Hong Kong Entrepreneur

Charmaine Ng discusses female entrepreneurship with Emma Pike of Farmers Market The butcher’s tale

I noticed when I was grocery shopping in Hong Kong that the quality of meat was declining but the prices were increasing. I thought there had to be a way to fix this.

I spoke to people in Australia and Hong Kong and worked out a way in which we could bring ethically-sourced meat and seafood to the city. And so Farmers Market was born.

To succeed, you need dedication, selfdiscipline and motivation. If you don’t have these you won’t get far. Too many people think that calling themselves an entrepreneur is ‘cool’ and ‘easy’, but a real entrepreneur will tell you it’s a lot of hard work, stress and time management.

The biggest thing that has helped me run a business in Hong Kong was learning Cantonese. My Cantonese isn’t great, but I can have a simple conversation. Learning the culture and language of the city has helped me gain respect from other companies and the local community.

Being a successful female entrepreneur has its benefits but also it can be a challenge. My industry is dominated by male butchers. I often have meetings where I’m the only female in the room but I’m not intimidated by that.

I love fixing problems. When things get tough, I just buckle down and prioritise on what will get me through those times and go back to basics.

I still write ‘to do’ lists out on paper and cross things off when I’ve done them. I only ever give myself two to three things to complete in a day as it’s so important to be realistic when setting goals. In tough times, this keeps me organised and focused.

For new entrepreneurs, my biggest piece of advice would be to make sure you’re passionate about your business. If you don’t like what you do as an entrepreneur, being successful will be hard.

On International Women’s Day, I am running a webinar with Bullet Networking. It is a new networking group that I’ve set up to help entrepreneurs connect with each other.

Emma Pike is the founder of online meat delivery specialists Farmers Market. To find out more or place an order, visit farmersmarket.com.hk