Big News: Dato’ Seri Vijay Eswaran and QNET in Forbes Magazine!

Forbes Magazine, an international business publication, featured our mentor and V Managing Partner’ Vijay Eswaran in a riveting article entitled “Selling A Better Life” about his journey to founding QNET and turning it into the successful global multi-level marketing company it is today.

The article is refreshingly honest about QNET’s history, Vijay Eswaran and other senior directors’ experiences, and the controversial industry of network marketing, highlighting the key highs and lows of building such a business that is close to achieving US $ 1 billion in sales in coming years.

Touching on the unique values, strategies and product lines that set QNET apart from competitors and also contribute greatly to the company’s overall success, the article is an informative and insightful read for everyone.

It’s your hard work, belief and dedication that has and will continue to drive the company’s incredible growth and amazing success!

Source: http://www.forbes.com/sites/donaldfrazier/2012/10/24/selling-a-better-life/

 

Selling A Better Life – Vijay Eswaran

In the Rough-and-Tumble Business of Direct Sales, Malaysia’s Vijay Eswaran Learns from Mistakes and Builds a Movement.

Thousands have come to Jakarta from all over Asia, waiting with patience and anxiety for this moment. At last the music swells. An excited murmur arises; he enters behind a phalanx of bodyguards, and the crowd parts. People strain to touch him or at least his high-collared tunic. Spotlights cast him in a golden glow. He raises a hand in benediction, utters a few unheard words and lets the rush carry him on. Vijay Eswaran has arrived.

It’s a triumphant return to Indonesia for the Malaysian founder and chairman of the Qi Group, a young giant of multilevel marketing with sales that could approach $1 billion in the next couple of years. His annual three-day convention, training session, pep rally and lovefest, the VCon, has attracted more than 8,000 of his company’s so-called IRs. These are some of the 4.5 million independent representatives who buy and sell his products, creating networks that they call a chain of prosperity, giving them a business of their own and a vision of a better life.

Wrapped up in the adulation, it’s tempting for Eswaran to forget the last time his event was held here, in 2007. An obscure lawsuit in the Philippines had mutated into an Interpol arrest warrant, clapping him and three senior executives in jail for three weeks. Indonesian courts scoffed and set him free; a Manila court dismissed the charge soon afterward. But Eswaran remembers it as one of the consequences of building a business in which some people expect a get-rich-quick scheme and feel cheated when they don’t get one.

Or as one reveler put it, “Just because there’s no limit on what you can make doesn’t mean you don’t have to work. Some people don’t, some do.” A young man from Malaysia, Omar, was without prospects in 2009 when he joined Qnet, the company’s keystone division, to sell personal-care products to a few friends, who told other friends. It was tough going at first, but now he can afford to move out on his own and wants to get married next year. “It has changed my life, and it has changed me,” he says. “For all of this I thank Vijay Eswaran.”People such as Omar have helped Eswaran emerge as one of the most charismatic of Asia’s self-made businesspeople over the past 20 years. Selling the simple things of day-to-day life such as cosmetics and discount phone cards, while also building a thriving gold coin business, has made the 52-year-old one of the richest people in Malaysia. Forbes Asia estimates his net worth at $500 million, based on his stake in the unlisted company as well as holdings in real estate and fine art on display in his lavish homes in Kuala Lumpur, Bangkok, Sydney, Hong Kong–where the Qi Group has been headquartered since 1998–and London. (The company won’t divulge his stake, saying only that it’s a majority share, but insiders there indicate that it’s between 70% and 90%. Qi also won’t disclose its annual profits.)

At the same time he has been the target of dozens of accusations of everything from sketchy dealings to outright fraud. There have been outraged postings on the Internet and short-lived government crackdowns. Rumors of shoddy dealings can be the kiss of death in a business where word of mouth is all-important. So Eswaran decided to defeat them openly, with an aggressive campaign of newspaper ads, a website devoted to debunking the claims, and lawsuits. Now many of the claims have been retracted, and the online slurs have faded.

Feeling vindicated, Eswaran is remaking the much maligned multilevel marketing industry, bringing in corporate-style management, information technology and new product development. He’s diversified into areas such as telecoms, travel and meeting management. He’s brought business skills, energy and jobs to developing parts of Asia where they can be scarce. And he’s done this with a company culture that stresses spiritual growth, positive intentions and service to others (see sidebar) . “This is a very difficult part of the world to operate in,” says Charles King, an academic at the University of Illinois who has studied direct sales for 25 years. “I don’t know of any other company in Asia that has been able to master the subtleties of the multilevel marketing structure so well, continually adapting it to produce sustained growth.”

