Made With Passion: How 5 S’porean Companies Overcame The Odds During An Economic Downturn
In 2020, the Covid-19 pandemic made huge impacts on both businesses and individuals alike. Many faced retrenchments, layoffs, and even company closures.
When it comes to running a business, it always involves a lot of effort and keeping it afloat during a pandemic is even tougher.
In addition, the pandemic has drastically changed the way we live and consume various products, bringing about a ‘new normal’ in various aspects of our lives.
However, the silver lining of the pandemic is the various opportunities that it has brought about for businesses to innovate or pivot.
For example, digital transformation was a huge buzzword last year. Many businesses began taking their operations online, and growing their virtual presence.
The pandemic also gave some businesses the opportunity to relook at business models to revive their strategies and upskill workers.
Despite the economic perils, these five homegrown companies adapted and adjusted to the ‘new normal’ which led to significant growth.
1. Camel Nuts
Camel Nuts is a household name in Singapore, and most Singaporeans are familiar with its classic red and brown packaging.
The brand leader for nut snacks in Singapore was established in 1974 by founders Poh Ah Seng and Ong Siew Hua.
They started off as a cottage industry, packing and selling nuts in the backyard of their house with just two staff. Within a few years, they were able to move to a flatted factory unit in Tampines, where they researched on how to roast nuts to perfection.
Today, Camel is the largest nuts manufacturer remaining in Singapore, with a staff strength of 170. It also exports its products to over 20 countries, and has a strong presence in local supermarkets such as FairPrice.
FairPrice is Singapore’s trusted grocery retailer, offering a plethora of local products like Camel Nuts, with prices matched online and in stores.
However, as with most businesses, Covid-19 brought about some setbacks and challenges for the 47-year-old brand. Since the company imports all its raw nuts from abroad, they were faced with supply issues as the pandemic affected worldwide logistics.
A spokesperson from Camel told Vulcan Post that there were many shipping delays, and they were unable to fulfil their orders in a timely manner.
This was coupled with an unexpected opportunity — they were swamped with a surge in orders, as consumers started stocking up on food products.
“We had to go online, and the response was so overwhelming that our website crashed, which was when we realised that our website was not built for online selling,” said the Camel spokesperson.
This very experience prompted them to grow their online presence such as extending their products to online retailers. As a result, Camel now sees an increase in sales from e-commerce platforms like RedMart and Shopee.
Despite the challenges brought about by the pandemic, the company still kept up with its innovation efforts and has launched two new products — Honey Pecans and Ruby Mix — in November 2020.
2. Faire Leather Co.
Faire Leather Co. is a homegrown men’s leather goods label that redefines true value as “functional luxury at a fair price”.
The online brand first launched on Kickstarter in November 2017. It managed to raise over S$406,000, making it the most funded Kickstarter campaign in Singapore.
In under 10 months, it managed to hit S$1 million in sales. Its business continued to do well, but the pandemic turned out to be a stumbling block.
Co-founder Ryan Choy told Vulcan Post that the brand achieved record sales a month right before the circuit breaker, as “things were beginning to take flight.”
All the brand’s plans were disrupted, and the momentum that they had built was quickly reset. It forced them to quickly pivot and diversify their product offerings to combat these challenges.
Previously, its core products were highly focused on work and travel. With the lack of travel and commuting to work due to the pandemic, the brand’s strategy evolved to focus on more lifestyle-oriented products.
For example, it recently launched a brand new stationery set to much fanfare, further exemplifying their ethos of making functionally relevant products.
The company also went through a rebrand with its new website, visual aesthetics and tone of voice. Since Faire is an online direct-to-consumer brand, it has managed to reap great benefits.
“No one could have anticipated the effect that COVID-19 would have on businesses. Thankfully for Faire, our decision to take the business dominantly online has proved to be an important one,” said Ryan.
He added that the company’s total revenue sits at approximately S$2.6 million to date.
3. GINLEE Studio
GINLEE Studio was established in 2011, and the local clothing brand is best known for its pleated designs.
Over its 10 years of operations, the brand has won various awards and accolades, such as the title of ‘Emerging (Fashion) Designer of the Year’ at the inaugural Singapore Fashion Awards in 2016.
