In this uncut clip from On My Own Terms, tech founder Marcus Cheu explains why B2B lead generation in APAC is harder than in the US. Cold email strategies that work in the West often fail in Asia due to different buyer behaviour, trust dynamics, and communication preferences.

Marcus shares why prospects read but don’t reply, why mobile-first markets favour WhatsApp over email, and why Western outbound playbooks don’t translate to Southeast Asia.

🎧 Check out Ep #031 for full conversation: https://open.spotify.com/episode/5D2CmZZZ9Roehr5gdD4XSt?si=p8sUCBFQSBCAdM-OO0k50A

Where to find Marcus:

Website: https://bit.ly/4huqK86

LinkedIn: https://bit.ly/43FN9JQ

🔍 Scale Score™— Free Quick Diagnostic for SMB Founders

Running a business that’s generating revenue but still feels heavier than it should?

Scale Score™ is a free short diagnostic designed for SMB founders to pinpoint where growth is actually getting stuck — across sales, delivery, positioning, and systems.

Most businesses don’t need more tactics or tools.They need clarity on the real constraint before investing time, money, or energy (including things like AI).

If you want a clearer signal on what to fix next — and what to ignore for now — 👉 Take the free Scale Score™: https://bit.ly/3MC4aiE

🎯Find practical tools and resources to guide your journey:

Check out: https://bit.ly/3CTMZRW

📩 Follow us on:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/onmyowntermspodcast

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/on-my-own-terms-podcast/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/OnMyOwnTermsPodcast

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4UoZFflZDdk03KfafgTwQg

Email: johnlimcy@gmail.com

Support the podcast here: https://buymeacoffee.com/onmyownterms

📌 References, Recommendations & Resources:

• Salesforce: A global cloud-based software company where Marcus previously worked before transitioning into entrepreneurship. 🔗 https://www.salesforce.com

• Apollo.ai: All-in-one platform for B2B sales prospecting. Find verified contacts, automate outreach, and close deals faster with AI-powered insights. 🔗 https://get.apollo.io/8yponvev3s15 

• The Hard Thing About Hard Things (by Ben Horowitz): A book discussed in the episode — known for its honest take on the realities of entrepreneurship and leadership. Source of “If you’re gonna eat sh*t, don’t nibble”🔗 https://amzn.to/4ocYwRO 

Zero to One: Notes on Startups, or How to Build the Future (by Peter Thiel, Blake Masters): Another great book on entrepreneurship and building startups. 🔗https://amzn.to/3JgWnpb

• The Michelin Men: Driving an Empire: Book about the remarkable story of how the Michelin brothers who turned the sleepy family rubber firm in the heart of rural France into one of the most innovative and successful tire makers in the world. Spoiler: Michelin Guide is part of the story.  🔗 https://amzn.to/3WomihH / https://amzn.to/4ogfPSe

  
  

  About the host John Lim:

  Born and bred in Singapore, John is a husband, father and a curious business and tech enthusiast. John began his career in banking, co-founded Singapore’s largest indoor laser tag events company, led regional business development for a tech startup, and took a leap into e-commerce just before the Covid pandemic hit. Just when he thought he was crushing it at his dream company, he got laid off in the tech winter. In his journey, he's embraced uncertainty, growth, and reinvention—and he’s on a mission to help others do the same.

  
  

  Note:

  Some links may be affiliate links, which means I earn a small commission if you purchase through them — at no extra cost to you. I only share tools, books, and resources I genuinely find useful or inspiring. Thanks for supporting the podcast!

  
  

  #B2BMarketing #LeadGeneration #APACBusiness #OutboundSales #Entrepreneurship #StartupLessons #SalesStrategy #AsiaBusiness #MarketingInsights #FounderLife #OnMyOwnTermsPodcast

  
  

In this uncut segment from On My Own Terms, Janissa Ng, Sustainability Communications Consultant and Certified ESG Analyst, dives deep into how sustainability and ESG are reshaping industries — from large corporations to SMEs. She discusses how retail and consumer goods sectors are transforming after COVID, how sustainability has become a powerful differentiator for brands, and what smaller businesses can realistically do to make an impact.

Janissa also unpacks the realities of ESG disclosure standards in the EU, supply chain resilience, and why collaboration between corporates, startups, and SMEs is key to real progress. She highlights how consumers, too, play a critical role in driving sustainable change through their choices and awareness.

If you’ve ever wondered how sustainability applies beyond big organizations or what ESG truly means for small businesses and consumers, this uncut conversation offers valuable perspective.

🎧 Check out Ep #030 for full conversation: https://spotifycreators-web.app.link/e/YIrF6FbUPZb

Where to find Janissa:

Website: https://bit.ly/4nYc3N5 

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/janissang/

*Executive branding sprint (ideal for people in career transitions) at exclusive rate for podcast audience (YOU) → Quote “Podcast Executive Branding” when you contact Janissa

🔍 Scale Score™— Free Quick Diagnostic for SMB Founders

Running a business that’s generating revenue but still feels heavier than it should?

Scale Score™ is a free short diagnostic designed for SMB founders to pinpoint where growth is actually getting stuck — across sales, delivery, positioning, and systems.

Most businesses don’t need more tactics or tools.They need clarity on the real constraint before investing time, money, or energy (including things like AI).

If you want a clearer signal on what to fix next — and what to ignore for now — 👉 Take the free Scale Score™: https://bit.ly/3MC4aiE

🎯Find practical tools and resources to guide your journey:

Check out: https://bit.ly/3CTMZRW

📩 Follow us on:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/onmyowntermspodcast

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/on-my-own-terms-podcast/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/OnMyOwnTermsPodcast

Email: johnlimcy@gmail.com

Support the podcast here: https://buymeacoffee.com/onmyownterms

📌 References (AI):

• 
  
• ChatGPT (OpenAI): Conversational AI platform for idea generation and workflows. https://chatgpt.com
• WWF (World Wide Fund for Nature): Environmental organization where Janissa previously worked, focused on wildlife conservation and sustainability. https://www.worldwildlife.org

About the host John Lim:

Born and bred in Singapore, John is a husband, father and a curious business and tech enthusiast. John began his career in banking, co-founded Singapore’s largest indoor laser tag events company, led regional business development for a tech startup, and took a leap into e-commerce just before the Covid pandemic hit. Just when he thought he was crushing it at his dream company, he got laid off in the tech winter. In his journey, he's embraced uncertainty, growth, and reinvention—and he’s on a mission to help others do the same.

📌 Keywords: sustainability in Singapore, ESG for SMEs, corporate ESG roles, supply chain sustainability, sustainability communication, retail transformation, consumer behavior, ESG trends 2025, sustainability disclosure, circular economy, sustainability in business

#Sustainability #CareerTransition #Sustainability #MidCareerChange #SingaporePodcast #WomenInWork #OnMyOwnTerms #Germany

Meet Kriang Khanijomdi — a Shopify veteran turned startup founder and the creator of PuppetVendors, a multi-vendor marketplace used by e-commerce brands worldwide.

In this episode of On My Own Terms, host John Lim explores Kriang’s journey from big tech to entrepreneurship — the pressure of being the “last line of defense,” taking risks in your 30s, and the mindset shifts needed to build beyond your comfort zone.

💬 In this episode, we talk about:

👉 Why solving a problem you personally experienced is the strongest foundation for a startup

👉 The biggest mindset shift from being a corporate employee to becoming a founder

👉 How AI is reshaping the future of e-commerce, small business, and product development

👉 Why conviction matters more than timing, and how to stay in the game long enough to see results

👉 The hidden skills from corporate life that become superpowers in entrepreneurship

👉 How to manage time, reflect daily, and build momentum without burning out

👉 What “living life on your own terms” means after transitioning out of big tech

—-----------------------------

Chapters:

00:00 Why People Quit Too Early

02:02 Introduction

02:33 Who is Kriang Khanijomdi

04:47 What Shopify Taught Him About Winning

19:56 A 10-Year Problem Became His Business

33:11 Why He Says NO to Customers (On Purpose)

33:54 How He Levels Up

36:18 The Toughest Part of Building

42:31 What AI Can Do (And What It Still Can’t)

53:51 When You Become the Last Line of Defense

—-----------------------------

Where to find Kriang:

LinkedIn: https://bit.ly/4rONvs4

PuppetVendors: https://bit.ly/4acW4qB

🔍 Scale Score™— Free Quick Diagnostic for SMB FoundersRunning a business that’s generating revenue but still feels heavier than it should?

Scale Score™ is a free short diagnostic designed for SMB founders to pinpoint where growth is actually getting stuck — across sales, delivery, positioning, and systems.

Most businesses don’t need more tactics or tools. They need clarity on the real constraint before investing time, money, or energy (including things like AI).If you want a clearer signal on what to fix next — and what to ignore for now —

👉 Take the free Scale Score™: https://bit.ly/3MC4aiE

🎯Find practical tools and resources to guide your journey:

Check out: https://bit.ly/3CTMZRW

📩 Follow us on:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/onmyowntermspodcast

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/on-my-own-terms-podcast/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/OnMyOwnTermsPodcast

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4UoZFflZDdk03KfafgTwQg

Email: johnlimcy@gmail.com

Support the podcast here: https://buymeacoffee.com/onmyownterms

📌 References, Recommendations & Resources:

✅Shopify — Where Kriang learned shipping intensity and product execution. Start your Shopify free trial here 🔗 https://bit.ly/48tXjQL

✅Puppet Vendors — Shopify app that helps Shopify store owners convert their store into a full-fledge Multi-Vendor marketplace. Drop-shippers, marketplaces, and consignment businesses also commonly use the app to help better manage their sales, commissions, and payout reporting with 3rd party vendors. Click link for 14-day Free trial: 🔗https://bit.ly/4oJTHz2

✅ AI as an Enabler — How Kriang uses AI to speed up execution and decisions. 🔗 https://bit.ly/44h6JMU

✅Calendly - Free online appointment scheduling software 🔗https://bit.ly/4pVGt31

✅Cursor - AI-powered code editor 🔗https://bit.ly/4aFY0YA

✅Notion - AI-powered workspace 🔗https://bit.ly/4rTurJu

✅Daily Reflection Habit — Kriang’s method to improve faster, every day. 🔗 https://bit.ly/4oIMfny (general resource for habit building)

✅ Entrepreneurship Resources — Guides that shaped his approach to building and validating ideas. 🔗https://bit.ly/4aE9awX

[Mindset, Startup, AI, Millennials]

#EntrepreneurshipJourney#StartupFounder #CareerTransition #TechEntrepreneur #EcommerceBusiness #AIinBusiness #OnMyOwnTermsPodcast

Meet Vik Zeng — a former SAF intelligence officer who walked away from a stable, structured system to reinvent his entire career from scratch.

From military intelligence to consulting, leadership development, and the private sector, Vik’s story is one of courage, identity loss, resilience, and the messy reality of a mid-career switch in Singapore.

In this episode of On My Own Terms, host John Lim sits down with Vik to unpack the emotional and practical truth behind a military-to-corporate transition. No glamorised story. No quick wins. Just an honest look at rejection, uncertainty, self-doubt, and the mindset needed to find clarity when your old identity no longer fits.

💬 In this episode, we talk about:

👉How leaving the military triggered an identity crisis — and why many mid-career professionals feel the same

👉The emotional journey of starting over and facing rejection during a career pivot

👉The most transferable skills ex-military and PMETs already have (but often overlook)

👉Why “the problems you solve determine your paycheck”

👉How to evaluate job offers without falling into fear-based decisions

👉The mental frameworks Vik used to navigate a career transition in Singapore’s competitive job market

👉Why taking action creates clarity — and overthinking doesn’t

👉How millennials can build resilience, adaptability, and relevance in a fast-changing work landscape

👉What Singapore professionals need to know about switching industries in 2025 and beyond

—-----------------------------

Chapters:

00:00 Why This Conversation Matters

02:30 Introduction

03:37 The Pivot That Changed Everything

10:07 What Leadership Really Looks Like

16:34 Leaving the Military? Hear This First.

30:56 When Your Career Hits a Crossroads

32:31 Where Opportunities Really Come From

35:23 Small Choices, Big Shifts

45:26 How AI Is Shaping Modern Careers

51:49 What It Means to Live Authentically

—------------------------------

Where to find Vik:

LinkedIn: https://bit.ly/4pt036F

Instagram: https://bit.ly/3KkhTtB

🎯Find practical tools and resources to guide your journey:

Check out: https://bit.ly/3CTMZRW

📩 Follow us on:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/onmyowntermspodcast

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/on-my-own-terms-podcast/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/OnMyOwnTermsPodcast

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4UoZFflZDdk03KfafgTwQg
Email: johnlimcy@gmail.com

Support the podcast here: https://buymeacoffee.com/onmyownterms

📌 References, Recommendations & Resources:

✅ Tony Robbins Seminars: Mentioned by John as leadership and performance programs used in his previous startup. 🔗 https://www.tonyrobbins.com/events / https://bit.ly/4odSgZg

✅ Rie Park Institute – OD Theories Map: Referenced for explaining the wide range of OD and leadership theories used in development work. 🔗 https://www.riepark.org / https://bit.ly/486ySc9

✅ WSG – Workforce Singapore: Co-runs free career exploration workshops for mid-career and senior workers learning new skills. 🔗 https://www.wsg.gov.sg / https://bit.ly/4oZxtKn 

✅ What’s Next: Reimagine Your Career Using Design AI by SUTD and WSG 🔗https://www.sutd.edu.sg/course/whats-next-reimagine-your-career-using-design-ai/ / https://bit.ly/4a8li9i

About the host John Lim:

Born and bred in Singapore, John is a husband, father and a curious business and tech enthusiast. John began his career in banking, co-founded Singapore’s largest indoor laser tag events company, led regional business development for a tech startup, and took a leap into e-commerce just before the Covid pandemic hit. Just when he thought he was crushing it at his dream company, he got laid off in the tech winter. In his journey, he's embraced uncertainty, growth, and reinvention—and he’s on a mission to help others do the same.

Note:

Some links may be affiliate links, which means I earn a small commission if you purchase through them — at no extra cost to you. Thanks for supporting the podcast!

