Hitting the final quarter of 2020, it is time to contemplate on what I had been doing all these while since changing from employed mode to self employed. Personally, I do think that I had been through quite a lot in this year yet it still seemed to be real brief to me.
I would like to summarize some milestones and important events that I think matters to me:
| Date | Events | Reference | My Thoughts |
|---|---|---|---|
| @Sep 20, 2019 | My Final Week | @kimzwarch/final-week-final-words | A significant leap for me to leave the previous company and start a whole new journey. To be honest, at this point in time, I am quite lost and no confidence at all when it comes to dealing with the unknown ahead of me. During this period of time, I keep on asking myself on what I want to do with the "freedom" I get after leaving employment. Questions like should I go for freelancing, part-timer or try full time as an educator in the academic line has all been my consideration. Besides, the insecurity of not having any income at this period of time is one big challenge, especially when I still have certain financial commitment too. Lucky to say that I have allowed myself to have a 6 months runway before I have to be back to square 0 if I have still yet to build a revenue stream that could turn my cashflow to positive. It turned out that in April of 2020, I have successfully turned my cash flow from negative to positive. Just happened to be 6 months and I had burned almost all my reserve to get there. |
| @Oct 4, 2019 | First Week At Home | @kimzwarch/back-to-reality-breakfast | This is the first week since my resignation and back from my hometown for a short break. At this point in time, I have not found myself a new revenue stream which I think is a mistake as this should be done while I have still my primary income. This is another reminder for me that to focus on building a single source of income until it can make sure that my cash flow is at least breaking even or slightly positive before I proceed to build the second stream of income. To note that building every income stream would need cost. The cost may come in the form of time or money so I have to be available in both resources to build that up. |
| @Oct 11, 2019 | iGEM EXPO Participation With Urban Farm Tech | @kimzwarch/as-an-urban-farm-technologist-at-international-greentech-and-eco-product-exhibition-and-conference-malaysia-2019 | Representing Urban Farm Tech, a local urban farm consultant and supplier to exhibit the technology in the International Greentech & Eco Products Exhibition & Conference Malaysia (iGEM). It is interesting to be the exhibitor and get to look at how different states, private sectors and public sectors having different approach like products, services and policies to venture into the Greentech space. This also marked my collaboration with Urban Farm Tech as marketing partner whereby I help the company to promote the idea and product. Personally, I do think that urban agriculture is one way to go about in terms of the future food source. It may not make conventional farming obsolete, yet it can make the overall agriculture practice more sustainable in terms of land usage, water consumption and less pollution. |
| @Oct 26, 2019 | Locus Art Festival | @kimzwarch/come-and-join-locus-sketch-festival-in-lot-10 | Helping out my friend Hakym on the art event initiated by a non-profit art organization named KL Sketchnation. Helping out on the event space set up and also some logistic as I personally think that the group has a lot of great and enthusiastic people. It is definitely fun to be with and I can also learn more about how artworks. This turns out to be beneficial for me in 2020 when I started to venture into the art education business. Art has always been playing a big part in my life which I did not take it seriously. Since 7 years old, I had been involved in art learning, participating competition and even leading art club. Then, when I pursue my tertiary study, I chose architecture which I think is the combination of art and science which I think should add in legal and management. Music and film also played a big part in my life as I really enjoyed both the classics and the modern masterpieces. |
| @Nov 9, 2019 | Agtech & Foodtech Bootcamp | @kimzwarch/experience-and-takeaway-sharing-in-agtech-and-foodtech-bootcamp-1 | Get into Malaysian Global Innovation & Creativity Centre's startup boot camp where we get to learn about what it takes to start a business from scratch like brainstorming, validating the idea, building minimum viable product and also pitching to investors and customers. I would say that building a business is different from a person providing services and get remunerated. Like how Robert Kiyosaki put it, one is under Business quadrant while the later is under self-employed quadrant which requires a person to be always present. Yet in many cases, businesses are transformed from self-employed while we build confidence, financial capability, and building relevant resources. |
