Hannah Altman

For my blog post today,

Only just 10 years old, Hannah Altman of West Bloomfield is the founder and CEO of Hannah’sCool World where she and her parents sells cool toys all over the world. In business since 2009, her site has sold more than 250,000 pencil toppers.

Hannah Altman who is just like a regular 9 year old cute little girl from West Bloomfield, Michigan went out for a dinner with her family one night. One that very night, she saw a cool pencil toppers and stopped at a vending machine looking amazed and curious at the same time while looking at that small toy. She liked the pencil topper very much and therefore insisted her dad, Rick Altman to buy the pencil topper for her.

When she reached home,  she then asked her dad if pencil toppers could be sold online and also requested him to help her create a website. Both Hannah’s mom and dad was happy to see their daughter interest in business and therefore they created a website, Hannah’s Cool World for her. Here is the point where she start to have creative marketing thinking. This is maybe due to the genes of her family as entrepreneurship had been a practice in her family. Her mother, Lauren Altman started a home-based zipper-pull company named Cool Zips when Hannah was only six. Actually, Hannah who have a young entrepreneur mind was the one who cane up with the idea to start Cool Zip. To my amazement, Hannah is really a creative and practical thinker as such age I must say.  

Her dad, Rick who is having a business part time decided to leave her job when Cool Zip business starts to bloom.Both her parents bought Googles pay per click to drive traffic to Hannah’s Cool World and soon orders start coming in. Hannah manages and writes her website herself, fill orders and even lead the customer service. On the other hand, she was assisted by both her parents where they both manages finance and quality control as managing partners

On top of that, her parents will attend trade shows and toy events to look for other products to be featured in their website. Since Hannah is too young to attend this kind of shows and events, her parents will bring back brochures and pictures for Hannah who will  then make the decision on what type of products that should be sell in their website.

She is a very young entrepreneur with lots of potential and she is definitely learning the ropes well at this age. She is an inspiration for those who are struggling to make money online. As we always say, if you have the creativity, try your business luck online.

10-years-old CEO turns business into child play

Colonel Sanders

For those of you who haven’t heard the story of Colonel Sanders, please spare a few precious moment of your time as this story is goin to inspire you in your everyday life because it’s a good example of how preseverence, dedication and ambition along with hard work can create success, regardless of your age.

Do you know that Colonel Sanders only started his business and became successful after the age of 65 ? When he was 6 years old, his father died. This makes Colonel Sanders who is a very young boy at the time as the man of the house. Therefore, he holds a very big responsibility in taking care of his family which are his mother and two younger siblings. Colonel Sanders is very talented in cooking as he can cook and mastered various kind of dishes very quickly. When he was 12 years old, his mother remarried but his stepfather often beats and tortures Colonel Sanders. This incident causes him to run away from home.

Sanders had work different kind of jobs from farm-hand, streetcar conductor, soldier, fireman to even as a insurance seller during his working years. At the age of 40, Colonel Sanders started to prepare his special herbs and spices to make the perfect fried chicken. Colonel’s fried chicken was a success as it received huge demands and he was able to make tremendous sale. In 1935, Sanders was awarded an honorary Colonel by the government for his great cooking skill.

At 1950, unfortunately he had to shut down his restaurant business because a new highway was built at his restaurant location. Out of no choice, Colonel had to retired. He eventually found himself broke at the age of 65. This was actually the best time for him to retired with a good pension from his investments but unfortunately he had not saved nor invested any money.

What’s left of him is his old car, a Caddie roadster, a $105 monthly security check and his secret chicken recipe. Not wanting to accept his fate, he then embarked on a journey to sell his secret chicken recipe to set up his fortune. He then started travelling on his old car to different restaurants to sell his chicken. The deal that he offered to the restaurant owner is that for every piece of chicken that is sold, he would earned 5 cents per chicken. The first restaurant owner turned his down with a loud voice saying “ Get out of here, who wants a recipe from a white Santa Clause!”, so did the second, the third …… all turned him down.

