I just read a story of die-hard entrepreneur (a biopreneur) from Singapore. His story reminds me some of my own path to success (define your own success).
Here is the story.
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Entrepreneurship is a 'piece of cake'
Oct 18, 2009
By Miao Fong Tian
THE recent economic crisis has brought about an entrepreneurial wave in Singapore. For Eddie Zhang, the 59-year-old founder of De Hygienique (Asia), entrepreneurship is a 'piece of cake'.
Although two of his three business ventures have failed, he continues to persevere and soldier on untiringly.
'Business failures do not mean the end of the world. They can instead help drive one to success. If my instinct tells me that certain markets are promising and possess hidden potential, then I will go for it,' said Eddie Zhang.
His only experience working for others was in the 1970s when he was working as a salesman for Inchcape, an international trading company in Singapore.
The first brand he promoted was Union Special, which was a brand of sewing machines for making jeans. Fortunately, Levis jeans had started becoming popular across the world in 1976 and they were made using sewing machines belonging to this brand. All of a sudden, business started to take off and orders came flooding in.
'The average monthly salary in Singapore at that time was $400 and my monthly salary including commissions was as much as $4,000!,' said Mr Zhang.
After earning his first 'pot of gold', Mr Zhang decided to become an entrepreneur by producing printed circuit boards for small companies in Singapore. He ultimately sold the business to an Indian company for $200,000 under the impact of the economic crisis in the 1980s. He also lived in India for three years to help the buyer set up a plant and install the relevant equipment.
After he sold the company, Mr Zhang decided to try his hand at buying and selling second hand books. He subsequently opened six book stores in Singapore called EMF. However, his businesses, along with those of other bookstores, suffered when the National Library Board established regional libraries around the island in the 1990s. Turnover plummeted by nearly 50 per cent and Mr Zhang was left with three stores.
After the Sars crisis of 2003, Mr Zhang moved into the healthcare industry.
'Healthcare is an industry for the 21st century, especially at a time where people tend to grow more fearful of death as they become more affluent,' said Mr Zhang. 'This can be seen in the increase in the number of people who take vitamins and eat organic food.'
Investing $500,000, Mr Zhang set up Mitex Hygienics, later changing the company's name to De Hygienique (Asia). The company provides professional cleaning services for household items like mattresses, furniture and carpets. At the same time, Mr Zhang hired John Chan as his general manager in charge of operations to assist him in handling the daily running of the business.
The cleaning company began with services for people's homes but has expanded its customer base to include hotels, corporations and the food and beverage (F&B) industry in 2005. De Hygienique achieved a turnover of $800,000 last year with enterprises comprising 40 per cent and households comprising 60 per cent of its business. It now employs a total of 16 people.
The arrival of the influenza A H1N1 flu in the first quarter of this year has led to a 10 per cent increase in the company's revenue from household customers. Nevertheless, De Hygienique saw a 20 to 30 per cent drop in income from corporate customers due to the recent economic crisis.
Mr Chan revealed that many corporate customers have demanded that they extend their service term or cut their fees. A number of them even cancelled their cleaning budgets altogether to cut costs.
Mr Zhang said that De Hygienique has expanded its operations into the Indonesian market and is planning to further expand its business to Hong Kong and Bangkok. He is also considering the Malaysian and Vietnamese markets.
Sunday, October 18, 2009
Thursday, October 15, 2009
Swine flu and pulmonary emboli (lung arteries blockage)
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The new pandemic H1N1 flu may cause blood clots and other unusual damage in the lungs and doctors need to be on the lookout, U.S. researchers reported on Thursday.
Two studies published in the American Journal of Roentgenology show the need to check X-rays and CT scans for unusual features, and also point out swine flu can be tricky to diagnose in some of the sickest patients.
H1N1 flu is causing a pandemic, and while it is not particularly deadly, it is sickening many younger adults and older children who usually escape the worst effects of seasonal flu.
"It is therefore essential that clinicians be able to recognize possible cases of pandemic H1N1 influenza in high-risk groups so that they order the appropriate diagnostic tests, begin specific antiviral therapy, and prepare to provide intensive supportive measures as needed," Dr. Daniel Mollura of the National Institutes of Health Clinical Center in Maryland and colleagues wrote.
One middle-aged man who died was not diagnosed until after death, but unusual findings on his X-rays may be able to help doctors save other, similar patients.
Mollura's team found irregularities called ground-glass opacities in the patient's lungs using a CT scan. Although the patient was severely ill and had a fever, he tested negative for flu and doctors did not treat him for it.
