Decided that blogspot was too yesteryear.
Using a new one now at elapx.wordpress.com
See you there!
Monday, March 12, 2012
Wednesday, January 11, 2012
Starting small...
So some of you know that I'm trying out a small experiment to get started thinking about business...
Before that, a little background:
- My mum, J, makes amazing chocolate walnut cakes, but she only ever does it once every Lunar New Year, reason being that it takes too much effort just to bake 1 cake at a time (i.e. take out everything, unwrap all the plastic covering (she's crazy about keeping stuff spotless), bake 1x cake, wash everything, and then rewrap and re-store...
So she only does it the week before CNY, where she bakes up a storm, making at least 10 large cakes to all our relatives and colleagues at 1 go. Ever the dutiful son, I have been assisting her to bake all this while, and of course, learning the various techniques and formulas to make the one great slice.
One of my colleagues actually asked to buy an entire cake last year, and we were so paisehz, coz we didn't know how to sell the cake, how to price the cake (he was a colleague after all), and so just 意识意识 sold him at cost (ingredients only).
This year, at we were ramping up to CNY again, on a whim, I approached said colleague and asked if he was interested to buy again. He immediately responded and added that for the right price, being the foodie among his friends, he could scrounge up enough interest to make it interesting. But before he could 推销 to his kakis, he needed some photographic proof that the cakes were attractive.
Immediately I went back and checked my old photo stash, just in case I had any to show him upfront. No luck! So we had to bake a whole new cake to take photos. I figured, why just email him when I can post it online and show potential clients, accessible by a wordpress blog.
The blog is here: chocolatewalnutcake.wordpress.com
Thereafter, we had to start considering the entire business feasibility (how much to sell), supply constraints (how to get best-source ingredients), marketing strategy (apart from CNY, when would one want to eat super delicious, moist chocolate walnut cake), viral advertising (social media / FB), how to ensure repeat business via word-of-mouth (if someone eats and likes the cake, where can he/she make a quick order), & multiple selections (what if someone wants a smaller sized /heart-shaped cake), even vision (to walk in the footsteps of Awfully Chocolate).
So as it stands, everything is up in the air, and that we are learning as we go along. Definitely we won't make money this year, but that's not the point. What I can say is that it's a small experiment in starting and operating a business, hopefully imbuing me with the right training for when I do a 'proper' start-up.
Plus, it goes a long way to make my mum busy and proud of her baking...
This weekend we'll be extremely busy trying to fill the orders, and if there's anyone who wants to order, please email cakesjoyce@gmail.com or call 9450-4195.
Before that, a little background:
- My mum, J, makes amazing chocolate walnut cakes, but she only ever does it once every Lunar New Year, reason being that it takes too much effort just to bake 1 cake at a time (i.e. take out everything, unwrap all the plastic covering (she's crazy about keeping stuff spotless), bake 1x cake, wash everything, and then rewrap and re-store...
So she only does it the week before CNY, where she bakes up a storm, making at least 10 large cakes to all our relatives and colleagues at 1 go. Ever the dutiful son, I have been assisting her to bake all this while, and of course, learning the various techniques and formulas to make the one great slice.
One of my colleagues actually asked to buy an entire cake last year, and we were so paisehz, coz we didn't know how to sell the cake, how to price the cake (he was a colleague after all), and so just 意识意识 sold him at cost (ingredients only).
This year, at we were ramping up to CNY again, on a whim, I approached said colleague and asked if he was interested to buy again. He immediately responded and added that for the right price, being the foodie among his friends, he could scrounge up enough interest to make it interesting. But before he could 推销 to his kakis, he needed some photographic proof that the cakes were attractive.
Immediately I went back and checked my old photo stash, just in case I had any to show him upfront. No luck! So we had to bake a whole new cake to take photos. I figured, why just email him when I can post it online and show potential clients, accessible by a wordpress blog.
The blog is here: chocolatewalnutcake.wordpress.com
Thereafter, we had to start considering the entire business feasibility (how much to sell), supply constraints (how to get best-source ingredients), marketing strategy (apart from CNY, when would one want to eat super delicious, moist chocolate walnut cake), viral advertising (social media / FB), how to ensure repeat business via word-of-mouth (if someone eats and likes the cake, where can he/she make a quick order), & multiple selections (what if someone wants a smaller sized /heart-shaped cake), even vision (to walk in the footsteps of Awfully Chocolate).
So as it stands, everything is up in the air, and that we are learning as we go along. Definitely we won't make money this year, but that's not the point. What I can say is that it's a small experiment in starting and operating a business, hopefully imbuing me with the right training for when I do a 'proper' start-up.
Plus, it goes a long way to make my mum busy and proud of her baking...
This weekend we'll be extremely busy trying to fill the orders, and if there's anyone who wants to order, please email cakesjoyce@gmail.com or call 9450-4195.
Thursday, January 05, 2012
2012
Wow! In a blink of an eye, 2012 is here.
This is hopefully my first (of many) posts in 2012 where I'll try to kickstart my writing process all over again.
Things I will blog about:
- My job in the Venture Capital World
- My readings
- My various dabbles in coding
- My attempts at starting up
- My life goals and how I'm achieving them this year
- My hobbies and interests.
That should keep it interesting...
Anyone out there still reading, perchance?
This is hopefully my first (of many) posts in 2012 where I'll try to kickstart my writing process all over again.
Things I will blog about:
- My job in the Venture Capital World
- My readings
- My various dabbles in coding
- My attempts at starting up
- My life goals and how I'm achieving them this year
- My hobbies and interests.
That should keep it interesting...
Anyone out there still reading, perchance?
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