MALAYSIAN INSTITUTE OF INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY SEPTEMBER 2013 SEMESTER WEB 20302 PROFESSIONAL ENGLISH 2 L03

INTERVIEW REPORT: AN INTERVIEW WITH MR HUSAINY AMIR BIN ZULKIPLY (THE MANAGER OF VESPA EMPIRE)

PREPARED BY:
# 1 NAME Ijlal Ibrahim Afif STUDENT ID 52208212498 HP NO. 010-3651169

PREPARED FOR: MS. KIM DE SILVA

SUBMISSION DATE: WEDNESDAY 30TH OCTOBER 2013

INTRODUCTION

Vespa is a brand of scooter manufactured by Italian company Piaggo. In Kuala Lump ur, there is a workshop that specialises in the delivery and customization of Vespa sc ooters. This workshop, located at Gombak, is called Vespa Empire and is managed by Mr Hussainy Amir bin Zulkiply.

Currently 27 years of age, Mr Hussainy established Vespa Empire in 2008 and has b een managing the business for 5 years. The fact that Mr Hussainy is a manager at s uch a successful company would not seem apparent to people at first glance; he loo ks very young and is a very calm, humble, and down-to-earth person. Once more is l earnt about him, it is evident how much experience he has gone through to become t he successful person he is today.

An interview was arranged with Mr Hussainy for him to talk about himself, and the st ory of his road to success. Due to fact that the Vespa Empire is located quite far awa y, Mr Hussainy agreed to meet the interview team at the Wangsa Walk Mall, Wangsa Maju, and the interview was conducted at a restaurant.

BACKGROUND

Mr Hussainy grew up in Bandar Pusat Jengka (Jengka Town Centre) in Pahang, Ma laysia. He completed his secondary school education at Jengka Central High School 2, after which he decided to specialise in graphic designing at the Institut Kemahiran MARA (IKM) University in Perak. He obtained a Certificate in Upholstery and Interior Design, and then decided to move into the working world.

He first started working as a freelance graphic designer, but after a while he felt that he was being overloaded with too many projects and that he could not keep up with t he business. After he quit his job, he moved into the world of automobile manufacturi ng when Toyota Motors hired him to assemble car parts. It was then that the world of motor mechanics and design opened up to him, which would help him move to his b usiness with Vespa.
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SETTING UP VESPA EMPIRE

During his time as a student, Mr Hussainy used to own a Vespa scooter. He started a hobby of customising and fixing Vespa scooters together with a friend. During his ti me with Toyota, he envisioned opening a workshop and starting a business with Ves pa. His family and friends supported his vision and provided help and advice as to ho w he could set up this business, and some of them assisted him in collecting money f or the start-up business venture. His parents always kept his motivations and spirits up, and one of his close friends became his business partner during the start-up proc ess. By the year 2008, Vespa Empire was born. Mr Hussainy fondly remembers that the first inventory that they purchased for the shop was a steel cupboard.

Apart from his business partner who helps him run and organise the shop, Mr Hussai ny has 3 staff members working for him.

When asked why he chose to chose to specialise with Vespa, Mr Hussainy pointed o ut that Vespa did have advantages compared to other competitor scooters, such as t he durability of the scooter's steel frame, and how easy it is to obtain spare parts. De spite these advantages, he chose to specialise with Vespa scooters out of his passi on for the Italian scooters, and he proudly considers Vespa as one of the motorcycle pioneers since the mid-1940s.

DAILY ROUTINES AT THE WORKPLACE

Vespa Empire provides a number of services to Vespa scooter owners. These servic es include engine repair, body restoration and paint jobs. They also carry out orders and deliveries of Vespa scooters, and provide a wide variety of accessories that woul d please any Vespa-lover. The scooters and spare parts are imported from Vietnam, Thailand, and Indonesia.

Mr Hussainy explains that Vespa Empire is at its busiest on weekends. During the w eek, they hardly ever get more than 5 customers per day. His staff usually have to re place parts on scooters and perform paint sprays. The prices Vespa Empire offer for
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paint jobs is relatively cheaper than most places, which is why most Vespa owners p refer to go to Vespa Empire. Sometimes there are even requests to rent Vespa scoot ers to be used in wedding photography sessions.

ACHIEVEMENTS AND PROGRESS

When Vespa Empire first opened, the Vespa scooters were being imported from Indi a and then distributed and sold in Malaysia. During the first year of sales, Mr Hussain y proudly announced that Vespa Empire sold 500 bikes, which were mostly models s uch as the LML and Star Dulute scooters.

