Good Business Plan

Do you have a Business Plan? Congratulations, but you are in a small minority. And if you have a plan, is it integral to your business, and instrumental to its growth? If the answer to this question is yes, then you need to read no further. However, even if you have a plan, most business owners leave it languishing on their bottom shelf gathering dust.

Standard Box
Our secret is this: most business consultants are only interested in selling their time or their ‘Business Plan in a Box’ but know that for a business plan to be useful, it has to be part of a Business Management System. But this is a much harder proposition for the consultant to sell, particularly to small business owners who are just looking for a quick fix. So most consultants just sell a quick fix solution. Once owners have prepared their “fill in the blanks” plan, they expect it to transform their business overnight just by its mere existence. And because this does not happen, it ends up on the bottom shelf.

Business Plan Do Work
Business plans do work, but you have to make them work. It is not a one-off exercise. If you buy a ‘Business Plan in a Box’, you need to understand that you are responsible for maintaining the plan. You also need to satisfy yourself that the product you buy is not just a fill in the blanks product. These plans always end up on the bottom shelf. They don’t show you how to do your strategic analysis (which is never a fill in the blanks exercise- no matter what someone tells you).

Soul Searching
Business planning is a real soul searching exercise for the business owner. You have to be brutally honest with yourself. Even if you prepare your plan yourself (without a coach), get someone else involved to keep you honest. Looking at examples of what others have done can help, but your business will have different strengths and weaknesses and will operate in a different marketplace. And lastly, make sure the off-the-shelf product you choose will show you how to implement your plan into your business.

When a good consultant prepares a business plan they will:

Undertake a rigorous (and challenging) review of the strengths & weaknesses of your business. Show you how the plan should be implemented into your business process
Give you at least one review of your performance against your plan six months after the plan has been delivered.

While this will require a larger investment than a ‘Business Plan in a Box’ and is a harder sell for a consultant, this will ensure that your plan does not end up on the bottom shelf and that your investment is not wasted. Business planning is not an easy process. It takes time and commitment. You don’t just do it once.

Making Decision Under Pressure

Business owners who are spooked by today’s challenging trading conditions are in danger of making a bad situation worse if they allow fear to dominate their thinking. Our brains can cause us to become stuck in the “fight, flight or freeze” state, hampering our thinking and often prompting behaviour which is inappropriate or even damaging to a business.

The current economic downturn has prompted company bosses to order smaller batches of stock, experiment with deep discounting and cut costs at precisely the time when very different actions may in fact be needed – and it’s all down to a pre-historic location in our brain called the Amygdala.

These tiny, almond-sized parts of our temporal lobe play a key role in dictating our instinctive emotional reactions. In one moment it can change a relaxed brain to one that is “frozen” with fear, effectively crippling our intellectual capacity and making it impossible to think in a positive, mature and free-flowing way.

Many people will recognise this as the cramping of their brains before they make a presentation, or on receipt of bad news such as a cancelled order. But while in such a state of lockdown, the brain cannot function.

These are four commonly-used steps to train your brain and change its habitual response.

RELABEL
The first step is to relabel a negative or threatening thought or feeling as something else, usually something positive or at least benign. By doing this you can acknowledge that your fear is a function of a prehistoric part of your brain and not that of a highly functioning adult human being.

REATTRIBUTE
You need then to reattribute these false signals to something, and not to what your brain THINKS is the cause. When fear strikes, acknowledge it as a physical process taking place in your brain. There is nothing at that moment that you can do to stop it altogether, but you can attribute it to a malfunctioning or over-sensitive chemical reaction in your brain which prompts the fight, flight or freeze response. It is caused by a reptilian, prehistoric part of the brain which is misinterpreting your current environment.

REFOCUS
This is the crucial step because eventually this will enable you to move on from this state of paralysing fear and into a more positive, calm state of mind. It involves replacing the fear with a more pleasant sensation, usually by doing something else, if only for a few minutes. Playing a favourite song, go for a walk or do some exercise. Say to yourself “I am experiencing irrational fear, I need to do something else” and take control of the situation.

REVALUE
After a period of weeks or months of practising, the fourth step should come more easily, and that is to revalue the negative feelings as worthless - an unnecessary distraction that is detracting from your life and your natural abilities. By revaluing the fears or urges as worthless, they lose impact and stop controlling your behaviour. The result is a happier, more confident individual who is no longer controlled by a prehistoric survival instinct that has very value in a working or business environment.

OTHER STEPS
There are other techniques that include meditation, most specifically Mindfulness, which helps the brain stay in the present and not get distracted or locked down by invisible fears.

Stand Out

It's a crowded marketplace. Almost every business out there uses advertising: pamphlets, banners, websites, television, newspapers, etc. Customers have many choices, so what can you do to make your business stand out from the crowd?

