Eu Lee is a professional photographer who embarked on a journey to turn his passion into his career four years ago by starting his own business, and since then he has not looked back.

Company: PHOTOGRAPHY BY EULEE Address: 179b Haig Road Website: http://www.photographybyeulee.com/ Interview with Mr. Chng Eu Lee by Avelina Singh on 18-May-2007. Student can be reached at avelinas.2006@smu.edu.sg   Business Profile: Photography by Eulee is a company that provides photography services for weddings, commercial events and personal portraits.   Interviewer's Comments: Eu Lee is without doubt a truly inspirational personality. He is a classic example of a person who gave up a secure and well paying job to pursue his passion. His confidence in himself along with careful planning and service oriented nature has brought him success in his business yet his humility remains intact. In this interview he shares his views/experiences and gives some valuable advice to future aspiring entrepreneurs.   1. What is the nature of your business? My business is based on professional service provided though photography. My services range from events like weddings, travel pieces for magazines, personal portraits and a variety of other events.   2. What made you embark on this venture choice? Photography has always been my favorite hobby. Ever since I was in high school, I used to take photos for the school magazines. As the years progressed my hobby became more and more prominent and transformed into my passion. Initially I was doing a full time job as an engineer for 6-7 years and continuing photography as a part time job. Then came a point in life 3-4 years ago where I decided to make money out of my passion by embarking on this venture choice.   3. How does your business work? Well I have a website set up to promote my services and to feature my work. Apart from that I advertise on wedding related websites. More importantly, I rely strongly on my network of friends and clients to promote my services through word of mouth, which happens to be the strongest means in the corporate sector. Apart from that a discussion of my work has been initiated on forums at www.singaporebrides.com and www.wpja.com (US based website) and these forums also act as advertisement for my services.   4. Did you have the capital to start the business or did you have to borrow from someone to get started? To start my business, I needed to do a combination of both. As an engineer I managed to accumulate most of my financial needs. Apart from that I did need to get some loans from low scale banks in order to get things like equipment.   5. Do your parents have their own businesses too? Have they inspired you in one way or another? No, I am the first person in my family to start my own business. Initially my parents were a bit apprehensive about me leaving my well paying job to start a risk filled business. However, despite this they had faith in me and been very supportive of my decision. I have received a lot of encouragement from my father, which for me is invaluable.   6. What was your childhood dream? My childhood dream was not to be a photographer. It was more along the lines of being an engineer. However, like I said before, I took on photography as a hobby during my school years and this hobby developed itself over the years and then I realized that engineering and photography were not that far off in terms of a career. I say this because, I was interested in being an engineer because of my fascination with equipment. So I realized that with technical equipment such as a camera I could take a step forward and better express my artistic side as well. Hence, I feel that I did not drift too far away from my childhood dream. I just modified it to complement my personality and passion.   7. Why does someone decide to be on their own rather than join an existing company? I would say that it is for the satisfaction of working for oneself, knowing that they can do what they want to do, take their own decisions and implement their own ideas. I also feel that it is because some people feel that by working for themselves they can make more money for their ideas than they can by working for someone else. Furthermore, it allows for greater flexibility in one's life. A person is not necessarily restricted by office hours anymore and are also at the liberty of exploring multiple interests at the same time. For example: A person can be a photographer, web graphic designer and artist at the same time if they want. Also, the satisfaction derived from a success in business is greater because the person knows that it is entirely due to their effort.   8. 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 behavior and trends) which affected or influenced you and your business that made you change the way you think and do your business? No, I have been fortunate to not experience something as significant. However, I am not afraid of setbacks or changes, because I truly believe that all setbacks are temporary and can be overcome by a determined person. Furthermore, they are great ways to learn valuable lessons and test our belief in ourself.   9. Did you start your business from scratch? If yes, then what are some of the problems that you encountered? Yes, I did pretty much start my business from scratch. The first problem that I faced was penetrating into the photography market that already had a lot of established photographers and to create a name for myself in this market. It was not an easy task because it is not always easy to convince people if you do not have professional experience to back you and this also makes it hard to convince people to pay the amount you would want them to. This did lead to disappointment sometimes, however, that is when I needed to prompt myself to just keep trying.   