Meet Mdm Yee Lee Lean. I am going to tell you a very interesting story about her, her life story. Looking at this pic, you can see a well groomed, successful woman, confident for who she is and looked like she has gone many places. All that above is true, but it was not always the case.
Young Lee Lean lost her father at the age of only 3 months. Her mother was left to take care of her and her other siblings, having to work as a door-to-door laundry attendant. Poverty left her family lacking basic amenities and they lived a hard and unfortunate life. Soon, Lee Lean’s mother remarried and there was hope that a stepfather would change their life for the better. Sadly, it was not the case as he was an alcoholic and passed on early in his 50s, once again leaving Lee Lean’s mother behind with 4 small children.
Lee Lean had to start working at a young age in order to sustain the family expenses. She took on a few jobs including teaching in an institution every morning, in a primary school every afternoon and having her own tuition classes late into the nights. She decided early on that she loved teaching, that education is important and that she wanted to help many others by imparting knowledge to them. However, even working three jobs was not able to sustain her family expenses as her primary school salary in those days was only RM278 a month.
Finally, one day, her own brother introduced her to the concept of insurance. It was a very new concept at the time and it really intrigued Lee Lean, especially how insurance can help her turn her minimal savings into a significant amount . Having had enough of suffering in her life, Lee Lean decided to go all out in this new business. She started serving as a life planner for AIA and served for three years before moving on to agency management. Throughout her years there, AIA provided her with the training and essential knowledge of becoming an insurance agent. Lee Lean persevered in this line with hardwork and passion and soon managed to get second runner up award nationwide for achieving the most number of individual cases, only after her second year of being a life planner. She also furthered her studies with the training provided by AIA that really helped her learn more and be able to help others as well.
Today, as a successful businesswoman and a mother too, Lee Lean wanted to create job flexibility not just for herself but for others facing the same predicament as her earlier years, therefore she started her company APPS Sdn Bhd. APPS stands for Attitude, Personality, Perseverance and Skills, the four things that she believes and rely on for her own achievements and something she wants to impart to others who have the same dreams to be a successful life planner and entrepreneur.
Lee Lean believes that if the job is met with sincerity with the intent of wanting to help others, only then will consumers realize the true benefits of an insurance policy. This is parallel to AIA’s motto of ‘Doing the right thing, in the right way, with the right people,’ which has become the very basis of her own success.
Lee Lean had indeed come a long way from her days of struggling financially and making ends meet. She had so far been in the business for 34 years and had been able to enjoy the fruits of her labour with her friends and most importantly, her family, with the ability to travel the world and visiting many places. Her own children had the privilege to further their studies in the best institutions in the United States. Lee Lean had never left behind her passion to educate. She believed that even if she had not ventured into the insurance business, today, she would have become an educator, a principal for a school or even a kindergarten. Her success stems from her passion to help others succeed too and her love for sharing her knowledge with others. Having to find her own way around in the business with no mentor, today she strives to mentor others interested to walk with her in this business so that they do not have to face the hardship that she went through in her younger days.
Lee Lean’s priceless advise to everyone that wants to find success and financial freedom in life is, start now and start young and build a business that is self sustainable, as being young now we may have all the energy to work but when we are old, we will slow down and find it difficult to do anymore physical work. For that, Lee Lean advises people to take up insurance as it typifies a successful business model when paired with good service, hard work and sincerity. Lee Lean believes that success is certain for those who yearn most for it. Even the famous Proverbs says, The sluggard craves and gets nothing, but the desires of the diligent are fully satisfied.
For those who wish to follow in Lee Lean’s footsteps, and open the doors to having a balanced yet successful life, you may take your first step forward by attending her many motivational talks that she hosts all-year-round. Allow her to facilitate your growth and together, you can explore the endless possibilities the industry has to offer.
Incidentally, I am a customer of AIA too and had bought insurance for myself and Josiah since he was born. I totally believe we should buy a life/education and medical plan for our children from birth, as Josiah was diagnosed with Inguinal Hernia at only 2 and needed to have operation done immediately. Thank God for our AIA insurance plan, his medical expenses were covered and we even stayed in the VIP suite in the hospital. Madam Yee and her team will also be present at the upcoming Career Builder Fair 2015 @ KLCC on 22 & 23 August (11AM – 6PM), booth C05. Come over and visit to meet her face to face!
For more information, please feel free to contact ivytan.apps@gmail.com or call in 0379888043.