Growing up, Zames Chew thought he wanted to work a white-collar role at a company like Google, but his career took a different turn. Today, the 26-year-old runs the Singapore-based handyman service Repair.sg, alongside his 24-year-old brother and co-founder, Amos Chew.

In 2024, their Singapore-based company Repair.sg brought in 1.7 million Singapore dollars (about $1.3 million), according to documents reviewed by CNBC Make It.

“When I was younger, my dream was always to work in big tech,” said Chew. But one day in early 2016, he discovered a gap in the market.

“Our parents were looking for a service provider to fix something around the house,” said Chew. “I was just looking online, and … there [seemed] to be nowhere to find service providers [online] back in the day. So I was like … let me put together a website and see what happens from there.”

So, at age 16, Chew spent 30 Singapore dollars (about $23) to buy a website domain name, had his father help him register the business, and Repair.sg was born.

Almost a decade later, what started as a blue-collar side hustle by two brothers, now has over 20 employees and is on track to bring in about $2.3 million in 2025, according to documents reviewed by CNBC Make It.

As kids, the Chew brothers loved being hands-on.

“My brother and I would do everything together. That means building Legos, building PCs, taking things apart,” said Chew. ”[We] have always been building projects together, and it has [been] our dream to … work together when we became adults.”

The two were able to realize this dream during their teenage years after starting Repair.sg. The company gained momentum slowly until the last few years when its growth started to soar, said Chew.

For the first three years of the company, the brothers were still in school, so they had to squeeze in work for the business in between classes, or during their evenings.

“What a lot of people don’t know is that there’s a lot of education … [and] licensing behind some of the services that we do, and it goes beyond just taking a screwdriver and hammer [to] things,” he said. So they spent years acquiring the knowledge, skills and licenses necessary to run their business.

In addition, before the business scaled, they would take on most jobs themselves such as replacing lights, and fixing furniture. “For the first seven years, up until perhaps even early 2024, [the business] was basically at the brink of death most of the time,” said Chew. “We were young and weren’t very good business owners.”

Chew said that in the early days, he and his brother did anything and everything that people were willing to hire them for, and they would go as far as to set an alarm at 4 a.m. to make sure they could respond to early messages from potential customers.

Throughout this time, there were many hard lessons learned and some jobs they shouldn’t have taken, Chew said in hindsight.

″[Maybe] expectations were completely different, or perhaps they were just really cheap and it was a pain for us, or … they were not very nice people,” he said. “We just took whatever came our way because we kind of believed the societal belief that we were lower than the rest or not as respected, so we were kind of just grateful for whatever we got.”

It wasn’t until 2021 when both brothers decided turn Repair.sg from their hobby into a full-blown business that it began to grow and scale. The two also decided against attending university so they can focus on the business instead.

The Chew brothers are part of a wave of Gen Zers who are choosing blue-collar industries over white-collar ones, or over attending university, in some cases.

While the two enjoy their work, they’ve faced lots of pushback by their parents and strangers alike, said Chew. “Growing up, our parents always [told] us things like: ‘If you don’t study hard, you’re going to end up doing a manual labor job, and it’s going to be awful. Don’t you want to sit in an office with aircon?’” he said.

″[And] when we started speaking [with customers] … they would tell us to our face: ’You guys are kids. You guys should be studying in school and not doing this kind of work. This is for people that quote, unquote, don’t make it in life,” he said.

Due to the societal stigma around blue collar jobs, Chew says he and his brother tried to keep their business a secret for a while.

“We were always very insecure about what we did, because while we did enjoy it, the negativity did get to us. So we made it a point to not publicize that we were doing this,” he said.

However, he has now recognized that fundamentally, the work they provide creates great value for customers. Additionally, he enjoys the job, and loves that he gets to work with his brother — which was ultimately more important than how others view their vocation.

“I’m optimistic for the future of the space,” he said, adding that in the last few years, he’s seen an uptick in the amount of younger people entering blue-collar industries. In fact, Chew says some of his friends have left their white-collar jobs for blue-collar ones, and “a lot of them are happier than they ever were.”

“I’m happy that I didn’t listen to anyone else and [kept going], because if I were forced to sit in an air conditioned office five days a week, typing away at a computer, I don’t think I would experience the same amount of happiness, fulfillment, joy that I do running this business with my brother today,” said Chew.

