Lowyat.NET: Latest topics by ace.princess

Buy out for early release

ace.princess — Sun, 09 Sep 2012 23:14:55 +0800

A prospective employer is interested to buy out for early release, as they need to fill up the position urgently, can't wait for notice period to lapse. How does it work?

How to be sure that there's something solid from the prospective employer, in order to bring up the issue of resignation to current employer? Will there be an offer letter? Is it possible to get an offer letter when the starting date is yet to be firm?

And what if current employer refused to accept the buy out and disallow an early release, can it happen?

Would like to know how does this work, thanks guys!

Brazilian Wax

ace.princess — Sat, 30 Apr 2011 12:55:16 +0800

Hi girls Just wanna ask, any recommendations to good and cheap salons to get Brazilian Wax? I've been going to Strip regularly. I admit they're good, but they're considered very exx (RM 115 for hard wax )

Thought of trying out new places, maybe there are also good ones out there, at affordable prices. Say like, below RM 60.

PS: Any Groupon or deal sites having brazilian wax deals on? Argh Groupon should really have a search function...!

Cooking Classes

ace.princess — Thu, 10 Feb 2011 22:56:37 +0800

Hi girls. I'm thinking of doing cooking and baking classes part time. Since I like to cook, thought it might be fun to teach and learn together with others

While I have the menu and plan roughly drafted up, I'm not too sure how to charge yet. Perhaps asking around might help.

Let's say a short class of about 1.5-2 hours, teaching one main course and 1-2 sides. No hands-on, just demonstration. Can be semi hands-on in a sense like teaching how to chop and prepare, but when it comes to the stove and actual cooking, only the teacher will be the one handling it. Light refreshments and snacks provided. Recipe can be taken home and provided.

How much would you pay for a class like this? And why?

Glad to hear your opinions, all comments and feedback are welcome

My bf's friends are so weird

ace.princess — Thu, 29 Jul 2010 05:16:45 +0800

I went out once with my BF and his bunch of friends. They're all guys, mostly the chinese-ed conservative 'nerdy' type. Usually when I hang out with people, no matter guys or girls, I'll talk and socialize with them, and vice versa. But this group is so weird, when I joined in, NONE of them talked to me. They treat me like I'm invisible.

I find them very rude and disrespectful. I mean, when you go out, it's social courtesy to at least smile, say hi, intro, ask a few questions to find out about a new person you just met, and include them in group jokes and conversations right... It's being polite to others, acknowledging their presence.

Then when I asked my BF why they're so weird, he said his friends are traditional kolot thinking guys who think that if they talk to a girl, it means a guy wanna kao her. I was like... WTF man??? Still got guys like that wan meh in this age of time??

The list goes on... There'll be guys that don't let GF wear too revealing lar, guys who don't let girls wear bikini to the beach, etc etc...

I mean, come on lar... I won't have an issue if my BF is being polite entertaining friends or wanna look good in public.

How much would you spend for branding?

ace.princess — Tue, 06 Jul 2010 10:50:01 +0800

Hi all, just had a thought about a scenario I'm currently facing, and would like to have a quick check and opinion.

We know that many SMEs find it unnecessary to spend on branding and marketing their products / services (ie, through advertising, PR, media, etc), and most of the time, they rather rely their profits on P&L, increasing sales and distribution, without a solid marketing plan. And even if they do plan to market, they'd probably allow a small budget for it, usually only enough to generate leads, but not enough to build a strong brand name for long term.

I'm wondering, how much budget would an SME allocate for branding and marketing in a year?

Perhaps you may be working in an SME, or running a business, what's your annual turnover and yearly marketing budget?

Thanks in advance!

How to declare online biz income from paypal?

ace.princess — Wed, 05 May 2010 13:38:21 +0800

Anyone did it before? Thinking of starting an online biz so wanna know what's the legalities around it Let's say basic stuffs like selling stuffs on ebay and setting up own website to sell clothes.

Do I need to register my biz? Under sole proprietorship can? And if so, how do I declare my income? And when I declare, what kinda documents should I get ready on hand to 'proof' my claim? Will they ask for my Paypal statements?

And also, I foresee if one day the biz grows big... Say I'm withdrawing amounts of USD500 from my Paypal to my Debit Card DAILY (based on Paypal's max limit on withdrawal), will it trigger an alarm in BSN and LHDN? Since I'm doing this part time, we know how 'mafan' it is if situation comes to dealing with authorities. Just don't want all that. Just want to make USD500 daily, comfortably sent to my account, and declare and pay my taxes (if needed)... Without too much probing.

