Anna Wintour: There is something about fashion that can make people really nervous.

As Anna Wintour puts in very clearly, there's something about fashion that can make people really nervous. After working for close to 4 years, I've decided to ditch a stable career for something unpredictable. I know I know. I have mentioned this umpteen times already. It's been 1 month since I fully focused on the online store but the progress has been slow. 

Slow because there's alot of things waiting to be found out.

Slow because FASHION seems to be another universe on its own. 

Slow because I'm not a usually patient person.

Plowing through articles and articles about fashion, blogposts written by fashion bloggers, there's no denial that the elusive word, FASHION, does make people like me nervous. The word CONSTANT has been in my dictionary for the past 26 years in my life, or at least knowing where I am heading but FASHION changes every season, every month, every week down to every second. Microtrends, macrotrends and megatrends are loitering around in that particular corner, eager to reveal itself when people are least guarded. 

Being a pessimist in nature, this journey is not going to be easy. I need to believe in myself and persevere. Like what aiks says, be armed with a blind optimism. Hopefully I will be able to see the light at the end of the tunnel very soon. *Pessimism looming**

Thank you for reading.

♥ ZM & Kim

4 Lessons from an Entrepreneurial Career

I've been working from home since January. While it has only been one month since I officially started on my online fashion business, it has not been easy mentally. The uncertainty of whether you are doing the right thing, and whether you will eventually get there can be daunting. 

I only know a handful of entrepreneur friends and David happens to be one of them. He's so approachable and chatty that there is rarely any awkward silence when you meet him. And today, I decided to visit him at his own entrepreneurial venture, Wee's collection - which specializes in the buying, selling & renting of vintage items from Post War Days right up to the 1970s. It has been a good 1.5 years since he turned this passion of his (since he was 16) into a full-time career and it was a joy seeing the vast collection of vintage items and knowing that it has been doing well. 

Wee's Collection

512 Changi Road, Singapore 419913

The main purpose of the visit was really to catch up and gain some insights into an entrepreneurial career. Four points that I took away from our conversation:

1. Focus - Personally I agree that it is easy to fall into the trap of wanting to achieve everything, especially when ideas start to flow. But, point to self, stay focus. Set milestones along the way. It's easier to direct one's energy and hit one milestone at one time than to achieve everything at one go.

2. Find means and ways to reach out to your target market - Reach out to your audience base using different marketing means, even if it requires you to put in plenty of effort, plenty of legwork and multiple rejections. It will eventually pay off.

3. Be patient - Unless your product/service is out-of-the-world, one-of-its-kind, it takes time to see if it will eventually work out. Be patient, strategise.

4. Network - Network and know more people, both within the trade and people whom you need to know in order to make your job easier. Help them out so that they have a reason to help you in return.

Some sneaks that is really not representative of the collection that he had. Head down to see more ;)

Did you know that bicycles in Singapore used to have number plate?

Thank you for reading.

♥ ZM & Kim

It's a X'mas affair with JB!

It's been a while since I last updated. Work's been real busy for the past few months. Now that I've officially quit from my previous job (once again restarting my career with zero income), I would have more time to work on the blog and my online store. Entrepreneur is never easy and especially when I am going into a saturated market and doing it alone. Another emotional pitfall is when your peers are advancing their career but your future still look somewhat bleak. But I'm going to embrace it with optimism and positivity, and hopefully one day DeStylez would become what I hope it would be... 加油！

Anyways, it's the festive period and before I officially become a full-time slave to my own ideas, we had a mini celebration in JB with my clique. Unlike our usual tradition where it's a all-girls-affair, aiks joined us for we need a driver, a guide, a muscle man and his apartment *smiles cheekily*

Day one was spent BBQ-ing, with food bought from Sheng Shiong (in SG) and Testco (in Malaysia). If you happened to rent/have an apartment in Malaysia and want to have a BBQ session, you probably would know that it's better to buy food from Singapore for Malaysia is a muslim country, so the meat variety might be limited. 

 

When we finally concluded our cosy, mini BBQ session, we moved on to playing Dance central on Kinect to work off the gained calories (or so I think) before we had our usual X'mas gift exchange session! It is usually during the gifts exchange do you realised how creative your friends could be. haha!

Day two was spent singing karoke at City Square's Neway. The previous time we came, there was a lunch set with salad buffet, but it seems that they had changed their package to only include a lunch set, which wasn't a fantastic affair. But given that we paid around RM20+ per pax for a 3-hour session, there's nothing much to complain about. Do remember to bring a jacket along for it might get a little cold with the centralised air-conditioning.

