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.

I am mum to a very charming and handsome boy, 5 yr old Vihaan.

When I became pregnant, I was sure that I wasn’t going back to my job. I took that time to design a business plan and execution strategy, hence my company Executive Associates Group came into existence.

I grew the company in the last 5 years from its operations in Singapore to its neighbours Malaysia, Thailand and The Philippines.

The company now boasts of employing some of the best Consultant trainers from Europe, UK and US and bringing them to Asia. We have a very impressive client base in the region including mostly all top Consumer Goods multinational companies as our clients.

I remember those days when I started this business from a small room in my home with a Telephone, Fax and Laptop and a handful of clients. The business has grown multi-fold in the last couple of years, best of all surviving the downturn.

Just as my company is committed to the learning of corporates, I am equally passionate about self development. I’ve done personal trainings such as:- “Awaken the Giant Within – By Anthony Robbins; Millionaire Mind Intensive:- By T. Harv Eker; How to Lead, Teach and Inspire  – By Blair Singer and many more. I am so passionate about self exploration that I am also turning towards Spirituality.

I am very keen to contribute to the lives of keen learners like myself. It will be tremendous joy to be able to share these precious gifts of learning that I have received with others. I actively seek opportunities to make a difference in the quality of lives of women.

Kind regards
Shefali Gupta ‘Sandy’

I hereby invite Joey to share with us her experience with TWI group and also some of her work from home experience.

Question: Hi Joey, please share with us your own experience with the eco friendly products and how you get to know TWI Group.
Answer: Hi Moon, basically I love eco-friendly products.  I used to get nausea when using the x-brand products with the toxic chemicals whenever I clean up my house.  These chemicals when inhaled are really bad for lungs.  They will also caused skin irritations.  Ever since I started using the eco friendly products, I have no worries whenever I do cleaning.

Another daily use of eco-friendly household product I used is toothpaste few years ago.  It does not contain mouth cancer-causing agents.  A friend of mine introduced me to these eco-friendly household products a few years ago.  I start off as a consumer initially.  As the products were eco-friendly and priced reasonably, I decided to share them with my friends.  That’s how I started this referral business.

Question: How you think of the eco friendly household products? What are the reasons you recommend us to use eco friendly products?
Answer: Eco friendly products contain natural ingredients and no harmful chemicals.   Yet, they can still get job done easily.  Why should we use toxic household products when we know that it is health hazard?  If you love your family, you should consider changing your household products to eco friendly products.  You are also helping the environment.

Question: Can you share with us your experience with TWI Group –internet work from home opportunity?
Answer: As a housewife, I can still work from home through the Internet.  I got to know many new friends and began to share with them the eco-friendly products.  Through this sharing, I was able to earn a residual income.  A residual income means that as long as your friend continues using the eco-friendly product, you earn a referral fee every month.  The more referrals you have, the more earnings you have. I would like to encourage all mothers to attend the TWI seminar to find out how this referral business works.  There are seminars on weekday evenings and Saturday afternoons.

Question: What is your advice to moms who want to work from home and spend more time with family and kids?
Answer: Working from home is very flexible.  You decide on your working hours.  For example,  when the kids are all in school, you can use free time to contact friends and potential referrals.  As most homes now have Internet access, this is a golden business opportunity sitting waiting to be tapped.  To begin harnessing this money-making potential,  simply switch to eco-friendly products, refer friends to these  home-safe products, and enjoy a consistent residual income.

Thank Joey for her sharing.

I hereby invite Lena to share more with us about her experience of being a full time internet marketer.

Question: Hi Lena, can you share with us why you choose to be an online marketer?
Answer: Hi Moon Loh… thanks for interviewing me !  I am shy by nature ..LOL! …and that’s why I choose to be an “Online Marketer” ..so that I do not have to meet people face to face.
Joke aside, I think Internet Marketing is the simplest to do since it is a world with no boundary. You just need a computer, internet connection and knowledge on how to go about it.

