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Mathew Wong, owner Tea and milk, initially struggled to fulfill high costs and customer demands as he built his bubble tea business in New York. But by educating his customers and providing high-quality products, he transformed a single store right into a renowned values-based brand.
The original 10-by-10-foot store space at a Long Island flea market has given technique to three everlasting locations throughout New York City, including storefronts in Chelsea Market, Brooklyn and Astoria. During that point, Mathew built a centralized sandwich kitchen, an event catering service, and an enormous community of boba lovers.
One of the most important keys to Tea and Milk’s success is its give attention to integrity. Mathew and his business partners travel to Asia to source and learn more about their ingredients, visiting tea plantations to learn all the pieces from the tea brewing and production process to ceremonies celebrating the traditional drink’s cultural role. Mathew then uses his travel experiences to coach his customers in regards to the products in order that they be ok with their purchases.
Although Mathew and his team imagine within the importance of well-sourced ingredients, the appropriate tea leaves will be quite expensive and so they have needed to learn to address rising commodity costs.
Mathew reads all of Tea and Milk’s financial statements to maintain up with margins. His accounting background taught him that while it may possibly be overwhelming to face daunting numbers head-on, it is vital to grasp how your online business is performing so you possibly can make the mandatory changes.
“[If] you are reading A [profit and loss statement] and it scares you, chances are you’re not doing something you should be doing, like marketing, educating customers, training staff,” Mathew said. “To keep going, you need to have standard operating procedures . There’s no other way.”
When it involves customer education, considered one of Tea and Milk’s biggest obstacles is that customers are sometimes not accustomed to the taste of premium ingredients, so the more they know in regards to the product, the more likely they’re to be satisfied with their purchase. This also involves learning about customer preferences.
“We want to [customers] trust the brand,” Mathew said. “And so [when you] order something you don’t love, get something else you want. Then you construct trust in that person and perhaps eventually [they’ll] Try again.”
Despite the challenges of using authentic ingredients, Mathew sees his products as a worthwhile investment. He deliberately spread his stores across town to fill gaps in bubble tea offerings in several New York City neighborhoods.
“We visit neighborhoods that we think are yearning for a certain type of brand. We saw Bay Ridge (Brooklyn), we saw what was missing and we wanted to go there and be a brand that could offer something different.”
It encourages customers to support local businesses of their area nonetheless they’ll. If you possibly can’t spend money at an area place you want, writing a review or recommending your pals visit it may possibly have an enduring impact.
“If you want the company to survive, you have to help in some way,” Mathew said.
Mathew strongly believes in the facility of valuing and interesting with customer feedback. While critical reviews can hurt, he tries to answer as many individuals as possible to point out that he cares about his customers by returning comments in a timely manner while giving himself time to chill down if he needs it.
He also encourages business owners to achieve out to friends and partners for support. He founded Tea and Milk with two friends and now runs the corporate together with his co-owner and CEO. Mathew finds it invaluable to have individuals with whom he can brainstorm latest ideas and enhancements. He also built a network of other small business owners to debate business challenges and potential collaborations.
“It’s always possible that people will disagree. But ultimately you have to be very open to having these conversations,” Mathew said. “People who want to be in your ecosystem will always be there.”
In addition to the importance of authentic ingredients and products, Tea and Milk believes in:
- Stay on top of your schedule and funds. While it may possibly be stressful, taking a look at the larger picture and being proactive can make it easier to overcome unexpected challenges.
- Relying on the support of other entrepreneurs. It’s necessary to seek out and have the appropriate people around you as you concentrate on how one can grow and improve.
- Keep your eye on the prize. Starting a brand new initiative will all the time encounter obstacles, so it is vital to set clear goals and stay true to them.
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