This year, my online fashion store, Ministry of Retail (www.ministryofretail.com) turns 3. I have always loved shopping online. Even so, starting an online store was not always in the plans.

In 2009 when I was a second year NTU undergraduate, I frequently organized sprees to buy things from overseas. Even after factoring in the shipping cost, some items (ranging from clothes to daily necessities) still cost cheaper overseas.

Seeing the amount of time I spent on my spree organizing activities, my husband (then-boyfriend) Vincent suggested turning it into a business.

Why I Wanted to Start My Business From Home?
Vincent and I did not ask ourselves “why”. Instead, ours was a “why not?”

There was little opportunity cost to us then. If the business did not take off, I could always fall back on a job upon graduation.

Secondly, our business did not require much capital. We decided to take pre-orders (just like online sprees) where we would collect the orders and payment upfront before placing orders with our suppliers. To start the business, all we needed was a proper website to get the online store running. Thankfully, Vincent had experience in that area.

As Vincent had a day job, he could only find time before and after office hours to work on the website. As a result, he was often the first to reach and last to leave his office.

A few months later, Vincent and I got married, the online store was launched and sales were encouraging. The turning point came when I discovered I was pregnant.

Pregnancy: The Turning Point
I was still a student then with only one school semester left to graduation. After discussing with Vincent and my mum, I decided to apply for a semester break starting January 2010 and focus on the business.

As I had time on my hand, I read various business books, took notes and applied tips that I learnt. I could not believe my eyes – revenue went up 200% that month and I was netting an income higher than a starting graduate’s!

Beginning: The Journey
My expected due date was 5th May 2012 but my mischievious daughter couldn’t wait to see the world and decided to make Aprils’ Fool Day her birthday! That was also the month when our online store netted a 5-figure income.

The great thing about running an online business was that I could work from home and play with my daughter when she was awake.

This might sound like a fairytale ‘happily ever after’ ending but this was just the beginning.

Before this, having to juggle studies and business was difficult enough. Imagine adding a baby into the equation! Thankfully my mum was supportive. She volunteered to help out with the baby and quit her job the moment I delivered.

On the business front, things were getting busy and I could not cope alone. At one point in time, things were getting so messy that some customers received their orders twice and some customers did not receive their orders! We decided to hire help (moms and students who part-time) and worked out a process to keep track of items delivered and improve our operations.

I went back to school in August 2010 to complete my degree. Without the help of Vincent, my mom and the staff at Ministry of Retail, I could never have done it.

Challenges… Make You Stronger
In December 2010, Vincent developed a persistent cough that did not go away after many weeks. After seeing 3 doctors, given cough syrup and even stronger cough syrup, a GP recommended Vincent to get an X-ray of the chest. Vincent’s heart sank when he saw the X-ray results. The X-ray showed a bulky mass in his chest.

The GP then recommended Vincent to go for a CAT scan to determine what the mass was.

I was studying for my examinations then and did not know Vincent was going for all these scans.

One day, Vincent sat me down and broke the news to me. The CAT scan confirmed that the mass was cancerous – Vincent had cancer.

I broke down and cried. I could not believe the news. Vincent and I had just bought and moved into a new flat, had a baby daughter, and I was about to graduate… why did this happen to us?

We could only pray for the best.

Still shaken, I took my examinations the next day before visiting Vincent at the hospital. Vincent had to be hospitalised so the oncologists could perform a biopsy test on him.

Thankfully the cancer turned out to be Hodgkin’s Lymphoma! This cancer is very responsive to treatment and is in fact the first cancers to be cured by mankind.

As part of the treatment, Vincent had to go to the National Cancer Centre regularly for a 4-hour chemotherapy session. As I only needed a laptop and Internet connection to work on my online business, I could accompany Vincent to his chemotherapy sessions while work at the same time.

After numerous sessions of chemotherapy and subsequently radiotherapy, I am happy to announce that Vincent has successfully overcome his cancer!

Don’t Forget To Make Time For The Family!
When Vincent knew he had cancer, he came across this article ‘Top 5 regrets of the dying’. ‘I wish I hadn’t worked so hard’ was the top regret. Many regretted missing their children’s youth and their partner’s companionship. As a result of Vincent’s cancer episode, we decided not to work on weekends and holidays so as to have quality family time.

Any Advice For Starting A Business?
Don’t focus on the ‘HOW’. As long as you have a strong WHY (or why not), kick start the business and fine-tune along the way. Even into our third year of business, we are constantly fine-tuning our business.

Having said that, either do something you truly like or craft a niche for yourself. Don’t jump on the bandwagon of the latest trends (remember the roti mama or the luohan fish bubble?). That’s a sure way to fail. Also, rethink the business model. Is there any way you can start the business with little or no capital? Can you partner someone with a complementary product/service? Or sell other people’s products/services?

