Last week I received an invitation for an interview. SMU magazine, Blurt! wanted to feature me inside.
Since the past 2 days I was so busy with the Goal Setting, therefore only today I finally got the time to answer it. Here are some of the questions (and my answers of course !)
1. It seems that from the beginning, with engineering, you chose to enter a mainly male dominant industry. Why was that so? What was your initial experience like?
I studied Electrical & Electronics Engineering (EEE) in NTU. I guess the reason why I chose to major in engineering had a lot to do with my background. My father is an engineer. And so are my uncles, aunties, and relatives. Having the opportunity to see how my father worked probably influenced my decision too. And since I was a small kid, when people asked me what I want to be when I grow up, my most natural answer will be, "I want to be like my father. I want to be an engineer." So, I guess being brought up in such a family influenced me when I was choosing which major to take.
Having said all that, I was never really interested in the engineering field. I took the subject because of the very simple reason that, having a background like mine, engineering seemed to be the most natural choice I should take. Having studied engineering for 4-years has helped me to think more logically and to be a more systematic person.
2. Why did you leave engineering and move on to finance?
I knew that being a fresh graduate, I would probably be earning around$2,500 per month. Minus off the mandatory 20% contribution to the CPF, it would leave me with only $2,000. Minus off another $1,000 for my living expenses (food, accommodation, transportation, hand phone bills, etc) what is left with me is only $1,000. I had the intention to send at least $500back to support my parents, so that would leave me with the remaining of$500.Assuming that I would set aside $500 every month to pay for my outstanding study loans, I calculated that I would only be able to pay off the entire loan of $40,000 (plus interest of 4% p.a.) in a period of 10 years.
By that time I will be 32 years old with no savings at all, no car, no house.Nothing! So, at that time I knew that I could never achieve my goal to be successful while I'm young if I choose this path of a normal 9-to-5 job.
I chose to keep my dreams intact and change my career path after graduation, from doing a normal engineering job to something that could allow me to attain my goals in a shorter time-frame.
3. What setbacks did you encounter while trying to enter the finance industry, especially as a woman? Did you experience gender discrimination?
In the finance industry, I'm required to meet many new people who are potential customers. A few of these potential customers are my own friends, some of them are referrals from my friends or existing clients,and the rest of them are strangers, people whom I've never known or met before.
As a woman, one of the setbacks that I encountered while trying to enter the finance industry is the difficulty to be taken seriously as a professional by a certain type of potential customers, especially those who didn't know me personally.A couple of them are only interested in getting to know me better, to become friends, or just to chit-chat. They may have no interest with the financial services or products that I'm promoting at all. Of course, I don't mind to be friends with my clients. In fact, most of my clients are my friends now. However, I always build my business professionally, and I make sure that all my potential customers know this.
4. How does it feel to be a woman in finance world? How different do you think it is from any other industry?
Personally, I never thought much of how will it feel differently whether I'm a woman or a man in the finance world.Fortunately, Singapore is an advanced first world country, where gender discrimination is almost non-existent, compared to other developing countries.
I guess most of the industries in Singapore, especially finance, will allows your results to speak about your qualities as a professional businessperson.I believe most of my clients, business partners, colleagues and staff,look up to me because of my achievements and track records, rather than my gender.
5. There’s this perception of men being aggressive in the finance world. How did you handle your superiors/colleagues acting like that? Did you have to change yourself because of such an environment?
I believe both men or women can be aggressive. Again, I guess it depends on the individual more rather than his/her gender.When others display their 'aggressiveness' still within a healthy context, I will view it as a good opportunity for me to be more competitive. I'm a strong believer that a healthy competition will improve productivity.
However, if others are being aggressive in ways that are beyond the healthy boundary (i.e. in ways that are no longer legal, moral or ethical), then I choose not to be involved with such people.It is definitely easier to achieve success within the boundaries of morals, laws and ethics rather than to risk ending up in jail, or worse,facing your conscience. When we work hard towards our dreams every day, we want to be able to go home and have a good night's sleep. We do not want to be haunted by our own conscience for doing something against that small little soft voice inside us.
