Lydia is a web designer turned entrepreneur-matchmaker. She believes in having a CAN-do attitude in doing business! (C=Create, A=a, N=need). Her creativity has led Clique Wise to invent the Date Profiling system, which she hopes will change the way singles' events are held.

Company: CLIQUE WISE LLP Address: 8 Boon Lay Way Tradehub21, #05-13 Website: http://www.cliquewise.sg/ and http://www.wow-her.com.sg/ Interview with Ms. Lydia Gan by Ng Chiew Yee on 25-May-2009. Student can be reached at chiewyee_ng@pmail.ntu.edu.sg   Business Profile: Clique Wise LLP is in the dating industry. It organizes events to bring people together. It is the company behind Wow-her.com, a premier holistic solution-provider to everyone's queries on relationships. Clique Wise LLP has received SDU Trust Mark accreditation.   Interviewer's Comments: Lydia exudes confidence, yet is easily approachable. Her positive attitude towards life shines through this interview. Being in a very personalized industry, she shares her personal experiences and entrepreneurial journey with ease.   1. What is the nature of your business? We make people clique! We're in the business of fun and bridging people through social activities. Clique Wise LLP is the company behind Wow-her.com, a dating portal and a premier holistic solution-provider to everyone's queries on relationships.   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.) Like every aspiring student, after school I went out to join the workforce. I came across too many singles over the course of work, many of whom lacked a social life and I felt I could do something meaningful. I am a 1st generation entrepreneur. And although web design and being in the dating industry may seem totally unrelated, my background in web design helped a lot in the process of setting up Wow-her.com.   3. What are your reasons for choosing to do business in this particular industry? This sector promises a lot of growth and I believe I can make it more fun and thriving! I believe in an inclusive society - meaning - I even get the parents and friends involved in the dating process. Finding the right partner may not necessarily be limited to an individual affair. I believe that I have the right avenues to help people connect together, rather easily. Make individuals get to know about 10-30 new friends with ease within a span of just 2hours! Personally, I have quite a few friends who are eligible but single. I think this is due to the situation in Singapore: when you go clubbing, attend a wedding or even a funeral, people just tend to stick to their own circle.   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 wanted to keep my operational costs low, so I started off with online presence through Wow-her.com. Then I offered courses (theoretical) on dating, attraction and communication between men and women. Then to take it to a more practical level, I conduct social events. To date we have organised events for close to 5000 individuals. Then SDU handpicked us to be the pioneer batch to receive the SDU Trust Mark Accreditation. We create awareness through proper PR exercises.   5. Any interesting stories you have about your first few years in business? There was this guy who called me and said in blunt manner, "I want a woman! (mandarin: wo yao zao nu ren!)", and also women who call me to find a husband urgently.   6. Wow, seriously? So how do you respond to these cases? Well, I was taken aback at first. But then the guy called me back and rephrased it in a different manner. Some of these people are well-educated with very little social graces. These are the sort of people we help to fine-tune the social graces per se. It is heartening to see these people evolve with a spring in their step with social graces, which I coach them to acquire.   7. What challenges did you face when you first went into business, and how did you overcome them? We had to deal with singles who have the social stigma of attending a dating event. People are afraid to be perceived as dateless/partnerless and clueless in dating. We have to encourage people to shed this mindset. We embarked on a sustained PR programme and over time, we have engaged the various media successfully. I regularly contribute articles and advice to the media.   8. 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? Thank God, so far I have not encountered such a day. I am generally positive by nature and always find creative ways of overcoming pitfalls.   9. So, creativity is a must in this field? Yes, another challenge is to consistently be creative and come up with new ideas and events. I'd like to think we have done quite well so far, in coming up with Singapore's first Mandarin mingling party, parental matchmaking, chocolate fondue speed dating, as well as go-kart speed dating events. It's not difficult to come up with ideas - sometimes it also depends on whether enough participants are game enough to try this out!   10. When was the moment you realised that Clique Wise LLP would work, and would support you? I embarked in this venture knowing full well that it was going to work, and it is! My first event was a success and that gave me the belief to strive harder and create more success.   11. What are some of the achievements that are closest to your heart? And why are they so important and meaningful to you? We've seen people getting hitched at my event and they have proceeded to tie the knot. A couple who got married after getting hitched through our very first event are now expecting their first baby. It gives us a great sense of joy and fulfilment to see them enjoy the bliss of family life, and that makes it all worthwhile.   12. How do you differentiate your business from your competitors? Please provide specific examples. We specialise in lifestyle social events for people to inter-mingle, we do not do 1-on-1 dating. We promote better networking through fun lifestyle activities. It may not necessarily lead to romance but it can build the foundation for long-term friendships.   13. What are some business ideas you have implemented that created great results in your business? There's the Date Profiling System in Wow-Her.com, Parental Matchmaking and my latest venture, LoveAgain.sg. In a sense, I am trying to reach out to singles from different angles. LoveAgain.sg is actually under another company which I co-founded early this year. It is for people who suffer from broken relationships. We coach them and help them to return to their normal lifestyle within a shorter frame of time. Other than tremendous publicity, we also created awareness on the importance of family well-being; especially on communication between parents and (adult) children. All these have not been explored earlier and we are the first to deliver this concept in Singapore.   