| @Nov 18, 2019 | Shanghai Trip | @kimzwarch/first-trip-of-the-year | This is my first trip with my wife and I would say a memorable one too as 2020 has not been friendly for travelling abroad. We visited Shanghai for both pleasure and work. During this trip, we had went to Disneyland to experience the magical sensation that Disney had brought to us all along. Worthwhile and we really spent the whole day there. I also get to meet different groups of friends in Shanghai mainly my Malaysia friends, blockchain community friend and also from leadership organization. To be honest, it is fun to have local friends to bring us around and experience the local culture. I would rather prefer to go to a very normal restaurant where the locals go than a touristy spot with fancy food but not locally authentic. Guess this is one way to really see the place in the local perspective which gives me more inspiration. We were also awed with the mere size and capacity of the expo organized by China. Compared to Southeast Asia expo, the capacity is like at least 5 times smaller than what we are having in the region which in turn shows that how big the gap in terms of supply and demand is. Yet, this also gives me a good feeling whereby being in China and learn from them is a good way to stay competitive in my region. |
| @Jan 20, 2020 | Back To Hometown | --- | Marked my longest staycation back at my hometown for Chinese New Year ever since I left my hometown for study and work for almost 10 years. An interesting time to be back and really connect with my parents and brother. Ever since I left my hometown, I started to appreciate the warmth of a family. Having parents that can talk and support without doubting anything, that is one of the biggest gifts in my lifetime. Being back also get me to go around and meet up with my friends who are based in Penang to catch up. During the time back in my hometown, I try to put myself in a free mode where I do not want to pressure myself too much on building my revenue stream. I just want to lay back and really think through on what I am going to do for the rest of my life. The mix feeling of uneasiness and excitement makes me confuse and tired at the same time. Thus, it is wise for me to put it aside, write whatever feeling or thoughts I had in mind and just enjoy the moment while I am with my family. |
| @Jan 22, 2020 | 2020 New Year Thought | @kimzwarch/late-night-thought-what-drives-me | Staying back at my hometown for almost 3 weeks allows me to really recharge spiritually and ready for whatever challenges that I am going to face. In the meantime, I had also decided not to put in too much commitment in urban farming part as I would like to start something myself. This is what I came out from employment for anyway and I do not want to be tied down again. Despite the offer of being a co-founder in the company (Urban Farm Tech), I do not see myself able to contribute much value to the company. Frankly speaking, I learn a lot but I do not see myself aligning with the company operation. Yet, we share the same vision to promote urban farming as one of the alternatives to go for when it comes to food supply. Thus, from this short experience I had with Urban Farm Tech, it taught me about having the same vision may not result us being working together under the same company. We may walk our own path with our own ways of doing things, but the most important thing is we share the same vision which in turn makes us ally in whole. This is what I see and hope to achieve in near future in this field. Most probably, I would venture into consultancy and training rather than being the supplier and grower myself. Yet, owning a growing business would be interesting to me as I see it as a safe investment to build. Hence, digging deeper and learning more about the industry allows me to build knowledge base and sensitivity towards opportunity in the near future. |
| @Feb 10, 2020 | A Trip Down Johor | --- | A trip with my friend to Johor Bahru and Batu Pahat to visit some senior care facilities. My friend and high school junior had been working on his start up for 2 years plus and had been doing quite well in his niche which is senior healthcare. This is one of the rising industry which may not be very sexy and lucrative in the 90s. In 21st century, we see a lot of population of different nations like Japan and Singapore are getting older. This would create a demand for quality senior care services. Thus, starting from this point of time is great and allow his business to set a landmark in this niche. At the same time, I also take the opportunity to meet with some high school alumni, and course mates (architecture). |
| @Feb 15, 2020 | My Monthly Summary | @kimzwarch/kimzwarch-monthly-report-card-february-2020 | In 2018 and 2019, I had been building my Steem stakes through posting contents. In order to track my growth, I had been doing this monthly summary which can clearly record the milestones I achieved, the next step and also how is my overall performance for the month. I would say that being transparent in this part is helpful as it makes me feel accountable on what I am working on. Yet, I had failed again to continue this whenever I face certain changes in my personal schedule. This had been happening for several times and yet I still have not get into the mode where I can be consistent in. Nevertheless, I tell myself that rather than getting into the perfectionist mind set, I will try to recover as soon as possible whenever I fail to continue. This would allow me to create a standard for myself whereby I can have an escape for sometime and get back fully recharge. For me, this "escape" I had since I am facing the written exam for my architecture career will end in the 11th day. I would consider this a short break and it is time to get back on track. |