Well guys..., that's not all !! think still got another 7 - 8 questions more that I have to answer ;)
After I answer it, I'll upload the reminding questions and answers in my next post
Take Care all ! :)
Love,
Merry Riana
www.MerryRiana.com.sg/
www.facebook.com/Merry.Riana
Thursday, July 9, 2009
Wednesday, July 8, 2009
Best Goal Setting I've ever conducted
Today is a wonderful day ! I conducted Goal Setting for my organization, Merry Riana Organization (MRO).
I've been doing this since I established MRO, and we do this twice a year.
So far ,I can say that this is the BEST Goal Setting that I've ever conducted.
I personally feel very satisfied and happy with everything.
My aim for this goal setting is for everybody to feel good and recharge. A lot of time we normally use more of our brain to think about our goal, plan a strategy, etc. Nothing wrong with that. In fact that is definitely an important thing to do. But one thing that is also extremely important is that you must not forget to attach a good feeling towards it. So, that's why this Goal Setting I planned to keep it short, sharp to the point and yet inspirational. I focused more to attach a positive and fantastic good feeling to everyone.
I'm also feel very happy, because this is the first time I finally have my very own "The Merry Riana Show".
I've been doing this since I established MRO, and we do this twice a year.
So far ,I can say that this is the BEST Goal Setting that I've ever conducted.
I personally feel very satisfied and happy with everything.
My aim for this goal setting is for everybody to feel good and recharge. A lot of time we normally use more of our brain to think about our goal, plan a strategy, etc. Nothing wrong with that. In fact that is definitely an important thing to do. But one thing that is also extremely important is that you must not forget to attach a good feeling towards it. So, that's why this Goal Setting I planned to keep it short, sharp to the point and yet inspirational. I focused more to attach a positive and fantastic good feeling to everyone.
I'm also feel very happy, because this is the first time I finally have my very own "The Merry Riana Show".
To be able to have my own talk show has always been one of my passion. It is actually one of the thing that I put in my Dream Book that I hope to achieve. I hope those who were there this afternoon enjoyed the sessions. Thank you for my 3 special guests, Joanne, Dwi and Gaius and of course thank you for all of you who were there supporting !
Today, I realised once again on how blessed my life is. One person asked me during my talk show:
"After making such a big achievement in your life, at this moment, what do you value most?"
and my answer to that is RELATIONSHIP.
My relationship with people that I love; my lovely daughter, my husband, my family and the member of my organization, especially those who have shared this entrepreneurship journey with me since many years ago.
Thank you so much for being a part of my life.
Love,
Merry Riana
www.merryriana.com.sg/
www.facebook.com/Merry.Riana
Monday, July 6, 2009
Do you want to see my bank account ?
After I posted 'My Best Investment' article, I received numbers of email asking me whether I can share with them how do I manage my personal finances.
Today I'm going to share with you tips on how you can manage your finances successfully.
Here's how:
First of all, It is very important for you to know where all your money goes to.
Most people usually never keep track of their income and expenses.
I created a few accounts (these accounts may or may not be real savings accounts in the bank) where my income goes to.
For me, I have: Necessity Account, Business Development Account, Financial Freedom Account, Education Account, Fun Account & Giving Account.
Every time I earn my income, it goes to these accounts with the following proportion:
- Necessity Account (30%)
- Business Development Account (30%)
- Income Generator Account (20%)
- Education Account (5%)
- Fun Account (5%)
- Giving Account (10%)
I'll share with you in more details about each of these accounts in my future blog entries. :)
Love,
Merry Riana
http://www.merryriana.com.sg/
www.facebook.com/merry.riana
Today I'm going to share with you tips on how you can manage your finances successfully.
Here's how:
First of all, It is very important for you to know where all your money goes to.
Most people usually never keep track of their income and expenses.