Readmore: http://www.forbes.com/sites/donaldfrazier/2012/10/24/selling-a-better-life/

 

Vijay Eswaran helms a business empire that spans the globe

Vijay Eswaran helms a business empire that spans the globe, but the Mahatma’s principles are among his most treasured possessions

He is a Malaysian by nationality and prefixes his name with the title “Dato’”, the equivalent of a knighthood, bestowed in Malaysia. But what is most striking about the man is his claim that he follows the principles of “ahimsa” (although it technically means non-violence, the scope of this connotation is widened to include ethical behaviour) which Mahatma Gandhi, the apostle of peace, not only preached but also practised.

The entrepreneur says he practises Gandhian principles even in today’s corporate world, known for its dog-eat-dog notoriety, where ethics tend to recede into the background and profits reign supreme.Meet 52-year-old Vijay Eswaran, a Malaysian of Indian descent, who has set up a business empire that stretches across many parts of the world. He was recently in New York to receive the New Global Indian (NGI) award for business excellence and philanthropy from the global Indian diaspora that descended on New York for the gargantuan Global India Business Meet (GIBM) 2012. Penang-born Eswaran is also an author, speaker and philanthropist.

He graduated with a degree in socio-economics from the London School of Economics in 1984. Thereafter he stayed on in Europe for a year and did several odd jobs. In 1986, he obtained an MBA from the Southern Illinois University. Finally, Eswaran worked towards creating his own business; he is today the executive chairman of the QI group, founded in 1998, an e-commerce based conglomerate with businesses diversified into retail and direct sales, technology, lifestyle and leisure, luxury and collectibles, education, training and conference management, property development and logistics.

The QI Group has regional offices in Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand, besides having a presence in nearly 30 countries through a wide range of subsidiary companies. The chairman of the Council of Quest International University in Malaysia, Eswaran is also on the advisory board of the Global Business Council and Corporate Malaysia Roundtable. In addition to the GIBM award conferred on him, Eswaran was given the Outstanding Entrepreneur of the Year award at the Asia Pacific Entrepreneurship Award 2012. He arrived in New York as one of Forbes Asia’s top 48 philanthropists.

Readmore: http://gulfnews.com/about-gulf-news/al-nisr-portfolio/weekend-review/malaysia-s-gandhian-entrepreneur-1.1097017#.UJNHpkjbJkc.facebook

 

Vijay Eswaran- Qnet Founder Eswaran Extolled, Vilified as Readers Weigh In

November story on Vijay Eswaran (“Selling a Better Life”), who makes the Malaysian Rich List for the first time, at No. 25, prompted an outpouring of reader reaction. It’s drawn more than 35,000 views online and 167 comments, and nearly 5,000 people had shared it on Facebook as of February 22. Most of the feedback was full of praise. Some of it was downright slanderous, not only toward his multilevel marketing company, Qnet, but also toward FORBES ASIA.

“Dato Vijay is one of the most incredible, successful entrepreneurs in the world,” according to Mohamed Abdullah, posting a comment. Egidius Mwabuki said, “Unbelievable!! … with this, business life has changed. I have started to dream again and my dreams have begun to come true one after another.” Prashant Sharma offers, “Big thanks to Dato Vijay” and compares Eswaran with Mahatma Gandhi, Mother Teresa and the like. Qnet executives logged on as well; so did a number of academics in a debate on whether any such company that enlists an army of independent representatives to pitch its products to friends and neighbors can be a legitimate business.

Others had a darker view. Pawan Sood said, “One doesn’t need to be a rocket scientist to figure out why Qnet is a scam.” Juliet Thomsen goes further: “Wow!!! FORBES promoting a fraud; I guess true journalism is indeed dead.” And Ashu Dutt claims, “Qnet openly uses your article to mislead people on their credibility. … Hundreds of homes have been destroyed.” He didn’t provide evidence.

Sucheta Dalal, an Indian financial journalist who crusades against scams and promotes workshops on how to avoid them, made the most of our story, flatly calling Eswaran’s company a fraud in her Moneylife blog. In a Twitter post she laments, “It’s pathetic how Qnet is leading people to financial ruin.” And in another she suggested we had been bribed to run the story. We offered her a chance to make her case by debating Eswaran’s chief lawyer online. She ridiculed the offer and refused to accept it.

 

Malaysia’s Vijay Eswaran gets philanthropy and business excellence award from NY Indian diaspora

Penang-born Malaysian entrepreneur Datuk Vijay Eswaranwas honoured Saturday night with the New Global Indian (NGI) award for philanthropy and business excellence at the Global Indian Business Meet (GIBM) 2012 in New York.

