Since young, Edwin and Jay are both against climbing the corporate ladder that most people aspire to climb. Preferring instead to own the ladder, the duo has successfully started two other businesses prior to Ecoverve.

Company: ECOVERVE Address: No.8 Boon Lay Way #09-14 Tradehub21 Website: http://www.ecoverve.com.sg Interview with Mr. Edwin Cheng And Mr. Jay Ang by Chiam Xiu Ting on 04-May-2007. Student can be reached at xiuting.2004@smu.edu.sg   Business Profile: Ecoverve is in the business of providing eco-friendly and hypoallergenic housekeeping/cleaning services for homes and offices. Ecoverve believes that eco-friendliness is not only for the environment, but also beneficial for the people who have sensitive skin, etc. Hence, one of their niche is in reducing the toxic fumes that are emitted from normal detergents used by other house keeping companies.   Interviewer's Comments: Edwin and Jay strikes me as entrepreneurs who clearly knows what they want. Not satisfied with the comfort that comes from fixed or routine jobs, they are willing to give up job security to pursue their interests which they believe can be modelled to be self-sustaining businesses that supports them.   1. What is the nature of your business? Edwin : Ecoverve is in the cleaning business. Emphasis is placed highly on our products and the methods we use in our cleaning process. We use eco-friendly products, and products that are hypo-allergic. Hypo-allergic means provoking fewer allergic reactions in allergy sufferers, to have a decreased tendency to cause allergies.   2. What made you embark on this venture choice? Edwin: We wanted to provide a top-notch house cleaning service. Personally I am a sufferer of allergic rhinitis and atopic eczema. So I was thinking I can provide sufferers of my allergy some relief from their allergy.   3. How does your business work? Edwin: Apart from subscriptions for monthly, bi-annually or annually cleaning services, we provide one-time cleaning services as well. Jay: For our business, we place very strong emphasis on CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility), so we only use products that are eco-friendly to our environment. We believe that eco-friendliness is not only for the environment, but also beneficial for the people who have sensitive skin, etc. One of our niche is in reducing the toxic fumes that are emitted from normal detergents used by other house keeping companies.   4. Did you have the capital to start the business or did you have to borrow from someone to get started? Edwin: Apart from using money that was generated from the two other businesses that we have started earlier, we undertook debt-financing to get Ecoverve started.   5. Do your parents have their own businesses too? Have they inspired you in one way or another? Jay: No. Our parents do not have their own businesses, but they are very supportive of us striking out on our own.   6. What was your childhood dream? When did you decide that you would strike out on your own instead of working for someone else? Jay: From young, we wanted to start up our own businesses, strike it out ourselves. While CEOs have to climb the corporate ladder, we'd rather own the ladder than climb it.   7. Why does someone decide to be on their own rather than join an existing company? Edwin: It depends on each individual's characteristics. For some people, they may be comfortable with very stable, routine jobs, as they feel a sense of security. But for others, it may not work that way. Something that is routine may not spark them. They would rather have something that they have control over and develop on their own. In this case, security is something that they provide themselves with.   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? Jay: We believe that businesses should be scaled in such a way that it will be viable in all or most types of economic environments with slight tweaking. This is because every change in a certain environment brings about opportunities. However, it also depends on how you look at it: whether a glass is half empty or half full. In short, our thinking was shaped through our communication with other people, where we learn from others' experiences, and from ourselves, through the different stages we went through where we gain certain insights.   9. 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.) Edwin: You have to forgo a lot of your interests and you really have to work very hard. Other than that, I like to challenge myself to keep things spick and span. So every time customers come back and tell me that I have done a good job, it makes me feel very satisfied. This may be due to my short stint at Shangri-La Hotel that made me realised that helping to keep other people's room clean (which some people think is a dirty job) is not that bad after all, especially after you see a smile on the customer's face.   10. Who/What motivates you? Edwin: My mum, who is also working at Shangri-La hotel. Whenever I am down, she would give me words of encouragement.   11. Tell me about the first few customers and the first few years of business. Edwin: We had very good and very bad experiences. A few were very good to us. They actually taught us how to serve them better. So this enhances our competency in attaining customer satisfaction. On the other hand, there were those who took advantage of our inexperience in this industry when we just started out. One of them cheated us of a substantial amount of money. He was our first corporate client and he ranted on about how there was no need to pay a deposit, and made a comparison between SingTel and our company, saying that SingTel doesn't need a deposit and they charged on a monthly basis (post-paid), while our company charges on a prepaid basis. As we were too eager to close the deal, we did not do any credit analysis on the company, so we actually took on this risk that wasn't supposed to be taken. After about 3-4 months of payment lapse, we sent out final warning and proceeded on to small claims when we did not receive any reply. He did not turn up and thus we went on to obtain a writ of seizure. It was then that we realised his company is a $3 company that is registered using a virtual office address. Having found nothing to claim, we went to the police. The Commercial Affairs Department, who is still handling the case now, were very helpful. At the same time, we also went to a couple of lawyers and it was at that point of time where it dawned on us that there was nothing much we can do about it to recover our losses.   12. Please tell me some stories of your best day in business or your proudest achievement to date. Edwin: The first day of our business was also the best day that we had. We had a female customer and I personally went down with my team and we did a pretty good job. She was very very satisfied. We kept in contact and she actually referred quite a substantial amount of customers to us. It was certainly a very wonderful feeling to have customers who are so satisfied that they recommended us to their relatives and friends. This is the kind of trust and bond we build with our customers. To add on, every deal we took on subsequent to the first customer, got to us through word-of-mouth. Our advertisements were not even out yet.   13. Do you recall your worst day in business? Have you ever felt like giving up? Edwin: The worst day for us came about when we met the bad customer mentioned in question 11; when we found out that nothing could be done, and that we can't get anything back. While this is a set-back, it also serves as a motivation for us to work harder. We almost felt like giving up, but after some discussions, we decided to let it be an expensive but well taught lesson.   