Business Basket

Running a business networking community is never just about meetings, handshakes, or exchanging business cards.

Over the past 10 years, as a co-founder of Business Basket, I’ve learned firsthand that building a successful networking community in Singapore requires adaptability, empathy, and a constant focus on both business and personal growth.

Looking back, these lessons go far beyond business strategies—they touch human nature, leadership, and the power of connection.

1. People Change, Business Changes

One of the first lessons we learned is that both people and business landscapes evolve. Your reliable member today may have different priorities next year, and your business model may need a refresh to remain relevant. Accepting change as a constant has been essential for Business Basket’s sustainability.

2. Motivation Needs Rewards

Over time, members’ motivation can wane if there’s no visible benefit. Networking isn’t just about showing up; it’s about feeling rewarded. We learned to celebrate wins, share success stories, and offer tangible takeaways like referrals, workshops, or mentorship opportunities.

3. Emotional Support Matters

Business networking isn’t always fun. Entrepreneurs face stress, uncertainty, and setbacks. Our community thrived because we emphasized emotional support, creating a safe space to discuss failures, fears, and ambitions. Connection goes deeper than networking—it builds resilience.

4. Quality Over Quantity

Initially, we focused on growing numbers, but we realized meaningful connections matter more than the size of the group. Carefully curated events and intentional matchmaking produced stronger business outcomes and longer-lasting relationships.

5. Feedback is Gold

Ignoring feedback can be costly. Actively listening to members’ suggestions and criticisms has shaped how we run events, plan collaborations, and structure workshops. Feedback loops fuel evolution, and even small adjustments can prevent disengagement.

6. Diversity Drives Innovation

Networking is most valuable when members bring different experiences, industries, and perspectives. Over the years, we deliberately diversified our community to encourage fresh ideas, problem-solving, and unexpected collaborations.

7. Consistency Builds Trust

Relationships require regular interaction. Even when motivation dips or business slows, consistent communication, newsletters, and meetups maintain trust and visibility. Reliability is often more important than flashy events.

8. Technology Isn’t Optional

The digital age transformed networking. We incorporated tools for online events, member directories, and content sharing. Leveraging tech ensures accessibility and allows our members to stay engaged even beyond in-person events.

9. It Takes Many Hands to Clap

Building a community is a team effort, especially among pioneers. It’s not easy to get everyone to agree on one idea or approach, and conflicts are inevitable. What matters is respecting diverse opinions, finding common ground, and moving forward together. Without collaboration, even the best plans can stall.

10. Adapt Your Leadership Style

Leadership isn’t one-size-fits-all. Some members respond to guidance, others to inspiration, and some need accountability. Flexibility in leadership style has allowed us to nurture talent, cultivate initiative, and prevent burnout.

Takeaway

Running Business Basket for 10 over years taught me that networking is as much about human connection as business strategy. Whether it’s nurturing relationships, adapting to change, or rewarding engagement, the key is creating a community that grows alongside its members.

If you’re seeking not just business opportunities but a network that inspires personal and professional growth, Business Basket is your next exploration. Your next big idea—or your next mentor—might just be one conversation away.

Ready to expand your business horizons, meet like-minded, and gain emotional support while learning leadership and networking skills? Join Business Basket today and start connecting with Singapore’s most inspiring entrepreneurs.

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Irene K.
Founder & Community Builder | Business Basket
Helping entrepreneurs connect, grow, and thrive in Singapore

🔗 Connect with me on LinkedIn

Lessons I Learned After Running Business Basket for 10 Years with My Fellow Pioneers

Balancing Passion and Profit is crucial as it fuels the fire in a business and enhances its chances of survival. While passion ignites motivation and creativity, profit ensures sustainability and growth. Striking a balance between the two is key to long-term success, driving both purpose and prosperity. Let's hear what Lee Mcking has to say about his Successful Hypnosis Business.

1. Can you tell me what attracted you to hypnosis or hypnotherapy?

I got attracted to hypnosis when I realized how everything is connected to our minds, how our lives are interwoven through the patterns and beliefs which we learnt from our parents or through society, how they are all in the unconscious mind and repeat itself as we grow up. It is fascinating! At the same time, it also means that it is possible to resolve certain patterns and change negative programming to positive programming as well. Our minds are a powerful tool.

