In my previous article, I talked about the things to consider before starting a business as a full-time student. In this article, I will share with you how I started and managed my business as a third-year student in a local polytechnic.
How it all Began
When I was in my third year at Singapore Polytechnic (August 2021), Singapore had just relaxed its Covid-19 measures to allow social gatherings of up to five people and outdoor activities, capped at a maximum of 50 people.
I was searching for a business opportunity during the endemic. Coincidentally, I picked up basic rollerblading from a sports module in SP, and had experience working part-time at a rollerblading shop right before Covid-19 hit.
All these factors led to me starting up "SG.SkateClub"—Private rollerblading classes held at your preferred location.
Starting of a Chapter
Knowing the risk of another Covid-19 variant emerging and the potential of facing another lockdown, I decided to keep my start-up cost as low as possible. I spent an hour designing a poster to advertise my classes and listed it on Carousell (an online marketplace platform) at a $60 advertising fee.
SG.SkateClub advertisement on Carousell
To my surprise, "SG.SkateClub" got its first three classes within two days of posting the listing. It wasn't much, but it was a start.
I knew that in order to gain more traction, regular advertising would not suffice. So, on top of ensuring my classes were priced as one of the most affordable in town, I started an Instagram page dedicated to posting snippets of our classes in an effort to reach a larger audience.
The First Wave
Our first wave of new customers came when an existing customer, whose son I taught every Saturday, posted videos of me teaching her son to rollerblade. The video showcased us simply having fun during the lesson, but what helped was that this existing customer had a decent following on her Instagram account. Furthermore, since the beginning of our business, kids under 5 can opt for free trial lessons and for every successful referral, the referee will receive a free lesson.
It didn't take long before our weekend classes started to get bookings and we became fully booked about 5 weeks into our business journey.
The Second Wave
Around December 2021, one of our students was interested in our story and told us that he works for 'Mothership.SG' and wants to publish an article about it.
So after a few meet-ups and meetings, the Mothership.SG article was posted on 17 January 2022.
The article created such a huge sensation that our phone froze just from the large number of incoming enquiry notifications on Instagram. It took me an entire week to reply to all interested customers and respond to their enquiries.
We fit as many new customers into classes as we could and placed those that we could not on our waiting list, to make sure we saved their contact details and name.
Tips & Tricks
Having understood the basics of market acquisition & customer retention, I knew that the waiting list could help draw new customers without the need to spend time and money on advertising.
If you’re considering starting a business, start by understanding who your target audience is—their personalities, spending habits, age, way of thinking etc. Once you have understood how they make their financial decisions and what triggers them to spend, shape your business to meet the needs of your target audience so that it stands out from competitors.
Let’s use my business model as an example. Most competitors in this industry mistakenly identify their target audience as the kids. However, from a business standpoint, the appropriate target audience should be the parents who sign their children up for classes.
With this understanding, you can look at their spending habits and shape your business to attract more customers with such spending habits. For instance, if parents prefer small private classes instead of large open groups, then you should start opening up more private classes with discounted rates instead of pushing for large open groups.
Looking Back
Alas, as I have to serve my country, I closed SG.SkateClub officially closed in late February 2023.
As I reflect upon my journey managing SG.SkateClub, we had our fair share of challenges, with internal management miscommunications, disagreements in leadership direction and financial management, and all these problems eventually affected our partnership. Yet, we also had our high moments, like when Mothership featured us and when our business rapidly expanded at its peak.
Truly, SG.SkateClub has been a hell of a ride. One that I’ll remember and learn from.
