Over the past 12 months, my business has changed.

I made a series of decisions that didn't lead to a big breakthrough but changed how I operate and the direction of my business.

In this solo episode, I share the seven decisions that had an impact on my marketing agency and my podcast.

I talk about:

• Building a personal brand

• Refining my positioning

• Learning to delegate more

• My realisation about content distribution

And more...

(00:00) Teaser

(00:48) Episode Intro

(01:58) Decision nº1: Personal Brand

(03:34) Decision nº2: AI Teammate

(04:37) Decision nº3: Clear Target Client

(05:55) Decision nº4: Podcast Repositioning

(07:38) Decision nº5: Delegate More

(09:12) Decision nº6: Distribution Plan

(10:36) Decision nº7: The Biggest Decision Ever

(11:33) Wrap Up

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Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Growing up, Jerwine followed the path that made sense.

A stable career, a secure future and a life that looked successful from the outside.

But she had something else on her mind. There was always a creative side of her asking for more.

In this conversation, Jerwine shares what it took to leave accounting behind, build THE BLOMSTRE in Hong Kong and trust herself enough to create a life that finally felt aligned.

She also shares an exciting milestone exclusively in this episode, make sure you listen until the end!

We talk about:

• Walking away from the "safe" path
• Starting a creative business in Hong Kong
• Self-doubt and uncertainty
• Learning to trust yourself
• Redefining success
• The exciting next chapter for THE BLOMSTRE

✅ Get your free day pass at Garage Society!

(00:00) Teaser

(00:57) Podcast and Guest Intro

(03:24) Life as an Accountant

(04:54) Creativity After Work

(06:51) Planning the Exit

(10:07) Pandemic Candle Pivot

(11:58) Pitching Retailers

(16:00) Workshops and Wellness

(18:27) First Big Corporate Event

(22:18) Motherhood and Identity

(25:00) Mentorship and Systems

(29:50) Overwhelm and Boundaries

(31:23) Husband Joins Full Time

(34:14) Partners In Business

(36:37) Quitting The Day Job

(38:04) Dream Clients Come True

(39:37) Comfort Zone Breakup

(41:59) Slow Sustainable Growth

(46:01) Time Delegation Hiring

(50:11) BIG ANNOUNCEMENT!!

(52:07) Scenting Underrated Moods

(54:26) Founder Mindset Shifts

(57:57) Community Pay It Forward

(01:00:59) Closing

✅ Get your free day pass at Garage Society!

The BLOMSTRE's website

The BLOMSTRE on Instagram

📲 Find me on LinkedIn

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After more 80+ founder conversations, there are certain moments that stay with me.

This week, I'm revisiting a powerful excerpt from my conversation with entrepreneur and podcaster Rasheed Shroff.

We talk about progress and the tendency many founders have to focus on what's next while overlooking how far they've already come.

We all felt felt behind, impatient or stuck comparing ourselves to bigger goals. This is normal process, you're not alone.

(00:00) Teaser

(00:44) Podcast and Episode Intro

(01:12) Why Looking Back Matters

(02:58) Climbing The Mountain Metaphor

(05:02) Unintended Podcast Origin

(07:24) Crafting Real Conversations

(09:32) Starting Small Staying Curious

(10:38) Entrepreneurship and Personal Growth

(12:15) Therapy to Help Let Go

(14:10) Loyalty, Consistency and Values

(15:39) Building in Public and Investing

(17:23) Wrap Up

🎧 (Re)listen to the full episode with Rasheed:

Part 1 - Building in Public is Harder Than People Think

Part 2 - Entrepreneurship Feels Like Climbing a Mountain

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📲 Find me on LinkedIn

🎧 Subscribe to Asian Business Owners wherever you listen to it!

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A few years ago, when I started my business, I thought I had a pretty good idea of what entrepreneurship would look like.

I knew it would be difficult, I knew I would have to work hard.

What I didn't expect was how many of the biggest lessons would come from mistakes.

The kind that cost time, energy, confidence and opportunities.

In this solo episode, I share five mistakes I've made as a founder and the lessons they taught me about boundaries, delegation, clarity and growth.

Check below what I talk about:

(00:00) Teaser and Podcast Intro

(01:09) Five Founder Mistakes

(02:14) Mistake One: Opportunities

(04:04) Mistake Two: Time

(05:25) Mistake Three: Delegation

(07:00) Mistake Four: Clarity

(08:13) Mistake Five: Effort

(09:21) Final Takeaways

(10:21) Closing

💬 abo.pod

📲 Find me on LinkedIn

🎧 Subscribe to Asian Business Owners wherever you listen to it!

