It’s A Jungle Out There

“What you wear represents your character and personality, which in return gives you confidence.” For Arfian, the best outfit is whatever gives him the most comfort to carry out the day’s activities in; he runs his own F&B business (“I get my week’s worth of exercise from work itself. Roasting and lifting 200kg of coffee beans is no joke.”) and so his style is anything he can imagine it to be. He once sported long dreadlocks, and, on some occasions, he likes to get decked out in his best gentleman’s outfit — think Mr. Jay Gatsby. What propelled him to start his own business? “You don’t need specific plans,” he says, “you just need the balls to do it.” Still, Arfian admits it is challenging to run a company. “With so much increasing competition, and some entrepreneurs getting additional family funding, it is difficult for people such as myself to rise up. I have to work 24/7 for my own business, making it difficult to juggle personal life and work.” Arfian counts himself lucky to have a supportive fiancée who keeps him grounded and motivated; to wind down, he spends weekends “searching for the best steaks in Singapore, and leisurely watching a movie or Japanese anime”. As an employer, Arfian’s biggest advice to the newly employed is to take everything in their stride and not constantly express dissatisfaction. “I am a firm believer that hard work pays off with experience and the right mentors,” Arfian says. “Work hard now while you’re still young, and reap the rewards later.”