Opening up a new business can be pretty scary and overwhelming. But what’s even more terrifying is running a new venture about an industry that is considered rare or unconventional by few. Introducing something to the market that involves beliefs and traditions is a challenging decision you need to commit yourself into. Take Feng Shui, as an example. The philosophy of Feng Shui revolves around the balance of energy. It is a Chinese traditional practice that not everyone is familiar with nor believes in.
Discover how the owner of local watch manufacturer and retailer H2 Hub Pte Ltd entered the Feng Shui business and learn more about his success story from this interview.
Getting Started
How did the idea for your business come about?
I am the second generation of H2 Hub Pte Ltd, a local watch retailer and manufacturer for the watch brand Aries Gold.
Looking for a suitable Fengshui Master for our first house, our parents found that the recommendations given on site and when we collected the report were vastly differently. Unsatisfied we looked for another Master and the recommendations were significantly different. Afraid of the repercussions of bad fengshui, we looked for a third Master and the recommendations were once again different.
These experiences inspired us to go on the journey to start M Fengshui to provide high quality Fengshui Consultancy Services with an honest and transparent price structure. Our services include Home Consultations, Personal Consultations and Business Consultations.
What was your key driving force to become an entrepreneur?
For M Fengshui it was really to help others with my new found knowledge.
I have seen how Fengshui works and I know it plays an integral part in any person or even business.
I always talk about the 33.33% rule where
33.33% – what heaven gives you
33.33% – fengshui
33.33% – hard work
And therefore the right fengshui can promote good health and even gear you for success.
How did you come up with the name for your company?
M Fengshui stems from the word, motivating. I have seen many masters and some of them are very good but not very motivating. They are more interested in showing you how much they know than to really solve your problem and that’s why I started M Fengshui with a vision to focus on helping other people’s pain points instead of showing off how much we know.
M – motivating, to focus on helping others
But it also stands for
Mastery – mastery of one’s destiny through the development of your strengths
Mindfulness – mindful of one’s weakness to improve one’s character
Modern – to fengshui without the concept of religion so every race and religion can benefit
Meaningful – to make the consultation and reports relevant so that they are meaningful and usable
Did you raise funding for your venture?
I sold one of the companies I own to fund this venture.
How did you build your customer base?
I started off asking my friends for help. I realised this didn’t work so I began to write my own books and use them for pitching to people I didn’t know. m
How do you market your business, and which tactics have been most successful?
Digital marketing through fb because it’s what we are good at
What kind of culture exists in your organization, and how did you establish it?
Entrepreneurial, Problem solving, Focused on efficiency and results
Getting Personal
How many hours a day do you work on average?
I lose count. I think 11 hours at least. I know right, MOM disapproves.
Can you describe/outline your typical day?
Go to the office, meetings. Quick lunch, meetings, then do strategy and brainstorming at night. Quick dinner, spend time with my family for 2 hours, run 5km in 20 minutes, wash up, then continue working till late at night.
Definitely not the playboy mansion type of lifestyle most people envisioned for a business career.
How has being an entrepreneur affected your family life?
Well, most of them are quite encouraging, so I am fortunate that way.
What motivates you?
For watches, I have to carry on my family business.
For MFS, the thirst for knowledge and understanding and really the satisfaction of helping others. Sometimes my clients call me at 2am and tell me their problems, its weird but it makes me happy that other people’s lives are impacted. Most people who look for Fengshui masters have something they need and its our responsibility to use our knowledge to help them, not to upsell them to buy more stuff. I hope to disrupt the industry with my digital knowledge and our school of thoughts.
How do you generate new ideas?
I go running into the woods. 10km works the best for idea generation.
What is your greatest fear, and how do you manage fear?
Fear motivates me. I remind myself that I need to control it like controlling fire. If it controls me, it burns me, if I control it then I am motivated by it. A person without fear cannot achieve much.
What are your ideals?
I want to make the younger generation more aware of Fengshui and the Chinese culture. And to get more people to know about Fengshui, and use this knowledge to help more people.
How do you define success?
Having a lot of money. Truth hurts but without money, you can’t even start changing the world. Every step of the way costs money. If you’re afraid to talk about money, you will never be successful.
But it’s a 2 step formula. First money then build your vision. For me, it’s to educate and to spread Fengshui to as many of the younger generation as possible and helping people change their lives through Fengshui and to debunk the many myths people have of Fengshui.
Do you believe there is some sort of pattern or formula to becoming a successful entrepreneur?
No pattern. Basically, humility, persistence.
What is your favorite aspect of being an entrepreneur?
Its so tiring I hate it. But what motivates me is when my clients says thank you. It kind of makes me forget for a couple of minutes how tired I am.
Tired people change the world.
What has been your most satisfying moment in business?
To help others.
Who has been your greatest inspiration?
Dan Lok. Just kidding.
Bruce Lee. His willingness to share inspires me to be a sharer not a hoarder of these Fengshui knowledge I learnt.
If you had a magic wand, which are the three things you would change in the world?
I don’t believe in magic. And if you do, don’t be an entrepreneur.
Look at the queue at Singapore Pools, take a weekend off, check the queue and tell me which one of them looks like an entrepreneur. If you have the time and feel like you’re up for it, interview them and let me know if you find more than 3 entrepreneurs in the queue. Real entrepreneurs.
What is the part of your life experience you would alter if you had the chance to?
I would like to have good looks, preferably like David Beckham, it will help A LOT. Now I look like David bakes a ham, not very helpful and that’s why I need to work a lot harder.
If you were to write a book about yourself, how would you name it?
The Face of Destiny – showing how Fengshui impacted my clients in a Netflix series (not a book), probably 10 episodes for 10 cases will be fun.
Tips and Advice for Other Entrepreneurs
What piece of advice would you give to anyone who wants to become an entrepreneur?
Be humble and learn.
If you had the chance to start your career over again, what would you do differently?
I will learn as much as I can and bow down with humility right from the beginning.
What would you say are the top three skills needed to be a successful entrepreneur?
- Digital marketing
- Sales skills, your pitch and your closing
- Networking
What entrepreneurial tricks have you discovered to keep you focused and productive in your day-to-day busy schedule?
Coffee and Tea works well. Lots of it.
What key activities would you recommend entrepreneurs to invest their time in?
Train your physical body and mind, do sports.
In Closing…
We thank Chase for taking the time to share his precious experience and advice. It will be interesting to see how his story continues to unfold in the coming years.
Wishing Chase the best success for H2 Hub and M Fengshui!