2. What inspired you to start your own business, and what challenges did you face in the early days?

I initially learnt hypnosis in order to resolve my own mental issues of PTSD, anxiety, depression and more. After helping a few people, I realized that I can employ a unique set of skills to help people resolve their issues. And because I have been through similar mental health issues and silently suffered, I wanted to help people who are silently suffering from mental health issues as well.

One of the challenges I face was the public misconceptions surrounding hypnosis in Singapore! People think it is mind control, or it is a con job, or fake, made it quite a challenge to find clients to help. Having the perseverence to push through regardless of such negative misconceptions was not easy! Naturally, with each success story, and testimonial, it got easier. Although there are still some misconceptions in the public's view ha~

3. What are some of the biggest mistakes you've made in your business, and what did you learn from them?

Offering a free trial! That was a big mistake but thankfully I realized it soon and removed it. This is because my hypnosis is so effective that it can resolve their issues in 1 session. Hence after the free session, there is no reason to see me anymore! Although it was a mistake, I learnt that I am pioneer in effective hypnotherapy, and thus, I got no one here to learn from or depend upon.

4. How have you managed to stay competitive in your industry, and what are some of the key factors that have contributed to your success?

Most of the other hypnotists in Singapore practice traditional style hypnosis while I am probably the only one offering modern style hypnosis. Thus they offer a package of 3-6 sessions to resolve 1 issue, while my hypnosis can help people resolve 90% in 1 session if and when they are ready to resolve their issues. The savings of time and money is what brands me, especially when the other hypnotists have been around for more than 10 or even 15 years! When clients resolve their issues, like even depression in 1 session, and they share with their friends, this allows them to spread hope. Hope that their issues can be resolved effectively. Besides the above, probably another key factor is my name! My dad named me after his idol, Steve McQueen, which is a pretty unique name that is easily recognizable!

5. How do you manage your time and prioritize tasks, and what tools or techniques have you found most effective for staying organized?

To be honest, I let my unconscious mind organize for me. I mean, I'm a hypnotist so of all things, I can tap on my unconscious potential right? So I allow and trust my unconscious mind to prepare things for me in the background, while I focus on the conscious stuff. So when I need to write my blog for example, most of the time my unconscious mind has prepared a topic and even what to write, and then I just type!

6. What advice would you give to someone who is just starting out in Hypnosis business, and what do you think are the most important qualities for success?

Be ok with rejection. Although this applicable to any business.

Be knowledgeable about the mind and hypnosis. People might ask all sorts of interesting and funny questions. If you don't know it, go and read up.

Be sure of what you intend to do. This is because some people like the idea of being a hypnotist, but have no idea about some of the things they might encounter through their clients.

Going back to one of my earlier answers, it is really perseverence. Being able to endure the hardships, loneliness, independence, rejections, and misconceptions from the public, and even sometimes your family and friends. Once you are sure of what you intend to do, go for it and stick with it.

7. How do you balance the needs of your business with your personal life, and what strategies have you found most effective for achieving work-life balance?

I practice self-love in the sense that, when I need or want me-time, I will do it. For example, I will not allow clients to book me last minute on the spot because that is a disrespect of my time. Regardless of how badly they need to see me (unless they are suicidal), I will inform them they need to book me at least 3 days in advance. I will only allow if the client claims to be suicidal, of which I can close an eye and cater accordingly.

8. Looking ahead, what are your plans for the future of your business, and what new opportunities do you see on the horizon?

Honestly I am a simple person, if I can help my clients, that is good enough. Although some of my clients want to learn hypnosis from me, I am hesitant to train people in hypnosis because I am yet unsure of what their intents are. I have met a TV producer who heard my life story and express interest in turning it into a show, of course for that, I will leave it to the future. Only time will tell!

Balancing Passion and Profit: How to Run a Successful Hypnosis Business

Yuantai The Happy Coach

Fabian Sou the Bartender & Digital Marketer

Many people think that if they work their asses off, they will succeed. But of course! You and I are far too wise to believe in that. We know that the People Factor is just as crucial for success as hard work is.