10. Who/What motivates you? Satisfied people motivate me. I think that is what was lacking in my engineering job. It was always me and the products. There was no source for direct feedback. However, with photography I get valuable feedback. I get to see the reaction of my customers, I see the direct effect that my work has on other people's life. Seeing people content and happy is a reward within itself and is hence very precious to me. For example: Some people see my photos and somehow are touched to the point that they tell me that it made them cry. THAT for me is a great achievement and my biggest motivator. I feel that if I can create an impact in people's personal life and touch them with my work then there is no greater sense of satisfaction that can be derived out of my profession.   11. Tell me about the first few customers and the first few years of business. My first few customers were my friends. When I started considering to take on photography as a full time business I did some testing in terms of gaining market knowledge and making a plan for my business. That is when my friends acted as my first few customers. I did their wedding photos, and created portfolios for them. What I am happy about is that I had honest friends who helped me by giving unbiased feedback, in return they provided me with honest feedback about my work. If they did not like something, they told me and it was through this experiment period that I tested whether I should open my own business. Following this, through word of mouth my client database started to build up and that is when I realized that my business would work and that is when I officially registered my business. As for the first few years, like I said before it was a bit difficult in terms of establishing myself in the industry. But I have been successful in overcomeing all of that.   12. Please tell me some stories of your best day in business or your proudest achievement/project to date. My proudest project is the one that I am currently working on with Community Chest. My assignment is to take pictures of beneficiaries that are elderly, or disabled to feature in their direct mailers, brochures, magazines for the purpose of convincing people to donate. It gives me immense pleasure to work with these beneficiaries. Apart from that some my best days in business involve the times when I have gone down to Aceh to document the lives of the people living there post Tsunami. I find a very strong human element present in Aceh and thus I like capturing the positive and hope filled aspect of their recovery process. When I go down to Aceh, I take the time to talk with the people, listen to their stories and make them comfortable. It is only then that I ask them to allow me to take photos because if you walk up to people to take photos with equipment in your hand then the people become apprehensive and it becomes hard to make them feel comfortable and hence the images do not always reflect reality. Actually, I believe a lot in community service and hence, if a company or charity organization approaches me with an interesting project then I sometimes do it free of charge.   13. Do you recall your worst day in business? Have you ever felt like giving up? I have not had any 'worst day' per say. I just define bad days as those days when I find myself failing to produce images that I would like to. It does become disappointing at times, however, I take it once again as a learning process. Also, there may be times when my income is shaky in the short term but I do not let that disappoint myself because I like to take a longer term view and I just think that its okay if I cannot make so much one month. In turn, I just look forward to making more in the following months. Hence, because of my mindset I have never felt like giving up despite the not so good moments.   14. When was the moment you realized the business would work and support you? I knew from Day One since I registered my business that it would work and support me. Like I said before, I went through a trial period before officially registering my business. I tested it on friends, gathered feedback and also managed to get a clients database before hand. Thus, there was never a moment that I doubted the potential of my business.   15. What are some of the things you have had to overcome to succeed? I have had to overcome a few things such as self doubt, cash flow (finances), and networking. Self doubt in the sense I had to make myself truly believe in myself and my abilities before making sure that I wanted to turn my passion into my means of living. For finances, I had to plan carefully in order to avoid cash flow problems. Since, I started my business from scratch, networking was very important for me in order to secure my clients and spread word of my work. Also, I used to be introverted and uncomfortable in big parties but that was something that I had to overcome because my business is very people centric and requires me to be extroverted. I have managed to overcome all of the above issues but this is one that I am still working on.   16. What are some qualities that you feel you possess which differentiate you from others working in the same business? It would be the perspective of my photos. As mentioned earlier I always like to capture the more positive aspect of things even in disaster striken places or with the disabled. Furthermore, another thing that probably differentiates me from others who works in the same market is the fact that I like to involve my clients in the entire process of photography. First, I sit down with them and explain to them how I would like to take their photos regardless of whether they are for portraits or for events. Sometimes I even sketch out the scene or do a demo scene in order to help the clients understand better. This helps me to get their cooperation and things work out to be much smoother. More importantly, I think by involving the people in the whole process I help them become more comfortable with the photo shoot and this produces better photos. In addition, the clients like being involved in the whole process because it gives them a sense of ownership over the whole photoshoot.   