What is the nature of your business? (Business Profile)
My retail business - Ig's Heaven was established in 1999 as a concept giftware and homeware chain. Currently having two retail shops in Singapore, Ig's Heaven revolutionized the concept of gift-buying by bringing consumer experience to a new level. We introduced many new products imported from various countries, allowing us to have an added competitive advantage over other competitors. Besides retailing, we are also involved in gift distribution to several shopping malls and departmental stores in Singapore and Malaysia.

What made you embark on this venture choice?
After graduating from the National University of Singapore, I perceived a market potential for lifestyle products. Then, there were hardly any lifestyle stores in Singapore, while such trends were already evident in the European and Australian markets, thus my partners and I decided to import these unique products to have them launched in Singapore. The store concept was very well received by the public and within the first three years into operation, more Ig's Heaven stores were set up in various prime locations here.

How does your business work?
Lifestyle products are sourced and imported from different parts of the world. Traveling is very frequent. Once we import these items into Singapore, we distribute them out to our Ig's Heaven outlets and supply these to departmental stores as well. For retail expansion, we conduct research on locations with prime shopping traffic before committing ourselves to the lease terms.

Did you have the capital to start the business or did you have to borrow from someone to get started?
I planned to set up my own business at a young age during my school days, thus I worked hard while having my tertiary education and saved up some capital. I then borrowed the remaining sum from friends before I committed to the business. With an amount of no more than S$30K, I ventured into the retail business together with few partners.

Do your parents have their own businesses too? Have they inspired you in one way or another?
They used to run their own business years ago, but failed. My mum has always been my inspirational figure. Her burning passion for people and her zest for learning taught me much. Since young, I have aspired to be like her, to develop a positive attitude towards life, to work hard for the things I believe in and to live out my dreams.

What was your childhood dream? When did you decide that you would strike out on your own instead of working for someone else?
I have always been a competitive individual since childhood, taking part in all sorts of contests. I believe in achieving the best in life. When I was young, I aspired to be a professional singer. Because of my deep passion for singing, I planned to venture into music business when I grow up. I started having thoughts of building a business of my own while in junior college. It was then that I worked part-time and it did not take me long to realise that if I continue working for others, I will never be able to achieve my goals in life. Two things I was searching for - firstly, financial freedom and secondly, time freedom. I understood that if I were to remain an employee, I will never be free financially.

Why does someone decide to be on their own rather than join an existing company?
As someone who likes challenges, being on my own grants me the freedom to make my own decisions and pursue aspirations I believe in. I have a love for creation and the idea of building something out of nothing excites and motivates me.

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?
It happens to everyone, definitely. During these past seven years in business, the economic conditions were highly volatile. My businesses were badly hit during the SARS crisis and I went into debt, struggling to survive. As I expanded my retail business too quickly during the initial years, I was unprepared for such a blow when the crisis occurred. All that I built collapsed within months and I was almost made a bankrupt in the years 2004 and 2005. Financially strapped, I went through extremely hard times, yet I persevered and continued finding opportunities, in the hope of climbing out of debt. In the year 2005, I was blessed with a good business opportunity which got me out of the crisis. I then began to rebuild my business slowly. Having gone through such crisis, my character was undoubtedly remoulded as I was taught a very invaluable life lesson. Environmental volatility is typical of a business cycle, thus through this learning process, I grew to become a stronger and better individual.

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.)
Looking back, the biggest challenge for me was the constant cash flow problems I faced. Not born into a rich family, I had no financial support, hence as competition set in and as crisis struck, I was financially strapped, without any ability to raise funds in a short period of time. After lessons learnt, I am now better prepared, gathering profits made during the business cycle for rainy days. Facing competition proves to be a huge challenge for many. The market in Singapore is small, plus the fact that people are now very well-informed and knowledgeable, hence whatever concept we can think of, competitors can quickly improve on them and venture into the same market to challenge us in a very short time. Nevertheless, challenges like these help keep us alert and force us to improve and upgrade ourselves, rethinking new marketing strategies to penetrate the market.

Who/What motivates you?
I enjoy socializing with other entrepreneurs, sharing experiences with other self-driven individuals. Being a Christian myself, my faith in God strengthens me, while my friends from church motivate and encourage me much during the period of crisis.

Tell me about the first few customers and the first few years of business.
My good friends made up my initial customer base. The store concept attracted many friends and as words spread around, Ig's Heaven received a lot of media publicity and good responses from our customers who visited our stores. With strong encouragement and lots of positive feedback, we improved our business model and expanded quickly. The first few years of business were surprisingly good. One of the key reasons was that there was little competition then and our unique concept stores at prime shopping locations attracted many loyal customers.

Please tell me some stories of your best day in business or your proudest achievement to date.
It was on Christmas Eve in the year 2002. The crowd was unbelievable and the turnout was beyond our expectation. Stocks flew off the shelves quickly and long queues formed in and out of each of our Ig's Heaven outlets at different locations. It was a day worth remembering.

