Think Having One Job Is Tough Enough?

As if getting to the top of the game in one business isn’t enough, these women are making money from their side interests, too, and proving that when it comes to their careers, two businesses are twice as nice

- Natalya Molok

WEDDING PLANNER + FLORIST

Lelian Chew
37, Founder & CEO, The Atelier & Co

Lelian got her start as a private banker with Goldman Sachs before turning her beautifully-manicured hands to wedding planning for tycoons mainly from China, Hong Kong, and Indonesia with The Wedding Atelier in 2013. Two years later, she branched out into flowers and set up The Floral Atelier in Singapore to curate bespoke floral arrangements for her ultra-rich clients. Today, she’s converged two brands under one roof with her parent company – The Atelier & Co, which launched its global headquarters at Delta House in July.

What was the inspiration behind The Floral Atelier?

“It was a logical move because my team was already doing all the styling and conceptualizing of our weddings but we were outsourcing the flowers, which were costing us as much as $1 million at times. This is an industry that has very low barriers to entry so we wanted to differentiate ourselves from the get-go, by raising the quality and standards of what was already on offer. To stand out, we hired people who worked for luxury brands, and most importantly, we don’t follow trends.”

If you had to choose, which of your two businesses is your favourite?