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It’s natural to want to comfort a child when they’re crying. When parents see their kid hurting physically or emotionally, they often want to do anything in their power to stop their heartache. 

As a dual certified child life specialist and therapist, I’ve heard parents and even health care workers telling kids “don’t cry” while wiping away their tears during medical procedures and other difficult moments. 

It comes from a place of wanting to fix the hurt and make it all better. But it can make kids feel like their emotions and tears aren’t okay, especially when they’re in pain or distress. 

Instead, try to validate kids’ feelings and help them feel safe and supported expressing their emotions and tears. Use these five alternatives:

This helps kids know and believe that their experience is real and it’s natural.

Staying with kids through their stress conveys the message that their feelings don’t scare you, that you can handle the difficult moments with them, and that they can rely on you for real-time support, even when it’s hard or uncomfortable. 

You may not always know exactly why a child is crying or understand their reaction to the situation. Validation doesn’t necessarily mean agreement; it means, “I see you and I believe you.” 

One way to validate their experience is to simply reflect back what you’re seeing. Naming their emotion can be helpful for some kids, but for others it can be upsetting if your label doesn’t match what they’re truly feeling. Try naming their behaviors or using a more encompassing term such as “upset.”

If kids hear, “don’t cry,” they might interpret that their response doesn’t match the situation, when in fact, it often does.

We want kids to trust their feelings and to know that their tears make sense for what they’re experiencing, whether it’s pain, fear, or isolation. Sometimes the behaviors will be out of proportion with the situation, but the underlying feelings are never wrong. 

Parents often want their kids to feel happy, but it’s natural to feel a range of emotions including difficult or uncomfortable ones. The goal is not to stop the emotion but to help kids acknowledge and manage it.

Helping kids understand that crying is not bad — and that it’s perfectly natural to feel sad, angry, lonely, or frustrated sometimes — reduces a sense of shame from any negative experiences. 

Lastly, it’s important for kids to understand that crying is a very healthy way to release emotions. Crying is coping and so is coloring, playing, talking, running, listening to music, and breathing. You can help kids try different strategies and find the ones that work best for them. 

Use tears as a chance to meet kids where they’re at and help them work through challenges with confidence and connection. 

Kelsey Mora is a Certified Child Life Specialist and Licensed Clinical Professional Counselor who provides custom support, guidance, and resources to parents, families, and communities impacted by medical conditions, trauma, grief, and everyday life stress. She is a private practice owner, mom of two, the creator and author of The Method Workbooks, and the Chief Clinical Officer of the nonprofit organization Pickles Group.

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A few weeks ago, I tweaked my back putting weights on the rack at the gym. When things didn’t get any better after a week of rest, ice and ibuprofen, I decided to go to the orthopedist.

After sharing my medical history and the details of my injury with the nurse, I sat in the exam room goofing around on my phone waiting for the doctor. The next knock at the door wasn’t a physician, however, but a technician.

“Come across the hall for an X-ray,” she said.

“Oh good,” I should have thought. “They can get to the bottom of what’s wrong.”

Instead, I felt a pang of dread.

Earlier this year I was trying to sort out a skin condition and went to see an allergist. They told me they’d run the standard test where they prick you with 50 or so different allergens and see which ones you react to. It went well enough — it turns out I’m not allergic to much of anything.

A few months later, the bill for the test came in the mail. It was close to $500. Because I hadn’t hit my annual deductible yet, I was on the hook for the whole thing. I was pretty shook. Not once had any of the doctors I’d seen discussed that this procedure might be costly for me. They just ran the tests and scheduled me for a follow-up.

So when I returned to the orthopedist’s exam room having gotten my X-ray, still having not hit my deductible, all I could think was, “What did that just cost me?”

In hindsight, I shouldn’t have just quietly followed her. But refusing to go with the X-ray technician until she quoted me a price felt rude. Plus, how would she even know the cost? What you pay for any given procedure depends on your insurance coverage as well as rates your insurer has negotiated with the health-care provider’s billing office.

I’m not the only one recovering from health-care sticker shock. A 2024 study from private health-care foundation the Commonwealth Fund found that 45% of insured, working-age adults had received an unexpected bill in the previous year.

