Mr Aaron Gan heads the Australia Migration Centre Pte Ltd. It has been 4 years since making a name for himself in the migration market. He and his team of consultants are very committed to providing the best results for their clients in a creative and cost-efficient way.

Company: AUSTRALIA MIGRATION CENTRE PTE. LTD. Address: 14 Robinson Road, #13-00 Far East Finance Building Website: http://www.australiamc.com Interview with Mr Aaron Gan by Nur Basyirah Bte Mohd Tamami on 09-Apr-2008. Student can be reached at nurbasyirah@hotmail.com   Business Profile: The Australia Migration Centre Pte Ltd takes great pride in assisting their clients to migrate to Australia. Their success rate is high because they keep abreast of changes in the law and work closely with each client to achive his/her desired obectives.   Interviewer's Comments: Mr Aaron Gan is such a down-to-earth character. He is a passionate and committed individual and has opened up my eyes on the definition of success and the process of taking risks. He has taught me that being prepared is the best way to counter failures when you least expect it.   1. What is the nature of your business? We are an Australia immigration consultancy company. We help people migrate to Australia and get their Australian Permanent Residency.   2. When and why did you decide to become an entrepreneur / take over your family business? NOTE: If it is not a family business, ask: Do your parents have their own businesses too? Have they inspired you in one way or another? (Select appropriate question according to the entrepreneur being interviewed.) My parents do not have their own businesses. My dad started with nothing and rose through the ranks to become Managing Director of a MNC. He gave me and my sister a comfortable home and an overseas education. For that I have been very fortunate. My mom taught me the value of thrifty. Together, they have shown me that you can achieve success with hard work and consistency.   3. What are your reasons for choosing to do business in this particular industry? I saw a demand in serving a niche market and I started the company to meet the demand.   4. How did you put together all the resources needed to start your business? For example: getting the start-up capital, hiring staff, doing sales and marketing, advertising, etc. I think the most important resource in starting a business is knowledge and getting that took years of research and study. After that everything else is easy. I started studying business models of companies when I was 18. I came to understand that for a business to succeed, it's sales, marketing, operation and finance systems must run efficiently together. I raised the initial capital the old-fashioned way. I scrapped and saved every cent I earned.   5. What are some interesting stories you have about your first few customers/first few years in business? One of my first few clients was an Indian national working here as a machinist. One of the requirements for immigration is that the applicant must clear an English test. in this case, my client had a poor command of the English language. However, he was a fiercely determined individual and he took and re-took the test till he cleared it. I was very inspired by him. He came from a background which was much tougher than mine and now, he is on his way to a better life in Australia.   6. What ignited the spark in you to start a new business venture or to make significant changes in an existing business? How did the idea for your business come about? It wasn't a spark but more of a long overdue decision. I have always wanted to be running my own business since I was young. When the chance came, I simply took it. Working for someone and helping them make money never did make any sense to me.   7. What are some of the challenges you faced when you first went into business? One of the challenges was securing sales. This was a problem because I was targeting a niche market and the marketing strategy was untested to a certain extent.   8. How did you overcome these challenges? Please share some specific examples of the action you took to overcome the challenges. Specific examples would be drafting out a detailed sales and marketing strategy. Precise execution of these strategies is also crucial. It helped that I had forseen this challenge and put aside 6 months worth of savings. Most challenges can be overcome with preparation and time.   9. Can you remember your worst day in business or a time when you felt like giving up? What happened that made you feel that way and how did you triumph over it? There was no particular worst day. I would say the toughest period for me would be the first 6 to 12 months of business. Stress levels are high and working hours are long. Anything that can go wrong will go wrong. You need to keep working on the business and keep changing the course of action until you get the results that you want. You are tormented mentally rather then financially.   10. Can you share some of the lessons you learnt from overcoming your own business challenges that you think will help other businesses? Be greedy and make as much as you can when opportunity knocks. Always save because what goes up will come down, and it will always come down when you least expect it.   11. What is your greatest fear, and how do you manage it? My greatest fear is becoming obsolete from a change I could not and did not anticipate. For example, the arrival of the Internet has affected Britannica (encyclopaedias) business. Similarly, Google and Yahoo have impacted Yellow pages.   12. When was the moment you realised the business would work and support you? It was the moment when I got back my capital and my cash flow was very positive.   