December 2010 Archives

William Ng is the editor-in-chief of SME Magazine and a self-made entrepreneur. He manages companies in Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia. Having dabbled in and mastered everything from spa tourism and hotel management to publishing non-government organization (NGO) work, William still finds time to blog.

He gives Schema readers exclusive advice that is outspoken and honest. For a person so young, his success is staggering. William tells us of his youth, the first time he tried his hand at business, and how a class-topper in hotel management got into publishing. Read on for sound economic advice from a business mogul, as well as some candid political commentary.

Please tell us a bit about the history and intended audience of SME
Magazine.

We started SME Magazine as a vehicle to educate small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and entrepreneurs on issues that are important to them. Being an SME ourselves, we realised that the publications out there were very news driven—and as SMEs we wanted to know how we could improve ourselves; what other people were doing right so that we could follow. Hence, SME Magazine talks to SMEs but not necessarily about SMEs, as the idea is to help connect SMEs with world class practices, we feature a lot of successful entrepreneurs and best practices from global companies.

We knew from a young age that we just couldn't live the same lives again.



What were you doing before and why did you start this magazine? Did you have an educational background in the areas that SME deals with, or did you learn from experience?

No, I never did journalism or such in school. I studied hotel management and graduated top of my class, but decided it wasn't really for me after all.

At that point I was already doing some freelance business on my own, so going to work in a hotel, dressing up and meeting guests weren't really appealing anymore.

I started my first business at the age of 19 doing mostly below-the-line advertising—graphic design, direct mailers, etc. It wasn't particularly successful, but it was enough to pay for college and food. Then I went into organising exhibitions and that proved to be a little more successful and we made good money. But we went through two busts very early in our business: the SARS epidemic in 2003 and the Asian Financial Crisis in 2007 almost wiped us out. We had to sell our cars and properties to pay staff salary, suppliers, and keep the company going. That got us thinking that we needed to build brands, because brands build businesses. So we decided that every thing that we do today is brand driven. SME is a brand. As a result, we now have the magazine, events, awards, exhibitions, conferences, etc all based on the same brand.

Could you tell me a bit about your childhood and youth in Malaysia? What led to your interest in your present career?

I had a happy childhood.

Dad and Mom were loving parents who gave us everything they possibly could.
They never had a chance to go to school. Dad was a carpenter and mom was a domestic-helper/maid. Between them, they barely made enough for our family of seven. I remembered eating out only about three times a year. And those were events that we looked forward to because we didn't have much money to eat out. Birthday meals were boiled eggs and homemade cakes. I used to cycle to school, and that's on a 15-year-old bicycle that I inherited from my older brothers who inherited it from my uncle. Mom used to buy the burnt ends of breads because they were cheaper, and we loved it because they were crispier!

But they were good parents. They saved enough money to put us through high school and encouraged us to work and save for college. They taught us the values of respect, honesty and hard work.

But it also helped us to see the importance of money. My eldest sister died at a young age from high fever because Mom didn't have money to get a cab to hospital and dad was away at work. By the time she carried her on foot to the nearest hospital (about 8 miles away), we had lost her. We knew from a young age that we just couldn't live the same lives again. All of us are now in business and doing relatively well.

Youth today are, of course, luckier. Malaysians in general have gotten wealthier. The economic boom in the 70s and 80s did miracles for the country.

For that, we are grateful.

I studied hotel management, but I decided it wasn't for me after all.



Tell us more about your involvement in various NGOs and your activism as co-founder of the Young Professionals Association of Malaysia.

Even as a student, I was always keen to be involved in NGOs. Perhaps it was how I was brought up. As a kid, I lived a nomadic life. I grew up with various aunts because my parents felt that we needed to grow up with our cousins and aunts who were better educated than they were. That, plus part time work throughout studies, meant I had very few real friends. I found solace in NGOs and other associations, where I got to meet people and help others. I spend about half my time nowadays in various NGOs and associations some in leadership roles and some as coolies (laugh!).

Would you advise young people to become entrepreneurs in today's economy? Where do you see this economy going? Also, how does your advice compare to what you would have said during the recession?

Sure go ahead and go into business.

