Inspiring takeaways at Her World Young Woman Achiever Forum 2015

Five impressive women entrepreneurs and experts shared their inspiring life stories and leadership lessons at the Her World Young Woman Achiever Forum (YWAF) today at SPH News Centre Auditorium.

Themed "Follow your dream", the second annual forum is co-organised by Her World, Singapore's No. 1 women's magazine published by SPH Magazines Pte Ltd (SPH Magazines), and herworldPLUS, its online women's portal.

In a two-and-a-half-hour programme, the key takeaways from the all-women panel were encouraging and beneficial to the attendees.

Gillian Tan, founder of Munkysuperstar Pictures and clicknetwork.TV, shared on how she started. She said: "I started small - with $10,000, an old Mac and a camcorder in my mother's office. You can fail but it must always teach you something. Be resourceful and have the drive, you can start a business too."

Islean Valath, founder and designer of ARC, said: "You got to go in (to a job or business) knowing there are both rewards and awful moments. You are there for the journey, good or bad."

Adding on, Janice Wong, award-winning dessert chef extraordinaire, said: "Passion is overrated. You need perseverance."

Christel Quek, content lead for Twitter, gave her advice on getting on from failure. She said: "I had a $50,000 debt. You can fail but it must always teach you something. Mentors come from everywhere. It depends on who you trust. Your network is your net worth."

Concurring with Christel, Sara Ann K, digital sub-editor at ST Online, said: "Networking starts from the morning you wake up. Who knows? Your neighbour may become your client. Having a good social circle on Facebook and instagram is not just about having more likes but having more relationships."

Niki Bruce, editor of herworldPLUS, said: "I'm really excited that the Her World Young Woman Achiever Forum is back for the second year. It was great to see the interest of young Singapore women in discovering the success stories of our achievers."

Pearlyn Tham, editor of Her World, said: "Our audience went home with interesting and enriching nuggets of advice and information. While Her World has been inspiring and empowering women for 55 years, we always believe in nurturing and motivating the next generation because every woman deserves to follow her dream."