Changes for 2017

Its the last day of the year. Tomorrow a new year will dawn. Its going to be a year of uncertainty for me. I do not know what the year will bring forth. I have been accepted into this new core team focusing on new projects. What it means is that I will be taking on a new task. It will be back to the working ways that I am used to but the big difference is there will be no salary at the end of the month. How much I get will depend on how many houses I can sell. The new year will also see Akid and Maisarah starting their preschool. That will be another change to the household routine. On weekdays, they will be occupied although only till 12 noon. From now on, going for holidays will only be possible during the school holidays. Those are the few but very significant changes that will happen in 2017.

Hope for the best

The year is ending soon. Very soon it will be 2017, a brand new year. For me, 2016 was the year of mix fortune. This is the year I lost my job because I had to retire when I reached the age of sixty. Since that time in July, I have been in a limbo. Tried a few things in order to make up for the lost of a steady income but up to the end of the year, nothing has worked out. As of this moment, I am still trying. A few days ago, I went for an interview to be part of a project team to be formed by my company to sell in the primary market. It is something new. Never done before in the company. Anyway, this team is going to be different because it is going to be a core team. There will be rules and regulation to follow, working hours to adhere to, a boss to report to etc. In other words, its more like the working environment I am used to. I thought maybe it is better for me that way. Working alone on my own, I find it a bit of a challenge. The interview done. Now I just hope for the best. 

Where to?

At a wedding

Was at a wedding in Banting over the weekend. Been a long time since I was in Banting. Must be over thirty years. The place has changed so much I hardly recognised the old town. One thing for sure, there's too many traffic lights to go through once you reached the town. As long as there is no highway to bypass the town, the traffic lights will continue to be a nuisance. Just like those with the towns of Slim River, Tapah , Kampar etc when going up north or Kulai, Air Hitam etc when going down south.

Wedding

At the mosque in Banting before the Akad Nikah.

Could it be dengue?

Akid has been having carrying a fever for a few days. The problem is it is on and off. That's why we did not bring him to see the doctor all this while as he would be okay for example in the morning. Then at night he would be sick with his body temperature high. Then okay again then sick again. However, last night, his body temperature was very high. I could feel it when I touched him. He was very sick. We had to douse his body with wet towel. Even then it did not really subside. We were worried sick. Could it be dengue? Come morning, we decided he had to see the doctor. Alhamdulillah, it was confirmed it is not dengue. Just the normal sickness. A shot to the butt by the doctor did the trick. He was okay. Hopefully, it remains, in sha Allah.  

Not Dr Maza

I was busy the whole Wednesday preparing for my ceramah at the surau and attending a meeting with a developer in Sunway. We are promoting their units but the respond has been below expectation. The meeting was to discuss ways on how to improve things. Later in the day I did my ceramah. At the end of it, I mentioned that I leave it to the surau to decide if my once a month ceramah should continue because after almost a year, I have nothing more to say on the Quran, the topic I am teaching now. Personally, I was hoping that this would be my last ceramah as I do not know what else to talk about the next time. I am not Dr Maza with lots of knowledge. I am not Kazim Elias either who can get peoples' attention by talking freely off the cuff. Fortunately or unfortunately, the answer was I should continue. Hmmm.....now, I have to think about what to talk come my next ceramah. It is a challenge alright!

Hospitalised

What was supposed to be a routine check at the hospital turned out to be a nightmare for Munirah. It was going to be a simple injection and then we go home but the doctor found her not to be in the best state of health. She had difficulty in breathing. Actually she was sick the day before but had recovered before the appointment with the doctor. Nevertheless, when the doctor said she need to be warded to clear her breathing difficulties, who are we to argue? There began her nightmare so much so that she has become scared of the nurses. Every time they come, they will do something to her like giving injection, medicine etc. Alhamdulillah, after a day, she was allowed home. Otherwise, things would have been complicated on the home front with Akid and Maisarah to think off.