I created a few accounts (these accounts may or may not be real savings accounts in the bank) where my income goes to.
For me, I have: Necessity Account, Business Development Account, Financial Freedom Account, Education Account, Fun Account & Giving Account.
Every time I earn my income, it goes to these accounts with the following proportion:
- Necessity Account (30%)
- Business Development Account (30%)
- Income Generator Account (20%)
- Education Account (5%)
- Fun Account (5%)
- Giving Account (10%)
I'll share with you in more details about each of these accounts in my future blog entries. :)
Love,
Merry Riana
http://www.merryriana.com.sg/
www.facebook.com/merry.riana
Saturday, July 4, 2009
Merry Riana's Dream Book
I'm in the midst of preparing for my organization's annual goal setting (6th - 8th July 2009)
I decided to take a break for a while and write my blog instead :)
Let me ask you this question.
How many of us had set a goal or new year's resolution back in January this year?
I bet 8 out of 10 people reading my blog will say yes.
Either is to get more money, be smarter, look prettier, lose weight, get company's award, have boyfriend/girlfriend, travel to exotic countries, read more books, etc. We always do the same thing every year, which is set our goal.
But how many of us have diligently follow our goal closely? or even worse, how many of us still remember what our goals are?
It's July, we're halfway through the year, and this is the perfect time to reassess our goals.
I know it might sound tedious and boring, but if you are really serious about achieving your goals, this is definitely an important step.
To me, goal setting can be very exciting :)
I have so many things that I can share with you on how to make the process of goal setting more fun and more effective. The most important of all is:
Write down your goal
This is a MUST !! If you fail to do this one very simple thing you will fail to achieve your goals. writing your goal is important because by doing so it forces you to visualize your goals. On top of that by externalizing it and put it down on paper it creates a commitment on your part.
To make it more fun, create a DREAM BOOK. I had mine since year 2000, and I'm still updating it even until today.
If you are curious to see how does Merry Riana's Dream Book look like?
well.. here it is....
It's just a simple sketch book, but inside are full of pictures of things that I wanted to have in life, things that I wanted to achieve in life, and many more. On top of that I also write down verses or quotes that means a lot to me through out my journey in pursuing my dream. Every time I open and look at the picture or read what I wrote there, I ALWAYS feel energized and motivated.
That's exactly the purpose of this DREAM BOOK, to give you energy and excite you every time you see it.
Here's another page of my dream book
I pasted that cute little baby picture in year 2007. And I pasted Tom Cruise's daughter Suri because I wanted to have a cute baby :) And you know what? Amazingly, I year after that, I got pregnant and have a little angel in my life, her name is Alvernia.
So you see how powerful it is !!
If you don’t already have one, I strongly encourage you to go out and buy the best, brightest and most appealing sketch book you can find. This dream book can become your planning space, your anchor, your bright ideas holder, your dream catcher, your source of inspiration and your celebration place. Do update it regularly and read it often.
In my next few post, I will give you more tips about how to do your goal setting in more fun and effective ways.
In the mean time, have fun with your dream book ! ;)
Love,
Merry Riana
http://www.merryriana.com.sg/
www.facebook.com/merry.riana
I decided to take a break for a while and write my blog instead :)
Let me ask you this question.
How many of us had set a goal or new year's resolution back in January this year?
I bet 8 out of 10 people reading my blog will say yes.
Either is to get more money, be smarter, look prettier, lose weight, get company's award, have boyfriend/girlfriend, travel to exotic countries, read more books, etc. We always do the same thing every year, which is set our goal.
But how many of us have diligently follow our goal closely? or even worse, how many of us still remember what our goals are?
It's July, we're halfway through the year, and this is the perfect time to reassess our goals.
I know it might sound tedious and boring, but if you are really serious about achieving your goals, this is definitely an important step.
