Entrepreneurship in Hong Kong is a mixed bag of perks and pitfalls, writes P.Ramakrishnan.
(ramakrishnanp@hotmail.com)
This risk is great. The rewards unknown. But these seven young people broke free from contracts and companies to set up their own businesses. On the view that in life you can be a pilot or passenger, the seven have engineered their own career path with ventures they are passionate about.
While some have a staff of one (themselves), others have expanded to encompass a team of up to seven people. With each passing year and growing member of staff, the responsibility proves greater as well as the challenges that vary from keeping afloat, and finessing the tricky manoeuvre of expanding without imploding.
Some got private funding (which often translates to benevolent parents and their cheque books), others were resourceful enough to get investors or to find their fiduciary fuel in a lifetime of savings.
While nearly all sing the joy of working without a boss, they also concur that this very hard work.
“There is no off switch,” laments Kanchan Punjabi, who started the fashion firm Kanchan Couture. “You’re constantly thinking of one or another aspect that’s somehow traces back to work-related material.”
Carmen Li, who launched a publishing venture 21 Concepts, agrees that the challenge lies is to incorporate a personal life into the unremitting pressures of launching a business. “The biggest long term goal for me, especially as a new mom, is to learn to balance work life with family life. I’m constantly thinking of one or the other.”
And yet, here are seven people that mind their own business:
Vivien Li (23), Lotus Models
“I used to work as an agent at a modelling agency but that closed down. I spent two months waitressing at Taste In, a Korean restaurant, and then decided that since a lot of my old clients were still calling me for models, I might as well start my own business. I had a lot of contacts in the field, and I started getting free-lance jobs. I thought, I can do this on my own so I created Lotus Models.
It’s mainly a modelling agency, but depending on what my clients want, I can also provide make-up artists, photographers, dressers and assistants for events and shows. I’ve worked behind the scenes on many big shows such as Gucci, Prada and Cartier in Hong Kong.
My goal right now is just to familiarise myself with the industry more, know more people – and they in turn know me. In the long term, I hope to be able to say that my agency is one of the best in Hong Kong.
Right now I don’t have the moolah to expand what I have. So I need a few more jobs, maybe save up for a couple years and I should be all set!
I haven’t had any help from an agency or the government to set up my small business. But I have a very supportive family, so a lot of the setting up involved my parents and my brother. My dad bought a lot of things I needed for my company like desks, hole punchers, letter openers. Stuff I need and stuff that costs money. My brother is a website designer, and he’s helping me set up my website for free. At least I saved a couple of thousand dollars there.
I studied ancient history in Royal Holloway, University of London – nothing I did there is aiding me now!
The initial hurdles still exist. As a new agency, I don’t have a lot of models to call my own. I don’t have a comprehensive list of clients either – but it’s growing every day.
Most of the jobs that come in are from families and friends, and I still need to expand past that. I just need to work harder and the hurdles I have now will disappear.
Kanchan Suresh Panjabi (28), Kanchan Couture
I set up Kanchan Couture in September 2007, creating my own line of women’s wear and accessories. I have been designing and working in the fashion industry for close to seven years now. I created my first full collection in 2004 and had my first exhibition in London in 2006, eventually launching my own line in 2007.
It is inspired by migration, globalisation, slippery identities, fleeting memories and our ever-evolving civilisation. Kanchan Couture is my creative vision.
I returned to Hong Kong from London to launch my own label, my own passion to transform classic shapes from a bygone era in combination with opulent Indian textiles creating a wearable wardrobe for everywoman.
The collections include eveningwear, daywear, tailoring, bridal gowns, leather belts and accessories. I hope to branch into shoes soon – we are relaunching our online shop (buy.kanchancouture.com) and a new jewellery collection.
There’s been no government help or corporate funding. We did try once to get some funding for a trade fair but it did not go through.
There were two main challenges that I faced as designer in Hong Kong, one being not receiving much support from the local “guys” such as the government, big corporations, the trade department. I think this is somewhat different in the UK or Europe. The start-ups and the industry in general are more supported, and can get funding and help.
The second, the habits of the Asian consumer are a mystery; they are known to be status and image driven and would rather buy a brand over a young designer.
This is a bit different in other parts of the world, especially the UK as there is a range of consumers and everyone is looking for the next big thing – so a young designer can have his/her own followers because its not a global brand. Here, it’s different. But slowly this is changing and more people are looking for something different.
