Building A Family Legacy Together

For three business owners, following in mum's footsteps was never the plan, but as it turns out, sometimes the best career guidance comes from those closest to us. Whether its working side-by-side with mum or learning from her wisdom, there's no denying that their mothers have made a powerful impact on their lives.

- CHERYL LAI-LIM

Two is better than one

Jo Yong & Ashley Yong, Two Halves

Growing up, Ashley Yong had always been intrigued by the beauty industry. The 30-year-old vividly recalls a memory when she was 12: Her mother, Jo, former general manager for Estee Lauder and Tom Ford Beauty at Estee Lauder Companies, was organising a beauty makeover event held at Takashimaya. Seeing the women who left the event brimming with confidence inspired her.

“I realised that having the ability to help others feel empowered was inspiring and positive – which was exactly what my mum was doing. It was that moment on that I looked up to her as someone I wanted to be when I grew up,” she says.

Ashley spent summer internships with her mother, shadowing her at work and accompanying her to events. In 2019, she took the plunge to launch Two Halves, a vegan-friendly and cruelty-free skincare brand designed for sensitive skin. She had already harboured the desire to launch her own beauty brand since her university days, but was initially dissuaded by her parents who were wary of the competitive beauty industry, as well as the challenges that came with being an entrepreneur.

After university, she pursued a career as a wealth manager at a local bank. But her ambition and desire to work in the beauty industry never went away, and thus she left after a year to pursue her dream.

Over a period of three months, she drew up a business plan, and relentlessly refined and tweaked it after each feedback session with her mum. “It came to a point whereby I thought it was a perfect piece of work,” Jo recalls with a fond smile. “It was then that I realised she was genuinely serious about her idea, and that was when I relented and gave her my blessing.”