Eswaran is the founder and executive chairman of the QI Group of Companies.At the award ceremony, Eswaran was cited by many speakers as a “renowned Malaysian entrepreneur, author, speaker and philanthropist”.

The QI Group, founded in 1998, is an e-commerce-based conglomerate with businesses diversified into retail and direct sales, technology, lifestyle and leisure, luxury and collectibles, education, training and conference management, property development and logistics.

Eswaran’s QI Group has regional offices in Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand, besides having a presence in nearly 30 countries through a wide-range of subsidiary companies.

As chairman of the University Council of Quest International University in Malaysia, Eswaran is also on the advisory board of the Global Business Council and Corporate Malaysia Roundtable.

In addition to the GIBM award, Eswaran was given the Outstanding Entrepreneur of the Year award at the Asia Pacific Entrepreneurship Award 2012.

Eswaran arrived here already decorated with another award by Forbes Asia as one of the top 48 philanthropists. The audience, comprising largely senior leaders of the globally-spread Indian diaspora, had eagerly waited to hear his views on the subject of the Indian economy and the political landscape in India.

 

Vijay Eswaran Does QI Proud with CEO of the Year Award

Vijay Eswaran was awarded the Malaysian Business Awards (MBA) “CEO of the Year 2013” by the Asean Business Advisory Council Malaysia on November 8, 2013. Eswaran, who is the co-founder and Executive Chairman of the QI Group of Companies, received the coveted award from Dato Sri Mustapa Mohamad, the Malaysian minister of international trade and industry at the 5th MBA Gala Dinner held in Kuala Lumpur.
The MBA awards recognise excellence, innovation and best practices in business entities and are widely regarded as the ultimate showcase of outstanding businesses and personalities in Malaysia.
Eswaran, a well-known philanthropist and speaker, established the multinational QI Group in 1998 which includes a diverse range of businesses including e-commerce, hospitality, retail and financial services. Most recently, he established the Quest International University in Perak in 2011. He has also been recognized for his extensive philanthropic activities in Malaysia and abroad.
“I am humbled to receive an award that has in the past recognised some exceptional individuals who I personally admire. It is an honour to be recognized by my peers in Malaysia.”
“My gratitude goes to everyone at the QI Group who has stood by me and helped us grow from a small group of dreamers to a 1000+ multi-business, multi-national organization with a global footprint. Although I am the one holding the trophy, this award belongs to a larger community of talented, supportive and passionate individuals. We are only as strong as our teams and in that regard, I have been very fortunate,” said Eswaran.
Other notable recipients of the night were Tan Sri Yeoh Tiong Lay (Lifetime Achievement Award), Tan Sri Lim Kok Wing (International Excellence Award), Tan Sri Bashir Ahmad and Tan Sri Francis Yeoh for industry excellence.

 

E-learning and network marketing go hand in hand at QNET

Majority of our female students are from MENA region, says QNET
The President of Harvard University once said, “If you think education is expensive – try ignorance.” Any career necessitates a lifetime commitment to what you do, and that means a commitment to a lifetime of learning. This is perhaps the reason for the explosive growth of the e-learning industry around the world. According to a report by GSV Advisors from Silicon Valley, the global eLearning market is estimated to grow at a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 23% over the next three years, at which time its value will exceed $255 billion by 2017.

Access to education has never been more convenient, and the beauty of it is that learningis now an experience that can truly be shared with people across the world. It doesn’t matter who you are or where you are from–or what age you are–if there’s something you would like to learn about, you can do so anytime you like.

As the eLearning market continues to grow from strength to strength, so too does another young industry in the region-direct selling. The World Federation of Direct Selling Associations (WFDSA) which represents direct selling associations from more than 60 countries, reports that the market size of the industry globally grew 5 per cent last year to hit US$154 billion in sales. Globally, approximately 90 million people are involved in the direct selling business.Therefore it won’t come as any great surprise that both these sectors are helping each other grow.

QNET, the prominent Asian direct selling company, is seeing growing demand for its online education programs offered under the brand Swiss eLearning, across a wide range of demographics in the MENA region.

The courses designed by the Swiss Management Centre (SMC) University, accredited by the Accreditation Council for Business Schools and Programs and ranked No.3 in Europe for online education by Newsweek magazine, range from academic programs such as the Accelerated Bachelor of Business Administration and the Accredited Online MBA program to non-academic niche courses in e-Commerce, Entrepreneurship, Presentation and Communication Skills, Career Design, Marketing and The Art of Management.

“E-learning is becoming increasingly popular across the region'” says Haldun Arin, ,QNET’s Chief Operating Officer “I recently read a report that the industry has experienced 8.2% annual growth and has generated approximately USD 443 million in 2013 in the Middle East.”

