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Many among those looking to do business online, or via the Internet, may still have doubts about its market poten-tial in this country.

Some of them might also be worried about competition, with the increasing popularity of online businesses.

However, the truth is oppor-tunities still abound for those wishing to become online en-trepreneurs, considering that only 10% of the online market has been tapped so far.

That means 90% of the mar-ket is still there for the taking for those keen to take their business online, said Bryan Gan, who is the marketing trainer for a Facebook online business programme called “Fesbuk Power”.

He noted that only 5% of the 1.2 million small-time entre-preneurs use the online me-dium as a business channel.

“Of this 5%, not all will be successful, as their success will depend on their marketing methods and creativity in play-ing up their products to con-sumers,” Gan told Bernama.

Gan said social networ-king site, Facebook, is the most pow-erful medium at the moment for marketing, since the site has the largest number of users worldwide.

In Malaysia, from a total of 13 million Facebook users, about 25%-30% are bound to purchase products sold online.

“This figure is expected to go up from time to time, as people are also beginning to be more confident about making online purchases,” Gan stated.

“Nevertheless, it also de-pends on the marketing strate-gy entrepreneurs adopt to con-

vince consumers that their purchases will be smooth and secure,” he pointed out.

Traders who want to start conducting their businesses on-line would need to first identify the products they want to sell. Then they can sign up for a Fa-cebook account and start mar-keting their products, Gan ex-plained. To be even more effective, they should also con-sider opening a website or blog to provide more information about their products.

“Do not be disappointed if the account fails to record a high number of “likes”, as what is more important is consum-ers’ desire to make purchases,” he said.

Gan, who is also the founder of a fragrance product, “Scarf Perfume”, which he sells online, said entrepreneurs could gain much from going the online way, particularly if they know how to use the available technologies and adopt the right marketing strategy.

Unlike the conventional way, conducting business online will also cut down costs for traders, since no costs will be incurred for renting a business premise or paying salaries to workers. Simply with the right equipment, the business can be operated from home, which can cut down time and costs.

“However, entrepreneurs must first study the market be-fore spending money on devel-oping a product in order to avoid any losses,” Gan said.

Besides, with just a tap of their fingertips, entrepreneurs can explore online a wider market within a very short period of time. — Bernama

by LINDA ArCHIBALD

SMall and medium enter-prises (SMEs) in Asean mem-ber countries can and should ride on the Asean Korean Free-Trade Agreement (AKFTA) to grow their businesses and market share.

“With AKTFA ratifications, it is imperative for the Asean members of state SMEs to har-ness the potential business op-portunities by having greater understanding of the impor-tant information on regulatory requirements, benefits and op-portunities arising from the FTA agreement,” says SME Corp CEO Datuk Hafsah Hashim (picture).

Through the years, the trade volume between Korea and Asean member countries has increased persistently with to-tal trade amounting to US$124 billion (RM390.6 billion) in 2011, ranking the republic six out of 10 major trading part-ners in the region.

“Leveraging on that poten-tial and creating better eco-

nomic climate and liberalising trade barriers, the AKFTA was signed for goods in 2006 and for trade in services in 2007 while in August 2009, Asean and Korea signed an agree-ment on investment,” she said.

In the region, Hafsah add-ed, Korea has been one of the economic powerhouses of Asia with the amount of RM3.08 trillion trading value globally in 2011. According to Korean International Trade Association, Asean has been the third-largest trading part-ner, investment destination and the second-largest con-struction market besides the Middle East.

Korean SMEs which account for 99.9% of its enterprises and contribute 88% to its employ-

ment with 47.6% production rate have been resilient with a strong foundation to economic advancement of the economy. Products and services from Korean SMEs complement big conglomerates paving the way for them to establish them-selves as the major global force in electronics, heavy engineer-ing, creative technologies as well as multimedia.

She added that apart from the technology and innovation, Korea has begun to tap into their entertainment and cul-tural strength as one of the best-selling products from their local industry.

Hafsah said the Asean-Ko-rea SME Conference 2013 (AKSC 2013) which begins to-day at Kuala Lumpur Conven-tion Centre is an impetus to-wards growing the SME market potential in Asean countries and Korea alike.

