SME & Entrepreneurship Magazine

Infobox Magazine
title = SME Magazine


image_size = 150px
image_caption = "SME Magazine", July 2008
editor = William Ng
frequency = Monthly
category = Business Magazine
circulation = 31,059 monthly [ [http://www.smemagazine.com.my SME & Entrepreneurship Malaysia ] ]
publisher = Advantage Integrated Communications
firstdate = March 2007
country = Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, Brunei
ISSN = 1985-2479
language = English
website = [http://www.smemagazine.com.my/ www.smemgazine.com.my]

SME is a regional business magazine published in Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia and Brunei. It is the first publication dedicated to small and medium enterprises. Featuring current news and in-depth analysis, and practical articles and features in everyday language, SME is touted as the most authoritative publication for SMEs.

With a trendy cover coupled with a creative and refreshing layout, SME is exciting, inspiring and motivating. Driven by an excellentpool of correspondents and contributors, SME’s high quality articles are diversified, detailed and written in a way that gives readers a global perspective whilst maintaining unique local insights.

SME is published by Advantage Integrated Communications, which also publishes and owns HR Asia, 5 Senses and Color Me Pretty.

ections

SME is separated into several major sections:
* IN THE NEWS - Featuring local and global news affecting SMEs, ranging from politics and the economy to business and corporate news.
* CHINA ROUNDUP - A specialist section introduced to cover China’s news and happenings.
* MARKET FOCUS - Market Focus discusses current and emerging markets in details, with specific focus on business and export potentials to the country or region in focus.
* SPECIAL REPORT - Special Report highlights industries and issues that are affecting the markets and the economy as a whole, including interviews with key industry players, governing bodies and consumers for a holistic view of the issues.
* PERSONALITY + PROFILE - The Personality + Profile section features real-life entrepreneurs and their businesses and discusses their roads to success, tips and pitfalls, as guide to other SME owners and managers.
* FEATURE - A regular feature with a how-to approach to some of the most common SME issues and requirements, including banking products, insurance, wealth management,business set-up, intellectual properties and so on.
* INSIGHT - The much-beloved Insight section features top notch contributors and industry experts who share practical tips and know-how on dealing with common business issues. This includes the business environment, human resources, legal, advertising & promotions, branding and public relations.
* AT YOUR LEISURE + IN THE MARKET - At Your Leisure brings out the lighter side of the magazine. It brings forth the latest hip and trendy leisure and lifestyle subject matters in town and regular book review section. In the Market features a selection of new products and services for SME owners, with an Editor’s Choice for the product of the month.

Circulation and Demographics

Average Monthly Circulation

*March-May 2007 12,231
*June-August 200719,750
*September-November 2007 23,681
*December 2007 – February 2008 31,059

Average Readership per Month

*March-May 2007 36,693,
*June-August 2007 59,250,
*September-November 2007 71,043,
*December 2007 – February 2008* 93,177

Average Subscriber Base

*March-May 2007 761,
*June-August 2007 1,680,
*September-November 2007 1,972,
*December 2007 – February 2008* 2,485

Average Time Spent on SME Magazine

*Less than 1 hour 7%,
*1 – 2 hours 72%,
*More than 2 hours 11%

Readers’ Credit Card Ownership

*At least one credit card 96%,
*More than one credit card 82%

Readers’ Business Travel involving Flight + Accommodation

*At least 2 business travel per annum 97%,
*At least 6 business travel per annum 77%,
*At least 12 business travel per annum 23%"""SME Magazine readers are frequent travelers"""

Readers’ Average Household Income (per annum)

*Less than RM 120,000 12%,
*RM 120,000 to RM 300,000 64%,
*More than RM 300,000 24%

Past Issues

*March 2007

Cover Story -SME Loans for AllPrime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi shared with us his vision for SMEs and reassured the SME community that SME loans are for all, regardless of racial or geographic backgrounds.

Personality + Profile -William Ng met up with then Parliamentary Secretary in the Ministry of International Trade and Industry, Datin Paduka Dr Tan Yee Kew who was in-charge of the SME portfolio within the ministry, and heard out her advise for SMEs. We also traced Bina Puri’s Tan Sri Tee Hock Seng ascension from a lubricant salesman to construction mogul.