| @Feb 16, 2020 | Setting up my first Enterprise | --- | Setting up Kimzwarch Green Venture to be involved in consultancy on urban farming, green refurbishment of spaces. This is my first time to pushing myself to really get organized and have my own establishment for what I am passionate in doing. Even though I have yet to come out with the products or services to offer, I have in mind that I am going to use this enterprise for the mentioned purpose. Also during this time, I learned that starting an enterprise is not that hard and it takes just a few days to set up everything. As long as the business name is not sensitive, not taken by anyone and not too general, then most probably the application can be done within 2-3 days which is amazing. |
| @Feb 19, 2020 | Warming Up For Architectural Study | @kimzwarch/preparing-for-my-professional-paper-in-architecture | Since I had decided to submit my professional practice report to the board and try my luck on getting into the final tests (oral and written) for 2020, might as well I start to plan for my architectural study. At this moment, I had gathered my friends who are also going for the 2020's test. I find myself quite contradict when it comes to studying about architectural practice as I myself still doubts that I am going to develop my future career as a full fledge architect. This led me to a long thinking process which in the end, I had this conclusion where all the knowledge and study I will be having will be part of the learning process and gain for myself even though I may not be practicing. Personally, I see architecture as a training for me to become a great generalist where I can learn whatever I am interested with and able to connect into the ecosystem. With this skill set, I would need to position myself in a place where such skill set will give me more advantage. This is also the reason why I see architecture is not just about building design, it is more about putting things together to make the living place a better one. |
| @Feb 27, 2020 | Submitted Report | @kimzwarch/report-submitted | This is the point where I put whatever I have in the report and hope for the best. Quite surprising that around July I received the email that my report had passed and I am able to sit for the oral exam. Thus, here I would like to highlight certain points to create a solid report: 1. To be involved with all the Basic Services' phases that an architect supposed to provide as per the Architect Rules 2010 and Scale of Minimum Fees. 2. To be involved with a diverse project portfolio like residential (preferably stratified development), high rise, office, commercial and even industrial. 3. In most cases, it is quite impossible to cover all phases within the minimum 2 years time frame or even 3 years. Thus, it is best to grab the chance to be involved in small projects like bungalow house, club house or even public toilets which requires individual design and documentation. 4. Follow the report criteria mentioned in the Handbook, especially on mentioning the issues faced and the solution or suggestion based on relevant statutory or contractual reference. 5. Straight to the point when it comes to the salient points for the project by using tables, bullet listing and diagrams. 6. Try to be authentic and professional when it comes to providing personal suggestion about the issues faced when involved in the projects. Think from the point of view where you are a professional architect that consider about the interest of the client and also the public. Also remember the obligation of architect for a building is to ensure it is safe to be occupied and fit for the purpose. 7. Proper formatting and file all the forms required then get your director (architect) to sign off the documents. 8. Prepare a checklist of documents to prevent missing out and also use it as a delivery order when submitting to the board's office 9. Do remember to scan every documents submitted in case of the documents lost in the hand of the board. |
| @Mar 11, 2020 | Vetamind Website Set Up | @kimzwarch/setting-up-business-website-vetamind-pets | My wife had also hopped on an entrepreneurial path and started her own pet care company named Vetamind. The main idea is to build an online shop that can facilitate the pet owners need to take care of their pet, specifically on supplements for prevention. Setting up a website is essential and hence I helped her in building the Wix website based on the needs and products. Ever since then, the website is slowly gaining the right SEO and traffic which also converts into sales as well. I am happy that the website works and also see that it is important to spend on the necessities especially it is directly related to sales. |
