STILL remember when your father admonished you to follow the rules? Forget it. Some rules are quite simply meant to be broken.

Take for instance the inanimate, reductionist rule of limiting a woman's career to that of a homemaker, confining her to the home and children; or allowing her to work but only in 'precision industries' like sewing and knitting.

Thankfully, many of these dogmas, which denigrate women, suppress their potential and keep them in a subordinate position to men, have since been snuffed out by a sassy and savvy generation of female entrepreneurs who are daring to challenge the status quo.

Jocelyn Chng (pictured above), managing director of Sin Hwa Dee Foodstuff Industries Pte Ltd is one such lady.

Ms Chng, who recently shared her entrepreneurial insights at a Women Entrepreneurship Forum organised by SIM Professional Development, boldly forged her way forward as an entrepreneur, in the face of great adversity.

At just 21, she took over the family business when her father lost his fight to cancer. Cancer went on to rob Ms Chng of her husband as well, and the prospect of handling the family business without the two most important men in her life seemed unimaginable.

Many clients refused to discuss business with her because she was a woman, while others disregarded her position altogether and demanded to speak with 'the boss'. But she did not surrender.

Forced to go it alone, she not only oversaw the operations of the soy sauce factory but handled deliveries as well. Ultimately, her leadership took Sin Hwa Dee from a cottage industry business to an established household sauce brand in Singapore, which now exports to over 30 markets.

Her story of resilience parallels the collective experience of other women entrepreneurs, many of whom were not welcome into the ranks of management but overcame tremendous odds to alter the course and culture of business today.

Next: The 21st century business woman >>