The good tandem

Many things are happening on August 8, 2008.  It will be the wedding of my good friend Don Busa’s son Diego to his lovely fiancée Ann.  It will also be the grand ball of the Province of Cebu which is celebrating the 439th Founding Anniversary.  It will also be the opening date of the Obra Negosyo Expo or the ONE Cebu Trade fair at the Cebu International Convention Center.

Many remarkable things are happening on this 8th day of the 8th month of the 8th year of this century.

And another celebration worth mentioning is the 15th Anniversary of Ng Kai Development Corporation. The brainchild of two beautiful people, Wilson Ng and Melanie Chua-Ng.

Started in 1993, Ng Kai Development Corporation was set out first as an offshore company that would provide computer programming services or software in business industries in Hong Kong and Taiwan.  This adventure began even when outsourcing was not yet famous.  “I worked in Taiwan in 1988 as a programmer after finishing school in the University of the Philippines in 1986 and after garnering a Diploma in Programming from Eber Institute of Advanced Studies in 1987, I went to work for my Dad’s friend in Taiwan.”  Wilson Ng, Taipan of Ng Kai Development Corporation shared.

“I had to come back to the Philippines to take over our family business, Akai  Foods, when my father passed away.”  A few years after, he married his charming sweetheart, Melanie Chua in 1993. 

After making sure Akai Foods was stable and ran well, Wilson ventured into his own company, having maintained his contacts in Hong Kong and Taiwan.  “We called it Ng Kai Development Corporation, naming the company after my father, but calling it a ‘developing corporation’ so as not to limit its services.  Ng Kai then was into software development and trading.  We used to trade pellets used to manufacture plastic.  Melanie helped me in this.”

“Wilson has always been the strategist in the family and even in our business.  I am more of the doer.”  Melanie Ng, otherwise known as Sandee, said about her husband and business partner. “He is more dynamic, his head is so full of ideas, and he does most of the thinking.  When he commits to doing something, he will really put all his energies on that pursuit.  I am more flexible and gregarious where he is more quiet and deep.  Perhaps that is why we compliment.”

The good tandem of Wilson and Melanie is seen even in how they have raised their children.  I had the opportunity of being part of two of their sons defense panels during their presentation of their business plans at the Center for International Education.  The consistency of training is evident in the confidence the children displayed.  Their ‘selling’ prowess was innate, very reflective of their mother’s determination and charisma; the well thought-out proposals and organized presentations well evident of the guidance and support from their Dad. 

In the trade show, which is an annual event of the Center for International Education, the reliability of the children displayed the predominant family trait.

Wilson and Melanie are interchangeably commendable in the business circle.  The mutual support is seen in how each of them encourages the other.  Having grown their business for the past 15 years, commemorating its anniversary is akin to toasting to their own vows.  With both active in business and social events, it is a wonder that they still have time to relax and look as young as they are.

Business driven life, which is the essence of Wilson’s email ad and blog, is his motto.  Unlike the tedious routine of work and more work, Wilson sees his being business driven in a more positive light.  It is the business of living.  “Everything about your business should make you happy.” he said.  Driven, according to him is being motivated to seek what makes you joyful.  “You find your friends through your business.  You gain satisfaction through your business.  You are able to afford what you want and do what you want to do because of your business.  It is more than an exchange of money.  It is relationships nurtured.  Trusts developed and kept over time.  It is the drive of having a choice because you have been enabled to choose.”

When asked whether it is better to get into business rather than employment Wilson has this to say: “You have to enjoy what you do. You may find out that there are more businessmen trapped in their business, than employees are trapped in their employment.  It is not easy to keep the business.  You can not walk out on people who now depend on you.” 

Wilson Ng was awarded Entrepreneur of the Year for  2004 by Cebu Chamber of Commerce and Industry and Ernst and Young Entrepreneur of the Year for Small Business Awardee also for the same year.  He teaches Entrepreneurship in the graduate school of his alma mater while Melanie keeps herself busy with other ‘hobbies’, Premium Concepts and Sandee, a novelty shop and boutique respectively.  She also gives  a face to corporate social responsibility through her active participation in civic concerns and social development through other organizations and as a Visayas Executive Committee Member of the Philippine Business for Social Progress.

Wilson Ng is this year’s Mandaue Business Month Chair of Mandaue Chamber of Commerce and Industry while Melanie Ng was the Cebu Chamber of Commerce and Industry Chair for the Grand Chamber Awards Night in the Cebu Business Month.

The shared responsibility between the couple shows how stable their partnership is, in and out of business.  A gift not many couples are blessed with. A good tandem indeed!