THE reason that Ms Micheline Ong, 52, switched from teaching to beauty care, is simple: She wanted to earn money fast and be in a business where she could learn to be beautiful.

A former school teacher, she set up Cristalle de Paris in 1986 because she was fed up with the dearth of beauty books and the limited range of skin-care products in Singapore then.

Her obsession with looking beautiful and maintaining her youthful looks took her to France after she had learnt a smattering of French.

She became an apprentice to French beauty expert Gerard Oleon, who later helped develop Cristalle's line of beauty treatments and products.

'I love beauty and I'm afraid to age. France is the best place to study beauty. I read up on Dr Gerard and I left for France looking for him...I offered to work with him without pay,' recalled Ms Ong.

Thanks to her dedication to research and development, Cristalle has introduced what she says is the world's first plant-based equivalent to human placenta extracts, which are sometimes used in skin-care products.

Now, the client list for her beauty care salon at 56 Temple Street reads like a Who's Who of the rich and famous - including royalty from Malaysia, Indonesia and as far away as the Middle East.

Malaysian princess Raja Adlina, a niece of the Sultan of Perak, is a client, along with the King and Queen of Saudi Arabia, who fly to Singapore in their private jet.

With a start-up capital of $1 million, Cristalle took shape in a 1,000 sq ft unit in Plaza Singapura in 1986. In 1995, Ms Ong decided to buy a 4,000 sq ft unit on Temple Street.

She believes the secret lies in having a solution for every skin problem. At Cristalle, treatments are formulated on the spot and applied immediately, instead of coming out of prepacked bottles. Cristalle offers a beauty school, proprietary skin-care products and a training school.

But it wasn't all smooth sailing. During the Asian financial crisis, the enterprising Ms Ong came up with the idea of ferrying her high-end clients around in a maroon Rolls-Royce.

She has written four books on beauty care and is now involved in designing other beauty spas, in China. She has been married to a businessman for 20 years.

Q What financial planning have you done for yourself and your family?

A I have no fixed monthly target. About 50 per cent of my investments are in insurance, bonds and deposits, and the rest in property.

I seek the advice of financial advisers who help me to invest. I like bonds, which are stable and steady, property and insurance. I am a very careful and conservative investor. I don't like volatile investments. I diversify my investments, splitting my money into various investments. I invest only in those that I have knowledge about.

In the past, my investments yielded an average of 5 per cent a year. Currently, the yield is lower at 3.5 per cent a year.

For property, I actually took a real estate course to gain knowledge that would assist in my decision making. I believe a good investment needs time to reap results.

Q What about insurance planning?

A I strongly believe in insurance planning. My husband and I have various policies that cover us on a worldwide basis as I travel a lot. We focus on hospitalisation, accident and travel insurance, in addition to whole life and endowment policies, and critical illness plans.

Also, for my business, I have public liability insurance and employee insurance.

Q How did your property investments fare?

A In 1993, I took the bold step of purchasing a unit in Richmond Park at Cairnhill after I received a call from the developer. It was a 1,550 sq ft unit and I paid $1,000 per sq ft (psf). I sold it in 1996 at almost double the price. Nearby condos were valued at about $700 psf in 1993, but I liked Richmond's location because it was near a hospital, and I believed there would be a demand for such properties in the near future.

Q What do you consider when buying property as an investment?

A My criteria include the convenience or accessibility of the location, who the developer is and the unit's layout. It must be 999 years or freehold.

Q What other investments do you have?

A In 2003, I set up a five-star beauty retreat in Guangdong, China, which offers a holistic selection of high-end health and beauty care services ranging from skin care to slimming and dietary guidance.

Q What criteria do you look for before you decide to invest in a business?

A Before I decide to invest, I picture the worst scenarios for the business. If I don't have a solution to them, I give up the idea. It's my way of crisis management.

Once I invest in a business, I place a lot of emphasis on research and development. I also offer premium customer service and a suitable ambience.

Q Any tips for aspiring entrepreneurs?

A Here are my tips:

* Give yourself 28 days to evaluate if you are serious about the business. If you still feel strongly about it, then go ahead.

* Decide if you can invest your time fully. I slept only three to four hours a day when I started out in my business.

* Ask yourself how generous you would be about developing talent in the business.

* Make sure you keep upgrading and learning.

If you are passionate about your work or dream, you will find yourself thinking about it even when you are sleeping or eating. Ideas will then flow.

Q How do you pamper yourself?

A I pamper myself with regular spa treats and beautiful clothes, and by taking healthy and simple food. I do my own facials daily at home in the evening.

Q Moneywise, what were your growing-up years like?

A I grew up in a middle-class family of nine. I have five sisters and a brother. My parents came from Indonesia. Father was in the freight business and Mother was a housewife. We lived in Tiong Bahru.

In order to have more pocket money, I started giving tuition in secondary school, and wrote articles for magazines and newspapers. I even worked in a knitting factory.

Q What other aspirations do you have?

A My dream is to build schools for the unfortunate in China, sharing with them my resources and nurturing the young. I'm currently scouting for locations in China.

Q Your best investment to date?

A Servicing my royal clients has been my best investment. Besides the satisfaction I derived, they have been generous, showering me with gifts, mainly jewellery such as ruby rings, necklaces, diamonds and watches.

Q And your home now is...

A I have lived in district 9 since 1999.

Q And your car is...

A I own a maroon Rolls-Royce and a grey Mercedes E200.

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Pursuit of beauty

'I love beauty and I'm afraid to age. France is the best place to study beauty. I read up on Dr Gerard Oleon and I left for France looking for him...I offered to work with him without pay.'
MS ONG, on how far she was prepared to go to find her mentor and carry out her dream

Conditions of purchase

'My criteria include the convenience or accessibility of the location, who the developer is and the unit's layout. It must be 999 years or freehold.'
MS ONG, on what factors she will weigh before deciding on an investment property