A different kind of blues

Its Monday again. If before, its Monday blues because its means going back to work after a weekend that is never long enough, now its Monday blues because I have to start thinking about what to do in the week ahead, with regards to my real estate business. If before, the weekdays ahead are already full with meetings, reports to complete, discussions, presentations and whatever else, now the weekdays ahead are void of anything. I have to think and plan what to do. I have to find things to do that will enhance my chances in the business. Meet friends, call people, read the papers for listing opportunities, update my e media advertisements, read relevant books etc. Most of all, I have to let as many people as possible to know about my new profession. From one of this people, I might find my break.

Munirah is reaching nine

Its a fact

Its back to the drawing board with regards to my real estate business. After my foray into the primary market resulting in the secondary market being neglected a bit, I am now looking again at the secondary market. Both markets are important I guess. Meantime I am busy putting up a plan on how to go about doing my business. I am making good use of my knowledge of the balanced scorecard to give some clarity on the target, business direction, strategy, action plans, budget and the key performance index. My main worry is that after having all that, I may not be able to follow them religiously. The best laid out plan means nothing if it is not followed through. 90%  of fortune 500 companies faced this problem. Its a fact.

Reinforced our decision

Made a day trip to Malim Nawar  yesterday for a wedding of the wife's cousin. It is nothing if only the two of us were to make the trip but with the kids in tow, the stress level doubled or even tripled. Anyway, alhamdulillah, its over and done with. We reached home safely at almost seven in the evening, although for sure tired and worn out. The traffic was okay given the school holidays. After our trip to Penang in July, it was so stressful that we made a decision not to travel anymore until the children grows up. For short trips okay but not far. The trip yesterday only reinforced our decision.

What?

As usual, back from the morning prayer at the surau, I will read the quran a bit, memorise a bit and finally hitting the keyboard of my laptop after that. This morning, I am busy finding ideas for my 'ceramah' which will be next Wednesday. Don't want to fall into the trap of being too academic like the last ceramah where it bored people to death. I want to make it an easy listening experience, where everybody is connected and having fun. I don't have enough knowledge to be like Dr Maza. I don't have the talking skills to be like Ustaz Kazim or Ustaz Azhar Idrus but I have to find something that make the ceramah interesting! What?

Where am I

Another day, another week, another month. I am still finding my footing in this real estate business. At one time, I thought the primary market provides the better opportunity but after a while, it seems to me that the secondary market should remain as the main focus. At one time I was busy looking for houses to sell in the secondary market but I got distracted by opportunities that came along in the primary market. However, things are not like what they seem so I have started to put in more effort in the secondary market again. Its a merry go round. People have tens of listing while I have none. People are selling at least one house a month while I am struggling to make my first sale. People have new leads everyday while the few that I have go cold after a while. Am I doing things right or am I doing the right thing?

Passion is the key

It needs a different set of skills to work on my own. I can set targets, prepare a budget, devise strategies and make action plans. It is not a problem for me as I have been doing them for years. The problem is will I have the discipline to actually execute them? That's the word, discipline. Without discipline, even the best plan means nothing. The other is the motivating factor. When working for other people, the motivating factor is not a problem as there are many. Bosses, subordinates, deadlines, meeting, presentations etc. Working on my own, the motivating factor is simply not there! Money? Yes but its not enough cause there are other ways to make money. Why should I be in the real estate business? Now I am beginning to understand it when people say passion is the main motivating factor. You must love what you are doing more than anything else. The passion must be there first. The money will come later, as a direct consequence of your passion. 

Rubber time

My almost perfect timing has always been a problem for me. Whenever there's an appointment, I am always on time. In fact I make it a point to be early. I then hang around before finally showing up at the appointed place about five to. Very very rarely I am late. So, what is the problem? The problem is other people are always late. Most of the time, I will be the first one to arrive. The rest will come, almost inevitably, later than the appointed time. Sometimes more than half an hour late, or even much later. Many a times, even the one who organised the meeting is late. I don't understand it but that's the culture. Being late means nothing to most people. Its a normal thing to do. For people like me, it really is a problem because I am wasting my time, waiting, waiting and waiting.  

