Report from AsiaOne (Singapore) dated 12 March 2014 :
Owner of S'pore $ 4.5 MIL salon, thanks to MUM'S 4-D WINNINGS
SINGAPORE - When Lady Luck delivered a stroke of good fortune, the impossible suddenly seemed possible for a young June Ng with big ambitions.
Ms Ng had always wanted to be a hairdresser but her family's humble background meant going overseas for training was just not an option.
Then Lady Luck made her entrance in 1980 when Ms Ng's mum won the top prize in a 4-D draw. All the $40,000 winnings were used to fund Ms Ng's course in England.
"I completed my O levels in 1976 and took up an apprenticeship at a high-end salon to learn from the best in the business," says Ms Ng, 53, founder and director of the J's Salon hair chain.
"But my mum knew it had always been my dream to head to England and get proper training."
That year spent learning the finer points of the trade from the best in London gave Ms Ng the tools to realise her dream.
"Life was tough growing up and we barely made ends meet as my mother single-handedly supported our family of six," she says.
"I'm grateful that my mum thought it was worth it to use all that money to send me abroad and that she supported me in my career choice."
Ms Ng recalls how she had picked out a pair of scissors from among several items placed in front of her when she was a year old, a Chinese practice that supposedly indicates what calling you are most drawn to.
But her four elder brothers violently objected to her becoming a hairdresser and stylist.
"In the late 1970s, they didn't think highly of hairdressers and felt they were easily drawn to a materialistic lifestyle after serving well-heeled customers," she explains.
In 1987, she opened J's Salon after taking over a high-end hairdressing outlet at Goodwood Park Hotel, where she had worked for six years after returning from England.
In 2012, she moved J's Salon to a 5,500 sq ft space at Grand Copthorne Waterfront Hotel.
Ms Ng has also opened Salon 360 degrees at Marina Bay Sands and and J's Hair Studio at ITE College East in the past four years.
Her road to success did not come easy, but Ms Ng credits the chain's $4.5 million annual turnover to sheer hard work and her shot at gaining vocational training and lessons in London.
Ms Ng and husband Johnny Tan at J's Salon at Grand Copthorne Waterfront Hotel.
She sees the business as an asset that may be given to her children in the future.
"I can never thank my mother enough for that opportunity," she says.
"$40,000 was a lot of money then but my mum invested all of it in my education and passion."
Ms Ng and husband Johnny Tan, 53, have three children, aged 22, 26 and 27.
Q: Are you a spender or a saver?
A mix of both. I save about half of my income so that we will have the cash to make the best of investment opportunities, or expand the business.
Q: On average, how much do you charge to your credit cards every month?
My husband pays the household bills, so I charge about $2,000 to my credit cards for personal expenses. A fair bit goes to food as I enjoy treating my staff to meals as a way to encourage and reward them for the good work they've done.
Q: What financial planning have you done for yourself?
Protection is important to me because I've three children, so I took out health and life insurance policies for the family. It gives peace of mind should anything untoward happen to me or my husband.
We also have an investment-linked insurance product that helps us generate more returns and acts as a long-term investment.
Being an entrepreneur and running a high-end salon is also part of my financial planning as it can be given to my children, should they decide to take over the business.
Q: Moneywise, what were your growing up years like?
My father walked out on the family when I was little, so my mum had to be the sole breadwinner.
She didn't earn much from running a small stall in the market. I'd help her out on the weekends, and wanted to start working full-time sooner to supplement the family income.
Q: How did you get interested in investing?
Some time in the 1990s, a broker introduced me to stocks and shares. He claimed that investing in stocks across the Causeway was a good deal. Unfortunately, that turned out to be my worst investment.
Q: What property do you own?
A freehold, 2,600 sq ft terraced house near Lentor Avenue. My husband and I bought the five-bedder home in 1991 for about $680,000. It's close to nature and near where we used to live in Ang Mo Kio.
My husband and I also had the "conservative" view that owning a piece of land has more potential upside versus buying a 99-year leasehold condo unit.
Q: What's the most extravagant thing you have bought?
A $50,000 Swiss-made Corum watch that I got in late 2010 to celebrate the opening of our new salon outlet at Marina Bay Sands, Salon 360 Degrees.
Q: What's your retirement plan?
I hope to slow down the pace in 10 years' time and do more charity work and teaching.
Imparting my skills, knowledge and expertise in hairstyling and running a business to the younger generation is what I aspire to do.
I also want to do more to help single or stay-at-home mums join the workforce. I recently started a five-day programme to let these women try out the various roles in running a hair salon.
With these skills, they can either work for me or at another hair salon to help ease the labour crunch faced by small and medium-sized enterprises.
Q: Home is now...
A terraced house near Lentor Avenue, where I live with my husband, our three children and domestic helper.
Q: My husband drives...
A seven-seater Toyota
WORST & BEST BETS
Q: What is your worst investment to date?
That would have to be the Malaysian shares I bought some time in 1993 and 1994. It was recommended to me by a broker, who was also my customer.
I ended up losing about $30,000.
Although money was lost, at least it happened early on in my investment journey and serves to remind me not to jump into something I'm unfamiliar with.
Q: And your best?
Expanding my hair salon business to three outlets and giving back to others through scholarships, training and charity.
For instance, profits from J's Hair Studio at ITE College East go to charity.
J's Salon also gives out scholarships to keen students willing to pick up the trade.
My goal is to change the way hairstyling is perceived. It should be regarded as a respectable profession that everyone can be proud of.
Investing in education and skills training yields the most valuable returns.
Watching someone make his mark after undergoing training gives me an immense feeling of satisfaction.
