What is the nature of your business? (Business Profile)
We are dedicated to provide food catering & related services to personal, corporate and wedding functions, special events and take away services.

What made you embark on this venture choice?
My mother loves cooking and is a good cook. When we were younger, friends and relatives who tasted my mum's food used to say that we should set up our own restaurant. In 1996, my mother decided to set up a restaurant with my late father. I supported the idea, gave up my job and started Mum's Kitchen together with my other siblings.

How does your business work?
Beside food catering, we offer a full complement of services to fit a function, from floral, venue sourcing, equipment rental, music & entertainment, photography services to even corporate gifts.

Did you have the capital to start the business or did you have to borrow from someone to get started?
Yes, my mother contributed her savings of $50,000 to help set up the business.

Do your parents have their own businesses too? Have they inspired you in one way or another?
Yes, my late father was in the electronic appliance trading business and used to own a shop. This shop was shared with my grandparents, who would use the other half of the floor space to run a provision shop. From young, I would often go to the shop to help out and observe the way they worked. I found it interesting and dreamt of running my own business also.

What was your childhood dream? When did you decide that you would strike out on your own instead of working for someone else?
When I looked at the way my grandparent & dad worked, I wanted to be a businesswoman. I decided to strike out with my mother when she decided to set up a business with my late father.

Why does someone decide to be on their own rather than join an existing company?
He/she is self-inspired; he/she has the desire and talent. He/she believes in his/her product(s), and is willing to invest time and effort to make his/her business a success.

Are there at any point in your life that you experienced a significant event (WW2, racial riots of the 1960s, the Economic Crisis of the 80s or 90s, SARS, new competition or shifts in market behaviour and trends) which affected or influenced you and your business that made you change the way you think and do your business?
During the 1997 recession, the number of customers decreased. To make matters worse, there was also a lack of parking space at Joo Chiat, where our restaurant was located. Our sales drop tremendously as a result. The next difficult time came during the SARS crisis. Group gatherings were discouraged; thus, customers had to cancel their orders. Again, this affected our sales. Fortunately, our staff willingly took no-pay leave to help the company overcome the difficult time. Today, we are still very thankful for their understanding then. It taught me the importance of establishing good working relationships with employees in order to gain their support & understanding.

What are some of the challenges in starting a business from scratch?
The ability to use the limited funds and resources to transform my ideas into a business that would attract the interest of my targeted customers was the main challenge for me. Related to this would be the challenge to turn the young business into a profitable one.

Who/What motivates you?
My customers. Every repeat order and compliment received motivates us to improve our products & services.

Tell me about the first few customers and the first few years of business.
We started our business in Joo Chiat and we are thankful for the support we received from the residents nearby. One of them is actually becomes my mother's godson. He loved our food so much that he could eat it almost everyday. We are also thankful to Ms Celine Tan, the reporter from Weekend East, who liked our food and wrote about our restaurant on 9th August 1996. After the article on our restaurant was published, the response from the residents staying in the East was extremely good. We became famous and by the second month of business, we were already making profits and it was very encouraging.

Tell me about your best day/period in business or your proudest achievement to date.
We are honoured to have provided our services to many important events, like the opening of SMU, General Election Nomination & Polling Day 2006, etc. However, our proudest achievement took place on August 2001, when we had the opportunity to serve our late president Mr Ong Teng Cheong.

Do you recall your worst day/period in business?
My worst day in business was when we were only making about $200 a day in sales. Sales dropped tremendously during the recession in the late 1990s. Slowly, we used up all our cash reserves and we could not even draw a salary. It was tough, but I am glad we overcame the obstacles and survived through the crisis.

When was the moment you realised the business would work out and be able to supplement your family income?
When our bank account returned to the black.

What are some of the things you have had to overcome to succeed?
The main thing would be the lack of cash reserves. As an entrepreneur, I am an employer and I need to pay my staff. When our cash reserves were low during the difficult times mentioned earlier, we struggled to pay our staff.

What are some qualities that you feel you possess which differentiate you from someone who works for others?
Perseverance and endurance. When a person works for someone else, he can leave and give up anytime. However, for the person who owns a business, he has to persevere and keep going on no matter how difficult times may be.

To succeed in business, what qualities are essential? What are some of the secrets in making a successful business?
It is important to build your business on sincerity, quality and value. Being able to meet customer's needs, promptly responding to new market demands, regularly coming up with creative ideas and having good cost control are the "secrets". Above all, it would be God's blessing.

Who or what inspires you?
Ms Elim Chew of 77th street. I am inspired by how she overcame obstacles before succeeding in her business. The way she contributes to society by being a blessing to the less fortunate, her willingness to share her entrepreneurial skills and her Christian values are all very inspiring. I also like these words of hers, "Money can always be made again but relationships must never be broken".

Have you ever thought of expanding the business in some way or in multiple locations?
We are still doing our market research. We plan to develop some promising products that may have massive distribution potential locally and in Asia.

What are your aims for your enterprise in the near future?
We have doubled our production area this year. We hope to expand our products and services to reach out to more people.

In your opinion, how would you define entrepreneurship?
Entrepreneurship is seeing a new opportunity in the business world and then using the resources available to successfully exploit the opportunity with passion and persistence.

To what extent does one's educational level help or hinder entrepreneurial-ship?
Although education is not an important primary ingredient for making a successful entrepreneur, the knowledge and wisdom one acquires from education will definitely be helpful if you want your business to become a competitive enterprise globally.

What qualities do you think a person should have to inspire others?
Such a person should have gone against all odds, overcame the toughest situation and was still able to make his/her business a success. Such a person should also be humble and willing to share his/her experience to inspire others to similar heights.

What are some of your own values in doing business and what do you like to pass down to others, particularly the younger generation?
Be Sincere and honest. Prepare to invest time and energy to make the business a success.

What advice would you give young people who want to start their own business?
Be humble, willing to learn and gain experience working with successful people. Before starting your business, do the necessary research and plan to achieve the goals you have set for your business. Lastly, I feel that it is good to be aware that becoming an entrepreneur may or may not be right for you. However, there are few reasons for not giving it a try.

Your Personal Comment
Ms Lydia Teo is a young and successful entrepreneur who truly exemplifies the saying 'where there is a will, there is a way.' I am very inspired by how she has driven her business to be one of Singapore's leading companies in her industry.