In an interview with Vulcan Post, a GINLEE Studio spokesperson said that the downtime caused by the Covid-19 pandemic was a “great opportunity” for the brand to re-evaluate its systems and “figure out” their next steps.
When physical stores were forced to shut, they had to shift all operations online, which was something they had not prioritised before.
Despite having to quickly navigate the realms of digital marketing, the GINLEE team was “very understanding of the situation” and receptive of using the time to upskill via online training courses.
The pandemic also helped accelerate GINLEE Studio’s path towards sustainability. In fact, the brand has already launched two initiatives to benefit the cause.
The first initiative, called GINLEE MAKE, is an antithesis against the ready-made model of fast fashion and signifies a return to the tactility of shaping materials.
From bags to cushion covers, shoppers get to select their choice of pleats, size and colours and see them being made on the spot.
According to the brand, it hopes to bring back the joy of brick-and-mortar shopping through a sustainable shopping experience via this initiative.
Its second initiative is a Get-Order-On-Demand (GOOD) scheme, where customers are rewarded with a 15 per cent discount on their latest collections if they are able to wait three to five weeks for their items to arrive.
Unlike usual pre-order schemes, customers have the option of taking home their selected item if they need it soon. This promotes slow fashion and allows GINLEE Studio to pass on discounts to customers in the beginning of each season.
It also allows the brand to produce less, and more accurately, eliminates the amount of waste at the end of the season.
4. PAZZION
PAZZION was established in 2002 with a mission to “cater to the modern and sophisticated trendsetter with an uncompromising standard for taste and quality.”
Since its inception, the label has grown its product line-up to include a wide range of footwear, from casual sandals to classic heels for women, as well as bags and other leather accessories.
Within the first few years of entering the market, the brand gained traction with the local customers and expanded quickly to cater to the growing needs of quality leather footwear.
It has since gone on to establish 10 standalone boutique stores locally and enjoys international presence in Brunei, Cambodia, China, India, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam.
In 2019, the brand also made its first foray into the F&B industry by opening PAZZION café at Jewel Changi Airport, which aims to deliver a multi-concept experience to customers.
Prior to the pandemic, PAZZION had been growing steadily with an intention to expand its local F&B footprints and retail presence internationally.
Particularly, tourism was a key driving factor for the expansion as it enjoys overwhelming support from overseas customers. However, tourism were forced to halt due to the pandemic and consumer sentiments fell as well.
Furthermore, during the circuit breaker period, PAZZION retail stores –which generated more than 90 per cent of the company’s revenue — were not allowed to operate.
Unfazed, the company quickly adapted to the situation and strategised to strengthen its online presence, developing new points of sales to ensure business continuity.
The brand went on to establish three additional online stores in marketplaces such as Shopee, and ran targeted promotions to ease the overstock situation.
PAZZION cafe also onboarded three local delivery platforms to facilitate food ordering.
5. Awfully Chocolate
Awfully Chocolate is well-known in Singapore for its decadent desserts and pastries. The brand first started in 1998 from a humble shop in Katong, selling only one type of chocolate cake.
It has since evolved into a multi-faceted business encompassing chocolate and non-chocolate restaurants, dessert cafes, beverages, cookies and gift sets.
With the pandemic, most of its stores had to close as part of cost-cutting measures, leaving only its new Awfully Chocolate +Cafe at Great World City and Ninethirty by Awfully Chocolate flagship restaurant open.
An Awfully Chocolate spokesperson told Vulcan Post that “everyone had to adapt to keep the business going as best as it could, and they learnt a lot on how much better they could do online.”
Forced to work from home, the brand’s kitchens turned into mini research centres to help drive innovation during the lockdown. This helped Awfully Chocolate develop some gems like the new Baked Chocolate Melt, its version of the perfect molten lava cake.
Emerging Stronger From The Pandemic
Throughout 2020, we have seen a great display of passion and determination from individual Singaporeans and businesses alike.
These Singaporean homegrown brands show us that even though the pandemic is a devastating event for businesses, it is not a death sentence.
