Towkay Ho Seh Boh

A straight-talking book Written in Hokkien,Singlish, Chinese and English!

A he ro hav likes to ea hero as a frien d

饮水思源 Steady Poon Pi Pi

Mai

Kia

Su

Kia

Si

u Lui W i u L Boh Eh Lang ey, n Jit o M

o or N is the y e Mon rson e P e the Sam

Singapore is encouraging more young people to become towkays. Entrepreneurship is encouraged at all levels from primary school to university. Now, everyone wants to become a towkay.

会赢Yah 才 拚 h

要

Jia h a pi Ai

E

Ai Kin, Koh Ai Ho! Be Fast an d Good.

But do they know the hard work and heartbreak of becoming a towkay? Do they know what are the realities of being a towkay? Newspapers and TV only show towkays driving Mercedes, wearing Rolexes, and living in big houses along Bukit Timah.

But no one really tells you about the kor (difficulties) that they have to suffer.

This book will provide you a realistic picture of what it means to be a towkay. It will tell you the basic values and mindsets you must cultivate to build a foundation to live the life of a successful towkay.

Discover the wisdom of Singlish and Hokkien in this very Singaporean book.

y? e n o tM

er h W

o G e

商机 = 信息 = 金钱

A straight-talking book Written in Hokkien,Singlish, Chinese and English!

A he ro hav likes to ea hero as a frien d

饮水思源 Steady Poon Pi Pi

Mai

Kia

Su

Kia

Si

u Lui W i u L Boh Eh Lang ey, n Jit o M

o or N is the y e Mon rson e P e the Sam

Singapore is encouraging more young people to become towkays. Entrepreneurship is encouraged at all levels from primary school to university. Now, everyone wants to become a towkay.

会赢Yah 才 拚 h

要

Jia h a pi Ai

E

Ai Kin, Koh Ai Ho! Be Fast an d Good.

But do they know the hard work and heartbreak of becoming a towkay? Do they know what are the realities of being a towkay? Newspapers and TV only show towkays driving Mercedes, wearing Rolexes, and living in big houses along Bukit Timah.

But no one really tells you about the kor (difficulties) that they have to suffer.

This book will provide you a realistic picture of what it means to be a towkay. It will tell you the basic values and mindsets you must cultivate to build a foundation to live the life of a successful towkay.

Discover the wisdom of Singlish and Hokkien in this very Singaporean book.

y? e n o tM

er h W

o G e

商机 = 信息 = 金钱

Published By RANK BOOKS

First Published 2008 Published and distributed by: Rank Books Blk 1002 Toa Payoh Ind Pk #07-1423 Singapore 319074 Tel: 65-6250 8180 Fax: 65-6250 6191 Website: www.rankbooks.com Email: admin@rankbooks.com Illustrator: Azlina Bte A Azez Email: cyberina75@yahoo.com ISBN 978-981-05-9638-5 Copyright Š Rank Books All Rights Reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or copied in any form or by any means - graphic, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or information retrieval systems - without written permission of Rank Books.

Conditions of Sale: This book is sold subject to the condition that it shall not, by way of trade or otherwise, be lent, resold, hired out or otherwise circulated without the publisher’s prior consent in any form of binding or cover other than that in which it is published and without a similar condition including this condition being imposed on the subsequent purchaser.

While every reasonable care is taken to ensure the accuracy of information printed, no responsibility can be accepted for any loss or inconvenience caused by any error or omission.

Printed In Singapore

ii

Preface Why I Write This Book!

One day, my primary school son came home from school and said, “Ah Pa, I don’t want to study liao, I want to be a towkay!”

Surprised, I told him off, “Si gin na, you think towkay very good to be meh? Who told you one?”

Of course, no one had told my son that the life of a towkay isn’t an easy one. So I decided that I die die also must write this book to tell him la. But wa si Singapore lang so must use a little Singlish, a little Chinese, and a little Hokkien to share share with you, if not bor bi sor (not tasty enough). Hope you understand, hor. But some people say like that like write rojak le, but I tell them, aiya, one type of food most Singaporeans like is rojak, that is why this book is also a bit like rojak lor. Never mind hor, as long as people like to eat can already. To me, no need to feel pai sei (embarrassed) one, if Singlish and Hokkien can be fun, then write lor! In fact, one of the principles of a successful towkay is iii

mai kia pai seh (never fear embarrassment), ka ka lai (be brave), pai seh jiat ka ki (if you are shy you will lose out).

