The typical wooden shipping pallet, constructed of mixed hardwood, can weigh 50 pounds, Susan Chong (OPM 48, 2016) explains. But a pallet made of pine weighs half that, and for businesses air shipping their products, that difference can translate into significant cost savings.

Chong, the founder and CEO of Greenpac, a Singapore-based sustainable packaging company, explains the less expensive choice is also the more environmentally friendly choice, as pine is grown on sustainable tree farms. But she has learned to lead with the lower price tag attached to Greenpac’s pallets and numerous other custom-designed packaging options. “I started with the vision of saving the world,” she says, “and the first question everyone asked was, ‘How much will it cost?’”

Chong saw the need for more environmentally conscious choices while working at her in-law’s packaging company in the early 2000s, yet she took a circuitous route to entrepreneurship. As a child in Malaysia, Chong dreamed of being a lawyer, but her family did not have the money to finance her legal education. Instead, she decided to pursue hotel-catering management, a more affordable course of study. While in school, she got a job in a hotel sales department and decided to defer her education.

Two years later, Pfizer headhunted Chong. She didn’t know the number of chambers in the heart, she admitted during her interview with the pharmaceutical giant, but she was a quick study. Chong believes her honesty and eagerness to learn got her the job; two years later, she was the top Pfizer sales rep in the region. The same qualities came in handy in 2002, when Chong launched Greenpac with a $30,000 microloan and one employee—herself.

“When you’re growing, especially in a small market, reputation is very important,” she says. Eighteen years later, Greenpac counts Fortune 500 companies among its industrial clients. The company is on the verge of international expansion, but Chong, who received the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award in 2014, still draws on business lessons from her early career: “You have to be honest and deliver on what you have promised.”

Essential entrepreneurship skill: Driving a 14-foot pickup and a warehouse forklift. “Sometimes you must really dirty your hands,” she says. “The men would always be very amazed.”

All in the family: “During the festive season, we invite employees’ families to the office. I think it is important for the children to be able to be proud of where their parents work.”

Hiring philosophy: “It’s about attitude and aptitude. It doesn’t matter if you’re from another industry so long as you really put in the effort.”

The limits of intuition: “When you are a startup, you need to trust your business acumen. But when your business grows to a certain size, it’s no longer about gut feel. You really need to know how to read the numbers, look at the data, and ask smart questions. You need a certain formalized training for that.”

Going back to school: Although she never completed her undergraduate degree, Chong earned her executive MBA at the National University of Singapore. “I always wanted to experience campus life. It was one of the toughest things in my life, because I didn’t have the fundamentals. What is a linear curve? What is a bell curve?”

The challenges of being a leader: “Sometimes in business, you get very lonely as you climb higher, and you can’t go around telling people about your problems. Who do you talk to?”

Who she talks to: Her OPM classmates. “Our WhatsApp is 24/7 because people are coming in from different time zones. It really is a big family. We bonded over the three years of learning.”

Her nickname: “Big sister,” because she is a mentor for other entrepreneurs.

Her mentors: “In the past, you always looked up to the older, experienced people as mentors. Today, I get the young people to mentor me. It’s very important because the way they look at things, the way they do things, is very different. I’m always learning from them.”

Prized possession: “When I was young, I played the piano. But I had to sell it to fund my school fees. Piano has always been in my heart, something I wanted to get back to. Recently, I bought myself a grand piano. It is to remind me of the beginning.”

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