| @Mar 14, 2020 | Entrepreneur Masterclass | @kimzwarch/entrepreneurial-journey-learning | This is one of the most intense and one of a kind entrepreneur masterclass I had ever attended. It is one way quite unconventional and yet quite practical when it comes to application of the knowledge and tips acquired in the class. I like how the organizer and the boss, Vince Tan put up the whole masterclass structure and build his authority around successful cases of business involved and also amazing alumni. In one way, I see Vince as a very committed and knowledgeable guy when it comes to marketing. He is relentless when it comes to making the scene and he had been showing the result through his own action. That I admired and had inspired me to learn every details from him. I would consider him as one of the most talented marketing gurus out there. I can see his business model build around his reputation as being a mind behind different crazy marketing campaigns and also the wizkid, CK Chang, the founder of Oxwhite. From his sharing, I can see he is putting a lot of effort and money to validate businesses before going full fledge on it. This is the safest way to mitigate business risk by spending a small amount first, yet in the case of Oxwhite, it is still a big sum of money to be spending (it is six figures! and it is juts to validate and promote about the product). After going through the training, I learned one thing that I need to try and willing to invest my time and money into something that I believed in. Then only I will have chance to be success. |
| @Mar 18, 2020 | Malaysia MCO Started | --- | After the course, the MCO (nationwide total lockdown) started. I would consider myself as very lucky as we received the news when we are having the course. Frankly speaking, we had no idea at that time on how such pandemic would change our behaviour and also the whole economy of the nation, even the world. Before the lockdown, I had also been working from home since my resignation so the work from home concept comes quite natural to me. Just that it is new for me to wear mask all the time and keep my hand sanitized the whole while. Also during this time and lucky enough that we had stocked up on sanitizers and face masks which me and my wife go all in to earn something by providing these essentials to the people. I would say being early in the game really matters and it is easier to do business as I do not need to promote much and people will just buy with reasonable price (some at even crazy price point which become an out-roar). I learned quite a lot during this single month where we had 5 figures sale and earned quite a good amount of profit too. Most importantly, I also experienced on the importance of connecting the supply chain. From getting the raw supply of sanitizer, to getting the container that is suitable to be filled and to build business pages and promoting to different groups and communities, all required effort and consistent push to make the snowball rolls. |
| @Mar 29, 2020 | My First On HIVE | @kimzwarch/my-self-introduction-on-hive-can-t-wait-to-start | Not sure whether it is the day where Steem had the hardfork and HIVE is born. This is my first post on HIVE blockchain which will no more sync with the Steem blockchain. At first, I thought this will be the end of Steem but it turns out to be a blessing in disguise. I get exactly the same amount of Steem when the Hardfork happened (days before there was a snapshot to take note on the Steem amount). This is like doubling what I had in my portfolio which is good for me and I take it as a bonus. |
| @Mar 31, 2020 | What I am Going to Do On HIVE | @kimzwarch/exploration-on-hive-and-what-to-do | It is always good to identify what I am going to do in general on everything we are on. This also includes how I am going to utilize HIVE. Being familiar with Steem, it has bring a lot of memories and training on my writing and content creation skill. To be honest, I never thought I will be writing that much and I started to think that writing could be one of the most important skill set in my life. I had a write up on HIVE that what I am going to do on HIVE which become my reference when I am lost at some point of time. This is a good practice to put out my thoughts and planning in writing. |
| @Apr 4, 2020 | Lockdown & Learning Channels | @kimzwarch/which-channel-you-watched-the-most-during-this-lockdown-period | During the lockdown, it is a good time to really recharge and rethink the strategies to survive through this harsh time. Personally, I have been following a few channels to learn topics like business, finance, investment, management, arts and so on. |
| @Apr 11, 2020 | Go Doodle Enterprise kickstart | --- | After a month of selling accessories like face masks and sanitizers, I proceeded to think of something else that I could do in a long run. I have a few ideas in my head which I will be breaking down a bit here. The first thought is to try set up a specialist consultancy where we can provide refurbishment of space, specifically in greening the spaces. The other option is to do something that is related to education. I always have this thought of being able to be in the field that there is interaction and different challenges will arise in every day. Education is one good space which can be combine with any specific field of knowledge and turn it into a sensible business. Once I look into the ideas further, I found that education is something I could start and more relevant for the time. One obvious trend is that online learning has been spiking since the start of the pandemic. Therefore, I see it is a