My entrepreneur journey

I have always wanted to do my own business. It is my aspiration.

In February this year, I took the courage to resign, and to explore my homecare business. Homecare has been an area that I am passionate about, and it arose from the time when my Dad was unwell. I had wanted to consider doing this in US (home care is well received in US and there is a huge market) by taking up a franchise, however, this was only feasible and advisable only if we relocate.

I moved on to explore the local market. There are 2 major players and several smaller players in the market, and referral is largely to the voluntary welfare organisations (VWOs) by hospitals. The VWOs are partially subsidised by the government. This is a market in which there is a large demand, yet limited supply. Though it sounds like a feasible business (with high demand and low supply), market players are in fact struggling, as the market is not mature yet. I was told by a reliable source that a boss of one of the major players had to work part time to pay his staff. There are a few reasons why the market are not ready for homecare services yet and supply continues to lag behind demand:

1. There are only 1 in 1o residents now whom are 65 yrs and above. This ratio is expected to become 1 in 5 residents whom are 65 yrs and above by Yr 2030. The severity of the ageing population is probably not visibly severe enough yet to prompt finding of alternative cares to step down facilities (day care centres, nursing homes etc). Coupled with the chronic low birth rate and limited step down care facilities, home care services will be required in time to come.

2. Lack of awareness of homecare services, and what they can do. Homecare services can be in the form of nursing services, therapy services (physiotherapy, occupational therapy or counselling) and homehelp services (meal preparation, laundry, escort services, bathing of patients etc). The irony is that the existing market players do not really market their services to create awareness (which I believe they must have good reasons for it).

3. Singaporeans are not prepared to pay for homecare services as yet. They would rather hire maids to take care of their elderly loved ones who need assistance with daily living.

4. It is difficult to recruit committed and trained local staff. Hiring foreign staff would be too expensive for a start up. The severity of trained local expertise can be felt as of now when you step into nursing homes, community hospitals. One of my interviewees whom had worked with one of the big market players shared that caregiving is a tough and dirty job, and the salary does not justify for the amount of work. I agree, and yet if the charges are adjusted higher, afraid that it may shut out the demand and channel all demands to VWOs.

5. Lack of government funding or insurance coverage for homecare services. In countries such as US, Australia or Japan, home care services are either paid by insurance or subsidised by the government.

I have decided to put this business idea on hold. Though disappointing (and especially considering the opportunity cost lost), however, I am glad to have the chance to pursue and explore the idea full time. The 2.5 months of market research and business planning may be a blessing in disguise. Given a chance when the market is right for the business, I will be more than happy to go into it again!

Taiwan - Here we come again!

Went to Taiwan with hubby from 15 May till 22 May. This is my 4th time to Taiwan. The 1st time was with my gal friends, it was my first overseas trip with friends. The 2nd time was with my family members, and I was happy to be the tour guide for my Papa, Mama and Sis. The 3rd time was with my fiance and we were there to take our wedding photos (accompanied by Xueling whom made the trip esp for us). This time round, my hubby and myself are in Taiwan to simply experience the nature, culture and people in Taiwan! All the Taiwan trips are memorable to me.

Upon arrival in Taipei, we took the Taiwan High Speed Rail to Chiayi. Though it was a bit pricey, it saved us a lot of time and the experience was good. Upon arrival in Chiayi, we had a helpful Taiwanese on business trip to lead the way for us to our hotel (those we didn't ask for his assistance). We went Wun Hua Road Night Market and tried their local cruisines.

The next morning, we made our way to Alishan. Enroute, we stopped by Fenchihu. It was a small town with nice snacks. We tried their famous lunchbox and visited Fenchihu Old Street and Old Railway Museum. What amazed me was their bamboo plants with squarish stems.

At Alishan, we could not venture very far as it was raining for 2 days. We attempted to watch the sunset and sunrise, however, it was not clear due to the rainy weather. We went to watch the tourist video instead and the video was played especially for 2 of us! Haha.

We went to see Sun Moon Lake too. Hmm, it was different from what I saw during my first trip 9 yrs ago. Developments have made its way to Sun Moon Lake with classy hotels and pubs.