This book is timely too as Singapore is encouraging more young people to become towkays. Entrepreneurship is encouraged at all levels from primary school to university. Now, everyone wants to become a towkay.

But do they know the hard work and heartbreak of becoming a towkay? Do they know what are the realities of being a towkay?

Newspapers and TV only show towkays driving Mercedes, wearing Rolexes, and living in big houses along Bukit Timah.

But no one really tells you about the kor (difficulties) that they have to suffer.

This book will provide you a realistic picture of what it means to be a towkay. It will tell you the basic values and mindsets you must cultivate to build a foundation to live the life of a successful towkay.

iv

Contents Wu Tao Wu Buay Got Head Got Tail = SUCCESS

1

Si Mi Si Business （生意）

5

Eh Chiat Kor, Mian Kang Kor

8

What is the Meaning of Doing Business?

If You Can Take The Pain, You Will Not Fear Hardships

Liu Lian Tua Liap Boh Bao Chiat A Big Durian is Not Guaranteed to Be Ripe

13 16

Mai Zuo Lao Gao Don’t Be a Monkey

Where Got Money?

19

Bak Chew Kim Kim, Kiot Tiot Kim

26

Eyes So Sharp They Can Pick Gold

Ji Tua Tua, Thang Dua Lui Big Aspirations, Big Money

29

Tua Hai, Tua Eng, Liat Tua Hee

32

Big Sea, Big Waves, Catch Big Fish 35

Bor Han Cheng Pai There is Never a Bad Economy

Zou Seng Li Ai Gan Dan Business Ideas Must Be Simple

38 40

Lui Boh Pun Tua Suay No Amount of Money is Small Money

Hor Lang Pa Buay Si, Ma Jit Ho Jit Ji

41

Never Get Killed by Others, for Tomorrow is Another Good Day

Mai Zuo Number One

44

Don’t Be Number One

Don’t Be a Lau Hi Loh

46

Don’t Be an Old Hero

Tit Tit Kia BoH Lor Kia Walking So Straight, You Find No More Road to Walk On

Ka Ka Lai Lah!

47

50

Be Brave!

Wu Liao Mai Kia Boh Bin If You Have Substance, Do Not Fear Losing Face vi

52

Lao Sit Si Pun Ji

53

Honesty is Your Capital

Don’t Talk Cock La!

