM15 billion and a staff of 11 000 employees. However, Tan Sri Shahril does not to build a giant company. His initial intention is to build an organization that has a high technical strength and provide the best value to our customers. He was a far-sighted because it would establish a large organization but no quality. He more focus on the quality of work undertaken by its members. He and his group members gather and meet not think about what services are offered in Malaysia. At the end of the nineties, almost no company oil and gas services provider, while the country is an oil producer. The results of the discussion are Tan Sri Dato’ Seri Shahril Shamsuddin and his team members had form a great team and fill the gaps. Many companies when was interested in Information Technology(IT), but they came out of the field and entering the field of oil and gas. (Sapura Kencana Gushes Profits for Billionaire Shahril Shamsuddin, 2014) Not many people who understand the business at that time. He was very observant because out of the field of IT and ultimately chose the field of oil and gas that has the potential to grow.

PROACTIVE

Proactive is defined a person or an action of creating or controlling a situation rather than just responding to it after it has happened accoring to the online oxford dictionary.

TAN SRI MOKHZANI MAHATHIR

An example of entrepreneur that demonstrates proactiveness very deeply is Tan Sri Mokhzani Mahathir. He was appointed to the Board of Sapura Kencana Petroleum as Executive Director and Vice Chairman. He is also a member of the Remuneration Comittee of sapura Kencana Petroleum. Tan Sri Mokhzani already showed interest in the petroleum sector since graduating with a Bachelor’s degree in Petroleum Engineering from University of Tulsa,USA. He started his career in the petroleum field by working as a operations engineer with Sarawak Shell Berhad, on offshore work on the drilling rig tender. He later invested with Tongkah Holdings Berhad that specializes in the manufacture of components, the healthcare sector, oil and gas and finance sector. He held the position of Group CEO Of Pantai Holdings Berhad and Group Chief Executive of Tongkah Holdings Bhd. Being proactive helped him set up an investment company called Kencana Capital Sdn Ltd dealing in the petroleum,it and oila nd gas fields. He decided to join the Company Investor Group in 2012 which then produced Sapura Kencana, an oil and gas provider company. Sapura Kencana is now globally recognised as a main oil and gas supplier in Malaysia. Thus,in a nutshell being proactive can help us to start up something new without being chivvied by people. Tan Sri Mokhzani is an individual taht should be made an icon by youngsters who want to start their own business or become an entrepreneur.

TAN SRI MOHD SANI SALLEH

Proactive entrepreneurs act without instructions from anyone. With high initiatives, entrepreneurs strive to develop and expand their businesses. Rated entrepreneurs seek opportunities to take early action including the need to initiate and explore the areas that may have not been explored. Entrepreneurs also have insight into their businesses. Entrepreneurs try to look ahead to enable the businesses to continue to grow. The challengers will see entrepreneurs as an opportunity, not a threat. Through proactive attitude, the entrepreneur will make a choice base on rationalities, rather than according to what they feel. Among the prominent businessman Datuk Wan Mohammad Sani Salleh. He entered the entertainment industry, as a model, singer and actor. At one time, he wondered that if he wanted to continue living by just to earn a living and entertaining himself. He began to look even further after seeing his former co - became successful in the business model. With the high initiative, he started looking for something to explore for doing business. During his school days, he regularly used the public transportations, especially buses. This developed his interest in joining the business field of transportation. When he first started his business, various allegations had to be faced and he even had to sleep in the office. This shows that he has the vision and the willingness to expand its business. To improve skills in these fields, he often sees the way management and the methods used by other companies and to not be shy to ask. He was a failure and was fired by his partners. He forced through it alone. He managed it until his business is now stable. With the proactive attitude, he managed the business to become a better organization.

