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.