'Fulfilling childhood dream': Inspired by grandma, this degree holder spent up to $150k to open minimart in Ang Mo Kio

Armed with a Bachelor of Science in Business and Management, Sheau Jing (SJ) Tan decided to embark on a new venture opening a minimart in Ang Mo Kio.

Tan completed her degree from the University of London, studied through the Singapore Institute of Management, in 2017.

She worked in the travel industry for over eight years in sales and customer experience before starting a Food & Beverage (F&B) business in 2022.

After almost four years in the F&B industry, the 33-year-old decided to open a minimart in Ang Mo Kio in September this year to fulfill a childhood dream.

"My childhood dream was to be a cashier because whenever I played role playing games with my cousins, I liked the sound of the cashier machine and how it operates," said Tan.

She described how she enjoyed the process of pressing the buttons on the cashier and scanning the items as a kid, adding that it feels "surreal" to be able to realise this childhood dream of hers.

Tan explained how the minimart is also inspired by her childhood memories with her grandmother, whom she used to live with along with her cousins when she was young.

"My grandma always took me to the minimart downstairs," said Tan, adding that these trips were the simple ways in which she bonded with her grandmother.

"So, when I think about my childhood memories, these are some of the core memories that I had."

These experiences influenced her decision to open a minimart because she felt it was not only a good way to fulfill a childhood dream, but also honour her grandmother.

She even went the extra mile to register the minimart under her grandmother's name, Ehwa Services.

She chose the name Huat Huat Mart for the outlet to give it a distinctly local flavour and so it could be remembered easily.

'Only possible because of family'

When Tan told her family in July that she wanted to open a minimart, they were surprised.

"This is something that they never expected me to do. It's very different from all the industry that I came from," she said, referring to her background in travel and F&B.

They were also concerned if she was equipped with the resources and knowledge to do so as they knew it was a challenging pursuit with a hefty price tag of $150,000 to start the business.

But she got them on her side after sharing her reasons, and they all grew supportive of her new venture, including her husband who works full-time.

Her family even volunteered to help her set up the shop in August, arranging the stocks in the correct order and ensuring everything had a price tag and that the price had been keyed into the system.

"It may not sound like a lot of work, but because of the amount of inventory that we have, it's a massive job," Tan explained.

Everyone from her siblings, cousins, parents and in-laws were involved.

"It was a full kampung and this is only made possible because of my family."

Tan admitted that she knew her family was inevitably concerned about her business, but she appreciated that they expressed their worries in a productive way.

"At the end of the day, they knew their worries were not going to help me, so they turned it into actions and gave me the support I needed to execute this," she said.

Customer-oriented business

The minimart was a novel industry for her and she had to learn many things about managing a minimart from scratch, from sourcing for products, to pricing and doing inventory.

She said that opening a minimart is similar to her previous roles in terms of customer experience and how she works on creating a unique experience for all her customers.

She added that her main goal in the business was to create an opportunity for others to experience the kinds of memories she shared with her grandmother.

"For me, the most satisfying part of working in the minimart is when I get to see familiar faces," said Tan, adding that it meant people were returning to her shop and feeling a sense of affinity for it.

She finds joy in seeing families visiting the minimart and conversing with one another, potentially creating their own memories to hold onto.

Despite living in the East, she opened the minimart in Ang Mo Kio due to its proximity to schools and coffeeshops which increase the likelihood of families going grocery shopping and bonding while running other errands.

"I also enjoy the small interactions with my customers," Tan explained, feeling pride whenever she is able to remember customers' preferred items, such as a regular Coca Cola instead of a Coke Zero.

Many elderly people living around her minimart often make conversation with her and remind her of her own grandparents.

"It's a nice and warm feeling," she said, adding that she is also grateful for their feedback whenever they visit.

Her customers often honestly share about items that are good to stock up on and what they hope to see in her minimart.

Minute details in a minimart

When asked about the challenges she has faced so far, Tan shared that the biggest one happens to be the many small things she has to manage every day.

"As a customer, you walk into a minimart, you pick something and just pay and go, right? But as the person running it, I have to think about the stock level, the suppliers, where to get the best deal, manpower, deliveries, how to optimise my display and whether I'm carrying the right product."

She shared that these were her initial hurdles and that her current challenge is to understand the specific needs of the customers in her neighbourhood.

She explained that this can even boil down to specific brands of a product that they may already be carrying, citing an instance she posted to TikTok on Oct 9 about a man who requested for a particular brand of Chinese fish sauce when she only carried Thai brands.

She has also made attempts to take in feedback where possible. After many customers recommended that she sell fruits such as bananas, papayas and watermelons, she has started to do so.

After nearly a month, Tan candidly shared that it was still too early to report on the revenue made but remained hopeful for the business.