Instead, the pandemic brought about new opportunities for businesses to capitalise on, with many businesses altering their operations and processes to fit into the ‘new normal’.
Despite facing tremendous pressure and having to identify new strategies, the leaders of these Singaporean businesses were quick to innovate and upskill their workforce.
From diversifying product offerings to moving online, and even embracing sustainability, the businesses have been quick to pivot.
This brought about even more growth than before, and further cemented the brands’ positions as market leaders in their various industries.
The grit and determination exhibited by our lifestyle brands mirrors the Singapore Story, where passion is the cornerstone.
This is why the Singapore Brand Office and Singapore Tourism Board, supported by Enterprise Singapore, jointly developed Made With Passion (MWP), a national brand which promotes local lifestyle brands that embody the Singapore spirit of turning possibilities into reality.
The initiative hopes to encourage other brand owners and Singaporeans to pursue their own dreams to turn their passions into a reality for a better Singapore.
The brands mentioned above are just some of the brands under the MWP initiative. FairPrice is also a retail partner under MWP.
FairPrice Finest was established in 2007 to bring the finer things in life to customers at fair prices in Singapore. Spanning 28 outlets across the island, the format is a balance between simplicity and sophistication, value and quality, wellness and indulgence.
With rising aspirations and changing lifestyles of Singaporeans, FairPrice Finest combines the heritage of a trusted brand with the experience of fine living. Delivered by a team of knowledgeable and friendly staff, the concept is brought to life through exciting product offerings and dedicated service.
The MWP brand mark can be found on selected Singaporean brands’ products, packaging and stores, as a symbol of passion — a mark of recognition that celebrates their fervour and dedication.
You can now support some of your favourite local brands here, and be inspired by their stories here.
This article was written in collaboration with the Singapore Brand Office.
Featured Image Credit: Pazzion / Camel Nuts / Awfully Chocolate / GINLEE Studio / Faire Leather Co.
Also Read: Love Local: A Behind-The-Scenes Look Of What Goes Into Growing These Made With Passion Brands
Love Local: A Behind-The-Scenes Look Of What Goes Into Growing These Made With Passion Brands
When it comes to jewellery, skincare or artisan tea, we often find ourselves gravitating towards international brands. In fact, how often do we patronise a Singapore brand?
“Only a small, though growing number of Singaporeans will put in the time and effort to discover and support independent Singapore designers,” said Carolyn Kan, founder of local jewellery brand Carrie K.
As Singapore is a small market, there are lower economies of scale and limited access to materials and experienced craftsmen.
However, Cheryl Gan, founder of aromatherapy brand HYSSES, said that local brands “are more likely to care and invest more in the well-being of their communities and give back to them.”
Therefore, local products are made with love and dedication from local owners.
“Additionally, local products may not lose out in terms of quality to many international brands, and can be much more affordable as both price points and product offerings are localised to better meet the local consumers’ needs,” she added.
With that, we take a look at the production process and passion that go into making these local products.
1. Carrie K.
Established in 2009, Carrie K. is known for its versatile and quality fine jewellery.
On how she started up the business, founder Carolyn Kan recounted taking a month-long apprenticeship with a silversmith during a trip to Florence, Italy.
It was there when she knew she wanted to be a silversmith and jewellery designer, which led to the birth of Carrie K.
To date, one of their most innovative pieces is Carrie K. Pearl Bar, a first-of-its-kind classic pearl necklace that can be restyled over 100 different ways.
According to Carolyn, it takes between six to eight months to create a new collection such as the Star collection that celebrates the Malay spirit of “Gotong Royong” or fellowship.
The star, often woven into the traditional Malay fabric songket, is featured as the visual icon to represent “weaving the community together”.
The gemologist will create the signature customised gem cut for the collection. The visual icon is then expanded and applied to earrings, rings, necklaces that are modular.
Each piece is then engineered to fit with past collections, and future proofed to be stacked with designs they have yet to imagine.
Every collection will feature accessories that enable their pearl necklaces to be styled in versatile ways.
Each design is created in scaled 3D computerised drawings, and 3D resins are then produced to ensure each innovative design is engineered with precision.
