Dr. Angel Tong wasn’t born with a silver spoon in her mouth, yet driven by her passion she started her own beauty business when she was only 19. All these years she kept her vow to treat her customers with sincerity, and staking her personal reputation for this. Now she has created her own beauty kingdom.

Angel grew up in a single-parent family. She lived with her mother after her parents got divorced when she was 6-years-old. Divorce was a social taboo back then and has affected Angel’s childhood. “I was bullied and teased at because my parents were divorced. I still remember having to go to parents’ days alone and sad because I don’t have a father and mommy was too busy at work.”

Vowed to make mother proud
Angel did not grow up in a rich family so she understood she had to fight for what she needs. Her passion was ignited by a conversation with her mother, “I still remember one time when I was with my mom and her friend, her friend bragged about how smart her daughter was to be accepted to DGS, one of the elite schools in Hong Kong. I felt ashamed because I did poorly in school and even had to repeat a grade. Instead of being scolded, my mother encouraged me by telling me how she trusted I would make her proud one day. I swore that day I would never let her down.”

Angel started her first job soon after graduating from high school. Her love for beauty and style led her to become a part-time model and beauty salon apprentice. Everything looked bright when she first started as an apprentice. “I was in my teens. Customers liked me because I’m easy-going. Then one day they stopped talking to me because the products and services I introduced to them did not work.” Angel reflected that to her boss but the reply brought her back to reality. “My boss told me, this is the way of doing business, there is no honest businessperson but profiteer in the world!”

Angel could not agree to what her boss said so she quitted her job and studied some short-term courses in Japan. During that time she was exposed to Japanese’s high standards for customer care, which would then become the core value of Angel’s future company. “Customers are always right in Japan. They taught me how to provide tailor-made services to ensure customers are always happy and satisfied.”

After Angel came back to Hong Kong, she started her first modeling agency. Using her own earnings along with her mother’s life savings, Angel started “Angel Face Beauty Creations” with her brother at a mere age 19, with a capital of less than HK$100,000. “I love my mother. I couldn’t lose her life savings and that thought pushed me forward. I had to do my very best so I was very hardworking. For a while I slept for only 6 hours every other night as I worked night-and-day during the first years of opening my salon.”

Word-of-mouth is the best advertising
When Angel first started her business, she had difficulty finding new customers, then the phrase, “word-of-mouth is the best advertising” came to her mind. “I did my best to make my customers feel at home such as serving them homemade soups or playing music. If they were satisfied, they would recommend me to their friends.” In order to prove her dedication to providing the best beauty services, Angel was even willing to stake her own reputation.

“My friends teased me back then for using my not-so-special name and not-so-pretty-face as my brand! It was so odd to use my own pictures in advertisements but there was a true meaning behind it.”

“Since day one of when I started my business, the beauty industry has always been full of malpractices. Consumers had no idea who the bosses of the beauty companies are and the companies could just shut down if they did not do well. Customers had nowhere to complain. I used my own name as my brand and I hope people would trust me.”

Angel earned her credit. Her business has expanded from a tiny two-bedded beauty salon into the reputable beauty establishment we see today.

Difficult times in Taiwan
After her Hong Kong business got on track, Angel expanded her beauty business to Taiwan, but that was also when she hit her bottom low. “I was a young foreigner with ambition so I started a luxurious beauty salon when I first arrived at Taiwan. I had some good media coverage and everything started smoothly.”

However, it wasn’t long before Angel had to face the difficulties of doing business alone in Taiwan. “Doing business in Taiwan was not that simple back then. Gangsters would collect bribes from you and some ex-employees tried to steal my business. I was depressed for a while but I told myself I wasn’t going to give in.” With her courage and determination, she was finally able to overcome the obstacles.