“Our e-learning courses are the second most popular purchase in the MENA region. In Egypt alone around 4000 persons subscribed to our education products” added Arin. The framework of the Swiss eLearning Programs are based on the concept of ‘continuing education’; a post-secondary education programme that is set up to provide further enrichment, whether professionally or personally.

“Our programs focus on relevancy, blending theoretical knowledge with applied practice, and a feedback loop to reinforce the continued effectiveness of the curriculum. The courses are designed to enhance business and communication skills, two important criteria for the direct selling professional.”, says Arin.

QNET recognizes that a strictly structured, tightly framed environment like that of a traditional university or classroom setting is not the most suitable for the dynamic and busy schedules of direct selling professionals.

“As a result of the fast-paced lifestyle, there is little time left to fit in the things we would like to do, especially with regards to education.” says Arin. “That is why we partnered with SMC University to launch the eLearning programsso that our distributors can gain two-fold benefits from this. Firstly, they gain knowledge and secondly by promoting the courses to others, they create an income stream for themselves.”

Studies have also indicated that general offline enrollment ratios for females in the Middle East and Egypt are generally lower than males. In Egypt there is as much as 20% lower female enrollment than males with higher dropout rates due to social and traditional barriers. One striking benefit of online education options for women in the Middle East is the idea that e-learning programs can sidestep many social barriers. With increasing Internet penetration in the MENA region reaching 43% in Egypt, e-learning is becoming very popular with women who want the flexibility to learn from home.

“At QNET, we were pleasantly surprised to find a large number of female students subscribing for our e-learning courses from the region.” Added Arin.

eLearning pioneers expect that the new age of education will allow learning to truly “blend with our everyday activities”. The World Economic Forum has even listed eLearning as one of the top technology trends for 2014.

 

QNET Marussia F1 Finale – 10th Place and Popping the Champagne

Emotional scenes in the QNET sponsored Marussia F1 Team’s garage yesterday in Sao Paolo when it was finally clear: Marussia had won the 10th spot in the constructors championship of the Formula 1 Championship 2013.

It was a close battle all year long, with the Caterhams dangerously near as they were all of last year. The memories of 2012 were still fresh, when Caterham beat Marussia in this exact race in Sao Paolo and ended 10th in the championship, leaving QNET’s sponsored team behind.

The battle at the back to not finish last was hotter than ever this year. Quite literally the difference between finishing 10th and 11th is many millions of dollars in prize money.

Max and Jules were Marussia’s rookie drivers for this season. Both fresh from GP2, they had never before driven on some of the tracks they were challenged to face during the season. Nevertheless, they both showed an impressive performance throughout the entire season. Jules finishing 15th in Melbourne and 13th in Sepang, while Max finished everyone of the 19 races in the season which makes him the first rookie driver to ever accomplish that.

John Booth, Team Principal told us that he was very proud of the team’s achievement: “Credit to the whole Team – both trackside and back at base in Banbury – for an incredibly hard-fought 2013 campaign. Well done to both Jules and Max, who have performed admirably in a tough rookie season, having more than risen to the challenge.”

And we are proud too. Way to go Marussia, we always believed in you.After a well deserved break, the 2014 season will get underway in Australia on 13 March 2014. Bring it on!

Check out all the photo action and follow us for updates on@qnetvfanandwww.facebook.com/qnetvfan.

 

Qnet-Earn like a Gold Star Plus even More!

Starting today, QNET has made your Compensation Plan a hell of a lot better and to celebrate, it’s time to start living like a Gold Star!

Enjoy all the perks of a Gold Star Rank with Go for Gold Plus, the new six-week promo starting today and running until Friday, 11 April 2014.
But actually, with Go for Gold Plus, you can earn even more than a Gold Star because you’ll be generously rewarded with a huge additional bonus if you can qualify!

Are you ready to take on the challenge? We hope so because getting MORE is the way to go.

Find out more in the Virtual Office announcement.

 

Get More with QNET’s Enhanced Compensation Plan

MORE_blog Rotate Over the weekend, we gave you more. More potential Repeat Sales Points, more ways to advance to Silver Star Rank and more opportunity to advance to the giddy heights of Platinum and Diamond Star.

Our enhanced QNET Compensation Plan makes QNET the network marketing company of choice!

Your hard work and effort deserve total dedication and commitment from QNET. Because you deserve the best, we are constantly in search of ways and means to improve everything and anything we can get our hands on.

2014 marks a new milestone for the way you do business with QNET and we will do our best to serve you to ensure your success.

For more detail about the changes please see the announcement in your Virtual Office. If you have any questions, please contact us on global.support@qnet.net.