good time to build this online education business at this time as I could get customers easier and people will be more open to sign up for the classes. After going through some brain storm, I went for registering the business. The name Go Doodle came by with the idea of starting the business from doodling which is one of the most free and raw way to create art. It only requires imagination and capability to draw it out with pen. Adding the "Go" is to have a more dynamic and strong push for the audience to know that we are keen to get people to be creative and start doodling. The process of registering the business is quite straightforward and easy. Luckily that I had activated by my account for the registrar of company (SSM) when I first started my first enterprise (Kimzwarch Green Venture). Once I started this enterprise, I also went on to apply for business accounts and merchant accounts for the ease of receiving payments and paying to vendors. |
| @Apr 20, 2020 → Apr 25, 2020 | Go Doodle Pre-Launch Session | --- | My first leap and memorable moment to be go Live online. This is where I applied what I learned during the entrepreneurship masterclass and try out the result. The whole pre-launch session was an intense experience for me and also my supportive wife. From the pre-launch, I had invited 5 different guests to share about art and creativity which then relates back to the reason of why Go Doodle is started. The goal is to get more people to be aware that being creative is not something hard and born with. It is an enjoyable process that could be provided by Go Doodle's team of professional instructors acting as a guide and partner in picking up the skills. Throughout the pre-launch session, it is actually a boost for my confidence to push this and get the first batch of students. With the first batch of students, I could know for sure that how the session actually help them and whether the students would willing to continue on with the classes. All of these are crucial for the sustainability of the business and I am keeping a close eyes on all these parameters. |
| @May 2, 2020 | Surviving and Restrategize | @kimzwarch/what-it-takes-to-survive-in-this-pandemic-my-self-reflection-and-restrategize | Starting up Go Doodle, learning and action, de-clutter myself, restructure investment. These are the three main thing I need to accomplish in 2020. So far, it has been going on well and I have yet to reach the milestone that I want to have. Perhaps I do not have a clear goals that I could work on which I would require myself to set the goals at the last quarter of the year. Starting up Go Doodle would be considered as my first start up building experience and it is so far, exciting and challenging. It is important that I must stay resilient and consistent on the works that I am doing. The other part is to stay focus and not to be lost in the midst of different kind of temptation. There are just so many ways to build the business and it is always tempting to copy how other successful case studies that I had been going through. Learning and action is another part of my personal goal which I need to build. I have this problem of putting all the knowledge that I gained through listening to podcast, reading and conversations with others into use. This means that after going through the works, I will be forgetting about it in a matter of days or even hours. It is very inefficient as it is literally a waste of time if I am forgetting all the gains from my learning process. Thus, I need to build a system where I could create input for whatever things that I had learned. Well, the main mechanism to make this work is to WRITE, which is what I am doing now. Making myself comfortable with writing and making the writing process accessible and no pressure is essential as well. This is part of the habit building traits that I picked up in reading the Atomic Habits. Then, I also picked up the idea of building the "second brain" which is very interesting concept and it really justify what I am going to do. Since my brain does not work as brilliant as Sherlock Holmes or memory experts whom could memorize things in their head with just a single glimpse, I should make a home to all the information which is the second brain. De-cluttering is another important part as having all different things cluttering around the work place will just create distraction and hence frustration. Focus is the first thing lack in me specially during this time as there are just too many distractions around me like my phone, PC, tablets and so on. Thus, other than de-cluttering my work place and make things clean and distraction-less, my virtual work space should be also neat and accessible as well. This relates to the previous point which is to build my second brain. Without the right categorization and arrangement of knowledge, I would be lost in the midst of all information I dump in one space. In the end, I could not utilize the knowledge and it is just as good as a trash lying and occupying spaces. Thus, I should make a clear goal to de-clutter things every day, little by little so that by the end of 2020, I could have a clean and clear workplace where I know where to allocate all the information coming in. Lastly, it is about restructuring investment which I think is one