As a matter of fact, Colonel Sanders was turned down 1009 times. He would usually sleeps in the car to save money. However, Colonel Sanders keeps on going and going and didn’t gave up. Luck was on his side when he knocked on the door of the next restaurant family owner, the buyer was interested in his 11 herbs and spices chicken recipe and his offer was finally accepted. Finally, the rejections and failures streak ends.

By 1964, Colonel had 600 franchises selling his trademark chicken. At the age of 75, he sold his company for $15 million dollar. In conclusion, you can never stop believing in yourself. You are never to old to pursue your dream.

Kentucky Fried Chicken Commercial - 1969

Tan Sri Lim Goh Tong

Recently about few weeks back, when Miss Tinath gave me an assignment to create a blog or an online journal about entrepreneurs, I never knew or would least expected that this assignment would be so meaningful and beneficial to me. Since I started blogging, I look up for entrepreneurs that inspires and motivates me. I like to read about the lives of successful people. I like to read about how they succeeded through difficulties, their rags to richest stories and how they live. To my surprise most of them are very down to earth and compassionate. I like to catchup on the news of how they are doing now. I was happy that even some entrepreneurs in my country, Malaysia who has also succeded against all odds and they are my inspiration as well.

Today in this blog post, I’m going to share with you one of the leading entrepreneurs in Malaysia that I admired. He is the Malaysian typhoon billionaire, Tan Sri Lim Goh Tong.

In year 1994, Tan Sri Lim Goh Tong was first inspired and conceived the idea of building a hilltop resort when he was having a dinner in the Cameron Highland.He recognized this as an opportunity and had foreseen Malaysian future needs are a cool mountain holiday for relaxation and recreation.

Therefore he found a strategic place which is Gunung Ulu Kali a 1800 metre high mountain at a place called Genting Sempah. His idea of transforming a jungle hilltop to a tourist resort was doubt by many as they thought it was risky and foolish to invest so much money and time in developing but Lim Goh Tong believes in his dreams. For this project, he had dumped in all of his fortune and put aside all the negative comments from his friends and family. He uses and turns all the negative comments to motivate himself and put in his very best effort.

After getting approvals from the Federal and State government, Lim started to began his project. Among the problem faced were building an access road to the hilltop, water and electricities supply and sewerage system. Lim managed to build the access road in 3 years while it was estimated to be 15 years. He was helped by the Malaysian government, which subsidised the building of a road to the resort and awarded him a casino licence after Tunku Abdul Rahman, former Prime Minister of Malaysia visited Genting Highland and praise his effort in contributing towards the nation tourism industry.

In the next 30 years, Lim continued to develop and expand Genting Highlands to a developed tourist attraction town. Among the projects were the construction of more hotels such as The First World Hotel, Resort Hotel, Highland Hotel and Theme Park Hotel, indoor and outdoor theme parks and a convention centre. Along with its casino, Genting Highlands attract more than 15 million visitors a year. 

As of now, Genting Highlands is one of the most successful Casino result in the world and is one of the primary tourist attraction in Malaysia. What I truly learn from his walk of life is to keep on working hard and never give up. 

Amanda Nasim

I do realised that most of us not to mention including myself admire most top-notch entrepreneurs like Bill Gates, Warren Buffett, Richard Branson and Steve Jobs. However, as a Malaysian, we should not forget that our country also have inspiring entrepreneurs We are currently making out stands even at par with top entrepreneurs as well. For this post, I would like to talk about a Malaysian enterepreneur that I admired and lessons I learn from this amazing person. I hope this can maybe inspire you all as well.

To anyone of you who don’t know about Tutti Frutti, here I can provide some brief introduction about this company. Tutti Frutti is the global self-serve  frozen yogurt giant. The customers will fill up their cup with frozen yogurt , 18 flavors to choose from, then selects the topping of their choice and is weighed by the ounce at the end. First of all, about the founder and director of Tutti Frutti which is a lovely Malaysian, Amanda Nasim.

