This page provides SMEs easy access to local and international agencies and organisations that provide financial assistance and development programmes for SMEs.

SMEs can look forward to business opportunities, loans and grants as well as other forms of business help and assistance in Malaysia. It helps SMEs get information on improving capacity and productivity.

http://www.smecorp.gov.my/v4/node/4

Ms Loh Sub Mui, a HR generalist with 20+ years experience, will speak on the laws and challenges in terminating employees.

Ms Loh is a Group HR Manager with a locally established group of companies. Her work requires her to deal with industrial relations matters in both unionizes and non-unionized environment.

She got her B.Arts from University Malaya and later in life got her MBA from the University of Bath.

As she subscribes to lifelong learning, through the years she has also attended numerous training programs and has obtained certification in Coaching & Mentoring, Neuro-Lingistic Programing (Practitioner Certification), Human Performance Improvement and Myer-Briggs Type Indicators (Accreditation).

Book your seat (first come, first serve) by emailing your name and phone number to info@womenbizsense.com. Open to all women (members and guests). Free for WBS members. RM15 for guests.

Every business and entrepreneur will encounter many challenges on the road to success. Each of us may have different experiences but the learning can be shared and applied. Three ladies from our group will be sharing with us what are their individual secrets to personal success:

Find out how Amrit and her financial planning agency won the best agency award in Malaysia from AIA.

Jenny who owns an accounting firm shares how she identifies opportunities in a competitive market and overcome those challenges.

Get to know the latest about foreign maid policies while learning how Lynn who runs a maid supply business manages the ever changing maid supply issues.

Use their tips to motivate teams/your staff, identify opportunities in a competitive market and manage uncertainty. These are crucial skills for all of us in running businesses.

This talk is open to all women. Bring a friend along or simply help to circulate this message around.

Free for WBS members and RM15 for guests (to cover tea and refreshments). Reserve your seat today by emailing your name and phone number to info@womenbizsense.com or visit: www.womenbizsense.com

But then I ask a follow-up question: “What are you doing right now to market yourself?” And what I hear back is surprising, given the answers to my first question. More than half the people I ask tell me their primary focus is on something OTHER than those answers. They’ll tell me they are building a new website, or mailing out postcards, or running pay-per-click ads, or cold calling strangers, or launching a Facebook page, or exhibiting at an expo, or posting promos on Twitter.

Read full article by CY Hayden HERE.

Muzlifah Yusoff, our facilitatior of the day, guided us on how to create our vision and mission for our businesses.Muzlifah comes with extensive experience in HR management in multinationals, having been one of the earliest staff of Intel Malaysia. She took us through a short exercise where we discussed our goals for 2012 (see below for the presentation slides).

We shared too our vision and mission for WomenBizSENSE (see slides below) to give members an idea of what we want to be and how they can support us on our journey too.

Members are encouraged to renew their membership before 31 March in order to receive our early renewal specials – a calendar of food vouchers sponsored by Pristine Creation. To renew your membership, please get in touch with Kristine, our Membership Committee at 012 476 7076.

Recap of WBS Events in 2011 by Krista Goon

Sharing of what’s coming up in the first half of 2012 by Josephine Yoong

Muzlifah Yusoff’s Vision Creation Exercise

She poses some challenging questions frequently raised in sales and marketing conversations and suggestions for how to respond.

Read full article HERE.

WomenBizSENSE is delighted that we have managed to get Muzlifah Yusoff to facilitate our Vision and Goals sharing session at this meeting.

She brings with her some 30 years of experience in Human Resources and Senior Management in several multi-nationals including that of Visioning and Goal setting that successful companies do.

Don’t forget to bring your friends if they are keen to know more about WBS. This is a great time to have them meet us and network with other women in business.

We look forward to meeting you after a long break!

This year, we are having a Chinese New Year Celebration Dinner on 4 February (Saturday) at OH Sushi Restaurant, Straits Quay, 7pm and we want to invite all WBS members to come join us. As always, costs will be shared among all. This is open to WBS members only.

After dinner (around 8.45pm), we will adjourn to Level 3A of Straits Quay where the Penang Performing Arts Centre is to watch a comedy performance called “Three and a half men” Live in Penang (at RM38 per person). This is optional – you can opt to just attend the dinner but we hope you will take this chance to watch a truly funny and engaging comedy in support of our Malaysian arts scene. This is open to your spouses and children so get them to meet you at this time at this venue if they want to watch this (RM38 per person).

Three and a half men comedy performance in Penang

If your husband or family would like to watch this performance too, they are much welcome! The only thing which is ladies only is our CNY Dinner. Other than that, men and children can join us at 8.45pm as we watch this truly Malaysian comedy (it starts at 9pm).

“Three and a half men” are played by the MACC (Malaysian Association of Chinese Comedians), ruled by underground overlord Douglas Lim, with gangster-rat-acting-as-police, Kuah Jenhan, and police-rat-acting-as-gangster, Phoon Chi Ho. Find out more about them on Facebook.

As we need to get tickets for the show as well as decide the dinner reservation, please let us know if you wish to attend the dinner only or dinner and show.

RSVP to Pauline Ang (012 467 4733) BEFORE 30 JANUARY.

As we come to the close of this year 2011, we want to take this opportunity to thank each and everyone of you who are what ‘makes’ WomenBizSENSE.

We are grateful for the many capable, dynamic, determined women entrepreneurs who have joined us over the last few years. Let’s continue to work together towards our vision of WBS being a role model women entrepreneur organisation!

This is possible not only with your participation but your input, ideas to grow WBS as well as your sharing to help build up other women in business.

We hope through our events and ties formed, you and your business may receive greater profile, leads and connections as well as giving you a support group to journey on in the often challenging business arena.

EVENTS THIS YEAR

This year we have:

• celebrated members’ new biz and expansions
• provided networking opportunities
• been inspired by the stories/ experiences of other women in biz
• connected with biz related govt agencies
• held seminar about practical aspects of ethical leadership
• as well as organising interesting social events and community outreach.

(You can see all the photos and recap of these events at http://womenbizsense.sites.redboxhosting.com/events-activities/past-events/)

Our event at House of Hope capped the year for WBS. We usually do not have any meetings for December as we know this is a time for you to take a holiday with your family, prepare for next year and simply just re-charge and be with your loved ones.

NEXT YEAR’S DATES

We can look forward to more exciting events, opportunities and learning experiences together at WBS in 2012!

In fact our dates for the first 6 months of the year are already up.

A big thank you again to our dedicated committee who have been the driving force behind WBS. As they ask for your help to organise meetings, etc this coming year, please do get involved as we value your contribution greatly.

May you be refreshed this year end so that you may have the vision and strength to enter 2012.

We wish all of you and your families a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.

May God bless you!

With blessings,
Josephine