Alan Yoon tells us the story on how he gave up a banking career to be a soymilk seller.
It
did not happen overnight. Mr Alan Yoon, who now runs two soyamilk
stalls, did not wake up one fine day and decide that he was going to
trade his shirts and pants for T-shirts and Bermudas.
The 33-year-old, who last worked as a personal financial consultant at a bank before setting up SoyField three years ago, has deliberated over his decision before making the switch.
He says "It took me a year to ponder and prepare before I took the plunge. It was a major decision then because I was doing well at my banking job and my daugther had just turned one. Venturing out on my own would have meant a dip in you family's disposable income. That translates to certain sacrifces we would have to make in our lifestyle, such as thinking twice or even thrice before buying something.
"But my idea was that it's now or never. If I did it only when I am, say, 55, and I failed, it was going to hit me even worse. Now, while I am still young and have savings from my five years of work in the banking industry, I can afford to take the risk."
In that one year before Soyfield opened, Mr Yoon spared no effort in market research, sourcing for location, and most importantly, finding a unique selling point for his soymilk. As it is, the market is already saturated with big players such as Mr Bean and Jollibean, as well as smaller run-of-the-mill establishments.
Yet Mr Yoon was confident that the pie would be big enough for him to share. He explains: "I decided on soymilk precisely because I knew there is a demand for soy products as the are good for health and Singaporeans are familiar with them."
"During my market research, which involved trying out soymilk and beancurd islandwide, I concluded that there are very few places that offer the real stuff, that is, quality soymilk. Those that I tried were either too diluted or sweetened with too much syrup."
Numerous taste tests later, including a two-week trip to Taiwan to find out about their soy products, Mr Yoon finally came up with a recipe he was happy with.
Using non-genetically modified beans from Canada, Mr Yoon's soymilk is rich, thick and only slightly sweetened, while the beancurd, which is curdled with fruit acid, is smooth and glides down one's throat.
Needless to say, having sunk in a five-figure sum to set up his first outlet at Ang Mo Kio Ave 4 in November 2003, the budding entrepreneur was not about to leave sucess to change. In the first few months, he was up in his stall before dawn to grind and boil the first batch of soymilk.
When the shutters opened at 7am, Mr Yoon put on his chiriest smile to welcome his first customers. He recalls: " As Soyfield was new in the neighbourhood, I has to attract passwersby's attention by shouting 'come and give our soymilk a try'! " At times, I even told them that they could get their money back if they did not like our soymilk.:
Fortunately, no one asked for refunds. On the contrary, many returned for more. His business picked up -- from the initial sale of 40 cups daily to 80 at the Ang Mo Kio outlet today. Mr Yoon says that 85 percent of his customers have since become regulars.
Today, Mr Yoon still goes to his stall at 3am to prepare for the day. But with the addition of another outlet in August 2006 at Changi General Hospital under the name Beano, Mr Yoon no longer mans the counter. He works behind the scenes to come up with new products and looks into expanding distribution points from the current two.
He derives great satisfaction from running the business and knowing that his products have received positive feedback from customers.
In 2005, Mr Yoon recovered his capital. A year later, profits started rolling in.
Asked if he deems his business venture a success, Mr Yoon says he is "not quite there yet". He elaborates: "Only when I open more stalls or have more distribution points and make more profits, then can I say I have succeeded. Now, it is just the beginning."
The fact that he gave up his banking career whie he was doing well and that his business has survived 3 years in a competitive environment, makes it a success story in more ways than one.
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