Taxi Tales III

I found myself rushing to an appointment and decided to take a cab. To be exact, I was already late. Bad time discipline. I was at VivoCity. And damn, "long the queue was", as Yoda might say.

But just across from the taxi queue however was a row of pristine MaxiCabs, waiting for passengers. This is really a market failure. Long queue of people, but no taxis. A queue of MaxiCabs, but no customers. What a waste.

$50 flat fare is the going rate for the MaxiCab. I was desperate enough. So I hopped into one. An expensive affair!  It turned out to be one of those fascinating cab rides. So I guess I paid for the conversation too.

The driver said he wasn't a full time driver but was helping a friend out as a relief driver. Curious, I asked what he did when he wasn't. Turns out he runs a business bringing in foreigners for medical treatment. I've heard of medical tourism, but had never met somebody who was in the facilitation business before. I was piqued.

He used to teach English to foreigners students to prepare them for enrollment to local schools. Over time, he found that some of the foreign students needed help with accommodation, so he branched into arranging accommodation. From students, he then progressed into medical tourism, bringing foreigners to Singapore for medical treatments, arrange transportation, accommodation and whatever else needed. He found that the upper strata from Vietnam and Indonesia would pay for such services.

His business is patchy, so sometimes he has no customers for the entire month. He would take it easy and offer his help as a relief driver to his taxi friends. On occasion, he would call on their help to provide transportation for his medical tourism customers. Or he might even drive the cab himself.

I thought about his stories, and drew some observations:
- He found a niche where he could provide a service that was desired.
- He capitalised on the language gap.
- He used a skill from one business for another, moving up the value chain from students to medical tourism.
- He had a lot of networks! [lobang king]
- In times of need, his network was also his safety net (in more ways than one).
- He was multi-skilled - teacher, driver, concierge.

The best part was, when I asked, "You must be really busy running this business?" He said, on the contrary, he had a lot of time and could take it easy most of the time, "eng eng cheng cheng". Sounds like a life? Regardless, the business sense was acute.



Related:
A taxi driver who is far richer than I am
Condo, wife, kids and a taxi

Bobbie Bear - A case of product exclusiveness

A Straits Times article recently talked about the Bobbie Bear produced at the Bridestowe Tasmania lavender farm. Seems a craze has started in China over owning the purple coloured bear produced exclusively by this farm.

More on this from Forbes:
How Did Tasmanian Lavender Bears Turn Into a Social Media Sensation in China

Purple seems to attract. Recall the purple dinosaur? I found that Purple One kind of irritating actually. My first encounter of it was at a US theme park when I innocently queued up and sat through a session of the Barney concert. I suppose if (and only if!) you have very very young kids, it would have been lovely. The American kids certainly did. Else, it was an hour of purple hell.

When I visited Bridestowe farm recently, the feeling was one of mind boggling awe; or was it envy? Lavendar plants in rows for miles and miles into the distance. Even on an island like Tasmania, land seems to be in abundance.

The farm had a cupboard full of these fellas on display. Their online store is selling them at AUD$29.95 a piece. I didn't realise then that they were such hot items. Should have gotten a few and eBay them! Darned.

If they were to flood the market with these in large numbers, the interest could well wear off rapidly. Worse, copycats will start producing similar ones, diluting their market. Given the scarcity and exclusiveness, this bear will probably remain a collector's item for some time to come and continue to command a premium.

It's an interesting case study in supply and demand. Especially, how to create a demand where there was none before, and how to create an artificial limited supply. Was it good marketing or just luck?

Contrast this against the many 'youngsters' who set up trinkets shops in mobile stands at malls. The items they sell are often common place items. There is really little to differentiate one from another. Hard to make sales like that isn't it?

In contrast, Bridestowe is actually telling potential customers that they can't even meet their demands, and wouldn't be entertaining any requests! Fascinating.

Is there a SGX stock that exhibits such a business model I wonder?

Running Cafes as a Business Owner

Cafes. Ah, there is that fascinating sense of novelty and vision of sitting by and running a quaint little shop that offers an amazing cafe experience. After all, the road to financial independence tends to suggest that being a business owner offers higher opportunities than being an employee. So how about running a cafe?

But it looks like running such a business is tough. Straits Times published a piece recently about the challenges of running a cafe (Running Cafes No Piece of Cake). Kind of the dream for many people, young and old. Unfortunately, start up cafes are more likely fail than succeed. Sustainable success requires a lot more hard work.

A friend shared on her experience. When starting up, there is that tremendous urge to get the best. The best equipment, the best decor, the best furnishing. "Best" costs. When it came round to shutting down the business, selling off these stuff became a heart bleed.

And then there is the problem of staffing. It is difficult to find good help, especially in manpower strapped Singapore. When it came to closing time, her staff would readily disappear most quickly. And she found herself being the one cleaning up everything. It is an extremely tiring business.

At the end of the day, is it still profitable? Sales matter. Costs matter. Location matters. Publicity matters. Differentiation matters? Great tasting food? Presentation! There are so many factors that have to come together for that elusive success to click.

LadyIronChef has some insights to share in 10 Things You Should Know Before Opening a Cafe. Those are probably most helpful advice for the adventurous wannabes ready to take the next step.

Perhaps interning at an existing cafe could be a good starting point to learn the business? Gain the experience, gain the connection, understand what it takes. Better yet, if a well run cafe could hand hold new players to come into play? But perhaps there is little motivation to do so? Would a former employee be viewed with much disdain as a traitor who learned the trade and then became the competition? Maybe some kind of franchising system is needed?

In memory of the sad incident at Lindt Cafe, Martin Place, Sydney ... (Dec 2014)