People always ask me how to get about starting a business. My advice is the same—go ahead and do it! I started my current business with less than US$1,000. That went to a computer and fax machine. Today, we're doing close to US$10 million a year and growing rapidly each year. So the myth that you need a lot of money to start a business is not true. I can never understand all these rush for 'angel' investors and free money.

I think that free money makes you weak. Many of the companies that go bust during recessions are founded on free money. As an entrepreneur, you need to learn how to run a lean organisation.

Extravagances are for fashion designers and movie stars, not business people. As entrepreneurs, we have a responsibility towards our staff and business partners, as well as their family members.

The economy is constantly going up and down—can't worry too much about it, unless you are the size of Walmart. Recession or otherwise, being honest, prudent, respectful, and hard working is important. These are universal values that will put you ahead of others.

I think that free money makes you weak.



If you were to pick a mantra for youth trying to make money now, what would it be?

Be honest, be prudent, be respectful of others and work hard. If you stick to that, money will come. It might take a bit longer and at times, you might feel like giving up and the whole world is working against you, but the money will come. It's one of the irrefutable laws of entrepreneurship.

In your blog entry titled 'Is Obama Good for Business?' (January 24,
2009), you wrote about the new Obama administration, where you mentioned that his policy towards China would hurt Chinese businesses and consequently, a lot of small businesses around the world, putting promoting greener environment and human rights in inverted commas. What is your opinion of the environmental problem and how it may conflict with economic interests?

Like many young people, I am a fan of Obama and the change that he represents. But I also realise that politics is about self-preservation. I can understand that it is against U.S. interests for China to become too powerful economically. I am all for a greener world. But it's just not fair for someone who's gotten rich by polluting the world to now tell someone else who's trying hard to do so without polluting the world. It's like a defending champion in World Cup telling the other team to come fight a fair game but with only three players.

If you are so gung-ho with getting the other side to pollute less, then donate the technology to do so. Some of the largest beneficiaries of conservation projects in China are American companies. If the U.S. laws apply to intergovernmental relations, here's a clear case of collusion and market-fixing.

In June 2009, you wrote of a shift in global power, although you maintained that it would not be as miraculous as expected in the East, i.e. the U.S. would still remain quite powerful for decades to come. What is your opinion of the shift over a year down the line?

There's just so much at stake that the U.S. won't allow for a peaceful rise of China, or any other country. The military, political, and economic equation remains heavily tilted in favour of the U.S. There's certainly a shift to the East, with China, Korea, India and Southeast Asia rising as rapidly as we are. But that's hardly enough to make a dent and I don't think that governments here are very keen to compete with anyone. We just want to enjoy a better life, like everyone else in the rest of the world.

Oprah Winfrey. Andrea Jung. Tyra Banks. Indra Nooyi. Jan Fields. What do these women have in common? They are some of the most powerful women in the world right now. And when I say powerful, I mean top-notch, intelligent, ambitious, changing the face of the business world powerful! Can I get a shout out to girl power, or what?

Strong, powerful women have always been around. But nowadays they are getting more face time and recognition for the work they do, and it seems that everyone has their eye on them. With the world paying close attention to their every move, these women have to put their best foot forward and dress the part. Take a look at Samantha Jones from Sex and the City. Not only is she a successful business woman, but she knows how to sport her Loubs and Birken in all the right places.

Woan's story is something you could write a screen play on.

I'd like to add another name to my list of strong and powerful women. Sunny Woan - corporate attorney turned fashion designer. In July of 2009 Sunny launched her fashion label Taryn Zhang New York. Dedicated to making the perfect handbag or briefcase for that corporate woman, Taryn Zhang "finds inspiration from the accomplished, sophisticated, fiercely independent professional, with an emphasis on bold, balanced lines and silhouettes."

Woan's story is something you could write a screen play on. Her story screams fearless and uninhibited. Woan grew up in upstate New York, in a little town called Vestal. "I received my undergrad degree in Creative Writing and Rhetoric, and then went on to law school. I was serious about academics. In law school I was on Law Review and after graduation, published my research and writing in a handful of law journals, many on Asian American jurisprudence."

Her success in law school paved Woan's way to a position as general counsel for an international global investments firm. But Woan had a dream that was far from the world of law or politics. The fashion world was beckoning to her, and she couldn't resist.

