WEN would like to applaud Members who have had great wins, overcome obstacles, used innovative approaches or made other strides as an entrepreneur and who are ready to share their tips with you!
We are delighted to showcase Felda Yeung, Partner at Gall Solicitors.
Business Nature: Law Firm
Business Start Date: 2011
Best Achievement to Date: Co-heading the firm’s employment practice.
How is your company unique?
Gall is a boutique disputes resolution law firm that help clients navigate and resolve their legal disputes.
My motto is to help clients understand the legal issues and resolve the dispute in a manner that best suits their objectives. I will tailor the litigation strategy to each client’s individual needs, whether they are corporate clients or individuals, with the aim that they can reach an expeditious resolution (whether it be through litigation or settlement) so that they can focus on growing their business.
How do you transform a challenge into an opportunity?
I had a big trial that was scheduled to be heard in 2020 during the start of the COVID pandemic when the HK Courts were shut. The case started 14 years ago (the underlying dispute involves the royalties payable for the production of VCDs and DVDs!) and the legal team had spent a lot of time and effort to get the case ready for trial. For the longest time it looked as if we would have to adjourn the trial (and all our efforts will be wasted) since all Courts were closed but we pulled through! My case became the very first case in HK to have a telephone directions hearing so that the Judge could finalise directions for the trial, and this laid down the foundation for the Court to now regularly have telephone and video conference hearings.
Where do you see your company in the next 3 years?
Our practice keeps getting stronger and stronger with more high-profile cases, such as acting for a group of ad hoc bond holders in the recovery of funds from Luckin Coffee after their collapse in Mainland China and the US stock market. I think the firm, especially the employment practice, will continue to grow and flourish.
What are your top tips to share with other women entrepreneurs?
- A fellow female partner gave me this tip when I first became a working mother. She said that every day there are balls to juggle. Some balls are glass, some are plastic. It’s okay to drop a plastic ball, it will bounce. The key is to know – for that day what is the plastic and what is the glass. This is something I think about on hard days and it helps me prioritise my goals for that day.
- Appreciate that the last 10% time needed to finalise any piece of work will always take much longer than 10% of the time needed for the overall project and plan accordingly.
- Always proof-read!
One thing women should do more of?
Speak up more often!
WEN would like to applaud Members who have had great wins, overcome obstacles, used innovative approaches or made other strides as an entrepreneur and who are ready to share their tips with you!
We are delighted to showcase our Premium Member : Janice Chew of JC Legal
Business Nature: Law Firm
Business Start Date: 2014 as JC Corporate
Best Achievement to Date: Our Virtual Legal Clinic won GOLD GLOBEE® for Best Service to Combat and Reduce the Impact of COVID-19. As of May 2022, it has empowered 40+ people and donated HK$10,000+ to our charity partner, Maggie’s Cancer Caring Centre.
Tell us about your entrepreneurial journey:
JC Legal was not my first venture, and not my last either. My first attempt as an entrepreneur was in 2014, with JC Corporate, a company offering cross-boundary corporate and business- consultancy service. After I became a mother 5 years ago, I began to think about starting my own law firm, not only to give her flexibility but also to enable me to design and deliver legal services the way I wanted to, and the way I envision the industry should – in a manner that was unlike more traditional firms with heritage to uphold. I love coming up with solution and options, creating value for my clients and executing the service as we grow together.
How is your company unique?
JC Legal is known for our bespoke solutions. Headquartered in Hong Kong with offices in Malaysia and the UK, as well as foreign lawyers in PRC and France, we pride ourselves on a global footprint armed with deep, local expertise. We work with trusted partners all over the world to deliver cross-border advisory unique to your needs. JC Legal is a law firm that looks like a startup: a visionary leader, a young team, an entrepreneurial spirit, and a bold commitment to empower and reshape the business community quite unlike our industry, backed by sound legal knowledge and creativity.
We have established a broad practice in corporate and commercial law, regulatory compliance and dispute resolution. Our mission is to serve as the support system of business owners, so they can focus on what they do best. Our flagship Startup Steward Programme has nurtured 100+ high-growth companies, including trailblazers in FinTech and crypto, and industry leaders in their own right.
We are a team of professional lawyers in Hong Kong. We know about risks, and turn them in your favour.
