Professional women in Hong Kong enjoy high levels of esteem and responsibility, and many are SME owners and directors. The Grant Thornton International Business Owners Survey, published in 2006, showed that 35% of Hong Kong companies employ women in senior management positions, a figure significantly higher than in the UK, Canada, France and Germany.

Rehana Sheikh, who advises clients on relocation issues, comments:Jacquelyn, an Australian who found work in the environmental section of a multinational engineering company, is equally upbeat.  Many expat women decide to start their own business after coming to Hong Kong and discovering opportunities exist to provide a service or product that is currently unavailable or under-resourced. Setting up your own business from scratch is a challenge and a risk – even more so in a foreign country.

However, in Hong Kong, the procedure of setting up a business is relatively simple and inexpensive, and the tax system is straightforward. Being part of a small business community is a distinct advantage when it comes to networking and obtaining referrals. Things get done quickly here and business operates almost 24 hours a day, seven days a week, allowing you to make the most of opportunities. But at the end of the day, it can be about pushing the boundaries. As one woman said:

Stories

One of the challenges mentioned by some expat entrepreneurs is language. Kay Ross, a freelance editor and marketing consultant (kayross@hkstar.com), says:

Kay went into business by herself after spending several years as the Listings Editor for the South China Morning Post. She says:

Laurie Lemmlie-Leung, originally from the US, helps her husband in the family cotton terry garments business started by her father-in-law in the 1960s. The company handles all aspects of the customer’s requirements, including design, manufacturing, testing and quality control. The last few years have been difficult:

She recommends that you ‘join a group like the Women Business Owners’ Club – it is great for support and motivation, especially when things are not going well.’

Australian Christine Petersen was 54 when she came to Hong Kong in 2004 to set up her company Time Technology Solutions. An experienced businesswoman with international experience, Christine had joined the Australian Chamber of Commerce prior to coming to Hong Kong and used it as a resource to locate IT services when she was setting up her company:

British IT expert Roz Beste set up Crystal Computer Services in 1999. She found it difficult to get an investment visa, but not impossible. Although she says it’s ‘simple and cheap to do business here’, she also advises that you ‘make sure you have enough money in the bank for the first six months when you may not make a profit.’

Another Brit, Vanessa Bird, set up in business in 2000 as the exclusive distributor in Hong Kong and Macau of Tisserand Aromatherapy products from the UK. She had to learn everything from scratch, and made between $20,000–30,000 per month. She suggests that you do very thorough and realistic market research, and insist on a proper shareholders’ agreement if you have a business partner:

Fiona Meighan, who specializes in human and technology interaction, found work falling into her lap, although monthly income was erratic:

Hong Kong has provided her with an interesting angle on cross-cultural working practices, which she plans to research further:

On the other hand, she says the US and Australia:

She has been in meetings where she believed everything had been resolved and agreed upon, ‘then after the meeting his secretary has come up to me and said, “no, we don’t want this, we want this, this and this”. It threw me.’ But Meighan has no regrets. ‘I’m so glad I came. I wouldn’t have traded coming here for anything.’

Entrepreneurs may also need to guard against becoming a victim of their own success. Nurse and mother-of-two Chris McGuigan, who ran a lucrative business teaching English, Speech and Drama for over five years, found the time had come to step back. Although she enjoyed the work and made a good living from it, she said, ‘I’m captured here. I work all the time – and I don’t want to do that.’ She decided to leave Hong Kong, partly for family reasons – she missed her family back in New Zealand and she wanted her daughters to experience life back there – but also because money was losing its appeal:

Support Organizations

There are a number of expat-oriented networking organizations that offer support to women in business.

• The Hong Kong Association of Business and Professional Women
• (HKABPW – www.hkabpw.org; tel. 3113 6552) aims to promote the interests of business and professional women, and organizes professional development training, round table luncheons and alternative seminars and workshops. They also have a book club and a mentoring programme, and collaborate with local university students. Men are welcome. Membership stands at around 140.
• The Women in Publishing Society, Hong Kong (WiPS – www.hkwips.org) aims to promote the status of women in all areas of publishing and provide a forum for discussion and the sharing of information and expertise. Monthly meetings include writing workshops, author panels and networking events. The organization publishes an Imprint journal annually, to which members are invited to contribute. Membership stands at around 130 and includes writers, editors, designers, publishers, teachers and professionals from many other industries. Men are welcome to attend events.
• The Women’s Forum (www.womensforum.com.hk) is described by founder Liz Murrihy as ‘a female old boy’s network’. It has a membership of around 3,000 women and hosts monthly informal networking meetings and mixers.
• The WITI (Women in Technology International) Hong Kong Regional Chapter was started at the end of 2003. It aims to help women by providing access to, and support from, other professional women working in technology. Visit www.witi.com/center/regionalchapter/hongkong to learn more about upcoming events.
• www.workingtheweb.cc is an online resource for business owners set up by web business specialist Jo Dehaney. It features a web clinic, articles, seminars and services designed to make the web work for small companies.