Having your own business would make people think highly of you. They may have high expectations of your life and the way you conduct yourself. The majority of them believe you have achieved great success, while the remainder believes you live the life of a prominent businessman figure. And the truth? Only you know!

For Leeyone, starting a business or a company is not as simple as many people believe.

“It takes a lot of guts to place yourself in the right circle. Entrepreneurship is neither a part-time nor a full-time occupation. I consider my entrepreneurial journey to be a way of life,” said Leeyone in an interview with Entrepreneur Insight recently.

Leeyone said he discovered his passion for entrepreneurship when he was working as a civil engineer at AIQ Global.

“AIQ Global is a developer company that constructs luxury bungalows in Country Height Damansara. Due to the nature of my job, I have had the opportunity to meet and communicate with numerous property agents and contractors since my first day on the job.

“Through our interaction and knowledge-sharing session, I am keen on the idea to start my own business. Hence, the O2O E-commerce platform was established and my journey as an entrepreneur began,” he said.

The 100 Most Influential Young Entrepreneurs 2022 said the e-commerce platform focused on web design and development.

“O2O is a web design company in Malaysia. We generate excitement about your brand with unique web design and insightful information. Our team of experts ensures that you receive the best service and web design that leaves a significant impact on visitors.

“We aimed to combine both online and offline channels to ensure greater success for O2O commerce aside from becoming a one-stop provider of home improvement hardware and building materials supply. As of now, we are expanding our e-commerce business to Thailand, Singapore and Indonesia, targeting to be operational in the second quarter of this year,” he added.

The promising entrepreneur went on to share his errors of judgement in business, which had forced him to learn the hard way.

“One of the biggest mistakes I made was when I took charge of the inventory. I was overwhelmed by Shopee’s high traffic and sales and hastily ordered at least two to three containers of stock every month. As a result of having too many outstanding stocks, we experienced cash flow shortages. From there I learned that as an e-commerce company, stock inventory is very crucial and you need to manage it accordingly,” he said.

As Leeyone moves forward, he advises those who are interested in starting their businesses to mentally prepare for the journey ahead.

“Starting a business requires a huge amount of hard work and to me, the business opportunity is like buses, even if you missed the chance, there is always another opportunity waiting for you to seize, so don’t give up your business when you are dealing with stress and frustration. There will always be other chances to come back stronger,” he added.