Homemaker takes 5
Pauline Ko, owner of online shopping portal Take-5 offers an inspirational story for stay home moms everywhere. The mother of two tells us how entrepreneurship helped her strike a balance between her personal and professional life.
“When my boys were two and three, I was getting a bit antsy about not being able to communicate with adults using adult language, ‘cos throughout the day, I’d either be doing baby talk with my kids or talking to moms of other kids during play dates who usually talked about their kids! And since my husband travels quite a bit for his job during weekdays, there weren’t many adults I could talk to,” she said. “Setting up this business helped calm my nerves.”
Ko, who resides in the US, set up Take-5 in May 2006 with a few simple goals in mind. “I wanted to shop for my friends at my own time, with my own rules and along the way earn some extra income to build up my kids’ college fund,” she said. Her business model involves shopping for quality goods available in the US that could not be obtained in Singapore and selling them to consumers here. Most of her referrals have been through word-of-mouth from friends.
She cites the best aspects of the job as being her own boss and having flexible work hours. “I can take care of my kids when they need me and during the time when they are at school, I can work,” she said.
What were the biggest challenges you had to face when you decided to set up the online store?
Who will be my clients? How to deal with delinquent clients. So I was adamant about setting the right expectations for my clients. Putting processes and procedures in place is crucial.
Are there any downsides to the job?
It can be hectic during the holidays, but since this is my own business, I “reap” what I “sow”.
What is the online shopping industry like?
It’s competitive, so one has to carve out a niche for themselves. Ask one important question “Why would any one want my service if I am no different from the other shoppers?” If you can answer that question, then you will have a good start to whatever you plan to do.
Who are your target customers?
Busy careerminded individuals, who do not like shopping in crowded spaces and prefer to spend time doing something else other than shopping for stuff. Corporations who wants to get high end gifts but want reasonable prices on these gifts for corporate functions/events. Individuals who value my opinion for what it is and is not for their wardrobe.
How much would you roughly make in a month or year?
Ranges from USD10K – 40K a year. It’s a wide range, it depends on how hard I shop and how well the clients respond to my shopping.
What advice would you give to someone who wanted to set up their own online shopping portal?
Start by thinking small, but execute and achieve all that you have set in your plan, and then grow from there. No point thinking big and trying to charge a huge bundle right at the start, it probably won’t take off.
You can have a look at the rest of our Career Stories at http://careerminded.com/career_tip_s.php?id=0
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