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

What happens when the life you imagined for yourself no longer feels right?

Growing up in France, Aurelien Joly thought he would become a doctor. His family supported that path and his future seemed largely mapped out but as he got older, something didn't feel quite right.

A decision to study languages, learn Chinese and move abroad eventually led him to Asia, where he would build a completely different life than the one he had originally planned.

More than sixteen years later, Hong Kong has become home.

In this conversation, we talk about identity, leaving behind expectations, building a business in Asia and the moments that shape the course of our lives.

We discuss:

• Changing path and moving to Asia and embracing uncertainty
• Learning Chinese and adapting to a new culture
• Building his business Unlock APAC
• Entrepreneurship, family and long-term thinking
• The decisions that change everything

This is a conversation about choosing your own path, even when it looks very different from the one you were expected to follow.

🎙️ Welcome to Asian Business Owners, the podcast that explores the real human journey behind building a business in Asia.

(00:00) Teaser

(00:44) Podcast and Guest Intro

(02:19) Changing Direction and Learning Chinese

(05:28) Moving East

(07:30) Staying in China Hustle

(09:44) Native Union Hypergrowth

(11:40) Distributor Pitfalls

(13:36) People Management Philosophy

(17:26) Founding his Business: Unlock APAC

(18:36) What Unlock APAC Does

(20:20) Starting Young Winning Clients

(23:01) Early Solo Years

(23:25) Sphero Meets Disney

(25:38) Selling BB-8 Across Asia

(27:45) Stepping Away from his Own Business

(30:16) Pivot To Education

(32:05) Back To Entrepreneurship During COVID

(35:17) Scaling With A Team

(37:04) Brand Architects Approach

(40:41) Resilience In Asia Markets

(42:33) Work Life Balance Lessons

(46:06) Closing

✅ Get your free day pass at Garage Society!

Reach out to Aurelien Joly on LinkedIn

Check out Unlock APAC

📲 Find me on LinkedIn

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🎧 Subscribe to Asian Business Owners

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Entrepreneurship is often portrayed as freedom, flexibility and independence.

But once you’re actually building a business, the reality feels much more nuanced and emotionally heavier.

In this solo episode, I talk about four things we should stop glamorising about entrepreneurship and what founder life has genuinely looked like for me while building my marketing agency and this podcast in Hong Kong.

I share:

– the emotional weight behind “freedom”

– why flexibility often comes with pressure

– the gap between social media and reality

– what entrepreneurship actually feels like once you’re inside it

As founders, this is what we experience but it's rarely addressed authentically publicly and on social media.

🎙️ Asian Business Owners, the podcast that explores the real human journey behind building a business in Asia.

Timestamps:

(00:00) Teaser

(00:46) Podcast and Episode Intro

(02:34) Myth 1: Freedom

(05:24) Myth 2: Flexibility

(07:46) Myth 3: No Boss

(10:08) Myth 4: Overnight Success

(12:24) Viral Peaks and Sustainability

(13:21) Final Thoughts

Follow the journey:

💬 abo.pod

📲 Find me on LinkedIn

🎧 Subscribe to Asian Business Owners wherever you listen to it!

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Olivier Elzer returns to Asian Business Owners for a deeper conversation about what it really takes to build and sustain excellence over time.

Known for earning multiple Michelin stars and building a successful restaurant group in Hong Kong, the Olivier Elzer Hospitality Group, Olivier shares the lessons entrepreneurship has taught him about pressure, humility, consistency and long-term thinking.

In this episode, we talk about:

• The emotional weight of maintaining high standards
• Why success brings new challenges
• How leadership changes as your business grows
• Staying grounded despite external recognition
• What entrepreneurship teaches you about yourself

An honest conversation about the pressure behind success and the mindset required to keep building at the highest level.

(00:00) Teaser

(00:41) Podcast and Guest Intro

(02:12) Why Cooking Became Olivier's Calling

(03:29) Chef to Entrepreneur

(05:00) Scaling to Ten Restaurants

(07:30) Broken Canvas vs White Canvas Models

(09:23) Making Restaurants Work

(10:36) Building an Expert Team

(11:29) Humbled by Entrepreneurship

(14:30) Staying Centred Under Pressure

(16:47) Hiring Beyond Experience

(17:58) Meritocracy And Smarter Teams

(18:59) Growing Without Breaking

(19:47) Accountability And Risk

(21:32) Hong Kong Market Reality Check

(24:41) Social Media Trends Pressure

(27:16) Winning Younger Diners

(28:58) The Future Of Fine Dining

(30:26) Scaling Consultancy And Franchises

(33:21) Advice: Cutting Noise Saying No

(35:03) Closing and Outro

👉 To find out more:

Olivier Elzer Hospitality Group

Check out Olivier on Instagram

To follow my journey:

💬 abo.pod

📲 Find me on LinkedIn

🎧 Subscribe to Asian Business Owners

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

When I started my marketing agency and podcast, I had no real idea what I was doing.

