Fabian Lim

Discover SIM GE See you at the top, are Fabian’s words of encouragement to over 5,000 participants at his Internet marketing workshops FABIAN Lim Teng Heng is selling his four-seat aeroplane and looking to buy a bigger one. With a personal plane and pilot's licence, he flies frequently around South-east Asia for business and leisure. The 42-year-old Internet entrepreneur and marketing guru is usually on the move all over the region. Whether it is meeting other business partners in Kuala Lumpur or his Internet marketing consulting team in Jakarta, time is of the essence to this online expert. Hence, with Internet connection, Fabian doesn't need to be in the office at all times. He usually works from home, except when he has to meet colleagues or conduct full-day training. For instance, at Suntec City on the afternoon of October 18, 2013, he was at his company's signature event, addressing an audience of several hundreds, all eager to learn his secret of business success on the Web. Business fundamentals Fabian who first learnt the fundamentals of business at the SIM-RMIT Bachelor of Business (Business Administration) programme in the mid-1990s, says the course was an eye-opener. “I acquired marketing and presentation skills during my studies.” He graduated with distinction. When the dot-com boom came in year 2000, Fabian decided he wanted to find out more about online marketing. “The Internet and its ability to connect anyone anytime any where fascinates me,” he says. “I went into online retail, selling silicon bra. But competitors came with more money and I soon discovered that retail was a tough game. Rental of showroom and warehouse, for instance, was high and I couldn’t sustain this kind of expenses. “So I went into information-based products such as e-books and software programs. They didn’t require physical space. The secret was to find the right audience for my info products, which I did.” Wealth education By year 2007 and 2008, Fabian moved to wealth education, with seminars and large-scale workshops. He has since trained more than 5,000 participants in Singapore and neighbouring countries on Internet marketing. “I teach a specific system to grow a successful business,” he says. In 2008, Fabian founded ClickMedia with the focus on helping organisations succeed online using search engine marketing, search engine optimisation, Web analytics, Web usability analysis and marketing automation. These are powerful tools that in the hands of a skilled practitioner like Fabian, can be harnessed to turn an ailing business into a thriving one. His clients include multinationals, public agencies and institutions, such as Singapore Polytechnic, Asia-Pacific Breweries, Bausch & Lomb, Fujitsu and Nanyang Technological University. Work anytime, live anywhere He has also written a book, “Click! Work Anytime, Live Anywhere” (2013) where he shares his secrets of success on such topics as Your New Operating System 2.0, The New Rules of Entrepreneurial Success in the Internet Age, and building joint ventures. Fabian is now upgrading his Columbia 350 aeroplane for an Eclipse 500. Meanwhile, he has just installed a custom-designed room-sized 737 flight simulator, “my ultimate birthday present,” as he puts it. The sim project took over one year of planning, design and parts sourcing from all over the world, Fabian says. For example, the base of the simulator had to fit into his condominium’s lift, as well as through the hallway and door of his apartment. His next challenge is to build a customised computer to power the components and sourcing for a curved TV screen or projector for external graphics. And the cost of the flight simulator? “Well let's say this entire project costs less than a COE (Certificate of Entitlement) for cars in Singapore!” he adds. Interview on October 18, 2013 at Fabian’s Internet marketing workshop (picture above), posted online November 2013