key thing to do. Without the right investment I had, I will be not having the luxury to write and go through such self-reflection moment at this time. First of all, I will be stress out due to the constant need to worry about my financial commitment and livelihood. Second of which, I am constantly in the chase of making just enough to survive which then will switch my focus to spend lesser that may caused different inconvenience in life. Ideally, the way I would like to go for is to live within my means which I am currently practicing and enjoying it. The next step is to constantly on the lookout for good investment projects. This goes both ways where I need to equip myself with the right financial literacy from different sources and the other way is to collect different investment channels that I can put my money to work. Yet, it is also crucial for me to focus on building my primary income, ideally is my Go Doodle business which can pay off all my essential expenditure. It has yet to come by but in the making. |
| @May 5, 2020 | Learn Marketing From Nicholas Tay | --- | Learning different skills is definitely crucial to build a business as I have totally no idea on how marketing should work. Signing up courses organized by Vince Tan's business partner, Nicholas Tay who is young and yet ambitious to build his business into an international marketing agency. I learned quite a lot from him especially on staying focus and also having different practical strategies in rolling out my new products. One important takeaway for myself is to take action and experiment with what I had learned in the classes before going back to the gurus for advice. That would make the learning process better and also optimize what I had paid for. |
| @May 8, 2020 | Learn About Stock & Value Investing | --- | In 2019, I was already fascinated on how stock and value investing work. Knowing I am a bit late for the game, I had open a broker account through a local bank and had put a bit of stake just to have a feel on how it is to invest. Little did I know that without proper research and study about the company and how basic economics of stock, I am actually gambling my way through the gut feeling of mine. Therefore, in 2020, I have more time to really learn about how to really gauge a company through different aspects like efficiency of operation, profitability, relevancy of the business, and also the management of the company. There are different parameters that I can look on and with all that I could evaluate how is the company is performing and whether the price I am buying is a fair price point to go in. Warren Buffet is always the reference point by all the value investors but it is crucial for me to learn about patience in making money. It is a process and it takes time, the worst of all is that making money could be a very boring process. That is the reason why not many can stay put and resist till the end before really seeing the fruit of investment. Thus, it is challenging for me to keep myself reminded about all these advice and technical skill I need to have before going into the market. Also, I found that the more I know about different financial tools available in the market and how people are using it to make money, this led me to understand how scammers are actually using the lack of financial literacy to scam money from the people. I see this as a very important piece of knowledge to learn and to practice from as young as possible. I would consider myself to be utterly conventional when it comes to financial literacy where my only thing is to save in fixed deposit which back at that time, the rate was still fairly good, ranging from 3% to 4.5% per annum. However, it is now at a time of crisis where putting my money in Fixed Deposit or any financial product from the bank, it is literally burning my money from the moment I deposit into the bank. That is why, it is relevant and sensible for me to build my knowledge and also the right portfolio for my future self NOW. |
| @May 26, 2020 | Robo Trading - My Alternate Income Stream | @kimzwarch/how-to-diversify-your-crypto-earning-my-personal-torque-journey | Since early November 2019, I came across a robo trading company that offers relatively stable and good return fund management for my cryptocurrencies. Thus, I had put away 1 ETH to try out the robo trading and see how it fairs until May of 2020. In the process, I had earned more than 50% of my principal and I had also topped up quite a big amount of money in the form of cryptocurrency into the robo-trading as it is delivering the result and the business model seemed to be sustainable and sensible with the rate they are achieving. As of the final quarter of 2020, I had hit a return of around 230% which is more than what I had put in initially. Besides that, I had also cashed out for a continuous 5 months with five figures that has become one of the source of income to maintain my livelihood. This is something amazing for me and even for my family. |
| @May 30, 2020 | First Go Doodle Class launch | --- | This is one monumental day where the first class is launched whereby I am equally anxious about how the students will think about the class as the instructor as well. The class turned out to be a success and students are engaging and willing to give their honest opinions about how the classes are conducted. The suggestions and comments received are discussed among the Go Doodle team and if it is relevant and feasible to implement, it will be done immediately. |
