by Aude
Following the launch of their website early 2018, Baby Basics has just opened its first ever store on Queen’s Road Central and I’ve decided to hear more about it from Arati, who co-founder Baby Basics with her sister Anu. You know we love a good entrepreneurial story and even more when it’s a company founded by a girl but it was the first time I was hearing about two sisters founding a company together in Hong Kong and of course I had to know more about it!
I have been working in the baby retail field for quite a long time and have been the manager of the central branch for Bumps 2 Babes for the past 15 years before the company closed in March this year. After this happened my sister and I started talking about our future prospects, we wanted to look after our own company and didn’t want to let our experience and expertise go to waste. That is where Baby Basics started, as an idea. Together we began building this idea into something and pitched our expertise, team work and business concept to potential investors. Fortunately, we were able to find a group of investors, whom we call our ‘Angel Investors’, who believed in our team and agreed to invest.
We also wanted to do this so we could give our ex-colleagues from Bumps 2 Babes employment opportunities, it is incredible working with a team that are all doing something that they love. We have rehired as many ex-colleagues as possible and so far are a team of 10 with plans to expand in the future.
My sister, Anuradha Limbu Chettri, had spearheaded the Bumps 2 Babes’ website and successfully executed the launch of this just before the closure of the business. She used this experience to begin building our very own website so we first started online. The vision had always been however to have both online and a physical store for customers to come and visit. This combination allows convenience for our customers but also physical accessibility.
What do you find the most challenging about being an entrepreneur in Hong Kong? Whether in Hong Kong or elsewhere, the most challenging issue for any entrepreneur is to convince people that your business concept is viable and a great idea. We faced this too. I am however grateful to be in a city which is so positive for people to start their own business, Hong Kong has a really efficient government. Despite starting from ground zero, we have been able to build this business and to get to where we are now.
And what do you find the most rewarding?
This is a very kind city and the people here are very accepting and supporting. We try to make every customer experience special so when customers share positive feedback on the store and their time there, that is the most rewarding feeling.
We work as a great team. I believe we work so well together as we have divided our work according to out areas of expertise. Anu looks after the online retail side of the business as well as store admin work, I look after the sales and daily operations. We make sure to consult with one another as well as our staff members when making big decisions, we really are all one big happy family running a business by doing something that we love.
What does a day in your life look like those days?
I am spiritually religious so my day starts with meditation and Sun Salutation yoga. I then get ready and head to work feeling calm and ready to take on the day. Once I get to work my days starts with holding a team briefing to run through daily operations and any questions the team may have. After this I go through emails, online orders and customer enquiries, we work hard to ensure all customers have a welcome and positive experience with us so this is a really important part of my day. I then spend most of my time on the store floor helping to serve walk in customers.
What are your fav places for:
A lunch with friends: Himalaya Restaurant in Wanchai as they have great buffet spread for lunch
A fancy dinner: I love Linguini Fini’s pasta dishes
A family brunch: Pizza Max Bistro in Jordan
A night out without the kids: Hard Rock Café as I love listening to live music
A weekend getaway: Macao, staying at The Venetian
A long family holiday: back home in Kathmandu, Nepal
Baby Basics
Unit 01-03, 7/F, Lansing House, 41-47 Queen's Road - Central