Amanda Nasim is a final year economic and finance student at York University in UK. To my amazement, she was only 19 years old when she stood before 80 bidders at an international conference in Los Angelas last year to pitch her proposal to Jay Kim, the founder of the frozen yogurt retail chain to convince the owner of Tutti Frutti, which is also the popular frozen yogurt empire to give her the master licence to open the first Tutti Frutti outlet in Europe.

She replied in an interview, “I gave a presentation on how we would do well in the UK, which location we’ll have and that’s how they agreed. I think he saw that I have that energy, I proofed to him that even without an initial plan, that I can do it”. She is really a young lady with strong determinations and preseverence as she’s only 19 at that time and to bring a brand to UK really requires a lot of hard work.

Today, at just 20 years old, she is one of the four directors of Tutti Frutti United Kingdom. The four directors were consist of Amanda Nasim herself, 20, her brother, Andy Nasim, 30 and friends Hashraf Hashim, 29 and Ridzuan Nor, 31. These four launched their flagship outlet in Convent Garden in central London making it the first in Europe. They plan to open at least 20 outlets in England, Scotland and Ireland by 2013.

The idea behind Amanda’s success was when she first tasted her vanilla flavoured frozen yogurt when she was back in Malaysia during her holidays. When she returned to the UK, she could not find Tutti Frutti and that’s when she thought of bringing this delicious delicacies to the UK. At first, when Amanda and her brother, Andy walked around Londan looking for places to pitch their ideas, the people  they met all just pushed them away. However, she never gave up and with sheer determination, she finally made it.

What are the lesson that I’ve learned from Amanda ? Generally, as what most of us already know, some Malaysian students are not willing or scared to take risks in doing something complicated like building a start-up, while juggling with our studies. She is currently studying in York University, UK, and even though she still need to focus on her studies, she still can multi-task with her tasks, and it has been proven as recently she has open the first Tutti Frutti franchise in the UK during the years of her studies. Hence, it has also proven that, being as a student is not a barrier to achieve dreams that may look bizarre in people’s eyes.  

Walt Disney

When " Walt Disney " is mentioned, we can surely see faces of children and even adults light up with looks of sheer joy. Walt Disney was a man of dreams. He dreamed big dreams. And he made his dreams come true.

Walt Disney was born on December 5, 1901 in Chicage Illinois. As a young boy, Walt had deep interest in art and would often sells his artpieces to neighbours to earn extra income. He studied in Mckinley Art School in Chicago to study art and photography. Although his family is very poor, his mother, Flora Call Disney and his brother, Roy were very supportive in insisting Walt to pursue his dreams. In 1918, Walt signed up for military service because he wanted to protect his country but was turned down due to his young age. However, being rejected, Walt was not discouraged. He then joined the Red Cross and was sent to France to become a chauffeur and ambulance driver. To prevent himself from being captured, he covered his ambulance with bright lively Disney cartoons instead of a usual war vehicle camouflage such as leaves and stems.

Once returned from France in 1921, he formed an animation company called Laugh-O-Gram Films. However, the company went bankrupt because his distributor ran out of business. He barely have any money left and even resorted to eat dog food. With just 20 dollars, he went to Hollywood in hope to start his career again. With the help of his brother, Roy O.Disney who brought in resources and capital to open up a shop in Walt’s uncle garage, they were able to received an order to New York for their first Alice in Cartoonland or The Alies Comedies. The brothers then expanded their production operation and was able to make the Alies Comedies a success and soon became a recognized Hollywood figure.

On July 13,  1925, Walt married one of his employees, Lilian Bounds and was blessed with two daughters, Diane and Sharon. Three years after marriage, Walt created a new animated character whick we all knew and love till today which is Mickey Mouse. Mickey Mouse made its screen debut in Steamboat Willie as the world’s first synchronized cartoon. In 1932, the production entitled Flowers and Trees which is the first coloured cartoon won Walt’s first Studio Academy Award and in 1937, Walt released “The Old Mill” which is the first short to utilize the multi-plane camera technique.

“Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs” is the first full-lengthed animated musical feature which was premiered at the Cathway Theatre in Los Angelas on  21^st December 1937. This film is still considered one of the great feats and imperishable monument of the motion picture industry. After the next five years, Walt Disney Studios created full length animations such as Pinnochio, Fantasia, Dumbo and Bambi. His great love of fantasy and the great lack of family entertainment in America inspired Walt to build a park of his own. A family park where parents and children could have fun together. Walt Disney dream came true as Disneyland was opened in 1955.

Here I include a quote from Walt Disney that I really loved and motivates me in whatever that I am doing which is “Do What You Love”

            “Disneyland is a work of love. We didn’t go into Disneyland just with the idea of making money”

To me, this quote means you must always follow your passion, if you are doing it just for the money, it definetely won’t last. This is because passion is what gives you the strength to overcome the obstacles associated with your every dream. Passion is also what keeps you going when everyone else is tired. Money will never do that for you. Always bear in mind, passion is power.

Here I would also want to feature a video that descibe the Mickey Mouse history. Please enjoy !

Mickey Mouse History - " It all started with a mouse "

Amancio Ortega

What do you think of when I mentioned ZARA ? Do you love ZARA? Well, I guess I can pretty well sum up the answers which are YES !!..OMG…ZARAAA !!!! Why do people go crazy over Zara clothing and accessories? 

With regards to ultimate type of fashion, there is only one brand name to check out, the Zara clothing company. Zara clothing line has many features that some other clothing companies do not have. It’s well known and suits through all groups and countries, people who are keen on urban activities or traditional clothing and also those who are into stylish blend outfit. But do you know who is the founder of Zara?

The founder of Zara is Amancio Ortega. He is one of the inspiring entrepreneurs who is highly accomplished and successful. From the life as a poor kid, he manage to climb his  way up to be one of the richest person on this planet. According to Forbes magazine, Amancio is the ranked 5^th among the top billionaire with a staggering $37.5 billion in assets. Mr. Ortega is currently the richest person in Spain and the second richest person in Europe. Amancio Ortega was born in the year 1936 to a Spanish family. His father was a railroad worker and his mother served as a house maid.

At just only the age of 14, Amancio begans his professional life, when the family moved to  La Coruña, Spain. He began working as a delivery boy in various textile firms. Amancio used this opportunity and experience to begin learning the trade and therefore started plans for his own textile venture. Two years later which is in the year 1972, Mr. Ortega founded his first entrepreneurial venture, Confecciones Goa.However, the company was mainly in the business of manufacturing of bathrooms.

Here is the point where his life changing experience starts to begin.Three years later, Amancio Ortega brought to the world of fashion, Zara, a fashion store that in a short time turned into one of the biggest and foremost luxury brands in the world till today. The continued success of Zara and  subsequent expansions led to the formation of Amancio’s multi-billion dollar empire Inditex group, under whose banner several luxury brands rose to prominence, such as the likes of  Zara, Massimo Dutti, Oysho, Tempe, Stradivarius, Pull and Bear and Bershka.

Amancio Ortega is one of the most unique billionaires in the world. He is very shy in public and have never accept an interview from the media. Mr. Ortega is the proud father of three children and has been married twice. His daughter, Marta Ortega Perez from his second marriage is widely regarded as the Spanish billionaire’s heir. Maria, who is currently working at Inditex married Spanish equestrian star Sergio Alvarez Moya in the month of February of 2012. In the year 2000, Amancio Ortega finally made a public appearance promoting his company before it got listed at the stock markets in the year 2001. This sudden appearance made headlines across the Spanish media and even led to the publication of best-selling book titled, “Amancio Ortega: DE CERO A ZARA.”

Besides his vast luxury garments empire, Amancio Ortega is also known to have heavily invested in other verticals, such as the likes of gas, tourism and banking. Mr. Ortega is a known workaholic and spends much of his time taking care of his business ventures. However, he does take out time enjoy his hobbies, which includes driving and horse riding. 

