SHIRLEY YEO

CEO, Cradle N Care Pte Ltd

(In her 40's)

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Her story (in her own words)

I hit the ‘pause’ button when my girl was preparing for her PSLE, leaving the corporate world to spend time with her during one of the primary milestones in her life. It was a life-changing moment for me.  Every time I've tried to take my career in a new direction, it's taken me longer than expected. Figuring out what I wanted to do afterward, took me almost 2 years of confusion, reflection, and exploration followed by de-learning and countless re-learning before I started my own business. Career pivot is a new term which entails challenges and uncertainty. Today, while managing my own business, I am also a business advisor for SMEs and startups. I learnt the system from ground zero, built the ecosystem of partners and enablers. Through the model, I contribute back to society by to empower fellow women entrepreneurs. Everyone plays a role in the ecosystem and leads each other to achieve greater good, via upstream and downstream of the value chain, I witnessed how my work helped many others.

 

I'm passionate about learning, it is learning that keeps my passion going. I built an ecosystem of not just business partners but individuals who will stand out to help one another.

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Greatest achievement

Back then, I was doing well in a career in banking and had a promising future.  Usually, I like to play it safe. However, I took the plunge to leave my job.  When I started my own company in 2017, it was the turning point of my life, but I would say my greatest achievement is not just about starting the company. It is the journey to allow myself to start a new roadmap from zero, to be brave to keep walking without knowing what's ahead. It helped me to become a new "me" who is no longer afraid to enter a room full of strangers. I now dare to take the initiative to offer help when needed.

 

Biggest challenge thus far

The challenge was Covid! The last 2.5years were tough, for me personally, for my family and (definitely) for my business.  During that period, I learnt how to prioritize, often asking myself - With so many things are happening together at the same time, “Whom shall I keep safe first?”

 

That's when I learnt to take a step back, to declutter so I could relook at the situation again.  We are operating a business as home-based medical service provider. Covid created a huge challenge for us.  Digital transformation was also a lesson for me, since technology was always a no-go zone for me. I had to learn as quickly as possible.  It was my proud moment when we survived Covid and looking back, it feels like a blink! Not only we managed to ramp up business, we retained and provided new training for staff. The family become closer and the people around me gradually returned. Sometime I feel like I can do it all over again!

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