#Podcast #Careers #OnMyOwnTerms #Jobs

Meet Kelly Lim — a Singapore-based professional who’s built one of the most unconventional, fascinating careers you’ll ever hear about. From helping grieving families as a funeral undertaker to navigating the chaos of crypto and thriving in Fortune 500 tech sales, Kelly’s story is a masterclass in reinvention, courage, and finding humor in the unexpected.

In this episode of On My Own Terms, host John Lim sits down with Kelly to unpack her extraordinary journey — one that proves you don’t need a perfect plan to build a meaningful career.

💬 In this episode, we talk about:

• How she went from the family funeral business to tech sales

• Lessons from surviving the crypto industry and dealing with dishonesty

• The real reason she started posting on TikTok — and how she turned it into a paid side hustle

• What most people get wrong about content creation

• Why AI will never replace salespeople — and what humans still do better

—--------------------------------------

Chapters:

00:00 Introduction

03:10 She Chose Death Over Taxes

06:45 Inside the Wild World of Crypto

10:50 How Curiosity Became Her Superpower

13:22 Why She Started Posting on TikTok

23:11 When Work and Content Collide

23:57 Her Secret to Balancing It All

26:52 Can AI Really Replace Salespeople?

32:35 What Real Growth Actually Feels Like

—----------------------------------------------

Where to find Kelly:

LinkedIn: https://bit.ly/4nEIRcX

🎯Find practical tools and resources to guide your journey:

Check out: https://bit.ly/3CTMZRW

📩 Follow us on:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/onmyowntermspodcast

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/on-my-own-terms-podcast/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/OnMyOwnTermsPodcast

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4UoZFflZDdk03KfafgTwQg

Email: johnlimcy@gmail.com

Support the podcast here: https://buymeacoffee.com/onmyownterms

📌 References, Recommendations & Resources:

• Gong — A leading revenue intelligence platform used by sales teams to analyze calls, meetings, and emails. Powered by AI, it helps improve sales performance by tracking communication patterns, talk ratios, and deal insights. 🔗 https://www.gong.io/ / https://bit.ly/3Jq2NT3

• CapCut — A powerful, user-friendly video editing software by ByteDance. Kelly uses the Pro version on PC for editing her TikTok videos — ideal for creators seeking professional results with simple workflows. 🔗 https://www.capcut.com/ https://bit.ly/498qlWT

• Sales EQ: How Ultra High Performers Leverage Sales-Specific Emotional Intelligence to Close the Complex Deal - by Jeb Blount: https://amzn.to/3Xh2mxr

• Podcast: Lenny’s Podcast Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@LennysPodcast / https://bit.ly/4nKAM6y 

• Spotify: Lenny’s Podcast https://open.spotify.com/show/2dR1MUZEHCOnz1LVfNac0j / https://bit.ly/49H76nv

• Podcast: 30 mins to presidents’ club: Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@30MPC / https://bit.ly/4qOoBs8

• Podcast: 30 mins to presidents’ club: Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/28wBBJzGItlklSjZTIwqds /  https://bit.ly/3Xhyhhi

About the host John Lim:

Born and bred in Singapore, John is a husband, father and a curious business and tech enthusiast. John began his career in banking, co-founded Singapore’s largest indoor laser tag events company, led regional business development for a tech startup, and took a leap into e-commerce just before the Covid pandemic hit. Just when he thought he was crushing it at his dream company, he got laid off in the tech winter. In his journey, he's embraced uncertainty, growth, and reinvention—and he’s on a mission to help others do the same.

Note:

Some links may be affiliate links, which means I earn a small commission if you purchase through them — at no extra cost to you. I only share tools, books, and resources I genuinely find useful or inspiring. Thanks for supporting the podcast!

#WomenInTech #SingaporePodcast #DigitalCreatives #TikTokCreator #CorporateLife #ContentCreationTips #OnMyOwnTermsPodcast

What happens when you get laid off from a dream job — and decide to turn that setback into your biggest leap forward?

Meet Marcus Cheu — a former Salesforce professional who lost his job during the tech layoffs and used that moment to redefine his career completely. Instead of returning to corporate life, Marcus chose to build something of his own — a startup born out of curiosity, courage, and conviction.

In this episode of On My Own Terms, Marcus sits down with John Lim to share his raw, unfiltered journey of embracing uncertainty, building from scratch, and learning to trust the process — even when there’s no roadmap. Together, they dive deep into what it really means to create a life and career on your own terms.

💬 In this episode, we talk about:

• Why he left the corporate path to pursue entrepreneurship

• Lessons from failing, pivoting, and rebuilding

• The hardest part of building something from scratch

• • The truth about working with a sibling as co-founder (and why a “founder prenup” matters)
  • How Southeast Asia’s B2B sales landscape differs from the US

• Why curiosity beats talent in an age of AI and change

• How AI is reshaping lead generation—and what founders should focus on before automating

—--------------------------------------

Chapters:

00:00 Introduction

03:42 Who is Marcus Cheu?

04:53 When Success Stops Feeling Like Success

14:52 Would You Start a Business with Family?

26:19 How Marcus Is Building with AI — Not Against It

28:03 The Secret Signals Behind Every Great Deal

28:07 Can AI Really Understand Human Intent?

29:15 Turning Data into Real Conversations

30:27 What Closing Tough Deals Really Teaches You

37:37 Will Founders Still Matter in the Age of AI?

—----------------------------------------------

Where to find Marcus:

Website: https://bit.ly/4huqK86

LinkedIn: https://bit.ly/43FN9JQ 

🎯Find practical tools and resources to guide your journey:

Check out: https://bit.ly/3CTMZRW

We'd like to hear from you: https://tally.so/r/OD1GNM (2-min quick survey)

📩 Follow us on:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/onmyowntermspodcast

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/on-my-own-terms-podcast/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/OnMyOwnTermsPodcast

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4UoZFflZDdk03KfafgTwQg

Email: johnlimcy@gmail.com
Support the podcast here: https://buymeacoffee.com/onmyownterms

📌 References, Recommendations & Resources:

• Salesforce: A global cloud-based software company where Marcus previously worked before transitioning into entrepreneurship.🔗 https://www.salesforce.com

• OpenAI: The artificial intelligence research company behind ChatGPT — mentioned in the episode while discussing how AI is reshaping sales, creativity, and productivity.🔗 https://openai.com

• Apollo.ai: All-in-one platform for B2B sales prospecting. Find verified contacts, automate outreach, and close deals faster with AI-powered insights. 🔗 https://get.apollo.io/8yponvev3s15 

• The Hard Thing About Hard Things (by Ben Horowitz): A book discussed in the episode — known for its honest take on the realities of entrepreneurship and leadership. Source of “If you’re gonna eat sh*t, don’t nibble”🔗 https://amzn.to/4ocYwRO 

• Zero to One: Notes on Startups, or How to Build the Future (by Peter Thiel, Blake Masters): Another great book on entrepreneurship and building startups. 🔗https://amzn.to/3JgWnpb

• • The Michelin Men: Driving an Empire: Book about the remarkable story of how the Michelin brothers who turned the sleepy family rubber firm in the heart of rural France into one of the most innovative and successful tire makers in the world. Spoiler: Michelin Guide is part of the story. 🔗https://amzn.to/3WomihH / https://amzn.to/4ogfPSe

  
  

  Note:

  Some links may be affiliate links, which means I earn a small commission if you purchase through them — at no extra cost to you. I only share tools, books, and resources I genuinely find useful or inspiring. Thanks for supporting the podcast!

  
  

  #CareerTransition #EntrepreneurMindset #OpenAI #CareerChange

What happens when you walk away from a successful 10+ year corporate career to start over — as a student, in a new country?

Meet Janissa Ng — a former Senior Account Director from Singapore who took a bold leap to rebuild her career in sustainability. After over a decade in corporate communications, she left everything behind to pursue a Master’s degree in Germany, eventually crafting a remote, purpose-driven portfolio career on her own terms.

In this episode of On My Own Terms, Janissa opens up about her journey of starting over, finding freedom through flexibility, and redefining what success means in your 30s and 40s. If you’re feeling stuck, burnt out, or wondering whether it’s too late to start over — this conversation is your permission slip to rethink what success looks like.

💬 In this episode, we talk about:

• What inspired Janissa to leave her corporate career and move to Germany

• How she managed studying abroad debt-free in mid-career

• The challenges of starting over and finding purpose again

• Building a remote, portfolio-style career in sustainability

• The reality of burnout and how to create meaningful work-life balance

• Why it’s okay to stop chasing titles and start designing your own path

This is an honest, heartfelt story for anyone in their 30s or 40s who’s questioning their path, craving change, or looking for meaning beyond the 9-to-5.

🎧 Watch till the end for Janissa’s lessons on freedom, identity, and building a career that feels truly yours.

Chapters:

00:00 Introduction

03:01 Meet Jan: Sustainability Communications Consultant

04:34 What Made Jan Leave Singapore to Start Over in Germany?

05:25 How Do You Turn Passion for the Planet Into a Real Career?

13:54 Was Going Back to School After 10 Years Worth It?

34:35 Is Singapore Really Ready for Sustainability and ESG?

35:53 How ESG Really Works Inside Companies

38:05 Can Startups Solve What Big Corporates Can’t?

40:10 Building ‘Human and Heard’ — A Venture Rooted in Purpose

51:13 Lessons on Burnout, Freedom, and Redefining Success

Where to find Janissa:

Website: https://bit.ly/4nYc3N5 

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/janissang/

*Executive branding sprint (ideal for people in career transitions) at exclusive rate for podcast audience (YOU) → Quote “Podcast Executive Branding” when you contact Janissa

🎯Find practical tools and resources to guide your journey:

Check out: https://bit.ly/3CTMZRW

📩 Follow us on:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/onmyowntermspodcast

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/on-my-own-terms-podcast/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/OnMyOwnTermsPodcast

Email: johnlimcy@gmail.com

Support the podcast here: https://buymeacoffee.com/onmyownterms

📌 References (AI):

• ChatGPT (OpenAI): Conversational AI platform for idea generation and workflows. https://chatgpt.com

• WWF (World Wide Fund for Nature): Environmental organization where Janissa previously worked, focused on wildlife conservation and sustainability. https://www.worldwildlife.org

About the host John Lim:

Born and bred in Singapore, John is a husband, father and a curious business and tech enthusiast. John began his career in banking, co-founded Singapore’s largest indoor laser tag events company, led regional business development for a tech startup, and took a leap into e-commerce just before the Covid pandemic hit. Just when he thought he was crushing it at his dream company, he got laid off in the tech winter. In his journey, he's embraced uncertainty, growth, and reinvention—and he’s on a mission to help others do the same.

#CareerTransition #Sustainability #RemoteWork #MidCareerChange #SingaporePodcast #WomenInWork #OnMyOwnTerms #Germany #Singapore

In this episode of On My Own Terms, I sit down with Mohd Rizuan, founder of Rice Labs, to talk about career pivots, building a business around AI and automation, and what the future of work means for everyday professionals.

Rizuan’s journey is anything but typical:

We also dive into:

• Real-world examples of automation that save hours every week

• The hidden effort behind good AI prompts & why “prompt engineering” matters

• What it means to stay “lean” as a business in the AI era

• Rizuan’s perspective on Agentic AI and why we’re still early in adoption
  

If you’ve ever wondered how to future-proof your career, use AI effectively, or make the leap from corporate life into entrepreneurship — this conversation will give you both practical takeaways and a dose of inspiration.

Takeaway Quote

“The three most harmful addictions are heroin, carbohydrates, and a monthly salary.” – Nassim Nicholas Taleb

Chapters:

00:00 – Introduction: The AI Shift We’re Not Ready For

04:08 – Welcome to OMOT

06:38 – The Hardest Decisions Every Founder Faces

11:25 – Automation & AI Explained Without the Hype

17:28 – Finding the Right Clients for AI Solutions

30:00 – Claude vs ChatGPT: Why Rizuan Made the Switch

30:12 – n8n: The Automation Tool You Should Know

31:03 – Leaving a Stable Job for the Unknown

34:49 – The Future of Work: What AI Adoption Really Looks Like

44:48 – Final Lessons: Rizuan’s Advice for Entrepreneurs

Where to find Rizuan:

Website: https://bit.ly/4gGMtcw 

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mohd-rizuan/

🎯Find practical tools and resources to guide your journey:

Check out: https://bit.ly/3CTMZRW

📩 Follow us on:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/onmyowntermspodcast

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/on-my-own-terms-podcast/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/OnMyOwnTermsPodcast

Email: johnlimcy@gmail.com

• Zapier: Workflow automation connecting apps and services. https://zapier.com

• Apify: Web scraping and automation platform. https://apify.com

• RapidAPI: API marketplace and hub for developers. https://rapidapi.com

• Agentic AI: AI systems capable of autonomous actions in the real world (overview). https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/research/blog/introducing-agentic-ai/

• Linda: AI personal assistant for workflow automation. https://www.linda.ai

• Pinecone: Vector database for AI-powered search and recommendations. https://www.pinecone.io

• Claude (Anthropic): A next-generation AI assistant. https://claude.ai

• OpenAI: Research company developing AI systems and tools. https://openai.com

• ChatGPT (OpenAI): Conversational AI platform for idea generation and workflows. https://chatgpt.com

• n8n: A powerful workflow automation tool that lets you connect apps, APIs, and AI with custom logic. https://n8n.io

#AI #Automation #FutureOfWork #CareerPivot #SME #AItools #AgenticAI #PromptEngineering #Productivity #tech #OpenAI #ChatGPT #ClaudeAI #WorkflowAutomation #FounderJourney #millennials #Singapore #CareerTransition

#CareerPivot #BurnoutRecovery #RedefiningSuccess

Feeling stuck in your career or battling burnout? 💡

Shu Yi “Shuyi” Goh is a Gallup‑Certified CliftonStrengths coach and founder of The Strengths Co, specializing in helping mid‑career professionals discover their innate talents and build fulfilling careers. With over 16 years in technology and leadership roles at Accenture, Standard Chartered Bank, and Salesforce, she now blends strategic business frameworks with positive psychology to guide individuals through bold career transformations.

