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Most parents would often hope that their children would one day pursue a career that provides financial stability so that they don’t have to worry about whether they have enough to sustain themselves.
For 26-year-old Lee Bei Er, what began as a challenge she posed for herself soon became a turning point in her life that would eventually see her not being a doctor, but a sauce vendor at the pasar malam.
Challenging herself
Lee grew up in a business-oriented family, where her father owned and ran a tyre repair shop and provided much insight to a young Lee on how to run a business.
However, business wasn’t her first option upon graduating from high school after completing SPM. In fact, she had absolutely no idea on what the next step was.
Though I was unsure over what field of study I should pursue, I’ve always been interested in biology and decided to challenge myself by studying Medicine, which is considered to be the toughest,” she said.
As such, Lee enrolled herself into a private university and embarked on a six-year journey aimed at preparing and setting her on the path to become a doctor.
But reality had something else in mind for her.
All work & no life
Throughout her studies, Lee’s only memories of it were endless cycles of studying and exams, with little to no time for herself to wind down and relax.
And that didn’t change at all when she underwent three years of training as a medical student at a hospital.
“While I initially enjoyed the process and was deeply grateful for the technical skills and knowledge imparted to me, the working environment really opened my eyes to the realities of being a doctor.
“A friend of mine recounted to me that his daily routine was waking up at 4am, turning up at the hospital at 5am, and working non-stop until 10pm—where he would have his first, and sometimes only meal of the day.
“During the three years where I was attached to the hospital, I also observed that many of the practising doctors had to stay back until late at night, while I was allowed to clock out earlier. Furthermore, they don’t get paid much too.
“These factors made me question my earlier aspiration to be a doctor as it wasn’t the life I wanted for myself. This is also why now I tell people that if they want to be rich, don’t become a doctor,” she added with a laugh.
Peanut butter being a turning point
While Lee was still in the midst of contemplating whether she should continue her pursuit in being a doctor, little did she know that one single change in her father’s diet would be a watershed moment.
According to Lee, her father would always have peanut butter for breakfast without fail. However, that soon led to him contracting gout, an inflammatory arthritis that form crystals in joints and is caused by high-purine foods such as red meat, seafood (e.g. anchovies and sardines), and nuts.
Not wanting to see her father in constant pain, Lee started scouring around for low-purine foods to replace peanut butter and eventually discovered black sesame, leading her to make black sesame spread entirely from scratch.
At her father’s encouragement, Lee began making more black sesame spread not just for his own personal consumption, but also to sell to the masses as he believed it would receive a positive response from the public.
“I launched Yuppy Jiang in December 2024 and at that time, I was merely testing my hand at how well the business would go as I wanted to earn extra income while waiting to be a houseman at a hospital.
“However, I didn’t expect the business to take off so quickly and I soon realised that I had to put aside my doctor plans for the time being,” she recounted.
Upon seeing the growing success of Yuppy Jiang, Lee’s father expressed deep support as one of his children was now following his footsteps in owning a business.
As for Lee’s mother, an ex-teacher, she was initially skeptical and had hoped Lee would eventually be a doctor. But she eventually relented when she saw how well the business was doing.
Navigating ‘speed bumps’
Today, Lee is running Yuppy Jiang full-time and sells various spreads and sauces online and at the pasar malam every Wednesday.
When asked how much she earned each month, Lee said it was an average income of four-figures, one she says is “way more than what housemen earn at the hospital”.
Running the business along with Lee is her boyfriend, who’s in charge of handling the finances and marketing, and whom Lee credits as “the biggest supporter” in her endeavours.
However, things weren’t always this smooth all the time.
“There was a time when the business was dangerously close to financial trouble as the sales weren’t enough to cover the cost of the machines and raw materials.
“Thankfully, we managed to turn it around by increasing our promotional efforts on social media, which is our main platform, and the situation began to improve,” she said.
Looking beyond
In a society where fresh graduates are often expected to take on a professional career that offers lucrative salaries and job stability, Lee has no regrets about the path she took.
If I were to be honest, the only advantage that you have being a doctor is holding the title.
“To me, there’s no such thing as to whether one has made the ‘right’ decision or not. What matters is putting effort into said decision and making it the ‘right’ one.”
However, Lee said she’s still open to the possibility of becoming a doctor if the opportunity arises.
“If that were to happen, I want to become one not because of financial obligation, but because I truly have interest in it,” she added.
Lee also had one piece of advice to give to those having doubts over major decisions they’re about to make:
“Discover what your strengths are and just go for it when your gut tells you it’s the right move. Don’t think about failing but focus on how to succeed and make it work.”
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