Business and Entrepreneurship Talk

Wee (front row centre) posing with staff and participants after the talk 

An insightful talk on “Business and Entrepreneurship” was co-organised by the Faculty of Business and Finance (FBF) and the Department of Consultancy and Commercialisation (DCC) on 16 July 2018 at Kampar Campus.

The talk aimed to provide the participants with new information on business and entrepreneurship in the 21^st century, which is essential to help them understand the latest trends, changes, happenings and realities of the business field. It also aimed to provide tips on becoming a successful entrepreneur.

Sharing from her 25 years of experience in business management was invited speaker Wee Siew Ling, who is also the Marketing Director of Stellavingze International & Executive Director of MELILEA International Group of Companies. While introducing Stellavingze International, Wee spoke of the company’s background, history, achievements, mission, vision and core values. She also highlighted that the company aims to support women entrepreneurship by providing them with a platform that supports and cares for them, as well as offering equal opportunities for them to start their own business.

Before establishing her current career, she shared her working experience and how she worked diligently, balancing time for her studies and work. “It is normal that every fresh graduate would want to secure an employment. However, when you work in a company, make an effort to understand the essence of the company, so the least, your work would have some significance,” said Wee.

“If the time comes for you to change your working environment, it would be natural that you decide to resign, but be sure that you have learnt all the important aspects of your work and make sure you have already improved. If your current job is the job of the executive, be sure that your next job target would be something better, perhaps a better position; a position where you can continue to improve and climb higher,” advised Wee.

She also highlighted the importance for participants to not leave tasks incomplete when leaving the company because it would be a negative aspect to one’s individual brand, and that one should always be responsible in their jobs.

From becoming a trainee, to being promoted as Operation Manager and later becoming a General Manager, Wee shared the valuable lessons she learnt from all these positions “Getting promoted is certainly good for career advancement but it also comes with greater responsibilities and even more workloads, but I have never complained because these are opportunities to learn new things, discover my new abilities and increase my knowledge. The fancy title “General Manager” may seem mighty, but in fact, as the name goes, “General”, one has to know every single detail and facts about the company from A to Z, and know what are the roles of each of your subordinate. It is not just merely sitting in the office and ordering your subordinates around. This is the hard truth and I want to be honest to everyone so our participants here are better prepared for the working world,” advised Wee.

She added, “The working environment is very different now and competition is increasingly tough. So our youth today must be able to withstand the pressure and be willing to work hard to achieve the success they want. This is also why you must have proper planning for your future. You need to understand what you really want and how you plan to achieve it. Do not procrastinate and start your planning now. Be creative— this is an important skill that would determine whether you will fail or be successful in your business ventures. If you were to start your own business, it is also very important that you set up your team because, without teamwork, your business would not sustain.”

She also highlighted a number of 21^st market competencies, namely the value of products, the power of packaging, the power of creativity, photo/Instagram worthy, electronic promotion, real market competence, and to be well equipped with marketing knowledge, skills and behaviour. She used examples of successful local businesses, such as Grab, Doublewoot, Christy Ng and Hermo to motivate participants to learn and study how these individuals were able to make their business a success.

The talk ended with a souvenir presentation by DCC Assistant Manager Esther Thien Pik Kim to Wee.

Wee sharing her experience

Thien (right) presenting a token of appreciation to Wee