Striving for financial stability, she started a side hustle at age 9

She has not stopped working since, and is now a property agent and business owner

- Sue-Ann Tan

Becoming self-sufficient and achieving financial stability had always been the holy grail for Ms. Claire Tan.

From the age of nine, she has been on the hustle train, from selling paper stars to her classmates to baking goods for sale during special occasions.

Now, Ms. Tan, 26, has two money-generating gigs going—as a real estate agent with ERA and also as the owner of her own Korean-style make-up business.

It all began when she started doing bridal make-up to earn some cash at age 17. By the time she was 20, she had left Ngee Ann Polytechnic to focus on setting up her own business called Ladyy Claire Makeup, which provides make-up and hairstyling services for those with sensitive skin.

Her desire to achieve financial self-sufficiency started at a young age due to her family background.

"I grew up in a single-parent, low-income family and in that environment of scarcity, I knew I had only myself to depend on for survival. From a very young age, I was focused and prudent about saving, earning and investing because, unlike many of my peers, I was starting from a deficit.

"Therefore, making smart decisions, especially in making my money work hard for me, was essential," she said.

When she was younger, she had only $2.50 to buy lunch for her younger brother and herself, Ms. Tan said. "We could only order one fish burger from the Western food stall because that was the cheapest option. We didn't even have enough to order a drink. My brother was a sweetheart and reassured me that the burger was yummy, but I felt really useless at that moment."

She added: "It was then I realised that money is really important to provide for our loved ones.

"I promised myself to become self-sufficient so he would have someone to rely on if life became difficult. This commitment has been my main motivation for working hard and remains so to this day."