1. Trusting myself
If I hadn’t done that, I don’t think I would have started little red ants creative studio. When I first contemplated my decision to abort the management trainee path ahead of me, I sought the advice of people around me like a kid who has lost his way. The response was widely varied. Amidst this cacophony, it was easy to lose your own opinions and become even more confused. But I was lucky that the stubborn side of me prevented me from doing so.

I am not advocating a reckless, selfish or irresponsible approach in the decision-making process, especially if this is a career-defining move. It is crucial to extend considerations to family, close friends and relatives and to listen to the words of wisdom from people who have been there, done that. But at the end of the day, do remember to sit down alone with a hot cuppa (or go on a 16km run, like I did) and fit the pieces of the puzzle. Like Bon Jovi sang, “it’s my life”.

2. Doing business while making friends
Business and friends often do not fall on same side of the equation. Before starting LRA, I had the exact worries that Adeline, Alex, Darren and Kang Li listed out, but all of which were unfounded.

Our clients have helped to debunk the myth that “clients can never be friends”. I strongly believe that a successful creative studio relies on not just business acumen, creative versatility, but also, good relationships with our client-friends.

In 2010, I am glad to have made friends with Yee Hon, Diana, Angeline, Lynette, Grace, Janet and Julian from SYOGOC,

Lu Theng, Grace, Boon Heng, Hui Tze, Cher Ling, Iswandie and Kai Jie from PA,

Yati and Xin Yi from NAC, Lina, Rene and Jayanthi from NYP,

Martin, Pauline and Jennifer from Fuji Xerox, Chun Peng from Singapore Prisons, Serene, Nizam and Syaheeda from MOE, Beng Choo, Karen Low, Karen Tan, Cynthia from MCYS,

Sylvia from NHB, Nurulhada from NLB, Eudora from Sentosa, Karen from SWCDC, Thien Yew, Elena and Farah from MICA, Edwin from Canon, Kevin, Clarisse, Fong, Rachel, Albert, Lileen, Kelvin, Jih Shin, Ailin, Kelvin, Greg, Jialin, YanLing, Junxiang, Diya, Carrie, Chong Qing, Uncle David, Jonathan Loh, Jean Loo, Chia Meng and Kay Chin.

This is definitely not an exhaustive list of the friendships that I’ve made this year, but these are ample evidence of how personal friendships can be forged on top of our professional engagements. Clients, like friends, will have the occasional disagreements (how we differ in the creative direction, deadlines, budget, deliverables). This is part and parcel of any relationship. But as long as each reasonable suggestion (I hate the word “demand”) is intended for the good of the final product, we can always rationalize where we are coming from, and how we can better manage each other’s expectations.

I will like to thank each and every client-friend for his/her trust and confidence in us. Thank you for not following the crowd that believes that youth equates irresponsibility, a lack of experience, and as a result, shoddiness. Thank you for giving us the opportunity to grow and the platform to showcase what we can do. Thank you for making 2010 a memorable one.

3. Work VS Play
I remember once when Alex and me (yes, it’s another 7 mins of Alex’s life) were on our way to a shoot at Sentosa in the wee hours of the morning, I commented to him, “This feels weird. I am actually looking forward to it. But it’s for any other company that I am working for, I will surely scream *a lengthy list of expletives*”

Whenever I listen to my friends’ grouches about working late, working too much, working on weekends or working for too little money, I am really thankful that I have not worked a single day in 2010. To me, what I am doing at LRA are collaborative projects with friends. We have fun, fights, food hunts and late nights. We sleep in the studio in various ugly positions, churn out wacky nonsensical ideas (we’re really good at this) and execute them, and exercise by lugging tons of equipment up and down 4 storeys. This kind of sums up my life at 176 Joo Chiat Road.

People always say, “Find something you like to do and you will excel in it”. I can’t say that we have proven this quote true, but we are working towards it. One of LRA’s resolutions is to stay fresh and challenge ourselves to create better works. This is the only way to sustain our personal and business growths. Here is where “play” comes. We will continue to explore new creative directions, experiment with different concepts, and embark on new ways of storytelling.

An exciting year lies ahead.

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