Inspiration from Malaysian Young Millionaire, Linda Onn

Linda Onn, 33, restaurateur and celebrity

SHE never realised she had made her first million until she had spent it, or rather, invested it.

"It was just last year. It was a bit of a surprise because I didn't realise I had that much money," said the 33-year-old.

To think that she started off as an office administrator with a salary of just RM700 a month 11 years ago. Linda Onn has definitely come a long way.

"Since young, I've never been a big spender. I saved at least 50 per cent of every pay cheque I got and because I was so careful with my money, some friends called me a 'cheapskate'."

When she got TV offers and became a spokesperson for various products, her savings grew. In fact, it grew to such a point that six years ago, Linda didn't know what to do with her money.

"So I decided to go into business and open up a family restaurant because my parents had the experience and most of my family cook well."

As her career in the entertainment industry took off (she deejays, acts and hosts various radio and TV programmes), her investment into the restaurant business also bore fruit.

Linda Onn with one of her restaurant

From only one in 2004, she is now the proud owner of five restaurants. Her success, however, came at a price.

"When you're a celebrity, there are people who will talk and create stories about you to get you down. I was called a coward when I didn't turn up for an international event. Actually, I had a wardrobe issue. There has also been a lot of gossip about my love life."

At the height of such unhappy incidents, she thought of leaving the entertainment field. "Just get married and get lost. But then I realised I should not feel down because whether I'm doing good or bad, people will still talk about me. I managed to stay strong and persevered because of my family, friends and loyal fans."

Has she managed to achieve all that she set out to do?

Linda Onn's bungalow

"I dreamt of having a house with a pool and automatic gates and me coming home in a big car. I've got them all, so yeah.

"True success, however, is being able to walk into a designer boutique and buy stuff without looking at the price tag. Being careful as always, I still look at the price tag. Maybe after this, I'll just go in and buy whatever I want."

Her recipe to success? "Count on yourself, save and invest."

Source : www.nst.com.my

Top 5 Reasons to Start a Business This Year

by Rosalind Resnick, finance.yahoo.com
Provided by The Wall Street Journal

 It's the nature of New Year's resolutions to make promises that we can't keep. This is the year we'll go on a diet, work out at the gym, quit smoking, feed the homeless, learn Chinese and be a better Mom, Dad, brother, sister, son, daughter or friend.

But if there's one New Year's resolution you should try to keep this year, it's this one: To start your own business and be your own boss. Here are 5 good reasons to take the plunge this January instead of procrastinating until 2012.

1. You'll never get laid off again.

Tired of being a number on somebody else's spreadsheet? That won't happen once you start working for yourself. "Jobs used to be for life, and leaving a company to start your own could put your entire career in jeopardy," says David Ronin, co-founder of UpStartBootcamp.com, a New York company that provides coaching, classes and information to first-time entrepreneurs. "Now the average job lasts about four years—if you can get one." On the flip side, most start-ups don't succeed and, while you won't get fired from your own business, you might end up shutting it down and losing the money you invested. "You'll probably take home a smaller salary, work harder and face higher stress levels, too," Mr. Ronin says.

2. You can stop asking your boss for a raise and give yourself one.

When you run your own business, there's no limit to how much money you can make if your company takes off. Because you're taking all the risk, you're entitled to all the upside. "A 'real' job does not have your best interests at heart—ever," says Scott Gerber, a New York entrepreneur and author of "Never Get a 'Real' Job." "Most jobs offer employees nothing more than a false sense of security, a workload that far exceeds their pay grades and a benefits package that they are most likely paying for themselves." While getting a business off the ground is never easy, every dollar that you put in and every hour that you work is an investment that returns profit back to you. "Find me any job that offers that level of financial incentive, and perhaps I'll think of getting a 'real' job," Mr. Gerber says. (Mr. Gerber is also head of Young Entrepreneur Council, which writes a guest column for WSJ.com.)

3. You can write off that new laptop, Blackberry, iPad or printer.

One of the fringe benefits of running your own business is the opportunity to write off or depreciate legitimate business expenses. Recent changes in the tax laws make these deductions even sweeter. Under expanded bonus depreciation rules, qualified investments in fixed assets purchased between Sept. 9, 2010, and Dec. 31, 2011, can be fully written off for federal tax purposes, according to Michael J. Goldberg of New York's Ganer, Grossbach & Ganer LP. (Check with your accountant to make sure your state accepts bonus depreciation for tax purposes.) A new business also can use the Section 179 deduction to write off the price of certain equipment or software, up to $500,000 in 2011. The disadvantage is that the current year Section 179 deduction cannot exceed the net income of the business. Start-up costs of up to $10,000 are deductible once the business begins, Mr. Goldberg adds.

4. You can unplug and work anywhere there's WIFI reception.

Forget the daily grind of commuting to the office. Today's mobile start-ups have unplugged from their digital tether. Small business and social-media marketing consultant Richard Wooley, co-founder of New York's Bond/Wooley Inc., says the key to working virtually is picking your spots—ideally, locations that offer comfy chairs and free WiFi. "When I'm spending an afternoon working through a call list, the best place for me is an independent coffee shop," Mr. Wooley says. "Starbucks can get too noisy to have a real conversation on a cell phone." By contrast, Mr. Wooley finds a quiet bar the perfect setting for crunching complex formulas in the Excel spreadsheets he prepares for clients' business plans. Says Mr. Wooley, "The key is to take off the shackles of a cubicle, charge your laptop battery and get out in the world.

