INTERNATIONAL COLLEGE OF ADVANCED TECHNOLOGY SARAWAK IN

COLLABORATION WITH IUKL

COURSE TITLE: BASIC ENTREPNEURSHIP

COURSE CODE: BUSS 2312

Project: Understanding of the Characteristic of Entrepreneurships

PREPARED BY:

1) JUSTIN JELAN ANAK JACK

(2019311830)

LECTURER:

Madam Nurashikin Binti Nazer Mohamed

1.0 Introduction

An entrepreneur is an individual who creates a new business, bearing most of

the risks and enjoying most of the rewards. The entrepreneur is commonly seen as an
innovator, a source of new ideas, goods, services, and business/or procedures.
[ CITATION Ada20 \l 17417 ]

Entrepreneurs play a key role in any economy, using the skills and initiative
necessary to anticipate needs and bring good new ideas to market. Entrepreneurs who
prove to be successful in taking on the risks of a start-up are rewarded with profits,
fame, and continued growth opportunities. Those who fail, suffer losses and become
less prevalent in the markets.[ CITATION Ada20 \l 17417 ]

Entrepreneurs develop, design, produce, market, and eventually sell businesses

with the end goal of financial profit. They own and operate everything from small
shoe stores to tech start-ups. There are entrepreneurs behind every business in the
country, no matter what the size and scope. Such examples of successful company are
Coca Cola, Microsoft, Facebook, Amazon, McDonald's etc. [ CITATION Car20 \l 17417 ]

 Several Malaysian entrepreneurs are among the 300 from 23 Asia-Pacific

countries listed in the Forbes 30 Under 30 Asia this year.
Forbes said the group of young stars were chosen from over 2,000 entries, heavily
researched by a team of reporters and vetted by an A-list of judges for their work in
technological innovations and disrupting age-old industries, among others. [ CITATION
The191 \l 17417 ]

In this report study, Tan Sri Dr. Anthony Francis Fernandes will be chosen as
successful entrepreneur in Malaysia. “Now everyone can fly,” is the famous tagline
for AirAsia. He is the man behind the successful low-cost airline is none other than
the Malaysian-British entrepreneur, Tony Fernandes. Fernandes, the founder of Tune
Air, is responsible for introducing Malaysia’s first low-cost airline, AirAsia, and has
turned it from a failing government-linked commercial property into a highly
lucrative public-listed airline company. Fernandes also lobbied the idea of open skies
agreement with Thailand, Indonesia and Singapore to Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamed in
the mid-2003.[ CITATION The15 \l 17417 ]
2.0 Background

Tan Sri Dr. Anthony Francis Fernandes PSM SSAP SPMP DPTJ CBE is
based on Malaysian entrepreneur. He is the founder of Tune Air Sdn. Bhd., who
introduced the first budget no-frills airline, which was later announced as AirAsia.
The most well-known tagline for airline company in Asia that he ever made was
"Now everyone can fly". [ CITATION Wik17 \l 17417 ]

Fernandes was born in Kuala Lumpur on 30 April 1964 to a Goan father and a
mother of mixed Indian (Tamil) and Asian-Portuguese (Kristang) descent who had
been raised in Malacca, Malaysia. At a young age, he would follow his mother who
sold Tupperware at Tupperware parties. He was educated at The Alice Smith School
in Kuala Lumpur. Starting at age 12, from 1976 to 1983, he studied at Epsom College
boarding school in England. He matriculated to the London School of Economics and
graduated with a degree in accounting.[ CITATION Wik17 \l 17417 ]

He followed Branson’s own trajectory of beginning in the music industry,

working for Virgin after graduation. When the music industry failed to adapt quickly
to the internet, Tony Fernandes decided to make a clean break. He left his job to
pursue a childhood dream: set up an Asia's first low cost airline. [ CITATION Lim16 \l
17417 ]

In 2001, aged 37, he made his move into airlines by snapping up AirAsia, then
a troubled, state-owned airline that had run up large debts, for one ringgit, or around
20p. According to Forbes magazine, he now has an estimated personal wealth of
around £400m. He was made a CBE in 2011.[ CITATION Lim16 \l 17417 ]

The branding of Fernandes’s airline felt like Branson’s Virgin, down to the
colour scheme and logo typeface, but the bigger inspiration was the boom in low-cost
flying that was transforming Europe’s flight maps. Soon the fleet was expanding
rapidly, and within a decade AirAsia was flying 30 million passengers annually.
[ CITATION Lim16 \l 17417 ]
3.0 Success Story / Achievement
Fernandes' biggest achievement has been to turn the AirAsia airline into an
international carrier. Before the creation of AirAsia, countries in the region did not have
open-skies agreements. In mid-2003, Fernandes' lobbying pushed Dr Mahathir to raise the
idea with the leaders of neighbouring Thailand, Indonesia, and Singapore. As a result,
those nations have granted landing rights to AirAsia and other discount carriers.
Fernandes opened up the budget carrier sector in the region. Now, Southeast Asia hosts a
number of low-price carriers such as:

 Malaysia's Firefly (owned by Malaysia Airlines)

 Singapore’s Tiger Airways (owned by Singapore Airlines);

 Singapore’s Scoot (owned by Singapore Airlines);

 Singapore’s Valuair and Jetstar Asia (partly owned by Qantas Airways) (both
airlines merged in 2005);

 Thailand's Nok Air;

 Vietnam's Jetstar Pacific (formerly Pacific Airlines), and

 Philippines's Cebu Pacific.