In this episode, Shuyi shares her personal journey from corporate burnout to launching a strengths‑based coaching practice, and provides actionable insights on career pivots, playing to your strengths, and leveraging AI tools for personal and professional growth.

In this conversation, you’ll learn:

• How Shuyi turned corporate burnout into a purposeful career pivot.

• Why CliftonStrengths (Gallup StrengthsFinder) is key to unlocking career growth.

• Practical strengths-based coaching strategies to break free from feeling stuck.

• How to use AI like ChatGPT as a tool for personal and career development.

• Essential lessons for solopreneurs on finances, business setup, and resilience.

Chapters:

00:00 Introduction

03:42 Who is Shuyi Goh?

04:53 Why I Walked Away from a “Successful” Career

07:26 The Breaking Point

13:17 Starting Over Isn’t Easy — Here’s How I Did It

26:05 How to Build Authentic Connections

27:59 Career Growth Strategies That Work

31:05 What Most People Get Wrong About Career Growth

41:17 Can AI Really Replace a Career Coach?

45:35 Key Takeaways

Where to find Shuyi Goh:

Website: https://www.thestrengthsco.com

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/shuyigoh/

Take the Career Fit Scorecard: https://bit.ly/4gjc8aY 

🎯Find practical tools and resources to guide your journey:

Check out: https://bit.ly/3CTMZRW

📩 Follow us on:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/onmyowntermspodcast

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/on-my-own-terms-podcast/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/OnMyOwnTermsPodcast

Email: johnlimcy@gmail.com

Support my work here: ⁠https://buymeacoffee.com/onmyownterms

Referenced:

• CliftonStrengths (Gallup): The strengths‑based development framework behind strengths coaching. https://www.gallup.com/home.aspx

• ChatGPT (OpenAI): The conversational AI platform Shuyi uses for idea generation https://chatgpt.com

• Claude (Anthropic): A next-generation AI assistant https://claude.ai/

Keywords

(career pivot stories, burnout recovery journey, mid-career change inspiration, career coaching tips, AI in personal development, how to deal with burnout at work, career transition motivation)

#CareerChange #MidCareerChange #CareerTransition #PersonalGrowth #OnMyOwnTerms #SelfDiscovery #millennial #Singapore #AI

“I lost my job… and it changed everything.”

In this raw and inspiring episode, Michael Foo reveals how being let go from a top tech company at age 49 forced him to question his identity, confront cultural shame, and completely redefine what success means.

Instead of letting the setback break him, Michael turned it into the greatest opportunity of his life — to build a career filled with purpose, not just titles.

If you’ve ever felt stuck in your job, scared of a career change, or lost after a layoff, Michael’s story will show you that rock bottom can be the start of something greater.

🔥 What you’ll discover in this episode:

• The emotional truth about being laid off (that no one talks about)

• Why so many of us tie self-worth to our jobs — and how to break free

• The 3 powerful questions Michael asked himself to rebuild his life

• How to turn setbacks into stepping stones for a meaningful career

  
  

👉 Whether you’re going through a career transition, recovering from a layoff, or searching for purpose beyond your paycheck, this episode will give you the clarity and courage to take the next step.

💡 If you’ve ever asked yourself “What should I do after being laid off?” or “Am I more than my job?” — this conversation is for you.

Positive Minds: https://positivemindscoaching.com/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michaelfoo-mindsetcoach/

Subscribe to newsletter for bonus content on career change and growth: http://bit.ly/3Em887U  
⏱️ Chapters

00:00 Introduction

04:06 Cracking the Confidence Code

05:12 How Michael Found His Mission

07:16 When the Tech World Crashed

10:51 After the Layoff: What Comes Next?

29:38 Looking Back to Leap Forward

30:29 Starting from Zero

33:49 The Hard Lessons No One Warns You About

43:45 How to Stay Grounded When Life Gets Loud

47:00 Mentor or Coach? Knowing Who You Need and When

👉 Book your appointment with Michael: https://bit.ly/4oYXKZy

👉 Connect with Michael Foo:

Positive Minds: https://positivemindscoaching.com/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michaelfoo-mindsetcoach/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/michaelfoo.mindsetcoach/

🎯Find practical tools and resources to guide your journey:Check out: https://bit.ly/3CTMZRW📩 Follow us on:Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/onmyowntermspodcastLinkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/on-my-own-terms-podcast/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/OnMyOwnTermsPodcastEmail: johnlimcy@gmail.comSupport my work here: https://buymeacoffee.com/onmyownterms✅ 📢 Support the Channel & Stay Connected📤 Share this episode with a friend or colleague who might need that little nudge to take the next step in their life or career. It really helps us grow and reach more people who need to hear stories like this.

(career transition, life after layoff, what to do after being laid off, finding purpose after job loss, career change success stories, laid off from tech job, stuck in my job what to do, how to reinvent yourself after job loss, redefining success, purpose beyond paycheck, career advice for millennials, how to bounce back after being laid off, self-worth and career, meaning of success career change, is my job my identity)#OnMyOwnTerms #LayoffRecovery #CareerTransition #CareerChange #FindingPurpose #LifeReset #career #CareerGrowth #Singapore #RedefiningSuccess #Millenial #StartOver #WorkLife #Jobs #RealTalkPodcast

🎧 Feeling Stuck in Your Career? This Is What Starting Over Actually Looks Like

Subscribe to newsletter for bonus content on career change and growth: http://bit.ly/3Em887U  

Are you stuck in a job that no longer excites you? Wondering what it would take to finally make that career pivot — or move to a different country, city, or life altogether?

In this episode of On My Own Terms, I speak with Pamela, a Singaporean who made a bold move early in her career: she left her job, bought a $350 one-way ticket to New Zealand, and figured things out from scratch.

What started as a gap year turned into 14 years of building a life abroad — raising kids, returning to work in a company she once left, and now, launching a new passion project that combines gardening, cooking, and sustainability.

We often hear about bold career moves — but what’s it really like to leave your job without a plan, move to a new country, and start over from scratch?

In this episode, I sit down with Pamela to unpack the real side of reinvention:

• Navigating a career change when the timing feels all wrong

• Moving abroad without a job, roadmap, or safety net

• Shifting from burnout and hustle to purpose and balance

• Reconnecting with yourself when you finally slow down

• Taking career risks in your 30s — and why it’s never too late

• Returning to work on your own terms after years away

• Building a lifestyle that aligns with your values, not just your resume

If you’ve ever felt stuck in your 9-to-5, dreamed of living differently, or questioned what success really means — Pamela’s story will give you the clarity (and courage) you didn’t know you needed.

🎯 Find practical tools and resources to guide your journey:

Check out: https://bit.ly/3CTMZRW

📩 Follow us on:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/onmyowntermspodcast

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/on-my-own-terms-podcast/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/OnMyOwnTermsPodcast

Email: johnlimcy@gmail.com

⏱️ Chapters

00:00 – Beyond the Script: Can You Truly Live Life "On Your Own Terms?"

01:00 – Was it a "Gap Year" or Destiny?

06:30 – From burnout to breakthrough: Why she left Singapore

10:45 – Starting Over Abroad: What It Really Takes

15:10 – Is Singapore's Work Ethic a Virtue or a Trap?

18:26 – Raising children away from pressure and hustle

26:23 – Returning to Her First Company — With a Bigger Mission

34:09 – Is Growing Your Own Food the Ultimate "Nurturing" Escape?

42:00 – What If the Life You Dream Of is Just One Leap Away?

47:07 – What Does "Living Life On Your Own Terms" Truly Mean
✅ 📢 Support the Channel & Stay Connected👍 If you found this video helpful, don’t forget to LIKE it and SUBSCRIBE to the channel!🔔 Hit the bell icon to get notified whenever we drop new episodes — especially if you're navigating a career shift or feeling stuck in your job.📤 Share this episode with a friend or colleague who might need that little nudge to take the next step in their life or career. It really helps us grow and reach more people who need to hear stories like this.

👋 Hey everyone! It’s been a while… but I’m back.

After a long pause, I’m relaunching On My Own Terms - a podcast created for people navigating career change, layoffs, pivots, and reinvention.

The past year taught me a lot. And now feels like the right time to restart these conversations - honest, practical, and real.

New episodes drop every Thursday - with fresh conversations, honest stories, and inspiring guests.

👉 Don’t forget to subscribe so you don’t miss what’s coming.

🎯 Find practical tools and resources to guide your journey:

Check out: https://bit.ly/3CTMZRW

📩 Follow us on:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/onmyowntermspodcast

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/on-my-own-terms-podcast/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/OnMyOwnTermsPodcast

OnMyOwnTermsPodcastEmail: johnlimcy@gmail.com

(podcast, career change, How to use AI, AI, job, transition, lay offs, millennials, SG, Singapore)

#OnMyOwnTerms #CareerChange #MillennialCareers #CareerPivot #EntrepreneurJourney #NewSeason #sg #Layoffs #AI

How long should a “good” prompt really be? In this uncut clip, Mohd Rizuan shares a surprising story that flips common assumptions about prompt engineering on its head — and reveals why most people are still approaching AI in the wrong way.

Instead of quick fixes or one-line prompts, Rizuan talks about the deeper layers of prompt engineering, system vs. user prompts, and the hidden work that goes into making AI truly reliable. He also opens up about why treating AI as a one-size-fits-all tool is a mistake, and how choosing the right model for the right task can change everything.

If you’ve ever wondered why your AI outputs aren’t consistent, how to write better prompts, or which AI models are best for different use cases, this clip will make you rethink the way you work with tools like ChatGPT, Claude, Perplexity, Gemini, and OpenAI.

👉 Check out Ep #029 for full conversation: https://open.spotify.com/episode/58dCeLQFU8U5yvP0xD6tJ6?si=fmsmXeM1QACTXbxvyWOjUA

Where to find Rizuan:

Website: https://bit.ly/4gGMtcw 

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mohd-rizuan/

Running a business that’s generating revenue but still feels heavier than it should?

Scale Score™ is a free short diagnostic designed for SMB founders to pinpoint where growth is actually getting stuck — across sales, delivery, positioning, and systems.

Most businesses don’t need more tactics or tools.They need clarity on the real constraint before investing time, money, or energy (including things like AI).

🔍 Scale Score™— Free Quick Diagnostic for SMB FoundersIf you want a clearer signal on what to fix next — and what to ignore for now — 👉 Take the free Scale Score™: https://bit.ly/3MC4aiE

🎯Find practical tools and resources to guide your journey:

Check out: https://bit.ly/3CTMZRW

📩 Follow us on:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/onmyowntermspodcast

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/on-my-own-terms-podcast/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/OnMyOwnTermsPodcast

Email: johnlimcy@gmail.com

Support my work here: https://buymeacoffee.com/onmyownterms

📌 References (AI & Automation Tools)

• Claude (Anthropic): A next-generation AI assistant. https://claude.ai

• OpenAI: Research company developing AI systems and tools. https://openai.com

• ChatGPT (OpenAI): Conversational AI platform for idea generation and workflows. https://chatgpt.com

• Perplexity: AI-powered search engine and research assistant that gives cited answers. https://www.perplexity.ai

  Gemini: Google's AI assistant and chatbot integrated with Google products. https://gemini.google.com
  

  #PromptEngineering #AItools #ChatGPT #ClaudeAI #Perplexity #OpenAI #FutureOfWork #ContentCreation #DigitalTransformation

  
  

This is Part 3 (and final part) of special conversation episode between John Lim and Aaron Wong, guest from Ep 1. At time of recording, John has been actively job hunting for several months.  

Some topics covered include:
- You need permission to be employed
- Crafting a good CV 
- Anxiety of an unemployed sole breadwinner with 2 young children
- Job vs income
- How to reduce probability of being laid off again
- Know your triggers and keep a routine

Support the show

Subscribe to bonus podcast content and career resources via ✉️ email newsletter.

About the host John Lim:

John Lim has had an unconventional career by Singapore / Asian standards - with several career switches. He started his career in banking before co-founding a laser tag events company. After building the business from ground-up, growing the team to 20+ and running Singapore's largest indoor laser tag center, he joined an early-stage tech startup to lead business development across Southeast Asia. In 2019, he took a leap of faith to join the e-commerce industry, seemingly unknown sector, until a few months later when Covid-19 pandemic brought the world to its knees.

While John finds himself lucky to have 'survived' the career switches relatively unscathed, he has never forgotten how it feels like to be at the crossroads of your career and life. Now, he has started this podcast - to provide the resources and perspectives he wished he had - and to help you make the most of your career to live your best life.

Join him as he speaks with unconventional career changers and risk-takers, taps into their experiences and perspectives and discusses all things career. Together, they will provide you nuggets of wisdom, inspiration and actionable insights to start living life on your own terms.

This is Part 2 of 3 of special conversation episode between John Lim and Aaron Wong, guest from Ep 1. At time of recording, John has been actively job hunting for several months.  

Some topics covered include:
- Dealing with news of ex-employer's extravagant spending 
- What could have been done differently 
- Building skills and network
- How to deal with recruiters
- Red flags 
- Career coaches
- Most things in life are reversible

Support the show

Subscribe to bonus podcast content and career resources via ✉️ email newsletter.

About the host John Lim:

John Lim has had an unconventional career by Singapore / Asian standards - with several career switches. He started his career in banking before co-founding a laser tag events company. After building the business from ground-up, growing the team to 20+ and running Singapore's largest indoor laser tag center, he joined an early-stage tech startup to lead business development across Southeast Asia. In 2019, he took a leap of faith to join the e-commerce industry, seemingly unknown sector, until a few months later when Covid-19 pandemic brought the world to its knees.

While John finds himself lucky to have 'survived' the career switches relatively unscathed, he has never forgotten how it feels like to be at the crossroads of your career and life. Now, he has started this podcast - to provide the resources and perspectives he wished he had - and to help you make the most of your career to live your best life.

Join him as he speaks with unconventional career changers and risk-takers, taps into their experiences and perspectives and discusses all things career. Together, they will provide you nuggets of wisdom, inspiration and actionable insights to start living life on your own terms.

This is Part 1 of 3 of special conversation episode between John Lim and Aaron Wong, guest from Ep 1. At time of recording, John has been actively job hunting for several months.  

Some topics covered include:
- Getting laid off
- What's interest rate got to do with anything
- Tech companies
- Work vs identity
- What's a good layoff exercise 

Support the show

Subscribe to bonus podcast content and career resources via ✉️ email newsletter.

About the host John Lim:

John Lim has had an unconventional career by Singapore / Asian standards - with several career switches. He started his career in banking before co-founding a laser tag events company. After building the business from ground-up, growing the team to 20+ and running Singapore's largest indoor laser tag center, he joined an early-stage tech startup to lead business development across Southeast Asia. In 2019, he took a leap of faith to join the e-commerce industry, seemingly unknown sector, until a few months later when Covid-19 pandemic brought the world to its knees.

While John finds himself lucky to have 'survived' the career switches relatively unscathed, he has never forgotten how it feels like to be at the crossroads of your career and life. Now, he has started this podcast - to provide the resources and perspectives he wished he had - and to help you make the most of your career to live your best life.

Join him as he speaks with unconventional career changers and risk-takers, taps into their experiences and perspectives and discusses all things career. Together, they will provide you nuggets of wisdom, inspiration and actionable insights to start living life on your own terms.

Winnie Wong (her LinkedIn) is the author of Amazon #1 New Release - You Don't Have to Look the Part: How East Asian Women Thrive as Entrepreneurs (link). 

Winnie is also a business leader, educator, researcher, investor, and philanthropist. She has over a decade of corporate experience working with start-ups, scale-ups, and big tech companies. 

An advocate for diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) in entrepreneurship, Winnie has mentored foreign domestic workers in entrepreneurship and advised social impact funds in granting $1 million to female-led start-ups. She is a speaker on women, entrepreneurship, and technology. 

Winnie holds an MBA from INSEAD, where she was a Forte Fellow, and was named a Rising Talent by the Women’s Forum for the Economy & Society. A Canadian-born Chinese, Winnie has lived in Canada, the United Kingdom, France, China, and Singapore. 

In this conversation, we spoke about:

- The different expectations of men vs women in the workplace
- Why is her book important and why East Asian women
- How Covid19 has affected women at work
- Why it is important to support female entrepreneurs
- What's one lesson for women (and men) considering a career change

Connect with Winnie via LinkedIn. Check out her book You Don't Have to Look the Part: How East Asian Women Thrive as Entrepreneurs (link).

About the book:
You Don’t Have to Look the Part: How East Asian Women Thrive as Entrepreneurs

Women-led start-ups get only 2% of venture capital funding, even though women own 1 in 3 businesses globally. Of that percentage, East Asian women-led startups only receive a small sliver of that 2%. Despite this disparity, women-founded businesses return more than twice as much per dollar invested than those founded by men. 

In the book, you’ll learn the: 

• Lessons from the stories of East Asian women entrepreneurs who have built some of the world’s biggest companies, like Coffee Meets Bagel, Canva, and Grab 
• Innovative solutions to support diversity in the start-up industry, starting with government legislators, educators, and investors 
• And so much more... 

Support the show

Subscribe to bonus podcast content and career resources via ✉️ email newsletter.

About the host John Lim:

John Lim has had an unconventional career by Singapore / Asian standards - with several career switches. He started his career in banking before co-founding a laser tag events company. After building the business from ground-up, growing the team to 20+ and running Singapore's largest indoor laser tag center, he joined an early-stage tech startup to lead business development across Southeast Asia. In 2019, he took a leap of faith to join the e-commerce industry, seemingly unknown sector, until a few months later when Covid-19 pandemic brought the world to its knees.

While John finds himself lucky to have 'survived' the career switches relatively unscathed, he has never forgotten how it feels like to be at the crossroads of your career and life. Now, he has started this podcast - to provide the resources and perspectives he wished he had - and to help you make the most of your career to live your best life.

Join him as he speaks with unconventional career changers and risk-takers, taps into their experiences and perspectives and discusses all things career. Together, they will provide you nuggets of wisdom, inspiration and actionable insights to start living life on your own terms.

In this episode, we have a special guest - a career change coach who has helped numerous individuals successfully navigate their career transitions. If you're a millennial in Singapore looking to make a career switch, this episode is for you. 

Former VP at BlackRock, career change coach Jennifer Ong (www.ongjennifer.com) shares her own personal career change story, insights on career and career change and provides the breakdown of her 1:1 career coaching program which has successfully helped her students from Google, Microsoft, Stripe, Accenture pivot careers.

We also discuss the reasons why millennials are frustrated with their corporate jobs, the self-limiting beliefs that hold millennials back from a successful career transition and the importance of investing and betting on yourself. Jennifer provides practical tips and strategies that you can implement immediately to jumpstart your career switch journey.

Whether you're feeling stuck in your current job, looking to pivot to a new industry, or simply curious about the world of career coaching, you won't want to miss this insightful conversation. 

Ready to take ownership of your life and explore what a fulfilling career could look like for you?  Sign up for a free 45-min  1:1 coaching call with Jennifer here: http://bit.ly/3yxcjKP. 

This podcast episode was recorded in Jan 2023.

Support the show

Subscribe to bonus podcast content and career resources via ✉️ email newsletter.

About the host John Lim:

John Lim has had an unconventional career by Singapore / Asian standards - with several career switches. He started his career in banking before co-founding a laser tag events company. After building the business from ground-up, growing the team to 20+ and running Singapore's largest indoor laser tag center, he joined an early-stage tech startup to lead business development across Southeast Asia. In 2019, he took a leap of faith to join the e-commerce industry, seemingly unknown sector, until a few months later when Covid-19 pandemic brought the world to its knees.

While John finds himself lucky to have 'survived' the career switches relatively unscathed, he has never forgotten how it feels like to be at the crossroads of your career and life. Now, he has started this podcast - to provide the resources and perspectives he wished he had - and to help you make the most of your career to live your best life.

Join him as he speaks with unconventional career changers and risk-takers, taps into their experiences and perspectives and discusses all things career. Together, they will provide you nuggets of wisdom, inspiration and actionable insights to start living life on your own terms.

During a career switch, it is common to assume that one needs to take a pay cut when joining a completely different industry to "start from scratch".  Or in job hunting, the candidate with the most relevant job experience should be the most obvious choice. 
Both not necessarily true.

If you're currently in the service industry looking to pivot to a corporate job or if you feel like your current career is stuck, this episode is for you.
 
Jasper Lim is currently the Assistant Vice President, Head of E-commerce at Primer Group of Companies, a distribution and retail company with operations in 10 countries and relationships with over 150 leading brands in the outdoor, travel, action sports and urban lifestyle spaces. Some of these brands include Quiksilver, Billabong, The North Face, Hydro Flask and Reef.

Before that, he has had wide-ranging experiences in his career - he started his career 14 years ago as a Flight Steward at Singapore Airlines. He then did marketing at Far East Organization, one of the biggest real estate developers in Singapore. He went on to be a Constituency Manager at People’s Association, a government-linked statutory board which promotes racial harmony and social cohesion in Singapore.

Jasper then joined ONE Championship, Asia’s largest global mixed martial arts sports media platform with a global broadcast to over 150 countries. 

Jasper then did a career switch to a completely different industry- e-commerce, joining AceCom Technologies, a regional e-commerce enabler and multichannel distributor. He started out as the Head of Marketing and Partnerships before becoming the General Manager.

This podcast episode was recorded in Sep 2022.

Support the show

Subscribe to bonus podcast content and career resources via ✉️ email newsletter.

About the host John Lim:

John Lim has had an unconventional career by Singapore / Asian standards - with several career switches. He started his career in banking before co-founding a laser tag events company. After building the business from ground-up, growing the team to 20+ and running Singapore's largest indoor laser tag center, he joined an early-stage tech startup to lead business development across Southeast Asia. In 2019, he took a leap of faith to join the e-commerce industry, seemingly unknown sector, until a few months later when Covid-19 pandemic brought the world to its knees.

While John finds himself lucky to have 'survived' the career switches relatively unscathed, he has never forgotten how it feels like to be at the crossroads of your career and life. Now, he has started this podcast - to provide the resources and perspectives he wished he had - and to help you make the most of your career to live your best life.

Join him as he speaks with unconventional career changers and risk-takers, taps into their experiences and perspectives and discusses all things career. Together, they will provide you nuggets of wisdom, inspiration and actionable insights to start living life on your own terms.

In this solo episode,  I share the 3 lessons I learnt during my time at Lazada Nov 2019 - Jan 2022. I had front row seat watching the world rushing to pivot to e-commerce when Covid19 brought the world to its knees in early 2020.

Lazada is one of the biggest e-commerce operators in Southeast Asia. They were founded in 2012 and they currently operate in six countries: Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, Vietnam, and the Philippines.

Opinions expressed in this podcast are solely my own and do not express the views or opinions of Lazada, past, current or future organizations that I am part of.

Subscribe to bonus podcast content and career resources via ✉️ email newsletter here.

Support the show

Subscribe to bonus podcast content and career resources via ✉️ email newsletter.

About the host John Lim:

John Lim has had an unconventional career by Singapore / Asian standards - with several career switches. He started his career in banking before co-founding a laser tag events company. After building the business from ground-up, growing the team to 20+ and running Singapore's largest indoor laser tag center, he joined an early-stage tech startup to lead business development across Southeast Asia. In 2019, he took a leap of faith to join the e-commerce industry, seemingly unknown sector, until a few months later when Covid-19 pandemic brought the world to its knees.

While John finds himself lucky to have 'survived' the career switches relatively unscathed, he has never forgotten how it feels like to be at the crossroads of your career and life. Now, he has started this podcast - to provide the resources and perspectives he wished he had - and to help you make the most of your career to live your best life.

Join him as he speaks with unconventional career changers and risk-takers, taps into their experiences and perspectives and discusses all things career. Together, they will provide you nuggets of wisdom, inspiration and actionable insights to start living life on your own terms.

It is one thing to have a career change. It is another to do it while you're uprooting your life to move to another country with no social network. It is one thing to start a business. It is another to start a social enterprise where you're chasing other outcomes other than just financial sustainability. Simon Lieberum has done all of the above. 

If you are curious about sustainability and social enterprises, this episode is for you. And if you love local Singaporean kopi, you're in for a treat (scroll down).

Simon Lieberum is the Founder and CEO of No Harm Done, a social enterprise which sells Nespresso-compatible coffee pods which are biodegradable. What makes No Harm Done and their coffee pods unique is that the coffee pods are organic, vegan and 100% plastic-free. The coffee pods and packaging are compostable and the coffee beans are sourced from sustainable partner farms around the world.

But what I really love is that No Harm Done does the Singapore local coffee - the Kopi O - so damn good! Kopi-O refers to black Singapore local coffee (also known as Nanyang coffee) with no milk.

Before Simon started No Harm Done, he led a jet-setting career in Europe being a Management Consultant at Accenture. And from flying around Europe suited up and carrying a laptop with beautiful powerpoint slides, he landed in Singapore and ended up working in a family-owned business which sells plastic packaging to FnB brands.

This podcast episode was recorded in Nov 2022.

Use special promo code ONMYOWNTERMS on No Harm Done (click on the link) to receive a special 20% discount. Limited time offer.

Timestamps:
(02:08) Well-kept secret
(06:14) No Harm Done
(13:44) Why make it organic and plastic free
(22:31) Management Consulting
(26:16) From Europe to Yishun in Singapore
(29:11) No technical background
(29:59) The hardest part
(34:02) Lessons learnt
(35:50) Hiring 65 years old and above
(39:04) Kopi for a Cause

Disclosure: When you purchase through links on the podcast, I may earn an affiliate commission at no extra cost to you. Thank you for supporting this podcast.

Support the show

Subscribe to bonus podcast content and career resources via ✉️ email newsletter.

About the host John Lim:

John Lim has had an unconventional career by Singapore / Asian standards - with several career switches. He started his career in banking before co-founding a laser tag events company. After building the business from ground-up, growing the team to 20+ and running Singapore's largest indoor laser tag center, he joined an early-stage tech startup to lead business development across Southeast Asia. In 2019, he took a leap of faith to join the e-commerce industry, seemingly unknown sector, until a few months later when Covid-19 pandemic brought the world to its knees.

While John finds himself lucky to have 'survived' the career switches relatively unscathed, he has never forgotten how it feels like to be at the crossroads of your career and life. Now, he has started this podcast - to provide the resources and perspectives he wished he had - and to help you make the most of your career to live your best life.

Join him as he speaks with unconventional career changers and risk-takers, taps into their experiences and perspectives and discusses all things career. Together, they will provide you nuggets of wisdom, inspiration and actionable insights to start living life on your own terms.

Not everyone can easily and/or necessarily need to make drastic career changes immediately to get more fulfilment. You can start a side hustle or passion project  while keeping your day job.
 
This episode is about side hustles and hustling. Bethia Wee is the Sales Development Lead for small and medium businesses at Aspire. It is self-described as the all-in-one finance operating system for businesses in Southeast Asia. Aspire was founded in 2018 and so far it has raised nearly $200M from venture capital firms including the famous Y-Combinator.

Before Aspire, our guest was at Fave Group, where she spent collectively 5.5 years at. Her roles included leading business development and partner operations.

If that doesn’t sound like a lot on her plate, Bethia has also been busy starting her own fashion brand Whakamana, which blends work-appropriate attire with activewear elements and materials.

Bethia is also the co-founder of ‘Ello, a mobile pop-up bar service for events. She has also been a freelance personal trainer. She is a wine drinker, a passionate fan of dancing and fitness and is at the grand age of just 26.

This podcast episode was recorded in Sep 2022.

Use special promo code ONMYOWNTERMS on Whakamana (click on the link) to receive 15% off till end of Feb 2023, 10% thereafter. Limited time offer.

Timestamps:
(11:24) Joining a startup
(19:24) How to gain confidence
(28:37) Starting work appropriate activewear fashion brand Whakamana
(33:02) Investing in property in early 20s
(38:51) How to think about money
(41:38) Failures and lessons
(45:02) Should you get a degree?
(50:14) How to start a side hustle

Disclosure: When you purchase through links on the podcast, I may earn an affiliate commission at no extra cost to you. Thank you for supporting this podcast.

