Anang Panca Setiawan, wife and Vanya

Happy Family

Anang Panca Setiawan and friends

With my friends

Anang Panca Setiawan

It's me (Anang Panca Setiawan)

Finding a good Business Name

FINDING A GOOD BUSINESS NAME
Summarized by : Anang P.Setiawan

CHARACTERISTICS OF GOOD BUSINESS NAMES

Good business names are:

1. Descriptive

Let's say we're in the business of helping authors publish their work in e-book format. We'd like people to know all that when they read the business name right?

How about "E-publishing House"?

Not bad, but a bit too long for a domain. "epublishinghouse.com"

Maybe "E-publisher"? Better, but the dash after the "E" is a problem. We'd have to register both "epublisher.com" and "e-publisher.com" to make sure our customers find us.

One solution to this problem is to look at names that can be abbreviated. Let's take Pandecta Magazine as an example. We are known as

• Pandecta
• Pandecta Magazine and
• Pandecta Electronic Magazine

Each of these names have specific uses. The first one for the domain (pandecta.com) and in informal communications with people who know what "Pandecta" is and what business we're in.

The second one is our official business name.

And the third is used on our web site (See top of page) and on all offline material like letterheads and business cards.

Descriptive names are usually better, but not absolutely required. Think of BlueBean, Yahoo!, Acer, etc.

2. Short

Keep it short - not only for the domain name, but also to make it easier to remember. There are exceptions that we'll look at further down.

3. Unique

When competition is as fierce as on the Net, branding becomes very important. That is why somewhat silly names like BlueBean and Yahoo! work. It stands out.

On the other hand, you might gain a slight advantage by choosing a name that is close to a well known name. Something like BlueBerry. (Already taken by the way)

That way you share in some of the brand awareness that already exists for the original name.

4. Easy to remember

If it is short, unique and descriptive, then it is probably already easy to remember. Here the BlueBean example looses out a bit.

It is a combination of two words, which is good (I'll tell you why further down). The "Bean" part is not bad. People should be able to remember that. The "Blue" part is not so good - "Ummm - what bean was that again...?"

They did however choose words that fit together nicely. "BlueBean" is just nicer to say than "RedBean" or "YellowBean". Mind you, "GreenBean" is fun too.

The important point is that we don't all have the venture cap to advertise on CNN, so we can't keep pounding our business names into the heads of consumers. They'll see it once. Maybe twice. It has to stick.

Here's how:

Remind them of something pleasant. Create an association with something that they know and love. Create a sense of adventure/ romance/ security/ excitement.

"StarDust", "Castle", "Tustep", "Goldthings", "Mountain Records", "Sleepy Magic", "Godfather".

5. Easy to spell

Which company has created the greatest brand awareness in the world? Yes, MacDonald's... or is that McDonald's? I can never remember. Who cares?

The people trying to type your URL care!

Avoid numbers. "Site7" might sound interesting, but it complicates the customer's path to you. If they're not sure if they should type "Site7" or "SiteSeven", they might skip both and simply type your competitor's name.

6. Catchy/ Trendy

Depending on your profile customer, you could choose a name that creates an association with a catchy or trendy word.

But make sure your company name doesn't go out of fashion after you've spent a year promoting it.

7. Add perceived value

Speaking of catchy & trendy - be careful not to make it sound cheap. We chose "Pandecta" because it sounds like a Latin word - something only a professor would think of. This fits our image of targeting Net-savvy entrepreneurs.

In the CD rack in front of me I see a writable CD - the make is "Imation". They probably tried to blend "image" and "animation", but it sounds too much like "imitation". What a great way to tell your customer that your products are below par.

People should read your name and say - "oh, that sounds nice". TELL them how good you are in the name. "Goodbytes" is a great name for a software company... too bad it's taken.

End of doc.