"Sometimes it really feels like I woke up insane one morning, decided I would launch my own label, and that idea took on a life of its own, got crazy out of hand, and here we are now." For Woan, Taryn Zhang is more than just a fashion label - it "represents an ambition, a dream that many people who thought they knew me scoffed at as something I'll never achieve, so I had to pursue it to prove that I could."

The label's name, Taryn Zhang, also holds a significant meaning to Sunny. In retrospect, Taryn Zhang is Sunny's way of sticking it to the man (or in her case, refusing to adhere to her cultural norms).

I woke up insane one morning, decided I would launch my own label and here we are now.

"My husband and I were at that time in our lives when parents start bugging you about spawning their grand-babies. I couldn't have agreed more. It was the right time to conceive. So I conceived of my baby corporation, which turned out to be a girl, so I named it as I would a daughter. I'm not sure if other girls have a secret list of prospective baby names, but I do. I consulted that list and decided on Taryn. Zhang is my husband's surname."

Have I mentioned that Woan is fearless?

Taryn Zhang's look emphasizes the bold and sophisticated. Just take a look at the current line and you'll understand. Woan wanted the line to highlight real women in the roles of the successful business women. But that proved to be a bit of a challenge at first: "When I started, I thought I had this really swell idea of naming each handbag after personalities. Turns out that idea isn't as creative as I thought it was. A lot of other designer labels out there do that. I just didn't know because I was never engaged with industry happenings.

Her fearless attitude had to have stemmed from somewhere.

However, a lot of the personalities these labels opted to name their bags after were... not always the traits I'd agree were positive traits to celebrate in women. The Tramp, The Gold-Digger, and I hope I'm just making those names up as hypotheticals and they don't actually exist... Anyway, so I thought about the traits I would want to celebrate in women. Those traits inspired the Alpha Collection designs. The design of each bag is an expression of the personality it's named after (The Ambitionist, The Executive, The Catalyst, The Peripatetic, The Precisionist, and The Workaholic)."

Both my grandmothers persevered through and survived the Joy Luck Club-esque.

It became clear to me that Woan must have had the presence of a strong and influential women in her life. Her fearless attitude had to have stemmed from somewhere. And I was right: "Both of my grandmothers persevered through and survived what I can best describe as "Joy Luck Club-esque" you-are-damned-because-you-are-woman situations. How they could have endured what they did and still be so elegant, calm, cool, and collected is simply beyond the scope of my comprehension. Their stories were the first stories I heard as a child about strong women. The aunties in my extended family are all high-profile career women who beat many (often sexist) odds to get where they are now. My mother is a force of nature and also very inspiring."

But women were not the only figures shaping Woan's image of women as strong, independent and fierce. Her father played just as a significant role as the women in her life: "Growing up [my father] never ever let me use the "just a girl" excuse to get out of doing something I felt was too overwhelming. I remember him taking me out in the backyard to teach me baseball, not softball. He'd dust the cobwebs off his post-graduate textbooks on physics and would make me read them when I was in high school. I credit his philosophy and the intellectual way he nurtured his daughters as why I came out the way I did."

Woan seems to have an unlimited supply of ambition. I wondered if there are any plans for expanding Taryn Zhang: "At this stage of the game, it depends on the success of the handbags. I've already been designing and looking into the viability of manufacturing Taryn Zhang silk scarves and long viscose scarves. I would also love to dabble in business stationary, portfolios, and office related accessories."

Launching her own design label did not come easily to Woan - "If you think starting your own line is an artsy thing to do, you're wrong. It's all about business savvy."

Her advice for for those who want to start their own fashion label? "You need to be multi-faceted. You need to be good at math, and know accounting, not to mention math is a huge part of pattern-making. You need to be good at writing, because when you first start off, you'll be writing all your own press releases, press kits, query letters, and company and product information blurbs. You need a strong sense of branding and marketing. You need to be good at public speaking and know how to pitch your line in 60 seconds to a buyer. You need to know law, how to read a contract, know how to protect your intellectual property rights. And in this day and age, you also need to be tech-savvy, and school yourself in e-commerce. Finally, you need strong interpersonal skills, and know how to navigate social situations to develop your network."

