NST Internet Home Business Interviews

A week ago I did an interview with NST (New Straits Times) of Malaysia. You can get the full article here, but it looks like for the second time the NST editors did a massive editing job on my artice (the first was about MySpace). I’m considering if I should waste my time again in the future, maybe I should go to The Star they could probably do a better job
Here’s the full interview, with some very useful information what was unfortunately left out:

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Full Unedited Version of NST Interview, 11th May 2007.

How do you generate income from the Net?

I am in the information marketing business, which means that I sell ebooks, software or any other solutions that help other business owners to improve their own Internet based business. As long as there is a need for information on a certain market, I will survey that market, find the solutions, package it and sell it on the internet.

How much do you make (a ballpark figure if you do want to disclose the actual sum)

I make between RM20,000 to RM30,000 per month, depending on the trends and the amount of sales. By end of the year my earnings will reach close to RM100,000 a month or hopefully, more than that.

Based on your estimates, how many such people are there in Malaysia?

As a matter of fact, I’m probably one the first people in Malaysia to conduct an extensive survey of over 1000 people in Malaysia who are interested in starting their own small Internet based business. From my research, the market in Malaysia is very new to the idea of making money online. About 67% said they have just discovered the idea, and have yet to try it. 33% said they have started in some way, and only 3% are actually making money from the Internet on a consistent basis.

Most of these results will be analyzed and discussed in my upcoming book, which will be published around August 2007.

What are their main sources of income (Google Adsense perhaps?)

Google Adsense is probably the easiest way to make money online, as all you need to do it put some codes on your website and make sure you get as much traffic as possible to those sites.

However, there are so many other ways. I have personally interviewed over 12 local entrepreneurs on my site TheMalaysianRevolution.com and from that I can see that the other popular methods are selling on Ebay or auction sites, selling products via a dropshippers, selling advertising space, selling as an affiliate for a commission, and much more.

So each person’s source of income varies according to what market he targets, and how he approaches that market.

Tell us something about yourself (eg age, edu background, how you got started).

I’m actually from a small town in Johor called Kluang, and that’s where I grew up. I graduated from Multimedia University in 2002 with a Bachelor of Business Administration majoring in Multimedia Marketing. As relevant as that may seem, in 2005 when I decided to go full time with my own internet business I had to learn everything from scratch, by trial and error.

Prior to that, I was working in Telekom Malaysia Berhad as a sales & account executive for almost 4 years since I graduated. I realized that a 9-5 job doing something meaningless was not what I wanted my future to look like, so I decided to take a risk and I can’t say that I regret it.

What you enjoy most doing this?

I enjoy the fact that every extra hour I put into my own business translated to more income for me. And you can actually see this happening in a few weeks or months, so you get a sense of closure and accomplishment.

I also enjoy the freedom of time that I have now, to go where I choose, do what I choose, when I choose.

What are the drawbacks?

The drawback is that you’re now in charge of everything. If you fail to plan both short-term and long-term goals, it’s only a matter of time before you face difficulties in your business. But if you can have the discipline to do what you’re supposed to do every day, there are no drawbacks.

It’s certainly better for me now than any job or business I’ve tried in the past.

How do newbies identify money-making scams?

Basically if it’s too good to be true, it’s a probably a scam. Anything that promises you can make money on the Internet without any capital or work is something you should be wary of. Just a like an ordinary business, it takes capital, time, and dedication to make it work.

Gobala Krishnan
www.gobalakrishnan.com

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Besides me, 2 other Malaysians were featured, Liew CF and Alang. I have a free podcast interview with Alang that you can download, and I also have interviews with Liew CF and many other Malaysian entrepreneurs on my Internet Marketing Malaysia site.

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