"So ideally, if there is an opportunity to expand, I would be open to it. But for now, I want to really just focus on this store and ensure that it runs smoothly and in accordance to what we set out to do."

laili.abdeen@asiaone.com

拥有商业与管理理学士学位的陈秀晶（SJ Tan）决定开始一项新的事业，在宏茂桥开设一家便利店。

谭于 2017 年通过新加坡管理学院完成了她在伦敦大学的学位。

在 2022 年创办食品饮料 (F&B) 企业之前，她曾在旅游行业从事销售和客户体验工作超过八年。

在餐饮业工作近四年后，这位 33 岁的年轻人决定在今年 9 月在宏茂桥开设一家便利店，以实现儿时的梦想。

“我小时候的梦想是当一名收银员，因为每当我和表兄弟们玩角色扮演游戏时，我都喜欢收银机的声音和它的运作方式，”谭说道。

她描述了自己小时候是如何享受在收银机上按按钮和扫描商品的过程，并补充说，能够实现儿时的梦想感觉“很不真实”。

谭女士解释说，这家便利店的灵感也来源于她小时候和祖母一起生活的回忆，她小时候和表兄弟姐妹们一起住在祖母家。

“我奶奶总是带我去楼下的便利店，”谭女士说，并补充道，这些出行是她与奶奶增进感情的简单方式。

“所以，当我回想起我的童年记忆时，这些是我最核心的一些记忆。”

这些经历促使她决定开一家便利店，因为她觉得这不仅是实现儿时梦想的好方法，也是对祖母的纪念。

她甚至不遗余力地以祖母的名义注册了这家便利店，店名为 Ehwa Services。

她为这家店取名为“发发超市”，使其具有鲜明的本地特色，也便于人们记忆。

“全靠家人才有可能发生”

谭女士在七月份告诉家人她想开一家便利店时，家人都感到惊讶。

“这是他们从未想过我会做的事情。这和我之前从事的行业截然不同，”她说道，指的是她之前在旅游和餐饮行业的从业经历。

他们也担心她是否具备开展这项业务所需的资源和知识，因为他们知道这是一项充满挑战的事业，开办这项业务需要高达 15 万美元的启动资金。

但她向他们解释了原因后，他们都站在了她这边，包括她全职工作的丈夫，都开始支持她的新事业。

她的家人甚至在八月份主动提出帮助她开店，将商品按正确的顺序摆放好，确保每件商品都有价格标签，并且价格已经录入系统。

“这听起来可能工作量不大，但由于我们的库存量巨大，所以这是一项非常庞大的工作，”谭解释说。

她的兄弟姐妹、堂表兄弟姐妹、父母和姻亲都参与其中。

“这是一个完整的村庄，而这完全得益于我的家人。”

谭承认她知道家人不可避免地会关心她的生意，但她很感激他们以建设性的方式表达了他们的担忧。

“最终，他们知道他们的担忧对我没有帮助，所以他们把担忧转化为行动，给了我完成这件事所需的支持，”她说。

以客户为中心的企业

对于她来说，便利店是一个全新的行业，她必须从零开始学习经营便利店的方方面面，从采购商品到定价和库存管理。

她说，开便利店与她之前的工作在客户体验方面很相似，她致力于为所有顾客创造独特的体验。

她补充说，她从事这项事业的主要目标是为其他人创造机会，让他们体验到她与祖母共同拥有的那种美好回忆。

“对我来说，在便利店工作最令人满足的部分就是能看到熟悉的面孔，”谭女士说，并补充道，这意味着人们会再次光顾她的店铺，并对它产生一种亲切感。

她很高兴看到一家人来便利店购物，彼此交谈，这可能会让他们留下美好的回忆。

尽管她住在东部，但她还是在宏茂桥开了这家便利店，因为这里靠近学校和咖啡店，可以增加家庭前来购物和办事的几率，从而增进彼此之间的感情。

“我也很享受与顾客之间的小互动，”谭解释说，每当她能够记住顾客喜欢的商品，比如普通可口可乐而不是零度可乐时，她都会感到自豪。

她便利店周围的许多老年人经常和她聊天，让她想起自己的祖父母。

“这是一种美好而温暖的感觉，”她说，并补充说，她也很感谢他们每次来访时给予的反馈。

她的顾客经常坦诚地分享哪些商品值得囤货，以及他们希望在她的便利店里看到什么。

便利店里的细节

当被问及迄今为止面临的挑战时，谭表示，最大的挑战是她每天都要处理的许多小事。

“作为顾客，你走进一家便利店，挑选商品，付款后就可以离开了，对吧？但作为经营者，我必须考虑库存水平、供应商、哪里能拿到最优惠的价格、人力、配送、如何优化商品陈列以及我是否进货了合适的商品。”

她表示，这些是她最初遇到的障碍，而她目前的挑战是了解她所在社区客户的具体需求。

她解释说，这甚至可能细化到他们可能已经销售的特定品牌的产品，并举了一个例子：10 月 9 日，她在 TikTok 上发布了一个视频，讲述了一名男子要求购买某种特定品牌的中国鱼露，而她当时只销售泰国品牌。

她也尽可能地采纳了顾客的反馈意见。在许多顾客建议她出售香蕉、木瓜和西瓜等水果后，她开始这样做。

时隔近一个月，谭先生坦诚地表示，现在报告收入还为时尚早，但他对公司的未来仍然充满希望。

“所以理想情况下，如果有扩张的机会，我会持开放态度。但就目前而言，我只想专注于这家店，确保它顺利运营，并按照我们既定的目标进行。”

laili.abdeen@asiaone.com