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They provide mailing or postal services for your printed materials in bulk. They help IKEA Malaysia to deliver hundred of thousands of their brochures to every household in Klang Valley. Banks use them to post the bill to you.

They are the expert but they are HIDDEN!

Their office is nowhere you can easily find. No website and they hardly reply your email. Yet, they are one of the best.

SM Unique Mailing Services Sdn Bhd

68, Jalan Nadchatiram 1, Taman Taynton Off, Jalan Cheras, 56000 Kuala Lumpur (New Office)

40, Jalan 30E/146, Desa Tasik, Bandar Tasik Selatan, , 57000 Kuala Lumpur (Old Office)

Tel: 03-90589192 Fax: 03-90586762 Email yatie@smu-mailing.com

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Alright, I have done my part. Be found!

A new domain name was registered to resume their business operation, but it is tedious for sure. Despite the police report, my friend tried everything but in vain, for a month! They wrote to both original and new Registars, as well as the domain name reseller in Malaysia – but no luck!

The domain name was originally registered with Tucows, 4 years ago, through their reseller ACME Commerce in Malaysia. The domain theft transferred the domain name to a new registrar called Name.com. This was done anonymously.

True to say, many Registrar take no action on such issues. To them, it was a legal transfer. The dispute is between the staff and the company, none of their business. Tucows requested a so called International court order, a document equivalent to – we are not going to do anything. ACME, in this case – the billing party, failed to do anything too.

Many domain name owners do not bother to update their domain name registration information, or WHOIS record. It is too late until your domain name was transferred and only you find out your contact information is not updated. Domain name reseller or registrar never bother to inform client on keeping the up-to-date WHOIS record too.

Run a WHOIS check, make sure Registrant and Administrator information shows the owner of the business, not any Technical staff or someone who provide the domain name registration. Make sure it is your email got listed, than any other email which you do not have access. Remember, any changes or transfer to the domain name triggers email notification, and you will be the first one to know, to take immediate action.

The Story Continues – Retrieving the Domain Name!

I wrote an email to Tucows, no reply. My second email to Name.com was replied within a day who promise to look into this matter. This was great! Here comes, the proof of ownership of a domain name. While WHOIS shows the ownership of the domain name in text, but not in action. Yes, same thing to contract. The conduct of a business utilizing the domain name in their brochure, namecard, emails – all shows a conduct of the usage of the domain name. My friend’s company pay for the renewal yearly, another solid proof!

With all document compiled and emailed to Name.com, we are expecting to retrieve the domain name back soon! :)

Updates: The case was finally resolved. The ownership was returned to my client via a account transfer done by Name.com. All thanks to the prompt action taken by Name.com and the initiative to liaise between the parties.

It’s been a year where a4trip.com realize that best travel experience is without a guide, a year where our average response time is more important than anything else. And finally, on a personal note, I wish to complete my book, talk to even more entrepreneurs and understand the world better!

Anything to share?

Yes, comes the standard story…

Several web agencies were invited to present a mockup. The best one was chosen. A brand new website was launched after several months, Old marketing managers were happy about it, at very least!

The problem of many businesses is they don’t think big enough! Perhaps, they have tried to think out of box, but the box is just too small.

How far can a cruise operator’s website go if it can only allow booking of their own tour package? What is the difference when it was compared to a cruise booking website that allow visitors to book tour package of any cruise operator?

I have recently attended their private launch of the new Maybank2U 2.0 website. If only Maybank2U knows not all users are techy, and their new website doesn’t seem to address to this problem at all!

A common problem for many System Interface Designers is, they believe everyone knows hitting Ctrl+V is Paste, and no one will choose the Paste function from File menu.

The old Maybank website

Look at the amount of information, links and pictures in this page. Yes, this is catchy in a bad way- distracting users’ attention on important notice and security alert. Choice is not good, in this case.

This might easily help everyone (Including Mr. Ctrl+V and Mr. File) to fight phishing. This cost less to develop, no consultancy fee to pay (I’m happy to share), and most importantly, to convince more people to use Maybank2U!

Think about this classic Chicken and Egg question. Visitors to Youtube are looking for video clips uploaded by other visitors. Which come first, visitors or video clips?

Many online business owner do not want to touch this. It is no doubt a tough questions to answer, yet so important that one should be aware of this and has a plan!

They appear like a dream project to me. They are different from conventional business which involved only selling of services of products. I doubt dream project is unplanned (like many stories you have heard from those successful Web 2.0 owners).

Plan it now!

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You’ve chosen the off-the-beaten path. You’ve thousand of decisions to make from now on, from choosing a name for your Blog, to how to generate your first quotation. How important is your namecard design and is it worth to spend your bullet banging on billboard? How about business model and sustaining your business in the coming days…

Yes, my partner Yowchuan and I, wish to have a cuppa with you, sit down and listen to you. The reason for us to do so, because we believe through sharing, we learn – we learn from you too!

