Driving force behind RoadShow attributes her success to perseverance and belief in ability to make things happen
One tough but unacknowledged challenge executives face as they climb the corporate tree is the transition from operator to entrepreneur. Having spent years following instructions or just occasionally tinkering with the system to find cost savings and efficiencies, they are suddenly pitched into an unfamiliar environment.
Transformed by a different job title or organisational reshuffle, they are expected all at once to be endlessly innovative, adept at developing untapped markets, and skilled in creating new income streams. For many managers, the experience can be sobering. It was one, though, that Winnie Ng, founder and vice-chairman of RoadShow Holdings, the company providing on-screen entertainment on local bus routes, took in her stride.
Ms Ng readily admits that launching the company in 2001 was against the odds. Her background with KMB had been in traditional bus operations, and while, as commercial director, she learned about the world of advertising, this was scant preparation for finding investors and establishing a new venture of a kind then untried anywhere else in the world.
The basic plan was to offer a one-hour loop of on-board TV programming split into three-minute items and interspersed with advertisements. It was prompted by various factors, most notably the need to remain competitive, boost revenue, capitalise on the growing interest in outdoor advertising and, if possible, the chance to add a 'splash of excitement' for people travelling by bus.
'KMB was behind it, but we faced lots of resistance,' Ms Ng said. 'Back then at the time of the dotcom boom, all the major investment banks I talked to said the concept was not sexy enough. They said it was too realistic and the P/Es (price-to-earnings ratios) were not big enough. I almost gave up, but that is not in my personality, so I kept knocking on doors [and we eventually] listed on the main board.'
She learned that there was no great mystery to the role of entrepreneur. Making a success of it was a matter of hard work, common sense, identifying and acting on trends affecting the industry, listening to experts and focus groups, and having determination. Creativity obviously played a part, but that often sprang from the other factors or from simple observation.