Mention the name Diana Gale within our Singapore Mom Bloggers community and everyone will almost immediately associate her as the baking guru! Apart from baking, she is also a regular chef at home! From Chinese, to Korean to western and Italian dishes, she is a chef in her own rights! But apart from her talent in cooking and baking, she is also a capable home business owner - that not everyone may be aware about! Read on to find out more about Diana (seen here in the photo with her husband) in my on-going series interviewing our local entrepreneurial moms.
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Tell us a bit more about yourself.
I am a
Work-At-Home-Mom with 2 kids - Aden
(3.5yo) and Jadelyn (1yo). After leaving the teaching profession, I became a
full-time tutor. About 8 years ago, my husband and I set up a foreign student
services business and a homestay. I also own a tutor agency, and continue to
tutor part-time. In addition to that, a year ago, we set up Babyplace, an
online store that sells clothes and accessories for kids from newborns to the
ages of seven.
You are indeed a busy mom! Let's talk about Babyplace! When and how did Babyplace came about?
Babyplace
started because I became so exasperated with buying clothes online for my son.
There were constant delays with couriers not turning up, poor communication on
the seller's part and having to wait what seemed like forever for my items to
turn up. I thought to myself, "Surely I can do better than that!" At
Babyplace, we pride ourselves on the fact that any queries are very quickly
attended to, and once we have received payments for any purchases, the items
are shipped out either on the same day, or at the latest the next working day.
Who or what influenced the decision to start up this business?
Talking to many
of my friends who also had children around the time that I did, I discovered
that I was not alone in feeling that sellers can do a better job. In addition,
kids grow at such a rapid pace from the time they were born till they are about
10, so we found that we had to constantly source for new clothes, especially
loads of inexpensive home-wear and pyjamas
since they get soiled so quickly. It was then that I decided to go for it, and
try my hand at retail.
What were the challenges while setting up Babyplace?
The biggest
challenges were definitely sourcing for suppliers who were reliable. There are
dishonest suppliers who would ship products of inferior quality and we had to build
good relationships with the suppliers that we could trust. The other
problem was setting up the website - neither my husband nor I had any
experience setting up online stores and he had to study and learn through trial
and error for months before the shop was finally ready!
How do you decide what you want to bring in that may appeal to the masses?
Apart from sourcing diligently online, I also talk to my friends and customers to find out what they like. In addition, I study new trends from popular brands to learn what may be popular for the upcoming seasons. Of course, we do not stock up on Winter wear since it is not necessary in Singapore. So we make sure we have enough new items from the Spring/Summer collections so there are always choices one can make from the shop.
What is the most popular category in your shop?
The most popular
items are definitely the pyjamas and home-wear. We have a large selection of
these and all our clothing are made of 100% cotton and are durable so they keep
their shapes even after many rounds of washing. We also make sure that the
clothes we sell are suitable for the weather in Singapore. We also have a good
collection of authentic branded wear at a fraction of the cost in retail shops.
They are also very popular.
Share with us your other passions!
I love to cook and to bake, so I blog about my cooking and baking experiments on my blog - thedomesticgoddesswannabe.com. I believe that we always have time to cook/bake, and many dishes can be made using very easy cooking techniques. I guess what I am trying to do is to dispel the myth that cooking/baking is difficult and intimidating and hopefully, inspire more people to try their hand at making something for their families.
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Support Diana's online business for kids' clothing!
And visit her blog for cooking and baking inspiration too!
Here is one of Diana's favouritest recipe that you can try!
View previous interviews with other mumpreneurs HERE
thanks for sharing about Diana! And yes! the mention of her name link me to her good food that she bakes and cooks Yumz!!
ReplyDeleteWhen you mention Diana Gale, I think of the lovely cakes she bakes. :-) My favourite recipe has to be the one bowl chocolate brownie - yum, yum!
ReplyDeleteWhat a talented and hardworking Mum...kudos to Diana! :)
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