It is one thing to have a career change. It is another to do it while you're uprooting your life to move to another country with no social network. It is one thing to start a business. It is another to start a social enterprise where you're chasing other outcomes other than just financial sustainability. Simon Lieberum has done all of the above.

If you are curious about sustainability and social enterprises, this episode is for you. And if you love local Singaporean kopi, you're in for a treat (scroll down).

Simon Lieberum is the Founder and CEO of No Harm Done, a social enterprise which sells Nespresso-compatible coffee pods which are biodegradable. What makes No Harm Done and their coffee pods unique is that the coffee pods are organic, vegan and 100% plastic-free. The coffee pods and packaging are compostable and the coffee beans are sourced from sustainable partner farms around the world.

But what I really love is that No Harm Done does the Singapore local coffee - the Kopi O - so damn good! Kopi-O refers to black Singapore local coffee (also known as Nanyang coffee) with no milk.

Before Simon started No Harm Done, he led a jet-setting career in Europe being a Management Consultant at Accenture. And from flying around Europe suited up and carrying a laptop with beautiful powerpoint slides, he landed in Singapore and ended up working in a family-owned business which sells plastic packaging to FnB brands.

This podcast episode was recorded in Nov 2022.

Use special promo code ONMYOWNTERMS on No Harm Done (click on the link) to receive a special 20% discount. Limited time offer.

Timestamps:
(02:08) Well-kept secret
(06:14) No Harm Done
(13:44) Why make it organic and plastic free
(22:31) Management Consulting
(26:16) From Europe to Yishun in Singapore
(29:11) No technical background
(29:59) The hardest part
(34:02) Lessons learnt
(35:50) Hiring 65 years old and above
(39:04) Kopi for a Cause

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About the host John Lim:

John Lim has had an unconventional career by Singapore / Asian standards - with several career switches. He started his career in banking before co-founding a laser tag events company. After building the business from ground-up, growing the team to 20+ and running Singapore's largest indoor laser tag center, he joined an early-stage tech startup to lead business development across Southeast Asia. In 2019, he took a leap of faith to join the e-commerce industry, seemingly unknown sector, until a few months later when Covid-19 pandemic brought the world to its knees.

While John finds himself lucky to have 'survived' the career switches relatively unscathed, he has never forgotten how it feels like to be at the crossroads of your career and life. Now, he has started this podcast - to provide the resources and perspectives he wished he had - and to help you make the most of your career to live your best life.

Join him as he speaks with unconventional career changers and risk-takers, taps into their experiences and perspectives and discusses all things career. Together, they will provide you nuggets of wisdom, inspiration and actionable insights to start living life on your own terms.