What is the nature of your business? (Business Profile)
Locust is a company that specialises in inspirational products. One of our most popular products is our Motivational Posters. Our entire business can be summed up in our motto... "It's about inspiration. It's about you."

What made you embark on this venture choice?
Since young, I knew deep within me that one day I would become a businessman. It was as if I had this calling. I remembered when I was a primary school kid, because of my consistently top grades in my arts subject, I was chosen by my school to compete in a national arts competition. Though I didn't win the top prize, my love for arts grew stronger over the years. Finally one fine day after I turned 30, I figured that I have gained enough business experience and the time was ripe. I took the plunge and had never looked back since.

How does your business work?
We design and supply a wide range of products ranging from motivational posters, mini cards, note pads, fridge magnets, etc. My strategy is not to follow the crowd, but rather, to catch hold of 'sparks' of need. Once I am certain that there is a market for a particular new product, I will work in double quick time in developing not just a few but a comprehensive range of designs just for that new product. When I am into my designing mood, I can work until 3 or 4 am and reach my office by 8am and not find it the least tiring. I guess my business work because I love what I do. I believe strongly that if you work just for money sake, you can't go very far. But if you work because you love what you do, if you give off your utmost, money will somehow find their way to you!

Did you have the capital to start the business or did you have to borrow from someone to get started?
I started my business with some of my savings. I soon realised that it was not enough and my parents came into the picture. Their support was critical to my company's success. Without their help, I may not be talking to you right now. Put it that way, at the end of the day, my love for my work aside, I still have to ensure that my team is well taken care of. The first two years into the business was especially tough. I am glad our company has grown from strength to strength over the years.

Do your parents have their own businesses too? Have they inspired you in one way or another?
My parents are not business people. My granddad was. He was in the oil business. And yes, my uncle too, in the shipping business. They were great influences to me. I think I must have inherited some good genes from them.

What was your childhood dream? When did you decide that you would strike out on your own instead of working for someone else?
Believe it or not, one of my childhood dreams was to be a police officer. I guess most childhood dreams for boys is either to be a doctor, a soldier, a police officer, or the President? I decided to make that plunge when I was 30. I have a dream, I have the passion, I have the drive and the will to succeed. Designing has always been my passion. I figured out that by striking out on my own, I can live my dream to the fullest. Life has never been better since.

Why does someone decide to be on their own rather than join an existing company?
I guess it is the freedom and autonomy that comes along with running your own business. You can make whatever decisions you want. You can see clearly the results of your decisions. To me, it's creating your very own mini empire. It's creating your future.

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?
We went through SARs. I think that was a trying time for most businesspeople. It affected distributors like us as we supply a lot of our products to chain stores. The times were made harder by competitors who decided that price predation was their calling. We survived through cautious controlling of our overheads and spending. We concentrated on coming up with more creative and interesting products and designs. Our focus on product development proved to be the right strategy.

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 believe most new start-ups will find funding to be a challenge. We have no credentials and no track records. It helps to have 'supportive' parents.

Who/What motivates you?
Happy and Satisfied customers. It gives me great satisfaction whenever I receive compliments from customers. Just a month ago, we received a call from a customer called Timothy. He told my staff that he has bought quite a fair bit of our products and was greatly inspired by them. He was so excited and asked if he could speak to the founder of the company! A week later, we met up over lunch. We met as strangers, we left as friends. It is incidents like these that spur me on. Knowing that my products can make a difference in someone else's life keeps me going. These are my motivations. These are things that money can't buy; these are the things that keep my dreams alive!

Tell me about the first few customers and the first few years of business.
Some of my very first few customers are Popular, Times and Life Bookshop. They were the ones who helped our company establish a foothold in the local market. In a span of just three years, we have established a vast network of more than 200 retail outlets in Singapore, and today, we are still growing.

Please tell me some stories of your best day in business or your proudest achievement to date.
There is no particular best day, but many good days. One of my proudest achievements is the invention of our "minicards", or mini greeting cards, the size of a postcard. I remembered when I first thought of the idea of minicards, many of my friends actually discouraged me from doing so. Many said that there is no market for it. Some added that postcards were already being given away for free at some places. I guess it pays to be your own boss. I decided to trust my gut feel. I took the risk and mass printed our minicards and flooded them at all chain bookshops. Our minicards proved to be such a hit that shops everywhere soon started calling us wanting to carry our products. The rest are history.