Support the show

Subscribe to bonus podcast content and career resources via ✉️ email newsletter.

About the host John Lim:

John Lim has had an unconventional career by Singapore / Asian standards - with several career switches. He started his career in banking before co-founding a laser tag events company. After building the business from ground-up, growing the team to 20+ and running Singapore's largest indoor laser tag center, he joined an early-stage tech startup to lead business development across Southeast Asia. In 2019, he took a leap of faith to join the e-commerce industry, seemingly unknown sector, until a few months later when Covid-19 pandemic brought the world to its knees.

While John finds himself lucky to have 'survived' the career switches relatively unscathed, he has never forgotten how it feels like to be at the crossroads of your career and life. Now, he has started this podcast - to provide the resources and perspectives he wished he had - and to help you make the most of your career to live your best life.

Join him as he speaks with unconventional career changers and risk-takers, taps into their experiences and perspectives and discusses all things career. Together, they will provide you nuggets of wisdom, inspiration and actionable insights to start living life on your own terms.

Hi everyone, this is another special solo episode. This is a recording for a presentation I did for Singapore Management University (SMU) students in Jan 2022. It consists of three main parts:

1. Brief summary of my career journey so far (skip this if you’ve heard Ep 12)
2. My experience interviewing and getting my current role at Shopify
3. My 4 Advice / takeaways on career

Although the recording was prepared for SMU students, most of the career takeaways are still very relevant for early to mid career folks. 

To receive more career content and resources like these, do consider subscribing to our email newsletter here https://bit.ly/3vxbD6I. 

Timestamps:
(02:14) Career Summary (skip this if you have heard Ep 12)
(03:54) How I joined Shopify
(06:24) Takeaway #1
(08:05) Takeaway #2
(09:36) Takeaway #3
(10:00) Takeaway #4 (I regret not doing this)

Social Media:

Kindly rate and review this podcast on social media / Apple Podcast. Your 2 mins spent will mean the world to us and will make the hundreds of hours spent producing this podcast all worthwhile. Consider subscribing and following the podcast wherever you are listening or watching from so you won't miss out on new episodes. 

You can find and connect with us on our 🌐 website, Linkedin, Instagram, Facebook and watch (parts of) the conversation on YouTube.

Support the show

Subscribe to bonus podcast content and career resources via ✉️ email newsletter.

About the host John Lim:

John Lim has had an unconventional career by Singapore / Asian standards - with several career switches. He started his career in banking before co-founding a laser tag events company. After building the business from ground-up, growing the team to 20+ and running Singapore's largest indoor laser tag center, he joined an early-stage tech startup to lead business development across Southeast Asia. In 2019, he took a leap of faith to join the e-commerce industry, seemingly unknown sector, until a few months later when Covid-19 pandemic brought the world to its knees.

While John finds himself lucky to have 'survived' the career switches relatively unscathed, he has never forgotten how it feels like to be at the crossroads of your career and life. Now, he has started this podcast - to provide the resources and perspectives he wished he had - and to help you make the most of your career to live your best life.

Join him as he speaks with unconventional career changers and risk-takers, taps into their experiences and perspectives and discusses all things career. Together, they will provide you nuggets of wisdom, inspiration and actionable insights to start living life on your own terms.

Most people think AI is only for big tech companies. 🚫But what if it could completely change how small businesses run — without hiring a single extra person? 👀

In this uncut clip from On My Own Terms, Mohd. Rizuan reveals how automation is quietly transforming the way agencies and SMBs work. From cutting hours of repetitive reporting to freeing up founders from endless admin, this is the side of AI that almost nobody talks about.

Imagine reports that send themselves 📊, client updates that go out automatically ✉️, and operations that scale without extra headcount. That’s not the future — it’s already happening.

This conversation will make you rethink what’s possible with AI in your own business.

👉 Don’t miss the full conversation with Mohd Rizuan on Ep #029 here: https://open.spotify.com/episode/58dCeLQFU8U5yvP0xD6tJ6?si=fmsmXeM1QACTXbxvyWOjUA

Where to find Rizuan:

Website: https://bit.ly/4gGMtcw 

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mohd-rizuan/

🔍 Scale Score™— Free Quick Diagnostic for SMB Founders

Running a business that’s generating revenue but still feels heavier than it should?

Scale Score™ is a free short diagnostic designed for SMB founders to pinpoint where growth is actually getting stuck — across sales, delivery, positioning, and systems.

Most businesses don’t need more tactics or tools.They need clarity on the real constraint before investing time, money, or energy (including things like AI).

If you want a clearer signal on what to fix next — and what to ignore for now — 👉 Take the free Scale Score™: https://bit.ly/3MC4aiE

🎯Find practical tools and resources to guide your journey:

Check out: https://bit.ly/3CTMZRW

📩 Follow us on:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/onmyowntermspodcast

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/on-my-own-terms-podcast/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/OnMyOwnTermsPodcast

Email: johnlimcy@gmail.com

Support my work here: https://buymeacoffee.com/onmyownterms

About the host John Lim:

Born and bred in Singapore, John is a husband, father and a curious business and tech enthusiast. John began his career in banking, co-founded Singapore’s largest indoor laser tag events company, led regional business development for a tech startup, and took a leap into e-commerce just before the Covid pandemic hit. Just when he thought he was crushing it at his dream company, he got laid off in the tech winter. In his journey, he's embraced uncertainty, growth, and reinvention—and he’s on a mission to help others do the same.

#AI #Automation #FutureOfWork #CareerPivot #SME #AItools #SmallBusiness #WorkSmarter #DigitalTransformation #OnMyOwnTerms

Yaohong Ch’ng is the Head of Data and Engineering at January Capital, a venture capital (VC) firm based in Singapore. He is responsible for building data-driven solutions that will complement January Capital’s investment process. Before that, he was the Head of Data at StashAway, a digital wealth manager that has assets of more than USD $1 billion under management. As employee #2, he helped build the company’s flagship product since day one as team lead and later on, as an engineering manager.

In this episode, you will learn how Yaohong transitioned his career from $700 / month to joining a VC, why having transferable skills and being a “cockroach” is important and why you should look at yourself internally first when considering career switch.

This podcast episode was recorded in Sep 2022. Subscribe to email newsletter for bonus content.

Timestamps:
(00:00) Intro
(11:45) Robo-Advisor
(18:23) Risk of joining early stage startup
(21:02) Why skills are important
(23:43) Switching from finance to tech
(41:14) Building transferable skills
(45:26) Advice for career switch
(49:23) Career optionalities
(58:34) Framework for hiring
(01:09:00) What does success look like

Social Media:

Kindly rate and review this podcast on social media / Apple Podcast. Your 2 mins spent will mean the world to us and will make the hundreds of hours spent producing this podcast all worthwhile. Consider subscribing and following the podcast wherever you are listening or watching from so you won't miss out on new episodes. 

You can find and connect with us on our 🌐 website, Linkedin, Instagram, Facebook and watch (parts of) the conversation on YouTube.

Support the show

Subscribe to bonus podcast content and career resources via ✉️ email newsletter.

About the host John Lim:

John Lim has had an unconventional career by Singapore / Asian standards - with several career switches. He started his career in banking before co-founding a laser tag events company. After building the business from ground-up, growing the team to 20+ and running Singapore's largest indoor laser tag center, he joined an early-stage tech startup to lead business development across Southeast Asia. In 2019, he took a leap of faith to join the e-commerce industry, seemingly unknown sector, until a few months later when Covid-19 pandemic brought the world to its knees.

While John finds himself lucky to have 'survived' the career switches relatively unscathed, he has never forgotten how it feels like to be at the crossroads of your career and life. Now, he has started this podcast - to provide the resources and perspectives he wished he had - and to help you make the most of your career to live your best life.

Join him as he speaks with unconventional career changers and risk-takers, taps into their experiences and perspectives and discusses all things career. Together, they will provide you nuggets of wisdom, inspiration and actionable insights to start living life on your own terms.

Sean Goh  is the co-founder of UglyFood, Singapore-based food startup whose mission is to eliminate food waste and revamp the food ecosystem. UglyFood aims to make sustainability a part of people’s everyday lives. They operate in the fruits and vegetables space by selling excess or ugly produce, their own branded products, and sustainably sourced goods.

Before UglyFood, Sean spent 12 years across various role at Shell, a multinational oil and gas company. In between his time at Shell, Sean took a gap year to do his MBA in Hong Kong.

In this episode, you will learn how a senior executive in a big stable MNC like Sean transitioned his career switch out to building a sustainability-focused startup, Sean's advice for career switch and young folks starting out, value add of his MBA (Master of Business Administration) and which starting role in his career where he learnt the most from.

This podcast episode was recorded in July 2022.

Subscribe to bonus podcast content and career resources via ✉️ email newsletter.

Timestamps:
(00:00) Intro
(06:59) From Shell to Uglyfood
(08:17) How much does age gap between co-founders matter
(09:31) Strengths vs Weaknesses
(10:59) Builder, Opportunity and Timing
(12:33) Execution is everything
(16:18) One advice for career switch
(17:41) Age old question on passion
(18:30) How did MBA value add
(20:28) Learnt the most at this role
(22:51) Advice for young folks starting out
(27:20) How to find mentor


Social Media:

Kindly rate and review this podcast on social media / Apple Podcast. Your 2 mins spent will mean the world to us and will make the hundreds of hours spent producing this podcast all worthwhile. Consider subscribing and following the podcast wherever you are listening or watching from so you won't miss out on new episodes. 

You can find and connect with us on our 🌐 website, Linkedin, Instagram, Facebook and watch (parts of) the conversation on

Support the show

Subscribe to bonus podcast content and career resources via ✉️ email newsletter.

About the host John Lim:

John Lim has had an unconventional career by Singapore / Asian standards - with several career switches. He started his career in banking before co-founding a laser tag events company. After building the business from ground-up, growing the team to 20+ and running Singapore's largest indoor laser tag center, he joined an early-stage tech startup to lead business development across Southeast Asia. In 2019, he took a leap of faith to join the e-commerce industry, seemingly unknown sector, until a few months later when Covid-19 pandemic brought the world to its knees.

While John finds himself lucky to have 'survived' the career switches relatively unscathed, he has never forgotten how it feels like to be at the crossroads of your career and life. Now, he has started this podcast - to provide the resources and perspectives he wished he had - and to help you make the most of your career to live your best life.

Join him as he speaks with unconventional career changers and risk-takers, taps into their experiences and perspectives and discusses all things career. Together, they will provide you nuggets of wisdom, inspiration and actionable insights to start living life on your own terms.

Hi everyone, this is a solo episode where I will share my career journey thus far. I will tell you why and focus on the 3 career transition chapters:

1. From banking 🏦 to laser tag 🔫
2. From employer to startup employee
3. From untimely departure to ecommerce industry in Covid19

Let me know what you think / contact me directly at johnlimcy@gmail.com. Do kindly let me know your thoughts of such solo episodes - and what other topics you'd like me to cover.
 
Subscribe to bonus podcast content and career resources via ✉️ email newsletter here.

Timestamps:
(00:00) Intro
(00:47) Why I am sharing my career journey
(02:10) My 3 career transition chapters
(03:15) Chapter 1
(07:22) Chapter 2
(09:36) Put Numbers on your CV
(14:18) Chapter 3
(15:14) One of the lowest points of my life
(20:13) Motivation behind this podcast

Social Media:

Kindly rate and review this podcast on social media / Apple Podcast. Your 2 mins spent will mean the world to us and will make the hundreds of hours spent producing this podcast all worthwhile. Consider subscribing and following the podcast wherever you are listening or watching from so you won't miss out on new episodes. 

You can find and connect with us on our 🌐 website, Linkedin, Instagram, Facebook and watch (parts of) the conversation on YouTube.

Support the show

Subscribe to bonus podcast content and career resources via ✉️ email newsletter.

About the host John Lim:

John Lim has had an unconventional career by Singapore / Asian standards - with several career switches. He started his career in banking before co-founding a laser tag events company. After building the business from ground-up, growing the team to 20+ and running Singapore's largest indoor laser tag center, he joined an early-stage tech startup to lead business development across Southeast Asia. In 2019, he took a leap of faith to join the e-commerce industry, seemingly unknown sector, until a few months later when Covid-19 pandemic brought the world to its knees.

While John finds himself lucky to have 'survived' the career switches relatively unscathed, he has never forgotten how it feels like to be at the crossroads of your career and life. Now, he has started this podcast - to provide the resources and perspectives he wished he had - and to help you make the most of your career to live your best life.

Join him as he speaks with unconventional career changers and risk-takers, taps into their experiences and perspectives and discusses all things career. Together, they will provide you nuggets of wisdom, inspiration and actionable insights to start living life on your own terms.

Hi everyone, this is a special episode (more of such to come) - to give everyone a quick review for 2022 and let everyone know what to expect in 2023.

We launched an email newsletter - click to subscribe !

3 things to do after listening to this episode:

1. Rate and review this podcast wherever you are listening or watching from - go ahead, don’t be shy and leave us a 5 star review :)
2. Spread the word for us - please share our content with your friends out there - and follow us on Linkedin and Youtube.
3. Subscribe to our newsletter. It’s one great way for us to get direct feedback and suggestions from you - so that we can serve you better. And what’s best is that it’s free - at least for now. And, at anytime you no longer find value in the newsletter, you can always unsubscribe.

2023 is looking to be another tough and uncertain year for the jobs market.  The team and I look forward to provide more relevant content to help you in a more holistic way and also, to help more people who are in different stages of considering career switch.  If career change is not on your mind and you simply enjoy content on personal and career growth, we want to be here for you too.

If you think this will help your friends, family, colleagues - please do share this podcast with them. we’d really appreciate it.

Thank you once again for your listenership and support in 2022. Don't forget to subscribe to our newsletter!

Disclaimer: Podcast stats on this episode refer to only episodes downloaded/streamed on Spotify - they do not include episodes consumed on other platforms like Apple Podcasts and Google Podcasts. 

