Sarah Song and Jason Chan: Spouses and Business Partners

After decade-long careers at TVB, Sarah Song (宋熙年) and her husband Jason Chan (陳智燊) made the decision to leave the station and become YouTubers. Though the couple worked at TVB, their fame did not prosper. The couple is now finding success as YouTubers on their channel “Sarah & Jason” and Sarah talks about what it’s like to have her husband as her business partner without affecting their marriage.

Raised in Sydney, Sarah entered the industry as the crowned champion of Miss Chinese International 2007. Like many pageant winners, Sarah wanted to act in dramas but she was assigned to host variety programs instead. She said, “At first, I rejected the idea of hosting because my Cantonese wasn’t very good…However, a mentor told me that audiences will sense my enthusiasm and encouraged me to enjoy my [hosting] job. That is why I decided to earnestly learn, and just enjoy the satisfaction from hosting jobs.”

With many years of experience as a TVB hostess in Scoop <東張西望> and Dolce Vita <港生活．港享受>, Sarah became a professional MC for countless promotional events. With steady incomes at TVB for Jason and herself, why did they begin their YouTube careers? She shared that a few years ago, YouTube asked Sarah to host one of their award ceremonies, and she learned the dominance of the online world, while television is now only a tool to convey information. Sarah said, “I understood now that everyone wants to have a choice. If they like it, they will watch it. If they don’t like it, then they’ll close the screen.”

With this important revelation, Sarah turned to Jason to tackle this new challenge together. The pair brainstorm for ideas as to what type of content to generate for their YouTube channel. “From only knowing how to be on camera, we’re now each other’s videographers.”

In their YouTube channel, Sarah and Jason began sharing their personal lives behind the scenes. Aside from lifestyle, they also have other segments, which include cooking, driving new cars, and footage of their son Damon. To address their fans better, they would film both English and Cantonese versions of their videos. Currently, they have over 110,000 subscribers.

For Sarah and Jason, becoming YouTubers was a planned risk which allowed them to grow their skills. She said, “If we waited another five years when we’re both older, we probably wouldn’t have the same competitive spirit. As long as we have a plan, we can take the risk.”

They don’t see a problem working together as a married couple, and feel that they can accomplish more in the long run. Together for nine years, Sarah thinks that Jason has not only become a more caring man, but is also an amazing father. She is very glad to have Jason in her life, “I love to work and I am very career-minded. But if I only had my career and returned home one day to face four walls, this is not what I want. I want to share the results of my hard work with the person I love.”

Source: HK01