Staying grounded

SUCCESS is usually a cumulation of many things.

And one thing that has gotten MK Curtain Group managing director Datuk Calvin Khiu this far is the ability to keep both his feet firmly on the ground.

Instead of trying to follow what others were doing, he worked within his means.

From the start, Khiu was aware of his limitations.

“I didn’t receive much of a formal education, so I considered a few options such as automobile or air-conditioning system repair. I even thought about running my own char kuey teow stall,” he says.

After his secondary school, he did peddling jobs, worked at night markets and delivered gas tanks from door to door.

Eventually, he found that he had a skill – talking.

“That’s when I decided to venture into sales. And I thought to myself, whichever industry was looking to hire for sales, I’d do it,” he remembers.

When the opportunity to join a textile company came knocking, he took it.

And when the opportunity came for him to start his own company, he did not shy away.

But well aware that he lacked the resources to go big, Khiu, again, worked within his means.

“When I had no capital, I selected Nilai for two reasons. One was because it provided me with free rental for seven months and secondly, its location,” he says.

He noticed that the location was near the airport and was connected via major highways to many places.

“I can visualise people coming home from the airport and stopping by Nilai to look at my curtains,” he says.

Strange as it may seem, it did happened.

And that put MK Curtain on a steady growth path.

With his feet firmly on the ground, Khiu was able to look at his company’s potential in a prudent manner. This quality helped him see an abundance of possibility where others see a sunset industry.

“Many young entrepreneurs prefer to go into tech and other consumer goods but I think the curtain industry might very well be where I could create my breakthrough,” he says.

Khiu credits his grandmother for teaching him to keep his feet on the ground.

Born into a poor, single-parent family, Khiu’s main motivation to succeed came from his grandmother who gave him some grounding in human values and lots of love.

“I was poor but happy. My grandmother gave me everything that I needed. I remember I would get to eat chicken rice for lunch while she would eat plain rice, and during Chinese New Year, I would have new clothes to wear whereas she continues to wear old clothes.

“She also said it was fine to make money, so long as it wasn’t achieved by cheating or stealing. Another thing she said that I remember clearly is that it is not about how much money we make but about how much we contribute to society that matters,” he says.

Much of what his grandmother taught him stayed with him to this day.

Khiu says that gave him the motivation he needed to be number one in the school of life even though he never came out on top for anything during his schooling days.

An optimist, Khiu says it is important to strive to achieve your dreams within your limitations as it was pointless to dwell on the more unfortunate circumstances of your life.

“I believe God is fair, since everyone is granted the same 24 hours every day to design their own destiny,” he says.

“You’ll never achieve anything if you continue to blame fate.”

Khiu certainly sees the potential in his business and being aware of his capabilities keeps him grounded and pushes him forward.