In a recent weekly publica-tion, Hafsah estimated that this year’s business matching sessions at the conference are expected to generate potential sales valued approximately RM300 million, compared to last year’s RM278 million.

The two-day conference, co-organised by Malaysia’s Min-istry of International Trade and Industry (MITI), SME Corp and Korea’s Small and

Medium Business Corp, is rid-ing on the reputable SME An-nual Showcase — SMIDEX (June 12-14) hosted at the same venue.

The first day’s morning ses-sion sets the tone with AKFTA participating member states discussing the potential eco-nomic growth, market oppor-tunities and trade liberalisa-tion to be derived from AKFTA, and how businesses from among the countries who are signatories to AKFTA can lev-erage on potential trade oppor-tunities in Korea.

The panel of speakers to be featured here include repre-sentatives from the Korean In-ternational Trade Association, representatives from the inter-national chambers of com-merce from Asean member states, and Korean Embassy’s Minister and Consul General Yoon Sang Soo.

The keynote address will be delivered by Korean Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy DG Dr Toh Kyung-hwan, while Malaysia’s high-profile former minister of MITI Tan Sri Rafidah Aziz, who now is at the helm of AirAsia X Sdn Bhd as its chairman, will also be delivering a paper.

The first day session culmi-nates with a sharing on valu-able insights innovation and

how SMES in the region can capitalise on this for their businesses. The panelists in-clude Thailand’s Small and Medium Enterprise Promo-tion deputy DG of office Dr Wimonkan Kasumas, MPDA Global Co Ltd CEO and found-er Won Sangho and Singa-pore’s HistoIndex Pte Ltd MD Dr Dean Tai.

The second day will com-mence at the Exhibition Halls, with a business matching ses-sion followed by a tour of SMI-DEX 2013, and then a Pocket Talk.

After the Networking Lunch, participants will adjourn to the conference for a presentation of SME success stories from across Asia and Korea featu-ring Philippines’ Hi Las Mar-keting Corp’s president Rober-to Amores, Korea’s Mirtec Co Ltd’s CEO Pak Chan Wha and Thailand’s Tao Kae Noi Pte Ltd founder and MD Aitthipat Ku-lapongvanich.

Before the day culminates with closing remarks from Hafsah, the participants will get a glimpse into the booming creative industry in Korea and the budding Malaysian crea-tive industry, who’s been learn-ing from their big brothers in Korea.

The panelists here include Korea Tourism Organisation

MD Yun Jaeyin, Creative Con-tent Association of Malaysia’s CEO Datuk Mohd Mahyidin Mustakim and Korea Creative Content Agency researcher Lee Yang-hwan.

SMIDEX, which has been running as an annual land-mark event for 16 years now, highlights the capabilities of Malaysian SMES in offering products, services and tech-nolog ies for t he g loba l market.

The theme for this year’s SMIDEX event “SMEs Chang-ing the Game” was chosen in line with the launch of the SME Master Plan 2012-2020, which has been dubbed by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Mohd Najib Razak as the “Game Changer”.

To date, almost 400 have confirmed participation in the conference with companies ac-counting for more than half of the participants, while over 50 international businesses and agencies, and over 50 members from the academia. The rest are representatives from gov-ernment agencies and financial institutions.

The participants at the con-ference also include 30 Korean delegates and about 30 dele-gates from Asean member states. SMIDEX is expected to draw 15,000 visitors this year.

Asean SMEs can leverage on AKFTA

Many bosses find themselves in leadership positions without ever having consciously made the choice of becoming a lead-er, let alone a great leader.

The “Peter Pr inciple”, (named after it’s originator L Peter) states that in modern or-ganisations, most bosses rise to the level of their least compe-tence, like the specialist (eg ac-countant, engineer, lawyer etc) who is so good at their craft that they get promoted to a management posit ion in “charge of people” without having mastered any real lead-ership skills. And then they bomb. It’s not their fault, they were promoted into the posi-tion with little or no training or mentoring...it’s sink or swim.

In some cases GlobalEvent Asia came across, well inten-tioned promises of leadership development, coaching or men-toring were made to the leader when they were appointed, only to fall by the wayside be-cause more pressing business matters crowded out the hours in the new leader’s day.