I’d like to leave a quote:
“A journey of a thousand miles begin with a single step.”
Will you take that first step? I’m glad I did.

Having laser sharp focus is crucial to your long term success. Having a good idea and sticking with it until it either succeeds of fails is actually a vital skill – A skill that many entrepreneurs unfortunately lack and fail as a result.

Results Come with Persistence, Not Singular Spurts of Effort

Entrepreneurs often feel powerful spurts of desire, of determination, of feeling like they’re willing to do whatever it takes. Feeling that way for a few days or weeks isn’t an uncommon feeling.

However, to really succeed you need to be able to stay motivated and inspired about what you’re doing for months and years at a time.

Business is not a short term game. You have wins and you have losses. It’s a matter of persisting through all the ups and downs to the final result of real success. That takes time and focus.

Improve Your Focus With Productivity Systems

Your habits play a large role in how focused you stay.

One habit that many successful business people have is planning their day at the beginning of the day. When you wake up, the first thing you do is get out a sheet of paper and write out exactly what you want to accomplish today.

Then, write out what you want to accomplish this year. Then your five year goals, your 10 year goals and your 25 year goals.

If you have inspiring goals set, this will help you stay focused on both the short term actions and the long term picture. Doing this every day will help you stay totally motivated to do what you need to do to succeed.

Be Focused, But Stay Flexible

As an entrepreneur, it’s important that you’re able to adapt to your environment and do what’s necessary to make your business succeed.

This and staying focused may sound like contradictory concepts, but they’re actually very complimentary.

Most experienced business people agree that business seldom goes as you expect. If you have one plan to generate traffic, one plan about what to sell, one plan about how your business should look and you’re not willing to change strategies, chances are you won’t make it in the long run.

However, don’t confuse flexibility in strategy with actually bouncing around completely different paths. If you bounce from trying to do PPC affiliate marketing to trying to be a top blogger to trying to trade Forex online, you are certainly destined to fail.

On the other hand, if something isn’t working then don’t bash your head against a wall trying to make it work. Instead, be willing to be flexible and adapt. Being able to hold both focus towards a goal and flexibility in the method of getting there is crucial to success.

Know your goals. Know what’s important to know. Know what you need to do on a day by day, week by week, month by month and year by year basis. Stick to your plan and stay focused.

Behind the success of any great entrepreneur is the power of thought. All businesses begin based on an idea and it is those who follow their thought process that entertain the most success. It takes courage to listen to your thoughts and go against the naysayers who will try to convince you that your thoughts are not feasible.

Listen to your thoughts carefully and make sure you write them down. We often forget our ideas, especially if they have been idle. By writing down your ideas and your thoughts, you are keeping them at the forefront of your memory. After all, you cannot act on your thoughts and ideas if you cannot remember them.

Do not be afraid to go against the grain. Most successful entrepreneurs have found a niche to cater to, one that either did not exist before or was not readily available. Along the way, they have found some resistance or some challenges in the form of people who did not believe in their ideas. Do not let this stop you; let it fuel you. Prove those naysayers wrong.

You need to constantly be evolving in your business. Whether it is creating new ideas or tweaking old ones, make sure that you have forward progression in mind. If an idea does not pan out the way you want it to or is not welcomed by your customers, ditch it and move on. This can be easier said than done, but time wasted on a product or service that does not sell cannot be made up.

Always be on the lookout for new products or services to offer. Remember to market these ideas as well. After all, a customer who does not know about you will not know to seek you out in their time of need. These are important to the success of your business.

Above all believe in yourself, because even if nobody else does, you will have the confidence that you can succeed. Many great entrepreneurs were told that they would never make it, only to have the last laugh. Ensure that you are one of those successful entrepreneurs by following your gut instincts.

Thought is a very powerful tool when it comes to creating and bringing your ideas to life. Keep your thoughts positive and focus on succeeding. The power of thought is a truly remarkable thing when you give your ideas all you have and seek out ways to make them reality.

Inside the report you will learn:

· The benefits of working from home
· The challenges of working from home
· How to spot a scam
· How to capture an employer’s attention and earn that opportunity
· How to manage your time
· How to create a work/life balance
· How to find a work from hope opportunity
· And you’ll learn if working from home is right for you – a quiz.

Click here to download Building Your Ideal Lifestyle, Working From Home

Josephine Gross, the Editor In Chief of Networking Times is one of the power speaker in the ENC and she shares with us WHY network marketing is a good choice for women.

According to Josephine, Network marketing provides education and an empowerment community for women to learn about:

• Business

• Finances

• Leadership

• Personal Growth

Here’s the personal message and sharing from Josephine: