MY STORY IS …

When someone asks me what I do for a living, I usually struggle to explain it. In my daily work, I work in two very vast industries. So yes, you can say I work two jobs as both are my “day” job. 

I started my career as an intern at the Port of Singapore Authority. Then later moved on as a programmer in a shipping company. No matter what job I applied for, I somehow always ended up in shipping. I think this is fate. I got bored soon enough from programming as I needed human interaction so I asked for a transfer out from the IT department to be able to face clients. In the first meeting, I was lost. I had no background in shipping apart from programming systems used by the shipping community. My manager at that time asked me why I wanted to dive in headfirst into shipping when I had no experience. I said -- “why not?”. But I was also warned of how difficult it would be.

I spent most of my time reading everything I could on shipping. I took a part-time diploma in shipping operations to understand the nature of the business and to understand the commercial aspect of shipping as well as the problems that my clients faced. Eventually, with experience and assistance from my colleagues, I managed to close sales. Being in a male-dominated industry is difficult as not everyone will take you seriously just because you are a woman. But in meetings, I always try to listen and do my best in providing the best solution for the client. I am always available for the client to contact me anytime even when I am sleeping or if it is a public holiday. There really isn’t an “off” day in a global industry like shipping.

I am confident that through hard work and perseverance, I felt like I finally found my footing in shipping.

On one of my work trips to Hong Kong, a friend of mine had started a cosmetics company, Molly Cosmetics. She reached out to me for help and since I love make-up, I thought again -- “why not?”. Notwithstanding my crazy schedule and work hours in shipping, I agreed to it. It started out as a passion project and eventually, it gained traction and success. The brand went viral after Jeffree Star posted a video of our product – the silisponge. I knew that since having a product go viral would impose a time limit and we needed to create more products beyond that to maximise our potential.

I decided that moving forward, all the products we create would be allergy-friendly. Being someone who lives with multiple allergies, getting allergic reactions and breakouts on my face is something that happens often. I wanted to create an entire line that would help allergy sufferers like myself, to be able to use cosmetic products that would not worsen the skin and help you stay confident. Being in the beauty line has been an entirely new learning curve for me.

Again, like my foray into shipping, I always say -- “why not?”

photography Syahidah Yahya and Molly Cosmetics