Don’t belittle Guac & Go’s diminutive girl-boss; she’ll chew you up and spit you out… after exactly 30 chews cause that’s how many times you should chew your food to make sure they break down easily. #healthyliving
#Healthqueen Charlotte started the healthy eating cafe, inspired by superfoods and the power of the avocado, with her business partner when she was only 21.
Three years down the road, we speak to the powerhouse boss of the humble restaurant to learn more about her trials, tribulations and triumphs of starting her own business.
How Did The Idea For Guac & Go Come About?
It was my partner’s idea to start a healthy eating café. At first, we toyed around with the idea and tried to understand the gaps in the market: why weren’t there more healthy food places in Singapore that sold wholesome foods?
At that time, there were very few healthy eating options. We found that a lot of these restaurants served unappetising food that was not something that you would want to eat every day.
Looking at the booming healthy eating industry in the USA and Australia, we took a lot of inspiration from Chipotle in America as we shifted our focus from just salads to superfoods such as lentils, sweet potato, quinoa, chia seeds, salmon, and naturally, avocado.
The theme of our restaurant, guacamole, is super versatile for health eating. You can add things in it, mix it around, throw it in dishes, and still make something delicious. We felt that this fulfilled the gaps we found in the market in terms of healthy options and tasty superfoods.
Tip #1: Analyse your market and identify their needs! The best business offers something new and different to fill gaps in the market.
What Kind Of Issues Did You Face When Starting The Business?
As my partner and I totally did not have any F&B background, we faced issues with pretty much everything you could think of! We had to pick up everything from scratch. Even simple things like finding ingredients, sourcing for suppliers, or even choosing a location for the shop was a challenge.
I feel that in Singapore our education system doesn’t really equip you for these experiences. What my partner and I studied in school didn’t really relate or translate to the business world.
In school, and even with your family, starting a business is not really something that people encourage you to do. There’s still a very traditional mindset that you have to go to university, graduate, then get out of school to work for someone else. The idea of being your own boss is not something that’s promoted.
Tip #2: Social norms may sway you from your intended path, but stick true to it if it’s something you believe in.
Would Starting Your Own Business Be Something That You Would Recommend Others To Venture Into?
If you can find your niche, then have full confidence in yourself and go for it. However, if it’s constantly giving you a ton of worries and stress, you might be more comfortable gaining some working experience in another job before you get into starting your own business.
It takes a certain personality to run your own business. For example, the learning curve is extremely steep and you have to be a proactive learner.
If you can identify these personality drawbacks, try to find a business partner that complements your bad habits and works well with you.
Tip #3: Beware the steep learning curve; be prepared to know nothing at all but are expected to know everything.
What Personality Traits Would You Say Are Beneficial For Starting Your Own Business?
I would say I’m quite a gung ho person and I like challenges, but this did disadvantage me as I tend to throw myself into the project and ‘do first, think later’. It can be beneficial, but it also made me worry a lot.
It also took me a long time before I was able to take a step back and look at things from a different perspective. Working in the shop day in day out, all you see is the effort you’re putting in but you tend to neglect the bigger picture. As a result, when people gave me feedback, I even got defensive because I couldn’t see what they were seeing!
One of the biggest things I have learnt to do is to take a huge step back, get out of the kitchen and actually try to see things from the bigger perspective to improve the business.
Tip #4: Don’t neglect the bigger picture. Plan things out to the best of your abilities and even then, always be prepared for surprises!
Are There Any Personal Pieces Of Advice You’ve Kept With You During Your Time With Guac & Go?
I think the biggest piece of advice I can give to someone who wants to start a business is this: Don’t listen to advice!
When I first started, literally everyone had advice for me. From my mother’s friends to my friends’ mothers. At first, I was polite and I tried to consider all the advice given. Then I realised that one person’s advice can completely contradict another’s! This can really stress you out.
To avoid this, you really have to know what you want and trust that you know what’s best for the business because you’re the owner. I definitely had to grow a whole new layer of skin to be in this industry and this experience has boosted my confidence levels as well.
Tip #5: Listen to others’ advice but at the end of the day, remember to listen to yourself.
What Advice Do You Have For Other #girlbosses?
There’s definitely a tangible difference in the way women and men are treated in the business realm.
When the business first started, suppliers would call my business partner thinking he was the one in charge when I was actually the one running the show. Sometimes they think that men know better when it comes to stuff like electricals, repairs, plumbing.
Prove them wrong! Surround yourself with other women or girl bosses that you respect. It’s not easy doing it on your own, but my female friends who have supported me or run their own businesses as well are a huge source of inspiration for me. They motivate me with the belief that women can do anything men can, and sometimes even better.
Tip #6: Draw power, inspiration, and confidence from people who inspire you. If they doubt you, prove them wrong!
Any Last Pieces Of Advice?
There’s a story that stuck with me for a long time about the Lee Wee & Brothers nasi lemak business. When they first started the business, they had no formal business training or experience. But one brother told the other, “If we don’t see a return customer after one month, we’re going to close the shop”.
Eventually, as they started seeing their first, second, third return customers, they knew that they were doing something right.
This has kept me encouraged all this time. It is very motivating to see loyal or repeat customers visit our shop, and even more so when they bring friends or recommend it to others. Now, a large portion of our customers are regulars!
Tip #7: Look out for small signs of encouraging progress, these mean the world when you’re starting out.
Guac & Go opens Monday-Friday, 8am-8pm.
32 Maxwell Road #01-08
Singapore 069115