Do you recall your worst day in business? Have you ever felt like giving up?
During the SARS crisis, I faced my worst days and months in business. We could hardly generate sales during this period despite promotional offers held. The thought of giving up did cross my mind as I was greatly in debt while the stores were facing huge cash flow problems. As the situation worsened, I decided to close down some outlets to cut overheads.

When was the moment you realised the business would work and support you?
During the first year of business, because of the encouraging responses from our customers and local media, I believed the business would grow and sustain for a period of no less than five years. We are now seven years in operation.

What are some of the things you have had to overcome to succeed?
One of the things that I experienced was sleepless nights. As an entrepreneur, I could hardly take any break during the initial years as long hours have to be clocked to build a strong foundation for the business. Time had to be sacrificed and a lot of hard work must be put in to lay such foundation. Also, as most people are fearful of failure and are unprepared for risks, I had many friends who tried discouraging me from going on, telling me that I was merely dreaming, pursuing a goal that was impossible. However, because of my firm believe in myself and my dreams, I took up every challenge to prove my friends wrong.

What are some qualities that you feel you possess which differentiate you from someone who works for others?
I am someone with a high propensity to take risks. Many of my friends are risk-averse, calculating too much before taking any step forward, thus eventually they still decide to carry on working as employees. I like venturing out into the unknown on my own. Being willing to take risks, I am able to move forward and leave my comfort zone in pursuit of my dreams. When I see an opportunity, I am always optimistic and do not allow negative thoughts to get the better of me. I always cherish opportunities and once decided, I will put words into action immediately.

To succeed in business, what qualities are essential? What are some of the secrets in making a successful business?
I believe leadership qualities are very important. I learned from my experience during the SARS crisis that this criteria is imperative and my character was remoulded through this period. Leadership and teamwork are fundamental for any organization to grow and be successful. We must dare to dream and be willing to work hard in pursuit of our dreams. Although there can be no guarantee of success, without hard work put in, there will never be a chance of succeeding. There is no secret in making a business successful. With common visions and directions, a united team that works hard will certainly be on the path of achieving great goals.

Who or what inspires you?
My inspiration comes from few entrepreneurial friends who built their businesses out of nothing. I am fortunate to be acquainted with many of these entrepreneurs. Their perseverance and determination to succeed despite dire circumstances are admirable. Sharing our dreams together gives me great encouragement to pursue the "impossible".

Have you ever thought of expanding the business in some way or in multiple locations? How and where?
Crazy ideas always cross my mind. Plans are underway to diversify and expand my business into different fields. One of the possible ventures in the near future is the setting up of a cafe called Ig's Cafe. More outlets may be established and expansion into the regional markets may be carried out in the next two years.

What aspects of expansion would you like to see for your enterprise?
Retailing and distribution of gifts are what I do now. I also have plans to expand into fashion, food and pharmaceutical distribution. At this moment, I am focusing on building another business in music and entertainment.

In your opinion, how would you define entrepreneurship?
Entrepreneurs are self-driven people who are willing to take up risks, who think of ideas and concepts, who are willing to venture out into the unknown in pursuit of their dreams, leading a team of people who believe in similar visions. Through strong teamwork, they are able to produce results. Entrepreneurs have to be very independent and must not be afraid of challenges.

To what extent does one?s educational level help or hinder entrepreneurial-ship?
Frankly, my opinion is that education does not develop entrepreneurship. In fact, the more we study, the more hindrance we may have towards entrepreneurship. One main factor is that people who have gone through tertiary education will have many more options in terms of employment, and because of the options available, many would forsake their dreams for security. They will be less willing to take up risks and venture out on an uncertain path to fulfill what they really want to achieve in life. This being said, education does help in some ways though - to equip us with sufficient knowledge to deal with situations and to provide us with a theoretical understanding of business operations and strategies, market and economic conditions etc. Being an entrepreneur is something no textbook can teach, but really an inherent spirit within an individual, certainly not a theory.

As we try to select the final 41 entrepreneurs, what qualities would you think a person should have to inspire others?
I suppose not only are we seeking people who are successful in their fields of work, but those who have also gone through difficult times and "failures", yet proving they have the determination to fight out of the crisis. For one to inspire others, the individual should be able to understand difficulties of others, having the necessary experiences to share and encourage those who are going through similar circumstances. Thus I believe the search is for individuals who are never giving up, always persevering on despite great difficulties and who continue fighting for what they believe in.

What are some of your own values in doing business and what do you like to pass down to others, particularly the younger generation?
Greed must never cloud our minds in the course of business. Being honest to staff, customers, clients, suppliers etc, is important. Such value, we must always keep and never compromise. We should stay focus on building a socially responsible organisation, so we can help and affect the lives of people around us positively.

What advice would you give to young people who want to start their own business?
For those who look forward to starting out on their own, they should socialize actively with entrepreneurs who have tried and failed, and those who have tried and succeeded, seeking advice and learning from different mentors.

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