Ep 153: From Being Told to "SHUT UP" to RM150+ million in 5 years?! | Hui Jing Lee, Co-Founder of Bila-Bila Mart
OCT 26, 202571 MIN
Ep 153: From Being Told to "SHUT UP" to RM150+ million in 5 years?! | Hui Jing Lee, Co-Founder of Bila-Bila Mart
OCT 26, 202571 MIN
Description
Hui Jing’s life reads like a TVB drama.Her mum was forced to be the sole provider for the family after her dad landed them in bad debt. Perhaps unsurprisingly, Hui Jing understood the importance of money & joined the work force young - at the below-legal age of 15 - for a mediocre RM4/hour.It wasn’t easy.But it kickstarted a series of jobs that saw her go from working as at McDonald’s to The Body Shop to becoming a finalist for the Red Bull Female Driver Search in 2009 (they were offering a cash prize) to becoming an insurance agent (where she learned the joys of passive income) to joining a radio station as a road runner and finally…Co-founding one of Malaysia’s fastest growing local convenience store chains, Bila-Bila Mart.Which is on track to hit a whooping RM150+ million in revenue & 100 stores by the end of 2025, with an IPO on the horizon!Not bad for a Brickfields girl who was once kidnapped & held ransom due to bad family debts. If there’s one thing that clearly stands out about Hui Jing’s story, it’s this: Taking riskDuring the interview, she spoke of how:“Throwing everything outta the window (i.e. leaving corporate) sounded like an adventure. I wanted that adventure. Because I was just thinking, okay, now I have no commitments. I don't have a family… If I don't do it, if I don't risk it, I don't really see how is the world outside, when am I gonna do it?”That said, life hasn’t been without its challenges.Once at a bar, she was told, “Jing, you talk too much as a female. Can you shut up?”And also advised to stop working and to “ask your husband to feed you.”Needless to say, that lit a fire in Hui Jing that led to the founding of Bila-Bila Mart, where she also spoke about:✨ How Dettol saved Bila-Bila Mart (they opened their first physical store during MCO)✨ Their first breakthrough (pivoting from the idea of selling hot food → kedai runcit model)✨ The process for local SMEs getting their items into Bila-Bila Mart✨ Dealing with chauvinistic men who question Jing’s very young team✨ Why you are the decision maker of your own fateDon't forget to subscribe for future STIMY episodes!Special thanks to Bila-Bila Mart for sponsoring this episode.🙊 Want to support STIMY for as little as $0.10/day? https://www.sothisismywhy.com/support-stimy/🍿 YouTube: https://youtu.be/MyM_uFevyJI&list=UULFSZlcS5ooyCjj_MkrmH_WhQ💌 Weekly STIMY Newsletter on the art of storytelling + building your personal brand (+snippets of STIMY behind-the-scenes): https://sothisismywhy.ck.page/profile✍🏻 Leave a review on STIMY: https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/so-this-is-my-why/id1521191442