Go out of your comfort zone – Lia Monica Chua

In October 2018, Lia Monica H. Chua opened The Holy Crab PH with a starting capital of PhP50,000. “We initially targeted being a supplier to restaurants and concessionaires,” she recalled, although “there, the competition was fierce, especially when it came to pricing. This nudged us to thinking of other ways to further build our business with the resources we had available, which then led us to coming up with an online food business with crab and shrimps as our main offerings.”

Lia said that going into any business always entails risks. But her former mentor (also currently a partner in Holy Crab PH) of three years encouraged her to start a business. “As a mentor, he has always inspired me to challenge myself and to go out of my comfort zone. Now, we work together in building our brand, our selection and our reach,” Lia said.

But Lia said she was always fascinated with entrepreneurs, including her father. “He always encouraged me to start my own business. There will be a lot more challenges, and a lot more uncertainty but being a business owner would prove to be fulfilling, just as my dad said.”

It helps that Lia graduated in Business Administration.

“But in terms of the actual cooking, I’m afraid I still need more experience,” she smiled. “As our line of business is largely dependent on how we prepare and cook the food, I relied on my partner as he has the know-how on sourcing our ingredients and on the actual cooking.”

But The Holy Crab PH is succeeding; so what they are doing is obviously working.

Lia said that “what sets us apart is our attention to detail, receptive customer service and how we value customer feedback.”

“The need to know and study about the facets needed in your business is important, but do not let your hesitations tie you down. Just take the leap.”

There remain challenges.

For one, “given that our line of business is food, it was critical to ensure the consistency of the taste and quality in the platters we serve. We needed to intensely train our staff on how to properly prepare and cook the food. However, we are directly affected when there is a movement in our staff (resignation, new hires, etc). We had to come up with a system to make sure that there will be minimal disruptions to our processes despite any changes,” Lia said.

Another ongoing challenge is product development to “keep your brand relevant to the market. Without this, the business will stagnate. Product quality is the main reason why your customers will order again from you. This is why it is essential to always, always get customer feedback.”

There is also the issue of scaling up. “When’s the right time to scale up? This was a question that we continuously pondered on. It was a big decision as it would mean we would be investing on equipment, ingredients, manpower, marketing efforts and so on. We were hesitant. But seeing as our sales trend was consistent enough to sustain our investments, and with the common aim to grow our business, we took the risk. There were areas where our investment did not return any income, but this did not dishearten us. Rather, we took the time to reassess what went wrong, and how we can do better. In time, we were able to see our overall sales go beyond our expectations.”

“There is always something new and change is constant. It is essential to be able to stay relevant and be aware of the trends. By being curious, you develop the urge to learn and become open to ideas.”

Nonetheless, looking back, Lia said that “every time we encountered problems, we always had an open mind and faced them head on. No shortcuts, no excuses. As long as you do not lose sight of your main objective in growing the business and are fully determined to give your utmost effort to meet that goal, you will be able to overcome any obstacle.”

For people who may also want to go into this line of business, what tips can Lia give?

First, she said, “don’t be afraid to the take the risk. There will always be doubts when you try out something new, but it’s always best to start somewhere than to never start at all. There are some who have the tendency to overthink to the point that they do not make any decisions any more, which is disastrous in any business. The need to know and study about the facets needed in your business is important, but do not let your hesitations tie you down. Just take the leap.”

Second, “surround yourself with people you aspire to be. This was the major turning point for me where I wanted to become more. Mindset for me is the hardest to change, but once you are able to shift your perspective, everything will follow. That is why it is important to surround yourself with the people you usually look up to, since you will unconsciously try to keep up with them and be inspired by them. Ultimately, you will keep pushing yourself forward and you will be able to reach to their level.”

And lastly, “be curious. There is always something new and change is constant. It is essential to be able to stay relevant and be aware of the trends. By being curious, you develop the urge to learn and become open to ideas,” Lia said.

For a business that reached ROI less than three months after opening,  Lia knows what she’s talking about. And yes, this could definitely help others too.

For more information about The Holy Crab PH, head to Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/theholycrabph) or Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/theholycrabph/); or email holycrabph2018@gmail.com.