In Her Shoes: Christy Ng

Hailed as the “next Jimmy Choo of Malaysia,” Christy Ng makes the perfect pair of shoes for every occasion. In this interview, she tells us the story of how her company rose from a small hobby to a shoe empire with a cult following locally and abroad.

Tell us about the Christy Ng Shoes. What is the story behind the brand?

Christy Ng Shoes started as a hobby in the living room of my mum’s house in PJ (Petaling Jaya, Selongor, Malaysia). I left my corporate job in a local pharmaceutical and did what everyone told me not to do - start my own business.

Why did you choose to concentrate on shoes? Do you have any plans on expanding to other clothing products?

I love footwear design as I find the field very challenging. Every design involves new construction, new manufacturing techniques. It’s a great learning journey and I’ve learned so much about footwear since I embarked on this.

As a self-made fashion entrepreneur, what was the biggest obstacle you have encountered and how did you overcome it?

There are many obstacles being an entrepreneur. I would say my biggest challenge was when we just started the business. During our early years, funds were extremely limited, no bank will loan a less than three-year-old SME with no track record and most manufacturers are not keen on supporting small start-ups as most of them fail.

I was extremely determined to beat the odds. I never gave up until I got the results I wanted. Success did not come over night. There is no magic trick here and there is no such thing as instant success or fast money or big breaks overnight. I believe in the 10,000-hour theory by K. Anders Ericsson. In order to be truly great in of practice.

As an entrepreneur, you are expected to be on-call, always ready to work anytime, anywhere. How do you balance professional and personal life?

The truth is there is no balance. You can’t have the carrot and eat at the same time. Something has got to give. There will be tons of sleepless nights, 7 day-work weeks. You will need a partner who truly understands what you are going thru and support you. If not, the relationship is not going to work out.

Any advice to future entrepreneurs who also want to venture into fashion?

Equip yourself with knowledge and more skills before venturing into this field. It's really not as glamorous as it seems. It’s very challenging but the fruits of your labor will be rewarding and fulfilling. 

(Cover photo from theantdaily)

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  Read the full interview in this month's EasyUni Guidebook out this June.