In conclusion, I noticed that Mr Amancio Artega is a very down to earth person although being the richest man in Spain and the 5th in the world. He never wears tie and prefers casual T-shirt and jeans. He also do eat in his company's cafeteria. What a really rare sight that we can see about one on the most successful person on earth. I really respect Mr Amancio Ortega as he coming from a really poor family was able to have strong vision in coming up with his own clothing line. He also never forget his past as a poor kid and therefore still loves to live a simple life.

Here is an official website of Zara if you want to find out about the latest trend and fashion by Zara :
ZARA

Oprah Winfrey - America's Beloved best Friend

Recently, I recall about my childhood past where during one night, I was browsing through the channels on TV as I had nothing to do that night and was trying to look for some good shows to spend my time. While I was browsing, I came across this talk show and was intensively listened to the speech by this lady who is giving advise to a pregnant woman who was abused and abandoned by her husband. She advised and comfort the lady till tears started to break out and she hugged her and thanked her for making her feel better. The show I was talking about is the “Oprah Winfrey Show”.

Now, let me share with you all a brief chronological of Oprah’s life. Sexually abused at the age of 9, ran away from home at 13, pregnant at 14, beauty queen at 17, abused drugs in her 20’s, first black American woman on National T.V. in America and millionaire at 32. Sounds bizarre? But true !

Oprah was born on 29^th of January, 1958 in Kosciusko, Mississippi by an unwed mother because her mother was raped. Oprah was brought up by her grandmother where she live in poverty. At the age of 9, she was raped by her cousin and uncle and was sexually abused since then. After suffering years of abuse, at age of 13 she ran away from home. However, the sad and ironic experience is she was raped and gave birth at 14 but unfortunately the infant died. At age 17, Oprah won the Miss Black Tennessee beauty pagent and also a scholarship to Tennessee State University majoring in Speech Communication and Performing Arts. At age 19, she caught the attention of a local radio station, WVOL to do news part time. In 1983, she was invited to Chicago to host a talk show which is AM Chicago. The show attracts huge viewers and soon become the hottest show in town. In 1985, the show was then renamed “The Oprah Winfrey Show” which we can still watch till today.

When she started her talk show 27 years ago, she was a nobody and there was a lot of racism because she was a black woman. For her first talk show, do you know who she interviewed, to my amaze, she interviewed people who have been raped, who went through emotional trauma, who are divorced, who attempted suicide and many more who faces many downs and devasting challenges in their lives. Despite having a bad childhood experience herself, she is strong to overcome her own trauma and would inspire and counsel the people in her talk show.

The people who attended her talk show would say, “ My life is better after talking to her and I will conquer the world”.

And those who also watch her show will get inspired as well and began to change their life’s into a better one. Oprah is truly an amazing and inspiring woman to everyone. She can change lives. There is once when someone interviewed her and question her how did she have the ability to do what she do today? She answered its because of what happened to her last time. She had a tough childhood and endures the many pains that had made her a strong woman. When she look at the difficult issue of the society and people suffering, she can connect to them. She also dedicated her life to be a role modal to change other people’s life.

Oprah Winfrey founded Harpo Studio and this become Oprah’s production facility that provides help and inspiration to woman all aover the world. Harpo Studio also known as Harpo Inc. is a company that excels in film production, magazine publication and online media. Oprah is also the first African-American to become a billionaire. 

Let us all remember, it’s not what happen to us that defines what we become. It’s what we choose to do about it. Whatever happens to us, it happened for a reason. Do you believe things happen for a reason? I’m not sure about you but I always believe that whatever happens in life have a reason. It’s all happen because of God’s plans for us. I believe that Oprah’s life is really motivating and inspiring to everyone to take more actions in your life. She has contributed so much to the world and help many people to have a better life. She donates millions of dollar for charity. I do feel that the world need more people like Oprah Winfrey. She truly deserves the success that she is enjoying now.

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Here, I would like you to listen to one of Oprah's incredible and inspiring speech for the Spelman graduate.

Oprah Winfrey Delivers Commencement Address to Class of 2012