For those future fashion label entrepreneurs Woan hasn't scared off yet, she insists that it's more than worth it in the end. "Starting your own fashion label is rewarding and will probably change your life, turning you into a stronger, tougher person. To ensure success, though, start with the right set of expectations. It's not about attending runway shows, sipping champagne on yachts, or sketching beautiful silhouettes in a posh Manhattan office only when you're so inspired. There's a lot of nitty gritty, and if you're not prepared for that, don't become an entrepreneur."

So what's the one fashion item Woan just can't live without? High heels. "To this day I still cannot walk properly in them; and they are so uncomfortable; and they do not promote any of my conceptions of feminism therefore rendering me a hypocrite; and my foot-bound grandmother would probably roll in her grave if she knew what I was voluntarily eagerly happily subjecting my feet to, but I love my 3 and 4 inch toe-pinching, spider-vein-causing pumps." (It must be a girl thing, because Sunny, I totally understand where you are coming from.)

My foot-bound grandmother would probably roll in her grave if she knew.

Just as every mother has a dream for her child, Sunny has one for her's: "My goal is for Taryn Zhang briefcases to be the go-to work bag for high-powered professional women." Her dream also includes some big names carrying her designs: Oprah, Andrea Jung, Indra Nooyi and of course Michelle Obama!

Taryn Zhang will make its debut appearance in Canada in Spring of 2011.

When I hear the word "home," my mind conjures up the following memories: buying an illicit bowl of Shin Ramyun full of MSG from a snack cart on a busy street in Seoul, riding my bike down a hill overlooking half-finished condos in a developing suburb of Ilsan, getting Slurpees and going to my first "job" at the community library in a sleepy suburb of North Vancouver. A recent addition to my memory of home includes eating a hot dog toaste on St. Laurent Street on my way home from a night out.

As you can see, this picture is neither coherent nor unified. As a result, my answer to the deceptively simple-sounding question, So where are you really from? is as equally disorganized. I was born in Seoul, Korea. My family moved to Ilsan, Gyeonggi-Do when I was nine but moved back to Seoul after two years. I immigrated to Vancouver with my family when I was 12. Then I went to a university in Kingston, Ontario, but I've been living in Montreal for over two years now. It's quite a mouthful to say, especially if you're in a loud room full of people meeting each other for the first time. It is, however, a good gauge to see if someone can actually grasp and accept your hyphenated existence; if they stick around until the end of the answer, and resist asking questions like, "How do you say [something often mundane] in Korean?" Then, we have a very good chance of getting to know each other.

In Paris, two men decided I did not deserve to sit peacefully and enjoy my ride.



I've also realized that sometimes it doesn't matter where I'm from at all, because people will ascribe me a home that has nothing to do with my life. When I was buying coffee at a neighborhood cafe earlier this week, the barista asked why a Chinese person like me could speak French so well. Two years ago, in a Paris metro, two men decided that I did not deserve to sit peacefully and enjoy the ride because they figured I was a fille chinoise without asking me to verify their assumptions. My sweet Parisian host mother would always tell me that the Korean team was doing so well in the Summer Olympics, although I explained to her many times that I was interested in knowing how Canada was doing as well as Korea.

Then of course, there was the time when I visited Seoul last year, when nobody believed that I was Korean. "Are you from China?" The man at the grocery store asked, pointing out my dark skin. "She must have been born in America. Look at how big her thighs are," whispered two girls on the subway, oblivious that I could understand Korean. I wanted to let them know that I understood every single word that they had said, but I couldn't look them in the eye because I somehow felt ashamed. How is it possible to have one's body image shift so much? In France, I felt too small to defend myself, while in Korea, I was the (literal) elephant in the room that people couldn't ignore. However, the real issue at hand was that my body was never just the right size for me to be comfortable in.

Nobody believed that I was Korean.


We live in a time where frequent migration is possible, and I am fortunate and privileged enough to have encountered many cultures and to have built such a diverse image of home. But such hyphenated existence also comes with discomfort and pain, where people do not believe that you have local knowledge because of the clothes you wear, your mannerisms, and the colour of your skin.

You ask me where I'm from, hoping for a one-word answer or a concrete place. I am from everywhere and nowhere at the same time, and home remains a constructed place where I mentally banish the suspicions of being a foreigner in every home that I've been in. This is real life, where nothing has a clear-cut answer.

I am from everywhere and nowhere at the same time.