All pieces of jewellery are handcrafted by Carrie K.’s master craftsmen, and each custom-cut gem that is handpicked for the collection is then set.
Each piece of jewellery is handcrafted the old way, with great time and care, so you can be assured that each piece is a quality one that can last you a lifetime.
2. Hegen
Another local brand, Hegen, is well on its way to making a difference by providing a sustainable breastfeeding solution to mothers all over the world.
Launched in 2015, the local brand was created based on founder Yvon Bock’s own personal pain points with breastfeeding.
“From too many parts to assemble and clean to noisy bulky pumps, and teats that cause nipple confusion, I wanted to modernise the entire system while making it simple, practical and innovative,” explained Yvon.
Their star product is the Sqround (square-round) PCTO bottle, which features their patented one-handed Press-to-Close, Twist-to-Open innovation.
The square aesthetic helps with babies’ motor skills, optimises space, and reduces the chance of the bottle rolling away or spilling milk. The bottle can also be quickly assembled in under five seconds.
However, trying to enter an already saturated market and competing with internationally-renowned brands that have decades-long legacies was tough for them.
The only way was to innovate and be different. The difficulty with innovation is to try and envision a new product/system that can really solve the pain points of our customers.
It took us five years, over hundreds of iterations, and thousands of R&D hours to create our first product from start to finish. Now that we have SOPs in place, it takes a couple of years to create new products, and only a few months for line extensions.
– Yvon Bock, founder of Hegen
From design to production and packaging, all processes are done in-house to ensure end-to-end compliance.
Their ingenious product, high standards and quality show that they are definitely on par with, if not better, than other renowned baby bottle brands.
3. Hysses
Local aromatherapy brand Hysses focuses on products that contain only natural botanical and bioactive ingredients to provide healing therapy and nourishment for the skin and hair.
Their products range from candles to skincare to scents, and are formulated specially for Asian skin.
Founder Cheryl Gan shares that scent formulation is resource-intensive in the R&D phase.
This is similar to skincare production, except that for our skincare, we will need to include a micro-bacterial test for every production batch to ensure application safety and durability for our consumers.
– Cheryl Gan, founder of Hysses
Once R&D has finalised the formulation, the production process starts from Raw Material Selection, Inspection, and Acceptance to Mixing, Filling, Batching and ends with Quality Control testing.
This production schedule takes two to three weeks per product on average.
For hand-made soap, candles, burners and nebulisers, they are labour-intensive production that require skilled workers trained in these specific areas.
In fact, they hand-make every single component of their candles, from the wick to mixing and layering the wax.
They also have an outsourced team of glass blowers masters to make their nebulisers. These products generally take a much longer production cycle, ranging between four and 16 weeks.
When it comes to skincare and scents, their products are customised based on skin types and culture.
It is evident that a lot of dedication and attention goes into each product and we can be certain that we are buying a quality product.
4. Gryphon Tea Company
Gryphon Tea Company was founded in 2006 to make fine, gourmet quality tea accessible to discerning consumers. One of Gryphon Tea’s key strengths is its ability to create unique flavours with tea.
For example, Singapura Spice, a green tea with complex flavours of herbs including curry leaves, basil and mint combining with tropical fruity flavours was created to complement Asian cuisine.
Singaporeans are an adventurous group of foodies who are always willing to step forward as tastemakers. It is this high level of acceptance from our consumers that encourages us to constantly introduce flavours that intrigue the curiosity and excite the palate.
Our development for teas usually starts with a blank canvas in creating new teas. Gryphon Tea draws its inspiration mainly from food and lifestyle trends globally.
– Lim Tian Wee, founder of Gryphon Tea Company
He added that it usually takes between one to two weeks to get the concept flavour true to their vision.
In their recent collaboration with fellow local micro distillery Brass Lion Distillery to create a tea-focused gin, they combined their expertise in flavour blending with Brass Lion Distillery’s expertise in craft spirits.
The end-product was a gin that is flavoursome with delicate floral notes on the nose, followed by a trailing flavour of oolong tea fragrance. The first batch was quickly sold out within a month.
