An Interview by Penny’s Daybook

Written by Raymond Tay on February 3, 2010 – 1:33 am -

One of our friends, Adine Chin, a freelance writer/copywriter & a creative writing teacher has contacted us for an interview about Leader’s Wheel and ourselves to feature in her “Inspiring Entrepreneurs” story in their Penny’s Daybook. We are happy to complete her interview and hopefully inspire people who needs some encouragement to take the first step in starting a biz. Below is the interview (answered by Raymond & Keith):

1. In 3 words, tell us what Leader’s Wheel is all about.

Moulding Tomorrow’s Leaders.

2. Which clear, or perhaps, unexpected path in life led you to what you’re doing now?

It was a long journey that led us to discover what we love to do. During our secondary school’s days and continued volunteering service in St. John Ambulance Brigade (SJAB), we had been trained to be a leader and empowered to develop our juniors into leaders as well. Through this CCA, we had many opportunities to attend many leadership courses and after that, we were given the chance to take upon various key roles (like Platoon Commander, Training Officer, Support Officer, Cadet Officer, Finance Officer) to serve, learn and lead. You can say that SJAB shaped our character and destiny.

3. To train leaders, you’ve got to be one too. So tell us how things were when you guys were trying to build this idea from scratch and how you managed to pull through.

Certainly, you must be a leader first before train others to be. A common phrase is “Lead by Example.” Once we are very clear what we are going to do, everything will seem possible. As we have created leadership programmes before, it was not too difficult to continue to use the useful contents to teach young leaders-to-be. Of course, there are many unknowns when starting a business (e.g. knowing how to register a biz, designing website, and contacting the schools). But when you love what you do and focus on your end intention (which is helping & changing young souls), you will continue to take small steps and overcome all obstacles to reach your goals.

4. Before building Leader’s Wheel, how different/similar were your personal goals as compared to now?

I think for majority of us, when we are young, we dream of many different careers (like doctor, lawyer, policeman, prison officer, businessman) as we are not too certain of what we want to do. Thus indeed it was very different for me compared to now. Fortunately, I would say I am lucky to find my passion early in life so I will not be hitting too many walls along.

5. Tell us, what’s the ONE thing (besides leadership, of course) that will cause an individual to stand out from the crowd?

I think it is our “FOCUS” in life or “CLARITY” of our destiny. As many people are not very sure what they want to do, so they will just follow the crowd or listen to their parents, teachers, professors or schools. Thus, it is vital for an individual to be certain of what he/she wants to achieve in life and work towards their goals accordingly.

6. How would you encourage/inspire individuals who want to pursue their ambitions of owning a business, or just pursing unconventional interests?

You can say “easy and/or difficult”. It is easy to inspire people who are clear of their personal direction and difficult to help someone to discover their interests (as it is a personal thing). One thing we would highlight is that not all of us need to be entrepreneur, as you need certain personalities to be one and the world cannot operate if all of us become a business owner (as there is no employees to hire). There is a wonderful mandarin quote: “Every occupation will create its scholars and talents”.


7. How do each of you overcome challenges and prove naysayers wrong?

Perseverance is the key to success. If you do not believe in yourself and what you are doing and chose to give up at the earliest opportunity when facing any problems, you will never succeed in life. Thus, instead of running away from problems, we chose to face our challenges bravely and adjust our strategies accordingly to overcome the challenges faced.

8. What’re the best and worst things about doing what you’re doing now?

The best thing is that we are able to do the things we like and have a passion for as our career. Many a times, people are grumbling about their jobs (e.g. mundane work, unfriendly colleagues) and just work for the sake of money. But for us, we are glad that we have an opportunity to do what we like and have a sustainable income at the same time. The worst thing will be not being accepted by the schools. We treat rejections as reality of life and if we ask enough people, someone will say, “Yes!”.

9. What inspires you?

Personally, I am a person who thrives under adversity. Thus for me, my inspiration comes from sportsmen who have come back successfully after overcoming their personal challenges accordingly because these people have many qualities which I can learn and tap from. One such example is Lance Armstrong who did not quit competing in cycling races even though he was diagnosed with his testicular cancer.

10. What’s one thing we really, really must know about the team at Leader’s Wheel?

In Leader’s Wheel, we are forward looking. We are constantly seeking improvements in all aspects of our company and lives. We look for various avenues to enrich and better equipped ourselves so that we are able to face any challenges ahead.

11. What’s one experience that has touched you the most in your line of work since Leader’s Wheel?

The experience that has touched me the most must be the industry visit I had arranged with one of our partners. They are a non-profit organization which provides job placement service for people with disabilities (PWD). By reaching out to the PWD and assisting them in achieving independence, dignity and integration into the mainstream of society, this experience of working closely with the PWD have truly touched me. I am more determined to bring the awareness of this organisation to the students we are teaching.

12. What are you looking forward to in 2010 (personally and also for Leader’s Wheel)?

Personally, I am looking at being able to share my knowledge with more people; students in particular, as I had always believe that the students can achieve higher well-being with valuable advices and knowledge. As for Leader’s Wheel, we aim to reach out to more schools and enriched the lives of 10,000 students by the end of 2010. (Currently, we have moulded 2,116 and still counting…)

13. As promised, our theme for Feburary’s “Red Hot” and we want you to complete our tiny fill in the blanks section!

My idea image of something “Red Hot” (‘chilli/curry aren’t allowed) is the fire in each of us.

If I weren’t managing Leader’s Wheel, I’d be an educator and be volunteering to develop youth.

If I had to make my way through the crazy Lunar New Year traffic, I’d rather listen to my favourite music and my role models’ speeches to cool down.

I’d like to exercise right now with my buddy.

Exercising and living keep me refreshed.

Our Recent Assembly Talks @ East View Primary School on Goal Setting:


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