Lydia’s Story

Background

Lydia is 34 years old, living with her spouse, 4 school-going children and 1 newborn (3 months old). She lives in a 2-room rental flat. She has been working as a programme assistant on a part-time basis at a community hub, co-running a canteen stall and also has had a home-based bridal business, Aely Bridal & Events, for about 2 years. Her spouse has been laid off from his previous job due to a work medical injury. Currently, he works on an adhoc basis, packing for Redmart.

Goals & Aspirations

Lydia’s main goal was to get a showroom and office storage space for her clients of her home-based bridal business to walk-in and view the bridal clothes. This goal is important for Lydia as it means developing a more professional business that could attract more customers. Currently, her office is at home and her clients come to her place to view the clothes, which is not ideal for her. In order for her to secure the space, she would have to pay a $3600 deposit upfront. Lydia also has the goal of having savings, however, she does not want to pressure herself. She saves when she can.

EFI as an enabler for Lydia’s goals

Lydia utilized the $1500 grant to customize and purchase a new couple outfit and purchase accessories to add on to her bridal collection. $800 was used to purchase the couple’s outfit, $500 for bridal accessories and $200 for other expenses arising from her business and wedding events she does. With the new collection and through word-of-mouth, enquiries for her bridal business increased from having 3 enquiries every 2 to 3 months to having at least 3 enquiries per month. She has also been able to secure a big client opportunity for a wedding event in 2024. The deposit that the client will place to secure her services will enable her to secure the showroom.

Learn more about Lydia’s home based business on Instagram.

Question Time with Lydia

What attracted you to the EFI program?

●      Opportunity to learn from other families.

●      The EFI team believes that families know their priorities.

●      Flexibility, in case the goal changes due to family situations.

●      Definitely, the saving scheme. It becomes a routine to save monthly.

How did you go about achieving your goals?

• Learning from other families, especially sharing HBB secrets 

What have you learnt from the process?

• Different ways of resolving HBB 101 problems

• Talking to other participants and getting lobangs

What are your next steps?

• To continue to achieve, to keep going

What advice do you have for families that want to follow in your footsteps?

Don't stop working hard to achieve your dream but stop if it's priority. It's okay to change your goal.