Features -Joan Fam, assistant editor, discussed the various banking solutions for SMEs and the state of the SME banking industry. Joan, who has since left SME, also explored factoring as a solution to SME cash flow needs.

Market Focus -
Thailand – Wooing Foreign Investments

*April 2007

Cover Story -SME FinancingFollowing strong requests, we continued the ‘financing’ theme into April 2007, with Jennifer Lee (who joined us in March 2007) exploring more options for SME financing, beyond the common bank loans.

Personality + Profile -In an SME exclusive, William Ng caught up with Alibaba.com’s legendary CEO, Jack Ma Yun at Davos, Switzerland.

Features -With the rapid growth of the spa industry, we explored concerns of spa operators in Operating a Spa in Malaysia, whilst Angela Clarke shared ideas on Holistic Hotels and Resort Designs.

Market Focus -
China – Opportunity of Danger

*May 2007 Cover Story -SME Funds: Government Financial Aids for SMEsThis issue, we addressed the common fallacy that government financial aids and schemes are limited to certain groups. In a 3-parter, we list out all major government financial aids for the benefits of SMEs.

Personality + Profile -Virgin’s Sir Richard Branson, one of corporate world’s true maverick, proved that there’s no industry too new or too unfamiliar when it comes to spreading his wings.

Features -Low Sin Yip wrote on how to drive SME productivity through IT adoption whilst Juniper’s Wan Ahmad Kamal shared some common internet security software for SMEs.

Market Focus -
Macau: Opportunities for Malaysian Businesses

*June 2007

Cover Story -The Internet IssueOur first format enhancement saw the introduction of a monthly ‘theme’, with the first being on the internet. Jennifer Lee wrote on Internet Marketing whilst Des Odell proposed ways to improve productivity by using the internet.

Personality + Profile -In line with the month’s Internet theme, we featured Jeff Bezos, Amazon.com’s founder and one of internet early successes.

Features -The second part of the 3-parter SME Funding: Government Financial Aids for SMEs were featured – specifically on grants and loans for marketing, promotion and branding, and product development purposes.

Market Focus -
Singapore: Opportunities in the Lion City

*July 2007

Cover Story -The Entrepreneurship IssueIn tribute to outstanding Asian entrepreneurs, the July 2007 issue featured tips by successful entrepreneurs and highlights common mistakes made by entrepreneurs in the hope that current and upcoming entrepreneurs will learn from them.

Personality + Profile -This month, we featured not one, but two world class Asian entrepreneurs. Drawing mostly from his autobiography, we explored Tan Sri Lim Goh Tong’s journey to success – starting with a vision for a resort in the middle of nowhere. We also did a profile on Hong Kong’s moneyman and Asia’s richest entrepreneur, Li Ka Shing.

Market Focus -
Hong Kong: Opportunities for Malaysian SMEs

*August 2007

Cover Story -
Asia Pacific Entrepreneurship AwardsAs the Official Publication for the Asia Pacific Entrepreneurship Awards (Malaysian Region), we incorporated a 32-page Supplement on the Awards and the winners.

Personality + Profile -We interviewed Public Bank’s Tan Sri Dato’ Sri Dr. Teh Hong Piow, who was also the recipient of Asia Pacific Entrepreneurship Awards’ Lifetime Achievement Category.

Features -We adopted Fair Trade as a mini-theme and explain the concepts of fair trade in Fair Trade: Beyond the Hype, whilst exploring ways SMEs can contribute in Why We Should Support Fair Trade.

Market Focus -
Indonesia: Asia’s Next Big Wave
*September 2007

Cover Story -
CSRWith Corporate Social Responsibility playing an increasingly important role in businesses, we outlined how SMEs can adopt CSR too in Incorporating CSR in Your Business. Jennifer Lee and Raja Azura teamed up to discuss ways to implement business ethics in SMEs whilst contributor Arupa Tesolin used the Keiburger brothers as examples in Profits from CSR.

Personality + Profile -
Ingvar Kamprad developed a brand that’s larger than himself – so much so that many people is unaware of the founder of IKEA. We asked him for tips for success, and how SMEs and entrepreneurs can do it too.

Market Focus -
Australia: Exporting to Australia
Brisbane: MICE Capital

*October 2007

Cover StoryBudget 2008It’s budget time and the SME team was tasked to deliver analysis on the 2008 budget and how it affects SMEs and entrepreneurs alike.