Such collaborations allow local brands to come together to create new synergy and value to the partnership. Through collaborations, local brands can benefit from reaching out to new customers who previously were not available to individual brands.
Over the years, Gryphon Tea has established themselves as one of the leading tea brands in Singapore with their quality and innovative products.
5. Eu Yan Sang
With a rich heritage of 141 years, traditional Chinese medicine retailer Eu Yan Sang has become a trusted name for generations of customers, recognised for its high quality and standards.
They frequently collaborate with reputable institutions in scientific research and developments to propel the TCM industry forward.
Their herbs are sourced only from reliable and reputable suppliers with GAP (Good Agriculture Practices) certification, ensuring authenticity and quality of the raw herbs.
These herbs are subject to scientific tests before being processed in Eu Yan Sang’s GMP (Good Manufacturing Practice)-certified factories in Hong Kong and Malaysia.
From harvesting to manufacturing, the emphasis is on quality to ensure the efficacy and more importantly, safety of its products.
Its plant in Malaysia, Weng Li Sdn Bhd, was incorporated in 1980 and has since diversified into the manufacturing of traditional pills, capsules and powders, as well as the packaging of soups and teas.
The factory is equipped with sophisticated production lines designed to produce the most effective and consistent herbal formulas possible.
By maintaining precise levels of pressure, time and temperature, this process delivers quality natural herbs and achieves consistent purity and efficacy of products.
This is why Eu Yan Sang is regarded as a TCM leader and is the go-to company for tried-and-tested TCM formulations in Singapore.
Local Products Are Not Inferior To International Brands
From handcrafted jewellery to gourmet tea, Singapore products have come of age in terms of both brand strength and product quality.
Singapore companies excel in providing the best-in-class quality combined with a unique product proposition.
Despite our small market, Singapore entrepreneurs work harder to make their products differentiated from their competition.
– Lim Tian Wee, founder of Gryphon Tea Company
Furthermore, international brands tend to have a longer innovation cycle compared to smaller companies. This allows smaller companies to get a headstart advantage to tap on the trend and opportunity.
“International brands are also more likely to follow global trends than be market-specific,” added Tian Wee.
As a result, local products can be as good, or even better, than those from these multinational corporations.
Yvon of Hegen said that they are proud to uphold the qualities of a Singapore brand: safety, quality of life, and innovation.
A joint collaboration between the Singapore Brand Office and the Singapore Tourism Board, supported by Enterprise Singapore, Made With Passion is an initiative that promotes our local lifestyle brands which embody the Singapore spirit of turning possibilities into reality.
The initiative hopes to encourage other brand owners and Singaporeans to pursue their own dreams to turn their passions into a reality for a better Singapore. The brands mentioned in this article are just some of the brands under the initiative.
Carrie K.’s Carolyn commended the campaign, saying that it is a good initiative to grow national pride by spotlighting a curated list of Singapore brands.
Housing them in a central, visible, convenient location, such as at the Design Orchard, is also helpful, she noted.
Yvon too expressed her appreciation at how Made with Passion has given them a platform to showcase how far local brands have come in recent times.
“It highlights to us Singaporeans the brands that we love, but may not be aware that they are local,” she said.
It is important that we celebrate Singapore brands and buy local. Local products are made with love and dedication from local owners, for fellow Singaporeans.
In the current COVID-19 climate, the challenges Singapore brands face are multiplied, and many may not survive so now’s a good time to show our support for local brands.
You can now support some of your favourite local brands online here, and be inspired by their stories here.
This article was written in collaboration with the Singapore Brand Office.
Featured Image Credit: Gryphon Tea Company / Hegen / Carrie K. / Cheryl Gan / HYSSES / Eu Yan Sang
Also Read: A Look At S’pore’s ‘Buy Now, Pay Later’ Landscape And How It’s Revolutionising Retail
How These S’pore Entrepreneurs Kept Their Hopes And Businesses Alive During A Recession
The recession has hit many businesses in the face, resulting in store closures and a slew of bankruptcies such as sportswear retailer Sportslink, minimalist lifestyle brand MUJI and supplement retailer GNC.