57

Tae Suah Liat Boh Tua Hee

59

A Short Fishing Line Never Catches a Big Fish

Steady Poon Pi Pi Be Highly Skilled and Always Steady

61

Think Big, Act Small

65

Bao Shua Bao Hai

67

Do Everything in the Beginning

70

Bian Bian Bain Learn To Innovate Constantly

No Tissue Paper Law

72

Ah Tong, Ah Seng is Not King

75

Not every customer is King

Lang Kong GST, Wa Kong ERP Others Say GST, I Say ERP

76

80

Gang Lang Ma Si Lang Employees are Humans Too vii

Towkay Ka Gao Geng, Ma Jit Deng Liang Geng

82

A Boss Who Tries to Outsmart Everyone May End Up in Jail

Giah EH Ki Bang EH Lok If You Can Lift It Up, You Can Put It Down

Ho Lang Ho Kaki Being Good to Others is Good for Yourself

Mai Sir Lai Sir Kee But Kia Kia Kuah Kuah

83 84 85

Don’t Walk Here and There, Practice Walking and Seeing

Pai Lang Si Ka Ki You are Your Greatest Enemy

Gor Tok Si Peng You

88 89

Loneliness is Your Friend

Eh Sai Yao, Mm Tang Keow Be Hungry But Never Be Poor

Chiat Gao Lao, Oak Gao Lao Eat Till You are Old, Learn Till You are Old

Pa Piah Ai Kian Kong You Need Good Health to Work Hard viii

91

93 96

Mai Chuay See Lor

98

Don’t Look for Death Traps

99

Tham Sim Buay Happy Greed Will Never Make You Happy

Li Kuah Wa Ho, Wa Kuah Li Ho You See Me Good, I See You Good

Gao Thang Lui, Hiao Eng Liu Know How To Make and Spend Money

Su Liu Jiu Boh Peng You Lose Your Money and Lose Your Friends

Mai Diam Diam Komplain Don’t Always Complain

Ai Jiat Perng, Mai Kong Seng Li Don’t Bring Business to the Dining Table

Pak Lang Wu Eng, Wa Boh Eng Don’t Let Others Rob You of Your Time

Bor Lui Wu Lui Jit Eh Lang Money or No Money, the Person is the Same

Lim Chwee Ai Siew Hor Chwee Lang When You Drink Water, Remember its Source ix

101

104 109

111

114

114 117

120

How to become a successful towkay

Wu Tao Wu Buay Got Head Got Tail = SUCCESS Wa ka li kong a story………..

A talented young man wanted to become the Number One swordsman in the world. Every time he heard about a famous gongfu master with a special skill, he would travel far to look for the master and persuade him to accept him as his disciple. But after learning many secret skills such as the “The Secret Buddha Palm”, “The Heavenly Flying Kick”, and many others from various masters, he was still not satisfied. Finally, he heard about an aging master who was Number One in the gongfu world.

He went to see the grand master and finally persuaded him to take him in as a disciple. For three years, the grand master made him do breathing exercises in the morning, meditation in the afternoon, followed by punching exercises. As time passed, the grand master never taught him anything new, but he strongly believed that one day, through showing his patience and sincerity, the grand master would impart to him his deadliest skill.

Towkay Ho Seh Boh? Five years passed, and when the aging grand master was lying on his death bed, the young man cried out in anger, “Why, after all these years have you not trusted me enough to teach me your special skill?” The dying master said, “I have no special skill to impart to you. Whatever I know I have taught you.”

“I don’t believe you!” the disciple said.

With a weak breath, the grand master asked, “At which moment is your opponent killed?”

The disciple was puzzled.

The grand master continued, “When your opponent’s heart stops beating. What I taught you is to practice your concentration and focus such that you will always able to strike your opponent’s chest with the one deadly blow that will stop his heart instantly.

There is no other secret.”

What is the moral of the story, har?

The moral of the story is that we always like to believe that there

How to become a successful towkay

is some kind of secret method or strategy out there to make our life better or to become successful. But the fact is, the real secret is often plain and simple common sense. I once met a friend and I noticed he had lost quite a lot of weight. So I asked him what is his secret for his weight lost. He answered, “Exercise and don’t eat rubbish.” He didn’t tell me it was a miracle caused by some kind of new diet programme or exercise equipment he had purchased.

So, I want to tell you there are no secrets to achieving success in our life—only basic fundamental truths, which are often simple and logical.

So, si mi si (what is) success?

If you look at the two Chinese characters of the word “success”, you’ll find the meaning is actually there.

成功 成 ｃｈｅｎｇ ＝ ｃｏｍｐｌｅｔｅ 功 ｇｏｎｇ ＝ ｅｘｐｅｒｔｉｓｅ ｏｒ ｅｆｆｏｒｔ

Towkay Ho Seh Boh?

成功就是把你想要做的事从头到尾，认认 真真的把它完成，在做的过程中， 不断地下功夫，做到最好！ So, the meaning of success is simply to see to the completion of a task from start to finish, and while you’re at it, to continue adding to your effort and doing it to the best of your abilities.

Through this, you will achieve success. Success is a result not measured by the amount of money you have at any point of time. The end result of everything that you create is the success you create.

If everything you do is jit pua jit pua (half done) and you always give up the things you have started without the determination to see them to completion, there is only one certainty, and that is the certainty of failure.

So, wa ka li kong, if you want to be successful, make sure that everything you do wu tao wu buay (got head got tail) and do it until very tok kong (excellent). This is the basic rule for doing anything in your life if you want to see any success in your life.

How to become a successful towkay

Wu Tau Wu Buay=成功

Success = Got Head Got Tail + Excellence

Si Mi Si Business （生意） What is the Meaning of Doing Business?

The character ‘生’ can mean 生活 (living) or 生存(survival).

Hence, it suggests that doing business is a way of life and survival. ‘生’ = 生活 (a way of life) ‘生’ = 生存 (survival) ‘生’ = 生机 (alive with energy) Running a business is a way of life. Once you’ve decided to become a towkay, you have chosen a way of life—a life in which

Towkay Ho Seh Boh? you derive meaning through your business. A towkay will not wake up one day and say, “Walau eh, si beh sian la, my life no meaning one.”

