PUBLISHED ONJuly 22, 2022 11:50 AMByMelissa Teo Why I Do What I Do is an original AsiaOne series where we showcase people with uncommon professions and what it takes to get there.
While most people try ways and means to keep ants out of their home, it's the more the merrier for John Ye.
The 42-year-old is the founder and owner of Just Ants, which he proudly states is the only physical ant store in Singapore.
Upon first glance, you'd think that Just Ants, located in a cosy corner of Yishun, is a regular neighbourhood aquarium shop thanks to the multiple tanks that line the interior and exterior of the store.
However, upon closer inspection, you'd realise that all these house ants instead of fish.
Apart from being blown away by the sheer number of ants in the place, we also share a lovely chat with John, who tells us his passion for the tiny critters started back in 2017 when his brother-in-law gifted him an ant colony.
"After receiving it, I was totally mind-blown by how fascinating ants are," he enthuses.
Soon, this small hobby grew and John eventually took a leap of faith to turn it into a business because he wanted more people to know about ant-keeping.
However, like most entrepreneurs out there, John's journey wasn't as smooth sailing he hoped.
The business almost didn't make it
Before embarking on this passion project, John had a corporate sales job which involved the distribution of electronics.
Leaving behind a stable career to open such a unique business was definitely a huge risk, especially since it was, as John says, "passion over profit".
Of course, he did wonder if it was sustainable, especially when he had two children at home to worry about. However, he also felt a strong push to chase his dreams.
"We only live once. How many years in life do we have? I'm 42, and I don't have much time in the future to try," he muses.
"I think being in my forties and trying out something new is very challenging, but I have to do what I have to do. Life becomes so stagnant, so maybe I should try to take time off to smell the flowers, and go slow for a little while."
Unfortunately, during the first few months of business in 2019, his worst fears came true.
"It was really stagnant, every day it was just open shop, close shop.
"And, we don't see any people having any interest whatsoever. Many would be just curious and shocked to see an ant shop somewhere in the neighbourhood," John admits.
The low footfall continued for five to six months. Things also became worse when the pandemic happened and the store had "close to zero foot traffic".
Understandably, this was extremely demoralising for John and he calls it a "mental block" in his life.
"I was crushed, and I was really lost as to what I should do next," he confesses, adding that he wondered if it was a sign that he should just close the business and find another job.
However, he took inspiration from his ants and decided that he shouldn't give up.
"At the back of my mind, I still thought of the life lessons from the ants. No matter how many times you try to kill an ant or extinguish an ant colony, they still come back, and they come back even stronger."
So, with that mindset, John did some replanning and decided to spread the news about Just Ants by reaching out to schools and preschools to see if they were interested in an "ant exploration session".
And to his surprise, a number of these schools agreed. As the word spread, business picked up.
"It was a big turning point for us. We didn't expect that so many schools were learning about the life cycle of ants," he tells us humbly.
He looks for the ants himself
Fun fact — while the ants in John's shop look very exotic, all of them are actually from Singapore and he hunts for them himself!
"On the surface, most people only know black ants, red ants, small ants, big ants, ants in your kitchen and ants in your wardrobe, but there are so many species we have yet to discover. That is why a lot of ants in our store look very alien to people," he elaborates.
He shows us one of his favourite ants, the Dinomyrmex gigas, or giant forest ant, which is about the size of a 50-cent coin.
The species is actually found in the jungles of Singapore, but aren't easy to spot, he shares.
"Probably, if you go for a hike at Sungei Buloh or Bukit Timah Nature Reserve, you might chance upon them. But they are quite elusive and rather shy, so sometimes it takes luck to actually see them foraging around."
While attracting ants to your house might be as simple as leaving some food out, sourcing for the ants John sells isn't as easy as you might think. Apart from being physically, it is also a matter of luck.
"Finding ants usually requires a lot of patience," he says, adding that the best time is during nuptial flights, which is a season where winged ants go out into the world to mate.
Nuptial flights usually happen after a few hours of heavy rain, says John. So, once the clouds have cleared, he typically heads out, jumping from neighbourhood to neighbourhood to forage for ants.
He typically looks our for queen ants, which are in charge of founding ant colonies and laying eggs.
"There is no fixed spot or place where I can guarantee that there are queen ants, even if I found them the previous night. So, it's a trial and error process."
Haters gonna hate
While a number of people are fascinated and supportive of John's career choice — including his wife, who helps out at the shop — he admits that he has received his own fair share of hate.
"Many people do judge us, especially people who have not really understood what we are doing," he says.
Some of them have called his career and hobby "aimless", adding that it indicates he "has too much time on his hands".
Others say John "didn't have a childhood" and there were also those who have joked about giving John the ants in their backyard or kitchen.
John recalls that one naysayer said of him: "Why doesn't he just start a pest control company so that he can get the ants for free?"
Understandably, the comments did affect John initially.
"For the past two years, I was very, very upset and it would affect my mood for the whole day.
"But as the months and years went by, I tried to muster up my skin and I am more thick-skinned now. I just let people say what they want to say."
Despite that, he hopes that people can be more compassionate and understanding when it comes to his hobby.
"Don't be so harsh," he pleads.
"Someone is just trying to do what he likes. He's following his heart. Just don't judge based off the surface."
melissateo@asiaone.com