Ang Mo Kio Ice Cream Shop Is A Hit, 30-Year-Old Owner Takes Inspiration From Successful Local Brands & More Trending News
Heartbreak Melts Owner Goh Yong Wei Shares His Business Inspirations, Including Udders & Old Chang Kee
Situated in a sleepy Ang Mo Kio residential property near a secondary college is an ice cream store with decor that stands out amidst the remainder.
With purple grilles, article printouts, and self-deprecating hashtags, Heartbreak Melts is the brainchild of 30-year-old Goh Yong Wei and his enterprise associate Mabel Yee.
This was the place MS News met Mr Goh, an entrepreneur, meals supply rider, and seeming TikTok star with over 21,000 followers.
Heartbreak Melts proprietor Goh Yong Wei began enterprise to get wealthy, have versatile work
As a self-professed ‘man of many talents’, the cherubic Mr Goh stated he began his personal enterprise in 2014 to get wealthy.
While he owned a printing enterprise that did effectively for the primary two years, Mr Goh wanted fulfilment from the job.
“After (the first two years), things went downhill. (Printing and designing) are things I’m good at, but I was not passionate about it – I was not happy.”
Mr Goh fell into melancholy, and after seeing a counsellor, he determined to search out one thing else to do.
So got here the gig of meals supply, which a pal launched him to in 2016. Not solely did he derive fulfilment from driving motorbikes, however he additionally discovered that the job gave him the liberty and suppleness he craved. He determined it was time to fold his printing enterprise and known as it quits.
For the subsequent three to 4 years, Mr Goh delivered meals as a full-time job. But behind his thoughts, he all the time knew he needed to begin one other enterprise regardless of his earlier failure.
Additionally, his objective was to be a businessman, not merely self-employed. What’s the distinction? Mr Goh defined that whereas the previous means he can generate profits with out lifting a finger, being self-employed nonetheless requires him to go down and work.
Accident was a wake-up name
In September 2020, Mr Goh bought right into a visitors accident and broke his proper arm.
Luckily, he’s left-handed, so although he misplaced mobility in his proper arm, he might nonetheless cope effectively.
But even whereas he was crying in ache within the ambulance following the accident, Mr Goh was already desirous about a brand new enterprise.
So along with Ms Yee, his enterprise associate who used to run a bar, they sat right down to brainstorm potentialities.
They had a couple of issues, together with however not restricted to the next:
- scalability
- one thing employees can do with out them having to work
- easy to make
- someplace the enterprise companions can chill
Combining these necessities, they landed on working an ice cream store promoting vegan ice cream. You’d suppose that this was as a result of they had been well being or environmentally aware, however Mr Goh stated it just because they’re each lactose illiberal.
The simplicity is crucial as Mr Goh needs the enterprise to be fully hands-off finally.
Sat at different cafés observing their practices & gross sales
Hitting up YouTube tutorials, he started making ice cream together with his single arm whereas his proper arm was nonetheless in a solid. He purchased his very first ice cream machine, which he nonetheless retains at Heartbreak Melts as a backup in case the café’s ice cream machine breaks down.
As a home-based enterprise, promoting ice cream posed a number of challenges, not least melting. “I have to send it by express, otherwise become milkshake,” Mr Goh laughed.
So he began happening to ice cream cafés round Singapore to check. He claimed he will need to have visited each single one, simply sitting a distance away together with his video digicam and observing the variety of gross sales they made in six hours.
He then calculated the approximate income they’d earn in an hour and located that promoting ice cream was viable.
By a stroke of fine fortune, Mr Goh got here throughout his current store location, which was beforehand run by an ice cream-selling couple. Because the infrastructure was already there and the lease was cheap, Mr Goh determined to make the leap in Ang Mo Kio.
Heartbreak Melts opened its doorways in January 2022. The enterprise has picked up over the previous two months, which lets him draw a modest wage. But Mr Goh shouldn’t be stopping there and hopes to open extra retailers.