However, there are some Singaporean entrepreneurs who have gritted their teeth, displayed courage and perseverance, and are encouraging fellow Singaporeans to do the same.
These individuals are living proof that the Covid-19 pandemic was not going to dampen their passions and kept their businesses going despite tough times.
Three local entrepreneurs share with Vulcan Post how they have weathered through the difficulties and sustained their businesses during this crisis.
Manning A Hawker Centre Stall Alone But Not Giving Up
For 62-year-old Tan Mui Choo, she has been single-handedly manning the Cuppage Fried Kway Teow Hokkien Mee stall at Hong Lim Food Centre that she shares with her husband.
Her husband, Cher Kay Hion, has been recuperating from an injury so she is the only one operating the hawker centre stall now.
The husband-and-wife duo has been frying char kway teow and hokkien mee for over 20 years.
“I just put the “Self-Service” sign lor,” she laughed rather good-naturedly, when asked how she has been coping with the roles of a cook and a server.
When the circuit breaker and dining-in ban were implemented in April this year, just like many other hawkers, she knew that sales would be affected greatly.
She then took a short break for about a month to reflect and rest before returning to work.
When she reopened the stall, it was tough as sales had plummeted drastically with no dine-in customers and they had to depend solely on takeaways.
Before Covid-19, she worked at the stall till 3.30pm but now she extends her working hours to 5.30pm.
“You must sacrifice,” she said. She wakes up around 4 or 5 in the morning and reaches Hong Lim Food Centre by 7 where she has her breakfast. After that, she will prepare the stall for business and by 10.30am, she’s ready to take in orders.
She lamented that her profit margin is very low and that ingredients are very expensive. She added that “they are lucky that the rental fee of the stall is just $320 so they can cover [it]”.
When asked about how many plates she used to sell a day, she simply said that “[she] will sell till [she] makes a profit, and then close the stall”.
Cuppage Fried Kway Teow Hokkien Mee is one of the 14,000 stallholders in National Environment Agency (NEA) markets and hawker centres who benefited from NEA’s five-month rental waiver – 50 per cent in March, full rental waiver from April to July, and a 50 per cent rental waiver in August.
Back in April, NEA announced that they will provide a one-time funding of S$500 to stallholders who engage food delivery platforms or third-party logistics partners to deliver food to their customers during a certain period of time.
The hawker couple has since onboarded their stall onto hawker food delivery platform WhyQ, in a bid to sustain the business.
Mui Choo is glad that she did so because business improved through the online platform and she could continue her passion: whipping up plates of fried noodles for customers.
On whether her two sons have plans to take over the stall, she laughed and said that the younger generation does not wish to take over the back-breaking business.
However, she lets on that she is open to nurturing the next generation of entrepreneurs or anyone who wants to cook and sell fried noodles.
From Fitness Gear To Kitchen Utensils
Haslinda Ali has more than 20 years of television experience in producing, writing and researching.
She used to be a TV presenter on MediaCorp’s Suria channel. In 2000, she left MediaCorp and founded a media production and social media content agency Screenbox with her husband.
In 2002, she had her first daughter. “It is very easy to put on weight after pregnancy,” she said.
She used that as an excuse for piling on the kilos and shelved the thought of losing weight.
“After I got my second daughter, I realised that it is not a healthy mindset,” she added.
Haslinda then leveraged her Facebook profile to reach out to her fans and working mummies and shared secrets with each other on how to stay slim and healthy.
The response rate was so good that she decided to start FitFab by Haslinda Ali, a Muslimah Fitness and Wellness movement with the aim of showing that keeping fit need not be a chore but a lifestyle choice.
Before Covid-19, FitFab had more than 13 zones of Fitness and Nutrition programmes running across Singapore on a weekly basis.
She held fitness classes, organised boot camps and motivated the members to keep fit.
Haslinda also created a line for plus-sized women who are deterred from exercising because they have trouble finding clothes suitable for them. The line consists of a range of hijabs and long-sleeved sportswear available on her e-commerce site, Fitfab.sg.
“When the circuit breaker hit us, classes were cancelled and even when Phase 2 kicked in, gatherings could only be kept to five people each,” said Haslinda.
