"I wanted to open a reasonably-priced salon to serve my customers sincerely," said Mr. Mareck Louie, one of the three owners of the salon "Criminal" at Granville Circuit, Tsim Sha Tsui. He used to be a salon junior.

     "In most salons, a haircut is done in 20 minutes, which I think is impossible to provide genuine service to customers," added Mareck.

     Miss Tracy Lam owns a small snack shop in Tsim Sha Tsui. Said she: "I don't like working in an ordinary style. Nine-to-five work is too rigid and monotonous for me."

'If I don't try when I'm young, when can I do so?'

     Making money is not their first priority.

     "Although being an employee earns me more monetary return, I still prefer having my own business. If I don't try when I am young, when can I do so?" Tracy said.

     For Mr. Danny Wong, the entrepreneur as well as the designer in the "ing" fashion boutique in Causeway Bay, satisfaction is the most important.

     "Not only can I make money, but also I can sell my idea and creativity. I am very proud of myself if customers like my design. This is the kind of satisfaction you can't obtain as an employee," said Danny.

     Lots of problems may arise when running a small business.

     "Rent is the major problem," Danny said, "Our lessor refused to lower the rent despite the economic downturn".

     Mareck said, "We want to set up a salon which is targeted at young people. But we could not find a suitable location. We have approached 17 lessors. Most of them can't accept our idea. It's too odd to have a salon in a fashion mall. We found an old building with no water supply or drainage. That put us in a difficult situation."

     Tracy said, "As I am all by myself, I have to work long hours. And I have to make a lot of decisions, from purchasing to accounting."

     Kitterick, now a large-scaled fashion retail store, used to be a small boutique.

     According to the Managing Director of Kitterick, Mr. Gary Chiu, their key to success is product knowledge and selling technique.

     "The most crucial element is to have your own style and creativity," Gary said.

     "Don't ever lose the originality."

     Some people think that it is not worthwhile to study since they find it difficult to apply what they learn in their career.

     "Education is absolutely important," Tracy said. "If you have good education, you don't need to start working from a junior post."

     Pointing at the graffiti by the entrance of her shop, she said, "I drew this. It makes my shop unique.

     "I learned drawing in secondary school. The benefit of education is not visible immediately, but some day you will find it very useful."

     Mareck started working when he finished Secondary 3. "After I've got enough working experience, I wanted to get back to school," said he.

'The benefit of education is not visible immediately,
but some day you will find it very useful.'

     Danny said, "If I could, I'd rather go back to school. You can learn essential basic knowledge and improve your qualifications."

     Although they welcome young people to join the industry, they are not optimistic about starting a new business.

     Said Mareck: "Few people will do it as it's not a way to earn easy money."

     Tracy agreed. "This trend won't spread widely. It will remain only as a subculture in Hong Kong," said Tracy.

     "It's really difficult but I am delighted because I witnessed the birth of my own shop," added Tracy.

     "This will be my lifetime job, and I want to open a bigger salon in a large shopping mall,' said Mareck.