14. When was the moment you realised the business would work and support you? Jay: We believe that the aim of all businesses is to be self-sustaining. So as the number of customers increase, a business should be structured in such a way that it would be able to handle any quantity with uniform quality standards only with slight changes. This is when the business works to support you.   15. What are some of the things you have had to overcome to succeed? Jay: As we progress, we learn and pick up things along the way. There is a wide variety of things that we actually learn. For example: perseverance, self-discipline, creativity, and being innovative. Such qualities are actually inside you, but it's something that you don't realise when your are going through a routine job. Take for example self-discipline. When you start up, you work for yourself, and you are your own boss. It is no longer an 8-5 job. When you wake up, you start work. This is one thing you have to overcome. During our first year of operation, we had a problem of not being able to wake up on time to start work. At that point of time, we had to call each other in the morning to wake ourselves up. Edwin: In the start, we also did not realise the need or the importance of after-sales. As we progress along, we realise that it is one of the most important aspect. At the start we were very confident of our services and took it for granted that our customers will continue to look for us again. However, while they were satisfied with our services, they did not come back to us.   16. What are some qualities that you feel you possess which differentiate you from someone who works for others? Edwin: Independence. From young, we were quite independent, and this is naturally part of us. We are also willing to give up a stable job with a stable income to fulfil our dreams and aspirations.   17. To succeed in business, what qualities are essential? What are some of the secrets in making a successful business? Jay: We believe that there is no secret to success. It is purely hard work, determination, and your beliefs. We believe that behind every business there should be a "belief". This "belief" would be based on your idea or concept on how the business should grow. For example, for Ecoverve, we believe strongly in eco-friendliness and catering for the people who have allergies or sensitivity. We believe that such services will be received well and we want to educate the public on the importance of such services.   18. Who or what inspires you? Jay: Apart from our dreams and aspirations, I have also read the Entrepreneur's Credo written by Thomas Paine, which has inspired me a lot. It aligns with my line of thought and character. I do not want to be humbled and work for people. I choose to take the calculated risk and build what I can call my own. Although we realise that Thomas Paine did not really follow what he wrote, we are still inspired by this excerpt from "Common Sense" 1776.   19. Have you ever thought of expanding the business in some way or in multiple locations? How and where? Jay: Yes. But as everyone may know, eco-friendliness is something that is not that preset in Singaporeans yet. So this is something we are currently trying to instil in Singapore first, as we are one of the first house-keeping companies that place such a strong emphasis on eco-friendliness. We will first establish public awareness, and educate the public on its benefits. After that, we will start going into the other developing economies such as East Europe, Middle East, etc..   20. What aspects of expansion would you like to see for your enterprise? Edwin: We want global recognition of this service that originated from Singapore.   21. In your opinion, how would you define entrepreneurship? Jay: To me, entrepreneurship is a process of doing something new or innovative, for the purpose of wealth creation; fulfilment of goals, beliefs and of course adding of value to the society.   22. To what extent does ones educational level help or hinder entrepreneurialship? Jay: To us, education level doesn't help or hinder. But knowledge does. With or without certification, there must be sufficient knowledge to carry out what you have to do. Next, it also depends on a person's individual characteristics. There are types of people in the world. There are entrepreneurs, managers, and engineers. Managers are the people who lead and manage. The engineers / inventors are those who create, innovate, and carry out the processes. An entrepreneur is one who does both.   23. As we try to select the final 2007 entrepreneurs, what qualities would you think a person should have to inspire others? Edwin: The most important is that he/she should have a vision which he/she firmly believes in. A person who will go on and be proud of what he has achieved; and treats what he has not achieved as experiences. Someone optimistic. If a person is pessimistic, he can never make it.   24. What are some of your own values in doing business and what do you like to pass down to others, particularly the younger generation? Jay: Every business, whether it is B to B, or B to C, there is a customer. Customer satisfaction is very important, so how are you going to achieve customer satisfaction? There is a process to it. The quality of the process and the structure of the business is something that leads to customer satisfaction. Do not take any customer for granted. Every customer is important.   25. What advice would you give young people who want to start their own business? Jay: If you are not studying, work hard and gain a lot of knowledge. If you are studying, study for the knowledge and "know how", not for the paper. Also, be willing to take hardship, especially at the start.   26. Do you foresee the future entrepreneurs conducting their businesses in a different way than entrepreneurs from the past 5 years? (Yes or No) Yes   27. Do you feel that the future entrepreneurs have a higher chance to succeed than the entrepreneurs from the past 5 years? (Yes or No) Yes   28. What are your reasons for your answers in Q.26 and Q27? Jay: Business external environmental factors are ever changing, these are factors that are uncontrollable which will affect the ways business are conducted at any point of time. Apart from the environmental factors, advancements in technology and "know hows" are ever progressing and so, future entrepreneurs should be able to conduct their businesses more effectively and efficiently harnessing these. In my opinion, there isn't a market without the slightest bit of competition and competition will bring forth improvements and innovations, so its all healthy. It all depends on how you perceive it.