Making a fresh start in a new industry
It can be daunting to start anew in a new industry. We chat with Peiyun Ong, who left the civil service to embark on a journey in high-tech farming, to learn from her experience.
It can be daunting to start anew in a different industry, especially if you’ve already accumulated years of experience and achievements in your current field. We chat with Peiyun Ong, who left the civil service to embark on a journey in high-tech farming, to learn from her experience.
Q. Hi Peiyun, could you tell us a bit about what you were doing before, and what you’re doing now?
I was a public servant for most of my career. I started out in the maritime sector, before moving to the cultural sector. They are two very different industries, but my positions in the International Relations Department in the maritime sector, and subsequently the Philanthropy and Partnerships Department in the cultural sector were similar in that both placed strong emphasis on relationship-building.
I was very fortunate that during my time in the public service, my positions in the fields of marine environment, and the arts and heritage allowed me to pursue my interests in sustainable development and the arts.
Today, I have turned those interests into my businesses; I am now a farmer and a crafter! I co-founded Bountiful, a boutique urban farm with a partner in 2020. I also run Yuzu and Pear, a sewing and crafting studio with another partner, on the side.
Q. When did you first start to have thoughts about changing careers and how long did it take for you to decide that you were going to go ahead?
I started having thoughts of starting my own business back in 2018. It was largely out of a desire to have more flexible working hours. Pre-covid, working from home or having flexi-working hours was not common.
As a working mother with two young kids, I wanted to have the flexibility to work at my own time. I started to run sewing workshops on weekends as part of Yuzu and Pear, but I was hesitant to turn it into a full fledge business as running workshops would mean working evenings and weekends, which counters my intention of spending more time with my family.
When Covid struck in early 2020, I appreciated the opportunity to work from home and being able to spend more time with my children and family. It also gave me the time to consider what I wanted to do in the long term. I was clear that climbing the career ladder and being successful at work in the most conventional way is not what I want. Hence, I decided to take the leap to start my own business.
When Covid struck in early 2020, I appreciated the opportunity to work from home and being able to spend more time with my children and family. It also gave me the time to consider what I wanted to do in the long term.
Q. Why did you decide to go into farming even though it was something you had no prior experience in?
My partner and I are avid foodies. Both of us have worked or studied overseas for several years, and always appreciated the fresh produce readily available at farmers markets. We found that lacking in Singapore. The imported vegetables you normally get at grocery stores, especially salad leaves, aren’t very tasty nor fresh. (Hence, we always over-compensate by adding lots of salad dressing!)
The push by the Singapore government to grow our local farming sector during the pandemic simply gave us the impetus to embark on the farming journey.
Having been in the transport industry, I know how pollutive importing products can be. We believe that by growing vegetables that are normally produced overseas in Singapore, we reduce the carbon footprint, and do our small part to support sustainable development while ensuring the food security of Singapore.
Q. How did your friends and family react to your decision to go into a totally different career?
They were definitely surprised, but have been extremely supportive. My children help at the farm (and they are pretty good at harvesting!) during their holidays, while my friends were the farm’s first customers. By sharing our produce with their other friends and colleagues, they helped us build up a good network of customers, and I am very appreciative of the support.
Q. What was the hardest thing about actually making the career switch a reality? How did you overcome this?
While there are a good number of urban farms in Singapore now, it was not that common when we first started. We had to reach out to many different government agencies to get all the paperwork done. It’s a good thing that both my partner and I were working in the public/civil service prior to starting our own business, so we have a decent understanding of such procedures.
Working on your own business also means a lack of a work-life boundary. While I had intended to spend more time with my family, I ended up spending a lot more time working unknowingly until my daughters commented that I was always working or talking about the farm. Now, I make a conscious effort to demarcate family time and not talk about my work too much at the dinner table.
Working on your own business also means a lack of a work-life boundary. While I had intended to spend more time with my family, I ended up spending a lot more time working unknowingly until my daughters commented that I was always working or talking about the farm. Now, I make a conscious effort to demarcate family time and not talk about my work too much at the dinner table.
Q. Did you ever worry about failing at any point in time during this journey? How did you manage that?
Definitely! I would like to think that we were taking calculated risks when we embarked on the journey. We did our calculations and scenario-planning which also mapped out our exit plan if things go south. However, disruptions like the Ukraine/Russia conflict which has a huge impact on our costings are beyond our control. We have had to constantly review our plans along the way.
Q. Looking back, is there anything you wish you could have done differently?
I wish I had done more sales and marketing courses prior to starting a business! Sales are everything in running a profitable business, and being quite a social media noob, it was a challenge maneuvering the ever-changing social media world to reach out to a wider audience online.
Q. Do you have any advice you can share for others who’re contemplating a switch to a new career? What are some things they should think about to help them figure out if this is something they truly want to do?
Be prepared to spend a lot of time working on your business or doing a career switch. The good news is that you are likely to be happier working on weekends, public holidays, or even when you are on a vacation for your own business or something that you are interested in rather than just whiling away the hours in the office doing a job you don’t love.
Have a frank and open discussion with your family. Their support is very important. My husband has been extremely supportive throughout this journey, and it would certainly be a challenge if he is not on board with the decision I made.
If you can see yourself working hard for your passion and you have the support of your family, you should give it a try. Set some milestone indicators, and if it doesn’t work out – reality can be quite different from your expectations – be prepared to cut the loss and go back to what you used to do. There’s no shame in going back and changing plans.
If you can see yourself working hard for your passion and you have the support of your family, you should give it a try. Set some milestone indicators, and if it doesn’t work out – reality can be quite different from your expectations – be prepared to cut the loss and go back to what you used to do. There’s no shame in going back and changing plans.
Thanks to Peiyun for sharing her story and advice! Follow her urban farm on Instagram learn how to sew at Yuzu and Pear.