Anyone had similar experience? Appreciate very much for your sharing

Qualities of a Great & Successful Entrepreneur

ace.princess — Thu, 08 Apr 2010 16:50:30 +0800

What do you think are important qualities of a successful entrepreneur? Let's say we're talking about a young man/woman in their 20s, what kinda qualities or traits exhibited (especially even at a young age) which you can see that such person will go very far and be very successful one day?

Do share your personal opinions and experience

Account Managers and Execs Come in!

ace.princess — Wed, 24 Feb 2010 18:32:21 +0800

Are you an Account Manager or Account Executive for advertising and branding firms? Come in and share your experience

How's the job there like? What are the core skills required to do your job well?

How about your employers' expectations, do they expect you to close a certain amount of target revenue from your clients per year? How much is the target set for you per year? Do people normally achieve them? And when you've achieve them, how does ur boss reward you? (ie, incremental pay, promotion, etc etc)

Would like to learn more about the workings of the client-servicing/account-management line, thanks!

I hate MLM

ace.princess — Mon, 22 Feb 2010 15:50:37 +0800

I wanna rant!!! Very 'fan'!!! I hate it when MLM people think themselves so great like the kings of the world. They like to push you for products, and push you to be their downlines... If you don't agree, they start showing their uber ugly lansi face!!!

Grrrr... What's their problem? Don't have enough sales or downlines to feed them for the month is it?? Life must be sour for these people, that's why they can't smile and always show lansi face!

What to buy for Valentine's Day?

ace.princess — Wed, 03 Feb 2010 23:58:42 +0800

Hey all, what should I buy for my bf for V-day? Though I got a rough idea what to buy... But just need some more of your suggestions, see if I get inspired

As a guy, what would you like to receive?

Budget, around RM 1k.

Fresh Grads and First Jobbers

ace.princess — Wed, 27 Jan 2010 13:33:09 +0800

Hi guys, when I talked and went for catch-up sessions with my friends (most of whom are fresh grads and first jobbers), they constantly complain to me how their job is so not challenging, does not give sufficient learning and personal development, being made to do stupid work which doesn't require much intellect. They felt "stupid" being asked to do work that does not need their brains, ie, checking data sheet numbers, photostating for seniors, carrying items for seniors, doing paperwork for managers, taking notes for managers during meetings or discussions, etc.

And these graduates are highly capable people who managed to snatch high-profile positions like Management Trainee, Associate Trainee, etc, which seem to promise them the sky on how they will be challenged and given early responsibilities. They are full of drive in seeking for responsibilities that can create an impact, yet once they got in, they get really disappointed for not being given the responsibilities as said. Instead, they get treated like assistants.

I think this is very unfair for people who are capable, and WANT to get things done. We are full of drive and passion to help the company grow. We look forward to lead and work with teams, make important decisions, manage important projects, and help make an impact. We are confident that we can deliver, yet all our hopes and dreams are dashed when we're not given that kinda responsibilities. Even after constantly talking to managers that we want more and proving ourselves that we can do 'menial' work, you can't let us wait too long, we need to move on to greater things, and FAST.

Why do senior managers tend to ask capable fresh grads to do silly work? Is it because they themselves came through it the hard way too, and don't expect freshies to come in and straight away take over their jobs? They have their own egos too?

Any other fresh grads experiencing the same? How about employers who actually equip freshies with proper training and development, are there any?

starting freelance consulting

ace.princess — Tue, 05 Jan 2010 16:24:14 +0800

I'm now planning to start my own freelance consulting business. But how do I manage the billing system? Understand I can install softwares for this.

But, how about payment method? Let's say I'm registering my business as sole proprietorship, what's the best payment method to implement for facilitating transactions?

Most of my clients will be businesses and SMEs, so just need a quick check on what's the best method. Thanks!

Where to print brochures / booklets?

ace.princess — Sat, 26 Dec 2009 19:35:50 +0800

My friend is looking to print some brochures and booklets. Like those flyers / pamphletes / brochures / booklets you see given out during PC Fairs and Edufairs.

Got contact for any nice and cheap ones? Looking for suitable printers... Help post them here, thanks!

Twilight is driving me MAD!

ace.princess — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 20:22:28 +0800

I HATE TWILIGHT! Can't stand it anymore... What's so great about the movie? I can't stand it when fans give it so much credit just because of the cute men... It sure doesn't deserve so much!

And... what's with women submitting to men just because they're cute? It's so stupid... Most of the fans are just some desperate ugly women, who probably never had a real man!

It's the liberation of desperate ugly women... What a shame to femininity and I shall never submit to men so easily! Especially not when just because they're cute!