Support the show

Subscribe to bonus podcast content and career resources via ✉️ email newsletter.

About the host John Lim:

John Lim has had an unconventional career by Singapore / Asian standards - with several career switches. He started his career in banking before co-founding a laser tag events company. After building the business from ground-up, growing the team to 20+ and running Singapore's largest indoor laser tag center, he joined an early-stage tech startup to lead business development across Southeast Asia. In 2019, he took a leap of faith to join the e-commerce industry, seemingly unknown sector, until a few months later when Covid-19 pandemic brought the world to its knees.

While John finds himself lucky to have 'survived' the career switches relatively unscathed, he has never forgotten how it feels like to be at the crossroads of your career and life. Now, he has started this podcast - to provide the resources and perspectives he wished he had - and to help you make the most of your career to live your best life.

Join him as he speaks with unconventional career changers and risk-takers, taps into their experiences and perspectives and discusses all things career. Together, they will provide you nuggets of wisdom, inspiration and actionable insights to start living life on your own terms.

Our guest speaker, Terng Shing Chen, more commonly known as Terng, is the CEO and founder of SYNC PR, a technology company that provides public relations and content marketing.

Before founding SYNC PR, he had an illustrious career as an in-house public relations (PR) employee and in PR agencies. Some of the clients and brands he has worked with include Razer, GrabTaxi (Grab), Paktor and MyDoc.

Terng is also the co host of the Business Over Drinks podcast, modelled after the countless business conversations that happen over a few drinks. It is self-described as casual conversation between business leaders, industry mavericks and the two hosts.

This episode is Part 3 out of 3 where Terng spills the beans of how it's really like running and co-hosting a podcast, his deeper thoughts on entrepreneurship, his favourite failure, starting businesses with co founders and growing up as a Chinese in Sri Lanka.

This podcast episode was recorded in Apr 2022.

Subscribe to bonus podcast content and career resources via ✉️ email newsletter.

Social Media:

Kindly rate and review this podcast on social media / Apple Podcast. Your 2 mins spent will mean the world to us and will make the hundreds of hours spent producing this podcast all worthwhile. Consider subscribing and following the podcast wherever you are listening or watching from so you won't miss out on new episodes. 

You can find and connect with us on our 🌐 website, Linkedin, Instagram, Facebook and watch (parts of) the conversation on YouTube.

Support the show

Subscribe to bonus podcast content and career resources via ✉️ email newsletter.

About the host John Lim:

John Lim has had an unconventional career by Singapore / Asian standards - with several career switches. He started his career in banking before co-founding a laser tag events company. After building the business from ground-up, growing the team to 20+ and running Singapore's largest indoor laser tag center, he joined an early-stage tech startup to lead business development across Southeast Asia. In 2019, he took a leap of faith to join the e-commerce industry, seemingly unknown sector, until a few months later when Covid-19 pandemic brought the world to its knees.

While John finds himself lucky to have 'survived' the career switches relatively unscathed, he has never forgotten how it feels like to be at the crossroads of your career and life. Now, he has started this podcast - to provide the resources and perspectives he wished he had - and to help you make the most of your career to live your best life.

Join him as he speaks with unconventional career changers and risk-takers, taps into their experiences and perspectives and discusses all things career. Together, they will provide you nuggets of wisdom, inspiration and actionable insights to start living life on your own terms.

Our guest speaker, Terng Shing Chen, more commonly known as Terng, is the CEO and founder of SYNC PR, a technology company that provides public relations and content marketing.

Before founding SYNC PR, he had an illustrious career as an in-house public relations (PR) employee and in PR agencies. Some of the clients and brands he has worked with include Razer, GrabTaxi (Grab), Paktor and MyDoc.

Terng is also the co host of the Business Over Drinks podcast, modelled after the countless business conversations that happen over a few drinks. It is self-described as casual conversation between business leaders, industry mavericks and the two hosts.

This episode is Part 2 out of 3 where Terng tells us more about measuring ROI of Public Relations (PR), when does PR have the highest ROI for a company's growth, managing a team and how he and his co-host started Business Over Drinks podcast.

Book mentioned: The E-Myth Revisited: Why Most Small Businesses Don't Work and What to Do About It 

This podcast episode was recorded in Apr 2022.

Subscribe to bonus podcast content and career resources via ✉️ email newsletter.

Social Media:

Kindly rate and review this podcast on social media / Apple Podcast. Your 2 mins spent will mean the world to us and will make the hundreds of hours spent producing this podcast all worthwhile. Consider subscribing and following the podcast wherever you are listening or watching from so you won't miss out on new episodes. 

You can find and connect with us on our 🌐 website, Linkedin, Instagram, Facebook and watch (parts of) the conversation on YouTube.

Support the show

Subscribe to bonus podcast content and career resources via ✉️ email newsletter.

About the host John Lim:

John Lim has had an unconventional career by Singapore / Asian standards - with several career switches. He started his career in banking before co-founding a laser tag events company. After building the business from ground-up, growing the team to 20+ and running Singapore's largest indoor laser tag center, he joined an early-stage tech startup to lead business development across Southeast Asia. In 2019, he took a leap of faith to join the e-commerce industry, seemingly unknown sector, until a few months later when Covid-19 pandemic brought the world to its knees.

While John finds himself lucky to have 'survived' the career switches relatively unscathed, he has never forgotten how it feels like to be at the crossroads of your career and life. Now, he has started this podcast - to provide the resources and perspectives he wished he had - and to help you make the most of your career to live your best life.

Join him as he speaks with unconventional career changers and risk-takers, taps into their experiences and perspectives and discusses all things career. Together, they will provide you nuggets of wisdom, inspiration and actionable insights to start living life on your own terms.

Our guest speaker, Terng Shing Chen, more commonly known as Terng, is the CEO and founder of SYNC PR, a technology company that provides public relations and content marketing.

Before founding SYNC PR, he had an illustrious career as an in-house public relations (PR) employee and in PR agencies. Some of the clients and brands he has worked with include Razer, GrabTaxi (Grab), Paktor and MyDoc.

Terng is also the co host of the Business Over Drinks podcast, modelled after the countless business conversations that happen over a few drinks. It is self-described as casual conversation between business leaders, industry mavericks and the two hosts.

This episode is Part 1 out of 3 where Terng spills the juicy ins and outs of PR industry, advice for folks looking to enter the industry and the REAL reason why he joined the industry.

This podcast episode was recorded in Apr 2022.

Subscribe to bonus podcast content and career resources via ✉️ email newsletter.

Social Media:

Kindly rate and review this podcast on social media / Apple Podcast. Your 2 mins spent will mean the world to us and will make the hundreds of hours spent producing this podcast all worthwhile. Consider subscribing and following the podcast wherever you are listening or watching from so you won't miss out on new episodes. 

You can find and connect with us on our 🌐 website, Linkedin, Instagram, Facebook and watch (parts of) the conversation on YouTube.

Support the show

Subscribe to bonus podcast content and career resources via ✉️ email newsletter.

About the host John Lim:

John Lim has had an unconventional career by Singapore / Asian standards - with several career switches. He started his career in banking before co-founding a laser tag events company. After building the business from ground-up, growing the team to 20+ and running Singapore's largest indoor laser tag center, he joined an early-stage tech startup to lead business development across Southeast Asia. In 2019, he took a leap of faith to join the e-commerce industry, seemingly unknown sector, until a few months later when Covid-19 pandemic brought the world to its knees.

While John finds himself lucky to have 'survived' the career switches relatively unscathed, he has never forgotten how it feels like to be at the crossroads of your career and life. Now, he has started this podcast - to provide the resources and perspectives he wished he had - and to help you make the most of your career to live your best life.

Join him as he speaks with unconventional career changers and risk-takers, taps into their experiences and perspectives and discusses all things career. Together, they will provide you nuggets of wisdom, inspiration and actionable insights to start living life on your own terms.

Imagine this: you’re at the peak of your career. You have a great job, maybe even a great boss, and you’re making good money. You’ve made it.

Most people would say that this is where life gets easier—you’re already successful, now all you need is a little more money and fewer hours at work and everything will be perfect.

But there’s one guy who didn’t think so. He quit his job and started over from scratch because he wanted to find greater purpose in what he did every day.

We wouldn’t blame you if you thought we were talking about Elon Musk when we said this—after all, he did tweet something about quitting his jobs and becoming an influencer—but no! It was someone else entirely: Dennis Teo!

You might not know who Dennis Teo is (or maybe you do), but if you think about it for a minute, it makes total sense: after all, who hasn't wanted to quit their job at some point? And who hasn't wondered what might happen if they did?

The story of Dennis proves that sometimes we have to take a leap of faith and go against what society expects from us in order to find our purpose and live our dreams!

Tune in to this podcast episode to learn more about Dennis and what made him decide to shift careers despite having a dream job.

This podcast episode was recorded in Oct 2021.

Subscribe to bonus podcast content and career resources via ✉️ email newsletter.

Social Media:

Kindly rate and review this podcast on social media / Apple Podcast. Your 2 mins spent will mean the world to us and will make the hundreds of hours spent producing this podcast all worthwhile. Consider subscribing and following the podcast wherever you are listening or watching from so you won't miss out on new episodes. 

You can find and connect with us on our 🌐 website, Linkedin, Instagram, Facebook and watch (parts of) the conversation on YouTube.

Support the show

Subscribe to bonus podcast content and career resources via ✉️ email newsletter.

About the host John Lim:

John Lim has had an unconventional career by Singapore / Asian standards - with several career switches. He started his career in banking before co-founding a laser tag events company. After building the business from ground-up, growing the team to 20+ and running Singapore's largest indoor laser tag center, he joined an early-stage tech startup to lead business development across Southeast Asia. In 2019, he took a leap of faith to join the e-commerce industry, seemingly unknown sector, until a few months later when Covid-19 pandemic brought the world to its knees.

While John finds himself lucky to have 'survived' the career switches relatively unscathed, he has never forgotten how it feels like to be at the crossroads of your career and life. Now, he has started this podcast - to provide the resources and perspectives he wished he had - and to help you make the most of your career to live your best life.

Join him as he speaks with unconventional career changers and risk-takers, taps into their experiences and perspectives and discusses all things career. Together, they will provide you nuggets of wisdom, inspiration and actionable insights to start living life on your own terms.

Imagine this: you’re at the peak of your career. You have a great job, maybe even a great boss, and you’re making good money. You’ve made it.

Most people would say that this is where life gets easier—you’re already successful, now all you need is a little more money and fewer hours at work and everything will be perfect. But there’s one guy who didn’t think so. He quit his job and started over from scratch because he wanted to find greater purpose in what he did every day.

We wouldn’t blame you if you thought we were talking about Elon Musk when we said this—after all, he did tweet something about quitting his jobs and becoming an influencer—but no! It was someone else entirely: Dennis Teo!

You might not know who Dennis Teo is (or maybe you do), but if you think about it for a minute, it makes total sense: after all, who hasn't wanted to quit their job at some point? And who hasn't wondered what might happen if they did?

The story of Dennis proves that sometimes we have to take a leap of faith and go against what society expects from us in order to find our purpose and live our dreams!

This is the abridged episode. If you enjoyed this episode and are keen to listen to full conversation  where Dennis and I talked about so much more, do check out the following episode.

This podcast episode was recorded in Oct 2021.

Subscribe to bonus podcast content and career resources via ✉️ email newsletter.

Social Media:

Kindly rate and review this podcast on social media / Apple Podcast. Your 2 mins spent will mean the world to us and will make the hundreds of hours spent producing this podcast all worthwhile. Consider subscribing and following the podcast wherever you are listening or watching from so you won't miss out on new episodes. 

You can find and connect with us on our 🌐 website, Linkedin, Instagram, Facebook and watch (parts of) the conversation on YouTube.

Support the show

Subscribe to bonus podcast content and career resources via ✉️ email newsletter.

About the host John Lim:

John Lim has had an unconventional career by Singapore / Asian standards - with several career switches. He started his career in banking before co-founding a laser tag events company. After building the business from ground-up, growing the team to 20+ and running Singapore's largest indoor laser tag center, he joined an early-stage tech startup to lead business development across Southeast Asia. In 2019, he took a leap of faith to join the e-commerce industry, seemingly unknown sector, until a few months later when Covid-19 pandemic brought the world to its knees.

While John finds himself lucky to have 'survived' the career switches relatively unscathed, he has never forgotten how it feels like to be at the crossroads of your career and life. Now, he has started this podcast - to provide the resources and perspectives he wished he had - and to help you make the most of your career to live your best life.

Join him as he speaks with unconventional career changers and risk-takers, taps into their experiences and perspectives and discusses all things career. Together, they will provide you nuggets of wisdom, inspiration and actionable insights to start living life on your own terms.

“Imagine you are now dead, what would people say about how you lived your life?”

If you think career change is only for those in their early careers or with unfortunate circumstances, you need to listen to Joval’s inspirational story.

Joval Gan is currently co-founder and chief revenue officer of Advocado, a cloud-based loyalty consumer engagement platform for small and medium enterprises. In his first job straight out from university, he joined a direct sales and marketing company, where he ended up spending 14 years, during which, he moved his family abroad to start the Hong Kong office. In his own words, he was living the luxurious and high life.

But what made Joval quit his $500K career at its peak and return to Singapore with no concrete plans? How did his family and friends react and adjust to this decision?

In this full conversation episode, we find out the answers to these and so much more. For a ‘sampling’ of this episode, check out the abridged version in the previous episode.

Subscribe to bonus podcast content and career resources via ✉️ email newsletter.

Social Media:

Kindly rate and review this podcast on social media / Apple Podcast. Your 2 mins spent will mean the world to us and will make the hundreds of hours spent producing this podcast all worthwhile. Consider subscribing and following the podcast wherever you are listening or watching from so you won't miss out on new episodes. 

You can find and connect with us on our 🌐 website, Linkedin, Instagram, Facebook and watch (parts of) the conversation on YouTube.

Support the show

Subscribe to bonus podcast content and career resources via ✉️ email newsletter.

