Interested in starting your own entrepreneurial journey in training and education but unsure what to expect? Then read up on our interview with Linda Tsang, Founder of Elite College of Business and Health Care, located in Markham, ON, Canada.
What's your business, and who are your customers?
We are an accredited college that specializes in training people who are passionate about the beauty and business industry. Over the past 5 years, we’ve successfully created over 70 entrepreneurs who opened their businesses and assisted over 100 people in securing a job or pursuing a second career (from 1 job stream to becoming either a makeup artist or laser technician.) Starting last year, we had our DLI number, which allowed us to accept international students and assist overseas professionals in getting their Canadian credentials. We also expand our course from the beauty to the healthcare industry.
Tell us about yourself
I have been an entrepreneur for over 21 years. I started on having a spa initially, with 0 guidance from anywhere. I gained my clientele from 0 to 1000 within a month and grew my clientele to 10000 in 6 months. I established many good friendships with my clients that last until today. Throughout the years of being a spa owner, I've trained many of my staff, and a lot of them became spa owners on their own. I felt very accomplished training people and making them become a professional and be independent.
I empowered a lot of women who needed help and who were low in self-esteem initially, and I proved to them that they could do it. I helped those who were in abusive relationships where they were too afraid to step out, and maybe because they have kids, they were afraid of any changes. I proved to them that with education, you could improve your lifestyle, you can be less dependent, and you can stand for yourself. I converted my spa into a beauty school in 2017. Although my spa still exists, I emphasize on my college. If anyone thinks operating a college is easier than operating a spa, the answer is: NO. I would say it's 1000% harder than but I enjoyed it.
What's your biggest accomplishment as a business owner?
The biggest accomplishment of being a business owner is I can solve obstacles and I can make my own decision without trying to convince someone that my idea would work. I'm able to try different methods, and although not every method would work, I can learn from different trials and errors. I learned so much being an owner; I learned how to appreciate people, how to divide duty among others, and how to manage a company as a team. We operate a business like an orchestra; there is no possibility that one man can play the whole orchestra, and we need teamwork to finish a piece of art.
What's one of the hardest things that comes with being a business owner?
Not able to keep up with changes in plans. You don't need to have a perfect plan, but you need to have several A, B, C, and D plans in case of emergency (which usually will happen when you're running a business). You can immediately be able to solve them with plan B or C. You cannot be too perfectionist. Also, you need to learn to have a higher EQ, cannot be too attached to your staff. Each person has their plan in life, your staff might want to pursue another career, and you can wish them the very best but not put negative feelings towards it.
What are the top tips you'd give to anyone looking to start, run and grow a business today?
Never give up (perseverance), stay positive, and keep learning. Staying positive is the key. There're many more obstacles to becoming a business owner, and no business owner doesn't need to face any challenges and just becomes a multi-billionaire by opening a business. You need to be able to face different challenges.
Keep your staff motivated and be prepared to work overtime. Also, being willing to learn a new skill is very important as well. After COVID, the whole world's work pattern changed. Did we ever work from home before? Or now, before we go to any restaurants, we search for their review and ratings first, and then we check on their Instagram to see if the page is nicely done. Before this is not the usual practicing skill, as a business owner, you need to prepare for the changes and be able to cope with the latest technology. Before COVID, people liked to have in-person meetings, whereas after COVID, the majority of the meetings were hosted online. Therefore a business owner needs to be able to adapt to new challenges immediately and be willing to learn new technology skills.
Where can people find you and your business?
Website: https://elitecollege.school/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/learnelitecollege
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/elite_college/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/linda-tsang8/
If you like what you've read here and have your own story as a solo or small business entrepreneur that you'd like to share, then please answer these interview questions. We'd love to feature your journey on these pages.
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