Dell Inspiron 14 Laptop

ace.princess — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 02:29:10 +0800

Hi, looking to buy a laptop and having my eyes on Dell Inspiron 14. They have promotion for it till next week so need to decide fast. Specs as follows:

- Processor Intel® Pentium® Processor T4300 (2.1GHz / 800FSB / 1MB Cache)
- Genuine Windows® 7 Home Basic 64bit (English)
- RAM 3GB (1X1GB+1X2GB) Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM
- 320GB 5400RPM SATA Hard Drive
- 14.0 " High Definition (1366x768) LED Display with TrueLife™
- Video Card Intel® Graphics Media Accelerator X4500HD
- Optical Drive 8X DVD+/-RW Drive with DVD+R double layer write capability, with Roxio Burn 1.0--For WIN 7
- Wireless Network Card Dell Wireless 1397 802.11b/g Half Mini Card
- McAfee® Security Center™ (15 Months)
- 1 Yr Ltd Hardware Warranty, InHome Service after Remote Diagnosis

Price at RM1,999 which I think is a very good deal, wish to snap it up but wondering if this build will be sufficient for my needs. I will be using the laptop for:

- Basic surfing and working (Microsoft Office, etc) (Primary activity)
- Games like Sims 3 and Warcraft. (Not my main priority, but to curb boredom once in awhile)

And also, how long can the battery last for Inspiron 14? Wanna consider the Inspiron 14z with longer battery life, but it's quite expensive, and heavy. Do you often come across short battery life problem with Inspiron 14?

Do you REALLY enjoy work?

ace.princess — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 01:47:04 +0800

Just wanna do this out of curiosity. Day in day out, I always hear people complaining about working life being so damn sien. Everyday have to bear jam, do silly work, or overworked, sometimes let boss scold, salary increment pathetic, advancement opportunity close to none, etc. They only do it for the monthly salary.

Then there will also be people who are passionate about their work, willing to go above and beyond their job scope and contribute to the company. When they come to work, it does not feel like work at all, because they're doing it as though it's their second nature.

So which group do you actually belong to? Just curious, what's the percentage of people who are TRULY happy in their jobs?

How prevalent is Marketing to d average Msian biz?

ace.princess — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 23:55:33 +0800

I come from a very strong Marketing background, so I strongly believe in the power of branding as a means of long-term strategy for any businesses, be it big or small. If brand is built properly, over time it will become an intangible asset own-able by the company.

Yet, I realize that, many businesses still do not capitalize on the power of branding, mostly only see 'sales' and 'profits' as key objectives. They see branding as 'expenses' thus not something worth investing in. Especially for SMEs, they just don't believe in investing in branding. And to them, branding probably only means 'logo design', and when they say 'marketing' it actually means sales.

Of course, I see this as a really sad case big time. All concepts of branding and marketing not fully explored by companies. Probably the only ones who fully understood the importance of branding are mostly MNCs. Very few Malaysian businesses actually believe in branding.

I wonder why is that so? Is it due to lack of education about branding? Lack of resources or expertise to do branding? Or just plain lack of conviction?

Let's share! =) I need to satisfy my curiosity. Marketing concepts have been around for such a long time, yet many businesses here do not understand or capitalize on marketing. Why?

Why do they install CCTV in cyber cafes?

ace.princess — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 00:04:30 +0800

Out of curiosity, why do they install CCTV in cyber cafes? Not like anyone is going to steal anything right...

-closed-

ace.princess — Sun, 25 Oct 2009 01:49:20 +0800

-Topic closed-

Mod, please delete as you see this.

Ever struggle against 'old meat' at your work?

ace.princess — Sat, 10 Oct 2009 00:41:17 +0800

I find it damn ironic when big time companies like to hire bright ambitious young talents into their companies, for the purpose of having 'fresh perspectives' and 'new outlook', so as to bring in new ways of looking at things.

It's utter bullsh*t! Never believe in that!

'Old meats' in my company who have worked many years in my company are so damn stuck in their ways, they are being too comfortable resting on what they have always known and how they have always done things. They just refused to listen to new alternatives!

Not just from freshies, they also refused to listen to people who are experienced yet new to the company.

Such an irony, they encourage alternatives/change, yet they're too stuck in their old ways to accept it. Then what for always ask for our opinions? They won't like hearing it anyway. Might as well be a good puppet and sing their song.

And they always ask why can't they advance and why competitors are becoming more innovative! Dang! That's because they're just so stuck with what they know and refuse to learn new ways of seeing and doing things!

How hypocritic!