Do more

Now I have everything I needed to have as a property agent. I have my name card, I have my Real Estate Negotiator (REN) tag, I have joined the e media platform such as propertyguru and I property, I have attended training and I am attached to a Real Estate Company. All I need now is to start doing my business. Not that I have not started. In fact I started more than a month ago but now, with all the tools at my disposal, I should be able to do better.  I need to do more. To try my best.

Yesterday

I went to the office in Ampang yesterday for a short while to collect my tag. After that I printed my name card. It took only forty five minutes to print 300 cards. I had actually ordered through my office but after more than two weeks, it is still nowhere to be seen. That's when I decided to do on my own. Never thought it is so easy. I was at home by half past three when I thought I had to go to the burial ceremony of a cousin who has passed away earlier in the day. I did not plan on going because I thought the house is far away. When I got the address, it is nearby, about ten minutes drive from my house. Was there twice, after the 'asar' prayer and after the 'maghrib' prayer when the burial was finally done. Inna lillahi wa inna ilaihi rajiun.

Tough going

Its tough going in the property business or for that matter, working on your own. It is so unlike what I am used to, working for people and getting paid at the end of the month. Now I am working for myself. It takes some time getting used to it. Thinking back, this is what I have always wanted to do, work for myself. Even during my working days, I was always wanting to one day be on my own. I wanted to do things for myself, set my own direction, have my own plan, do what I want with, work when I want, take leave when I want. Now that I am on my own, I am beginning to learn that it is not as easy as I think. It's really tough.

Solving problems

Busy working from a mamak stall in Ampang. That's the beauty of being a real estate negotiator. You can be working from anywhere. I had two clients calling wanting me to help them sell their houses while at the mamak stall. At the same time, I was busy updating my data and following up on prospective clients. The more I get into this business, the more I get the feeling that this business is not about selling houses. Its more about finding solutions to help people solve their problems. That's what I do. I help solve peoples' problems. By solving their problems, I gained their trust. Gaining their trust means gaining more business. That's how it is.

My first lesson

I was at Cyberjaya in the morning on Friday visiting a new housing development area. Have been involved in trying to sell the units by doing cold calling to prospective clients. With a free car to boot plus thousands in cash rebate, it should have been an easy sell but its not. Anyway, there was one client who showed a lot on interest, asking a lot of info. Me, being a rookie, gave him everything. With all the information given, he knows exactly where the place is, who the developer is etc. As a result, I have strong reason to believe that he went and bought a unit directly from the developer without going through me. Sigh...... That happens sometime and it had to be me. Its a lesson well learned. I take it positively and move on. There's no use crying over split milk. If Allah says its mine, I will get it, no matter what. If Allah says its not mine, I will not get it, no matter what.

A fruitful day

Was in Amcorp Mall in PJ this morning for breakfast with some friends. It may be just a breakfast but to me, it is part of my work, networking. That's the beauty of being a real estate negotiator. I'm working even when I'm indulging in empty talk with friends at a restaurant. Later in the day, went to Sunway for some real hard work. This time cold calling sessions. Was there till about 4pm. I enjoyed it. A valuable learning experienced. Established some leads which could be the starting point for better things in the future. On the way home to Gombak, stopped at a print shop to do some printing. By the time I reached home, it was almost 6.30pm. It has been a fruitful day to say the least.

Its for real

Come to think of it, I should be excited because I am living in an exciting time. Yes, exciting time because I am living out my MBA. Its for real. When I was doing my MBA, it was just lessons and theory. Say what I want, it is still classroom. No real hard stuff. Later, while working, I was doing business development for a while but then again, it is not the same. I still get my salary at the end of the month, even if I failed to garner new businesses. Today, its for real, so real that I am afraid even to set a target for fear I might not be able to meet it and get discouraged. When there's no target, how can I plan and strategise? How then does the action plan fits in? Sigh.....in the real world, its totally different. I need to set a target, then go for it with a plan and strategy followed by action plan. Remember, if I don't have a plan, it means I plan to fail.

