We had the wonderful opportunity to meet with the CEO of Eu Yan Sang this week. Mr. Boey sat down with us for breakfast on Friday morning and gave us many useful insights about planning our business. With his wealth of knowledge, he prompted us to dive deeper into different perspectives, ultimately leading us on the right track to determine our business directions.
Points that were raised:
- Who are the exact customers we are targeting? From there, focus on the problems that they have.
- How are we planning to position our company? Are we a TCM company or a beauty and cosmetics company? This is a pivotal decision to make that will determine the next course of action. Consider who you are up against for both routes. This is likely the major fork in the road as Mr. Boey stated.
- Western medicine typically solves one problem but creates another.
- TCM takes a preventative approach and aims to address the root cause of ailments and body imbalances
- What is the key message of our brand? Who, what, and how do we want to help?
- In terms of building a sustainable business consider all factors: customer profile, consumer behaviors, lifestyle choices, values/beliefs, on-going trends, and even cultural aspects, East versus the West.
- Are we trying to change consumer beliefs? Or are we trying to change behavior? These are the critical points to consider because both tasks require very different kinds of approaches.
All in all, I felt that our meeting with Mr. Boey was rather enlightening. It has certainly encouraged my partner and me to take a step back and consider all possible areas of weaknesses during our ideation phase. While there is still lots to be learned, meetings with various experts in the industry have definitely guided us toward laying better foundations for our business idea. I am looking forward to more fruitful meetings.
