Curtain raiser to bigger things
Calvin Khiu is passionate about growing his business into an empire
MK Curtain Group managing director Datuk Calvin Khiu Fu Siang, 36, knows the importance of starting small.
In fact, starting small may be an overstatement for Khiu who started the business with zero monetary capital.
“The only capital I had was this: self confidence,” says the Young Entrepreneur of the Year (Above RM25mil revenue) winner of last year’s Star Outstanding Business Awards.
Khiu literally established his business in 2005 with two employees and no money.
He was working as a salesperson for another curtain company prior but notes that his salary then was not much.
“I spent most of my monthly income on my family, hence, I didn’t have much savings,” he explains.
If Khiu had all the capital in the world, he would have set up a shop at a major shopping mall.
Alas, that was not the case.
So he looked for a place that offered free rent for a period of time.
He was lucky to find it in Nilai, not far from where his current showroom is located. They offered him seven months of free rent. It was off to a good start.
But what about renovation costs, staff salary and most importantly, payments to suppliers?
“To succeed, you must have the will. It’s your determination that will eventually take you to the top. If you are going to be held back by these matters, you will never get there,” he says.
Khiu did his due diligence on the shoplot and found all the basic necessities in place. There was no immediate need for a renovation. After all, clients want a first-class service more than a first-class office, adds Khiu.
“For the staff salary, you only pay them the following month. You should have sales by then that would cover it,” he jests.
As for his suppliers, well, Khiu managed to build up a solid network of contacts as well as nurtured relationships during his days as a salesperson that would eventually stand him in good stead as he struck out on his own.
“That is why doing things right is so important in life. People generally give chances to genuine entrepreneurs and I was fortunate that they gave me a credit term of 120 days,” he says.
Thanks to his suppliers who trusted him with their stocks, Khiu was able to turn things around by selling the merchandise. He made some returns along the way to clear his loans and acquire more stock.
“This went on for some time before I could finally say I earned my first bucket of gold,” says Khiu, who operates more than 20 curtain outlets today.
While Khiu may have been able to calculate his risk better than anyone, it still boiled down to a lot of hardwork – the real fundamentals of building a business.
Khiu paid his dues in those early years. He worked every day for five years to lay the foundations for his business.
“I was working every weekend, through all major festivities, and even on the day I got married,” he reveals.
Being available everyday has its advantage.
On a normal day, MK Curtain would achieve about RM5,000 in sales. But during public holidays, while other shops were closed, sales for MK Curtain would more than triple.
“People come in buses from states like Kedah and Kelantan to buy curtains. On those days, we can easily achieve a sale of RM30,000 a day,” he beams.
Within a year of establishment, MK Curtain had opened its second branch.
This was followed by another six outlets in Negri Sembilan the following year.
In 2008, the company started a tailoring department that employed 30 pairs of hands and by 2009, it had set up a technical department with 16 employees who would help take the company one step closer towards providing one-stop services.
Khiu says this was to achieve MK Curtain’s main objective: whatever the customers want is what we want.
“What customers want now is basically a one-stop place for all their needs,” he says.
Besides their comprehensive showroom, MK Curtain has introduced a “Save Your Time” concept where sales consultants are able to do house calls for the convenience of homeowners.
“The KL market is huge, that’s why we have different outlets. But some make their way to Nilai and we make their trip out here worth- while with prices that are about 20% lower,” says Khiu.
MK Curtain, he says, serves the mid- to high-end segments of the market.
“In 2010, we set up a project team dedicated to undertaking large-scale projects nationwide.
“The company invests RM200,000 annually into skills development to train our employees so that we can continue to branch out,” states Khiu.
Khiu is quick to point out that the company’s growth could not have been achieved by him alone.
He humbly attributes much of his success to his wife and his team.
“My wife has been with me through thick and thin since my earliest struggles, and I’ve vowed to put her name in my business ever since,” he adds.
The ‘M’ in MK Curtain is taken from his wife’s, Moon Sze Fui, name.
“I also couldn’t have done it without my team. They are the backbone of the company,” continues Khiu.
For him, one must prioritise his or her employees. He is proud to say that there were no resignations at MK Curtain over the past three years.
“When you put your heart into their welfare and well-being, they will naturally invest the same amount of faith and commitment into their work,” explains Khiu.
With a 300-strong team, MK Curtain achieved a revenue of RM40mil in 2016.
Khiu is still very much on his toes. It makes no difference to him whether he is running a small company with less than 10 workers or a company with over a hundred workers.
“The pressure to run the company well is always there. But now, the stakes are higher. Previously, when we make mistakes, we lose about RM5,000. Today, the same mistake could cause us over RM500,000,” he says.
Khiu does his best to operate the company like a professional organisation.
But he understands that as the company grows, there would be more people of different characters coming together. This diversity may either cause more friction and breakdown in the company’s system, or it could work to the advantage of the company, bringing just about the right ingredients for MK Curtain to be a well-oiled machine.
Khiu chooses to believe that the latter is true.
“We don’t know everything and we can’t do everything on our own. We need to bring people together and we need to bring out the best in these people. When we let them do what they are best at, we magnify their strengths and encourage them to achieve more,” he says.
He is now also looking at
potential people to participate in his franchise business idea. Unlike the food and beverage industry which involves perishable goods, Khiu says his is a clean and simple business model. “You don’t have to worry about sourcing for the curtain, or doing the installation. Your job is just to take care of the clients and keep them happy while we sort out the rest,” he says. To begin with, they would help franchisees source for the proper location and suitable contractor to do the renovation works to keep up the MK Curtain branding and experience. “Although they have to come up with their own capital for renovation and frachise fees, I am also looking to set up joint venture branches with genuine applicants who might not meet the capital requirements. I am more interested in your talent than your money,” he says. In the long run, Khiu hopes to uplift the staid image of the traditional curtain trade and make MK Curtain an international brand, much like a fashion house – but for curtains. “Back in the day, curtains were what they were, just curtains. But today, just as fashion needs accessories, curtains require them too, what with the different designs, materials and complementary items,” he points out. As he sets his sights on growth, Khiu is hopeful that Nilai will one day be known as a “curtain city” and the destination for home living solutions. He would definitely need his team to be on the same page with him to realise his dream.