Next we made our way to Cingiing Farm. The air was fresh, the organic breakfast was great and staying in a home stay was a good choice. We visited the Cingjing Recreational Farm and Small Swiss Garden. The morning spent in the farm was fun. The lunch at Carton King impressed us. Every piece of furniture and most cultery were made of cardboards.

Next, we made our way to Taichung. We visited Feng Jia Night Market and Chung Yo Department Store. Finally we got back to Taipei and we stayed in the Yoxing Hotel (that we stayed last year) and we went back to our favourite "My Home Steak" opposite the hotel. It was as nice as ever. During the few days in Taipei, we had Mark whom is William's secondary friend as our local tour guide. We visited National Taipei University, tried the yummy beancurb near to the university, bought a nicely designed umbrella from Umbrella King (the umbrella comes with a warranty!), and visited National Chiang Kai-Shek Memorial Hall, National Palace Museum, Ronghe Street Night Market, Wu Fen Pu and Shida Night Market.

This is another memorable trip with my Significant Other :-)

Morning Glory

I watched the movie "Morning Glory" with my hubby yesterday. The show tells about a young and enthusiastic television producer, Becky (played by Rachel McAdams), who took up the challenge of reviving a dying morning programme with plummeting ratings. The folks working for the programme was extremely low morale and everyone seemed to be waiting for the programme to die a natural death. Becky impressed the team by hands-on in everything and shows that she cared! She reorganised the unit and fired the most conceited anchor! She brought in a legendary newscaster, Mike (played by Ford Harrison) who was the "3rd most difficult person in the world" and someoe whom Becky admired since young. Despite her best efforts, the ratings went down to rock bottom in history after Mike joined. Simply because Mike simply didn't want to cover stories that were not worthy of his reputation. Becky was asked to go. She did not give up, she continued to press on, and tried out new programmes atypical of morning shows and she got a great team helping her. The whole team was like a family. Eventually, her passion, hard work and her genuinity paid off! The show was revived! She was even headhunted and yet she chose to stay on. The show moves my heart. Becky has an intrinsic passion for tv production. I love her energy, drive and guts to try! Her determination, perservance and willpower impress me. I was, if I may say, very much like her. I have steered the department that does not value add at all to one with credible reputation and handles significant project. I have built up a great team made up of mostly Y generation. I have wonderful nursing colleagues working with me. I was told that I was a well-loved manager based on a survey (I was quite flattered by this actually ;-) ) I have chosen to resign though. Not an easy decision. The corporate environment is really stifling to my creativity and innovation and there is no work-life balance. I did not choose to stay on like what Becky did, despite my team was hoping very much that I will change my decision. I have decided to pursue an alternative career, something that is much more meaningful and I can go ahead to stretch my potential! My intellectual being is dying in this current job and I am counting down to my last day of service. Thanks to my hubby who supports my decision. Thanks Dear! And I wish my great team all the best, and I believe each and everyone of them will do well.

Honeymoon in Europe - 11 Nov 2010 to 27 Nov 2010

12 Nov
Arrival in Rome, Italy

1. Piazza di Spagna (Spanish steps) – Can see LV, Gucci and many branded names here.
2. Trinita Dei Monti (church)
3. Trevi Fountain (I made a little wish here by throwing a coin :-) )

13 Nov

1. Colosseum
2. St Peter’s Basilica in Vatican City
3. Pantheon
4. Piazza Navona (had high tea here while listening to street performance.. this is learning how to relax life)
5. Piazza Venezia

14 Nov
Florence in Tuscany region

1. Went to a mountain top to take a photo with a replica statue of Michelangelo (Italian Renaissance painter, sculptor, architect, poet and engineer)
2. Ponte Vecchio (historic bridge for a view of River Arno)
3. Uffizi Gallery
4. Piazza della Signoria (the lordship square, showing may sculptures by famous Italian sculptors)
5. Santa Maria del Fiore Cathedral (3rd largest cathedral in the Catholic world)
6. Door of Paradise at the Baptistery of St. Giovanni

15 Nov
University city of Pisa

1. Learning Tower
2. Duomo
3. Baptistery

16 Nov
Venice (reached by water taxi)

1. St Mark’s Square
2. Dogo’s Palace
3. St Mark;s Basilica (church)
4. Campanile (bell tower)
5. Bridge of Sighs
6. Glass-blowing factory
Verona in Veneto region

There is also a colosseum here, nice shopping area and we saw the ‘Juliet’s balcony’.