Taking inspiration from successes
Mr Goh isn’t shy about the place he will get his enterprise concepts from, particularly in terms of promoting ice cream.
One success story for him is Udders, which has six retailers in Singapore and Indonesia. The ice cream can be out there at over 400 retail factors.
“Whatever they are doing, I will always copy (as it is) a successful business model,” Mr Goh shared.
I don’t wish to create one thing distinctive by myself… we don’t have the cash to do it. Then, the one approach to achieve success is to repeat profitable companies. Whatever they’re doing, we simply comply with.
Another mannequin he likes is Old Chang Kee, which options meals that may be simply ready at each outlet with out the necessity for a specialised chef.
Yet, he stated it tastes the identical in all places, and it’s good. All the employees must do is use a deep fryer to organize the meals, and it’ll style constant.
It is a lesson he took from his printing enterprise, the place the talents wanted to design and print supplies had been extremely specialised. This made hiring tough.
On the opposite hand, at Heartbreak Melts, all he wants are individuals who can scoop ice cream. If they’ll try this, they’re employed. Teaching them the opposite issues can be easy since they don’t require extremely technical abilities.
Another profitable enterprise apply he has utilized to Heartbreak Melts is permitting his employees to make use of a company card to order meals for themselves.
This concept got here from his ex-boss’ expertise the place he gave all his workers a smartphone (in 2014, earlier than smartphones had been as commonplace) so they might be contactable. The telephones additionally served as work instruments.
But as a substitute of giving cash to his employees to purchase a smartphone, he selected to offer every of them one. Although this meant further prices within the brief run, they’d be used for his or her meant function.
Mr Goh thus does the identical to make sure that his employees don’t go hungry within the identify of saving cash.
But there was one mainstream factor he didn’t wish to comply with: the ‘minimalist’ decor that many cafés are adopting lately. Going within the different route, you’ll be able to see that Heartbreak Melts has vibrant, nearly cheesy decor, however that is by design.
Adaptation & realizing what to keep away from are additionally vital
Mr Goh rapidly amassed a good following together with his informative movies on TikTok detailing varied features of the enterprise course of.
One of those movies particulars how clients have persistently requested for meals since opening Heartbreak Melts in January, particularly since different outlets within the space don’t open late at evening.
Eventually, Mr Goh got here up with Send Noods, vegan instantaneous noodles topped with fried ‘tau kee’ and dumplings.
Source: @yongwei92 on TikTok
Surprisingly, demand has been good – he bought 60 bowls up to now two weeks. The simple-to-prepare dish was a results of the logistics across the store, Mr Goh defined.
The meals needed to be easy and straightforward to organize by part-time employees. It additionally couldn’t be fried as there’s no exhaust within the kitchen, he advised MS News.
While he joked about his worry that Send Noods may develop into extra standard than his ice cream, the difference fulfilled each clients’ wants and the challenges of his kitchen.
Other diversifications like promoting alcohol, which is straightforward to retailer, and different snacks with a velocity oven, like the sort you see in Subway, have confirmed profitable.
It exhibits that one shouldn’t be restricted by their enterprise in what one sells, though this doesn’t apply to each state of affairs. Mr Goh is ready to make these diversifications as a result of he’s within the F&B line.
And these initiatives appear to be working since Heartbreak Melts is usually hands-off whereas he focuses on the advertising and marketing, different backend work, and his meals supply job.
Do any inspiring figures like Mr Goh? Get in contact with us by way of e-mail at [email protected].
Featured picture by MS News.
Ang Mo Kio Ice Cream Shop Is A Hit, 30-Year-Old Owner Takes Inspiration From Successful Local Brands
Ang Mo Kio Ice Cream Shop Is A Hit, 30-Year-Old Owner Takes Inspiration From Successful Local Brands
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Ang Mo Kio Ice Cream Shop Is A Hit, 30-Year-Old Owner Takes Inspiration From Successful Local Brands