His development toward this can be broken down into several stages. First is the time he spent working in his father's business and helping his father repay his debts (1890-1907), which is when Tan learned the basics of business and how to handle himself in society.
如日中天陳嘉庚在新加坡成長為一個華僑企業家，歷經了數個階段：一是隨父學商與為父還債（1890-1907），是學商又學做人階段。