Rising Above Our Fears

Apr 19, 2018   |   Meer Faizah, Nurul Huda, Shayene Winfred

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Rising Above Our Fears

His company may be Amazon’s chosen logistics partner, but Mr Syafiq Yussoff was far from the successful man he is back in his late teens – a school drop-out, who scored 39 points for this O-Level examinations.

Nothing stopped the 34-year-old to later achieving his title as the CEO of a multi-million dollars’ logistics company – Riverwood Pte Ltd. Mr Syafiq has come a long way since then, having recently been invited as a workshop speaker at the Commonwealth Alliance of Young Entrepreneurs Asia (CAYE-Asia) and Heartware Network Youth Business Conference 2018 (YBC) which was held at Copthorne King’s Hotel Singapore on 2 April 2018. The conference brought together many young entrepreneurs from different parts of the world who had a similar goal: to learn about the growing entrepreneurship scene in Singapore.

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Local delegates having a laugh with the workshop speakers.

Organised by Heartware Network and CAYE-Asia, the aim of YBC was to provide various opportunities for youth (like ourselves!) who are interested in the world of entrepreneurship, in building new networks, and to even exploring new business opportunities in the Asia-Pacific Region. Through YBC, we, as Heartware Network Media Volunteers, got a chance to interact with both local and foreign delegates who come from Commonwealth Asia countries such as India, Nepal and Pakistan. This was a great opportunity for volunteers to learn more about businesses in various industries and countries! Through the workshops provided, we heard from speakers from varying industries: agricultural technology, clean technology, medical technology, and supply chain and logistics.

Going around the workshops and witnessing the open discussions among attendees gave us a glimpse into some of the mechanisms behind these industries as well as the kinds of tactics used by business leaders to ensure their companies stay relevant to the world and continuously evolve in technology. Most importantly, these entrepreneurs shared insights on how to cope with failures in meeting their own goals and ambitions, and how using innovative strategies helped them maintain their competitive edge and legitimacy in their respective industries.

Upon attending the various workshops, it was commonly acknowledged by all speakers that many entrepreneurs would have to deal with the fear of failure in their business endeavours. They take risks all the time, and will need good instincts to evaluate their decisions and understand the implications it might have on their businesses.

To overcome the fear of failure is to succeed in the market.

“In today’s market, the changes are complex. We either go in, disrupt the market and be a game-changer because only then, you will force yourself to innovate.” said Dr Valiant Hoo, during his workshop’s discussion on ways businesses can respond to changes in today’s supply chain and logistics industry.

“We will not know how the market will respond to our products, but we knew we had to try now.” All we need is a leap of faith and greater trust in our products or services, and belief that they will take root in the market.

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Mr Valiant Hoo, Director of Professional Development for Supply Chain Asia, sharing his experiences and setbacks when he first started.

Here are a few testimonies from the Media Volunteer team:

“After YBC 2018, I have learnt that it is difficult to start a business. You really have to start from nothing and build yourself up from there. In order to do that, you will need the trust of many people. A business is not something you can achieve by yourself. You need pillars as your support.

Starting a business requires someone who is willing to take risks and face challenges. You need to be willing to take risks, trust that your innovation will do well and just put it out there. That’s what I learnt during YBC 2018.”

-Meer Faizah, Media Volunteer with Heartware Network

“When I first stepped foot into the conference, I did not know what to expect. At the end of the event, however, I came out with a mind soaked with knowledge on the challenges and successes of young entrepreneurs who have started their businesses from scratch.

I acknowledge the fact that in whatever you do in life, the fear of failure will be a major obstacle for one to overcome and through YBC 2018, I have understood that we should all be prepared to face obstacles when we start something. Overall, I had an eye-opening experience during YBC 2018.”

-Nurul Huda, Media Volunteer with Heartware Network

“YBC 2018 has given me a more in-depth view of how young entrepreneurs respond to various challenges, and how these experiences have helped them be more aware of their business environments and how to better handle the prospects of failing when it comes to making decisions concerning the businesses they’re in.

The fear of failure is something that is common for any entrepreneur especially when it comes to taking risks to help a business grow and stay relevant. YBC 2018 has helped address that and provides a platform for everyone at the conference to have an open discussion on how to better respond to failure when it comes to running businesses.”

– Shayene Winfred, Media Volunteer with Heartware Network

This article is brought to you by the Heartware Network Media Volunteer Team.