Do you recall your worst day in business? Have you ever felt like giving up?
Frankly there isn't any worst day. I think our days are made of many good ones, some so-so ones and some great ones. Okay, let me share with you one tough decision I had to make in the early days. I remembered I came up with this new product, an Inspirational Sticky Memopad. The product concept sounded good, the feedbacks were positive, and the final product actually looked great. But the news is... the product was a flop! I knew I can either live with this product for years, maybe just tuck them in a corner of our warehouse, or choose to do something about it. Painful as it was, my final decision was to write-off the entire product line. Guess what I did? I used them as promotional giveaways! Through the thick and thin of business, I have never ever thought of giving up. To me, everything happens for a reason, the good and the bad. I believe oftentimes it is only a matter of how you look at things. It is okay to make a wrong decision and pay for it. The more important thing is to learn from it. To me, it is not the failing that hurts, but rather knowing that you didn't give it your best shot.

When was the moment you realised the business would work and support you?
The moment was when customers voluntarily returned another supplier's products and brought in ours. It was then that I am realised we have the winning formula.

What are some of the things you have had to overcome to succeed?
Rumours and price wars. Business is so intense that you'll be amazed at what people may falsely say about your company just to hurt your sales and reputation. Being a small and young company then, it was especially trying for us. We have lost some customers as a result. The good thing is that the majority of our customers chose to believe in us and stayed with us. They are still with us today.

What are some qualities that you feel you possess which differentiate you from someone who works for others?
I dare to take risk, calculated risks. I dare to be different and unconventional. I remembered the time when I started to work on my third new product. I wanted to come up with a range of bookmarks. And again, it was cold showers many times over. The general feedback was that bookmarks have been around for umpteen years and very few shops retail them, and even fewer people buy them. Today if you were to look around, you will find Locust bookmarks everywhere. I like to lead the trend.

To succeed in business, what qualities are essential? What are some of the 'secrets' in making a successful business?
You must have a clear vision. You must have a workable business strategy and plan to achieve it. You must have a positive mindset and be able to dream big dreams. You must have this never-say-never and never-say-die attitude. Come to think about it, maybe I should come up with a motivational poster with a rocking 'roly-poly' toy on it. Hmm... maybe with a theme like "Determination" and with words like... "Pushed, but not defeated. Crushed, but not destroyed." And yes, I think another important quality is that you must be a thinking person, always thinking of new ideas and always thinking of ways to better improve yourself and your business.

Who or what inspires you?
Mr Lee Kuan Yew. His vision for Singapore, his struggles in building this small nation from scratch, his perseverance and never give up attitude. I learnt a lot from him. In fact, I always tell my staff, I run my company like a mini Singapore. We may be small, but we are potent. The future looks promising.

Have you ever thought of expanding the business in some way or in multiple locations? How and where?
Definitely, in fact this is part of our five year plan. Having established a firm foothold in Singapore, we are now setting our eyes on the regional market. We are already into Malaysia for three years now. Our next target is Indonesia and Australia.

What aspects of expansion would you like to see for your enterprise?
I think we can do better in the local corporate market. From time to time we have corporate customers calling us up, wanting us to supply them our large framed motivational pictures. You see, they like to put up pictures with themes like teamwork, challenge, attitude, etc. in their meeting rooms and offices. It is a good thing as our framed pictures are not only beautiful, they are also very inspirational. I call them our "silent witnesses". I believe there is this huge potential market waiting to be tapped. The next prong will be the global market, to have a global presence. I would like to see our inspirational products retailed worldwide, someday. It is a big dream. I like to dream big.

In your opinion, how would you define entrepreneurship?
Entrepreneurship is the fine art of starting and managing a business.

To what extent does one's educational level help or hinder entrepreneurial-ship?
I guess it will depend on what kind of business you are venturing into. If your dream is to be the best hair stylist in Singapore, I don't think you need much education. If your dream is to be the second Bill Gates, surely a relevant educational background will help; otherwise it will merely be day dreaming.

As we try to select the final 41 entrepreneurs, what qualities would you think a person should have to inspire others?
I think a person should have a clear vision, great integrity, good business acumen and strong relationship skills.

What are some of your own values in doing business and what do you like to pass down to others, particularly the younger generation?
Integrity and sincerity. I think integrity is core if you want to be in business for a long long time. Sweet talking and empty promises may only help you close the first few deals. It is important to learn how to treat your customers with utmost sincerity. Once they sense your intention is to help them grow their business and not so much in wanting to achieve your sales targets, you will win them over.

What advice would you give young people who want to start their own business?
Live your dreams. Learn to take risks. If you win, you will be happy. If you fail, you will be wise. Nothing ventured, nothing gained.

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