To me, goal setting can be very exciting :)
I have so many things that I can share with you on how to make the process of goal setting more fun and more effective. The most important of all is:
Write down your goal
This is a MUST !! If you fail to do this one very simple thing you will fail to achieve your goals. writing your goal is important because by doing so it forces you to visualize your goals. On top of that by externalizing it and put it down on paper it creates a commitment on your part.
To make it more fun, create a DREAM BOOK. I had mine since year 2000, and I'm still updating it even until today.
If you are curious to see how does Merry Riana's Dream Book look like?
well.. here it is....
It's just a simple sketch book, but inside are full of pictures of things that I wanted to have in life, things that I wanted to achieve in life, and many more. On top of that I also write down verses or quotes that means a lot to me through out my journey in pursuing my dream. Every time I open and look at the picture or read what I wrote there, I ALWAYS feel energized and motivated.
That's exactly the purpose of this DREAM BOOK, to give you energy and excite you every time you see it.
Here's another page of my dream book
I pasted that cute little baby picture in year 2007. And I pasted Tom Cruise's daughter Suri because I wanted to have a cute baby :) And you know what? Amazingly, I year after that, I got pregnant and have a little angel in my life, her name is Alvernia.
So you see how powerful it is !!
If you don’t already have one, I strongly encourage you to go out and buy the best, brightest and most appealing sketch book you can find. This dream book can become your planning space, your anchor, your bright ideas holder, your dream catcher, your source of inspiration and your celebration place. Do update it regularly and read it often.
In my next few post, I will give you more tips about how to do your goal setting in more fun and effective ways.
In the mean time, have fun with your dream book ! ;)
Love,
Merry Riana
http://www.merryriana.com.sg/
www.facebook.com/merry.riana
Friday, July 3, 2009
Meeting my long lost friend
Met with my old best friend, Elaine today. I have known her for 17 years. We went to same secondary school, same high school and eventually same university which is NTU. We stayed in the same hostel, studying the same course and even doing Final Year Project together. So you can imagine how much time that both of us has spent.
Unfortunately 2 years after graduation, she moved back to Indonesia for good.
She is happily married and currently stay in Bali. It has been almost 5 years since I saw her, so I was very excited to know that she is in Singapore now.
We had a good lunch together, talked about old days. It was very fun ! Wish we can even spend more time together... there's just so much things to catch up with each other :)
Here's a photo of us after lunch.
Who was your best friend in school? Do you still remember him/her?
Well, here's a quote about friendship
Love,
Merry Riana
www.MerryRiana.com.sg
www.facebook.com.sg/merry.riana
Unfortunately 2 years after graduation, she moved back to Indonesia for good.
She is happily married and currently stay in Bali. It has been almost 5 years since I saw her, so I was very excited to know that she is in Singapore now.
We had a good lunch together, talked about old days. It was very fun ! Wish we can even spend more time together... there's just so much things to catch up with each other :)
Here's a photo of us after lunch.
Who was your best friend in school? Do you still remember him/her?
Well, here's a quote about friendship
“Good friends must not always be together;
It is the feeling of oneness when distant That proves a lasting friendship.”
Love,
Merry Riana
www.MerryRiana.com.sg
www.facebook.com.sg/merry.riana
Thursday, July 2, 2009
My Favorite Food
For those of you who knows me personally.
This question is for you ! (see whether you can get it correctly)
What is my most favorite food?
a. Chicken
b. Prawn
c. Mutton
d. Beef
e. Pork
The answer to the above question is
(please scroll down if you want to know the answer)
B. Prawn :)
I don't eat Mutton, Beef, Pork, Duck, etc. It's not because of I am a vegetarian nor religion things. I can actually eat everything, but it just that I don't really like the 'meaty' kind of taste and texture, that's why most of the time I eat just seafood or a little bit of chicken.
My husband always says that I missed all the good food in the world.. but I respectfully disagree, because I just think that seafood (especially prawn and crab) taste so much better than meat (and it is definitely healthier also)
So, today I decided to share with you more about my favorite prawn dish.
