International Women’s Day is all about celebrating, honouring, and acknowledging the success, achievements, contributions and encouraging women all over the world to feel connected and be heard.
Celebrating the women in business is a momentous step to recognise the strength and power of a woman’s accomplishments. This path encourages and fosters equality, diversity and inclusion among women.
Ms. Juliana Jahayer, founder and owner of Julie Bakes had overcome a long way before achieving the dream of her life as a business owner. For over twenty years, she was in the logistic industry before being laid off in 2015. Six months into unemployment, she decided to take the risk to open a bakery to continue supporting her family.
As it was a big leap of risk, Juliana wanted her siblings to be part of the business since they are good at making bread. They have seven full-time employees and occasionally part-timers to help out at the bakery. In the beginning, Julie Bakes only sold cupcakes before venturing out of their comfort zone as the trend for cupcakes was no longer in demand. They began experimenting with selling cakes, and through word of mouth, Julie Bakes became known for their fusion cakes such as their onde-onde, durian and putu piring flavours.
Q: Did you face any significant challenges as a female entrepreneur? If so, how did you overcome them?
A: Yes definitely. I actually always lacked self-confidence, I felt inferior when I was with the giants of the players. However, I try to overcome it by talking to friends in the food industry and I also joined The Singapore Malay Chamber of Commerce and Industry so I could connect with others, share my experiences and learn from those who have been in the industry for years.
Q: From one woman to another, what advice would you give to those who are thinking about starting their own business?
A: For me the number one thing is to follow your passion but ensure that you have enough capital to cover the operation cost as it is actually very crucial because when you use your own funds, you create a stronger sense of accountability and motivation since it is directly tied to your efforts of your own financial investment. Another thing is to be on the ground to understand every aspect of your business deeply and once things stabilise, try to delegate responsibility so that you can be free to focus on your growth and start making strategic decisions. Stay grounded and be aware of the day-to-day operation which can help you make decisions as your business evolves. Everyone has their own journey, even the giants started somewhere so keep pushing forward!
Q: Is there a woman who inspires you, be it in business or in your life?
A: My late mum is my biggest inspiration. She used to sell traditional heritage food back in the kampung days to support the family as my late dad passed on when I was a kid. She also brought people together through her cooking and baking where she was able to connect with her customers from all diverse backgrounds which speaks volumes about her talent and warmth. I want to carry on her legacy through my food business and other aspects of my life, honouring her memory by living on those principles that can help me to be confident.
Confidence is empowering
Breaking down barriers, challenging societal norms, and creating changes are just some of the struggles women around the world face. By embracing confidence, it allows more women to speak up, lead the change and also be an inspiration to other women. The confidence in them gives them the strength to advocate for themselves, pursue their passions and own the same equality.
This International Women’s Day theme is #AccelerateAction. At Lalamove, we play an important role in supporting women’s economic empowerment by offering flexible and convenient delivery solutions. This integration allows many women entrepreneurs to run and scale up their businesses effectively, ultimately forging a smooth path towards economic independence for themselves. For instance, our partnership with Julie Bakes enables her to focus on building her business while Lalamove delivers it, which allows her to expand her business further with confidence.
“I’ve been using Lalamove for quite some time since I started in my earlier days. I have my own courier delivery service, but for those urgent or ad hoc deliveries, I would engage Lalamove. So far, the services by Lalamove is good; my customers receive it on time, and the cakes are handled very well,” Juliana shared. With Lalamove's on-demand delivery, Juliana can now fulfill last-minute orders, boosting her business revenue by 30%.
