Ask Mimi Chau about her life in Canada and she'll smile and tell you about the joy of sitting down to dinner each night with her family.

This was not an option when she and her husband, Fred Kwan, were working their separate businesses in Hong Kong. Fred was in the label manufacturing business and Mimi was in the fashion trade. "We were so busy we had to eat most of our dinners in restaurants," she recalls. They had precious little time to spend with their infant daughter. "We spent too little time with her," she says. "But that wasn't just us. In Hong Kong, I can say 95% of the families live like that."

"Ontario is not only a good place for business, it's a good place for living."

Now, they have two children and time to enjoy them as well as tend to their successful label business in the town of Markham, north of Toronto. Their plant is a ten minute drive from their home.

Mimi and Fred decided to relocate in 1992 as a result of the turmoil in China at the time. Much of North America was in a recession. "Everybody said we were stupid to move," Ms. Chau remembers. "All our friends tried to discourage us." But the two were determined and made the decision to set up the labeling business in Canada so they could work together. Fred was experienced in the business. His family had worked it for 40 years.

"The first year was very difficult," Ms. Chau admits, "but we didn't give up. Patience is very, very important in starting a successful business here." They spent one year in market research. In painstaking fashion, they built up a clientele and, with a business development loan, set up an operation in the Northern Ontario Town of Parry Sound. They've since moved the operation to Markham, where they had room to expand to a $7 million plant.

Their company, Wah Lung Labels (Wah Lung means Chinese Dragon) has grown steadily over the past several years. It makes woven labels and clients include clothing and industry supply companies. They have 40,000 square feet of plant space. The market ranges from Ontario and Quebec down to the United States. Because of Ontario's highly developed transportation system, the business is able to ship to most of their clients within two days. When it started, Wah Lung was the smallest woven label manufacturer in Canada. Now, it is one of the biggest. There are 60 employees and 15 high-tech looms able to turn out more than one million labels in a 24-hour period.

Mimi Chau advises prospective business immigrants to rely on their own business experience when starting a new life in Canada.

Starting a new venture in a business where you have some experience is a definite advantage, says Ms. Chau. She adds you should commit yourself 100 per cent to your new country, "and don't allow yourself to give up. Sometimes, you can't see the results in the first or second year. But if you show your ability to your client, your client will come to you."

Recently Ms. Chau and Mr. Kwan received the award for the Most Improved Business at the 4th annual Chinese-Canadian Entrepreneur Awards. Ms. Chau wanted to thank "the Business Immigration Section of MITI that gave us a lot of valuable information when we first set up our business in Canada."

As for the family's decision to make their home here, "I have no regrets. Ontario is not only a good place for business, it's a good place for living."