Sewing Machines To Machine Learning

Brothers Philip And Lawrence Tsang First Began Their Clothing Manufacturing Company Dakota Industrial With Barely 20 Sewing Machines. Now It’s A Thriving Business That Counts Swedish Retail Giant H&M Among Its Major Partners.

- Sharon Masige

When starting your own business, there are a lot of things you need to take into consideration. “It’s about multitasking in every different aspect of the business,” Dakota Industrial Co-Founder Philip Tsang says. “You have to know about each department and every part of the business if you want to be successful.”

Philip highlights that, as a business leader, your employees are critical. “People are always the most essential and valuable part of the business,” he continues, “You need to adopt a good leadership style and a heart for the company. You have to care for everyone and stick together. Other than that, it’s important to understand the business, the market and the industry at large.”

Most importantly, Philip says that when you start a business, you need a clear picture of what you’re doing and take opportunities as they arise. “You have to be brave enough to take a chance,” he continues. “Once the chance comes, there might be quite a lot of points you need to consider, but you also have to be confident and grab it.” These insights from Philip come after owning and operating a business for more than 40 years.

THE FIRST STITCH

Philip, together with his brother Lawrence, established the first Dakota Industrial garment factory in 1979, beginning with just 20 sewing machines in a tiny industrial building. After nearly a decade of growing and refining the family business, the brothers founded their next garment factory in China. “It was quite hard to find an operator in Hong Kong,” Philip recalls. “One of the problems was that manufacturing wasn’t really focused on. At the time, China was going through some economic changes and we thought it was a good chance for business expansion.”