Douglas Pieterse (29), Sweat Limited
Sweat is a personal training studio that specialises in different types of training. We designed our studio for versatility to reflect the many different types of training we incorporate into our clients’ routines to keep things fun and interesting.
As my wife and I are both in the same business of personal training, we found that we were spending way too much on renting facilities to train clients. On top of that, a few of the studios had shut down and in a matter of two to three years, some of our clients had been switched to three or four different studio locations and each of them had their downfalls.
I teach some kids classes and we decided to promote the kids programme over the summer and had a really good response. Our biggest problem was where to train the children with a facility that would allow for the full studio to be renting for a decent rate, as well as would be kid friendly. It was literally impossible to find a place that could accommodate what I wanted as far as that went.
After discussing with my wife, we raised the possibility of having our own studio and from there, we spoke of the idea to a few clients who, for the most part, were very supportive of the idea. We decided to seek funding and then there was no turning back.
We want to add a couple trainers to our team. We would like to see our business grow to a stage where we can branch out to expand the kids programme to its own venue and have a team of personal trainers working for us.
Since it’s our first time having a facility, everything required research and a lot of consulting our friends for advice. Renting a space in a good location for a decent price was a bit of a challenge but we found a great place for which we could envision a good layout.
We ran into a few obstacles along the way and realised that renovations are full of setbacks and delays and of course a whole lot of unaccounted expenses.
Jason Yam (30), Hong Kong Basketball Academy
I have been a teacher in Hong Kong for five years and coached high school and middle school levels. I also played professionally and the one thing I thought was missing in Hong Kong was an academy/programme, similar to those offered in the US, where kids could focus solely on becoming better, smarter basketball players.
So I set out to create a programme that would help kids elevate themselves, by working with other talented kids to create a new level of basketball for kids in Hong Kong.
My business idea took years in the making. It took me this long to get all the logistics organised and start marketing. The initial response was strong and we are hoping to grow the programme and add more students, age groups, even a girls’ division.
The first semester has been amazing. The kids are so enthusiastic and I love working with them.
Basically there are two goals, goals for me and goals for the kids. For the kids my goals are to have them become better athletes and learn the game. I want them to become good sportsmen and women with one another and learn to work in team environments. I hope that they keep coming back because that would mean their having fun, learning lots, and their parents feel the same.
For myself and the business I want to add a few more classes so I can split the age groups into similar skill levels. The hard part will be keeping the class sizes small so there is a good level of interaction between coach and student. In the long run, I want the school to become recognised as the premier school for young athletes to become elite level basketball players.
It would be absolutely fantastic if we could get some students to play for some universities in the US and Canada.
Though we’ve got no external aid, I do hope to collaborate with financers because aid can help potential kids who are in financial need. I never had a doubt in mind that whatever hurdles came my way I could tackle them.
One thing I didn’t foresee is the high school level players having so much homework to do. It’s actually been a blessing because this has made me go back to the drawing board and to think about how I can offer academic support to the players and to really be a versatile programme.
Fortunately enough I know a lot of great teachers. I will be soon offering a “homework” club ran by professional teachers. Let’s just say our new motto is “ball above all … except homework”.
Carmen Li (30), 21 Concepts
21 Concepts is a publishing and media company. I publish a monthly magazine, Crave, and my team and I organise small scale gastro/wine events. We also own an online magazine www.cravemag.com.
I’ve always been in publishing, I worked at a newspaper years ago – the South China Morning Post – and for other fashion and lifestyle magazines. I wanted to set up my own title and business, for a while I even thought of opening a restaurant. But I stuck to what I knew, publishing.
Convincing the market – by that I mean media buyers – that there is a readership demand for this publication was the first of many challenges. At the time of launch, there weren’t any high-end English magazines that focused on the subject of gastronomy. It took a few months to persuade our advertisers to support our launch issue and in the end, many did. We’re in our second year now and still going strong.
An unexpected challenge we have, as a new company, was learning how to stay ahead creatively. There is a prevalent “copycat” culture in Hong Kong and we strive to think of original material for every issue. You cannot stop others from copying you but you can learn to stay ahead of the game.
The biggest lessons I learned from past experiences and having been at this for a while now, is to invest sensibly – and to not owe money to anyone or any bank or other entity. I’ve seen publishers who place too much emphasis on promotions and marketing to the extent that they run out of budget for editorial content.
Also, I would avoid bartering for advertisements. The company is nothing without the product, I work closely with my staff and respect everyone’s creative input and ideas. This is one of my life lessons.