Your first step to avoid unexpected bills is to talk with your health-care provider. That may mean speaking up during a medical consultation, or having more involved conversations with your insurance company and your doctor’s billing department, says Carolyn McClanahan, a medical doctor, certified financial planner and founder of financial planning firm Life Planning Partners.

That can feel intimidating, especially if you’re on the spot, says McClanahan. You want to speak up for yourself and avoid surprise bills, but, if you’re like me, you don’t want to ruffle any feathers when you need care.

I still haven’t gotten the bill for my X-ray. But the discomfort I felt bringing up cost with the technician is a common phenomenon, says McClanahan. Nevertheless, it’s worth it to speak up and advocate for yourself both before and after your treatment, she says.

Talking with your provider beforehand can help you understand the costs of procedures and put you on a path toward treatment you can afford. And even if you need high-priced treatment, doing some research and putting in legwork around costs can help you avoid sticker shock down the line.

Here are three steps McClanahan recommends to avoid surprise bills.

Step 1: Communicate with your doctor

If you, like me, are put on the spot with a procedure of indeterminate cost, the first thing to do is ask your provider whether it’s really necessary, says McClanahan. You may find that there’s wiggle room on timing or cheaper alternatives to procedures or drugs the doctor recommends.

McClanahan suggests a possible script: “I have this really, really high deductible, and I’m trying to manage my bills. Can you please let me know what it’s going to cost or verify that I really need this now?”

Discussing your concerns with your doctor up front may help you get a treatment plan that’s more in line with your budget, she says.

Step 2: Do the best you can to shop around

Even if you have concerns about price, you may absolutely need a certain procedure. And if you haven’t yet hit your deductible in a given year, you’re likely going to have to pay up.

If you need to schedule a treatment at a later date, you can potentially save yourself some money by comparing costs at different providers, says McClanahan.

That means calling around to different medical providers in your area and asking their billing department what they charge for the treatment you want. Getting answers won’t always be straightforward, however, McClanahan says.

“The challenge is that every insurance company negotiates different rates,” she says. “The person sitting at the billing desk isn’t going to know off the top of their head what that rate is going to be.”

What’s more, what starts out as one treatment, like a colonoscopy, can turn into a pricier procedure if your surgeon discovers something concerning and has to perform biopsies, McClanahan says.

In other words, it may not be easy to pin down your medical provider’s billing department on an exact price. But do your best to explain to them that budget is an important factor when it comes to whether or not you’ll be able to receive treatment at their facility, McClanahan says.

Step 3: Investigate your bill

I still haven’t gotten the bill for my visit to the orthopedist. But when I do, I’d be smart to ask for an itemized list of charges, McClanahan says.

“You need to see what they’ve actually charged you for,” she says. “Then go on the internet and compare it with what’s actually a reasonable charge.”

McClanahan likes the search tool at FAIR Health, which shows estimated in-network and out-of-network costs for treatment based on what providers charge in your area.

If a bill you received is much higher than the average cost, or if your doctor’s office has tacked on charges that don’t seem to be in line with the care you received, call the billing department and plead your case, McClanahan says.

In the case of my allergy test, a medical provider would be unlikely to negotiate with me, McClanahan says. The price tag was in line with what providers in my area charge, and I was billed correctly.

In more extreme cases — say, ones in which a patient with a high deductible is facing down thousands of dollars in bills — medical providers may be willing to come down on costs, McClanahan previously told CNBC Make It.

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Hayley Paige can’t remember a time when she didn’t want to become a wedding dress designer.

“I was very lucky to just know what I wanted to do from a very early age,” she says.

For Paige, whose full name is Hayley Paige Gutman, that dream seemingly came true when she launched her eponymous bridal line in her mid-twenties.

Her sparkly, whimsical gowns made her a household name in the wedding industry, and she even landed a recurring spot on reality series “Say Yes to the Dress.”

It was a “really great chapter” of “thousands of dresses, amazing brides and growing the brand,” Paige, 39, tells CNBC Make It — until she lost ownership of her professional name and her intellectual property during a four-year legal battle with her former employer.

Now, Paige is back on the scene with a new bridal collection, and a new perspective on blending business and artistry.

Paige studied fiber science and apparel design at Cornell University and “quickly got into the bridal industry” after graduating in 2007.