14. What is your Date Profiling System all about, and how does it help in your events? Our Wow-Her.com Date Profiling is fun way for participants to understand themselves and identify their 'potential' more quickly and easily. Participants just have to know the two Wow Colours that match their personality profile and voila! Clique Wise created a new way of dating! We created this system as a value-added service to attendees of Wow-Her.com's social events. Most of the time, we would get between 20-70 attendees, all trying to speak to each other within a 2-hour session. The Date Profiling System is a way for clients to narrow their focus. In fact, it can potentially change the way singles' events are held in Singapore! We just invented a way to make dating easier, and are keen to work with any partners. So far, around 5000 people have used the Date Profiling System.   15. What do you want for your business in the next 5 years, and does it include any plans for expansion? Good growth. I have expanded into other ancillary business like LoveAgain.sg. These are industry specific projects. Clique Wise is for dating, LoveAgain.sg is on heartbreak therapy. I have more plans for expansion, like a bigger work force etc.   16. Are there any entrepreneurship qualities that have helped you come this far that you would like to pass down to aspiring entrepreneurs? You must have a good dose of confidence, clarity of thought, creativity and the power of execution. A lot of people can analyse, but lack ability to execute. The importance of being able to deliver your ideas is essential.   17. In your opinion, what is the 'spirit of enterprise'? An ever positive, CAN-do attitude. When I say CAN, it should transpire to: "Creating A Need" for the product, idea or set of skills that you have.   18. Who or what motivates you, and where do you get your business ideas from? I am most inspired by nature. Given the industry I'm in, people might equate it to the birds and the bees! But seriously, it could be the blooming of a flower or the flight of a humming bird... anything natural would inspire me. I do not believe in single person motivating me. What I believe in is creativity and the power of execution. Make it happen!   19. Yes, having the power to execute is important. But do you think having 'guan xi' (connections / relationships in mandarin) is important too? Yes, relationships are important not just in business but for everything in life. Whether we like it or not, we humans are social creatures who are dependent on each other in one way or another. It is important to foster good relationships on both personal and business levels. I believe in empowering people's social lives through effective relationships. In fact, my business partner Jackiey is my secondary school mate. We can complement each other very well, hence I roped him in as part of my business expansion plan.This shows the importance of fostering relationships!   20. I see. You worked in web design before starting Clique Wise, right? How different is it being your own boss compared to having a typical job? It keeps me on my toes constantly. Brainstorming, development and improvisation are always on my mind. In a typical job, you can leave most of your worries behind after 5pm.   21. So is there a possibility that you will go back to a 9 to 5 job? Not really. Because my business gives me a sense of accomplishment. It is like having a baby that you want to take care of.   22. Are there any interesting trends about the dating industry in SG that have affected the way you do business? Some Singaporeans seems to be suffering from the social stigma against attending singles events, which is not prevalent in other developed societies like Japan or Korea. But slowly there is a change in mind-set. I think, as a society, we are evolving.   23. How about the economic crisis? Has it affected you in any way and what steps are you taking to prevent/overcome the negative effects? Yes, we can feel the pinch of tightening belts, so to say. But we'd like to add that the impact is 'lesser'. One reason might be that the singles are willing to spend on a better lifestyle and to socialise more often. This is probably because they have fewer commitments compared to those with families. To keep abreast of the competition, we are churning out more 'bang-for-the-buck' events. For example, we have held a 1 dollar-event recently, where if more than 5 friends show up together, each friend only needs to pay 1 dollar.   24. What advice would you give young people who want to start their own business? Should they gain some working experience first and why? Well, I think young people should give themselves 2-3 years of working experience. This way, you can really understand working ethics and what people really want. It can help in managing your staff when you have a business. It is also important to enlarge your social network.   25. So, your working experience has helped? Definitely. For instance, I saw how many people were working overtime, late into the night. Especially web designers, we tend to work overnight a lot. During weekends, these people will want to stay at home to rest instead of going out to socialize. This experience has helped me to empathize with these people. It helps me connect with my clients.   26. In the current recession, we are seeing more people starting a business out of necessity, unlike you, who became an entrepreneur by choice. Do you think it makes a difference? Any comments? Well, I don't think that it matters, as long as you are someone who truly understands the product/industry that you are going into. You cannot just be doing it to earn money without having a clear idea of your product and the concept behind it. It is about having clarity of thought again.   27. So I gather that it is the interest and motivation behind that is important, right? Yes. Personally, I've always been the person who organizes outings, who asks my colleagues out for lunch. That's me. So I think it is natural that I ended up in the dating industry. On a final note, I believe that you should always do something you enjoy, and have the CAN-do attitude. Create a need!