If you are in this position, or you know someone who is (your boss?), helpful advice is available. Just read on...

Developing High Performance LeadershipLike a captain of a sporting team or a general of an army, leaders need to innovate, in-spire, excite or provide a clear vision to others. They hold and believe in a vision and just as importantly, have the self-be-lief and conviction to commu-nicate it to others. Furthermore, leaders do not have definitive

characteristics. Some inspire and organise, whereas others are strategic or tactical, spot opportunit ies or protect against disaster.

Leadership is a journey of discovery. It is the expression of a person at his or her best whose aim is to transform something for the better and to develop this potential in others. It is not a solitary pur-suit but one that harnesses the energy of those around you.

A manager can implement processes, monitor perform-ance, set business goals and objectives and generally take care of the day-to-day needs of t hei r sta f f. However achieving authentic leader-ship takes more than text-book management skills.

No one can argue that a great leader can boost an or-ganisation’s growth and per-formance in much the same way a poor leader can run one into the ground. But what makes a leader effective or in-effective is a more nebulous concept to pin down.

What Makes a Good Leader?The leadership qualities that are required to make a good high performance leader can vary in different companies, teams and situations.

According to Jim Kouzes, author of the best-seller “The Leadership Challenge,” the qualities that make an effective leader have two distinct per-spectives: what followers look for and what research from the past few decades has shown.

1) People want a leader who’s honest, trustworthy and has integrity;

2) They want someone who is forward-looking, who has a vi-sion of the future, foresight and

thinks about the long-term;3) People want a leader who

is competent, has expertise, knows what they’re doing; and

4) A leader who is inspiring, dynamic, energetic, optimistic and positive about the future.

Leadership Styles of High Performance LeadersGlobal business leaders are over-reliant on a single leadership style (coercive style), demotivat-ing employees and holding back organisational performance as a result, says new research from global management consultancy Hay Group.

As reported by The Economic Times of India on April 4, 2013, the study is based on an analy-sis of Hay Group’s Leadership Styles and Organisational Cli-mate data, covering 95,000 leaders in over 2,200 organisa-tions across the world. Some people have one style of leader-ship, which is fine if they can find a situation that requires that style of leadership.

Flexible leadership, however, involves being able to adapt your leadership style according to the situation and the state of the team — eg: taking charge when a team is forming but playing the role of coach when a team is managing itself well.

Also, the need to change one’s leadership style accord-ing to the circumstances is one of the fundamental principles underlying popular models such as Situational Leadership (developed by Blanchard and Hersey in the late 1960s).

Having said that, the coercive or autocratic style of leadership is the least successful of all. It would be a good idea to develop a more involving style that gives you the benefit of ex-change with and commitment

from the people around you. This approach is especially use-ful to people within positions like yours who, by definition, can’t tell others what to do (very often) and get away with it.

If you have not learned the skills of working cooperatively with others in ways that allow them to see you as a leader, then learn those skills. If you find yourself dictating direction to people who regularly resist your well-intentioned efforts, then learn more participatory skills. When you have the skills, you can call on them. Without them, you are stuck with doing what you have done in the past, and you will get similar results.

ConclusionFor Asian’s budding leaders to compete with the world’s best, senior managers need to em-brace the latest techniques of human leadership develop-ment. The price of not doing so will create plenty of managers, but very few leaders.

Finally, remember: Leader-ship is a journey, not some-thing that can be learned on a five-day training course. It requires time and reflection.

This article is contributed by Professor Sattar Bawany who will be delivering his talk in this upcoming Leadership Master Class seminar on July 3, 2013, Seri Pacific Hotel, Kuala Lumpur, with other distinguished international speakers to add to the impact as well: Paul Dunn, Karen Schmidt and Laurenz Koehler, all of them focusing on High Performance Leadership. Please visit www.globaleventasia.com for further information.

Achieving high performance leadership the global way

Asean-Korea SME Conference participants to draw from S. Korean success stories

A L L B U S I N E S S D A I L Y

24 • WEDNESDAY • JUNE 12, 2013Enterprise

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Online business potential remains largely untapped

Prof Sattar Bawany

www.smecorp.gov.my