“STRESSED spelled backward is DESSERTS”. Desserts are what makes this entrepreneur and her family happy.
What’s your story?
When I was young, I wanted to be an artist. I became a graphic designer for 7 years. After being a stay-at-home mum with 4 kids for 10 years, I needed to do something for myself.
Food binds our family. It’s bound my grandfather’s, my father’s and I want it to bind my family too. Having 4 kids with different taste buds and preferences make it really challenging to please all of them. Desserts are the food that always brighten our day. But desserts on sale are usually served in big or over-sized portions for the little ones. The leftovers will always be consumed by my husband and myself. We hardly have a chance to choose what we really want. So I decided to attend baking classes and create my own petite bakes for my family. To my surprise, I can bake! With my artistic and creative background, it’s enabled me to bake and create small, beautiful and delicious petite bakes.Then I started to rent a licensed kitchen and began my journey as a baker. This is how Petite Bakehouse was born. At Petite Bakehouse, you will find petite bakes that are suitable for all occasions or even as tea snacks.
What excites you most about your industry?
“STRESSED spelled backward is DESSERTS”
Desserts make everyone happy. It’s like a treat for hard work, reward, special occasions, birthdays or just to cheer someone up.
Being able to bake, create and decorate all sorts of desserts that I like and eat really excites me. The best reward is to see the little ones smile with satisfaction eating my petite bakes. The fun part is to be able to change the ingredients and balance the formula to suit different taste-buds for all occasions.
What’s your connection to Asia?
I am born in Singapore, which is a multi-racial society. Here you can find all sorts of food. The best is always the local food.
Favourite city in Asia for business and why?
Singapore is my favourite city in Asia for business as it is a safe place to start any business. Lots of inspiration and ideas come from the different cultures and food that help to bind all races together.
What’s the best piece of advice you ever received?
“Do what you love and you never work a day in your life.”
Who inspires you?
My grandfather, who was a young entrepreneur owning a humble coffee stall to feed a family of ten. His food has become the staple Singaporean breakfast (coffee, half-boiled eggs, kaya and toast) for 70 years and still counting. This is something that I can be really proud of.
What have you just learnt recently that blew you away?
B1G1 is a company that has shown me, as a micro-small company, we can create great impact to help others.
If you had your time again, what would you do differently?
I believe everything happens for a reason. Maybe I will still do the same thing again but I wish to have more courage to take on all the challenges I will face.
How do you unwind?
Sitting around my family and listening to my kids talking and sharing what they do during the day.
Favourite Asian destination for relaxation? Why?
I have not yet found my favourite Asian destination. But a cool weather place which is away from the busy city area would be great.
Everyone in business should read this book:
Entrepreneurs’ Revolution by Daniel Priestley
Shameless plug for your business:
Since I started my baking journey, I have attended numerous baking and decorating masterclasses to constantly improve my skills and knowledge. It’s enabled me to work and teach my team to design and create unique hand-crafted petite bakes and customized cakes to impress our customers. They choose to come to us to get what they want.
Customers come to us because they are busy with work and don’t have time to bake or they don’t know how to bake. Most of the bakery in Singapore, serves desserts in big or over-sized portions, especially for the littles ones. When they cannot finished, it will either be thrown away or passed down to their parents to consume. That not only makes the parents waste money, but they also put on weight! This results in spending more money at the gym or engaging a personal trainer or therapist to control their weight. Last but not least, with their busy schedule, they tend to forget to celebrate their special days with their loved ones.
Everyone loves to bring joy and happiness to their families and friends. Our solution to our customers is to leave all the creating, designing, baking and decorating to us. All they need to do is wait for their order to arrive on their special day. They will have more time for themselves and family to get ready for their special days. Most importantly we provide petite bakes that reduce wastage and save money. We will suggest the right serving size for the right number of people consuming.
We believe small is more. Small reduces wastage and saves money. With small goodies you can have more varieties, more tastes and more flavours. Small hand-crafted goodies make it more beautiful and attractive. Our mission is bake to bond & share your love.
How can people connect with you?
Website > www.petitebakehouse.com
Facebook > www.facebook.com/PetiteBakehouse
Pinterest > www.pinterest.com/sophialoy/
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This interview was part of the Callum Connect’s column found on The Asian Entrepreneur:
Callum Laing invests and buys small businesses in a range of industries around Asia. He has previously started, built and sold half a dozen businesses and is the founder & owner of Fitness-Buffet a company delivering employee wellness solutions in 12 countries. He is a Director of, amongst others, Key Person of Influence. A 40 week training program for business owners and executives.
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