"The name HOM comes from the 'OM' sound made in yoga practice, and the word home, which I think sums up the business perfectly."
According to Malvina Kang, to run a successful business, one needs a sense of balance and flexibility.
With one leg held aloft and one foot on the floor as she practices yoga in her Darlinghurst studio, one may presume she is being literal - she isn't.
Kang launched HOM Yoga in Singapore at the age of 23, but it wasn't until she had her baby at 28 that she says she felt like a better businesswoman.
"I have a son called Munro, he is a beautiful boy and when he came along everything changed. Before I was very much on top of everything and micro-managing, but I realised I had to take a step back, breathe and think about what I want," she said.
"With him along there is a need for balance and a need for love and he has shown me that, and it has really reflected in the business and its growth as well."
Malvina and her son Munro. Source: Supplied
She wanted business growth, as well as time with her newborn.
"Until I stepped back a bit and made room in my day for actively growing the business, it couldn't have happened and that's what that balance is, I can empower my staff and let them do their jobs and be fabulous."
Kang funded her first studio in Singapore by borrowing capital from friends and family in 2010.
"It was frightening, it was scary, I put everything on the line for that to happen. I remember the first week I was like, 'No one is coming!' It was empty and i was freaking out I thought this is not going to work. I had all these doubts, then week two, week three and by the time we got to week four we had a full studio with wait lists."
Within months, she had moved to Australia and opened a second studio back in Singapore at the same time as a third in Darlinghurst in Sydney, her debut on the Australian scene.
The business now has 50 employees across four studios, with the latest to open in Sydney's Surry Hills - and there are many more to come.
A class in the Hom Yoga studios. Source: Supplied
Each studio has funded the next, but for the next phase, Hom is engaging investors with plans to open 20 more studios in coming years across Singapore and Australia.
"People say there is no formula to it but I go by my instincts, I go by my gut and that's something I have been tuning into throughout this journey."
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