By Sekonda K. J Datuk Jimmy Chow (his name changing to Choo as a typo in registry) was born in Penang, Malaysia in 1961. He studied at Shih Chung Primary school, but only up to year six. Choo had to stop school because he had to help his father, Choo Kee Yin at his shoe shop. There, Datuk gained his shoe making skills and his love for shoes flourished. At the age of eleven, he created his first shoe. n the early 1980’s, Choo visited a college in London which was called Cortwainers College. Now known as London College of Fashion, he decided to study footwear and shoe designing. His father paid the first year of college but for the rest, Datuk had to pay for his education by doing part time and odd jobs including sweeping floors, cleaning toilets, working in restaurants, etc. After school, Datuk returned to Penang, Malaysia, before going back to London to set up shop. It was in 1986 when Choo rented an old hospital to create shoes in. During the first years of his business, Datuk was very poor. Most of the times he could only afford steamed chicken and instant noodles. Choo sold his first shoe under the label Lucky Shoes in 1984, two years later turning the name into his own. For materials for his shoes, he used leather, snake and even fish skin. Datuk’s turning point was when his work was featured in 1988 in the popular fashion magazine, Vogue. Princess Diana of Wales During this time, he only had a few clients. Soon after, his work was featured in more magazines and his shoes were seen in more and more fashion shows. Princess Diana of Wales took notice in his work around 1990 and soon Sandra Choi became a life long customer. Sales boomed after this. In 1989, he partnered with his wife’s niece, Sandra Choi. Later, he partnered with now owner Tamera Mellon. He is no longer directly involved with the the brand that made him famous. Datuk Jimmy Choo sold his line to Tamera Mellon, in where he agreed to allow his name to be published on “ready to wear” shoes made in Italy. Choo later sold the rest of his shares to Equinox Luxury Holdings Limited. The firm planned to open up over fifty stores by 2007. Tamera Mellon Jimmy Choo’s shoes are widely recognized and mentioned in movies series including the Soprano’s and Sex in the City. Names to mention out of the company’s large clientele include First Lady Michelle Obama, Madonna, Halle Berry, Victoria Beckham, Kim and Khloe ,Cameron Diaz, Paris Hilton, Lea Michele, Eva Mendes, America Ferrera, Julia Ormond, Beyonce, and many more people. The average price for Jimmy Choo shoes is four to twelve hundred dollars. Jimmy Choo have become some of the most expensive shoes in the fashion world. Datuk Jimmy Choo had many skills that an entrepreneur should possess. Besides his father helping him with one year of college, he was independent with his schooling and paying for it by doing odd jobs. He was also goal oriented, he knew what he wanted to do and did what he had to do to achieve it. Choo had many of hard and near poverty times just to reach his goal. Being poor and sacrificing your money for the long run can be very difficult for people. They may quit and go back to the normal, the safe life. Datuk was persistent and didn’t stop for years until his goals were ultimately met. He was inquisitive when he did his research at school to perfect his talents which led him to where he is today. http://www.stars-news.info/en/people/jimmy-choo/biography.html http://www.notablebiographies.com/newsmakers2/2006-A-Ec/Choo-Jimmy.html http://www.goarticles.com/cgi-bin/showa.cgi?C=3424230 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jimmy_Choo http://www.indobase.com/fashion/fashion-designers/jimmy-choo.html http://www.yuddy.com/celebrity/jimmy-choo/bio http://www.notablebiographies.com/newsmakers2/2006-A-Ec/Choo-Jimmy.html.