To have readers embrace Crave as one of Hong Kong’s leading gastronomy publications is my ultimate goal as a businesswoman, but as a new mom, I also know that I need to step away and balance my private and office life. I take everything a step at a time.
Elaine Young (32), LAByrinth
LAByrinth is a communications studio and biotech fashion brand whose product ranges include AMULA (a play on the words amulet and emulate) DNA Jewellery (containing your choice of person, plant or animal DNA) and “HOST – for your living things” – a line of graphics, clothing and objects made from and/or inspired by microscopic images.
I didn’t always do this. I have a fine arts degree in philosophy and political theory from the University of Toronto. I created this brand in my early 20s, I’ve been doing it for 10 years.
Before I set up my own business in 2005, I used to work in film and television, as an art director. But deep down, I wanted to create.
I was so obsessed with the ideas that I had to create my own line. For better or for worse, I was obsessed and that sort of tunnel vision doesn’t allow you to see failures or pitfalls, you just jump.
I didn’t really think too much about going off on my own. People have to be fearless when they create their own business.
In the long run, yeah, if my brand is a multinational corp, yes please, that would be great! But in the short run, it would be nice to feel some sort of solidarity within the fashion community in Hong Kong. The solidarity is missing in our city. I would really love to find a public relations agency that understood the brand, the concept of why I do what I do, that it’s not just another fashion brand, and spread the word.
When you’re an independent entity, finances are always in issue, from rent to salaries to monthly overhead. I want to move on with the collection, and move on with the brand, but the shop was draining my time. And, as much as I loved having a shop, now I have my own studio.
I’m about to debut the HOST clothing line in November.
I’m fortunate that I have received help, from the Hong Kong Science and Technology Parks. They basically gave us a studio, and helped with promotion. It’s behind funding innovative projects in Hong Kong. Our biotech partner, Hai Kang Life Corporation help with all our technology work.
Understanding how to achieve a high quality product working in China is the hurdle.
The reason for the brand is education through fashion, I’m happy to tell people about it. When they ask questions, I’m so open to that as it’s the whole point of the brand. It’s about dialogue. I firmly believe that we shape the things we build - thereafter, they shape us.
Maxime Dautresme (32), Substance
What is our company? Well, the spiel is, it’s a one stop brand and design agency specialised in brand strategy, brand identity, advertising and design.
Substance was founded in 2007 in Paris. I then took the company to Miami and established it there as well. I launched Substance Hong Kong in March 2011.
The greatest advantage of having your own company is that you get to choose your client and the people you want to work for. You need to like the people you work for. That is a big plus!
When I worked for a … a large corporation, it was so political, and you often didn’t like the erratic people you worked for or you had a confused client. But now, I choose. And because of that, I can give them [clients] 100 per cent. The pay might be less and the hours are longer – we’ve clocked in 17-hour days – but you love what you do so you don’t feel it.
The biggest disadvantage is that you never step out of the office. Even on holiday, you do a lot more than what’s necessary because you’re so involved in every aspect, its micro and macro management on all levels. There’s no separation of task, client servicing, new business development, getting the morning coffee for everyone – it all depends on you.
When we launched, to be very honest, I was fearless, I had the opportunity, the background, the know-how. When you know what you’re doing, you don’t need a large corporate structure, you’re selling something creative.
I knew it would work – it was already working on a small scale before when I was freelancing. When I got a partner, a financial backer, we set up the company.
A friend of mine helped set up this business, [to act as] the money side, the silent partner. From just being me, to now, well, my company has eight full-time people and six freelancers working on different projects.
There has been no government aid but I did find someone that I felt was on the same page as me and really understood the business to partner with.
The initial hurdle was finding the right partner was the most important thing – I’ve heard terrible stories of betrayal between partners here in Hong Kong so it’s essential to partner with someone you trust.
Building the right team is another issue as just one person can affect the capability and dynamic of an entire team. But we are expanding so… that’s a nice problem to have.
It’s a big step to hire someone. You go through a long interview process. For me, the vision was more than just the work, we hired people who were passionate about their work. They’re all designers. The way they talk about the work is so important, because if they didn’t care, if they were bored, then the work is reflective of that. I relate to the passion. You can’t do your own business – no matter what the business is – if you’re not passionate.
NOTES:My original draft of the feature. Due to the Greek blah di blah, feature got uber cut by the time it hit print. Among other goofs. Pleasure and perils of publishing... Ten years in the biz and every day is a surprise.
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