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Despite a slow start and failed attempts at marketing, the owner of a small beverage shop in Serangoon is not giving up.<\/p>\n
In an interview with BestFoody posted to Instagram on Sunday (Oct 25), Pradeep Pannirselvam, who owns coconut shake shop Coco Fwens, shared that he had spent over $6,000 on food bloggers and Telegram groups to advertise his business, yet it amounted to nearly nothing.<\/p>\n
The store opened seven months ago in March.<\/p>\n
When business wasn’t brisk, with some days seeing only four cups sold, Pradeep decided to engage food bloggers to help promote his shop.<\/p>\n
He paid over $3,000 but gained no traction from the publicity.<\/p>\n
Later, he paid around $3,000 for a single promotional post on a Telegram group.<\/p>\n
There was no traction from that marketing effort either.<\/p>\n
“Before signing up, they showed impressive results and promised good exposure. But after spending the money, the response was almost zero,” read the caption accompanying the post.<\/p>\n
“Honestly, it hurts. For a small business like ours, $6,000 is a lot of money. That money could have helped us survive a little longer.”<\/p>\n
Pradeep also revealed that since opening the shop, he hasn’t paid himself any salary.<\/p>\n
As for the $6,000 that went down the drain, the owner feels that at the end of the day, he doesn’t blame anyone.<\/p>\n
“Running a business is all about trial and error. If you never try, you will never know. You need perseverance. Even when there’s no business, we don’t take a day off. We still open the shop,” he said.<\/p>\n
“No off days. I just want to keep the business alive and survive.”<\/p>\n