HENRY Heng is not your ordinary undergraduate. He has been working since secondary school. And he has been running two businesses at a time. The second-year business undergraduate at Nanyang Technological University operates an IT consultancy firm, Leadtec Solutions, as well as Advanced Scratch Master (ADSM), a spray painting and paint restoration centre for motor vehicles.
Leadtec is an outfit he set up in late 2003. It provides IT consultation, systems networking and maintenance services. With a start-up capital of $10,000, derived mainly from savings, Henry set up the small firm, which started out by providing services to home users recommended by his father.
As he gained more confidence from the growing number of individual customers, Henry started to eye bigger deals from businesses. As a newcomer, he knew that the only way to penetrate the market was to give low quotes and provide the best quality. This strategy helped him clinch his first major deal from the Ministry of Defence.
That paved the way for more orders from other government agencies. While it may all seem like a bed of roses now, Henry reveals that it has not been a smooth ride.
For one, he had to face the prospect of closing down in the initial stages due to a lack of funds. "The first six months for Leadtec were crucial as I knew I needed to keep the business running for at least half-a-year to even have any chance of turning it into a profitable company," he says. "Luckily, I was able to keep costs down by doing all the manual labour on my own which saved me quite a substantial amount of money. That, plus the entire savings I had, was just enough to help me steer Leadtec through."
Despite the fact that there are many similar IT services providers in the market, Henry feels that the pie is big enough to go around - and that there is room for him to carve a niche. "I believe the market is like a buffet table, big enough for all the players to share," he says. "Besides, it is always good to have competitors around as they set the benchmark for one to outperform and outshine them."
"At the end of the day, they are still very good contacts and you never know when you may need the help of your fellow competitors in the long run." - Henry Heng on competition
Rather than viewing competition as a zero-sum game, Henry thinks competitors are good for networking too.
"Competitors play an integral part in any business eco-system, besides setting the benchmarks. At the end of the day, they are still very good contacts and you never know when you may need the help of your fellow competitors in the long run," he says.
"For example, I will purchase my IT products from XiX Systems whenever we are facing a shortage," he adds, referring to a competitor firm. "And they in turn reciprocate by seeking our IT consultancy services when they need some advice."
Henry's business success has also fuelled his passion for cars, giving him the financial means to change his car four times in two years. He now drives the Subaru R1, the dream car of many young enthusiasts.
"I love trying out the different driving experiences that each car can offer and am always on the lookout for new and exciting drives," he says.
This passion led to his second firm, ADSM, which he started with a group of close friends. Here, he learnt to communicate and interact with people from all walks of lives - from well-heeled customers to workers with little education.
"It was honestly a great learning opportunity for me as I was able to learn how to deal with different types of people, understand their different expectations and it certainly helped me to become a better communicator and manager," Henry says.
At ADSM, Henry put his IT expertise to use by helping to set up the inventory, billing and job status system in the company.
"When I went in there, I started to set up their inventory system to keep track of important information like the usage of raw materials for each job and kept track of the inventory in stores. The billing and job status system that I subsequently set up helped keep track of the amount of money collected for each job and account for the number of cars in the workshop and unfinished tasks," he says.
"The computerisation of such pertinent information definitely brought about much more convenience to the company and made the work much more efficient and professional. I am glad to say that the customers have been giving positive feedback since ADSM moved towards computerisation," he says.
When asked about his future plans, he says: "I like the idea of turning businesses around and leading them to operate at their full potential and more. Thus, I am really looking forward to working full-time soon, where I can have much more time to concentrate on my businesses."
His first piece of advice to fellow young entrepreneurs out there: "Start small but think big. Take one step at the time and move up progressively as it is important for one to learn at every stage. There are valuable lessons to be learned at every stage. Eventually it is the journey that counts."