Owner of S'pore $ 4.5 MIL salon, thanks to MUM'S 4-D WINNINGS
SINGAPORE - When Lady Luck delivered a stroke of good fortune, the impossible suddenly seemed possible for a young June Ng with big ambitions.
Ms Ng had always wanted to be a hairdresser but her family's humble background meant going overseas for training was just not an option.
Then Lady Luck made her entrance in 1980 when Ms Ng's mum won the top prize in a 4-D draw. All the $40,000 winnings were used to fund Ms Ng's course in England.
"I completed my O levels in 1976 and took up an apprenticeship at a high-end salon to learn from the best in the business," says Ms Ng, 53, founder and director of the J's Salon hair chain.
"But my mum knew it had always been my dream to head to England and get proper training."
That year spent learning the finer points of the trade from the best in London gave Ms Ng the tools to realise her dream.
"Life was tough growing up and we barely made ends meet as my mother single-handedly supported our family of six," she says.
"I'm grateful that my mum thought it was worth it to use all that money to send me abroad and that she supported me in my career choice."
Ms Ng recalls how she had picked out a pair of scissors from among several items placed in front of her when she was a year old, a Chinese practice that supposedly indicates what calling you are most drawn to.
But her four elder brothers violently objected to her becoming a hairdresser and stylist.
"In the late 1970s, they didn't think highly of hairdressers and felt they were easily drawn to a materialistic lifestyle after serving well-heeled customers," she explains.
In 1987, she opened J's Salon after taking over a high-end hairdressing outlet at Goodwood Park Hotel, where she had worked for six years after returning from England.
In 2012, she moved J's Salon to a 5,500 sq ft space at Grand Copthorne Waterfront Hotel.
Ms Ng has also opened Salon 360 degrees at Marina Bay Sands and and J's Hair Studio at ITE College East in the past four years.
Her road to success did not come easy, but Ms Ng credits the chain's $4.5 million annual turnover to sheer hard work and her shot at gaining vocational training and lessons in London.
Ms Ng and husband Johnny Tan at J's Salon at Grand Copthorne Waterfront Hotel.
She sees the business as an asset that may be given to her children in the future.
"I can never thank my mother enough for that opportunity," she says.
"$40,000 was a lot of money then but my mum invested all of it in my education and passion."
Ms Ng and husband Johnny Tan, 53, have three children, aged 22, 26 and 27.
Q: Are you a spender or a saver?
A mix of both. I save about half of my income so that we will have the cash to make the best of investment opportunities, or expand the business.
Q: On average, how much do you charge to your credit cards every month?
My husband pays the household bills, so I charge about $2,000 to my credit cards for personal expenses. A fair bit goes to food as I enjoy treating my staff to meals as a way to encourage and reward them for the good work they've done.
Q: What financial planning have you done for yourself?
Protection is important to me because I've three children, so I took out health and life insurance policies for the family. It gives peace of mind should anything untoward happen to me or my husband.
We also have an investment-linked insurance product that helps us generate more returns and acts as a long-term investment.
Being an entrepreneur and running a high-end salon is also part of my financial planning as it can be given to my children, should they decide to take over the business.
Q: Moneywise, what were your growing up years like?
My father walked out on the family when I was little, so my mum had to be the sole breadwinner.
She didn't earn much from running a small stall in the market. I'd help her out on the weekends, and wanted to start working full-time sooner to supplement the family income.
Q: How did you get interested in investing?
Some time in the 1990s, a broker introduced me to stocks and shares. He claimed that investing in stocks across the Causeway was a good deal. Unfortunately, that turned out to be my worst investment.
Q: What property do you own?
A freehold, 2,600 sq ft terraced house near Lentor Avenue. My husband and I bought the five-bedder home in 1991 for about $680,000. It's close to nature and near where we used to live in Ang Mo Kio.
My husband and I also had the "conservative" view that owning a piece of land has more potential upside versus buying a 99-year leasehold condo unit.
Q: What's the most extravagant thing you have bought?
A $50,000 Swiss-made Corum watch that I got in late 2010 to celebrate the opening of our new salon outlet at Marina Bay Sands, Salon 360 Degrees.
Q: What's your retirement plan?
I hope to slow down the pace in 10 years' time and do more charity work and teaching.
Imparting my skills, knowledge and expertise in hairstyling and running a business to the younger generation is what I aspire to do.
I also want to do more to help single or stay-at-home mums join the workforce. I recently started a five-day programme to let these women try out the various roles in running a hair salon.
With these skills, they can either work for me or at another hair salon to help ease the labour crunch faced by small and medium-sized enterprises.
Q: Home is now...
A terraced house near Lentor Avenue, where I live with my husband, our three children and domestic helper.
Q: My husband drives...
A seven-seater Toyota
WORST & BEST BETS
Q: What is your worst investment to date?
That would have to be the Malaysian shares I bought some time in 1993 and 1994. It was recommended to me by a broker, who was also my customer.
I ended up losing about $30,000.
Although money was lost, at least it happened early on in my investment journey and serves to remind me not to jump into something I'm unfamiliar with.
Q: And your best?
Expanding my hair salon business to three outlets and giving back to others through scholarships, training and charity.
For instance, profits from J's Hair Studio at ITE College East go to charity.
J's Salon also gives out scholarships to keen students willing to pick up the trade.
My goal is to change the way hairstyling is perceived. It should be regarded as a respectable profession that everyone can be proud of.
Investing in education and skills training yields the most valuable returns.
Watching someone make his mark after undergoing training gives me an immense feeling of satisfaction.
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