| @Jun 1, 2020 | First Monday Orange Talkshow | --- | Since I had been doing the live show during the pre-launch, I was thinking why not I continue such interview sessions with more artists and other creative individuals all around the world. In one way, I could collect different stories from people of diverse background and understand more point of views on how people implement their creativity in their work as well as their daily life. The talkshow then becomes what it is called Monday Orange Talkshow. The reason of the naming is that we always say that Monday is a blue and discouraging day as people are just getting back to work from the fun and exciting weekend. So having Monday Orange is like a refresh element for the people on this moody day after work and get themselves freshen up with inspiration. So far, the talkshow has been growing well and I personally had picked up some skill in handling interviews as well as the crowd, mostly impromptu. I would consider this as a very important skill in my future career as there are a lot of pitches that I would need to do and the higher I get, I will need to be more sensitive to pick up important points and render them into my advantage. With 21 talkshows done and counting, I had been working on this talkshow without stopping since 1st of June. |
| @Jun 2, 2020 | Meeting with Agrobank and AVF | --- | Since my master degree in architecture, I had started my research on agriculture and the integration of cityscape with urban agriculture. Building the network that could realize this dream is also part of the action plan that I have as the realization that not having the right partner to work on the project together would not get me anywhere. To be honest, it is hard to kickstart anything when it is something that is not the forte of our own. Besides, it is something that requires quite an amount of CAPEX to start too. Therefore, it is feasible to start with understanding the industry, learning from the people who are already doing the work on ground and also get to know people whom are invested in the industry. Agrobank and Association for Vertical Farming are two organization that I am in touch with to learn about how the trend is moving and how is the development of the agtech so far for the industry. In order to be success in the business, it is not only about the agtech itself but also to understand the palette and demography of the people around, the policies that are supporting or against the industry and also the financial incentives. Being with the organization and helping them out with some tasks, it allows me to dive into more in depth data and understand what are the potential to find a niche to thrive in the market. |
| @Jul 21, 2020 | Go Doodle Incorporation | --- | Slowly growing the business of Go Doodle to a point that I think incorporating the company is the right thing to do since I will be actively searching for business partners and also investors in near future. This would require me to have ready share structure that could be distributed to the people who are willing to get on board with me on the business. Incorporating the business is not that hard in Malaysia. It requires us to engage with a registered company secretary who will help to validate and book the name of the company for us. Then, we will decide on which day we want to incorporate the company (Chinese may want to choose a good date to incorporate) and then the process of incorporation will usually takes around half a day. As for the name search and booking, it takes around 4 to 7 working days to get a confirmation from SSM. So in overall, I can incorporate a company within 1 week. This is quite convenient for all of us to start a business with limited liability. For an incorporated company, I would need to engage auditor as well to audit my account. As for my account, I also need to keep good book record and send it to my accountant to sort it out for the auditing process. Not to forget that I also need to register tax account for my company as well as for myself as a self employed person too! |
| @Aug 6, 2020 | Oral Exam | --- | In July, I had received the confirmation that I am eligible to sit for the oral examination for my Part 3. This is like the final stage before I am officially an Architect who can certify documents and run an architectural consultancy business. To be honest, I am quite nervous when it comes to preparing for the exam as I have no idea on what will be the questions for me during the interview and whether the panels are very critical in digging into the projects. Anyway, I did what I can for the preparation by going through question banks, my practical report, advice from seniors who had made it through and also mock up with friends. There are some salient points that need to be highlighted all the time during the interview which are being professional, being statutory and contractual responsible and also being a moral person. As an architect, I would need to consider the rights and standpoints for my clients and most importantly for the safety of the public. Thus, the two most important obligation for an architect is to make sure that the building is designed fit for the purpose and it is safe for the public. The exam was held in the JKR tower situated just beside the office of Board of Architects Malaysia. I arrived one and a half hour earlier for my session. This helps me to familiarize with the place and get me to adjust the emotion and state of mind for the interview. During the wait, I keep my mind clear and try to be as relaxed as possible. Also, I also keep murmuring and practice on how I am going to deliver my introduction to the panels. This is also a crucial part of the interview as this is the first impression for the panels to gauge the confidence as a professional. |