Question: What challenge you face when you first step into the internet arena and how you overcome it?
Answer: Well, in the first few months I spent most of my waking hours surfing, reading about Internet Marketing, experimenting with html on blogs, getting conned with few programs…
I quit my job in Feb 08 and in May 08, I started with Spiderweb marketing and began my list building since then. The “Money is in the List” and whatever program you join, whatever route you choose online, if you are not building your list, you are leaving money on the table. I am sure you and others agree on it.
There’s no RIGHT or WRONG answer … to overcome and succeed in everything, one need knowledge and keep improving oneself.

Question: Do you enjoy working from home? What is your advice to moms who want to work from home like you?
Answer: Of course!  To watch my son grow up in front of me and to participate in all his activities and spend more quality time with my son is the BEST time a mum could wish for. Before this, it’s only in the weekend ( if I don’t travel) but now… it’s everyday!

My advice to moms who want to work from home : YOU CAN DO IT TOO ! ( I need to put a Disclaimer on this statement… hehehe) .  Trust yourself and You can do the same thing. Should you need any assistance, don’t be afraid to SHOUT for help. The Internet Community is very helpful.  You can also drop me a line at Malaysian Online Network or my personal blog at Mom Is Online.

For all moms who just starting to blog, here’s some gifts for you consisting video tutorials on starting at Blogger  and ebooks on how to make your blog profitable in the least time.  Click HERE for the gifts.

Wishing everybody to have a better year and more success in 2010.

Thanks Lena for her sharing. I agree with Lena that “YOU CAN DO IT TOO!” and I hope by Lena’s sharing and encouragement, you should have no doubt to get start.

I know Elaine since she started launching her first issue (previously known as MotherhoodMonthly.com) and I’m  enjoy reading her online magazine all the while. It’s very informative, user friendly and eco friendly. She interviewed me at her website – http://todaysmotherhood.com/mompreneur-moon-loh-interview and now I invited her to share more of her Internet Business with us.

Question: Hi Elaine, can you share with us why you have the idea of Online Parenting Magazine?
Answer: I blog initially at The New Age Parents, which is my personal blog, to share my own thoughts and parenting experiences which I faced such as terrible twos while bringing up my own toddlers.  I have been surfing the website for information, advices and tips.  I thought: “Since I am hungry for information, many other parents are as well so I might as well share my information”.  Furthermore, with many young parents who are always surfing the web for more information, I feel that it is a very good platform to reach out to them and form a community of parents, which is the aim of Today’s Motherhood – which now has a parenting magazine and also a comprehensive parenting portal.

Question: I believe your magazine is under the category of Internet Business. Please share with us how you think about Internet Business.
Answer: Many people misunderstood internet business as an easy get rich scheme and there are people who think that it is a scam, I will like to clarify that it is a viable business if you put in your time and effort but definitely not an easy path. You need constant learning and upgrading to enhance your skills, which will come into play for your internet business. You need a lot of determination and patience to see your business improved in line with your learning curve.

Question: Since you are in Internet Business, do you think internet marketing is important? And how it helps your business?
Answer: For Today’s Motherhood, we use an integration of online and offline methods of bringing awareness to our business.  However, as an online business, internet marketing is definitely very important.  Imagine the global reach on the internet, and with so many people online currently, how can you afford to miss out the pie.  Using the knowledge of internet marketing to aid my business, it has created a very good branding and awareness to Today’s Motherhood. With our current readers of more than 11,000 parents, I don’t think it is achievable if we are only doing offline marketing.

Question: Any encouragement or advices to moms who want to work from home?
Answer: Remember your initial intention when you decide to start out your own venture and don’t lose it. Stay focus and determine despite setbacks.  Things will work your way. I would like to wish all mompreneur all the best to their venture!

Thanks Elaine for her sharing and below is her review of WAHM Home Business Kit.

“Hi Moon!

I am glad I have the chance to look into the WAHM HomeBizKit.  You present a very practical view as to how work at home mothers should manage their home business.  It definitely serve as a good affirmation to mothers who is hesitating to start a business and yet do not have the courage to do so.  I agree with you that having the positive and the correct mindset is the start to any business and learning.  WAHM HomeBizKit provides a realistic view and also touch on some simple technical aspects of the internet business.  If you are planning to start an internet business but face the problem of information overloading in other product, WAHM HomeBizKit will be one of the tool to start with.

Elaine”