To commemorate Global Entrepreneurship Week from November 14 to 20, we asked three super-gutsy women who struck out on their own to share the secrets to their amazing success
To commemorate Global Entrepreneurship Week from November 14 to 20, we asked three super-gutsy women who struck out on their own to share the secrets to their amazing success
To call Rachel Lim a fashionista is somewhat of an understatement. The 28-year-old possesses an effortless style and sophistication and the fact that she started online fashion label, Love, bonito, as a way to make extra pocket money when she was just 19, just adds to her alluring charm. Rachel has come a long way from her blogshop days, recently making it onto Forbes magazine’s “30 Under 30 Asia” list, cementing her place at the very peak of Singapore’s sartorial scene. And with buyers filling up their virtual shopping carts with up to 5,000 packages a week, things are looking good at the top.
She’s got determination and drive
“Being an entrepreneur is hard whether you’re male or female. building a business is not as glamorous as it’s sometimes made out to be. There are a lot of hard knocks, there are a lot of obstacles you have to face, it’s a winding road and it takes someone with a lot of determination and perseverance to fight through those challenges. Having said that, being an entrepreneur is very fulfilling but don’t do it for the sake of doing it. You really have to believe in the product or service that you’re providing and be passionate about it.”
She thinks women have made great strides in business
“It has changed very much now. but when I first started out in this industry, people didn’t take us seriously. especially since we were women and we were young. People thought we didn’t know what we were talking about, but the whole scene is very different now. You see people like Sheryl Sandberg and michelle obama taking on these strong leadership roles, and that has really helped people to take a more serious look at women and what we are capable of.”
She owes her success to the people around her
“I think surrounding yourself with a small, core group of people who will support you, love you and be honest with you, is key. Throughout my journey as an entrepreneur, I’m very thankful for those who have helped me through my most difficult times. They are the ones who have also helped me to stay grounded and stay true to myself. It’s also important for me to set aside time each day to reflect on my plans. It shouldn’t be just about coming to work each day to hustle, you need to have a proper goal.”
Cynthia Chua has her fingers in many pies – not that that’s a bad thing. A household name in the republic, the savvy entrepreneur, who was also a Great Woman of our Time nominee in 2009, founded the first Spa esprit outlet back in 1996. Since then, her company’s growth and evolution can only be described as nothing short of spectacular. Spa esprit Group has a myriad of beauty, lifestyle and F&b brands (she owns browhaus and Tippling Club) under its umbrella, all of which are the product of Cynthia’s daring and boundary-pushing vision for her company.
She says she still has a long way to go
“I feel like I am on a big journey and I have come so far, but there’s still so much ahead of me. I have learnt so much on this path that I have chosen. That success has shaped my way of thinking and given me more confidence. To build 16 brands and see some of them expand into 10 different cities is exhilarating and continues to be a learning curve.”
She appreciates very much how entrepreneurship has changed her
“Success is an ongoing journey for me where my mind and spirit can continue to grow. It’s a journey of understanding myself and putting that to good use. It’s also a state of happiness, to wake up with wonder and feel passionate in the many things you can do each day. I do think that the Spa esprit Group has made a name for itself and concepts that we push out do affect people’s life. now, I’m even more encouraged to continue to push the boundaries of entrepreneurship.”
She wants budding business owners to have three things
“Passion, tenacity and velocity. To go far as an entrepreneur, you have to have all three. Don’t be afraid to say ‘no’. If you give in all the time, it won't work out. Women should also learn about the power of proper delegation and empowerment, lest they run the risk of burning out. Lastly, don’t let anyone tell you that it cannot be done because when you eventually succeed, everyone will say you are a genius!”
Feisty, smart and fiercely independent. Having joined Zopim while still a student at nUS, Lim Qing Ru saw her hard work pay off when American software company Zendesk acquired the company in 2014 to the tune of an estimated $40 million. The payout made Qing Ru, who is expecting her first child early next year, and her fellow co- founders instant multi-millionaires.
She never thought she’d be an entrepreneur
“I think I represent the majority of most Singaporeans, in that my parents are honest, hardworking folks who really kept their heads down and took on blue- collar jobs for the sake of the family. That’s the kind of philosophy my dad had. His idea of a good life was for me to get a degree and have a stable job. So entrepreneurship was a very foreign idea and it was never on my mind.”
She credits her climb to the top to having an open mind
“There are a lot of expectations that are ingrained in the Singaporean society. The idea of success in my generation was to be an investment banker or a management consultant, but when you refuse to adhere to any of those stereotypes and forge your own path ahead, then you are limitless. I think this mindset has helped me but it does take a lot of courage and conviction.”
She wants women to stand up for themselves
“I think women should acknowledge that they do things differently to men, that they try harder to come across as likeable and that they try to make their success a shared one by saying ‘we did this together’ instead of attributing it to themselves. I want women to know that it is okay to be aggressive. The idea of entrepreneurship is that you’re not out there to reinvent the wheel. entrepreneurship is creating something different of value and you cannot do that without trying something new.”
