Spirit Of Enterprise- Interview

ENTREPRENEUR INTERVIEW What made you embark on this venture choice? The growth in business networking made me embark on this venture choice. How does your business work? There are a lot of brainstorming and meetings involved. As my business work provides consultancy to my client, I need to constantly brainstorm for ideas and prepare proposals for meetings with them. When all these are done, the next important step is the execution of these business proposals. Did you have the capital to start the business or did you have to borrow from someone to get started? No, I did not have any capital to start the business. All I did was to spend $100 to register my business. I used the cash flow strategy where I started with very little money and I worked from home. When my business started to grow and I have made some money, I began to start a small business and slowly used the money earned to expand the scale of business. Do your parents have their own businesses too? Have they inspired you in one way or another? No, they do not have their own business. Though they did not inspire me in one way or another, they have been very encouraging and supportive. What was your childhood dream? When did you decide that you would strike out on your own instead of working for someone else? My childhood dream was to be in the entertainment industry. My passion for performing on stage has already started since I was young when I started performing on stage during my primary school days. In addition, I have always wanted to be a model since young and I was very happy to fulfil this childhood dream when I started modelling at the age of 14. Subsequently, I also dream to be a star and I was glad to be given the opportunity to work with then TCS. I decided that I would strike out on my own when I was working as a part- time admin staff during my secondary school days. Often, I was been yelled at and ever since then, I promise myself that I will strive to strike out on my own. Why does someone decide to be on their own rather than join an existing company? It is because someone may be born to be a leader and thus one strives to strike out on his own and lead a group of people. It may also probably because someone is a risk taker. People usually choose to be an employee as there is more security in receiving a fixed pay. Are there at any point in your life that you experienced a significant event (WW2, racial riots of the 1960s, the Economic Crisis of the 80s or 90s, SARS, new competition or shifts in market behaviour and trends) which affected or influenced you and your business that made you change the way you think and do your business? I remembered that business was not very stable during the 1997 economic crisis. Business went up and down during this period. After a few years, SARS hit the town and business became stagnant. During this period, I decided to further my study and went on to take a degree in business administration. Taking a degree helps my business in one way or another and I have learnt a lot by being better able to associate what I have experienced in my business to my study. What are some of the challenges in starting a business from scratch? (Modify question to what are some of the challenges in maintaining a family business if applicable.) I have to do everything by myself and learn everything from head to toe so that I can be equipped with all the necessary skills and not be too dependent on the skills of others in situations when things do not go well. Overall, I have to ensure that the business is going on smoothly. Besides all these, I still have to learn to be a good boss and manage the models. Managing the female models requires a lot of HR skill and during the start of the business, there is no intermediary between the models and I and thus all information has to be directed straight from me to the models. This can be a difficult task as there are so many models to handle. Lastly, there are many negotiations and persuasions to do. Who/What motivates you? Passion and challenges motivate me. They give me more determination to complete the race. Tell me about the first few customers and the first few years of business. The first few years of business are at the growing stage and thus there is a lot of hard work. We slowly changed from small company to big company as the clientele increases in size. As the resources and capacity of the company increases, our client also changes from the SMEs to the bigger corporation. Please tell me some stories of your best day in business or your proudest achievement to date. My proudest achievement to date will be my recognition and reputation in this industry as well as the publications. Do you recall your worst day in business? Have you ever felt like giving up? There are many ups and downs in business and many times I feel like giving up. However, whenever I feel low, I will take time to relax and refresh myself so that I will feel revitalized. Moreover, being the leader of the company gives me a sense of responsibility and the drive to keep on going and never give up because without delegations and instructions from the leader, the staffs will be at a loss and they will have no sense of direction in their work. When was the moment you realised the business would work and support you? I realized the business would work and support me when I have already established a wide network with recommendations from people around me. What are some of the things you have had to overcome to succeed? Books as I do not like to read. However, I need to overcome this as I have to self- improve constantly in every aspects. There is also a need to overcome criticisms. I used to be arrogant but I have learnt to be more humble and accept criticisms in a positive way to improve myself for the better. What are some qualities that you feel you possess which differentiate you from someone who works for others? Creativity and a mind that thinks for twenty four seven. To succeed in business, what qualities are essential? What are some of the secrets in making a successful business? To succeed in business, one has to be a good leader as well as a good manager. In addition, one has to be meticulous about the finance matter such as the cash flow and be able to save cost. Furthermore, one has to take the initiative to find every opportunity to let other people know about one�s business. Lastly, we should show sincerity in whatever we do and that is one of my secret to establishing good inter- personal relationship that helps one in doing business. I have a calendar where I will note down the names of the people I have met and exchange name cards with, indicating the place and events as well. This is to keep a record of all the people I have met and thus be able to keep in contact and invite them to any events organized. Should I not be able to exchange my name card with someone, I will personally send one to the respective person by mail. Who or what inspires you? Well- known entrepreneurs like Bill Gates, Robert Kiyosaki, Richard Benson and more. Have you ever thought of expanding the business in some way or in multiple locations? How and where? I used to look at Bangkok and Malaysia but I realized it is difficult due to the language barrier and it is also hard to adjust to the different lifestyles and way of doing businesses. In addition, I have to worry about my home business should I be expanding the business in multiple locations. Moreover, I have to find someone trusted to help to manage the business if I were to expand my business. Thus, I have decided to concentrate on the business in Singapore as I can still see much more growth in the market. What aspects of expansion would you like to see for your enterprise? would like to try doing other businesses such as Food and Beverage and Nightlife entertainments. In your opinion, how would you define entrepreneurship? An entrepreneur is someone who is able to take risk and strategize. He/she is someone who knows the expectations and makes forecast for expansion. To what extent does one?s educational level help or hinder entrepreneurial-ship? Educational level helps one to gain knowledge but experiences are the ones that build up one�s confidence and personal development. As we try to select the final 41 entrepreneurs, what qualities would you think a person should have to inspire others? A person should be able to give inspiring speech as I think that speech is a powerful tool to inspire someone. Having good leadership and presentation skills also inspire others by leaving them with an impression and ideas which may motivates them in one way or another. What are some of your own values in doing business and what do you like to pass down to others, particularly the younger generation? Have strong leadership and always inspire others by nurturing a group of leaders to lead in future and continue a cycle of leadership renewal and growth to ensure sustainability of capable people in future. What advice would you give young people who want to start their own business? Take it slowly and save cost. Always save enough funds before expanding your business. Do not show hand all the money into one business. Lastly, networking and name cards are very important in doing business. Student Interviewer's Personal Comment A highly self- motivated young entrepreneur, who inspires the young generations to turn their passion into entrepreneurship.