How do you transform a challenge into an opportunity?
The Virtual Legal Clinic was an opportunity arisen from the pandemic, that has touched the lives of many who encounter legal challenges in business, career and personal life. With the on-going global anxiety and social distancing, we refuse to see our clients’ interest as the scapegoat. By being available to the world, we launched this programme, dedicated to ease the stress from urgent situations and to become the second professional opinion for any major decisions.
Our Virtual Legal Clinic won GOLD GLOBEE® for Best Service to Combat and Reduce the Impact of COVID-19. As of May 2022, it has empowered 40+ people and donated HK$10,000+ to our charity partner, Maggie’s Cancer Caring Centre.
Where do you see your company in the next 3 years?
As much as I am proud of my close team and the business we have built, I would like to strengthen the professional network of JC Legal in Southeast Asia. Apart from our current partners in Malaysia and connections in Thailand, I foresee growing our reach in Indonesia and Vietnam in the next 3 years, or even less.
I envision JC Legal to becoming the go-to law firm in Hong Kong for bespoke solutions, and hopefully a known cross-border law firm within Southeast Asia. I am happy to say the first step is made by being selected as the Hong Kong representative lawyer of Cross Border M&A in the Global Law Experts Network. I am beyond excited to see what’s next.
What are your top tips to share with other women entrepreneurs?
- Never look down on yourself – you can achieve everything you want to if you devote the effort and dedication into your goal.
- Stay curious – meet people from all kinds of industry, talk to people at the café, in a gallery, at an event… that’s how you stay interested in life and interesting as a person.
- You are stronger than you think you are – a lot of times we think we cannot make it; as much as I appreciate vulnerability and seeking help when needed, we are always much more capable than we thought we are. So, believe in yourself and become that proud achiever.
WEN would like to applaud Members who have had great wins, overcome obstacles, used innovative approaches or made other strides as an entrepreneur and who are ready to share their tips with you!
We are delighted to showcase our Premium Member : Charu Surtani of Travel Tricks Hong Kong Ltd
Business Nature: Destination Management Company (Travel – Inbound & Outbound – Mice)
Business Start Date: 13 February 2018
Best Achievement to Date:
Tell us about your entrepreneurial journey:
I have been in the travel and events industry for over 25 years and on 13 Feb 2018 I decided to turn my passion for events and travelling, by starting my own company and to be the entrepreneur I am today.
Travel Tricks was established as a way to aid clientele with custom made solutions by leveraging my vast experience and valued connections in this industry.
The name Travel Tricks was born from the wonder people experienced when their needs were well taken care of. I became known as the ‘Magician of the Hospitality Industry’ because nothing was impossible for me!
How is your company unique?
We are a bespoke destination management company. We provide tailor-made and consultancy services for our leisure and corporate clients based on their needs and we are also closely working on new trends of travel which is very unique.
How do you transform a challenge into an opportunity?
Take any challenge as a new opportunity and you will find a way forward. For example, when the pandemic hit, it was a big downfall for the travel business. We managed to start a local events company during that phase and we expanded travel tricks globally and we now have 2 offices, one in Hong Kong and the other in Dubai. We have also partnered with a firm in India. We viewed every downfall as an opportunity to grow.
What is the next step for your business?
We aspire to be a very well known ‘Destination Management Company’ world wide.
What are your top tips to share with other women entrepreneurs?
- Always remember your competition is only better than what you were yesterday.
- The pain and struggle you go through today paves the path for your future happiness.
- Successful entrepreneurs need the following 4 key attributes to grow their business: Security, regular schedule, headspace and control.
WEN would like to applaud Members who have had great wins, overcome obstacles, used innovative approaches or made other strides as an entrepreneur and who are ready to share their tips with you!
We are delighted to showcase our Gold Sponsor and Premium Member : Sharon McEneff of T8 Corporate & Business Services
Business Nature: Association Management and Accounting & Company Secretarial Services
Business Start Date: T8 Association Management was founded in June 2011 and then branched out to T8 Corporate in 2016, First Response in 2019 and Charter Junks in 2020, all currently operating under Minerva Group.
How is your Company Unique?: We are driven by strong empowered women by different skillsets and this is why we are under Minerva Group. Minerva is the Roman Goddess of Wisdom.