In 2011, when Paige was 25 years old, she was offered the “tremendous opportunity” to become a head designer at bridal house JLM Couture, she says.

All Paige had to do, she says, was sign an employment contract that gave JLM Couture the right to trademark her name and brand, as well as the rights to her designs and intellectual property. The contract also included a five year non-compete agreement should Paige leave the company.

“Essentially, I was told if I wanted the job, I would have to sign that contract,” Paige says — so she did.

After that, she “put [her] blinders on” and got straight to work.

“For me, I’m always very focused on the artistry and the fact that I was getting to do what I loved most,” she says, “so a lot of the other things that a lot of people would pay attention to, I just didn’t.”

As her initial contract neared its end, Paige says she approached her employer in 2019 to negotiate a new agreement.

“I wanted to approach this from the perspective of, a lot has happened over the past almost 10 years. I’ve grown a multimillion-dollar brand. I’ve been on a show. There’s been a lot of opportunities where I feel like my value was not being properly calculated,” she recalls.

After a yearlong period of negotiation, Paige says she was “blindsided” in December 2020 when JLM Couture sued her over usage of the “Hayley Paige” name and the @misshayleypaige Instagram account.

Paige subsequently resigned from the company and fought for ownership of her social media accounts, arguing that she had created them as personal, not business, profiles.

In 2021, a federal judge granted JLM Couture a preliminary injunction that gave JLM Couture control over all social media accounts under Paige’s name and prevented Paige from using her name for business purposes, per the terms of the original employment contract. She was also barred from designing bridal apparel.

“In a matter of just a few days, I had gone from having a job, being able to use my name — very basic things I had become accustomed to — to basically not being allowed to use my name in any business or commerce or even to publicly identify,” Paige says.

While navigating the lawsuit, Paige’s goal was “to not let circumstances be in the driver’s seat” of her career, she says.

In 2022, Paige launched a shoe brand, She Is Cheval, and chose to go by Cheval professionally.

“I realized I needed to find a way to survive this period, and get back to designing in some facet,” she says.

Paige says she “made peace” with her situation, though she continued to appeal the injunction, but everything changed in 2023 when JLM Couture filed for bankruptcy.

In a settlement agreement, Paige was able to buy back the rights to her name, intellectual property and social media accounts for $263,000 in 2024. Neither Paige nor JLM Couture admitted fault under the terms of the settlement.

“We wish her the best,” a spokesman for JLM Couture said of Paige in a statement to the New York Times earlier this year.

For Paige, the experience was “surreal,” she says. “I’ll never forget the call from my lawyer, because I was like, wait, what? I get to be Hayley Paige again?”

Rebuilding her brand wasn’t easy: Paige didn’t get her old patterns or dresses back, so she had to start her designs from scratch.

Still, reviving her bridal line “felt like a homecoming,” she says.

In July 2025, Paige released her comeback collection, “Twice Upon A Time.” This time around, she feels a “much stronger, grittier connection” to the brand, she says.

“It’s not so much ‘happily ever after’ and lighthearted,” Paige says. “It’s actually got a little more soul and strength to the storyline, and a tiny bit of defiance.”

The new collection received “the most positive, enthusiastic, supportive, encouraging, sparkly response you could hope for” from the bridal community, according to Paige.

“My face hurts from smiling,” she says.

Paige was “really young and naive” when she signed her employment contract in 2011, she says.

Today, her mission is to help other artists understand “what can happen if you don’t read that contract all the way through,” she says.

On International Women’s Day in 2023, Paige launched A Girl You Might Know Foundation, an organization dedicated to helping young creatives protect their legal rights.

Most artists don’t have the “influence, or the following or the finances” to sustain a legal battle as long as she did, Paige says.

“I was very aware that during my tribulations, I had this support system that a lot of people don’t have — my parents, my family, my community — and I felt like I wanted to pay it back and almost pay it forward,” she says.

The biggest lesson she learned from her legal battle is that creatives need to take charge of learning about the business side of their craft, she says.

“Unfortunately, we live in a world now where you actually have to know these things, even if you’re an artist, because if you just live in the artistry world, you could potentially be taken advantage of.”

In Paige’s view, “a lot of people measure success with artistry using the wrong ruler.”