To be a towkay, the meaning of his existence is the existence of his business. His life is his business, and the business is his life; the two are like Siamese twins. This means that when we decide to be a towkay and begin business, we are doing not any kind of business but a business of our life. It is also a lifetime business in which we don’t try try today and quit tomorrow.

The character ‘生’ also means “生机”. It means to feel alive with energy. Have you ever walked into a shop, found the person inside bin or or (black-faced), and not quite been able to figure out what the shop is selling? The shop is lifeless, worse than a kua cha diam (coffin shop). You sense a strong chilling ying energy and coldness in the room. The person is not enthusiastic and can’t be bothered with you, simply boh chap lah. If you’ve ever walked into a shop like this, the owner is not doing business; he is merely a “security guard”. His role is to jaga (“to look after” in Malay) the things in the shop.

How to become a successful towkay

On the other hand, if you walk pass a restaurant and see many customers inside and a cheerful staff greets you warmly at the door, you will naturally want to go in and try the food. So, a kind of vibrancy, enthusiasm, and energy is needed for a business to exist. Hence, the towkay must be able to inject energy and vibrancy into his business, whether in his marketing, sales techniques or his employees. He cannot be boring and static.

If the business is just a sitting duck, it will soon be hunted and killed, and it will die a boring death. ‘意’ = 意义 (meaningful) The next character is 意 and it means 意义—meaningful. Hence, if you do business, you must feel it is meaningful. If you find it has no meaning then you are not doing business. All successful towkays are driven by passion. It is through passion that we find meaning in what we do. With passion, you will be happy even when you are overworked and underpaid.

In other words, your business is your theatre of life. Every business should be like a show business. You are the owner of the theatre, the director, and one of the performers. You’ve got to put

Towkay Ho Seh Boh? in your heart and soul to give your best performance because no one wants to watch a boring performance. Everyone wants to be entertained and wowed!

做生意就要做得有 生机，有意义!

Eh Chiat Kor, Mian Kang Kor If You Can Take The Pain, You Will Not Fear Hardships Singaporeans want everything FREE, but wa ka li kong hor, ai chiat ai heng lui (if you want to eat you must pay money). If you cannot take hardships, you cannot become a towkay. There is no free lunch in this world. If you want something, you must be willing to pay the price. Everything comes at a price. If you want

How to become a successful towkay

to earn $1 you have to spend $2 or even more. The economists call it capital.

If anyone tells you they are willing to do anything for you for free, just beware. If you don’t listen, one day you will lose until terng kor (lose your pants).

Everything costs money. Hence, one rule of business is always to know how much you have to pay before you do anything, and this means you must know your costs from inside out. Only then can you know your profits. Most businesses fail because they underestimated their costs or they lost track of their costs, and one day they find themselves running out of money, which forces them to close down.

But the price that you must pay is not just in dollars and cents.

The price that you must pay as a towkay are the 3Hs: 1)

Hardships

2)

Hardwork

3)

Heartbreak

Towkay Ho Seh Boh? What kind of hardships must a towkay take?

It is not just the physical hardships of putting long hours at work to build the business but mental hardships. Such mental hardships come in the form of fear and worry, stress over sales, costs, quality, workers, and many other things. You will suffer from heartbreak when you encounter failures after all the hard work you have put in to get a project going. Unknown to those who worked as employees, a towkay faces double and triple the hardships of an employee. Employees who are buay song (not happy) can just pack up and balik kampong (“go home” in Malay), but a towkay can’t run away. 苦 = 辛苦 But once you eh chiat kor (can take hardship), it is like paying insurance premium. The premium will protect you in your future. In fact, once you embrace the 3Hs, you can tong (endure) the harsh cold winter and the burning heat of summer. You can battle the changing weather conditions as the seasons change in the course of your journey. There is a Chinese saying, 能吃苦， 吃半辈子苦，不能吃苦，吃一辈子苦. This means that if 10

How to become a successful towkay

.....

赢... 拼才会

爱

能当老板;能睡地板.

11

Towkay Ho Seh Boh? you can take hardship, you only need to suffer half your life, but if you cannot take hardship, you have to suffer your whole life.