Enter the Enneagram, a framework that can be useful for understanding people and managing relationships more effectively. This body of knowledge already has a steady following among companies and communities in the West and is starting to gain traction in Asia. People are starting to realise that the ability to recognise motivation is just as important, if not more powerful, as being able to categorise behaviour. And this ability is one of the core pillars for success. As German writer and statesman, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, once said, “Whatever you cannot understand, you cannot possess.” It would be hard to be of influence over people whom we do not understand.

Here is a summary of how the Enneagram can be helpful in understanding others and in our attempts to gain influence and success:

The Enneagram works like a cheat sheet for human behaviour.

The Enneagram knowledge reveals that there are nine ways of looking at the world. This corresponds to the nine types of motivations in life. By understanding why people are behaving the way they do, instead of what their behaviour is at a point in time, we would be able to empathise, motivate and manage people better simply because we could now see where they are coming from.

For example, most of us tend to think that people who are loud and brash are just being bullies. But what if I were to tell you that they behave like hooligans simply because they feel vulnerable deep down and are merely trying to gain control of their environment? This would help shed light on how you would deal with this type of person, wouldn’t it? (At least you would know that beneath this rough façade, there’s a teddy bear that just wants to be hugged. Awww….) This is how the Enneagram can serve as a useful quick guide to the complex world of human behaviour. And guess what? This body of knowledge is not based on mere anecdotes. The amount of research done on the Enneagram has grown since its introduction to the modern world in the early 1900s, and it has its fair share of detractors too. Still, the growing interest (just do a Google search) does point to how more and more people found the knowledge beneficial.

A roadmap for self-development.

With the Enneagram, you can no longer excuse your bad habits based on your personality type. This is because the Enneagram essentially focuses on how to break out of the weaknesses that characterise our type and be more flexible in accessing the strengths of the other types. (Spoiler alert: That’s what those lines in the Enneagram symbols are for.)

The Ennea Type 7 (Read: The YOLO! type) could have easily said that he is just not meant for commitments and long-term projects. Or he could focus on developing himself further and decide on exercising greater control over his actions (like the Type 1 Perfectionist) and spend time thinking through a project before launching it (like the Type 5 Observer).

Whether you are an employee or a boss, single or married, we could all do with growth in our lives, and the Enneagram provides a useful map for that journey.

Essential HR Tool

Many HR departments grapple with the challenge of hiring, motivating, retaining and developing talent, especially with the highly mobile workforce today. With the Enneagram, HR managers are able to understand where the employees’ motivations lie and thus suss out whether they would be a good fit for the company culture.

Nevertheless, a word of warning, the Enneagram can be a double-edged sword.

We frequently have bosses who share that they are inclined to hire only a particular type of personality in their workplace (usually, they are looking to hire more Type 3 Achievers. Surprise, surprise…) Well, guess what? When you hire only a particular type of personality at your company, you are also introducing blind spots and weaknesses unique to that type. Worse still, there would be a lack of alternative views in the company to point out these problematic areas. Companies that want to be more holistic in their business approach could use the Enneagram to ensure that they hire a good mix of types in order to make sure that various different views are heard. That is how HR can use the Enneagram to form a more inclusive and balanced company culture.

In this article, a conscientious attempt has been made to avoid making any outlandish claims about the benefits of the Enneagram. Also, it definitely is not the only tool for growth and development, nor for personality profiling. But what the Enneagram is, is this – a meaningful way to understand and empathise with others better. We believe that once we could see where the other party is coming from, and where we and others could go towards growth, that in essence would be the beginning of a fruitful relationship, whether personally or professionally.

Cindy Leong

A Dating and Relationship Coach who has helped many youths and professionals in their journey through relationship searching and building. Cindy is a direct and energetic individual, who aims to bring out the best in everyone she meets. Her extensive coaching and dating experience has helped her coach men to find their social standing in the society. Cindy holds a Bachelor Degree in Psychology, majoring in Communications and has done many research studies in the area of Gender Communications, Cultural Communications, Jealousy, and Mating Choices. Get in touch with Cindy via email at coffee@relationshipstudio.sg