Entrepreneurship: More than just self-employment

Entrepreneurship: More than just self-employment

(Source : thejakartapost.com)

Sandiaga Uno Wed, 01/07/2009 4:04 PM Education
Four years ago I wrote an article, “Wealth is a mindset, so is entrepreneurship”, which was published at The Jakarta Post. The gist of that piece was that an authentic and effective entrepreneur was not someone who just had a talent and ran with it. Neither was entrepreneurship about what you do or for whom. It stems from what you think of yourself.

We make assumptions about wealth. For instance, pursuing it means accumulating its symbols, such as money or assets. That’s a confi ning assumption. Being a wealthy person is actually about knowing what we can do and getting the most out of that capacity. When we think of wealth this way, we look for the most in ourselves and from ourselves and, like as not, end up achieving beyond what we thought was possible.

Now, four years on, entrepreneurship has become a viral idea, spreading to everyone it touches. But I am seeing some fundamental misunderstandings abut it, especially among young people. Mistakes happen when any fad spreads rapidly, so misunderstandings are, well, understandable. But addressing these misunderstandings is still a priority.

First, I want to set the record straight and warn the younger generation. All you newly employed college graduates, we don’t become entrepreneurs simply by leaving our current jobs or, for that matter, our present bosses. We can still behave entrepreneurially as a professional, even if we work for the government. In that setting entrepreneurship means contributing innovatively and creatively to the organizations we work for. Vision does not depend on the work place, it depends on care, hard work and positive thinking. I learned most of what I know now from the companies, both the small and the big, that hired me when I was fi rst out in the work force.

Second, many young people get inspired by legendary (and exceptional!) entrepreneurs who made it with little academic background. But instead of learning why these entrepreneurs are successful, we too often mistakenly focus on what they did not have, a good education.

The exception doesn’t make the rule, so education, when we can get a good one, is still the most important factor. Legendary entrepreneurs, such as Richard Branson or our own Pak Bob Sadino, say the same. Even though they didn’t hop through the schooling hoops, they were no less prepared than those with degrees, because they – this is crucial – never stopped learning. By the same token those who get the chance to study at top universities who are there just to get that piece of paper, not for the learning, are starving their own potential. Good education is a function of positive learning mindset and attitude, and schooling is the easiest toolkit for any budding entrepreneur to employ.

Next, entrepreneurship is not about earning to meet our needs; we do not live solely for ourselves. We live and work for the people we love and those who love us. I often see friends quit their jobs because they get tired of working for somebody else, and they lose the vision and purpose to give more and better for their family. That is selfish, unwise, and not what entrepreneurship is all about.

Entrepreneurship requires wisdom, not just blind intuition. It is not about being a richer man or woman but about becoming a better person, a better human being.

Lastly, entrepreneurship is the polar opposite of luck. You know luck, it’s the excuse that let’s us wait for our ship to come in, and the waiting makes us all the poorer. I like the old saying: “Luck happens to those who are most prepared when opportunity strikes”.

In the end, entrepreneurship is more about doing than about talking about doing. I want to share one take-away from my own experience as en entrepreneur: “If we aren’t having fun, we aren’t doing it right”.

Sandiaga Uno
Enterprise Asia dubbed Sandiaga Uno Entrepreneur of the Year for 2008. Together with business owner Edwin Soeryadjaya, he founded the investment company Saratoga Capital, which offers investment advice in mining, telecommunications, forestry and other sectors. He has chaired the Indonesian Young Entrepreneurs Association since 2005.

How To Find A "Hungry Market" Of Buyers Wanting To Throw Money At You.

How To Find A "Hungry Market"

Anang P.Setiawan
http://anangpancasetiawan.blogspot.com

Make no mistake; there are literally thousands of potential tightly niched "hungry markets" out there. Markets abound! People are ready and waiting to throw money at you.

Your first job is to find a "hungry market" - and discover what it is the market wants. Then, and only then, do you consider what kind of products or services you might be able to supply to that market.

A quick tip! We all want things that are quicker and easier. We all want solutions to problems. Maybe you could start by helping people to save time and money. Help them avoid learning something the hard way. How? You do the research and sell the results. The more helpful the information, the higher the price you command.

