After graduating from a Canadian university Prudence Mak was offered a job as a graphic designer with a good salary by a hotel chain in Hong Kong. But she turned it down, much to her parents' disapproval, to start her own company on a shoestring and design jewellery and fashion accessories.
She wanted to make original jewellery of semi-precious stones and colourful printed tote bags appealing to youth. Ms Mak was 23 at the time, and had less than $50,000 in savings. But she rented a studio and because of parental anger at the idea, she moved out and slept in a bed at the back of the studio.
That was five years ago. Now she has three shops in SoHo, including a dessert restaurant, and exports her jewellery and fashion accessories all over the world. She made her first million two years ago with a big order from a firm of British wholesalers and ploughed it all back into the business.
'I took a salary of $2,000 a month for myself, but when I wanted to expand, I cut that down. Up to now, all my profits have gone back into the business,'' she says.
'I had no business experience when I started, but I learnt as I went along. I went to the jade market to see how the women there made the jewellery.'
Ms Mak returned to Hong Kong in 1999 when the recession was just biting and Sars had struck. She is a chocoholic and has a boyfriend from Italy - Luigi Bonelli - who is a pastry chef. So she called her new company Chocolate Rain. 'I wanted to tell people that all good things come from heaven and they must have faith in what God sends us.
'I was able to rent a studio in Jordan for $3,000 a month and that is where I set up my workshop to make the jewellery and where I lived. I had been working as a part-time graphic designer for the Intercontinental Hotel and was able to save around $50,000 and this is what I used to buy my materials.