Source: [ CITATION Liq20 \l 17417 ]

In Thailand and Indonesia, AirAsia holds a minority stake in the respective local
companies. Thai AirAsia, a joint venture with Shin Corporation, Thailand’s largest
telecommunication conglomerate, took to the skies in Feb 2004 and has to date carried
over 1 million passengers in its first year of operations. PT Awair, re-launched as a low
fare airline on 8 December 2004 and subsequently renamed Indonesia AirAsia, presently
serves 5 domestic destinations in Indonesia.[ CITATION Liq20 \l 17417 ]
 Fernandes has received several awards for his achievements:
 International Herald Tribune Award for the "Visionaries & Leadership
Series", for his outstanding work in AirAsia;

 "Malaysian CEO of the Year 2003" in December 2003 — so far awarded

to only nine other recipients in the country, by American Express and
Business Times. The award was an initiative to recognize entrepreneurial
and managerial expertise and performance among leaders of Malaysian
corporations.

 Named the joint winner of the CEO of the Year 2003 award by American
Express Corporate Services and Business Times.

 "Emerging Entrepreneur of the Year" in the Ernst & Young "Entrepreneur

Of The Year Awards" in 2003;

 Made the list of Business Week's "25 Stars of Asia" in 2005.

 Malaysian Ernst & Young "Entrepreneur of the Year 2006"

 "Excellence In Leadership - Asia Pacific Leadership Awards 2009"

 2010 Forbes Asia businessman of the year

 2011 No. 52, in FastCompany Top 100 Most Creative People in Business.

Source: [ CITATION Liq20 \l 17417 ]

Fernandes has also been honoured by the King of Malaysia with the title Tan
Sri, Dato' Sri and also by the government of France with the Legion d'Honneur Order.
In 2011, according to a Team Lotus press release, Tony Fernandes was awarded a
CBE or Commander of the Order of the British Empire "for services to promote
commercial and educational links" between Malaysia and the UK. [ CITATION Liq20 \l
17417 ]
4.0 Characteristics of a Successful Entrepreneur

4.1 Creativity

The characteristics that must have to be a successful entrepreneur is

creativity. It’s leads to the entrepreneur to give birth to something new. For
without creativity, there is no innovation possible. Entrepreneurs usually have
the knack to pin down a lot of ideas and act on them. Not necessarily every
idea might be a hit. But the experience obtained is gold. Creativity helps in
coming up with new solutions for the problems at hand and allows one to
think of solutions that are out of the box. It also gives an entrepreneur the
ability to devise new products for similar markets to the ones he’s currently
playing in.[ CITATION JBC18 \l 17417 ]

4.2 Structured Experimentation

Along with curiosity comes the need for structured experimentation.

With each new opportunity that arises, an entrepreneur must run tests to
determine if it’s worthwhile to pursue. For example, if you have an idea for a
new product or service that fulfils an underserved demand, you’ll have to
ensure customers are willing to pay for it. To do so, you’ll need to conduct
thorough market research and run meaningful tests to validate your idea and
determine whether it has potential.[ CITATION JBC18 \l 17417 ]

4.3 Professionalism

Professionalism is a quality which all good entrepreneurs must

possess. An entrepreneur mannerisms and behaviour with their employees and
clientele goes a long way in developing the culture of the organization. Along
with professionalism comes reliability and discipline. Self-discipline enables
an entrepreneur to achieve their targets, be organized and set an example for
everyone. Reliability results in trust and for most ventures, trust in the
entrepreneur is what keeps the people in the organization motivated and
willing to put in their best. Professionalism is one of the most important
characteristics of an entrepreneur.[ CITATION JBC18 \l 17417 ]
4.4 Risk-taking

A risk-taking ability is essential for an entrepreneur. Without the will

to explore the unknown, one cannot discover something unique. And this
uniqueness might make all the difference. Risk-taking involves a lot of things.
Using unorthodox methods is also a risk. Investing in ideas, nobody else
believes in but you are going to take a risk too. Entrepreneurs have a
differentiated approach towards risks. Good entrepreneurs are always ready to
invest their time and money. But they always have a backup for every risk
they take. For exploring in the unknown, one must be bestowed with a trump
card; a good entrepreneur has one, always. Also, evaluation of the risk to be
undertaken is also essential. Without knowing the consequences, a good
entrepreneur wouldn’t risk it all.[ CITATION JBC18 \l 17417 ]

