Gen Y Speaks: I come from a humble family background. But it has taught me much

I launched a digital marketing and education company in 2000 when I was 22. I thank God that my venture is off to a good start and I can support my parents, who were severely affected by the current Covid-19 crisis.

Here, I’d like to talk about my family’s humble history and how it has shaped my experience, mainly in attempting different part-time jobs and saving for rainy days.

Growing up in a 3-room apartment, we had enough to survive, but there were many things we couldn’t afford.

My parents had to think for several weeks before deciding to dine at the stall selling cooked food in the hawker center.

My Dad is a taxi driver, and my mom is the restaurant’s supervisor.

They would alternate between caring for me and my older brother in shifts.

My friends had electronic devices such as PlayStation, which I had always wanted but could not even think of. My mother used to remind me that every dollar is valuable and can be used to purchase food items.

So, I saved up, putting aside 50 cents, or S$1 per day, from my pocket money of just S$2 until I could save S$150 a year later.

As a result, my parents agreed to give me S$150 to purchase the PlayStation in exchange for ensuring that I didn’t let it impact my academics.

Even though money was scarce, I didn’t feel deprived because I understood the effort my parents put into feeding us.

As a child, I was determined to become financially self-sufficient immediately to support my parents and afford things I would like.

My father always told me to keep my feet on the ground and remember that money isn’t all that matters, and we need to earn it responsibly and stay within our budgets.

At 12, my brother and I began contemplating ways to earn our first income via the Internet. I learned the basics of programming and coding through internet resources and even built my gaming server.

I then contacted some players to contribute to the server, making me a couple of dollars each day.

While the amount was not huge, it was fascinating because it revealed the many possibilities for projects unrelated to school.

In high school, I was a part-time waiter at restaurants and an individual salesperson who went door-to-door. I was a salesperson for water filters and any other product I could find. I was primarily working on weekends, earning some hundred dollars per month.

In the polytechnic, my schedule was more flexible. Therefore, I explored all the work opportunities I could. This included freelance photography and trading for used camera equipment and Bitcoin.

I also created videos of animation for clients that I landed through freelancing platforms like Fiverr.

I even set up a cooking school at the age of 19. It failed due to the result of the fact that the partnership did not succeed.

The following year, I began free marketing work for a bakery owned by a friend named My Bake Studio. I was a part of the team that created marketing campaigns and online content, such as videos, to attract visitors to the website.

As it developed and grew, my work began to be noticed by other smaller and medium-sized companies (SMEs) who asked me to assist in developing their online presence.

It led me to start my own digital marketing training and consulting firm, Get Customers, last year.

In the last quarter of 2019, we attracted around 100 new clients via online advertisements and referrals.

Most of our customers include SMEs in the fitness, wellness, wellness, and food and drink industries.

Apart from my record in Bake Studio, what stood me out from the clients I worked with was the non-commercial viral videos I’d made in the past.

In 2018, I started an account on Facebook named Asia Stories to share short videos on inspirational stories from Asia.

My first video of a person’s cerebral palsy became viral and received 2 million viewers. I was able to score another million-view viral video of an animal that is disabled. The video was later included on Dodo, a New York-based Facebook page with over 36 million fans.

While I am happy that the Get Customers project began well, our growth has been impacted by COVID-19, especially during the circuit breakers.

We are working to re-invent the business, creating additional revenue streams via webcasts, events online, and live streaming.

I believe both my colleagues and myself can overcome this challenge.

My experience in life at this point has taught me two things.

First, you don’t need to be constrained by your current circumstances.

I think the early 20s are an excellent period for exploration and learning. I don’t think we should limit ourselves to earning a steady salary in a day job.

If you’re looking for something difficult enough, you should try to achieve it. It doesn’t matter what education you’ve received or how smart you are.

I wasn’t the most bright pupil in the school. I scored 189 points on the Primary School Leaving Examination and 17 for my O-Levels.

The most valuable lessons and skills I acquired from the program,  from coding to videography, marketing, and investing in stocks to earn a decent living, were all learned outside the class.

We must constantly change and keep ahead of the curve to adapt and survive in the ever-changing world.

This is why you should always try new things, even if it doesn’t fit your family or friends well.

Then, save it for rainy days

.It could be an old-fashioned cliche. But there’s a good reason behind why it’s used so often. It isn’t important how much you make if you are cautious about it because you could lose everything within a day.

Since I was a child, under my parents’ suggestion, I have always remained thrifty.

The majority of my costs are related to transportation and food. I don’t consider owning cars or other luxury things.

Through the years, with the various part-time and freelance jobs I’ve had and the brief successes I’ve had working with Get Customers, I have amassed six-figure savings.

This has been very useful in helping my parents in this present crisis.

The pandemic struck the taxi driver’s salary, my father was reduced dramatically, and my mother was cut off from her pay. Some days, my father made just S$9 per day.

I used to offer them just a few hundred dollars monthly as a monthly allowance.

I’ve since increased this to a figure of four figures.

If I had not built up an income stream and then saved up, I’d probably not be able to provide for my family today.

I aim to save at least a million dollars before I turn 30 and make more opportunities for employment within my business or company to help my colleagues provide for their families.

Entrepreneurship is the key to creating jobs and giving back to our community.