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Quincy Wong Lee-man applies the same mental makeup to running his business as he does when competing with other athletes.迷你倉 The chairman of Convoy Financial Services Holdings (1019) believes that running a marathon and operating a business is the same - you cannot stop. "You can't stop even when you need to crawl. Because once you stop, you stop. And then, you will think how to quit," he said. "The chances of success diminish if you give yourself too many excuses." Wong has taken part in marathons held in the Sahara Desert and the North Pole. He also enjoys hiking, an activity that has taken him to many places around the globe. But when it comes to his career and business, Wong becomes very serious. "In the business field, when you are fighting hard, you don't have time to think or stop or take a break." But with his smart and clean look, Wong, 46, does not fit the mould of a typical executive who's in charge of the leading financial services company in Hong Kong. Sporting a well-tailored suit and a pair of round vintage spectacles, Wong looks more like a successful salesman, or an innovative entrepreneur. After graduating in Architecture Technology and Management in 1990, Wong began his career as a salesman selling financial products. He also worked for different financial institutions. But on noticing the market demand for wealth management products, Wong started his own company in 1997. "My thinking was simple at that time." he said. "If I bought a product and thought it was okay, then others might think the same thing!" A year later, Convoy, which focused on the general insurance business at that time, was looking for a business shift and merged with Wong's firm. From then onwards, Convoy began focusing on independent financial advisory services. From an initial 10 employees, Convoy gradually grew into one that now employs about 3,000 staff in Hong Kong and China. After weathering several tough times, it is now on more stable tracks. The firm survived both the SARS crisis in 2003, as well as the 2008 financial tsunami. Wong views "crisis" as a combination of "risk" and "opportunity." "Convoy was still making a profit in 2008, though the amount was less. So, we had growth," he said. Wong is also proud of not having to lay off any staff, and all reduction of employees has been purely due to attrition. Of course, the company has had to implement some belt tightening measures, such as spending less on advertising, he said. "However, we did not lay off staff because we care for our employees ... but we cut down on advertising." Wong further explained how the 2008 crisis turned out to be a blessing for Convoy - a time when people changed their impression of big corporate firms and focused their attention on smaller local companies like his. After all, people had a fundamental change in the concept of financial institutions, Wong said, adding that earlier, they used to think that it was better to buy insurance from big insurers and go to banks for all their banking needs. But now people's thinking has changed, he said, adding that earlier they would say, well, these are merely financial institutions. "If they are doing the same business like we are, people will begin to value companies by their professional standards and have confidence in that company." In a bid to raise the quality of its business standard, Convoy applied self- regulatory procedures years back. "While regulations are getting stricter after the Lehman Brothers minibonds saga, Convoy's business is generally not affected," he said. A case in poi自存倉t is the sales recording that was being done at Convoy even before regulations were imposed compelling such procedures at all financial institutions, said Wong. The firm's propriety investment and money lending businesses started only in April this year. They have recorded a total revenue of HK$23.3 million and enjoyed a net profit margin of 76.1 percent and 13.7 percent respectively. Wong said the company's key to success is diversifying its business, and reducing its underlying risks. And for each business segment such as insurance, investment funds, or MPF, Convoy has various business partners to provide a range of products. "If A fails, there is B. If B fails, there is also C. After all, you can choose." There is also diversification in terms of region, and the mainland market is now Convoy's biggest goal. Wong said Convoy had invested a lot since 2009, when it first started tapping the mainland market. But it has also taken the firm a few years of trial-and-error to figure out the market. He likened the whole exercise to "dating a girl." The official "marriage" comes after the long "dating" and "understanding" stage, he said. Currently, Convoy has seven branches in different provinces in China, and most of them are the result of mergers and acquisitions that took place last year. Every place, according to Wong, has its own culture. "If a successful business model is to be replicated in other places, it would be a failure. Nothing is that easy." Wong explained the logic of moving into the mainland is [for customers] to ultimately come back to Hong Kong. "The goal is to build the Convoy brand, so that eventually mainlanders can come to Hong Kong Convoy to seek services, apart from shopping for luxury goods and buying baby formula." Wong believes the best way to know if a brand is successful in China is to find out whether there are any fake websites of the company. "Convoy has already had more than one in the mainland," he said. With the aim of expanding its client base in the China market, Convoy has hired 200 mainlanders who graduated from Hong Kong. "It takes time to build ... I don't believe in short-cuts," Wong said, adding, he hopes the mainland business will break even next year. After all these years, from beginning his career as a salesman and rising to the level of chairman, Wong believes in "being your own leader." "Regardless of your age and experience, people show confidence in you because of the impression you give them." Wong said mutual trust is the ultimate goal. "If they don't trust you, why will they buy your products? They can always choose to buy from another agent." And integrity is key to Convoy salespeople doing business in the field. "I will not ask people to buy the things I don't trust, only because I want to get the commission." Now as a decision maker, he does not only shoulder his own responsibility, but that also of his company. Wong said the road to success is built by oneself, regardless of how rich or poor your family is. "It's fine to depend on your family before you are 30. However, your life is solely yours after that. There's no one to be blame but yourself." He compared it to running, "Some will buy fancy shoes, but it doesn't mean they can run faster. Some even go in for full running gear but they give up after a few days of trying. In the end, all you can do is lean on yourself." This is also the reason why Wong does not have role models, because, as he puts it, action speaks louder than words. "If you believe in yourself, just act!" imogene.wong@singtaonewscorp.com 迷你倉