Doing business requires a commitment similar to a relationship.

You cannot suka suka (do as you please) and give up after you started. You just have to bite your lips and tahan (endure) all the way. So, wa ka li kong, ai piah jia eh yah, (when you love to work hard, you will win).

要拚才会赢 Ai piah Jia Eh Yah

12

How to become a successful towkay

Liu Lian Tua Liap Boh Bao Chiat A Big Durian is Not Guaranteed to Be Ripe When I started doing business, many people liked to ask, “How many employees do you have, har?” To them, the more employees you have, the bigger the company and the more successful you are. It may be true in the past, but not anymore. In Hokkien, I say, liu lian tua liap boh bao chiat (a big durian is not guaranteed to be ripe). We should never measure the success of a business or success by the size of the company or the number of people employed.

More employees means you’ll have more tau tiah (headache). It also means you’ll have more mouths to feed, which in turn means a higher operating cost. In fact many big companies are dinosaurs waiting to disappear from this earth. The more people you have in the organisation, the more complex the chain of command, and this translates to slower decision-making and more headache. For example, it may take you just a few minutes to decide whether to revamp the company website, but in a company with a big hierarchy, it will take days and numerous rounds of meetings and 13

Towkay Ho Seh Boh?

Big is not always good.

14

How to become a successful towkay

discussions just to make the same decision. Instead of ka chew kin (fast legs and fast hands), big corporations are clumsy and often get into an entanglement of red tape.

Never mind if you are small with two or three employees as long as your sales volume is growing. It’s a fast-fish-eat-slow-fish world and not a big-fish-eat-small-fish world. We are in the information and knowledge economy in which we must move at the speed of thought. You must be able to act as fast as you can think. Small is lean and small is mean. If you want to talk about size, focus on the size of your sales!

When you are doing business, you must ai kin, koh ai ho! (fast and good).

Kin Ka, Kin Chew, Thang Tua Lui

Fast legs and hands earn big bucks.

15

Towkay Ho Seh Boh?

Mai Zuo Lao Gao Don’t Be a Monkey If you want to run a business well, you have to adopt a contrarian point of view. Other people say, “Up ah!” but I will say, “Down ah!”. You cannot see one monkey and try to be a monkey, which means you cannot follow exactly what other people do. Have you ever asked yourself how money is made? Money is derived from a few specific things regardless of the trade you are in. So, money come from where har? Money comes from doing the following things: 1) Doing the things people don’t like to do 2) Doing the things people don’t know how to do 3) Doing the things people are afraid to do Most people don’t like to cook at home so people need to eat out. Hence, the food business in Singapore is a booming trade.

People don’t like to do household chores and so they hire maids, benefiting the maid agencies. Most people lack the knowledge and expertise of doctors and lawyers, so these professions are well 16

How to become a successful towkay

paid in our society. Similarly, most people are afraid of corpses and ghosts so the undertaker business is a lucrative one since not many people dare to venture into it.

If you can turn air into water, you can become the next Oliva Lum of Hyflux and also the next millionaire entrepreneur in the water business. On the other hand, when you monkey see and monkey do, you cannot survive in the business. I call this the Bubble Tea Phenomenon. If you remember the bubble tea days, if you owned a bubble tea shop anywhere, you could find five more sprouting up around you in just weeks. At Toa Payoh Central, there used to be five bubble tea shops in one single row of shop houses. It was not just at Toa Payoh but in almost every major housing estate. The bubble tea craze was one kind of business that any Ah Beng or Ah Seng could do with low barriers to entry.

Some tried to be creative to beat the competition and hired bikini girls to dance to Hawaiian tunes but they did not survive. Even if you were able to hire the girls from the Crazy Horse show or Hooters restaurant, you would have had no chance of survival as the bubble tea business was a bubble destined to burst!

17

Towkay Ho Seh Boh?

The Bubble Tea Phenomenon.

18

How to become a successful towkay

Where Got Money?

Ah Ma last time always told me money does not drop from the sky. Then I asked her, “Where does money come from, har?” She asked me to ask Ah Kong, but Ah Kong is sleeping at Lim Chu Kang cemetery. Now I share share with you la.

If you go about looking for that $1 coin or that piece of $50 note on the streets, you will never find it even if you walk across the whole of Singapore.

