Entrepreneurship demands perseverance, commitment

KUALA LUMPUR: An entrepreneur is commonly defined as an individual who organises and operates a business and takes on financial risk to do so. However, over the years, its definition has varied from a person who responds to change and exploits opportunities to one who successfully imitates technologies innovated by others.

Source from (Business Times): http://www.btimes.com.my/Current_News/BTIMES/articles/punbrup/Article/
Published: March 11, 2013

Whatever the definition, one thing for certain is that entrepreneurship demands perseverance and commitment for without these, the ventures would not bear fruits.

Three entrepreneurs, namely Nizam Razak, Noraini Soltan and Noraini Ahmad, are proof that with perseverance and commitment, nothing is impossible.

Nizam, a Multimedia University graduate, has achieved much more than one can expect from a 29-year-old.

The Animonsta Studios managing director is best known as the creator/director of the popular "BoBoiBoy" and "Upin & Ipin" series and Malaysia's First 3D animated feature film "Geng: Pengembaraan Bermula", which was the second highest-grossing local film at RM6.3 Million.

In 2011, he was named the Tokoh Negara during Merdeka and Hari Malaysia Parade for his contribution towards the animation industry. Last year, he was awarded Tokoh Inovasi 2012 by UiTM and Ikon Belia Johor by the state government.

Nizam said as the managing director, he is directly involved in all aspects of his business, from scriptwriting, animation production, film directing to business dealings and international sales.

He said he aims to position the company as a brand and content developer that brings fresh content with good values to the universal market.

While success seems to come quite easily for Nizam, it was different for the founder and managing director of Sipro Plastics Industries Sdn Bhd, Noraini Soltan.

She recalled how hard it was for her to finance her capital-intensive business, which is involved in the manufacturing and assembly of plastic components.

Lady Luck was, however, on her side as in the second year of operation, Perbadanan Usahawan Nasional Bhd agreed to provide the initial capital to develop her business.

The company has also received various government grants, including from SME Corporation.

Noraini said she is grateful for the various government agencies' support.

If in 1992, the company was just a small plant with just three employees and two plastic moulding machine.

It now has 148 employees operating 45 machines in three factories in Selangor and Kedah.

Noraini said while it was not easy for her initially, her courage and persistence has indeed paid off handsomely.

The company manufactures and supplies products to large corporations in the automotive and electronics industries such as Panasonic, Sony, Toyota, Mitsubishi, Daihatsu, Perodua, Proton, Modenas, Yamaha and Honda HICOM.

Sipro Plastics has been growing at an average of 35 per cent per year and Noraini said she is confident the company can achieve RM100 million in sales by 2014.

Noraini Ahmad, meanwhile, has a different beginning in business which went as far back as 1984.

Her venture into the cookie-making business began with her naming her products Noraini's Cookies, which were supplied to five-star hotels in search of tasty traditional cookies and delicacies.

Noraini Ahmad's success could not come any sweeter when her products became popular by the day that she had to expand in a big way to meet the demand.

As her business grew, she established Noraini Cookies Worldwide Sdn Bhd in April 2013 and later it was named Noraini Enterprise Sdn Bhd as it specialises in high quality and halal cookies.

Operating from its plant in Shah Alam, Selangor, the company produces thousands of cookies a day to meet the rising demand from local and international companies.