Entrepreneur at 70
After blowing out 70 birthday candles, Ronald Ang bade a fond farewell to his employers and retired. But rather than settle into balancing his day and managing some grandchildren, he went into balancing a new business and managing a team of specialists as Managing Director of “Singapore’s friendliest butchery”, Meat The Butcher.
While there are those who groan at the thought of the late retirement age put in place for the Singapore workforce, Ang who is past the current retirement age at 70-years-young is in no hurry to slow down. “The morning when I have to drag myself out of bed to work and when… I keep looking at the clock to see if its 5.30pm yet… When that kind of feeling comes in, nobody needs to ask me to go. I will run out of the store straight away. I’ve lost the interest to work already,” Ang summed up the reason that keeps him going.
The robust entrepreneur admitted, though grudgingly, “I suppose human beings cannot go on forever. We are not machines”. What fuels Ang is passion and an openness to take on challenges that pay off in the long term, even if they might come at a short-term cost. The one constant throughout his employment career said Ang, was the lower salary commanded each time he left a company to join another. Although the pay reduction would quickly adjust in tandem to his drive and contribution to a new company, it was the intangible rewards that spurred Ang.
“The thing I always drum into my people is that the moment your work becomes a chore, a chore that you have to do, for goodness’ sake, get out! “Go and do something you are passionate about, because to me it’s not work. It’s not a chore. It’s something that I love to do. “So it doesn’t seem like work and that’s why I go on for as long as I can,” Ang said with an impish smile that revealed his true age — which is as young as he wants to feel.
Happy belated birthday Mr. Ang and thank you for the wonderful advice! You are truly an inspiration to the all of the aspiring entrepreneurs, including us!