How family can inspire us to excel well in business – Q&A with Cheryl Wee

Hey guys I’m Cheryl Wee, an intrapreneur as the founder of Cheryl W. and an actress.
In my passion for people our personal growth, I light up at things, projects, opportunities to help grow and connect positively. It’s this contagious energy that we bounce of each other that pushes us forward to become a better version of ourselves everyday, for the better of the team and mankind.
Above all, on a random note I have a love for food! Because food is a universal language that knows no barriers.

While I was a young actress, I thought I wouldn’t get sucked into the media standards of being thin because all my years as a singer or even in pageants I stood strong. But before I knew it, I fell for it while I was staying in Taiwan’s entertainment industry. Caught in an eating disorder, body dysmorphic disorder, amenorrhea and worst of all I did all sorts of unhealthy diets that really screwed with my health and mind. Fast forward to today, it was mainly my parents and my then boyfriend (Husband now) who really encouraged me to come back home and start off in the family business but in this area that I’m interested in. To teach and evangelise what I needed to learn most, wellness and health. I still wanted to look good but in a healthy way. Hence, with my family business background and personal experience I was inspired to start Cheryl W.

 

Q3. What motivated you to start your own brand of services? Did helping out in the management of Jean Yip’s salons motivated you to venture into business and also in the same industry?

Because of the things I experienced and the philosophy I have, that healthy from within is the new sexy, together with my love for food and belief that food is thy medicine, we put together a series of treatments unique to Cheryl W. Using our history and knowledge in beauty and slimming from the parents’ company and blending it with my personal experience and idealogy, we put together something old but yet new.

Definitely I’m still learning from my Mom. In fact, I started working in her shop in parkway since 9 years old, and I believe I have the heartbeat and pulse of the Jean Yip group culture in me. Of which I’d like to continue and simultaneously add in new inputs. My mom and dad are my 2 biggest teachers and mentors in business. And their values are more core motivators too.

 

Q4. Who are your mentors in your business venture? What role do your parents play?

My parents!
They’re the first people I know since I was a kid, who are in business and I grew up in an environment seeing the growth of their brand/baby. But they’ve created a very family-oriented business model that is very inspiring to me. It’s not just about the dollars or the success on papers, but the “heartware” that matters. Hence they’re my role models.
I look up very much to Jessica Alba too, way before she started Honest and was an actress. I look up to her positivity and sincerity in her products.
And I’m avidly reading up and looking for mentors too, to continue to inspire me and for personal growth hacking.

 

Q5. Are there any challenges that you face in running a family business?

Surely there’ll be challenges, such as difference in perspective or management style or marketing strategy. But my parents are really receptive and supportive, which makes the challenges we face easier to compromise.

Another challenge is that home and work is kind of the same and I’ve learnt it’s healthier to keep things separate but sometimes the blurred lines can be difficult to distinguish.

Hahhaa I’m still working on it. Sometimes I feel kinda scattered too. But most important is being aware when I feel all over the place and recenter myself and get my priorities straight.

Thankfully being in a family business and running your own brand, I have the flexibility of time to pursue my interest in acting and my parents/bosses are really supportive too.

I love both acting and my work and business and loving what you do helps a lot cos it doesn’t feel like work and don’t dread when it’s almost a 24/7 thing.

There is a sacrifice no doubt, such as social time, or with friends, and whenever I can, when I’m done with work I’m a “homebody” and love to just chill at home to recharge and be with the family before going at it again.

 

Q7. Now that you have recently gotten married, there are additional roles that you play now as a wife and a daughter-in-law, how do you strike a balance at home and work?

Hahhaa I actually still feel how I was before I was married. Not much of a difference. Cos we are staying at my parents’ house, and it feels pretty much like how it was just that now I have Roy to see day and night and he’s there to go home to. Roy is really amazing and he takes on and shared the responsibility and hardly pressures me for any extra responsibility as a wife or daughter-in-law and because of his attitude and being, I respect and love him and naturally want to invite his parents over for dinners or meet them weekly when we can. Hahhaa I don’t know if I’m living it up as a wife and balancing it well as a daughter too, not neglecting my parents, but I do it out of love and I hope I can give more. Most week days Roy works till really late and I’ll take those evening times to spend with my mom and dad. And we spend time with my parents at dinner or breakfast too and to church on Sundays cos we all serve church too. And my parents have been extending dinner invites to his parents too. It’s been a really easy and happy transition and it’s only been great thus far. And when it comes to balancing with work, I’ve been filming a new telemovie and sometimes the hours are crazy, like 4pm-4am or 6am-9pm and I’m so grateful that Roy would fetch me to and fro no matter how late or early and it helps at least because we get to meet. And on other work days I’ll be with my mom.

 

Q8. What do you look out for when hiring talent?

Drive and sincerity. Talent is only half the battle won.
But having the drive and heart to learn is very important. Because we are a new brand and there’s lots of things that are different and have to start up ourselves. Hence the drive to make a better change and difference, the drive and heart to learn, the drive to be a better version of ourselves, is so important. Or else working is pretty much mundane and meaningless and I want our colleagues to find meaning and joy in their work. Because we spend more time at work than at home mostly.
Sincerity towards themselves and what they do, towards the company, towards colleagues and towards our customers. when we do things sincerely it may be the same steps or procedure or same products but the outcome and results and energy you give off is so different and I can feel it when I work with different people.
I share my story with those I hire and I conduct monthly and weekly meetings to share why I’m doing what I do and why we are here doing what we do.

 

Q9. How has the company grown and what was the key essence in driving its growth?

The company has grown to have more people knowing about Cheryl W. and a growing customer base. Also for our current and new customers they have been giving us good reviews too, which we appreciate so much.

Our staff strength and stores has also grown to 4 outlets now. And I can see the team bonding and growing together which is something I work towards achieving, a family oriented company as our parent company.

Also we are expanding into new areas with Cheryl W. such as our drinks in possibly a kiosk concept and also expanding on our services provided for a more holistic service in wellness and more of an urban retreat, which I’m so excited about.
What’s driving its growth? Our drive and sincerity.

 

Q10. What is your advice to aspiring women entrepreneurs out there?

Do things out of love because when the going gets tough and it will, you’ll find an extra booster to continue doing what you need to do. And have amazing supportive people with you, for me it’s my parents, my aunts as my mentors and my cousins Ashley and Alexis who are superb in helping to ride the waves together and strive for a brighter and incredible future ahead of us.