The wishful thinker and the planner

In the Malaysian business scene, you stumble across the concept of "Malaysia Boleh", a unique Malaysian attitude of having a relaxed attitude to everything, including business, which I have previously referred to in my last article.

This Malaysian Boleh attitude troubles me because I often wonder how anyone can start a business without proper planning?

One of the most common business job adverts that I've seen is "Co-founder required", and I have heard many business owners comment how hard it is to find one.

Many of these requests come from start-up companies, clearly identifying that many startups have no business plans to grow the business.

It appears that the businesses are seeking people to join their business to get advice for either a small share of the "yet profitable" business.

Let's be honest. One has to question why these individuals applying for these "co-founder positions" don't have their own business. Why are these individuals seeking to extract a profit from another business other than their own?

Business owners need to ask themselves how much confidence can they have in an individual that may not be fully invested in the business?

I have seen several pitch decks prepared by Malaysians when vetting their Facebook business profile voluntarily.

The quality and professionalism displayed on their Facebook business pages are not great.

For example, a "Fintech business" had a 33-page Pitch Deck with 13 pages of one-word slides containing pictures known as "fillers".

The Pitch Deck did not showcase the business plan and financial projection that most serious investors look for in a business.

The poorly written Pitch Deck included many unfounded assumptions, did not include a marketing plan, and only targeted Gen Ys, which cut out many potential clients.

A proper business plan with an accompanying pitch deck allows the business the right to ask the client for an investment; unfortunately, this business did not have an adequate pitch deck or business plan, making the asking price of MYR 2,000,000 unachievable.

Consider a business without a proper business plan and a pitch deck- an un-investable idea.

Another issue that I have identified is that many of these startups or entrepreneurs don't have a budget plan. While totally understandable, if you don't have a marketing budget or enough money to stay afloat for a few months, you really shouldn't consider starting a business that requires your full-time devotion. It takes money to stimulate more capital. Without a marketing plan and budget in place, it will be challenging to achieve success.

We should encourage the spirit of entrepreneurship, and if you have a plan, by all means, go ahead but don't dive into the business scene without a solid business plan, and a Pitch Deck before speaking to an investor.

The number of entrepreneurs across the world is increasing at a very high rate. However, most entrepreneurs struggle with securing funding because they do not have a comprehensive business plan.

This is where we can help you. We are committed to helping entrepreneurs to create well-documented and structured business plans using our reliable but affordable consulting services.

We are known for offering high-quality business plans that businesses and entrepreneurs can use worldwide. In addition, companies can utilise our detailed framework to learn how to seek funding from investors. We use a globally accepted method; it works anywhere in the world.

Elliott Wang established Strategist MY to provide consulting services to small and medium businesses in the ASEAN region and Malaysia. The benefits are affordable to individuals and companies to easily acquire business plans geared to guarantee business growth.

Services Offered by Strategist MY

• Designing business plan reports
• Investor deck
• Financial projections
• Market research
• Project planning
• Business planning
• Startup consulting
• Web development
• Technology consulting
• Business transformation
• Strategy consulting
• Negotiating on behalf of businesses that need funding
• Assisting businesses in different phases of their development