Asian Woman Entrepreneur: Michelle Tham

In the first of our weekly Asian Woman Entrepreneur series with Nanz, Nanz discusses business with speech and language pathologist and owner of Leapfrogs, Michelle Tham.

A note from Nanz: “Speaking to Michelle was a fun experience! In some ways, she reminds me of me. She talks about her mother being in her business with her, and she is careful to mention the people in her life. Her family is her business! It reminds me of how I too had the three most loyal staff with me from the beginning till the end of ONE.99Shop: My Dad, my Mom and my brother!”

Michelle Tham is a Speech and Language Pathologist and Clinical Director. She runs her own clinic Leapfrogs. Michelle graduated from the University of Queensland in Australia with top honors in speech language pathology. While in Australia, she was given the rare opportunity to be attached to various setting such as Ipswich Hospital, Everton Park Child Developmental Unit, and St Ignatius Grade school. Upon returning to Singapore, she worked in KK Women’s and Children’s Hospital before she started The Children’s Speech Therapist in 2003. The practice grew to Leapfrogs in 2005 and continues today. Michelle particularly enjoys developing communication skills in children and helping them apply these skills in their everyday lives. She is currently a Clinical Supervisor supporting the Masters of Speech Pathology Programme in the National University of Singapore and has been involved in several volunteer speech therapy training projects with the Singapore International Foundation.

Nanz: What is your business all about?
Michelle: Leapfrogs is a children’s therapy clinic and we are really about making a difference in the lives of kids with special needs. My team and I love reminding parents that though their child may not confirm to a typical “mould,” it’s really okay and that he has lots to contribute if you change the way you think about him and look at him.

Where did you get the funding to start Leapfrogs?
I used my savings, which I had after working for four years.

Why did you go into this business? Were you always in this line of work ?
Yes, I have always been in this line of work since graduation — this is my ninth year. I started thinking about being a speech therapist from the time I was in Secondary 2 when I fell sick and visited my family GP. He asked what I wanted to be and I replied “Psychologist!” to which he scoffed and said, “Everyone seems to be graduating with a psychology degree, you don’t want to be one of the masses.” So I asked “What do you think I should do then?” And he suggested “Speech therapy, these people are so few in numbers and they make a lot of money and they have a lot of free time!” His son was seeing a speech therapist, so being young and impressionable, I thought it would be a good idea since even a doctor was “complaining” that it’s expensive to see a speech therapist. So far, I have discovered that what he said is half true! This business is something quite special and as I work more on it, I have come to realise that it is more than a job—it has become a calling.