About the host John Lim:

John Lim has had an unconventional career by Singapore / Asian standards - with several career switches. He started his career in banking before co-founding a laser tag events company. After building the business from ground-up, growing the team to 20+ and running Singapore's largest indoor laser tag center, he joined an early-stage tech startup to lead business development across Southeast Asia. In 2019, he took a leap of faith to join the e-commerce industry, seemingly unknown sector, until a few months later when Covid-19 pandemic brought the world to its knees.

While John finds himself lucky to have 'survived' the career switches relatively unscathed, he has never forgotten how it feels like to be at the crossroads of your career and life. Now, he has started this podcast - to provide the resources and perspectives he wished he had - and to help you make the most of your career to live your best life.

Join him as he speaks with unconventional career changers and risk-takers, taps into their experiences and perspectives and discusses all things career. Together, they will provide you nuggets of wisdom, inspiration and actionable insights to start living life on your own terms.

💡 How do you manage money when you’re just starting a business?

In this uncut moment, Shuyi Goh opens up about the practical side of starting her business — from separating personal and business expenses, to choosing between a sole proprietorship or private limited, and even finding the right corporate bank account.

For Shuyi, it wasn’t just about chasing a dream — it was about building a foundation strong enough to support that dream. Every decision, from budgeting to upskilling, became part of the journey of turning her coaching practice into reality.

⚡ If you’ve ever wondered how to handle your finances as a new solopreneur, what structure to choose for your business, or how to balance personal vs. business expenses, this uncut clip will give you a candid look into what it really takes behind the scenes.

👉 Don’t miss the full conversation with Shuyi Goh here: https://open.spotify.com/episode/1jXVSg75tl8ajupXy7gars?si=XcDRVMr_QH6KXxk9JfR7MQ

Where to find Shuyi Goh:

Website: https://www.thestrengthsco.com

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/shuyigoh/

Take the Career Fit Scorecard: https://bit.ly/4gjc8aY

🔍 Scale Score™— Free Quick Diagnostic for SMB Founders

Running a business that’s generating revenue but still feels heavier than it should?

Scale Score™ is a free short diagnostic designed for SMB founders to pinpoint where growth is actually getting stuck — across sales, delivery, positioning, and systems.

Most businesses don’t need more tactics or tools.They need clarity on the real constraint before investing time, money, or energy (including things like AI).

If you want a clearer signal on what to fix next — and what to ignore for now — 👉 Take the free Scale Score™: https://bit.ly/3MC4aiE

🎯Find practical tools and resources to guide your journey:

Check out: https://bit.ly/3CTMZRW

📩 Follow us on:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/onmyowntermspodcast

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/on-my-own-terms-podcast/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/OnMyOwnTermsPodcast

Email: johnlimcy@gmail.com

Support my work here: https://buymeacoffee.com/onmyownterms

About the host John Lim:

Born and bred in Singapore, John is a husband, father and a curious business and tech enthusiast. John began his career in banking, co-founded Singapore’s largest indoor laser tag events company, led regional business development for a tech startup, and took a leap into e-commerce just before the Covid pandemic hit. Just when he thought he was crushing it at his dream company, he got laid off in the tech winter. In his journey, he's embraced uncertainty, growth, and reinvention—and he’s on a mission to help others do the same.

#SmallBusiness #BudgetingTips #MoneyMatters #BusinessFinance #MoneyManagement #CareerTransition #OnMyOwnTerms #Finance #budget #Singapore #Solopreneur

If you think career change is only for those in their early careers or with unfortunate circumstances, you need to listen to Joval’s inspirational story.

Joval Gan is currently co-founder and chief revenue officer of Advocado, a cloud-based loyalty consumer engagement platform for small and medium enterprises. In his first job straight out from university, he joined a direct sales and marketing company, where he ended up spending 14 years, during which, he moved his family abroad to start the Hong Kong office. In his own words, he was living the luxurious and high life.

But what made Joval quit his $500K career at its peak and return to Singapore with no concrete plans? How did his family and friends react and adjust to this decision? In this abridged episode, we find out the answers to these and more.

If you enjoyed this episode and are keen to listen to full conversation where Joval and I talked about so much more like what he ended up doing right after he came back to Singapore, his advice to those considering career change, differences between Singapore and Hong Kong, how he co-founded Advocado, how to do well at sales, check out the following episode. 

This podcast episode was recorded in Sep 2021.

Subscribe to bonus podcast content and career resources via ✉️ email newsletter.

Social Media:

Kindly rate and review this podcast on social media / Apple Podcast. Your 2 mins spent will mean the world to us and will make the hundreds of hours spent producing this podcast all worthwhile. Consider subscribing and following the podcast wherever you are listening or watching from so you won't miss out on new episodes. 

You can find and connect with us on our 🌐 website, Linkedin, Instagram, Facebook and watch (parts of) the conversation on YouTube.

Support the show

Subscribe to bonus podcast content and career resources via ✉️ email newsletter.

About the host John Lim:

John Lim has had an unconventional career by Singapore / Asian standards - with several career switches. He started his career in banking before co-founding a laser tag events company. After building the business from ground-up, growing the team to 20+ and running Singapore's largest indoor laser tag center, he joined an early-stage tech startup to lead business development across Southeast Asia. In 2019, he took a leap of faith to join the e-commerce industry, seemingly unknown sector, until a few months later when Covid-19 pandemic brought the world to its knees.

While John finds himself lucky to have 'survived' the career switches relatively unscathed, he has never forgotten how it feels like to be at the crossroads of your career and life. Now, he has started this podcast - to provide the resources and perspectives he wished he had - and to help you make the most of your career to live your best life.

Join him as he speaks with unconventional career changers and risk-takers, taps into their experiences and perspectives and discusses all things career. Together, they will provide you nuggets of wisdom, inspiration and actionable insights to start living life on your own terms.

Best Jittida Haputpong is Vice President of Business Development at Igloohome (at time of recording), a tech startup from singapore which produces smart access solutions. 🔒🔒

Best and I are ex-colleagues at Igloohome. (In this episode, we use Igloohome and Igloocompany interchangeably - Igloohome has been rebranded as Igloocompany). My opinion on Best - she is incredibly smart 🧠; she was a great colleague and leader. I’m really glad to have worked with her.

Some of the things we spoke about include:

• joining a market research firm as her first job and then quitting just after a few months
• joining IBM and seeing business vs technical roles
• selecting mentors
• breaking down startup compensation package
• why and how she took the plunge to leave banking to join igloohome which was a really early-stage startup back in 2016

This podcast episode was recorded in Aug 2021.

Subscribe to bonus podcast content and career resources via ✉️ email newsletter.

Social Media:

Kindly rate and review this podcast on social media / Apple Podcast. Your 2 mins spent will mean the world to us and will make the hundreds of hours spent producing this podcast all worthwhile. Consider subscribing and following the podcast wherever you are listening or watching from so you won't miss out on new episodes. 

You can find and connect with us on our 🌐 website, Linkedin, Instagram, Facebook and watch (parts of) the conversation on YouTube

Support the show

Subscribe to bonus podcast content and career resources via ✉️ email newsletter.

About the host John Lim:

John Lim has had an unconventional career by Singapore / Asian standards - with several career switches. He started his career in banking before co-founding a laser tag events company. After building the business from ground-up, growing the team to 20+ and running Singapore's largest indoor laser tag center, he joined an early-stage tech startup to lead business development across Southeast Asia. In 2019, he took a leap of faith to join the e-commerce industry, seemingly unknown sector, until a few months later when Covid-19 pandemic brought the world to its knees.

While John finds himself lucky to have 'survived' the career switches relatively unscathed, he has never forgotten how it feels like to be at the crossroads of your career and life. Now, he has started this podcast - to provide the resources and perspectives he wished he had - and to help you make the most of your career to live your best life.

Join him as he speaks with unconventional career changers and risk-takers, taps into their experiences and perspectives and discusses all things career. Together, they will provide you nuggets of wisdom, inspiration and actionable insights to start living life on your own terms.

If you are curious about joining the tech startup scene 🧑‍💻, aspiring to be an entrepreneur or thinking about making a big career change 💼, do not miss this episode.

Matthew Low started his career at Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR), a statutory board under the Ministry of Trade and Industry of Singapore in 2009 before moving on to Resorts World Sentosa (RWS). He stumbled into entrepreneurship which led him to build a content marketing agency. In 2016, he became cofounder at AiChat, a chatbot 💬 solution for enterprises and spent the next 4.5 years being the Chief Marketing and Investment Officer.

In 2021, he joined Universal Aquaculture Singapore, a company whose mission is to build global food systems of tomorrow, producing sustainable seafood 🦐. He served as its Chief Commercial Officer.

This podcast episode was recorded in Sep 2021.

Subscribe to bonus podcast content and career resources via ✉️ email newsletter.

Social Media:

Kindly rate and review this podcast on social media / Apple Podcast. Your 2 mins spent will mean the world to us and will make the hundreds of hours spent producing this podcast all worthwhile. Consider subscribing and following the podcast wherever you are listening or watching from so you won't miss out on new episodes. 

You can find and connect with us on our 🌐 website, Linkedin, Instagram, Facebook and watch (parts of) the conversation on YouTube

Support the show

Subscribe to bonus podcast content and career resources via ✉️ email newsletter.

About the host John Lim:

John Lim has had an unconventional career by Singapore / Asian standards - with several career switches. He started his career in banking before co-founding a laser tag events company. After building the business from ground-up, growing the team to 20+ and running Singapore's largest indoor laser tag center, he joined an early-stage tech startup to lead business development across Southeast Asia. In 2019, he took a leap of faith to join the e-commerce industry, seemingly unknown sector, until a few months later when Covid-19 pandemic brought the world to its knees.

While John finds himself lucky to have 'survived' the career switches relatively unscathed, he has never forgotten how it feels like to be at the crossroads of your career and life. Now, he has started this podcast - to provide the resources and perspectives he wished he had - and to help you make the most of your career to live your best life.

Join him as he speaks with unconventional career changers and risk-takers, taps into their experiences and perspectives and discusses all things career. Together, they will provide you nuggets of wisdom, inspiration and actionable insights to start living life on your own terms.

Aaron Wong graduated from Singapore Management University with a summa cum laude in corporate communications. His first job out of university was at Changi Airport Group being a senior associate at Airport operations management, a role that was completely unrelated to what he studied. 

He then joined HubSpot as an associate customer support specialist. HubSpot is a US-listed software company for inbound marketing, sales and customer service software products. Within a few months, he jumped at the opportunity to join SinFooTech, a food tech startup, as its second employee.  Aaron then moved on to Lazada Singapore, where he was a Business Development Manager. 

Aaron also has a passion project / side hustle in the form of producing and putting up unboxing videos on his youtube channel ALKtech.

Background: Aaron was my direct colleague for a period of time at Lazada. Despite difference in seniority between us, I felt Aaron was punching way above his weight. I am forever grateful to his kindness and guidance in the onboarding of me to Lazada and his quality of work and contribution to the team.

This podcast episode was recorded in Sep 2021.

Subscribe to bonus podcast content and career resources via ✉️ email newsletter.

Social Media:

Kindly rate and review this podcast on social media / Apple Podcast. Your 2 mins spent will mean the world to us and will make the hundreds of hours spent producing this podcast all worthwhile. Consider subscribing and following the podcast wherever you are listening or watching from so you won't miss out on new episodes. 

You can find and connect with us on our 🌐 website, Linkedin, Instagram, Facebook and watch (parts of) the conversation on YouTube.

Support the show

Subscribe to bonus podcast content and career resources via ✉️ email newsletter.

About the host John Lim:

John Lim has had an unconventional career by Singapore / Asian standards - with several career switches. He started his career in banking before co-founding a laser tag events company. After building the business from ground-up, growing the team to 20+ and running Singapore's largest indoor laser tag center, he joined an early-stage tech startup to lead business development across Southeast Asia. In 2019, he took a leap of faith to join the e-commerce industry, seemingly unknown sector, until a few months later when Covid-19 pandemic brought the world to its knees.

While John finds himself lucky to have 'survived' the career switches relatively unscathed, he has never forgotten how it feels like to be at the crossroads of your career and life. Now, he has started this podcast - to provide the resources and perspectives he wished he had - and to help you make the most of your career to live your best life.

Join him as he speaks with unconventional career changers and risk-takers, taps into their experiences and perspectives and discusses all things career. Together, they will provide you nuggets of wisdom, inspiration and actionable insights to start living life on your own terms.

Why would a top graduate quit his lucrative and stable career in an established company to join an unknown and unproven startup? Why would someone, after slogging hard for more than 10 years, arrived at the peak of his career, enjoying the fancy expat lifestyle, quit everything and returned to his home country with his wife and young daughter with no job and no backup plan? What's technology got to do with locks, seafood and tofu? What actually goes on behind joining a startup, what's the advice for making a career switch, why and how would one start a YouTube channel while having a full-time job? 
These are just some of the things you get to hear in this podcast. This is On My Own Terms podcast. And I'm your host, John Lim. 
In this podcast, I speak with unconventional individuals and the risk takers who took the roads less travelled. Here I discover the why and the how of their journeys, attempt to see the world through their lenses and deep dive into how they navigate their careers and lives on their own terms. If you have ever felt nervous, jaded, or are currently languishing at your career or life, this podcast is for you. 
A little about myself: currently based in Singapore, I'm a husband, a father, and a curious business and tech enthusiast. Bulk of my career so far has been centered around business development, technology, entrepreneurship, and startups. I've made rather huge career switches across diverse and unfamiliar industries:
-  From starting my career in banking to starting a laser tag events company. Yes. You heard it right laser tag! 
- From running Singapore's largest indoor laser tag center to manufacturing our own gaming equipment
- From an entrepreneur-turned-SME employer, to joining an early stage startup where I eventually led business development across Southeast Asia
- From building a business and team from ground-up with my sweat, blood and tears for six and a half years to decide on walking away from all of it 
- To joining a tech startup with a really cool product, with venture capital funding, with a bigger team and working hard to help build other people's meaning AKA the co-founders' dreams
- From working from a tiny office at east coast park to representing the startup on the stages and platforms in Kuala Lumpur, Langkawi, Manila, Jakarta, Bali, and Hong Kong -in pre COVID times of course. 
Looking back now. I think I've had an inc

Support the show

Subscribe to bonus podcast content and career resources via ✉️ email newsletter.