Here are some good places to start your market research.

Firstly, find out what are the best selling non-fiction book titles at
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/subst/lists/best/paperback-nonfiction.html

This should be a good pointer to what's hot and what's not. People are paying money to buy these books, so maybe you could tap into one of these tightly niched markets.

Another idea is to use the keyword suggestion tool from overture.com - it’s the most popular pay-per-click search engine on the net...
http://inventory.overture.com/d/searchinventory/suggestion/

Simply enter a keyword relating to the ideas you have in mind. In one easy click, the search term suggestion tool will tell you how many times that keyword was searched on. It will also reveal the number of times related keywords were searched on.

Or you could go to http://www.wordspot.com and have a Top 200 keywords report sent to you.

Why bother doing this? Because, the popularity of keywords could be a good market indicator for you. If you discover a few thousand or more combined monthly searches on keywords, it could signify intense (possibly unfulfilled) interest in a subject. If this is directly related to what you plan to sell, then you may have discovered your "hungry market."

Next, using your favorite search engine, check out some of those same keywords. Visit the sites that appear to be selling related products/services, or offering related advice.

Do a bit of detective work - maybe start by emailing the website owners to ask some simple questions. Gather every fact, statistic, every article, every successful ad created by someone else selling to your market.

Also go to http://www.liszt.com where you can subscribe to some discussion lists relating to your chosen subject. Keep a watch to see what people are constantly asking questions about. Ask your own questions to find out their needs, wants, frustrations and desires.

The key then, is to develop a 'oneness' for your market. Only then, can you satisfy the market’s most urgent, most emotive, most ardent needs, wants and desires. Only then can you create a product to be a cure for someones pain.

Guess what? Suddenly the question of product becomes easy when you start with the needs, wants, desires and frustrations of a "hungry market."

Good hunting!

4 TINGKATAN KEKAYAAN

Empat Tingkatan Kekayaan

Anang P.Setiawan, SE

http://anangpancasetiawan.blogspot.com

Pada dasarnya ada 4 tingkatan dalam kekayaan seseorang, yaitu :

A. Tingkatan Pertama : Stabilitas Finansial

Ini adalah tingkat kekayaan paling bawah yang harus anda capai pertama kali. Anda pada posisi ini apabila :

1. Aset lancar anda mampu menutupi pengeluaran anda untuk 6 bulan kedepan, seandainya anda berhenti bekerja.

2. Sebagai tambahan, anda mempunyai asuransi jiwa dan kesehatan untuk melindungi diri dan keluarga dari gaya hidup sekarang apabila anda menderita cacat permanen, tak mampu bekerja lagi, atau meninggal dunia. Ketika anda sudah mencapai tingkat pertama ini, anda akan memiliki ketentraman hati terhadap sesuatu hal yang tidak dinginkan terjadi pada anda dan keluarga anda. Mencapai tingkat pertama ini akam menjamin anda mempunyai waktu untuk mencari pendapatan baru agar anda dapat mencapai tingkatan selanjutnya.

B. Tingkatan kedua : Keamanan Finansial

Anda mencapai tingkat ini apabila aset arus kas positif anda mampu memberikan pendapatan pasif yang cukup untuk menutupi pengeluaran POKOK (kebutuhan mendasar anda).Dengan kata lain, jika anda berhenti bekerja, and tetap mampu hidup dengan gaya hidup yang paling mendasar. Jika tetap bekerja, seluruh pendapatan aktif anda dapat digunakan untuk investasi dan akan melipatgandakan aset dan meningkatkan arus pendapatan. Pengeluaran POKOK (kebutuhan yang paling mendasar) antara lain :