Going International
Angel had been in the beauty industry for over 20 years and she studied different courses in nutrition and health. She is also a best-selling author of healthy recipes and healthy lifestyle books. Angel’s next target is to introduce her products to other countries such as the United States or Canada. “My target is to establish an Angel Face wherever there is Chinese people. I hope I can expand my business into the Western societies.”

Wealth management: Hong Kong is still a golden place
Angel owns properties in Hong Kong, Taiwan, China, Philippines, the United States and Canada. Many investors hesitate as Hong Kong property prices surged over the past years, yet Angel remains confident. “Property prices are high but I still try to invest in properties. I remain optimistic towards Hong Kong’s property market. Hong Kong is like New York, it is one of the most important cities in China. In spite of speculations, I believe Hong Kong’s uniqueness in terms of its diversity, established legal system, freedom of trade and speech makes it difficult for other big cities like Shanghai to catch up in the near future. Hong Kong is still a golden place.”

Luxurious properties with potential values as best investment
Angel recommends investing in luxurious properties. “China investors are wealthy enough to pay 30 million cash to buy a luxurious property, which is why they have the most potential.” Most properties that Angel owns in Hong Kong are luxurious apartments but she also invested in lower-priced properties. “I’ve bought apartments in Yuen Long and Tsuen Wan areas which were below 2 million. They had their potentials too but since property prices have surged, properties at this price are no longer available in the market.”

After years of property investments, Angel had more profits than loss. The only loss was when she bought a Whampoa apartment at peak price during 1997. “I bought a 3-bedroom apartment in Whampoa with 6 million but now it is still below my purchase price.”

Angel also made some gains from her property investments in Canada. “I made some property investments in Richmond and west Vancouver when prices were low before 1997. I sold some of them two years ago and made some profits.”

Family life

Apart from her successful career, Angel also has a wonderful family with a 5-years-old daughter. “We hope she will grow up as a happy child. She doesn’t need to excel as nobody should live under others’ expectations. But I have to be honest, she is my only daughter and I do hope that she will inherit my beauty business one day.”

Angel has her own strategies in raising her daughter. “She can only buy one thing every time she goes out. I also believe in training both sides of the brain. She learned the alphabets and a few hundred of Chinese and English words before she was 15 months old.” Apart from education, Angel is also strict about what her daughter eats. “I give her natural and whole foods and we stay her away from fast food. These foods are very unhealthy and studies have shown that they may lower children’s intelligence.”

For general wellbeing, Angel meditates whenever she has time to enrich her spirituality. She also abides to a healthy diet. “I follow my 30/70 ratio in every meal. I eat 30% stable foods like grains or protein, and 70% of vegetables. Healthy eating is an integral part of life.”

On the other hand, Angel loves to relax herself amidst her hectic schedule by travelling. “I have been to many places and Japan is by far my favorite country. I’m saddened by the East Japan earthquake as I don’t know when I could visit again.”

Interview highlights…
Determination and hard work was what made Angel rise from nothing to her success today. “We have to swim against the currents and not let it push us back.” Angel is energetic and loves to share her experiences with young people. She hopes youngsters can try their best at work. “I started working when I was a teenager and I was not afraid of giving more than others. Youngsters nowadays are more fragile as they have better family backgrounds and they don’t have much financial pressure. Many of them just quit their jobs whenever they are not happy or feel stressed out.”

There is no such thing as a free lunch. Angel spent a lot of time enrolling in continuing education to make up for her academic inadequacy.

“I travelled between Hong Kong and Taiwan for a long period of time, where I stayed in Hong Kong every Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday for my classes in HKUSPACE, then rushed to catch the last flight to Taiwan after my class finished on Thursday night so I could work there over the weekend. I chose to take the time to study because I did not do well when I was young. I need to improve myself and make up for my inadequacy.”

“There are only two types of people, those who learn and those who get eliminated.” Angel could not agree more to that.

Angel is a very good role model to young people. Complaining is unproductive; only by working hard and learning tirelessly can lead you onto the road of success in this competitive society.