With an initial investment of RM8, a lecturer at Universiti Tun Hussein Onn Malaysia (UTHM) turned into a millionaire at the age of 29 by selling scattered dried leaves on an e-commerce platform eBay. Dr. Mohd Zulariffin Md Maarof shared his journey of entrepreneurship, which began out of necessity while studying at Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM) in Skudai 10 years ago.
Facing financial challenges as a research assistant, Dr. Zul decided to explore business opportunities. After some research, he discovered that the leaves of the Indian almond tree, locally known as daun ketapang, which were abundant on his campus, had a high demand on the e-commerce platform eBay.
“I discovered that daun ketapang had a high demand on eBay”
He began by collecting the leaves scattered around the campus and cleaning them to eliminate dust and dirt. Dr Zul then decided to register an eBay account, took pictures of the dried leaves, and listed them for sale. To his surprise, he received an email the next morning stating that a customer from Texas, USA, had purchased 30 leaves for $1 each!
He continued sourcing and selling dried leaves. As his business grew, he expanded into selling various other products, particularly from China, leveraging the profits from the sales of dried leaves.
With only RM8 as an initial investment, he gained a profit of RM139.95!
Asked if there is any capital required for this venture; he said that he only needed to cover the shipping costs for international orders. With an initial investment of RM8 for postage, he started collecting the plentiful Indian almond leaves found by the roadside.
Reflecting on his journey, Dr. Zul emphasized that he gained a profit of $30 (RM139.95) by selling 30 dried leaves on eBay. Over the next three years, he diversified his business, and his entrepreneurial success continued to flourish.
Dr Zul now offers eBay entrepreneurship classes
After achieving success through his hard work, Dr. Zul started sharing his knowledge with others, offering physical guidance to about 30 to 40 students in eBay entrepreneurship classes. His academy, Export Oversea Academy, has mentored a total of 15,985 entrepreneurs nationwide.
Dr. Zul, who also serves as the Managing Director of Export Oversea Academy, expressed his desire to empower more entrepreneurs in Malaysia to penetrate the global market.
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