Annie Lim is mother of two-year-old Josiah whom she dotes on. She’s also the vice-president of an eight-month-old dot com. And she’s 28.

She turned her hobby of collecting teddybears into a business idea which finally saw the realization of Teddybearland.com, a Malaysian site that sells bears on the Net.

Annie has been in the IT industry since 1995 and saw the potential of an Internet venture while working with Andersen Consulting but did not have the opportunity to pursue it.

Then in August 1998, Annie and her husband Zach started a web consultancy firm called Cornerstone Consulting which provided a platform to exploit the immense potential of e-commerce.

With an initial investment of RM100,000 Teddybearland.com was launched in November 1999 with 1,000 bears sourced from UK, Germany, Singapore and China. Seven months later, their stock tripled to 3,000.

Zach (left) and Annie inspecting their merchandise

"We hope to include more branded teddy bears in the future especially from the States. The lack of quality bears in this region has caused us to buy them from abroad but we do have plans to produce our own brand of Malaysian collectors bears," said Annie.

The brands include Sashas, UK’s Merrythought and German-made Steiff.

Working 10-hour shifts daily may seem ordinary but when you are responsible for the entire planning, management and marketing of the company, the workload can be overwhelming.

"I have to ensure that our website is constantly updated, adding fresh content as and when it’s needed. Customer emails have to be replied promptly and during days when we’re short-handed, I even help with the product packaging," explains Annie.

Annie holds a BSc in Accountancy (1^st class honours) and an MBA (where she was presented with Most Outstanding Student Award) from University of Missouri, Columbia, USA.

Currently pursuing a local PhD course in Strategic Management & E-Business, she explains that it isn’t difficult setting up a dot com compared to a brick and mortar business in terms of cost.

A bold statement you say. Come end of July, preparations are in order for the launch of a sports portal that will highlight local sports events including a web community for sports fans.

And two weeks from then, residents in the suburbs of Damansara and Sungai Buloh could start placing their grocery orders via the Internet with the launch of an online grocery which is the result of a partnership between a Sungai Buloh grocery and Cornerstone Consulting.

"Like any business, perseverance is an important ingredient. Having a network of possible e-partners too is essential. However, one must remember that the Internet is a tool and not a business by itself. Sound strategies and well-planned business directions are important.

"To promote our products, we are also affiliated with several overseas mall where it’s easier to penetrate a certain regional market especially where language boundaries exist," she said.