Today, Vespa Empire also has another branch in Kedah, Malaysia, and enables Ves pa scooters to be sold throughout a large portion of West Malaysia. Mr Hussainy hop es that in the future more branches of Vespa Empire will be opened in other states of Malaysia, which would increase the popularity of Vespa with scooter/motorbike rider s in the country.

CHALLENGES ENCOUNTERED

Vespa Empire had small challenges before it could stand as a business. But during it s operations, Mr Hussainy explained how they still face challenges in going about the daily business.

One problem is getting the brand of Vespa Empire renown among the population of bike riders. There are three workshops that Vespa Empire has to compete with, so it is hard to entice scooter/motorbike riders to come to the workshop for their services.

Another problem is the fact that the parts and supplies that Vespa Empire import fro m overseas usually take a long time to arrive to the workshop and this sometimes cr eates problems with clients since they are kept waiting.

But Mr Hussainy is undeterred by these minor setbacks, and he is confident that Ves pa Empire and where it is going. He was asked if 5 years ago would he ever imagine
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himself at such a position and a successful business, to which he replied that he ha d faith in himself at the time that he could accomplish his dream. He elaborated that since it working with Vespa has been both his dream and passion, he was dedicated to achieve this job, and planned everything carefully along the way to reach his goals .

ALTERNATE REALITY

Mr Hussainy has been determined to reach his dream career, and he succeeded. Bu t he added that had he not reached where he is today, he imagined that his career p ath would have carried him further along the field of Graphic Designing. He has a gre at interest in the arts; not just basic design, but also the arts of music. Mr Hussainy e njoys playing guitar in his spare time, and also has a gardening hobby.

THE ROAD TO SUCCESS

Mr Hussainy advised that for a person trying find to the path to success, it always be gins with yourself. The intention being envisioned must be clear, and that the person must prepare themselves physically and mentally for the road ahead. A person must be particularly prepared financially, and must have some good experience to know w hat problems could lie ahead.

To quote Mr Hussainy, "If you desire to do something, you have to focus on that thin g only and never give up. Face every problem with confidence. Every problem that w e face requires us to think ahead in order to solve it, and you'll get a new experience every time you solve a problem".

CONCLUSION

It was surprising to find out that, during the interview, Mr Hussainy was unable to co mmunicate in English, and that he required the questions to be translated to Bahasa Malaysia for him to understand most of the questions. Since Vespa Empire imports most of its products, it may be expected for Mr Hussainy (being the manager) to hav e to communicate with international respondents. It could be a disadvantage for him i
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f Vespa Empire was able to expand even further internationally.

However, considering the position he has reached in the space of 5 years, it is remar kable what he has accomplished locally. It is quite a feat that he changed the course of his early career himself, stuck to his goals and drove himself forward to accomplis h his vision of owning a Vespa workshop.

Many people have dreams about passions; Mr Hussainy managed to make his drea m become a reality.

Mr Hussainy Amir Bin Zulkiply posing outside the Vespa Empire workshop

APPENDICES

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Interview Questions

1. Tell us a bit about yourself. 2. After you completed your studies, how did you transition into the working environment? 3. What influenced you to start this business? 4. Did you have any help setting up Vespa Empire? 5. Can you give us an idea of what goes on at Vespa Empire? What kind of services do you provide? 6. How many customers do you receive in a day? Is it always extremely busy? 7. How many members of staff do you have working with you? 8. Why was it decided to specialize with Vespa? Are there any advantages compared to Vespa's competitors? 9. Vespa Empire has been in business for almost 5 years. How has the business evolved over time? 10. What are the difficulties you faced while working here? 11. What has been the biggest achievement of Vespa Empire? 12. What kind of changes/improvements do you wish for Vespa Empire? 13. If you were not undertaking this job, where do you think your career path might have taken you? 14. Do you have any special skills or hidden talents? 15. 5 years ago, did you ever think/dream that you would have ever reached such a position in the working world?
16.

As a successful person, do you have any advice for people searching for the road to success?

Photos taken on site:

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The interview session in progress

Mr Hussainy Amir Bin Zulkiply tells us his story

Translation was necessary to commu nicate with Mr Hussainy since he was not fluent in speaking English

The interviewers listen intently as Mr Hussainy answers their questions.

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Various methods were carried out to record the interview session (Video, Photographs, and Note-taking)

GROUP PHOTO Mr Hussainy Amir Bin Zulkiply (centre) with the Interview team

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