“It’s not so much about monetary success and about expanding your brand and getting out there and all that stuff,” she says — it’s about maintaining your connection to your craft even “when everything goes wrong.”

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Most people assume all fruit is healthy. Not quite. While fruit delivers valuable vitamins, minerals and antioxidants, some varieties pack far more sugar than you think. And even natural sugar can impact gut health, metabolism, and weight when eaten in excess.

That’s why, as a heart surgeon, I always recommend choosing lower-sugar, higher-polyphenol fruits. I also treat fruit more like “nature’s candy”: enjoyed mindfully, not endlessly.

Here are nine low-sugar fruits I consider some of the healthiest choices you can make.

Grapefruit, tangerines and kumquats are naturally low in sugar and high in vitamin C. They also contain flavonoids, which are polyphenols that support a healthy gut microbiome.

Don’t strip away the white pith. It’s one of the most nutrient-dense parts. And kumquats? You eat them whole, peel and all, making them an easy, tangy addition to salads or stir-fries.

Blueberries, raspberries, and blackberries are some of my absolute favorites. They’re low in sugar yet packed with fiber and polyphenols.

Whenever possible, I always recommend eating berries in season. Opt for wild blueberries versus the giant-sized ones you see in grocery stores; they tend to have more antioxidants than the oversized store-bought ones.

Pomegranates are true superstars. They’re loaded with polyphenols like punicalagin, which may support heart and cellular health. Despite their sweet flavor, they’re relatively low in sugar compared to other tropical fruits.

Plus, those crunchy seeds add extra fiber, making them a double win for your gut and metabolism.

Yes, avocado is technically a fruit, and one of the very best. They are almost sugar-free, rich in healthy monounsaturated fats, and packed with potassium and fiber.

In my opinion, avocados are the most perfect fruit you can eat. They keep you full, support your heart, and nourish your gut without causing sugar spikes. I basically eat an avocado every day to glean the maximum health benefits.

Surprised? Olives are fruits, too, and they’re high on my list. They contain virtually no sugar and are rich in healthy fats and powerful polyphenols, especially hydroxytyrosol, one of the best types of polyphenols that feed our gut buddies.

That’s why olives and extra virgin olive oil are staples in my recommended diet for supporting heart, brain, and gut health.

Kiwi (in moderation) earns a spot on my list because it’s lower in sugar than many tropical fruits, and it’s loaded with vitamin C, fiber, and antioxidants.

Here’s a secret: Eat the skin! Yes, the fuzzy part, because that’s where much of the fiber and polyphenols are found. Due to the serotonin-rich content of kiwi, they can also help you sleep better, according to a recent study.

Unripe bananas aren’t sweet — and that’s exactly the point. They contain resistant starch, a prebiotic fiber that feeds beneficial gut bacteria and supports stable blood sugar. Once bananas ripen, that starch converts to sugar, reducing those benefits.

I recommend blending green bananas into smoothies or mixing chopped pieces with yogurt, cinnamon, or low-sugar sweeteners. Green banana flour is another easy option.

Like green bananas, green (unripe) mangoes offer resistant starch, antioxidants, and significantly less sugar than their ripe, orange counterparts. They support digestion and metabolism while providing vitamin C.

Try a green mango salad (a staple in many Thai restaurants) for an easy way to add them to your diet.

Small but nutrient-dense, passionfruit is lower in sugar than many tropical fruits and filled with polyphenols, vitamin A, and fiber. Its crunchy seeds act as natural prebiotics.

I was just in France and Italy, and passionfruit was featured all over the place, from salads to desserts. Look for it if you’re traveling there in July or August or even in the fall months, when it’s in season.

For better long-term health, my approach is simple: Choose fruits that are low in sugar and high in fiber and polyphenols — the compounds that support gut health and more stable energy. But of course, you should always consult with your doctor before making any drastic changes to your diet.

Dr. Steven Gundry, MD, is a former cardiac surgeon, founder of GundryMD, and author of the bestselling books ”The Gut-Brain Paradox″ and ”The Plant Paradox.” For over two decades, his research has focused on the microbiome’s role in chronic disease and longevity. He received his degrees from Yale University and the Medical College of Georgia, and completed his surgical residency at the University of Michigan. Follow him on Instagram @drstevengundry.

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