17 Nov
Milan

1. Shopping at Milan!
2. Castle visit

18 Nov
Interlaken, Switzerland (beautiful and awesome Swiss Alps… I simply love snow. Visiting Switerland reminds me of the Fox Glacier in New Zealand J )
1. Had choc fondue, beef fondue and fruit fondue the night before
2. Jungfraujoch (traveled to the top of Europe by train)
3. Shopping at Interlaken (bought our Swiss cross t-shirts!)

19 Nov
1. Mount Pilatus (by cable car)
2. Lucerne (Switerland’s largest city) – Lion Monument, Chapel Bridge, Princess River and shopping again

Swiss cottages have lots of windows to let sunlight comes in whenever there is sunlight.
Choc from Swiss Chalet Shop at Hotel Oberland is good.

20 Nov
Travelled from Lucerne to Paris (600km… took us 8-9hrs)

Paris, France
France is a self-sufficient country and the largest country in Europe.

1. River Seine Cruise (you can see Eiffel Tower lighted up in the night, many bridges, Cathedral of Notre Dame, Louvre Museum etc)

21 Nov
1. Arc de Triomphe (erected by Napoleon in 1806)
National Monument to the Unknown Soldiers of France
2. Eiffel Tower – went to the 2nd Level
3. Louvre Museum (see the famous glass pyramids)

22 Nov
Took train to shop at Galeries Lafayette and surrounding shopping areas (bought my most expensive bag here… ;p)

Start of our Free n Easy! Took Paris bus to check in to Mercure Hotel

23 Nov
Took Thalys train from Gare du Nord station, Paris to Bruxelles Midi, Brussel (hee hee… we made it to an earlier train and the friendly train conductor let us pass :-) )

Brussel
Visited the attractions at Grand Place.
Tried their subway.

24 Nov
Took Thalys train from Bruxelles Midi, Brussel to Central Station, Amsterdam (called Holland previously)

Amsterdam
The canals in Amsterdam are scenic with its surrounding buildings.

Visited the Flower market (see mainly Tulip bulbs though, as it is near winter), Anne Frank house and bypassed surrounding shopping areas (Magna Plaza etc). Bought books from CLC (Raadhuisstraat 14 1016 De Amsterdam)

Late night shopping in Amsterdam (till 9pm) is on Thurs.

25 Nov
1. Day tour to countryside of Amsterdam to visit wooden houses, cheese factory (bought smoked cheese), windmills and wooden shoe factory. Also visited the traditional fisherman’s village of Volendam
2. City Tour of Amsterdam
3. Enjoy the night canal scenic route by boat ride :-)

26 Nov
Traveled back to Singapore




Hotels
Rome: Holiday Inn
Switzerland: Oberland Hotel
Paris: Hilton Hotel, Mercure Hotel
Brussel: Floris Ustel Midi
Amsterdam: Inntel Hotel

Wish list

Have one ever ask oneself, "how i wish i have ....".
The wish list may be non-exhausive if one just takes more than a min to think.
Wish list can be anything under the sun... a long long holiday, a satisfying job, lots of money and so on.

To most human beings, there is no end to one's wants.

I guess it is important for one to know own priorities in life, and the "needs" will be clearer and one may be happier then when pursuing along the right tracks.

For me, I used to focus on my career . I put in lots of efforts in it. My job is quite a meaningful one, putting aside the hectic schedule and frustrating moments at times. If you ask me again what I want to do if I have just graduated, I will tell you "healthcare!" immediately. I'm blessed to be doing a job that I like. Without passion, I would not have lasted till today and made some achievements. Pursuing a career was like my second nature or put it simply, I was a workholic.