Biography Datuk Jimmy Choo And His Traits

BIOGRAPHY OF DATUK JIMMY CHOO

Jimmy Choo Yeang Keat as known as Jimmy Choo was born in Georgetown, Pulau Pinang on 15 November 1948. He was born in a family of shoemakers. Choo was immersed in the world of shoemaking from an early age. His father really wanted him to follow their footsteps. Jimmy Choo had made his first pair of shoes when he was 11 years old. Choo said that when the first time he tried to learn how to make a shoe, his father wouldn’t let him to make the shoes but he only said to him to sit and watch.

Choo grew up and attended primary school in Malaysia. After he finished his studies in Malaysia, he went to Britain to further his studies. In 1983, he graduated from ‘Cordwainers Technical College’ in Hackney. Now the college is a part of ‘London College of Fashion’. Choo did several part time jobs including becoming a cleaner at a shoe factory just to pay all of his bills.

               After he finished his studies, he opened his first shop in 1986 at Hackney in an old hospital building. Choo’s shoes were featured in an eight-page spread in Vogue magazine within two years of opening his shop shop. His unique design and superior handmade craftsmanship made him instantly successful as customers took notice. He always tried hard to create designs as what his customers wanted was just to make sure that his customers were satisfied with his work. Two years later, his notoriety received an additional recognition when cultural Princess Diana the ‘Princess of Wales’ became his regular customer.

               In 1996, despite his popularity, he still did a small operation by making just 20 hand-made pairs shoes in a week. He became more popular when Tamara Mellon, an accessories editor at Vogue hired Choo to make shoes for fashion shoots. Mellon also became a co-founder to ‘Jimmy Choo Ltd’. After he sold his 50% stake in ‘Jimmy Choo Ltd’ in 2001, Choo focused more on the exclusive ‘Jimmy Choo Couture’ even though the company was still under the control of Mellon.

In 2000, Jimmy Choo received an award from the Sultan of his native state in Malaysia.This recognition made his name to become Dato’ Jimmy Choo. He also received several awards such as ‘World’s Outstanding Malaysian Designer’ and ‘Design for Asia’s Best Award’.Today, Choo has returned at a small shop that he opened at London. Now, he also trains a small group of students on how to make an exclusive footwear.

His Traits

Visionary

Jimmy Choo is a creative and innovative entrepreneur. He is also a highly visionary person. He was inspired and his inspiring designs were extracted from nature and the environment. Although he encountered many obstacles before the attitude of enthusiasm helped him to overcome many obstacles in order to pursue his ambition to lead the brand of Jimmy Choo up until now.

He was involved in a project to set up a shoemaking institute in Malaysia, where his iconic status raises often inspire budding shoemakers and fashion designers. In addition, the outlook for success in any business of Datuk Jimmy Choo never considered himself the best because this principle is very important even if one day you become a famous fashion designer in the world. Besides that, the success obtained today is taken as a ratio for natural and comtemporary fashion designing. If determination had him to choose between career and family, Jimmy quickly answered that he would choose to share love with their big family.

Open culture

The purpose of the open culture is also related to people’s lifestyles outside the range. As a entrepreneur, they must know the culture of the foreign country to ensure that products marketed meet consumer preferences.

Jimmy Choo was responsible to ensuring his successful business. His management style is reflected in the theory of Mintzberg. There are three categories of Mintzberg theory, interpersonal relationships as a leader, manager and people in contact with outsiders. He carry out his duties friendly to his customer. For instant, Jimmy Choo is a shoe designer who is favoured by Princess Diana during his lifetime because the style of his management and his nature being customer-oriented.

Outcome oriented

Datuk Jimmy Choo is one of the entrepreneurs who runs a result-oriented business. He is considered to be a result-oriented entrepreneur as he will sell the shoes on demand and customer needs. It is because each design has almost tens and hundreds of thousands of ringgit. For example, he received an order from the late Princess Diana who was interested with his designs.

Moreover, Datuk Jimmy Choo’s shoes were inspired by natural resources like a tree flowers, plants and the environment such as interior designs and the places he had visited. He was careful in making mold shoes as the top, the base and heel of the shoe, because he wanted to give comfort to his customers. This shows that Datuk Jimmy Choo runs a business based on the orientation of the results because he made them shoes and through his vision.