What is unique to your business?
What is special about your business? Is there something that you do that your competitors don’t? For example, do you visit your customer’s place of business when larger competitors won’t move from their own premises? Or, can you guarantee a specific delivery period? Whatever it is, make sure you tell your customers what it is, and how it will benefit them. Sell them the benefits of being your customer.

Make your customers’ decisions for them
Tell potential customers why they should choose you to help them decide to use your business. Make sure you point out your business’ unique features and highlight how these will benefit your customer. Don’t leave it to chance that your customer will make the links for themselves. For example, if you are a small business, point out that you are small enough to adapt to your customer’s needs. Try to proactively break down any customer reluctance in choosing your business.

Find your own place
Think about advertising in different ways and places to your competitors. Stand out simply by being the only one advertising that way. For example, setting up an automatic text message service might make you stand out from your competitors if you are the only one doing it.

Be social and be memorable
Social networking is not just for keeping in touch with your friends anymore. Smart businesses are entering this space to create brand awareness, and to provide easy access for customers. Taking the time to set up a facebook page or a twitter account might make your business appeal to a more computer savvy client. Regularly sending out announcements of special deals, or new products keeps your business in your customer’s mind.

The key to standing out from the crowd is to know why your business is different, tell this to your customer in new and unique ways, and make sure they know the benefit of being your customer.

Responsibility & Accountability

Singapore subway operator SMRT Corp Ltd said today that Chief Executive Saw Phaik Hwa has resigned and board member Tan Ek Kia will take charge until a replacement is appointed.

SMRT's announcement came after the subway network suffered three major failures last month, each lasting several hours, prompting calls for Saw's resignation.

"Ms. Saw will remain with the group to assist the relevant investigation teams and the committee of inquiry reviewing the causes of, and responses to, the disruptions to train operations in December," SMRT said in a statement.

"Tan Ek Kia will assume interim executive responsibility for the management of SMRT, with a particular focus on rail operations."

On one evening in December, hundreds of commuters were trapped underground without light and ventilation for more than an hour before they heard from SMRT, while rescue buses arrived late, partly because some drivers got lost.

"Finally. Now we know that our words do mean something to those in power," said Najib Zakaria, one of 190 people who commented on Saw's resignation on the Online Citizen, a popular Singapore socio-political blog.

"Let's just pray she doesn't pop up in some other GLC (government-linked company) and that this is the first of many accountability resignations," added Ben Teo Teck Chye.

Known for its efficient government services, Singapore has been hit by a spate of breakdowns, the most recent being disruptions to mobile internet services offered by Singapore Telecommunications Ltd, its largest telecoms firm.

SingTel and SMRT are units of Singapore state investor Temasek Holdings Pte Ltd, which is headed by Ho Ching, the wife of Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong.

SMRT said Saw had indicated her wish to step down prior to the spate of train breakdowns.

Over here - CEO of LRT, KTM , Rapid, continues to offer us their excuses instead of their resignation. No wonder we are still a third world country

Medical Insurance

In general, the Hospital & Surgical Insurance (HSI) policy covers you against expenses incurred whilst you are hospitalised, due to a covered illness or as a result of an accident.

Medical Coverage
Generally, you would only be covered as an in-patient unless it is an emergency out-patient treatment due to an accident. In addition, day surgeries are also covered for certain procedures nowadays, like cataract operation, whereby you need not stay overnight at the hospital. With the “Day Surgery” benefit, you need not purposely stay a night to qualify for the coverage and this reduces your total medical costs.

A HSI policy usually covers hospital accommodation and nursing expenses, surgical expenses (surgeon’s fees & costs associated with surgery), physicians’ expenses and in-patient tests. This policy sometimes includes overseas cover, accidental death benefit and out-patient tests or consultation.

Limitations & Exclusions
HSI policies usually exclude any hospitalisation / treatment charges as a result of pregnancy related conditions, congenital abnormalities, cosmetic surgery, non accidental related dental treatment , sexually transmitted diseases, routine medical check up’s and psychiatric related illnesses.

One common exclusion under a HSI policy is that of pre-existing conditions or illnesses that existed before the effective date of a HSI policy, for which you are receiving treatment or have shown symptoms.

If you consulted a medical doctor for any pain or discomfort in connection with the condition, it would be regarded as a symptom of a disability and will be excluded from your policy. There is also a list of specified illnesses for which you will not be covered if the illnesses have been treated or occurred during the first 120 days from the commencement of your policy, irrespective of whether you were aware or them or not.

Waiting Period
Take note that you will not be eligible for any claim arising from any medical or physical conditions within the first 30 days of the cover, except for accidental injuries. Again, this is irrespective of whether you were aware of such conditions or not.

