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SINGAPORE: At the rate he is starting businesses, MediaCorp actor Adam Chen’s dream of an early retirement is getting closer to reality.
During the press conference for “Daddy At Home”, which debuts on Channel 8 on Monday, the 33-year-old actor said he plans to retire before hitting the big 4-0 to travel the world.
Chen who admits counts setting up businesses as his hobby, opened his first R Burger kiosk at ION Orchard shopping mall in July and is set to open another outlet at Market Street this month.
The actor, who first had a taste of the Japanese chain’s burgers two years ago, had intended to open just one outlet here but decided to expand after some thought.
Owning two restaurants is quite a remarkable achievement for the engineering graduate who did not have any knowledge of running a business.
The seeds of entrepreneurial spirit were sowed after his friends invited him to set up a merchandising company in 2002. The then 26-year-old, who was just starting out his showbiz career, thought it was a fun idea and decided to give it a shot.
Seven years on, the company is still going strong. And in an attempt to diversify the business, Chen shifted his attention to the food and beverage industry. Apart from R Burger, Chen also runs Three Kings Kitchen, a duck and chicken rice stall with three outlets across the island.
In “Daddy At Home”, Chen plays a spendthrift who does not believe in the value of thriftiness, something the actor-turned-entrepreneur cannot identify with.
“I’m definitely not like this. I will try to earn as much money as I can, and I am willing to spend any amount of time on my business. My aim is to earn as much money as I can within the shortest period of time so that I can retire, hopefully before 40,” said Chen.
If you think that is ambitious, wait till you hear his original goal – 35 years old. He decided to give himself an extra five years after realising that it was a tad unrealistic and that he had thought too highly of himself.
What’s with the rush, we ask?
“I have been in this line since I graduated, unlike my friends who spent half a year travelling after their graduation. Therefore, I hope that once the business is stable and I have completed my duties, I will be able to let go and focus on my interest which is travelling,” Chen explained.
According to Chen, his interest lies in setting up businesses rather than maintaining them. To him, the best scenario would be to have a feel of being a boss and subsequently handing the business over to others to manage so that he can come up with new concepts for other projects.
Despite the success of his businesses, Chen has no plans to call it day as an actor just yet.
“I would not dare to say that my business is a success. In the past, I have been able to straddle between the acting and business as I had lesser involvement in acting. On the contrary, if my acting jobs increase, I will spend lesser time on my business. I will make the necessary adjustments,” said the actor whose contract expires at the end of 2010.
Is he optimistic about fulfilling his dream of early retirement?
He hesitated before saying, “Hopefully. I will have to work harder!”
- CNA/fa
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