Just like Michelin (yes, the famous tyre manufacturer) with its annual guide books ‘The Michelin Guide‘, Mercedes-Benz also has their tradition of presenting ten handpicked tracks by international newcomers as a free download compilation called Mixed Tape.

What is Mixed Tape to do with Automotive giant? Just like every successful online business has their story, I believe Mixed Tape is the story of offline business… :)

Just received a quick email from Karen, inviting us to check out the pictures taken during her recent trip to Cameron Highland. Cosmic Favorite, I never get it right to be frank, but I can never forget those amazing pictures in it. Must ask Karen why use this name next time? :)

I love the way how Karen compose each picture. I been to some of the places visited by Karen, you will be surprised how great photographer see from different angles. I particularly like those Black and White pictures!

But after a while, you start to think why the result was not as expected. Your cost acquiring new visitors is high, the Blog is not active, no one seems to use the tell-a-friend box in your website…

But, someone next door – without any experience in selling books, started an online book store. They have some funny story and people are spreading the news for them, their CEO can be reached anytime by an email, the way they reply the customer support email is fun.

Start an online business, never extend it from a conventional one!

It would be the best if every party in the loop go beyond their own scope!

What is noise? When you have hundred of products but only one which is selling well, the rest are noise. When you want to indulge yourself to do something, any interruption is considering noise, as well!

Outsourcing seems to be one of the way to cut off noise. Sony or IKEA will not be of what they are today if they choose not to outsource. Raw materials, production and logistics are examples of noise.

Noise can be passing around. Consumers buy rice from supermarkets, supermakets from distributors, distributors tfrom rice mill owners, and farmers lastly. Each level trying to get rid of noise.

What is the effect of noise? Farmers spent most of their time working in the paddy field to produce rice. In this case, farmers are bearing the noise from consumers, under the hot sun. The digested noise are now turning into experience of how to grow paddy!

Skill is a result of noise!

When you are in another country, and the hard drive of the file server in your company crashed. Working remotely comes to a real test, where:

1. Restoration must be done quickly! Getting ready with second hard drive, moving backup files into the new server, re-install the Linux platform…

2. Tools to get you connected to your office, both voice and video. We use Skype. Broadband connection, power supply, cup of coffee – Starbucks, if only you can be there in time!

3. A team of people back in the office to work as your hands. This also means the whole set of infra for both voice and video must also be steadily available back in your office. I am lucky to have both, infra and a very capable team!

In order to pay via Paypal, buyers are required to sign-up for a Paypal account before they can submit the payment. In fact, the Paypal registration process is not as straight forward as it claims.  Most of the time, seller will receive questions/complaints from buyer as following.  

What is a Paypal Expended Number Program?

Why am I required to enter my bank details?

Why was I been charged for USD1? Is this a hidden charges from you?

First of all,  it is absolutely Free for buyer to signup for Paypal account.

To prevent fraud cases, Paypal will require buyers to verify their account via the Expanded Use Program. To prove the ownership of the credit card/bank account, Paypal will charge/deposit a small amount of money to buyers’ credit card/bank that they’ve registered with Paypal. Buyers will have to check their credit card statement/bank statement to retrieve a secret code from that transaction and enter back to Paypal system for verification purpose.

As an Unverified member of PayPal, buyers’ payments are subject to a Sending Limit. By becoming Verified, buyers will be able to send unlimited funds with their PayPal account. 

Paypal will refund money back to buyers’ account after they verifiy with Paypal.

If a website is new, without much traffic and returning visitors – a ‘good’ website should be simple and take less time to develop. More time should be spent on the marketing, to drive more visitors to your website.

Increase Conversion

Once a website is getting enough traffic (in our terms, above 500 visitors a day), you should have enough feedback to build a website closer to what your visitors want. In this case, ‘good’ websites are those with initutive layout, content what your visitors like, etc! In one word, higher conversion rate!

Conversion rate is inversely related to the clicks required to get things done.

Though simplicity is not a necessity, it’s definitely a virtue when attention span is getting shorter every second.

Show your customers you are sincere in helping them out.

We use OpenVPN. It comes with VPN server & client together. VPN server was installed in our Linux box inside LAN. Since most of the clients connecting to the VPN server are notebooks running Win XP, therefore will use Windows GUI version of OpenVPN.

If you are interested to setup one, you can refer to this HOWTO, which I feel it is most helpful! Few things, remember to allow port forwarding in your router, and also make sure no firewall blocking the client and server.

Including multiple machines on the server side
http://openvpn.net/archive/openvpn-users/2006-02/msg00252.html