He won a $1 million lottery, then quit his insurance job to open a Cantonese barbequed pork stall. Trading an office for a kitchen was harder than he thought.

Ivan Leong, owner of the Cantonese roast pork business Char Siu Lang, runs two outlets in Singapore.

Aditi Bharade

• Ivan Leong won a $1 million lottery when he was 23.
• After years of working in insurance, he quit to open a Cantonese roast pork eatery.
• Now, he's rethinking his choice of laboring behind a hot oven and working 11-hour days.

Ivan Leong, 37, used to work as an insurance agent — a job with crisp button-ups, perfume, coffee chats, and flexible schedules.