Memoirs of an Ice-Cream Lady (Part 14)
By Emily Ho
Editor’s Note: The author runs an ice-cream parlor on Hong Kong’s Lamma Island. When time allows, she draws caricatures and writes. The following are semi-autobiographical anecdotes blending fact and fiction.
The Four P’s
People who study business must learn about the four P-words in marketing mix – product, price, place and promotion. For Chinese people, three more apply (all powers) – manpower (an abundant headcount), money power (adequate funding) and material power (proper equipment).
With limited “powers” in all three categories, Emily needed to cling to a fourth power – her willpower (determination to succeed). When friends or even family members tried to persuade her to quit, she chose to persist.
As with most new businesses, the first few years proved unrewarding considering the time, money and energy that Emily invested. But giving up too soon wasn’t an option. She wanted to accomplish so many things. At least, she needed a chance to learn if her ideas worked.
In Emily’s mind, running a business involves more than money. (She could have earned much more money by continuing to work for others.) It’s also a process of discovery and of tackling various situations. Despite knowing this, she made many mistakes.
Wrong Targets
After failed tries at popcorn and hotdog sales, Emily started to think of offering regular ice cream. Earlier, she felt reluctant to do this because the profit margin was very low compared to the high-quality ice cream she sold.
Yet weekday business relied heavily on the local market, and local people bought much more regular ice cream than the premium varieties she sold. Wasn’t it worth trying, instead of just serving a few tourists on quiet weekdays? The shop still had some space for more merchandise.
So Emily ordered regular ice cream from a local agent and put it in the shop’s most remote corner to prevent tourists from noticing. Well, it did draw some local customers, but surprisingly, some tourists also preferred the cheap ice cream. After buying just one cone, they’d linger for more than half an hour at one of the shop’s two tables.
Enough of that, Emily thought. Without delay, she removed all the regular ice cream from her freezers.
Coming soon:
Serious Shivers in a Money Chill
(more Memoirs of an Ice-Cream Lady)
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