Best things that I have had so far:
1. Shrimp steamed in beer with garlic @ Bubba Gump
This is my favorite one even until today. Available at Bubba Gump. Best shrimp I ever taste. I first knew it during my trip to Hawaii in 2006. The shrimp steamed in beer to tender perfection and served with aromatic Bubba Gump’s garlic spice. Excellent !! I really missed it a lot, but too bad still didn't manage to have it again because most of the Bubba Gump Restaurants are located in US. The nearest one to Singapore is in Bali. Maybe this year I will make a trip there :)
2. Cereal Prawn
My favorite cereal prawn is the one sold at one of the seafood restaurant at Paris Ris Pond. (I can't remember the name of the place, my secretary recommended it to me few years back)
3. Steamed prawn with garlic sauce @ No Sign Board
Wow!! I just had this today for dinner. I was eating at No Sign Board, my all time favorite seafood restaurant. The prawn is just so fresh !
4. Cold Water Prawn @ Ikea
It is fresh and sweet (and sour, if you squeeze the lemon on top of it). You must eat it while it is still cold, fresh from the fridge. Every time I go to Ikea, I surely MUST have this meal.
5. Prawn Satay @ Lau Pa Sat
. 
Although it cost $2 per stick, but I just can't stop eating it. My favorite stall is the satay stall no 3 & 4.
6. Salted egg prawn @ Crystal Jade
Super delicious. The coating its actually the yolk of the salted egg. So yummy !!
Haha.. writing this post make me feel so hungry :) I guess I better go to sleep right now. In the mean time, if you know some good eating place that sell super yummy shrimp / prawn dishes, do let me know, okie :)
Love,
Merry Riana
http://www.merryriana.com.sg/
www.facebook.com/merry.riana
Wednesday, July 1, 2009
Coming Soon: Brand new www.MerryRiana.com.sg
Just met my website designer today.
Like what I shared with you 2 days ago, I'm going to revamp my current website, www.MerryRiana.com.sg :)
The new website, with the same name, will be up latest by September.
The reason it may take a bit of time to develop is because I plan to make it a totally interactive website. It means, not only will it have a 'static' information about me, my businesses, etc, but it will also have 'dynamic' information that will be updated every single day!
Since I have been writing my blog every single day, I told my designer to include Blog section in my new website also (which means you can just visit my website directly and read my blog, no need to visit this blogspot anymore).
I will probably also include a Forum, where each and every one of you can communicate with each other. So, you will be able to share and learn, not just with me, but also with other young individuals who aspire to reach their personal dreams too!
And many other features, which I believe is best to be personally experienced by you once the new website is up.
So, let's countdown together ... 2.5 more months! :)
At the same time, you can always provide me with suggestions if you have good ideas on my new website. :)
As usual, you can email to merry@merryriana.com.sg or simply post your comment to this blog entry.
Love,
Merry Riana
www.MerryRiana.com.sg
www.facebook.com/merry.riana
Like what I shared with you 2 days ago, I'm going to revamp my current website, www.MerryRiana.com.sg :)
The new website, with the same name, will be up latest by September.
The reason it may take a bit of time to develop is because I plan to make it a totally interactive website. It means, not only will it have a 'static' information about me, my businesses, etc, but it will also have 'dynamic' information that will be updated every single day!
Since I have been writing my blog every single day, I told my designer to include Blog section in my new website also (which means you can just visit my website directly and read my blog, no need to visit this blogspot anymore).
I will probably also include a Forum, where each and every one of you can communicate with each other. So, you will be able to share and learn, not just with me, but also with other young individuals who aspire to reach their personal dreams too!
And many other features, which I believe is best to be personally experienced by you once the new website is up.
So, let's countdown together ... 2.5 more months! :)
At the same time, you can always provide me with suggestions if you have good ideas on my new website. :)
As usual, you can email to merry@merryriana.com.sg or simply post your comment to this blog entry.
Love,
Merry Riana
www.MerryRiana.com.sg
www.facebook.com/merry.riana
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