money

Pandora, Emusic, iTunes 0 vs KKBox, Sky.fm and Last.fm 3:

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It’s all about the dollars, cents, pounds and pence, isn’t it? After all, that’s what you’re all fighting about, isn’t it? That’s why you aren’t really entering non-US markets, … you don’t think Asian markets have enough cash, do you? Well, here’s my cash. I put my money where my mouth is: but you guys didn’t want it. Pity, I’ll reward those companies who do want it.

Who wanted it? Well, here’s my list of top three online music providers who were delighted to take my money, and provide me with great music to listen to. So drum rolls, please!

 KKBox wanted my money, so I put down a subscription with them. And they made it so easy to pay: I could have paid in any of a dozen different ways, including just going to the local convenience store, and handing over my cash! This is a screenshot that includes some recently popular songs. The only caveat was that I had to set my default language on my PC to Chinese, which of course, broke one of my blogging applications. Never mind.

KKBox Software

No problem. Last.FM made it really easy, too. So I plumped to spend money with them. Nothing needed to download, but it works. And there are software programs you can use if you need to.

last-fm

I also put my money with Sky.FM who wanted it. Nothing to download here. Just play the stream in your favorite player.

sky-fm logo

It’s not that I didn’t want to give it to Emusic – they wanted too much with too many conditions attached, including paying for a catalogue that I couldn’t access – well done, Sony BMG!; iTunes wanted the money for the products (iPod, iPhone, iTouch, etc.) but didn’t want to provide the services to my country of residence; Pandora just shrank from the challenge of facing too many lawyers, without a good excuse.

After all, when did lawyers run a company? In fairness, lawyers are paid to respect the law, to follow the law and to help understand and interpret the law for other people. But, it seems that they are increasingly being used as an excuse by business leaders to hide behind.

Legal Music Alternatives

So I put my money where I could; and I’ll likely start buying even more CDs courtesy of Amazon, etc., … by the time that Emusic, iTunes, and Pandora wake up to the HUGE LEGAL opportunities they’ve missed, it will be too late for them to capture the market in many countries. Why? Because while they can wait, other hungry companies can’t, and neither can audiences. The world won’t wait for Pandora, Emusic or iTunes to grasp what’s being offered in terms of markets. Instead, these markets will take their ball, and play another game altogether.

Think that it hasn’t happened in Taiwan before? Think again.

Would you gamble? Would you start a business?

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This follows an interesting discussion we’ve been having on Forumosa about starting businesses.

Of course, though, I wouldn’t equate gambling with starting a business. Why? Apart from the odds issue, there are far more factors that you can control when you start a business. If you gamble, esp. in a casino, the odds are absolutely stacked against you: the house controls the cards, the house controls the dealers, the house controls who plays, the house monitors ‘cheating’ strategies (and bans anything that is mildly profitable, even ‘card counting’…)…

Gambling is for suckers

Basically, if you gamble, you’re a sucker. But in business, you actually have a good chance of ‘being successful’ and keeping your original stake at the very least. However, there are many reasons a business ‘fails’ including the fact that the owners just get tired or sell out to others or close up one day or die… None of these in particular suggests that the business was an unprofitable one.

It’s in the blood, or not

It’s likely that as Brits, we tend to shy away from doing business, worry about the undue risks, plan until there’s no breath left to actually run the business, borrow lots of money to go into business (IMHO, a huge mistake and a massive risk, but common in the UK), are unusually PESSIMISTIC about doing business, and (even now) still ‘look down’ on entrepreneurs as a breed.

Keep your ass covered

When we started our school, we didn’t worry so much about the risks (and there are many), we just wanted to try it ourselves after seeing so many people screw up royally (is that an adverb?)… we didn’t overly plan except that we knew we could pay the rent on our school for six months without ANY income at all even after setting up the school, we paid ourselves no salary either, we didn’t borrow any money to invest (a huge relief), and we were neither pessimistic nor optimistic about our chances, … Did we have a concrete business plan? No, we didn’t. Did we need one? Not really, we already knew the business in many respects.

Manage the risks, not the luck

IMO, most unsuccessful business owners here fail to manage the basic risks first, don’t make these kind of decisions, and wince at the first hurdles. How? They fail to secure a source of personal income (that covers life expenses, not including their business) first; they overly underestimate the expense of starting up and running for months with little income preferring to spend as much as possible in the first few weeks, and reserving nothing or having nothing to draw on afterwards; aren’t willing to pay themselves a pittance to get things started because they (likely) see a salary for themselves as ‘deserved’; don’t really market themselves well enough except through discounts (a prime strategy) that does NOT work well here… attracts the wrong customers, diverts attention, undermines your profit structure (esp. if you haven’t done your work properly); and so on…

While many seem to believe luck plays a role in starting a business, I like to think of it as luck comes to those who are ready; if you’re not ready, then it’s wasted largely.

Working Hard Not Smart

Usually, restaurants are cheaper to open, require less capital to start up, most believe they ‘can’ cook, and reasons like that… but restaurants are bloody hard work, esp. if you focus on doing a lot of meals or full-day service. My sis-in-law had a restaurant for six months or so, I remember working in it, but they really didn’t know how to run it optimally. Instead they opened at 11:30 and ran it until 11:30pm every day. So they nearly killed themselves doing it, too.

Focus, focus, focus

While I had no access to the financials, it didn’t make much sense to work so long, esp. as lunch hours were always the most busy. I would have preferred to have very busy lunches where people were served quickly, afternoon teas, and close up at 5pm each day. Instead they did dinners, bar hours, etc… and I’m not sure why they thought it was necessary. There is the belief in business here: more is better; you’ll see it everywhere, too.

