PANELLISTS in the WED WEB CHAT — Entrepreneurs Without Borders talk about how they became entrepreneurs.
Alan Cheung is a relatively late starter, having spent time in the corporate world before switching to his own business. He reckons the experience and wisdom picked up in the corporate world have served him well.
But whether it’s accidental or intentional entrepreneurship, anytime is a good time to do your own thing, especially if you have a network and resources to back you up.
For Joshua Chin, it was a case of trial and error before he hit upon something he loved and a way of working things out to his advantage. Building his e-commerce marketing site involved sourcing talent globally and utilising his skill sets, knowhow and not being thwarted by the lack of funding and resources. The digital native took advantage of YouTube and Google to navigate his way.
Ray Ang was born into the family’s successful melamine manufacturing business and was tasked with its continued growth and expansion. His philosophy in starting a business is based on need rather than want.
While the melamine business has expanded to 44 countries, his newer venture — Sweetest Moments, a gifting business — has filled a need quite effectively.
Taking The Business Overseas
Entrepreneurs build as long as consumers demand.
“Consumers drive the need and entrepreneurs fill the gap,” reasons Alan Cheung, at the WED WEB CHAT — Entrepreneurs Without Borders discussion.
The search for opportunities is ongoing and the glass is always half full.
Joshua Chin started his e-commerce marketing business from his dormitory in the National University of Singapore, connecting to the US market. It was a large enough playing field to allow him to find his footing and tap into the various helpful communities.
“It was a lot of brute force hustle,” he admits. But the virtual way worked for him, and even if it didn’t it would have been easy to pull the plug and look for the next opportunity.
For Ray Ang, whose family’s melamine dinnerware manufacturing business was already well established, expansion was on his mind.
Given the nature of the business, size was important.
“Population size is important,” he explains. Beyond that critical size, cultural sensitivity and having trusted boots on the ground with access to real-time information are also key to ensuring the business operates efficiently.
Tips From The Entrepreneurs
As entrepreneurs who have ventured into this space, Ray Ang, Joshua Chin and Alan Cheung dig into their bags of experience to share some key priorities that have helped them in their respective journeys.
From joining communities like Entrepreneurs’ Organization to not being afraid and moving nimbly, they provide helpful suggestions to help emerging entrepreneurs ease into their roles.
Watch the full discussion of WED WEB CHAT — Entrepreneurs Without Borders below.
Watch our previous wedwebchats: https://storm-asia.com/category/wed-web-chat/
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