13. What are some of your proudest business achievements to date? And why are they so important and meaningful to you? My proudest business achievements would be helping clients to get their Permanent Resident status. This is especially so for foreigners who come from difficult backgrounds. They are much better off in Australia where their income is higher. I am proud to say that I have helped people achieve their dream for a better life.   14. How do you define success? Success is freedom: the freedom to do what you want, when you want. Sounds simple but not many people can do it. In other words, success is having control of your life.   15. How important have good employees been to your success? They are very important. They are my leverage to time. They save me hours and hours of my life. As a result, they let me concentrate on expanding my business.   16. To what do you most attribute your success? What would you say are the five key elements for starting and running a successful business? I attribute my success to the people around me. First and foremost are my parents and my wife. They have been supportive of me all this time. My previous boss Peter, an immigration lawyer, taught me the value of professionalism. Last and most importantly would be my friend Aaron Leong. Aaron has been running his own business for the last 10 years and I learnt how to run a successful business from him. Without his advice on key issues, my business would have gone down. The five key elements would have to be the five systems of a business. I would have to say that they are the sales system, marketing system, finance system, operation system and customer service system. The five must work together and only then can you have a successful business.   17. How do you differentiate your business from your competitors? Please provide specific examples. I have 2 main advantages. First, quick service. Singaporeans like things to be done efficiently and quickly as compared to Australian agents who tend to be a step slower. Secondly, low fees. I have to emphasise that my fees are low not because of low quality but because I am running an efficient business model. My operational costs and marketing costs are low as I have been around for a long time. As such, I am able to pass these savings to my clients. With low fees, I am able to help more people who might have otherwise not been able to engage my services.   18. How do you build a successful customer base? By focusing on integrity and responsibility.   19. Where or who do you get your business ideas from? I get most of my business ideas from my friend, Aaron Leong. Besides that, I read books regularly to learn from the experience of others. Also, I get ideas simply by paying attention to all the businesses surrounding me. One can learn a lot just by observing other small-medium businesses.   20. What do you see for your business in the next 5 years, and does it include any plans for expansion? I see my business staying strong and healthy. I have plans to expand and franchise the business overseas to Malaysia and the Philippines.   21. What does entrepreneurship mean to you? It means taking risks and reaping the rewards. Being an entrepreneur has given me the freedom to control the outcome of my business and life.   22. How has being an entrepreneur affected your family life? The initial stage was hard due to the long hours and financial constraint. However, now that the business has stabilised, I have the freedom and financial capacity to pamper my family with the finer things in life.   23. What do you feel is the major difference between entrepreneurs and those who work for someone else? You have peace of mind when you work for someone else. When you are working for someone, as long as you do not get fired, you will always have money coming in at the end of the month and a bonus at the end of the year. With your own business, one change could just knock you out of the business completely. You can go from top to bottom in a few days. You always have to stay on your toes so mentally it is stressful.   24. What are some entrepreneurship qualities that you have which have helped you come this far? First, integrity; I only take in cases which I know can be done. Second, honesty; I reject cases that cannot be done even when people are shoving their money at me. Last, hard work; basically working more than other people do.   25. In your opinion, what does it mean to have the "spirit of enterprise"? It means to have the qualities of an entrepreneur; to be someone who takes risks and enjoys taking risks, and reaping the rewards of those risks taken. Starting a business is nerve wrecking.   26. In one word, characterize your life as an entrepreneur. Sacrifice.   27. Who or what motivates and inspires you? People who have succeeded before me. People like Dennis Felix and Sim Wong Hoo.   28. What are some of your business values and what would you like to pass down to others, particularly the younger generation? Integrity, responsibility and tenacity.   29. With the changes in the market today, do you think it has become harder or easier to succeed in business? Why do you say so? With the changes, I think it has become much harder. Changes are always happening every second every day. You can be very successful one day and lose your edge the next day because something has changed.   30. What advice would you give young people who want to start their own business? You must understand the business that you are going into. Do not enter a business with romantic notions e.g. starting a cafe because it has been a childhood dream. "Mr. Market" will expose your naivety and eat you up alive.