1. Cicilan rumah dan beban yg terkandung didalamnya seperti : listrik, air, telpon,dan iuran lingkungan.

2. Biaya transportasi.

3. Makanan untuk anda dan keluarga.

4. Seluruh pembayaran bunga pinjaman.

5. Seluruh premi asuransi.

c. Tingkatan ketiga : Kebebasan Finansial

Anda mencapai tingkat ini apabila Aset Arus Kas Positif anda mampu mendatangkan pendapatan pasif untuk membiayai GAYA HIDUP ANDA SAAT INI. Ketika mencapai tingkat ini, anda dapat memilih untuk berhenti bekerja dengan tetap mmpertahankan standar kehidupan sekarang ini.. tanpa batasan waktu.Tapi kebanyakan orang yang berhasil mencapai kebebasan finansial tetap memilih tetap bekerja bukan karena mereka HARUS melakukannya, melainkan karena mereka memilih untuk melakukannya, sehingga mereka bekerja sepenuhnya untuk kepuasan batin! Biasanya semakin banyak pengeluaran, semakin mewah dan boroslah standar kehidupan seseorang, sehingga semakin lama pula waktu yang dibutuhkan untuk mencapai kebebasan finansial.

D. Tingkatan keempat : Kemakmuran Material

Anda mencapai tingkat ini apabila, Aset Arus Kas Positif anda mampu mendatangkan pendapatan pasif yang mampu membiayai GAYA HIDUP YANG ANDA INGINKAN. Yaitu berapa pengeluaran bulanan yang dibutuhkan agar anda bergaya hidup sepeti yang anda impikan. Gaya hidup seperti ini sangatlah subjektif. Semakin mewah gaya hidup yang diinginkan, semakin lama pula waktu yang dibutuhkan untuk mencapai kemakmuran material. Pada saat anda berada pada tingkatan ini, anda dapat memilih berhenti bekerja atau tetap bekerja. Sekali lagi kebanyakan orang yang berada pada tingkat ini lebih memilih tetap bekerja, sehingga mereka terus bekerja untuk bersenang-senang, menyalurkan pendapatan mereka pada kegiatan amal yang biasanya justru akan menyebabkan kekayaan mereka meningkat berlipat ganda.

Dengan uraian diatas anda dapat mengukur posisi keuangan anda. Pada tingkatan keberapakah anda? Kesatu, Kedua, Ketiga, keempat, atau justru belum mencapai pada tingkatan pertama, yang artinya hidup anda sangat riskan.

Jika terjadi hal yang tidak diinginkan terjadi pada anda atau keluarga, mampukah anda mengatasinya? bagaimana dengan keluarga, jika anda tiba-tiba harus berhenti kerja karena PHK, sakit, cacat pemanen atau bahkan mungkin meninggal dunia?

Dapatkah kita mencapai tingkatan seperti uraian diatas? Menurut saya sangat mungkin. Asal ada pengetahuan, perencanaan, komitmen, dan kerja keras untuk mencapainya. Kebanyakan orang tidak dapat mencapai tingkatan tersebut bukan karena tidak bisa, melainkan karena mereka tidak tahu bagaimana cara mencapainya. Kalaupun tahu biasanya mereka tidak punya perencanaan dan komitmen untuk mencapainya. karena biasanya mereka bergaya hidup boros. Maka tidak heran kalau mereka hidup dengan "gaya hidup sebulan gaji". Ada pepatah bijak "Bawa payung sebelum hujan".

Marilah ubah mindset anda. Janganlah anda bekerja untuk uang, tapi buatlah uang bekerja untuk anda. Caranya :

-Menabung diawal bulan bukannya diakhir bulan, biasanya tidak ada uang sisa diakhir bulan.

-Ambil 20% dari pendapatan anda setiap bulan ananguntuk di tabung atau di investasikan.

-Kurangi pengeluaran ( banyak orang menghabiskan uang untuk membeli barang yang diinginkan bukan sesuatu yang dibutuhkan)

-beli aset produktif yang akan menghasilkan pendapatan pasif.

-Buat bisnis baru/pendapatan baru dengan menggunakan waktu,uang, dan gagasan anda. Salam sukses. (Anang, 2 Januari 2009)