Your Favourite Business Mantra is: If you want something done ask a busy person!
Tell us what made you take the entrepreneurial plunge?: After managing Asia Pacific chapter of an association in USA my client wanted to take me on directly as they recognised everything I did for them.
After getting approval from my boss I decided to continue doing what I was doing, but under my own company. It was then that I had my first client and the rest of the clients grew organically through word of mouth.
How did you transform a challenge into an opportunity?: There are two ways that you can act when you face a challenge; you decide that you can’t meet the challenge and admit defeat or you can step up to the challenge knowing full well that it will be tough but that there is always opportunity in the face of adversity.
- Don’t stop moving! If you stop, the challenge can quickly become too daunting, instead change your perspective. From our junk experience we were desperate to become really green, with everything being recycled, however this posed almost impossible due to lack of facilities and resources to separate materials and a heavy booking schedule. Instead of becoming solely focused on us recycling what was left over, we pushed the issue up the supply chain and now all our products (foods, serving dishes) as they come on board are either biodegradable, washed and reused or crushed and bagged.
- Fail Fast and cheaply – if you have an idea to solve a challenge, try it out and accept it is good to fail – every time you fail you have learned another way not to do it. Promotions is a great example here – try a small advert with one resulting action and see if you get any traction, if you do then build on it, if not tweak the promotion idea.
Where do you see your Company in the next three years?: Having now structured the 4 companies under Minerva I would be delighted if we can increase each company by 25%.
What are your top three tips to share with other women entrepreneurs?
- Don’t just acquire customers, retain them. We have clients since the very beginning.
- Be passionate in what you do and have a niche market
- Hire people who are good in the areas you are not
Website: https://t8corporate.com/en
Email: sharon.m@t8corporate.com
If you’d like to be in the spotlight, read more on our Sponsorship page.
WEN would like to applaud Members who have had great wins, overcome obstacles, used innovative approaches or made other strides as an entrepreneur and who are ready to share their tips with you!
We are delighted to showcase our Premium Member : Anne Suaverdez of Wresonatemedia
Business Nature: Digital Marketing
Business Start Date: August 2021
Best Achievement to Date: Grew my client base in less than 4 months organically
One Tip: There’s no other time to chase your dreams but now.
Tell us about your entrepreneurial journey: I owe much of my success to the people I worked with in the corporate world. Since the time I graduated from university, I’ve had the opportunity to work with outstanding professionals in sales and marketing. They all made an impact on me professionally and until today, I am grateful to them for sharing their knowledge with me. As if I was always applying my learning and testing it for myself, I also had my fair share of launching a shoe brand that saw success in its own right. A year after it launched, the brand collaborated with some celebrities, influencers, and KOLs.
Combining my years of experience, skills, and industry knowledge, I knew I would be able to help others with their business problems. I was constantly driven by my dreams, but I was waiting for the right moment and after months of planning, the opportunity presented itself during the pandemic where it encouraged me to explore and break out of my own barriers, paving the path for the creation of Wresonate Media in August 2021.
Wresonate Media’s goal is to help entrepreneurs succeed online through digital marketing, with a focus on social media marketing, SEO, paid search, content creation, and email marketing.
How do you measure success? As an entrepreneur, success to me is actionable, realistic, and ever-changing. Growing organically by word of mouth or getting more referrals, is my own version of success that gives me fulfilment and happiness.
What have been your biggest lessons? It’s easy to get lost in this journey. There will always be this critical inner voice that will invalidate you and your sense of self. That you are not good enough, that you are not going to make it, that you are not the person you think you are. And one of the important lessons I learned is that you are the only person who will unlock your true potential if you believe in yourself. If you stay focused in your purpose, it can help silence that voice and drive you towards achieving your goals.
What is the next step for your business?
The next step is to scale up and grow my client base locally and overseas.
What are your top tips to share with other women entrepreneurs?
- Surround yourself with like-minded people who share the same values as you.
- Network with women entrepreneurs so you can draw inspiration from each other.
- Build a supportive and winning team with skills and talents that complement yours.
- Track and analyse your marketing efforts, whether organic or paid and maximise your highest ROI channels and focus on them.
Website: https://wresonatemedia.com/
Email: team@wresonatemedia.com
If you’d like to be in the spotlight, read more on our Sponsorship page.