My priorities are now faith, family and health, and I hope to channel most of my time to understand more about my faith, spend more time with family and build up my health (with a more regular lifestyle). I will work towards them and I know I can do it!

So my wish list is (... you know the answer now right? :-) )

Hong Kong Trip 2010

Hong Kong was the first trip for the year. Went there with Wil from 1-5 Jan 2010, however, had no time to do a short blog on it till now as was really busy with work and looking for a house since back from HK.

I am currently on a 2.5 weeks break. This is a long awaited break since nearly 2 years ago, It was initially nearly a month break but has to be shortened due to unforseen operational needs at work. Whatever it is, I have enjoyed this break so far. In addition to the wonderful Taipei trip, I do whatever that I like, no pre-planning of to-do for every day, not much household chores, no calls and emails on work, and just rest and spending times with loved ones and good friends. I feel so good to hibernate!!!

Haha, back to HK trip. HK service standard is very good! The Airport Express was impressive with drop-off at several hotels. We bought the octopus card that could allow us to travel on its MTR for unlimited trips for 3 days.

I like the winter weather.

Visited Harbor City. We could still feel the Christmas and New Year ambience with the brightly lit building decos. Walked to the Avenue of Stars and managed to catch the well known "A Symphony of Lights" along the stretch.

Try out this shop at Tsim Sha Tsai for its Yu Dan Fen and oyster porridge.

The dessert shop "Xu Liu Shan" have lots of dessert choices.
Hmm... the only thing that I cannot really take in HK is its "Yuan Yang"... too bitter for me...

By sheer chance, visited the marketplace in Wan Chai. Wow, I like the goldfish shop and those selling fresh food. I sound like an auntie hor :p


Visited the Ocean Park too. Ocean Park has improved tremenously after the entry of HK Disneyland. The Dorphin show at the Ocean Theatre remains my favorite! Got to try their ferris wheel again, nice feeling. This time round, got to see An An and Jia Jia at the Giant Panda Habitat! First time seeing pandas... they are so cute!! I wonder if they miss their Daddy and Mummy in China.

Went up to the Victoria Peak. Must try out the Peak Tram if you are going to Victoria Peak k? It is an engineering feat to have train travelling up at about 45 degree angle. Victoria Peak has The Peak Galleria now and Madame Tussauds is housed in it. Got to see HK from Victoria Peak (though sky was a bit cloudy), and of course posed with lots of famous persons in Madam Tussauds. I am glad to visit Madame Tussauds. The exhibits are made with lots of fine-eye for details and certainly worth seeing.

Visited Lan Kwai Fong and SOHO. It was a long way up, and the Central Mid-levels Escalator is a long stretch of interconnected escalators. Visited Ladies' Market and Fa Yuen St too. Ladies' Market has shrank a lot; heard that most stalls have moved to Zhuhai.

Wanted to visit the Tsing Ma Bridge, however, we were too late... at the end, we had a feast at Tao Xiang.

After the 3 trips, I think I have to eat more healthily now and lose some weight.

Taipei Trip 2010

Went Taipei for bridal photography cum holiday from 15-21 Apr 2010.

I have always like the beautiful scenary of Taiwan, and it is really nice to take bridal photography in Taipei. My Significant Other, thank you for this beautiful memorable present! :-)

Another person to thank is my buddy, Xueling, who came all the way to Taipei to give us her moral support. Thanks gal! Hee hee, you're our 'Manager' in future ;p

It has been raining in Taipei when we were there. By God's Grace, the weather was extremely good on the day for our bridal photography and the photography session went very well. Halleluyah!

Managed to visit a couple of places in Taipei this time round.
Finally got to see the beautiful Danshui. Saw a bird eye's view of Taipei from Taipei 101 Observatory too! Wow, the lift is really a high-speed lift. Reached the 89F Indoor Observatory in less than 1 min.

Shilin Night Market has transformed! It is much cleaner and with more proper shop fronts now. Have also visited Wufenpu Garment Wholesale Area. However, the clothes did not seem to be wholesale prices leh. Maybe my negotiation skills need more practice!! Another night market visited was Shida Night Market. This is my first time going to Shida, and it is crowded as it is just next to the university. Visited Ximending too. Simply like the idea of so many shops are still opened at late night.
Realised that there are lots of Sogo in Taipei, and I bought a pair of shoes with sparking starfish on it.