During the fasting month, she reflected on how her business could “bounce back”.
She pivoted her fitness classes online and held virtual training sessions via Zoom. There were take-ups, but it was not sufficient to make up for the huge portion of income lost from her physical fitness classes.
She also filmed a live cooking session with her husband on social media and the response rate was good. People started following her recipes and wanted to know where she got her cooking equipment from.
This triggered her to expand her e-commerce website to include cooking ware. She imported kitchenware through a local distributor and the products were sold out quickly on the site.
As a result, her e-commerce sales during the circuit breaker saw a 200 per cent increase and “now about 300 per cent increase with the right projects (pivoting to virtual training sessions and expanding to cookware)”.
To date, she has gained over 30,000 followers on her social media and has received a lot of support in her sharing of healthy recipes and her workout regime.
Haslinda wants to inspire struggling entrepreneurs to keep their businesses going.
“Entrepreneurs have to adapt quickly to the new normal and think of new ways to survive. We have to accept that things will not be going back to how they were before.”
“Those who are hoping that business will go back to the usual are in denial. It is important that business owners need to evolve along with the circumstances,” she said.
Reining In Their Expenses
For Vinod Nair, founder and CEO of personal finance portal MoneySmart, the failure of his first business venture did not deter him from pursuing his entrepreneurial dream.
The 38-year-old’s first venture — property search engine HomeSpace — became defunct in 2008 because he faced stiff competition and acted on the wrong advice.
“As Mike Tyson once famously said, ‘Everyone has a plan until they get punched in the face’. We found ourselves in a position where the previous plan wouldn’t work in the current circumstances and we had to think differently in order to survive and emerge stronger,” said Vinod.
The Ngee Ann Polytechnic IT and NUS Computing graduate did not give up and set up his second business, MoneySmart.sg, in 2009.
After the first four rocky years, the firm earned a five-digit net profit in 2016.
However, when Covid-19 hit Singapore, MoneySmart saw a decline in search volumes for many financial products.
With the decline in travel globally, verticals like travel insurance were not longer viable revenue sources for us. They also saw banks tightening their criteria for products like personal loans and home loans.
“We had to take measures to reduce our expenses so that we could ride out this storm,” said Vinod.
“With over 120 people in MoneySmart, many people have taken a leap of faith by joining us instead of a corporation. I have a great deal of responsibility resting on my shoulders to see this company through this storm as the livelihoods of many of my colleagues are dependent on me. Failure is not an option and we will do our best to preserve as many jobs as possible,” he explained.
With that, the team gritted their teeth and cut down on any expenses “that aren’t absolutely necessary to get to the longest runway possible without destroying too much value”.
Employees also worked longer hours to keep the business going and as a result, the business was able to pull through.
“With more of our staff working from home we actually felt that people tended to work longer hours as the lines between work and home were blurred,” said Vinod.
To show how much he values the team and their efforts, he gave his employees a company-wide day off as a gesture of appreciation.
Keeping Their Hopes And Passions Alive
Hawker Mui Choo, influencer Haslinda and founder Vinod are just a few examples of individuals who empower other Singaporeans to do what they love in this city of possibilities — regardless of whether you are an artist, entrepreneur, frontline worker or civil servant.
Over the last few months, we have seen the display of passion, tenacity and determination of many Singaporeans from all walks of life, stepping up and forward.
Years of hard work would have been negated by the Covid-19 pandemic and it is easy to throw in the towel, yet this trio are real-life examples that displayed how important it is to not give up easily and give us hope and inspiration to carry on the Singaporean spirit.
If you would like to do your part and invoke hope and positivity to the community during this time, share your stories online with the hashtag #ThisisSG
ThisisSG is a national campaign that hopes to promote the pursuit of passions in Singapore and rally support for the members of our community.
When we bring members of our community together, they make so much more possible for one another.
Featured Image Credit: Cuppage Fried Kway Teow Hokkien Mee / Haslinda Ali’s Facebook page / Glassdoor
This article is written in collaboration with SGBO.
Also Read: S’pore Likely To See L-Shaped Economy Recovery, But There’s A New “K-Shape” Emerging