Personality + ProfileWe paid tribute to Dame Anita Roddick, the founder of Body Shop and one of the pioneers in responsible entrepreneurship. We traced her early years to her premature death from brain hemorrhage.

Features -Enterprise Asia’s Dr. Richard Li pointed out the growing imbalance between economic growth and poverty reduction and shared some ideas on how the poor can benefit from the growing economic pie.

Market Focus -
Brunei: A Gem for SMEs

*November 2007

Cover Story -OutsourcingAs the outsourcing trend sweeps across the world, we decided to chip in our thoughts on how SMEs can leverage on this trend and not be left out in Outsourcing: The New Business Trend. Jennifer and Raja Azura also provided some tips on outsourcing your marketing functions.

Personality + Profile -Coffee growers have Howard Schultz to thank for the current worldwide frenzy for gourmet coffee. The CEO of Starbucks transformed the single unit coffee retailer into a global giant in record time. He shared with SME in an exclusive story on his path to success and how he used the power of branding to bring Starbucks to the top.

Market Focus -
Vietnam: The Next China

New Section -In November, we also introduced China Roundup - a dedicated news feature on the happenings and key news from China to keep our readers updated on this economic giant.

*December 2007

Cover Story -BrandingIn our branding issue, Gourav Doushi used the fashion industry as an example in discussing ways to develop a brand, whilst our own team recommended branding strategy for SMEs. This was wrapped up with an article on self-branding – You are the Brand.

Personality + Profile -While few may recognise the name Sam Walton in Malaysia – we are all familiar with Wal Mart – the world’s largest retailer and grocer. From a humble childhood in a farm to becoming the father of the modern retail trade, Sam proved that with passion, you can turn dreams into reality.

Features -
Autodesk’s Lim Eng Jin shared ideas on Implementing Building Information Modeling while our partners, Conference Bay introduced the region’s first Hub for Conferences.

Market Focus -
India: Opportunities for SMEs

*January 2008

Cover Story -2008It’s a brand New Year! SME celebrates a whole new year with an article on how to Make 2008 Your Most Productive Ever and predicted some trends for the IT Industry in 2008.

Personality + Profile -The popularity of the internet social networking site MySpace made founders Chris DeWolfe and Tom Anderson instant millionaires, whilst on the local front, Muar boy made good, Lim Boon Siong has plans for regional presence – and we know he could do it.

Features -
HP introduced some very useful solutions for SMEs, renewing their commitment to this important segment.

Market Focus
UAE and Malaysian SMEs

*February 2008

Cover Story - Business StartupOur bestselling issue ever – we had to reprint the magazine TWICE. We worked tirelessly for the article on Staring a Business, while playing devil’s advocate in Are Your Ready to be in Business. We also provided tips on developing Your Business Plan.

Personality + Profile - In an exclusive interview, we asked Rich Dad, Poor Dad’s author, Robert Kiyosaki on what it takes to achieve success, and got rich doses of his signature wit that borders on sarcasm.

Features -
Kee Hua Chee rolls out his crystal ball and predicted some Feng Shui Trends in 2008 for SMEs.

Market Focus
Taiwan: Prospects for SMEs

Link with Bank Negara Malaysia

The magazine is also frequently quoted by Bank Negara Malaysia - Malaysia's central bank [http://www.smeinfo.com.my/index.php?&pg=286&ch=2&ac=462 Bank Negara Malaysia website] in reference to issues related to small and medium enterprises.

MarkPlus Insight-SME Emerging Companies Award

In partnership with MarkPlus Insight [http://www.markplusinc.com MarkPlus Insight Website] , a regional market research and consultancy firm owned by Hermawan Kartajaya, SME Magazine publishes the annual list of Emerging Companies in ASEAN. This is the result of a comprehensive research among major SMEs in Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, Indonesia, Vietnam and the Philippines, taking into consideration both quantitative and qualitative data to determined conmpanies with the best chance of growing into regional and/or global organisations.

Annual List of Movers and Shakers in SME Segment

Published annually in each regional edition of SME, the Movers and Shakers list was launched in the Malaysia edition in May 2008. Among those featured included Malaysia's Prime Minister and other business and political leaders whose decisions affect SMEs the most.

External links

* http://www.smemagazine.com.my Official Site
* http://www.business.com.my Sister Site

References