This year marks my second year as an entrepreneur. I remember the desire to venture into business came while working as a marketing executive in Sydney.
Training in Australia
In 2014, I worked for a small-to-medium enterprise (SME) that specializes in renewable energy home products. Since it was a startup, I needed to take on multiple roles –not just marketing and advertising, but also business development– while managing an offshore call center.
After one tiring day, my thoughts drifted to an imaginary company where I got to be the CEO. I thought to myself: How rewarding would it be if I could channel all my efforts at work into something that’s my own!
In retrospect, I was actually being trained in business while working for someone else without me realizing it.
The Move
A year later, my husband was offered a promising job on the other side of the globe. Newly married, we moved to Vancouver in the spring of 2015 to start afresh. While my husband had a blossoming career, I became an unemployed housewife. I didn’t mind having a rest from corporate work, and in the midst of rearranging furniture and doing laundry, my creative mind started to work.
My business plans were still blurry then, and it wasn’t until I took up calligraphy workshops that the idea of Jules & Joy Gifts began to unfold. Practicing calligraphy inspired me to create personalized wedding gifts that would later on become my very first best sellers!
Making it Legit
Fast forward to several months later, I was a ball of nerves as I registered my business name and designed my very own logo! Small Business BC became my best friend. I went to their seminars and finance workshops to learn about profits and margins.
Taking the plunge to be an entrepreneur without proper training and guidance seemed like I was feeling my way in the dark, but experience is truly the best teacher.
Those couple of years of groping and playing by ear taught me a few things about business, the market, and how to make my ideas work. I’m just a home business or a micro-enterprise, as what they call it, but I’m learning, growing, and enjoying this opportunity to create.