26-year-old Singaporean lady trying out new business venture

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Thanks for allowing transitioning.org to interview you online Eileen, can you tell us abit about your new business and is this your first venture?

We are classified under conference, business intelligence and media industry. Our business involves organizing professional trainings ranging from 2-5 days to Corporations in Asia and Middle East. For an initial start, we will only be generating marine and Oil & Gas events. This is my first full-time venture as I was involved with online fashion previously.

Do you sink in a lot of capital in this business and how many staff have you got right now?

I did not sink in a huge capital for an initial start as I have 2 shareholders supporting me. But we have provisioned a sum of money for contingency purposes. My current staff strength is 3 plus 1 free-lance worker.

You are rather young at 26 years old to be an entrepreneur, can you share with other young budding entrepreneurs what lessons you have learn so far and what motivates you to go into business?

Well, I don’t think I’m considered young as an entrepreneur. There are alot of other people out there who started their ventures earlier. For new start-ups, I think its important to do their business planning. However, too much planning will do no good either. Most people are in their comfort zone. The more they plan, the more problems arise. This is one of the potential issues that will hinder you in starting a business. I had this dilemma when I started so I know how hard it is to struggle. At times, you need to be impulsive to do the first step.

Besides making money, what other things do you want to gain from the venture?

My objective for this business is to provide a holistic training experience for my clients and creating a platform where business connects. Starting this business is a first step. I will not stop at one.

Do you think that Singapore is a tough environment for entrepreneurship as we are all geared from young to think like a worker?

I don’t think so. Frankly, I think the government has done enough to support new entrepreneurs. In fact, Singapore is a pro-business environment and setting up a business is fairly easy as compared to other countries. The mindset has to be right in the first place. Most people are not willing to give up a high salary job and start something new because they will be hurt by the pay-cut in the initial years.

What changes do you hope to see in order for our entrepreneurial culture to be improved?

In my opinion, it is not the government to encourage people starting their ventures. I feel that the individuals upbringing and environment are the roots to an entrepreneurial culture. Perhaps a harsh policy could be implemented that everyone who are aged 16 and above are not able to leverage on their parents money for education. This might trigger everyone to start looking for means to finance their education and in turn will be a good start for any aspiring entrepreneurs.

Will you be also applying for any startup fund from the government?

Not at the moment, but will be actively exploring.

You mention that you have a foreign worker – compared to the Singaporean one, is he better or worse?

Definitely better. I have worked and managed both foreigners and Singaporeans in the past 4-5 years. Generally, foreigners will actually work harder because they need money and have a strong desire to excel as they are not in their homeland. We Singaporeans tend to do what we are only paid for. Ultimately, this lies with the upbringing and the character of the individual.

What is your goal for your self and the business in 5 years’ time?

In the next 5 years, I hope to establish a 3rd office and increase my headcount to more than 50 staff. Moving on, I will also aim to establish my next business in F&B and pursue my studies in psychology.

End of interview and thank you.