The man died five days after he went into the hospital and the autopsy confirmed he had swine flu. The lung lesions seen on his CT scan matched lung damage done by the virus, Mollura and colleagues said.
In another study in the same journal, CT scans of patients with severe cases of swine flu showed many had pulmonary emboli, which block the arteries in the lungs, a team at the University of Michigan found.
Anticoagulant drugs can break up these clots and save lives.
Dr. Prachi Agarwal and colleagues examined 66 patients diagnosed with H1N1, 14 of them who were in the intensive care unit. All 66 got standard X-rays, which can show if a patient has pneumonia.
They performed enhanced X-rays known as computed tomography or CT scans on 15 of the patients, 10 of them who were in the ICU on ventilators to help them breathe. Five of the ICU patients had the blood clots in the lungs, Agarwal reported
"Our study suggests that patients who are severely ill with H1N1 are also at risk for developing pulmonary emboli, which should be carefully sought for on contrast-enhanced CT scans," Agarwal said in a statement.
"The majority of patients undergoing chest X-rays with H1N1 have normal radiographs (X-rays)," she added. Pulmonary emboli are also not normally seen in flu, she said.
"CT scans proved valuable in identifying those patients at risk of developing more serious complications as a possible result of the H1N1 virus, and for identifying a greater extent of disease than is appreciated on chest radiographs."
(Reporting by Maggie Fox; Editing by Julie Steenhuysen and Cynthia Ostemran)
Two studies published in the American Journal of Roentgenology show the need to check X-rays and CT scans for unusual features, and also point out swine flu can be tricky to diagnose in some of the sickest patients.
H1N1 flu is causing a pandemic, and while it is not particularly deadly, it is sickening many younger adults and older children who usually escape the worst effects of seasonal flu.
"It is therefore essential that clinicians be able to recognize possible cases of pandemic H1N1 influenza in high-risk groups so that they order the appropriate diagnostic tests, begin specific antiviral therapy, and prepare to provide intensive supportive measures as needed," Dr. Daniel Mollura of the National Institutes of Health Clinical Center in Maryland and colleagues wrote.
One middle-aged man who died was not diagnosed until after death, but unusual findings on his X-rays may be able to help doctors save other, similar patients.
Mollura's team found irregularities called ground-glass opacities in the patient's lungs using a CT scan. Although the patient was severely ill and had a fever, he tested negative for flu and doctors did not treat him for it.
The man died five days after he went into the hospital and the autopsy confirmed he had swine flu. The lung lesions seen on his CT scan matched lung damage done by the virus, Mollura and colleagues said.
In another study in the same journal, CT scans of patients with severe cases of swine flu showed many had pulmonary emboli, which block the arteries in the lungs, a team at the University of Michigan found.
Anticoagulant drugs can break up these clots and save lives.
Dr. Prachi Agarwal and colleagues examined 66 patients diagnosed with H1N1, 14 of them who were in the intensive care unit. All 66 got standard X-rays, which can show if a patient has pneumonia.
They performed enhanced X-rays known as computed tomography or CT scans on 15 of the patients, 10 of them who were in the ICU on ventilators to help them breathe. Five of the ICU patients had the blood clots in the lungs, Agarwal reported
"Our study suggests that patients who are severely ill with H1N1 are also at risk for developing pulmonary emboli, which should be carefully sought for on contrast-enhanced CT scans," Agarwal said in a statement.
"The majority of patients undergoing chest X-rays with H1N1 have normal radiographs (X-rays)," she added. Pulmonary emboli are also not normally seen in flu, she said.
"CT scans proved valuable in identifying those patients at risk of developing more serious complications as a possible result of the H1N1 virus, and for identifying a greater extent of disease than is appreciated on chest radiographs."
(Reporting by Maggie Fox; Editing by Julie Steenhuysen and Cynthia Ostemran)
Wednesday, October 7, 2009
Nobel Prize - 2009
It is very exciting to see so much happiness in a camp of RNA-world. this year four friends got Nobel Prizes (2009) - Elizabeth Blackburn, Jack Szostak, Tom Steitz and Venkatraman Ramakrishnan - Everyone from the RNA World.
During my tenure at the University of Colorado, Boulder at the Prof. Olke C. Uhlenbeck's group I had the opportunities to meet most these top scientists along with many other in the RNA-world who are equally contributing to the understanding of sciences and in making human life better.
It is a very happy day for all of us - RYAN
During my tenure at the University of Colorado, Boulder at the Prof. Olke C. Uhlenbeck's group I had the opportunities to meet most these top scientists along with many other in the RNA-world who are equally contributing to the understanding of sciences and in making human life better.
It is a very happy day for all of us - RYAN
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