Your Chicken Pie is very unique. What inspired this creation?
I used to work as a chef in HP Singapore. There were many celebrations and I had to bake various pastries for these occasions. One day, my boss told me that he noticed many ladies were skipping lunch for these celebrations and wanted me to come up with something savoury so that they can have it for lunch. That was how I came up with this chicken pie.

Why did you decide to start a business selling only chicken pies initially?
I started this business because I saw that no one specialized in making large pies. Singaporeans were only used to eating small-sized pies and I thought it was a pity that no one can appreciate large pies.

Furthermore, I've always wanted to create something that is a Singaporean Food Icon. I wanted people to think of my chicken pie as Singapore. When they think of Singapore, they would think of the chicken pies.

Why did you choose this location? Has your business always been located here?
I chose this location because firstly, this is a business district area. As compared to HDB estates, the purchasing power of people who move around this area is higher. They would likely be more willing to spend money on luxury food items like my chicken pie.

Also, they are likely to be more adventurous and want to try something new. Mine is a relatively new creation and I need this target audience to support my business' growth.

Did you have to get a license to do business here? How easy was it to get this license?
Yes, it is a food license. It was relatively easy. I had only to go to the former MOE (the now NEA) to apply for the license.

What business was your father in? Did you consider going in his business?
My father was selling chicken rice in the 60s and 70s. No one else sold chicken rice then.

I thought about going into it but the market is quite saturated. Chicken pie is unique and I want to make it a Singaporean Food Icon.

Does your wife work?
Yes, my wife works as a secretary. But she also helps out in my shop sometimes, doing admin work such as designing posters and finding out market trends.

She gave me the idea to market my avocado drink which has turned out to be quite popular amongst my customers!

What would happen if you got sick, who would run your business?
In 18 years I have never taken an MC so I don't think that will happen. (Maybe its because I drink a lot!)

When did you decide that you would strike out on your own instead of working for someone else?
I wanted to do my own business.

When you started what did your wife or family think?
My wife supported me a lot.

Do you have any partners? Are they related? How?
I have a lady partner. She is my ex-colleague. We used to work together in HP.

Did you have the capital to start the business or did you borrow it from someone to get started?
My partner loaned me some money to start my business. At first, it was purely a loan from her. When I started to make money, I started to repay her and then I offered her some shares of the company to repay her for her kindness.

Some of my other friends chipped in as well. I also took a loan from Hong Leong Finance, with the help of one of my friends who works there.

Tell me some stories that give me an idea of the hardships in starting a business from scratch. What are some of the things you have had to overcome to succeed?
When I first started a lot of people called me "crazy" and criticized my idea of selling pies. They said that Singaporeans will not take to this even though I told them I wanted people to eat my pies for breakfast, lunch, tea and dinner.

When I needed the capital, no one wanted to help me, except for my partner and family. Now that my business has picked up, I have people coming to me to offer me a franchising opportunity. I refused because I wanted to rely on myself and also to keep quality of my pies in check.

I think I have been very lucky. In my 2nd month of business, I was able to break even. After 1 year plus, I opened up another shop across the street.

Are there any points In your business life that you experienced something so significant e.g. war, racial riot, economic crisis, new competition, shift in market behavior and trends that affect or influence your life and business that make you change the way you do business and thinking?)
Not really, my business has been rather smooth-sailing as I mentioned. In fact, during the recent SARS outbreak, my sales actually increased by about 20%! I think it was because my business is a take-and-go type of food. They drive here or walk here and queue up to buy my food.

Tell me some stories of your best day in business.
In terms of the week, Friday is my best day in business. Queues are so long that it went round the corner.

There was once when a pilot friend of mine brought his Taiwanese pilot friends down to try my pies and they brought some pies back with them on the flight. When they had touched down after the flight, my friend actually rang me up to tell me that my pie was still warm and fresh!

On another instance, a regional Vice president of one of the banks here had tasted my pies when he came to their corporate office in Singapore. I heard that when he left he actually requested for my pies to be on the menu for the various functions the next time he comes to Singapore!

What about your worst day?
There were a few times when nuisance people came over to create trouble by saying that my pie was not tasty enough and that my kueh lapis did not taste like it should.

There was this man who bought the famous Ya Kun Kaya Toast from down the street and threw it into the dustbin after making some bad comments. Then he came to my shop and asked for a quarter chicken pie. After he ate it, he did the same thing as what he did to the kaya toast. He said that it tasted lousy and threw it into the dustbin! Luckily, there was not much of a crowd at that time and I just asked him what he did not like about my pie and apologized it did not suit his palate.

On another occasion, a couple came here and the lady demanded chilli sauce but I did not have it as I only serve my pies as it is and she started to create a scene. Luckily, they left before any trouble was created.

Did you ever feel like giving up before, how many times, when does it happen and why?
I never felt like giving up as it is my business and I built it with my efforts.

What qualities that you have do you think differentiates you from someone who works for others?
When you start your own business, you have to identify what line you want to be in and you have to be active in mapping out your business idea, for example, carrying out a survey is very important.

Also, when your product is good, people will always come back for more.

Why does someone decide to be on their own rather than join an existing company?
If I did not make this pie, no one in Singapore would make pies. My pies can be eaten for breakfast, lunch, tea, and even dinner!

When I was young I always thought of doing some business of my own.

What qualities does it take to succeed?
Drive, Passion, careful planning!

Patience as one cannot expect the business to be risk free!

Also, one has to be extremely hardworking. My pies are weighed to an exact amount and this contributes to my secret recipe. In making pastries, precision is very important. I practice QC such that the taste of my pies is not compromised.

What would you advise young people to do today in starting a business?
It is important to have a goal.

If it is a F&B business, location is also very important. (rent should also be factored in)

It is also necessary to conduct some market research. They might want to do some surveys to find out if their products are wanted in the market. My youngest brother did a lot of surveys for me when I first started out. He also interviewed a lot of corporate people as well.

As we try and pick the final 38 entrepreneurs from all the people we interview what qualities would you think a person should have to inspire others?
He should have a goal such that he can always work towards achieving that and not stray because of external distractions.

One should also have the ability to identify a market opportunity and seize it!

One should always strive to be a market setter and not a market follower.

If you are chosen as one of the 39 winners will you come to the ceremony to be honored?
Yes

Will you be comfortable with the press and TV asking you many of the same questions if you are a winner?
No problem. ( quite a few media types have come to Don's Pie.)

Do you have any objection to this interview being posted on the Community Web Site or published in the newspaper prior to being chosen?
No.

If part of the Spirit of Enterprise is a scholarship given in your name directed to any school you would like to give it to: any idea now where that would be? You don't have to decide now, but if some day you are asked - any ideas? Primary school, secondary, college, technical or university?
I would want to give it to a university. Any university. Either NUS, NTU or SMU.

Before I go any other story you would like to tell me?
In the past whatever I earned I spent. And so, I had no capital to start my business. Thankfully, I had helpful friends like my partner. I was lucky, really lucky.

I used to train people to be chefs. In fact my first student went back to her own country to start her own food business.

Thank you very much. When the interview is written I will show you a copy for accuracy before we post it on the Community Net site.

Student Interviewer's Personal Comment