About the host John Lim:

John Lim has had an unconventional career by Singapore / Asian standards - with several career switches. He started his career in banking before co-founding a laser tag events company. After building the business from ground-up, growing the team to 20+ and running Singapore's largest indoor laser tag center, he joined an early-stage tech startup to lead business development across Southeast Asia. In 2019, he took a leap of faith to join the e-commerce industry, seemingly unknown sector, until a few months later when Covid-19 pandemic brought the world to its knees.

While John finds himself lucky to have 'survived' the career switches relatively unscathed, he has never forgotten how it feels like to be at the crossroads of your career and life. Now, he has started this podcast - to provide the resources and perspectives he wished he had - and to help you make the most of your career to live your best life.

Join him as he speaks with unconventional career changers and risk-takers, taps into their experiences and perspectives and discusses all things career. Together, they will provide you nuggets of wisdom, inspiration and actionable insights to start living life on your own terms.

Season 2 of On My Own Terms explores real stories about career transitions, layoffs, startups, and mid-career challenges — and what it truly takes to build a meaningful career in today’s uncertain world.

Across 10 episodes, we spoke with founders, operators, creators, and professionals who shared honest experiences about:

• navigating layoffs and rebuilding confidence

• making career decisions without perfect information

• switching careers in your 30s and 40s

• the realities of working in startups vs corporate roles

• redefining success beyond job titles and salaries

• managing fear, uncertainty, and long-term career growth

This season-ending wrap-up highlights the most important lessons and patterns that emerged from these conversations — for anyone feeling stuck, burnt out, or unsure about their next career move.

If you’re questioning your career path, thinking about a pivot, or recovering from a setback, this podcast season was created for you.

🎧 Watch the full Season 2 playlist here: 

👉Ep 1: https://open.spotify.com/episode/3v9uhMIuhSTcaNCiJ9T0TV?si=DYd6S3SGSgazMBH_YwS1-w

👉Ep 2: https://open.spotify.com/episode/4Mg1WbxoYE9bi3Pe7rSoyH?si=6TXyjaQxTlmuZuNE78E0NA

👉Ep 3: https://open.spotify.com/episode/1jXVSg75tl8ajupXy7gars?si=XcDRVMr_QH6KXxk9JfR7MQ

👉Ep 4: https://open.spotify.com/episode/58dCeLQFU8U5yvP0xD6tJ6?si=fmsmXeM1QACTXbxvyWOjUA

👉Ep 5: https://open.spotify.com/episode/5Dxih43pMWIbNV1GT2jGFs?si=X4Jp35GWQseNhkQ5obpnHw

👉Ep 6: https://open.spotify.com/episode/5D2CmZZZ9Roehr5gdD4XSt?si=p8sUCBFQSBCAdM-OO0k50A

👉Ep 7: https://open.spotify.com/episode/3R5CblZv4VwHU1opxBMXyk?si=cWVNnaCTSuWavImo9TXcDQ

👉Ep 8: https://open.spotify.com/episode/2vooVIZbmX0aMYPyBeJin2?si=_6lqLTocRxKQBPrXnAFVrg

👉Ep 9: https://open.spotify.com/episode/372G3t0cGeHhtziSMSoevn?si=6Vf0Cbi-Q22soh4kHxsbhA

--------------------------------------

🔍 Scale Score™— Free Quick Diagnostic for SMB Founders

Running a business that’s generating revenue but still feels heavier than it should?

Scale Score™ is a free short diagnostic designed for SMB founders to pinpoint where growth is actually getting stuck — across sales, delivery, positioning, and systems.

Most businesses don’t need more tactics or tools.They need clarity on the real constraint before investing time, money, or energy (including things like AI).

If you want a clearer signal on what to fix next — and what to ignore for now — 👉 Take the free Scale Score™: https://bit.ly/3MC4aiE

🎯Find practical tools and resources to guide your journey:

Check out: https://bit.ly/3CTMZRW

📩 Follow us on:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/onmyowntermspodcast

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/on-my-own-terms-podcast/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/OnMyOwnTermsPodcast

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4UoZFflZDdk03KfafgTwQg

Email: johnlimcy@gmail.com

Support the podcast here: https://buymeacoffee.com/onmyownterms

About the host John Lim:

Born and bred in Singapore, John is a husband, father and a curious business and tech enthusiast. John began his career in banking, co-founded Singapore’s largest indoor laser tag events company, led regional business development for a tech startup, and took a leap into e-commerce just before the Covid pandemic hit. Just when he thought he was crushing it at his dream company, he got laid off in the tech winter. In his journey, he's embraced uncertainty, growth, and reinvention—and he’s on a mission to help others do the same.

#CareerTransition #MidCareer #Layoffs #StartupLife #FutureOfWork #OnMyOwnTermsPodcast

💭 We spend our best years chasing promotions, titles, and bonuses… but what happens when we don’t have health and family to enjoy it with?

In this powerful uncut clip, Michael Foo reflects on the hidden cost of work, the fragility of tomorrow, and why gratitude may matter more than success. It’s a perspective many ignore — until it’s too late.

⚡ If you’ve ever felt consumed by your job, questioned the price of hustle culture, or wondered what really matters in the end, this is the clip you need to hear.

👉 Don’t miss the full conversation with Michael Foo here: https://open.spotify.com/episode/4Mg1WbxoYE9bi3Pe7rSoyH?si=6TXyjaQxTlmuZuNE78E0NA

👉 Book your 30-min free no-obligation discovery call with Michael: https://bit.ly/4oYXKZy

👉 Connect with Michael Foo:

Positive Minds: https://positivemindscoaching.com/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michaelfoo-mindsetcoach/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/michaelfoo.mindsetcoach/

🔍 Scale Score™— Free Quick Diagnostic for SMB Founders

Running a business that’s generating revenue but still feels heavier than it should?

Scale Score™ is a free short diagnostic designed for SMB founders to pinpoint where growth is actually getting stuck — across sales, delivery, positioning, and systems.

Most businesses don’t need more tactics or tools.They need clarity on the real constraint before investing time, money, or energy (including things like AI).

If you want a clearer signal on what to fix next — and what to ignore for now — 👉 Take the free Scale Score™: https://bit.ly/3MC4aiE

🎯Find practical tools and resources to guide your journey:

Check out: https://bit.ly/3CTMZRW

📩 Follow us on:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/onmyowntermspodcast

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/on-my-own-terms-podcast/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/OnMyOwnTermsPodcast

Email: johnlimcy@gmail.com

Support me here: https://buymeacoffee.com/onmyownterms

About the host John Lim:

Born and bred in Singapore, John is a husband, father and a curious business and tech enthusiast. John began his career in banking, co-founded Singapore’s largest indoor laser tag events company, led regional business development for a tech startup, and took a leap into e-commerce just before the Covid pandemic hit. Just when he thought he was crushing it at his dream company, he got laid off in the tech winter. In his journey, he's embraced uncertainty, growth, and reinvention—and he’s on a mission to help others do the same.

#OnMyOwnTerms #health #Gratitude #LifeLessons #CareerTransition #LayoffRecovery #FindingPurpose #CareerChange #Burnout #SingaporePodcast #millennial

In this uncut moment, Michael Foo opens up about two stories that changed the way he looked at life. A colleague whose health collapsed after endless hours of work. A friend who passed away unexpectedly at just 52. Both reminders that our lives can be fragile, our time in this world is limited and life doesn’t wait.

For Michael, this was more than a wake-up call — it was the universe telling him to stop hiding behind titles and start living with purpose.

⚡ If you’ve ever felt trapped in your job, feel lost after a layoff, or wondered if you’re running out of time, this clip will stay with you long after you’ve watched it.

👉 Don’t miss the full conversation with Michael Foo here: https://open.spotify.com/episode/4Mg1WbxoYE9bi3Pe7rSoyH?si=6TXyjaQxTlmuZuNE78E0NA

👉 Book your 30-min free no-obligation discovery call with Michael: https://bit.ly/4oYXKZy

👉 Connect with Michael Foo:

Positive Minds: https://positivemindscoaching.com/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michaelfoo-mindsetcoach/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/michaelfoo.mindsetcoach/

🔍 Scale Score™— Free Quick Diagnostic for SMB Founders

Running a business that’s generating revenue but still feels heavier than it should?

Scale Score™ is a free short diagnostic designed for SMB founders to pinpoint where growth is actually getting stuck — across sales, delivery, positioning, and systems.

Most businesses don’t need more tactics or tools.They need clarity on the real constraint before investing time, money, or energy (including things like AI).

If you want a clearer signal on what to fix next — and what to ignore for now — 👉 Take the free Scale Score™: https://bit.ly/3MC4aiE

🎯Find practical tools and resources to guide your journey:

Check out: https://bit.ly/3CTMZRW

📩 Follow us on:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/onmyowntermspodcast

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/on-my-own-terms-podcast/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/OnMyOwnTermsPodcast

Email: johnlimcy@gmail.com

Support us here: https://buymeacoffee.com/onmyownterms

About the host John Lim:

Born and bred in Singapore, John is a husband, father and a curious business and tech enthusiast. John began his career in banking, co-founded Singapore’s largest indoor laser tag events company, led regional business development for a tech startup, and took a leap into e-commerce just before the Covid pandemic hit. Just when he thought he was crushing it at his dream company, he got laid off in the tech winter. In his journey, he's embraced uncertainty, growth, and reinvention—and he’s on a mission to help others do the same.

#OnMyOwnTerms #CareerTransition #LayoffRecovery #FindingPurpose #CareerChange #Burnout #SingaporePodcast #millennial #layoff #sg #jobs

What shapes the way our children grow up — systems or culture? 🤔In this uncut conversation, we explore how Singapore’s structured education policies and New Zealand’s cultural mindset create very different childhood experiences. From when kids start school, to how parents and communities support them, this is a fascinating look at how environment shapes values.

Pamela and I also dive into the insights from the book NurtureShock, which challenges traditional parenting wisdom with research-backed truths — from the inverse power of praise to how sleep affects children’s emotional well-being, IQ, and even health. 📚

👉 If you’ve ever wondered how systems and culture influence parenting and education — and what this means for raising the next generation — this clip is for you.🎥 For the full conversation, watch the complete episode of On My Own Terms.

https://youtu.be/WIb7cKcqJ4Q?si=TWTGAuaUbFFZvL_B

🎯 Find practical tools and resources to guide your journey:

Check out: www.johnlimcy.com/podcast

📩 Follow us on:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/onmyowntermspodcast

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/on-my-own-terms-podcast/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/OnMyOwnTermsPodcast

Email: johnlimcy@gmail.com

🔍 Scale Score™— Free Quick Diagnostic for SMB Founders

Running a business that’s generating revenue but still feels heavier than it should?

Scale Score™ is a free short diagnostic designed for SMB founders to pinpoint where growth is actually getting stuck — across sales, delivery, positioning, and systems.

Most businesses don’t need more tactics or tools.They need clarity on the real constraint before investing time, money, or energy (including things like AI).

If you want a clearer signal on what to fix next — and what to ignore for now — 👉 Take the free Scale Score™: https://bit.ly/3MC4aiE

About the host John Lim:

Born and bred in Singapore, John is a husband, father and a curious business and tech enthusiast. John began his career in banking, co-founded Singapore’s largest indoor laser tag events company, led regional business development for a tech startup, and took a leap into e-commerce just before the Covid pandemic hit. Just when he thought he was crushing it at his dream company, he got laid off in the tech winter. In his journey, he's embraced uncertainty, growth, and reinvention—and he’s on a mission to help others do the same.

#OnMyOwnTermsPodcast #Parenting #EducationSystem #SingaporeEducation #NewZealandLife #WorkLifeBalance #MillennialParents #RaisingKidsAbroad #CareerTransition #CareerChange

🎓 How different is raising kids in Singapore compared to abroad? In this conversation, we explore the contrasts between Singapore’s world-renowned education system and what Pamela has experienced raising her children in New Zealand.

From the pressure of early tuition and enrichment classes in Singapore, to the more open and balanced classroom styles in New Zealand, this discussion goes beyond academics — it’s about values, childhood, and the future we’re preparing our kids for. 🌍

We also reflect on a bigger question: can the old systems that shaped us still work in a rapidly changing world? And if change is inevitable, how do we as parents, professionals, and individuals adapt?

👉 If you’ve ever thought about career transitions, moving abroad, or giving your children a different kind of life, this perspective will resonate deeply — and you can catch the full conversation in the episode https://youtu.be/WIb7cKcqJ4Q?si=TWTGAuaUbFFZvL_B

🎯 Find practical tools and resources to guide your journey:

Check out: www.johnlimcy.com/podcast

📩 Follow us on:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/onmyowntermspodcast

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/on-my-own-terms-podcast/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/OnMyOwnTermsPodcast

Email: johnlimcy@gmail.com

🔍 Scale Score™— Free Quick Diagnostic for SMB Founders

Running a business that’s generating revenue but still feels heavier than it should?

Scale Score™ is a free short diagnostic designed for SMB founders to pinpoint where growth is actually getting stuck — across sales, delivery, positioning, and systems.

Most businesses don’t need more tactics or tools.They need clarity on the real constraint before investing time, money, or energy (including things like AI).

If you want a clearer signal on what to fix next — and what to ignore for now — 👉 Take the free Scale Score™: https://bit.ly/3MC4aiE

About the host John Lim:

Born and bred in Singapore, John is a husband, father and a curious business and tech enthusiast. John began his career in banking, co-founded Singapore’s largest indoor laser tag events company, led regional business development for a tech startup, and took a leap into e-commerce just before the Covid pandemic hit. Just when he thought he was crushing it at his dream company, he got laid off in the tech winter. In his journey, he's embraced uncertainty, growth, and reinvention—and he’s on a mission to help others do the same.

#OnMyOwnTermsPodcast #SingaporeEducation #ParentingAbroad #CareerChange #MillennialParents #RaisingKids #WorkLifeBalance #MovingAbroad #Education #Millennials #Transition #Singapore #newzealand