Money is a byproduct of combining the thing called opportunity with action. Money is made when you are able to find and act upon an opportunity. But where can you find opportunities?

Most people like to complain that they are very suay (unlucky) or have kiam chye mia (salted vegetable life) compared to other people who are luckier for having been given better opportunities in life. But what they don’t realise is that opportunities are everywhere and they come in all shapes and sizes. It is just that they cannot see it and act on it. Their bak chew tark stamp (pasted a stamp on one’s eyes). In reality, there are many things that are 远在天边,近在眼前 (it may look far but it’s always been right 19

Towkay Ho Seh Boh? in front of you).

Finding ways to make money means finding opportunities, and opportunities are disguised in many forms, not just in the form of crisis as many people have told you. Opportunities come from many different sources. Now I share with you where are the sources of opportunity. • It’s All in the News Opportunities are found in the news, from television, from conversations with friends and people, from government policies and changes in the economic, social, and political climate.

Many Singaporeans are now thinking about how they can benefit from the integrated resorts (IRs), but how many have really understood the whole picture?

Some are smarter and they have already started to see the needs that the IRs can bring. For instance, some people have started to offer diplomas on casino management and to be certified as a croupier, so they can work part-time in the casinos. Some are writing books on how to win at the casinos, while others are 20

How to become a successful towkay

thinking of how to supply the many workers required in the restaurants once the IRs open. Some investors have already made their first pile of money by buying construction companies that may be offered contracts for the construction of the IRs. So if you want to make money, you’ve got to pay attention to the news and make sure you understand the implications. Read the newspaper every day. It is in the news!

• It’s Found in Change Opportunities are found in change. No change means zero opportunities. Ladies shoes are good business because the fashion always changes. New styles and new shoes are needed. You have to buy a new computer every two years because new software and games require faster speeds to run them, and this means computers retailers can sell more computers in the market.

When there is change there are opportunities and money to be made. A building needs a new coat of paint, so it creates business for paint sellers and painting contractors. When the weather changes to a rainy season, the shops that sell umbrella will enjoy a business boom.

21

Towkay Ho Seh Boh? Forms of Change - Structural and economic changes - Political and governmental changes - Legislative changes - Technological changes - Changing values - Lifestyle and social changes - Change from forces of nature You may be wondering how one can foretell the coming of such changes. You can learn about impending changes by talking to people and through the mass media, such as news reports, magazines, and the radio. Here are more sources of opportunities for your exploration: - Customers – Customer complaints and needs are your opportunities.

- Problems – Those who can offer a solution can turn problems to opportunities.

- Shortage – If you can create supply to make up for shortages, you have a chance to make money. During the SARS period, if you had been able to bring in masks from overseas to meet 22

How to become a successful towkay

the shortage, you could have made money.

-

Subsistence – If you can offer something that people may need every day in their lives, it presents great opportunities.

- Value Change – If you can transform something of low value into something of high value, there is an opportunity.

- Intermediary Link – If you know the link between two things, there is an opportunity. For example, if you know what the IR needs, you can fill the gap and make money.

- Time – Anything that can reduce time is an opportunity.

- Fun – Anything that is fun to people and can make things fun is an opportunity.

What is the next step once you spot an opportunity? Once you spot an opportunity, you’ve got to have a plan and strategy to execute it. If the opportunity requires you to create a product, then you’ve got to know how to package it to bring out the product’s uniqueness and benefits. You’ve also got to know how to market it and how to price it right so consumers would want to pay money for it. If you don’t execute it right you won’t be able to capitalise on the opportunity.

So, wa ka li kong, if you look for money, you will never find it.

23

Towkay Ho Seh Boh?

听者无心是闲话， 听者有心是商机 24

How to become a successful towkay

But if you start looking for opportunities, you will find money.

Opportunities are hidden in news and information. So, if you want to thang tiot lui (earn money) you must have The 4 Tiot in order to earn it. In Chinese I call it “赚钱的四到”, They are: Tia Tiot Kuah Tiot Siew Tiot

Heard It Saw It Conceive (in

听 到 看 到 想 到

Thang Tiot

Zuo Tiot

the mind) It Done It

做 到

赚 到

(Earn It)

商机 = 信息 = 金钱

25