4.5 Passion

Our work should be our passion. So, when we work for enjoy what
we’re doing, it helps us to stay highly motivated. Passion acts as a driving
force, with which, you are motivated to strive for better. It also allows you the
ability to put in those extra hours in the office which can or may make a
difference. At the beginning of every entrepreneurial venture or any venture,
there are hurdles but your passion ensures that you are able to overcome these
roadblocks and forge ahead towards your goal.[ CITATION JBC18 \l 17417 ]

4.6 Know to Plan

Planning is one of the most important characteristics of an

entrepreneur. Without planning, everything would be a loose string as they
say, “If you fail to plan, you plan to fail. “Planning is strategizing the whole
game ahead of time. It basically sums up all the resources at hand and enables
you to come up with a structure and a thought process for how to reach your
goal. The next step involves how to make optimum use of these resources, to
weave the cloth of success. Facing a situation or a crisis with a plan is always
better. It provides guidelines with minimum to no damage incurred to a
business. [ CITATION JBC18 \l 17417 ]
4.7 Knowledgeable

Knowledge is the key to success. An entrepreneur should possess

complete knowledge of their niche or industry. For only with knowledge can a
difficulty be solved or a crisis is tackled. It enables him to keep track of the
developments and the constantly changing requirements of the market that he
is in. May it be a new trend in the market or an advancement in technology or
even a new advertiser’s entry, an entrepreneur should keep himself abreast of
it. Knowledge is the guiding force when it comes leaving the competition
behind. New bits and pieces of information may just prove as useful as a
newly devised strategy. The entrepreneur should know what are their strengths
& weaknesses are so that they can be worked on and can result in a healthier
organization. A good entrepreneur will always try to increase his knowledge,
which is why he is always a learner. The better an entrepreneur knows his
playground, the easier he can play in it.[ CITATION JBC18 \l 17417 ]

4.8 High Social Skills

By having a strong level of social skill, a higher level than your peers,
you can increase the amount of value you add to the company. For employees,
this could mean more promotions. For entrepreneurs, this could mean more
clients. Social skills help us connect better with your co-workers, clients, and
boss because you know how to hold conversations and interact positively with
others. The entrepreneur also understands the dangers of extreme levels of
know, like and trust so they can avoid damaging their professional reputation. [
CITATION JBC18 \l 17417 ]
4.9 Comfortable with Failure

In addition to managing risk and making calculated decisions,

entrepreneurship requires a certain level of comfort with failure. It’s estimated
that nearly 75 percent of new start-ups fail. The reasons for failure are vast and
encompass everything from a flawed business model to a lack of focus or
motivation. While many of these risks can be avoided, some are inevitable.
Successful entrepreneurs prepare themselves for, and are comfortable with,
failure. Rather than let fear hold them back, the possibility of success propels
them forward. Any good businessman will know not to frown on a defeat. Try
till you succeed is the right mentality. Failure is a step or a way which didn’t
work according to the plan. A good entrepreneur takes the experience of this
setback and works even hard with the next goal in line. [ CITATION Kel20 \l
17417 ]

4.10 Customer is Everything

A good entrepreneur will always know this; a business is all about the
customer. How you grab a customer’s attention is the first step. This can be
done through various mediums such as marketing and advertising. It is also
important that you know the needs of your customers. The product or service
which is being created by your organization needs to cater to the needs of your
consumers. Personalising a business for consumers will also boost the sales.
The ability to sell yourself in front of a potential investment when it comes in
the form of a customer is also required. Being ready with the knowledge to
please a customer, is a way to have a successful business. [ CITATION JBC18 \l
17417 ]
5.0 Conclusion

Entrepreneurship is the act of creating a business or businesses while building

and scaling it to generate a profit. Entrepreneurship is important as it has the ability to
improve standards of living and create wealth, not only for the entrepreneurs, but also
for related businesses. Entrepreneurs also help drive change with innovation, where
new and improved products enable new markets to be developed

In this report, Tony Fernandes is one of the best successful entrepreneurs in

Malaysia. He is the one who managed Air Asia into a highly successful budget airline
public-listed company. Fernandes was born in Kuala Lumpur on 30 April 1964 to a
Goan father and a mother of mixed Indian (Tamil) and Asian-Portuguese (Kristang)
descent who had been raised in Malacca, Malaysia. One of the biggest achievements
has been to turn the AirAsia airline into an international carrier. Some of his
achievement are International Herald Tribune Award for the "Visionaries &
Leadership Series", for his outstanding work in AirAsia, "Malaysian CEO of the Year
2003" in December 2003 and more.

The characteristics of a successful entrepreneur are creativity, Structured

Experimentation, Professionalism, Risk-taking, Passion, Know to Plan,
Knowledgeable, High Social Skills, Comfortable with Failure and Customer is
Everything.
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