Entrepreneurs are resilient and persevering. We know because we are one ourselves. Often, in order to stay relevant and afloat, we push ourselves beyond our comfort zones into the unknown and along the way, discover capabilities that we never knew we had. Among many glam & successful stories of entrepreneurs, are the tough challenging times that little know of.

Therefore in the upcoming weeks, we will be featuring stories of several local entrepreneurs and the little known facts about their journey. We reached out to a few who are using our AGVA bags and got them to share what they do to keep going during challenging times, and how they are able to manage their time efficiently despite having 49402 things screaming for their attention.

Oh, and most importantly, how do they like the AGVA Bag they are carrying! ;)

Qing Hong: entertainment emcee and part time DJ

This week, we spoke to Qing Hong, an entertainment emcee and also a part-time DJ for UFM100.3. We received so many nuggets of wisdom from him, especially the importance of setting intentions at the beginning of the day, and we hope that you will too!

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A: AGVA
Q: Qing Hong

A: We saw that you’re carrying our AGVA Traveller Daypack! How do you like it?

Q: I really liked it! I like that the compartments are well-sized and the overall bag size is very suitable for daily needs. It’s also not too big cos I take the public transport and some big bags are a hindrance during peak hours on trains and buses.

A: Can you briefly tell us about your business and what you do?

Q: I'm a bilingual emcee and also a weekend radio presenter with SPH Radio UFM100.3. I first discovered my passion for entertaining when I was running a team-building events company with my brother. The turning point came when our emcee called in sick 30 minutes before an event, and we had no one to substitute him. So I had to take over the mic and ran the show. It wasn't the best but it had made me realised that emcee-ing is something I enjoy doing and I felt that I have a flair for it too.

I then did a couple of pro bono gigs, followed by charging rookie rates, to where I am right now. I've hosted a couple of gigs with President Halimah Yacob in attendance and also a wide variety of events for audience sizes ranging from 100-3000. I love being an entertainer because it's an incredible feeling when you draw the energies of the audience, evoke their emotions and transforming all these into laughter and heartfelt moments and meaning that everyone can enjoy together.

Besides entertaining people on stage, I also enjoy Saturday mornings 10am-2pm, hosting the morning show on Chinese radio station UFM100.3. As a radio DJ, I love that I can source, curate and present content that I feel are suitable and beneficial to our listeners.

A: Wow, that sounds like a super busy schedule. How do you manage your time efficiently then?

Q: I have a habit of starting the day by setting out my intention(s) for the day. Once I have my intentions set, I will live out the day conscious of what I am aiming to achieve today. This prevents me from “floating” aimlessly or doing work that makes me feel busy, but not value-adding to my overall goals.

A: That is really good! I realise that we have many instances when we try to make ourselves feel better by doing things that made us feel that we’re busy, but they are things not value-adding or productive to our overall work. Definitely a food for thought.

We also believe that there were periods in your self-employed life which were really tough. Could you share with us how did you cope during those challenging times?




Q: For me as an entertainer, when I didn’t deliver a good show, it feels very personal because I am the product and the face of the show. What I had learned along the way is how to dissociate failure from self and to learn from that failure. I'm fortunate not to have many of such days, but when I do, what I'll do right after the show is to whip out my phone and take notes on what didn’t go well. I’ll then brainstorm what ideas I could try the next time to improve the event. By doing this, I get the thoughts and negativity out of my mind and transform them into actionable improvement steps.


A: Wow, that’s really powerful. Instead of dwelling on the mistakes, transform them into actionable steps for the next performance. That’s so good.

One last question, what one advice would you give for aspiring entrepreneurs?

Source

Q: I’ll give two instead. (1) Take the first step NOW. Whatever ideas you have, throw them at the deep end of the pool and see which ones float. There's hardly a good time to start trying. You can edit, you can improve, you can even restart. But take the first step NOW.

(2) Find great mentors. The fastest way to understand is to learn from the ones who have succeeded. The secret to get great mentors is to ASK. Make an effort to connect. Have a 1-1 session over lunch or coffee. Ask with sincerity and make your intentions clear. I can say with confidence that my mentors have expedited my learning by many years.

Thank you Qing Hong for your wonderful sharing! We hope that through his sharing, it has allow you to glean some tips to deal with the struggles you are going through currently. Stay tune for the next #ResiliencePersonified #AGVAChatWithEntrepreneurs story!

Qing Hong is currently carrying our AGVA Traveller Daypack in Grey. You can find out more about the bag here. You can also find out more about what he does at www.leeqinghong.com.