Mommies out there – have you ever had thoughts about wanting to venture into your own business instead of working for others?
Do you keep thinking too much and have fears from all corners creep in and finally, you abandon the idea altogether?
If you’re still harbouring such hopes and hoping to find some encouragement, support and success stories to keep you inspired, meet Lily Chew of Lil’ but Mighty. Her story of setting up a business is inspiring and motivating.
Lily was a teacher with MOE, and since her firstborn came along, she decided to establish her own English tuition centre in order to have more time and flexibility to take care of her children.
In 2015, Lily founded Lil’ but Mighty, teaching from home. Today, Lily and her husband Lenard run four centres in Singapore.
Mamahood brings you her story as a mompreneur.
1. Mamahood: Yours is truly and literally a story of starting small, from where you are, with whatever you have. Can you tell us the story of how your business grew from a home-base one to what it is today?
It started with me teaching privately at home with just a whiteboard and our dining table. As the number of parents who wish to enrol their child grew, my husband, Lenard, and I knew that we needed a bigger space and to separate the home and workspace.
By that time, my son was slightly older and was starting to knock on my door at home when I was teaching. With that, we opened our first centre in 2016. That was also the year when Lenard quit his job to join me full time.
Through the years, we continued to focus on doing what we think will best help children in their journey to learn English. We are thankful that parents trust us and see value in what we do. It is with God’s grace, a passion for the subject, and the belief that we can keep doing what we do better that we grew to have four centres today.
2. Mamahood: Was the business decision to teach solely English based on your passion for the language (since it was a major you graduated in), or was it based on your niche and competency developed from your teaching stint with MOE?
I would say it is a mix of both. Interestingly, my passion for English really grew when I was an undergraduate.
The more I explored the subject, the more intrigued I was by how multifaceted it was. It was because I was so interested in the subject that I was driven to learn more about it. I believe that is the main reason why I did well.
Studying English at university helped me to see how important it was to pursue what I love and what I could do well.
I was very fortunate that during my time as a MOE teacher at a primary school, teachers began to specialise in the different subjects.
I was given the opportunity to specialise in English and Art, which allowed me to continue pursuing my passion as I taught students of different abilities at different levels.
From my specialisation, I was able to focus on teaching English and explore ways to do it.
It brings me immense joy when I saw how my pupils could better understand a grammar rule when I put it across in another way or when I learn something new about English while doing research for my classes.
Hence, when I wanted to start Lil’ but Mighty, I was very certain that I wanted to teach solely English because I knew that it is a strength that I have and I can do well by working on my strength.
Besides, there is so much that I can share with my pupils in English and so much more for me to learn. I want to stay focused and do what I am confident can benefit the children who come to me.
3. Mamahood: What were some of your biggest challenges when starting this business in 2015 and how did you overcome them?
I think when we just started, it was about getting into a whole new routine with new responsibilities.
Apart from our physical classes, we also have an online community which I needed to manage as I believed in sharing the content for parents to support their children at home.
The main challenge was that I needed to do everything, from answering enquiries to designing the curriculum and of course, teaching and marking.
I was unfamiliar with the business and operations sides of things which made starting the centre alone particularly challenging.
I think I overcame it by just staying focused on what I need to do and persevering at night when my baby was asleep.
Thankfully, Lenard was able to join me after the first centre and he was able to take over those responsibilities.
Another challenge was that I needed to wear different hats and juggle work and home. I needed to make sure I still have time with my baby so I will usually try and work at night. Hence, it felt rather overwhelming at the start.
4. Mamahood: What are the most challenging things you face in running this business today?
I think as the business grows, there are new challenges for sure. One challenge is the need to adapt to the climate. One example will be the circuit breaker when there were a lot of unexpected changes and uncertainty.
We needed to problem solve quickly and ensure that we deliver the quality which we promise the parents.
That required us, including all our teachers, to move out of our comfort zone and adapt to a new way of teaching.
We are glad that we managed the situation to the best of our ability but the experience has also reminded us of the importance of always being ready to adapt to new situations.
Another challenge will also be the need to stay relevant while being true to what we believe. The tuition industry is a saturated market and there are definitely many good learning centres out there.
I think if we do not have the growth mindset and constantly reflect to improve and stay relevant, we will see that it is hard for our students to get the most out of their lessons with us.
Hence, we encourage a culture of sharing at work and it is through these reflections that we came up best practices.
One of which will be the “Learn. Share Replay” methodology which empowers all our students to be teachers in the classroom.
We believe that a child has learnt if he/she is able to explain it to others and this practice allows the children to build their 21st-century skills such as respect, confidence, and oral presentation.
Hence, we bring peer teaching to another level in our classroom by making it structured this way. It is Lil’ but Mighty and relevant to our times now.
5. Mamahood: Since this business that you and Lenard setup will be a legacy to leave to your children, how do you groom them from young to be ready for it?
Lenard and I believe that it is important for our children to know what we are building and what we do.
Hence, we have been trying our best to involve our children in the business from young in small ways such as helping them to understand the concept of work and the need to work hard for what you want to achieve.
We also bring them along to the centres to run errands since young e.g. when we need to meet parents, during renovation works, to help with little chores like sorting out the worksheets for the teachers.
Lastly, our eldest son has started attending lessons at our centre this year which allows him to have an even clearer picture of who are involved in the centres and the different roles there are.
6. Mamahood: You ventured into this business as a way to have more time to mentor your children. Has this business consumed more of your time than teaching in school back then? How do you deal with making time to be with your children?
I think time is always a struggle. Although I do have the flexibility of working from home or choosing to work when the children are asleep or in school, sometimes when deadlines are looming, I have to pull myself away from my 3 sons to make sure that I meet the deadline.
There were also times when I overlooked school events that required the boys to be dressed for a theme. Those are the times when I definitely felt guilty that I had not been able to prepare my children well.
However, I am thankful that whenever I feel the mom guilt, I can talk to Lenard about it and over the years, we have learnt to work as a team to do our best for the boys e.g when one of us is busy with deadlines, the other will try to be home more and check in with the boys.
One thing we do is to make a deliberate effort to protect our time with the boys and bedtime is an example.
We will always be home to read a bedtime story and put the boys to bed.
We also enjoy our conversation and prayer together before sleep as it allows us to hear from the older boys about their day and they will know about ours.
It helps them to understand what we do and also how even when we are busy, they are still very much in our minds. Also, putting our devices when we are with the boys is important too.
We want to be present when we are with them and not be distracted.
I think as my boys grow, the routines we have at home will always be changing but it is important to remember that it is all about finding a new rhythm.
7. Mamahood: Can you share with us how you feel about this blossoming adventure that you have been on in the last six years?
I enjoy running, and it is an activity that Lenard does with me weekly. (In fact, we enjoy taking different routes and seeing which breakfast location they will lead us to.)
If this adventure were part of a run, it would be the part in which I feel that I’m starting to gain momentum. The past six years is really just the beginning and we have been trying to find the right pace for our family, as well as better understand the environment which we are in.
I am filled with thankfulness for the experiences so far, the support we have from our family and the team we have with us today.
Just like a run, I will eagerly press ahead because I’m excited to know what is ahead in the route we have embarked on.
8. What word of advice do you have for other mommies who wish to venture into business for themselves?
If God has made us women such that we can go through labour pains, we can go through anything. Recognise your passion and strength, and pursue it fiercely.
If you struggle, don’t be disheartened because it is through struggles that there will be growth.