However, this does not necessarily mean that you’d be automatically covered after the first 30 days as you’re still subjected to the 120 days waiting period for certain specified illnesses and the pre-existing condition exclusion.

Disclosure
It is also important that at policy application you truthfully disclose all your relevant medical information. Insurance companies have the right to reject a medical claim if they have evidence that the insured did not disclose any material information at time of purchasing the policy.

Maximum Coverage Age
Most HSI policies today extend their coverage to age 80 and some even up till 100. However, there’s always a last entry age and be sure to get into the plan before that stipulated age and never let it lapse. Otherwise, you’d not have the cover when you need it most.

Customary Charges
Also, while a typical HSI policy may cover overseas treatment, the benefits would be limited to reasonable, customary and medically necessary charges for such equivalent local treatment in Malaysia and shall exclude the cost of transport to the place of treatment.

For example, let’s say a typical appendicitis operation here costs RM2,000 but you had to undergo the operation in Singapore which cost you S$3,000. You’d then be reimbursed for RM2,000.

Overseas Limitation
Further, if you were to live or travel out of Malaysia for more than 90 consecutive days, no benefits will be payable for medical treatment outside Malaysia. Therefore, if you do not plan to be back in Malaysia for more than 90 consecutive days, you may need to get another HSI plan in the country where you’d be residing.

However, the moment you step back into Malaysia, your HSI coverage will resume until such time you are out of Malaysia again for more than 90 consecutive days.

M&A Insurance Industry 2012

The high volume of merger and acquisition activities in the Malaysia financial services sectors is expected to continue in 2012, particularly in the area of insurance, a PricewaterhouseCoopers official has said.

According to Malaysian publication, The Edge, PWC's Malaysian executive director Angie Wong said the local insurance scene would continue to be spurred by low penetration rates in the life insurance market as well as the fragmented general insurance business, thanks to a relatively mature rating environment.

The government's decision to liberalise ownership structures in the insurance and other service sub-sectors in 2009, which raised the celling for foreign shareholding to 70% from 49% , also helped raise the appeal of the Malaysian markets to foreign players, she is quoted as saying.

Wong also said the introduction of the Risk-Based Capital framework too had perhaps assisted in spurring M&A activities, though it may not be the main driving force behind local insurers seeking strategic partners, according to The Edge.

Wong told the publication her view of increased M&A activity was backed by findings of a recent survey conducted by her firm with regards to the prospect of M&A's in the financial services industry in Malaysia in the next 12 months.

Life Insurance 2011 - 2012

MALAYSIA'S life insurance new business premium is anticipated to moderately grow between 14 per cent and 15 per cent this year, compared with the lower double-digit growth in 2011.

The Life Insurance Association of Malaysia (Liam) believes that growth would hinge upon several market opportunities.

"Among the factors (for growth) are the current low penetration rate of life insurance at about 42.83 per cent, which would spur internal market demand, the government's Economic Transformation Programme and higher tax incentives for retirement products that would provide a platform for growth of the life insurance sector," it told Business Times.

It also added that the new private retirement scheme administrated by the Securities Commission of Malaysia would be a source of growth in the coming year.

In the first nine months of 2011, the life insurance industry delivered a moderate performance with new business sales growth of 8 per cent on weighted premium basis.
The growth was contributed by a positive performance in regular premium sales which went up by 13 per cent as compared to the same period in 2010.

By class of business, investment-linked business continued its strong growth momentum in 2011. The sale of regular premium investment-linked insurance plan increased to RM752 million in the first half of 2011 from RM597 million in the corresponding period in2010 with a growth rate of 26 per cent. Meanwhile, for single premium business, there was a 16 per cent growth in investment-linked plans.

Liam expects retirement-related products, medical and protection-related products to do well this year. "While insurance companies fortify their grip on the market, distribution channels play a significant role in boosting sales," Liam said.

As part of Liam's five-year strategic plan, the association said it will continue to drive its consumer education programme and raise awareness of the virtues of life insurance, especially the need for savings and protection to boost the level of insurance penetration in the country.

"In an environment of high inflation, it will bring about the question of how much disposable income is available and how much should put aside. Such a situation usually results in an increased demand for financial planners as clients become more sophisticated and highly demanding," it said.

On the ongoing Eurozone and the US debt worries, Liam noted that the industry would be able to sustain if an economic downturn happens as proven during the 2008/2009 global credit crunch.

Back then, despite tough conditions, the life sector recorded positive growth albeit lower figures mainly due to the fact that the domestic financial system has sufficient buffers in place with sound risk management system as well as adequate levels of capital to alleviate any effects from untoward global economic slowdown.