“Money is not so easy to earn.”

Lian Guo Neng, 15, expressed this cliché but nevertheless true sentiment when he came down with his fellow aspiring entrepreneurs from Gan Eng Seng Secondary School to learn how entrepreneurs operate their businesses at LevelOne.

This trip organised by Far East Organization’s Customer Programmes team, encouraged youths to emulate and learn from the entrepreneurs who follow their passions and realised their dreams at LevelOne, Far East Plaza.

One such example is Ms Elim Chew, founder of 77th Street. She started out in a tiny 180 sq ft outlet in Far East Plaza 16 years ago. Today with 12 outlets in Singapore including one that occupies about 1500 sq ft of space at LevelOne, 77th Street is an institution among teenagers and is recognised as one of Singapore’s Promising Brands.

“77th Street is beyond a signboard, beyond a label. It’s about passion, energy, drive, fire and the dream of youth. We make an impact on their lives to show youth what aspiration is all about,” said Ms Elim Chew at the Singapore Promising Brand Awards ceremony on 30 May 2004.

There are many more entrepreneurs at LevelOne who are just as successful in their own right. The students heard from Melissa Chan of wildly successful Sheer Romance, Merve Lin of the popular Shih Lin Taiwan Street Snacks and Chris Pang of Time Club, who generously gave their time and patiently answered the many questions asked by the young entrepreneurs-to-be.