Cram schools here open multiple classes including math/art, Chinese, Science … instead of focusing on one thing. Restaurants try to serve all kinds of food (I know restaurants that sell rice, noodles and spaghetti!) to all customers at all times. Stores sell everything… there is a lack of focus in many businesses here. Market stalls sell fresh pork and underwear… it’s quite amazing how people relate two disparate businesses.

In the end,…

In reality, it’s the ones who take their money (or someone else’s) and actually try to do something with it in the creation of their SMB, they will learn the experience of being IN business. Most serious entrepreneurs are also SERIAL entrepreneurs, in other words, they will try and try again till they get it right, even if that means they run 5 or 10 businesses in their lives…

No guts, no glory

And I’m sorry to say, no matter what MBA you take, what business course you attend, what class you take, no matter what you read or study, it won’t make a jot of difference unless you actually try to set up and/or run a real business. Fundamentally, Entrepreneurship is a practical skill; so whenever I see academics on TV lecturing on business fundamentals, I really have to wonder what they bring to the table when they themselves don’t bear any risk at all. It’s that willingness to bear the risk that illuminates who will be entrepreneurs and who won’t. That’s what separates entrepreneurs from salaried workers, … the knowledge that next month, if there’s no profit, you won’t take a home salary.

Hope the ramble influences you to think about starting your own business. Drop your comments here.

6 reasons NOT to buy an iPhone: They are expensive, crippled and outdated

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With all the hoopla surrounding the Apple Iphone 3G, I took a look at the device which is available in Taiwan through Chunghwa Telephone company. But I was seriously dismayed and opted for my Nokia for a number of good reasons. The Apple iPhone promises so much in terms of customer benefits that I was surprised how poorly it stacked up against my Nokia phone.

1. Functionality: it’s crippled in many functions.

Everyone raves about the iPhone and how it looks. In reality, there are basic functions that any standard 3G phone can do that iPhone cannot. The iPhone in version 2 is still crippled by Apple in significant ways. There is no cut or paste function, no multi-media email function, no video function, it’s unable to multi-task with 3rd party apps in the background, SMS can’t be forwarded, no tethering either so you can surf from your notebook, no FM radio, no in-built flash… to mention the most obvious ones. That the iPhone is crippled is obvious (when many competitors can provide these services and functions), the real question is why.

2. Repairs: Can’t replace your battery yourself.

For most repairs, you have to return your phone to the manufacturer for repair. With Apple, you have to return your phone to them when you want to change the battery. This adds to the expense, you’re without a mobile phone for the time it’s away, and probably your data, too. Doubtless, replacing the battery will be more expensive, too, as Apple are the ONLY authorised reseller of batteries. Can you imagine Nokia, Sony, or Motorola requiring their phones to be returned to change the battery? The repairs alone for replacing the battery will be US$85, and they WILL erase all your data for you for free. Thanks, Apple. (oh, by the way, my Nokia battery is replaced by me WITHOUT any data loss)…

3. Tied one provider: And one only.

With my nokia phone, I’m able to go to any provider and purchase a mobile service. The typical deal with Apple is that there is one service provider who is authorised to sell telephone service in a particular market. But that company may not be the best service provider in your area, or even the most competitive. It’s likely that the competitor will provide less than stellar support as well.

4. Expansion slots: What are they for?

There are no expansion slots for additional memory: in other words, you can’t add a memory card with an extra 8GB or 16GB of memory. At a time, when even the humblest made in China phones come with memory slots for SD cards or minicards, Apple can’t even add one to the machine. But then Apple claim that they are doing it for the convenience of consumers. It’s really convenient NOT to be able to slip in an extra RAM card. Oh, yes. That’s right… you have to send it away to do any repairs. Good luck with that one!

5. Intransparent pricing: It sucks to be a customer.

When I went to the Apple Iphone website in Taiwan, I was greeted by a hugely confusing pricing table that included no less than three different pricing structures each with variations in the pricing. In fact, the iPhone 3G was quoted at over fifteen different price points on the same page. Amazing? Confusing? The irony: only two of those price points were cheaper than my Nokia phone. Oh, and each pricing plan required a different deposit.

It will cost you more, MUCH more than other phones… By my own calculations, it will cost a minimum of 32% to over 70% more on the first plan than my own service + phone package. The basic plans are more affordable, but the initial outlay is quite considerable. You are expected to outlay more than 2/3rd of the cost at purchase point.

6. Apps: Tight control by Apple?

Now Apple supporters will croon: but you can easily add apps from other missing functionality. And it’s true. But why should I have to suffer all of these software limitations when other devices can do all this and more, just as easily, more cheaply, and with less inconvenience for the customer, OUT OF THE BOX! Tell me. But worse, Apple will only permit certain programs on their system and will pull licenses or restrict software in the iPhone App Store that they deem unsuitable for their phone. If this were only for issue of safety and reliability, perhaps it would be less of a concern. But it’s not.

So, in reality, the Apple Iphone will cost you a lot more money than almost any other similarly powered device available today. It is behind the times in technical capability in a number of ways, too. And your tied in so many ways, it’s unbelievable that anybody would consider such a beast. So, save your money, save your hassle, buy a better phone than iPhone3G and tell Apple to do better ‘next time’.

So can anybody explain to me why people are queueing up to buy a black brick with a nice screen and a price that leads to serious sticker shock?