5. There's never been a cheaper time to start a business.

Ten years ago, a typical Internet start-up needed $1 million to launch a product and millions more to prove its business model and scale it to profitability or an IPO. Today's start-ups run lean and mean thanks to the plunging cost of technology and a surplus of real estate and talent. "The popular 'lean start-ups' approach favors developing a product and getting it into the hands of customers as quickly and inexpensively as possible," says Mr. Ronin of UpStartBootcamp.com. "Plus, the stigma of freelancing has lifted for both companies and individuals so start-ups can hire top talent on an as-needed, virtual basis. This lets founders hire better talent with more flexibility, reduced office space needs, and lower benefits costs." And thanks to the power of social networking, it's no longer necessary to hire an expensive PR firm to generate press. You can target niche publishers and bloggers instead.

Jack Canfield: How to Get Rich

Rich People's Quotes

Academic qualifications are important and so is financial education. They're both important and schools are forgetting one of them. - Robert Kiyosaki

I wasn't satisfied just to earn a good living. I was looking to make a statement. - Donald Trump  

Be nice to nerds. Chances are you'll end up working for one. - Bill Gates  

Be thankful for what you have; you'll end up having more. If you concentrate on what you don't have, you will never, ever have enough. - Oprah Winfrey  

I never attempt to make money on the stock market. I buy on the assumption that they could close the market the next day and not reopen it for five years. - Warren Buffett

At the end of the day you have to keep emotions away. - Lakshmi Mittal  

How To Get Rich Slowly Online

"Imagine waking up every morning and finding orders waiting for you in your e-mailbox. While you were sleeping, customers from all over the world were giving you money. And you don't have to do much at all, because your computer does all the dirty work for you and then deposits money in your bank account - all without lifting a finger. 

It's like having your own perfect money-making machine working for you tirelessly day and night.

Think about having your car payment taken care of..

Think about your mortgage getting paid off...

Think about your bills and debts disappearing..

Think about some extra spending money for vacations or cool gifts and gadgets.. "

This is an introduction page for Yanik Silver's book, Moonlighting on the Internet. Yanik Silver is a serial entrepreneur although he still considers himself a 'techno dunce'. Starting from his one-bedroom apartment and with just a few hundred dollars, Yanik has built multiple 7-figure businesses. He is the author, co-author or publisher of several best-selling marketing books and tools including Moonlighting on the Internet, Instant Sales Letters® & 34 Rules for Maverick Entrepreneurs.

Apart from a spirit-lifted success story in the Moonlighting on the Internet, he specifically covers the 5 proven ways to make an extra paycheck online every month.

1) Information product - We can have every information we need on the internet this day, and all for free. So how could we possibly sell information to make a fortune online. This is cover in the Part 1 of this book. How to figure what information to sell, where to evaluate your ideas and how to create your HOT offer.

2) eBay - eBay registers 3,000-4,000 new users every hour and this site gets more searches than Google. If you thought that eBay is only a place where people selling off junk they didn't want, you might be wrong. In Part 2, you will discover more about eBay. Everybody has to understand why people buy on eBay. This understanding will help you to find the right products and set up your own business.

3) Affiliate marketing - This is an exciting way to make money if you have a limited time.  Finding an affiliate program use a simple trick. Before selecting a program, do ask yourself, is the company reputable? There's a way how to ensure a company's reputation. Rosalind Gardner is a famous and successful affiliate marketer online. She shares how she get started together with her precious tips in the Part 3 of this book. My favorite discussion is how to drive traffic to the site and how to promote the affiliate program.

4) Yahoo! Store and E-commerce Stores - In Part 4, you will read about Yahoo! stores. For record, Yahoo! shopping network attracts 13 million shoppers to its portal everyday. With your own Yahoo! stores, you can be right in front of these customers when they're ready to buy. But as simple as it sound, you need to know the simple trick how you can get started, from creating your store logo, licensing to competition game to win.

5) Blogging -   This is the final part of the book. You spend your leisure time blogging and you love doing it. And I am sure you will love it more when you know you can create money from your hobby. Where the money coming in for bloggers? Direct income like advertising and sponsorship or indirect income like consulting and writing gigs. There are few points include on how to be a  quality blogger in this section. The quality is not a must but at least it will provide some clarity so you can make a smarter decisions about how to start blogging and keep your readers coming back.

Click to buy Moonlighting on the Internet: 5 World-Class Experts Reveal Proven Ways to Make Extra Cash and have it deliver in front of your door house.

5 Financial Gifts Idea

By Personal Money #76

Here are 5 gifts that keep on giving long after the giving season is over.
1) Games

Learning about money can be fun and rewarding at the same time. Board games like Smart Money and Monopolyteach concepts like creating wealth, budgeting, real estate and investing.


2) Unit trusts or stocks
Select investment that are suited to the recipient's risk profile and resources. When comes to buying stocks, you have to notify the recipient first, as only his broker can take instructions from him.


3) Precious Metals

Jewellery may increase in value. However, there is a major difference between buying someone gold chain to wear and a gold to keep. Ideas: 1 carat (1.00 ctTW) Brilliant Round Diamond Stud Earrings in 14Kt White or Yellow Gold,Screwback (GH - I112) or 10k Gold 3-stone Diamond Heart Pendant with 18" Chain (1/10 Cttw; I-J Color)


4) Financial advice
An appointment with a financial planner would be much appreciated by one who is need a specialist help to sort out his financial management issues. Look out for qualified planners who are bound by the rules and guidelines imposed by the relevant issuing bodies.


5) Reading material

Personal finance books or magazines, another gift alternative for those who are reluctant to reveal too much information to a financial planner. A good stater is Suze Orman's The Road to Wealth, Revised Edition or David Bach's Debt Free For Life: The Finish Rich Plan for Financial Freedom