17. To succeed in business, what qualities are essential? What are some of the secrets in making a successful business? I think confidence is the key to succeeding in a business. Because if you believe in yourself only then will people believe in you. Apart from that networking plays an important role in creating a strong client base and thus a successful business. Furthermore, a person should always try to connect with their customers. For example: In the profession of photography taking a good photo is the most basic requirement. That is why the main distinguishing factor between photographers becomes the extent to which they are willing to engage their customers in the process and ensure their satisfaction.   18. Who or what inspires you? I would say that photographers who connect with people to the extent that the photo no longer becomes relevant instead the connection with the people manages to show through the photo, are the ones who inspire me the most. Apart from that people who start their businesses from scratch and have the perseverance to continue it despite tough times are a great source of inspiration.   19. Have you ever thought of expanding the business in some way or in multiple locations? How and where? Definitely. Right now I network with fellow video graphers and designers when working on certain events. In the future I might look into opening a company that will act as a one stop place for events management. Also, I am looking into the Malaysian market because it is quite big and the opportunity looks good. At the moment all I can say that it will definitely happen just not sure when as of now.   20. What aspects of expansion would you like to see for your enterprise? Well like I said, I would like the other professionals working with me in an agency instead of networking depending on the type of event. Even though I am happy with status quo, I am keeping my options open.   21. In your opinion, how would you define entrepreneurship? I think entrepreneurship is the passion to do something followed by the ability to take risks and at the same time to have the discipline to manage self, time, and money in order to achieve one's goals/dreams.   22. To what extent does ones educational level help or hinder entrepreneurial ship? I think education is a good safety net however there are a lot of entrepreneurs who do well even otherwise. I feel that education level should never hinder people from entrepreneurship as long as they have the passion to learn. Also, I feel that in the service industry, education can actually hinder some individuals from being humble and serving others to the best that they can, because they somehow find themselves more superior to others not as well educated as them and this is one thing that should never happen if you are in the service industry.   23. What would your advise be to those who do not have an educational background and the necessary finances to start a business, but have the dream and passion for it? If a person does not have the necessary education and finances to start a business based on their dream/passion, I would say that they just need to work harder than others to attain the relevant knowledge needed. Also, for these people I would like to say that to reach high you might sometimes have to start from low, so never hesitate to do some job because you think it is demeaning because you always learn from whatever you do. For example: don't shy away from being an assistant first because you will only learn more about the job and that will better prepare you for the time that you open your own business. Hence, always be on a lookout for opportunities, be daring and take whatever comes your way because no job is ever demeaning. Finally, as far as finances are concerned the best options people have for that is to take loans from banks.   24. As we try to select the final 2007 entrepreneurs, what qualities would you think a person should have to inspire others? I would say positive attitude, passion for what they do and energy to carry it off.   25. What are some of your own values in doing business and what do you like to pass down to others, particularly the younger generation? I would like to inspire the youth to be hardworking and most importantly humble. Never look down on anything or anyone and never forget your origins. Also, one should have complete faith in themself and should have the drive to continue even through tough times. Moreover, in the face of obstacles one should remember their past achievements and make that a tool for pushing themselves forward.   26. What advice would you give young people who want to start their own business? There is a famous saying "if you fail to plan then you plan to fail". I think this is very true. So before starting a business a person should always plan thoroughly in terms of everything ranging from marketing, finance, logistics. And once they have planned something and made sure that it is as full proof as possible then they should stick to the plan. After that a person should set goals and objectives for themselves and work towards them so that they always have a drive to achieve something. This ensures that the person remains on the right path and does not stray from their aim. In a business since you are working for yourself it is very easy to stray. It is always possible for a person to wake up every morning and decide not to do anything, hence it is extremely important for a person to set goals and work towards them and never loose sight of them.   27. Do you foresee the future entrepreneurs conducting their businesses in a different way than entrepreneurs from the past 5 years? I think the future entrepreneurs will realize even more the importance of being service oriented and also the need to have a strong network.   28. Do you feel that the future entrepreneurs have a higher chance to succeed than the entrepreneurs from the past 5 years? Yes definitely, because now an environment is being created that supports entrepreneurs. People are more open to the idea of having their own businesses as compared to working for others. Also, I think Singapore is now becoming more welcoming towards entrepreneurs so the chances of future entrepreneurs doing well are greater. Entrepreneurship is slowly becoming a way of life and it is breeding more.