Disconnected

In terms of business, yesterday was not a good day. I didn't do much, business wise but in terms of my 'ceramah' at the local surau, yesterday was alright. I bought three books for my reading which I hope will help me when I am giving my talk. The last time I gave my talk, I made the mistake of treating it like a classroom lecture. It was too academic. As a result, I didn't connect with the listeners. I knew that when giving talks at the surau, it should not be of a heavy stuff but light, easy listening banter that would be simple to understand. Somehow, I forgot about it. As a result, I was told that it was too high a stuff, more suitable for serious students rather than for people who are  sitting in a relax atmosphere at the surau while waiting for Isya to come.

At the blue mosque

Yesterday, I was in Shah Alam in the afternoon for some business related thing. I had plenty of time to spare once I did what I wanted to do. Therefore, when it comes to praying time, where else would I be except at the my favourite mosque, the blue mosque. The mosque never cease to amaze me with the hive of activity going on. Yesterday was no different. There were groups of school children, teenagers, ladies group, adults etc. Its a mosque that is alive!

Rain rain go away

Sunday was spent mainly at home. Play with the kids, go to the surau, read the papers, read the quran, send e mails etc. It rained on Saturday the whole day but Sunday was okay, no rain although in the morning, the sky was dark and the clouds look heavy. That's quite normal in December when the north east monsoon wind comes blowing. Floods will start to come in the east coast. Two years ago the flood was massive but last year it was normal. This year, floods already happening in a few states but not that big. Hope it will remain that way although the rain is quite persistent. Almost everyday it will come. I can't remember a time when it was like this. Everyday I had to put on my raincoat when riding my motorbike. Matter of fact, I wanted to go jogging on Sunday but decided against it because the clouds were darkening.

The perfect proffesion

I am beginning to like my new profession. Its a different way of making a living, for me at least. What I like most about it is the flexibility of the hours. There's no working hours. I work when I like and don't work when I like. Nobody cares. I can be at a mamak stall by myself but I am working. I can be socialising with friends somewhere but I am working. I can be playing golf or futsal but I am working. At the same time, personal needs does not get interrupted. I can go to the bank anytime I want. I can go to the market anytime I want. I can go to the mosque anytime I want. I can go jogging anytime I want. It keeps me busy but it also keeps me free. Wow! This is just great. At this age of mine, this is just what I needed. But there's one major drawback! There's no salary at the end of the month. If I don't sell, I don't get paid. In order to sell, I have to work. That's the catch. If only pay is given at the end of every month, this would be the perfect profession.

The selling will continue

These days rain is almost a certainty. The raincoat that I carry in my motorbike is becoming handy. Everyday I need to use it. Yesterday, the day before, last week......hmmm....everyday. If not in the morning, its in the afternoon. This morning, it was raining again. After the morning prayer, I had to run back to the house from the surau to escape the rain. Its a good exercise so early in the morning. I guess the rainy season will continue till January. Then the hot season will come back. As for me, rain or shine, life goes on. There's no rest. The selling will continue.

The primary market

Developers are building them everywhere. They are selling them as well. Some are sold out. Sometimes I wonder who are the buyers. They don't come cheap. Costing hundreds of thousands and mostly in the millions. But people are still buying although a bit slow. Very interesting.

Primary market tour

Went on a company sponsored primary market tour around KL. As I have said before, it seems to be that I am more involved in the primary rather than the secondary market. It is not by choice but the opportunities in the primary market presented itself. For a rookie like me, it is something I have to take with no hesitation whatsoever and give a try. After all, getting a listing in the secondary market is so damn hard. Here, the developers are giving them to me, albeit through the company. There are thirteen projects altogether with property worth more than 4billion ringgit to be sold. Mind you, there are more to come.  I need to digest them before trying to sell them.