Chang, who acts as a business adviser for SOHO, said that Lu's success lies not only in her unique business positioning, but also her identity, which she said is the real selling point behind her business, and something that no one can easily copy.
"Her identity as a Tainan local who is eager to share her love for a real Tainan product is the thing that sells," Chang said.
If Lu continues to succeed, she may face a lot of challenges associated with making the transition from a one-woman company to, for example, a chain store -- challenges such as recruiting employees and learning management skills, Chang said.
Nonetheless, Chang lauded Lu as a good role model for the nation's potential women entrepreneurs, who typically run small-scale businesses, but whose numbers have been increasing recently.
Social acceptance, women's growing business ambitions and governmental policies have all contributed to the growth of female entrepreneurship, said Annie Lee (
According to statistics that have been compiled by the National Youth Commission, businesses owned by women have grown in the past 10 years from 12.7 percent to 16.6 percent of the total number of businesses -- while 15.8 percent of small and medium-sized enterprises and 11.86 percent of big businesses hired women executives in 2002.
A survey conducted by the commission in 2002 found that 27 percent of women said they lacked the professional skills to start a business and 22 percent said that they were short of capital -- while 17 percent had no access to market information and 12 percent lacked confidence in themselves.
To encourage more women entrepreneurs, the commission has increased its budget for micro-loans -- with a preferential 3 percent interest rate -- from last year's NT$900 million (US$26.6 million) to this year's NT$1.3 billion.
The money is intended to fund short-term business training programs for women interested in becoming entrepreneurs.
As for Lu's online milkfish business, Chang suggested that Lu expand it into a chain-store business in the future.
Lu said she is not ready to take that step, although she does dream that, within six months, she can open her first brick-and-mortar store.
Moreover, she hopes that someday her business can expand to include ecotourism and can offer visitors a tour of the habitat of milkfish.
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