<TABLE border=0 cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%"><TBODY><TR>Charging ahead with new career
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Mr Wong believes his service will be in demand amid the downturn. .. PHOTO: CAROLINE CHIA
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<!-- START OF : div id="storytext"--><!-- more than 4 paragraphs -->For one man, the pink slip was not a letter of doom but the push to start anew.
Former IT engineer Marcus Woo saw the warning signs of retrenchment looming as early as a year ago. So, when he was laid off in late March, he was mentally prepared to move on.
Last month, within a fortnight of losing his job, the 49-year-old set up his own laptop battery reconditioning business with a partner. He sank in $12,000 to buy the necessary equipment.
'I had sent out resumes by the hundred but there were no replies at all. I didn't want to sit down and wallow in self-pity wondering why this or why that,' he said.
'If I show my family that I am down and troubled, this will only create more stress for them.'
He is married with two children in their early teens. His wife is a babysitter.
He believes that his business, which will be fully operational later this month, will be popular in the current economic climate.
Instead of buying new and expensive replacement batteries for their laptops which can cost about $100, users can opt to recondition them for just $40, said Mr Woo.
New laptop batteries have about two hours' capacity before they need to be recharged but this ability dwindles to as little as 15 minutes over the years.
Mr Woo is confident that after he has reconditioned a battery, it can last for six more months while providing about 90 minutes of power between charges.
'In a downturn, companies will be looking to cut costs and such a service will definitely be helpful to them. It's environmentally friendly too,' he said.
He has already started advertising his service in online classifieds.
His business partner, delivery driver Derrick Tan, 33, will pick up and deliver the batteries while he will handle the IT operations. He hopes to expand into providing IT services and importing mini-notebooks. 'I can't see myself going to food courts to clear plates and wipe tables. IT is still my niche, this is a permanent thing for me and I am confident that I can do it,' he said.
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Mr Wong believes his service will be in demand amid the downturn. .. PHOTO: CAROLINE CHIA
</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
<!-- START OF : div id="storytext"--><!-- more than 4 paragraphs -->For one man, the pink slip was not a letter of doom but the push to start anew.
Former IT engineer Marcus Woo saw the warning signs of retrenchment looming as early as a year ago. So, when he was laid off in late March, he was mentally prepared to move on.
Last month, within a fortnight of losing his job, the 49-year-old set up his own laptop battery reconditioning business with a partner. He sank in $12,000 to buy the necessary equipment.
'I had sent out resumes by the hundred but there were no replies at all. I didn't want to sit down and wallow in self-pity wondering why this or why that,' he said.
'If I show my family that I am down and troubled, this will only create more stress for them.'
He is married with two children in their early teens. His wife is a babysitter.
He believes that his business, which will be fully operational later this month, will be popular in the current economic climate.
Instead of buying new and expensive replacement batteries for their laptops which can cost about $100, users can opt to recondition them for just $40, said Mr Woo.
New laptop batteries have about two hours' capacity before they need to be recharged but this ability dwindles to as little as 15 minutes over the years.
Mr Woo is confident that after he has reconditioned a battery, it can last for six more months while providing about 90 minutes of power between charges.
'In a downturn, companies will be looking to cut costs and such a service will definitely be helpful to them. It's environmentally friendly too,' he said.
He has already started advertising his service in online classifieds.
His business partner, delivery driver Derrick Tan, 33, will pick up and deliver the batteries while he will handle the IT operations. He hopes to expand into providing IT services and importing mini-notebooks. 'I can't see myself going to food courts to clear plates and wipe tables. IT is still my niche, this is a permanent thing for me and I am confident that I can do it,' he said.