 

We had a surprise for aiks after the k session, just before we conclude our mini getaway. One thing I loved about Malaysia is the food. It's half the price as compared to SG with equal amount of goodness.   

Thank you for reading.
♥ ZM & Kim

Day 25. Time, Effort, Belief.

Making some good progress with the development of our fashion online store. Interesting ideas are starting to form, but which requires time for actual execution. Given that the three of us are all working full-time nor are we are not active on the web or fashion experts, things appear to be a little tougher than I initially thought it would be.

While I remain confident of the future for De-Stylez, I can't help but be pessimistic at times. And this negative energy sometimes translates into frequent checks if my partners find that they have gotten into a big "shit" with me, and that I would understand if they choose to back out from the partnership. 

Turn out? Think too much. 

I am grateful for their time, effort and belief that the business would (eventually) succeed.

A day ago, I coincidentally met one of my entrepreneurial friend. He's still on his business and when asked how is it going ("has it stabilised"). His reply was "not yet, it takes about five years, and now we are only into the third". Such patience and belief that things will turn out well - a lesson learnt. 

On another occasion is about my encounter with this store - BeansTalk. Once every month on a Sunday, I would go for my facial. And after that I would make my way to this store near Toa Payoh Hub NTUC, and can't help but to get myself a cup or two of their signature item. At $2 and without the sight of a queue, why not? Often, while waiting for my order to be ready, I would think to myself, "what a waste, such great product that gets unnoticed (either because of lack of traffic and/or publicity)". But today, for the first time, I had to queue for it. This.meant.something.

Indeed, starting up is hard. But if your product is good, your time and effort will eventually get paid off. You just have to be persistent and maintain that strong belief that you had when you first started out.

While I am typing this post, I am happily eating my cup of BeansTalk (less sugar!) >_-

BeansTalk

520 Lorong 6 Toa Payoh #01-520 Singapore 310520

(near Toa Payoh Hub NTUC/Mr Bean area)

11:00 am – 10:00 pm

Photo Credit (Right Photo): thefoodexpository

Day 21 - I'm a survivor

 Eating at Ramen Keisuke Tonkotsu King

Hanging out with friends after work and on weekends are the reason why my calendar is always filled up. I like social activity, especially when there are endless topics that peppered the environment with laughter and sometimes even mindless topics

Today, we gathered and something my bestie told me stir up the reflective soul in me. Ever since I started my online fashion business (De-Stylez), I have been in a pensive mode more often than usual, spacing out frequently - a trait commonly observed by my boss.

The conversation was about how we are all producers of our life, and things we do eventually becomes a reflection of an event or a series of events that happened to us in the past.

She told of this story about a woman who was the 9th child in the family. As the youngest, she rarely gets as much attention from the parents as you hope you would. She wedded and eventually an ended up with a divorce. She had to move out of her house and ended up living with her parents.

Do you see a catch here? Think deeper.

While not (yet) able to piece my own story together, I reflect and see how things are connecting.

Need for Rewards - When I was young, we were awarded with real cash money (redeemable through yearly trips to Toys'R'us) if we performed well in school. I excelled and was rewarded and this continues, in my subsequent studies - scholarship and ranking, and in my career - recognition and income. Though I am always above the average, somehow I will never get to the top. I never aim for prestigious school nor work hard to get to number 1 - this I couldn't quite figure out. Other times, I gave up too easily knowing that I will the slightest possibility of failing.

Arts & Design - While I never gotten into a designing school, I do have an eye for all things beautiful and in proportion. My brain is telling me it has got to do with a drawing of Flounder that I completed with the help of my dad. It was the most impressionable drawing, and which I was amazed with the end results and became proud of. Eventually it was pinned up onto the wall for everyone to admire.

Entrepreneurship - perhaps entrepreneurship is a reflection of wanting to be just like my dad. He used to bring us (when we were young) to his office every weekend, and I am always amazed by all the machineries inside and how it all belonged to us, at least for the weekend. I especially like to sit on his chair, swinging round and round and round. Starting my business now, I am confident yet sometimes I wonder if this is founded based on some unfounded confidence. Will I succeed? I really hope it will but at the same time, I am prepared that it may not take off.

The above may seems random, but maybe I will slowly see how things take shape when I reflect years later. If I could know my destiny, wouldn't life be so much simpler? But living in this world, we are not only alive, but we are a survivor. Believe in your capability, for you have come and survived this far.