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Lao Tzu, a Chinese philosopher once said, "From caring comes courage." A simple yet powerful quote for Cathie Chew, 50.

In December 2016, Cathie gave up her career of 24 years as an insurance agent to become her husband's primary caregiver. Her husband suffered complications from consuming raw fish porridge back in November 2015.

Cathie's husband suffered multiple losses – his health, hearing, and eventually career. As a result, he was in a state of total distress. As a concerned wife, Cathie started to explore ways to distract him from focusing on his condition.

Cathie began writing her maiden book “From RAW Meal To REAL Deal" to share her personal story as a primary caregiver leading to her becoming an entrepreneur. She managed to persuade her husband to be involved in the process by editing the book. However, as a self-published author, aside from family, friends and relying on word of mouth, Cathie wanted her message to reach a wider audience. She decided to sign up for courses at NTUC LearningHub (NTUC LHUB) to learn about how to market her books more effectively. At the same time, she wanted to increase the awareness of her personal brand as a local author.

Cathie shares that attending the courses kept her motivated as they were aligned with her learning objectives. Being a learner also allowed her to remain intellectually and socially engaged. This helped her through her partner's ordeal. Among the many courses she took were Certified Usability Analyst (CUA), Agility Marketing, and Business Model Canvas (BMC). Each of these courses gave her insights into the versatility of varied platforms to reach different customer segments. She also learnt the 9-step process that helped her analyse and evaluate her business objectives. Through these courses, Cathie also gained insights into user mentality and behaviour traits. All these helped her explore more meaningful ways to engage her current and potential customers.

The mother of three shares that she enjoys learning. She says NTUC LHUB's courses are essential for burgeoning entrepreneurs who are setting up new businesses. Her advice to aspiring entrepreneurs is to first enrol in a course at their comfort level before taking on more advanced courses.

Cathie's courage and resilience are a great inspiration to many of us. In this uncertain world, adversity is almost inevitable. Even if misfortunes strike, we can still find strength and courage to achieve our goals and seek fulfilment in different areas of our lives.

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