See a Need. Do a Good Deed.
(10 votes, average: 5 out of 5)February 4, 2009 by Sarah Blaskovich
Entrepreneur Kim Lim started a children’s t-shirt business in 2006. Her son, Simon, models one of the tees here.
To those who think you can’t have it all, woman entrepreneur Kim Lim says, “Watch me.”
As a single mother, owner of two businesses and recipient of three academic degrees, Lim has had her hands full during the past few years. But following painful divorce, and with the creation of two new and starkly different career paths, Lim forges ahead. She says today, she’s doing everything she’s wanted in life, all at the same time.
“Everything is a risk, isn’t it?” Lim says. “Life is about taking good risks.”
Lim’s motto throughout her life has been, See a need, fill a need. At 34, Lim credits her family and her sister and best friend, Christina, for instilling values that have made her successful today. “We don’t quit,” she says. “We press on. We take hold of all the responsibilities we have, and we prioritize them.”
But the “pressing on” part was tough for Lim a few years ago, as she was staying at home with their newborn, Simon, when her husband divorced her. Left to care for her son alone, she realized she needed to get a job and move forward.
As Lim considered her future, she knew Simon was her first priority. So she got a job as an engineering consultant—a field she was involved in before she was married—and worked from home. Despite the emotional struggle, Lim escaped financial scarring from the divorce and soon was back to her old self—an energetic, inspiring, “warm soul,” as described by a friend and fellow woman entrepreneur, Caroline Callaway.
“I’m in awe of her,” Callaway says. “She bounces so many balls and does it so successfully. She is living proof that even busy single moms can still fulfill their dreams.”
Lim then entered into her first entrepreneurial venture in 2006. Putting her creative side to work, Lim designed a T-shirt for Simon, modeled after a shirt she remembered loving as a kid. She sketched a cartoon of a duck sitting in a pot, depicting a favorite Chinese dish, Peking duck. “He’s a duck in a pot that’s peeking out,” she says, still laughing as she remembers the design. “I just love it.”
Then a friend wanted one. And then another. Nearly by accident, Lim found herself in the toddler T-shirt business, sketching every night after Simon went to bed. She started Global Goodie, an online T-shirt company that aims to help children embrace new cultures through food. She has lines such as Hungry Hawaiian, Fabulous French, Sizzling Soulfood and the like.
Lim let her “little business” plug away while she continued working as an engineering consultant. See a need, fill a need, she thought.
Not long after, Lim longed for a companion for Simon. “Even though it didn’t work out with Simon’s dad, I really wanted to have another child,” she says. Yes, she was a single mom, and yes, she had a full schedule. But Lim knew there were children waiting to be adopted around the world, and she wanted to fill that need.
So Lim adopted her second son, Sam, also a multicultural child. She was now a single mom with two children, earning her third academic degree, working full-time as a consultant and running Global Goodie. “You know, I wanted to try teaching,” she says. “I wanted to have the same schedule as my sons.” So Lim followed her heart again, and squeezed in an online teaching degree, 100 hours of observation and a semester of student teaching. “Yes, I was busy,” she says, laughing. And determining her destiny.
Despite a very full plate, Lim soon saw another need in her San Diego area: the lack of reputable microbiology labs that test pharmaceutical drugs before they become FDA approved. With her first degree in bioengineering and a master’s in operations management, Lim felt suited for the job, even as a woman in a predominantly male industry.
“I have that entrepreneurial spirit,” she says. “I saw a specialized need for a company that most people don’t want to do because it’s expensive and usually outsourced.” In 2008, Lim opened Ultimate Labs. Today Lim says she feels she’s successfully come full-circle, and for the moment she doesn’t have “anything big” in the works.
A typical day in the Lim household begins early when the kids get up and go to school or day care. Lim works at Ultimate Labs six hours a day—all she has time for to stay a committed mom, she says. At 3 p.m., her workday is over and she picks up Simon and Sam at Chinese school and heads out for activities such as swimming, soccer or karate.
“My sons are the most important thing to me,” she says. “What I need to do to take care of them always comes first.”
After the kids go to bed, Lim is back on her computer doing catch-up work for Ultimate Labs or sketching new clothing designs for Global Goodie. But whatever she’s working on at the time, it gets her full attention. “It’s all about priorities,” she says. “I only have a certain amount of time to do work activities, but I completely focus on that when it’s time. And when I’m with my children, I completely focus on them. Knowing when to do things and at what time is important.”
Her friend and business colleague, Callaway, says Lim is an example to all of their professional friends. “She does everything for the right reasons,” Callaway says. “Kim proves to us that if you love it and believe in it, you’re going to be successful. Now more than ever, I’ve learned from Kim that I need to find needs and fill them.”
Spring to Action
Kim Lim, a single mom and entrepreneur, has weathered tough times while building two successful startup companies.
Her advice for women entrepreneurs: “It’s all about priorities,” she says. Surround yourself with excellent people, and let them do their jobs. “Delegation is key. You can’t do it all yourself, so hand out the responsibilities. Know when to let go,” she says.
Her advice for single moms: “Know what you want—and do it,” she says. Lim remembers many single moms who are afraid to take a new job or take a vacation or do anything new that would shake up their lives with their children. But it doesn’t have to be so hard, Lim says. “If you want to do something, I say do it.”
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I admire Kim Lim. She is one of a great woman, I wish to be like her. She is indeed an inspiration to a woman like me. She can share her story in this site A Global Tribe, a very great site that aims to spread good deeds.
Kim proves that women should never use their kids as excuses for not fulfilling their dreams. First, they should work around their kids, prioritize, organize and manage their activities. Second, they should delegate and associate with great and like minded people who will encourage and motivate them.