| @Aug 15, 2020 | First Architectural Event Hosting | --- | I am honored to be able to host an architectural event for DOMA which is a non profit architectural education organization. The event is set to have a conversation about natural and mechanical ventilation integration in the buildings. Panels are architects and experts in ventilations where they share their personal views on how both types of ventilation can work hand in hand to create a well ventilated and comfortable habitable space for the users. As a host, I think I have yet to deliver a good transition between panels as I may need more understanding and command of vocabulary to really highlight on the salient points delivered by the previous panels before moving into the next panel. Besides, I will also need to build the authority sense to time manage the sessions better. The time of presentation for different panels are challenging to manage as some may talk fast and the session ended earlier while others are lengthy and may drag their session. I would need to communicate on such situation with the panels and organizers on how should such situation being managed and then the host will execute. |
| @Aug 17, 2020 | Passed Oral Exam! | --- | This is the day where I went to meet Hakym to discuss about some business plan for Go Doodle. When I am on my way to his house, I received the message from my study group that the result was released! I quickly find a place to stop by and scroll through my email to check whether I pass the test or not. For the first email, the Board of Architects office made a mistake and sent the wrong notification email to all the candidates. Thus, I need to wait around 20 minutes before I receive the good news. I felt relieved and yet challenged to sit for the written exam which is at the end of September (which then changed to early October due to unannounced Sabah state election). |
| @Aug 26, 2020 A High Tea with Wife Finally an outing with her with a chill high tea session with her. A hangout to really celebrate how we had gotten together and also to have a short escape from home lockdown. | |||
| @Sep 2, 2020 | Starting 21 Days Learning | @kimzwarch/daily-inspired-00 | Trying out a 21 days streak writing on what I had been learning. It is said that if I could continuously do a simple action with 21 days continuous. It shows that I have the potential to make this into a sustainable habit in my life. So I am going to try on having 21 days to write about what I had been learning in a short 500 words-ish write up. |
| @Sep 20, 2020 | Breaking 10k Hive Power @kimzwarch/breaking-10k-hive-power-stake | Focusing my attention on HIVE ever since Steem has been losing some of the vibe there and most of the active community that I am familiar with have migrated to HIVE as well. Thus, to make sense on what I am doing does have more incentive, putting and building more stake in is the most sensible way to go for. This day finally breaking 10k HIVE Power with the help of liquidating part of my Steem holding. Now I would go for a 70% HIVE and 30% Steem. Of course, not putting 100% away of Steem since I can still be there to see what it has still to offer. | |
| @Sep 24, 2020 | My 21st Learning Takeaway | @kimzwarch/daily-inspired-20-learning-how-to-learn | Finally, finished my 21st write up which seemed surprising but I would say it does not come easy. Yet I think it is a good head start for me. After this 21 days of continuous write up, I have to say that it requires a good time management on what I am doing as it may take up quite a lot of time to come out with one write up. The most time consuming piece took me around 3 hours plus to finish up which is something related to art and blockchain. Two write up I did on that topic which took me more than 6 hours to finish up as it is a topic that I am interested in but required some read up before I can really write something about it. I would say that I will need to improve on my input part whereby I can put in some key phrases or idea into a place on Notion and slowly develop it into a full, well thought through write up with more elaborated description about the topic and also my personal thought in regards of it. |
| @Oct 3, 2020 | Written Exam | --- | Will post a separate post about the experience and tips for the written exam. Finally it is done and I am going to back to focus on GO Doodle! |
I had kept this summary on Notion which is kinda cool and traceable. I will be putting out on the Goals that I am expecting to hit by this quarter. This is going to be an exciting last quarter for 2020 and let's do it!