A few years later, I’ve learned that entrepreneurship is less about having everything figured out and more about learning to navigate uncertainty.

In this solo episode, I share five things I wish I knew before starting my business.

I talk about:

• Unstable revenue
• Why being good at your work is not enough
• How confidence comes after action
• Why boundaries are essential
• Why growth takes longer than you think

I hope these lessons help you set more realistic expectations and avoid some unnecessary stress.

Timestamps:

(00:00) Teaser

(00:42) Episode and Podcast Intro

(02:06) Lesson 1: Revenue Reality

(04:47) Lesson 2: Visibility Matters

(06:47) Lesson 3: Confidence Builds

(08:40) Lesson 4: Set Boundaries

(10:44) Lesson 5: Slow Growth

(12:54) Final thoughts

Follow the journey:

💬 abo.pod

📲 Find me on LinkedIn

🎧 Subscribe to Asian Business Owners wherever you listen to it!

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

After starting his career as a journalist, Anthony Sar spent years interviewing founders, CEOs and industry leaders.

Until one day, he realised he didn’t want to just tell their stories anymore, he wanted to build.

In this episode, we talk about what it takes to move from observing to building, pivot across industries and stay relevant over time.

Anthony shares how he built Finoverse, the company behind Hong Kong FinTech Week, one of the leading fintech events globally and how he’s now entering a new chapter in AI.

We also explore something deeper: why, in a world increasingly shaped by AI, human connection might become your biggest advantage.

In this episode, we cover:

– The shift from observer to builder

– Leaving journalism to start from scratch

– Building Hong Kong FinTech Week With Finoverse

– Why most founders misunderstand “staying relevant”

– How AI is changing the way we connect

– Why human relationships matter more than ever

(00:00) Teaser

(00:36) Podcast and Guest Intro

(01:49) Meet Anthony Sar

(02:06) Journalism Roots

(03:26) From Observer to Builder

(04:20) Entrepreneurship MBA Pivot

(06:17) Comfort Zone Trigger

(08:46) Moving to Asia

(10:34) First Startup in Hong Kong

(11:08) Discovering Fintech

(13:11) Founding Finoverse

(14:07) Reinventing Conferences

(16:45) Scaling the Hong Kong Fintech Week

(19:11) Expanding the Platform

(20:31) Challenges and Trust

(22:38) Holding the Vision

(23:16) Winning Team Trust

(23:54) Co-CEO Dynamics

(25:22) Why Pivot to AI

(27:20) The Event Networking Problem

(29:22) Samantha AI Explained

(30:15) AI Voice Calls and Matchmaking

(33:25) Business Model and Insights

(34:27) AI for Real Human Connection

(38:02) Ethics of Humanising AI

(40:11) Relevance Through Values

(44:14) How to Stay in the Game

(45:59) Closing and Outro

👉 To find out more:

Finoverse

Check out Anthony on LinkedIn

To follow my journey:

💬 abo.pod

📲 Find me on LinkedIn

🎧 Subscribe to Asian Business Owners wherever you listen to it!

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

After more than 80 conversations with founders, I realised that I don’t remember everything, I remember one thing., one perspective, one piece of advice.

That may be enough to change how I think and decide.

In this solo episode, I reflect on what really stayed with me after all these conversations and how it changed the way I listen.

I talk about:

• how little we actually retain from conversations
• stories of patience, resilience and determination
• the lessons that stayed with me from past guests

Timestamps:

(00:00) Welcome to Asian Business Owners

(00:47) Reflecting on How Much We Remember From a Conversation

(04:24) Alison Chan's Father's Inspiring Journey

(07:55) Laurie Mias's Determination with MONO Skincare

(11:14) Jingjin Liu on Pricing with Confidence

(13:16) Conclusion

Listen to the entire episodes:

Alison Chan and her father's story

Laurie Mias and how she built MONO Skincare

Jingjin Liu about building confidence and owning up to your pricing

Follow the journey:

💬 abo.pod

📲 Find me on LinkedIn

🎧 Subscribe to Asian Business Owners wherever you listen to it!

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.