We like the food from the stalls in the night market. We tried the 'smelly beancurd'. The one we tried in Shilin was apparently a famous one (overheard it while queuing for it) and it's really nice with the gravy. Others are mee sua with oyster, fried oyster, octopus soup, black pepper biscuit, onion biscuit, soya bean curd with chiko nuts, soya bean curd with nuts, soya bean curd with red beans, sausages and mo chi. We stayed at the Friends Hotel and there is this shop "My Home Steak" diagonally opposite the hotel which serves very nice steak and at extremely economical price (about $8 for the steak, bread, soup, dessert, fruits and drinks). Have to self-serve own soup and drinks.

On the last day, we visited several places of interest, including Botanic Garden, National Museum of History (however it was closed on Monday), National Taiwan Arts Education Cente, National Theatre and Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall. Took lot of photos of flowers for the day.

It has been almost a week since back from Taipei. I still miss the scenery and weather there... :-)

Australia Trip 2010

I went for an Australia study trip from 8 Mar to 14 Mar, together with 5 other colleagues, mostly nurses. The main objective of the trip is to learn about Nursing Works. For myself, I am there for the objective of learning about lean nursing processes for redesigning of the ward layout to facilitate efficient and effective work processes, particularly nursing processes.

We went to 3 hospitals, namely Cabrini Hospital and Alfred Health in Melbourne and Flinders Medical Centre, Adelaide. I am impressed with the bedside handover and systemic approach in handover, and the various approaches used to increase patient-nurses contact time.

In Melbourne, we have visited the Queen Victoria Market. I like the fresh fruits, vegetables, dried fruits and flowers. We have the pleasure of being one of the earlier batches of visitors to the newly opened Australian Garden (equivalent of our Botanic Garden). A large part of the garden is still under construction; believe it will be more impressive when I visit it next time! Next is Philip Island. I love the Philip Island Chocolate Factory!! I feel like I am in the movie “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory”. Almost submerged myself in the world of chocolates… Visited Koala Conservation Centre and saw koalas for the first time and got to know that Koala sleeps 20 hours a day!!




Saw beautiful sunset at The Nobbies.




Lastly is the most memorable Penguin Parade. We “upgraded” our admission ticket to view the penguin at Grand Pix, and it was a memorable sight to see the parent penguins coming back from the ocean to feed the baby penguins waiting at the shore.

We have also visited the city areas, including Bourke Street and Chinatown. We took the trams to travel around. It was quite fun. We even took a train from Flinders Street to Belgrave. Wanted to take the Puffing Billy but it was too expensive for us.



At the end, we ventured around the area and I went hiking with one of my colleagues. Guess what?? I saw my dream Tree House!! It was on sale and we are invited for its open house. So we went for the Open House happily. We stayed at the Parkview Hotel at St Kilda Road in Melbourne. It is a good hotel with good amenities and location.

In Adelaide, we had only a short tour of the Holdfast Bay, near to the Stamford Grand Hotel that we were staying. Glad to catch the sunrise at Adelaide.

I like the relaxed lifestyle in Australia. The only thing I am not used to is the early closing time of the shops. They closed sharply at 5pm or 5.30pm mostly. The team is pretty creative. Knowing that the shops would be closed by the time we reached Melbourne from Adelaide, we bought chicken, vegs and wraps from Adelaide supermarket and had “chicken popian” in hotel. The cost of living is pretty high in Australia.

It was a memorable trip with my 5 colleagues :-)

Today is the first day of Ching Ming.
Mum, sis and myself made our way early in the morning to Bukit Batok to visit my Dad.

I tried to hold my emotions but I couldn't.
My tears just rolled, as I missed my Dad very much!
I miss the times that I could tell him what I face at work and in my life, and hear his advice.
I could remember his smiles, his expression when he was angry and when he was doing his favorite carpentry works.

6 Apr is my Dad's Birthday.
Happy Birthday, Pa Pa!

The family miss you a lot.