Observant

Jimmy Choo started from the bottom, learned from his father. His father was a successful shoemaker that taught him most of his skills which led to his success. He would watch his father painstakingly hand stitch the soles of his customer's shoes and soon with his father's guidance made his first pair of shoes for his mother when he was 12. His father's words steered him in the right direction which the word emphasized on the importance of skills.

Besides that, he is alert and always keeps up to date to the latest fashion trend. He describes that a good pair of shoes is designed with strong foundation, and we should apply this principle in our daily life. Lastly, Choo also sticks to his main goal, which is to focus on creating couture footwear for individual clients who he seems to prefer and does best and appears relieved that he stepped out of the limelight. He also thinks shoes can change a woman's personality and love plays an important role in their lives. He said: "We all wear shoes, every day - we have to. So they are a very important part of your wardrobe. They say something about the way you hold your body. Shoes must be elegant, comfortable. They affect the person's personality. “

Networked

Dato’ Jimmy Choo has displayed good networked traits as a successful entrepreneur. His network started in 1988 when he was showing his designing shoes at London Fashion Week. At that time, nobody knew Jimmy Choo but he was very lucky as Vogue’s Kate Phelan saw his shoes and told him that it would be put in the Vogue magazine. It was a great start for Jimmy Choo and it then drawed the attention and interest of Princess Diana who donned his Choo’s footwear almost at every place that she went. Vogue has raised up Jimmy the Choo brand and then it also drew attention from an accessories editor at Vogue named Tamara Mellon and then both Choo and Mellon became partners when they founded Jimmy Choo Ltd.  However, after their collaboration stopped, Jimmy Choo’s network has not been put to a stop.

Datuk Jimmy Choo’s network further developed when he worked very closely with Tourism Malaysia in 2004. He was chosen as an ambassador and to organize plenty television shows as well as press interviews. Besides, he also worked closely with London College of Fashion with the sole purpose of promoting education and more new designers to come to Malaysia.  Furthermore, in recent years, Datuk Jimmy Choo has also became an Ambassador for Footwear Education at the London College of Fashion and spokesperson for the British Council in its efforts to reach out to foreign students.

Conclusion

In a nutshell, entrepreneurs are definitely unique compared to managers in many ways possible. An entrepreneur establishes, leads, runs and expands a business individually to satisfy his dreams and self achievements to generate profit and at the same time encourages charitable chores and services to the community and the country. A manager meanwhile, runs a business solely for profit making needs to cushion himself and his family needs. From our assignment, we have learned to identify and describe the different types of entrepreneurial traits that are highly needed and applied to operate the business by the entrepreneurs. Through this assignment as well, we had the chance to pond upon the biography of famous local and international entrepreneurs and match the entrepreneurial traits that are highly suited for them. Taking Jimmy Choo as an example of our successful entrepreneur, we gathered much useful information about his background and his self achivements in terms of his family business and his involvement in the fashion world and design. He definitely portrays a list of entrepreneurial traits that are obvious to his identity and personality as well as his achievements.

An entrepreneur is not born but made, these are one of the truths about entrepreneurs that have been derived from factual and visionary evidence. Basically, an individual needs to learn and sharpen his or her entrepreneurial skills in order to become a successful entrepreneur. Besides, an individual also must have good personal qualities that are demanded to become a successful entrepreneur. The examples of traits are full of determination, not afraid to take risk, high level of confidence, craves learning, understands failure is the part of the game, highly adaptable, good understanding of money management, expert in networking, ability to sell and promote. In fact, there are lot of entrepreneurial traits available that can lead an individual to become a successful entrepreneur. In addition, this kind of entrepreneurial traits are the main value that need to be learned, followed and applied by each individual in order to become a successful entrepreneur.