Little Things

In Singapore, the stigma against financial advisors is quite strong. Is this something that you feel at your job? What first made you want to venture into this industry?
My grandfather passed away because of cancer, so that was my main source of motivation. As clichéd as it might sound, I’m just trying to help the people around me actually, just to get them insured.

As for the stigma, I definitely feel it, even from my own friends. But I guess as long as my motivation and my intentions are good, and I know that I’m doing the right thing, that’s enough to keep me going every day.

You mentioned that you work whenever your clients are free, which includes weekends, so how do you maintain a work-life balance?
That’s a very good question. I guess some things have got to give. It really depends on how much you want it, so if working more means that I would have to sacrifice some of my sleep to be able to spend time with friends and family, then I’m okay with it.

The biggest thing that I’ve had to sacrifice for work would be sleep, but if we’re talking on a deeper level, it’s friendships too, because some people would have more of a stigma against my job than others. But it’s mostly sleep actually (laughs).

What are some things you do to destress or relax in your free time?
(laughs) This is not financial advice, but I play mahjong quite a bit in my free time, and I recently got into the game of poker too. I used to play soccer a lot, but because of the pandemic restrictions, I mostly just play poker and mahjong.

I also like spending time with my girlfriend, and with my parents more importantly, because as I get older I realise that I don’t really spend a lot of time with them, especially now when I’m working. Even small things like just bringing them out to eat, I can see that they really appreciate it a lot.

In terms of fashion, is there anything that you like to wear or that you gravitate towards?
On non-appointment days I’d wear very comfortable Uniqlo shorts with an oversized Muji shirt and my black Crocs. I just feel like I want to take a breather from dressing up for work everyday, so I’m a lot more chill on days where I don’t have appointments.

When it comes to work, this is what I typically wear. I have friends who dress down and wear a shirt and jeans, but I guess it’s just the way I wanna portray my—if you may—professionalism to my clients, so even if it’s for an appointment with close friends, I still try to dress up because it’s just about pitching to them in a different manner.