Relishing The Moment

What brings you to the CBD today?
I’m about to go study with my friends at the CapitaSpring rooftop area. It’s a really nice space!

I’m in pre-university now at an Islamic school, doing the International Baccalaureate (IB) Diploma programme, so that’s what I’m studying for. It’s bearable so far, but because we’re studying two different curriculums—Islamic subjects and IB subjects—it can be quite hard to juggle sometimes.

What are your plans for the future after IB?
I really hope to get into my dream university, NUS, to major in Economics! But after that, I hope to start my own café in the future with my friends.

Right now, I run a home-based stuffed brownies business, @brownieshbites, on the side, where I sell brownies stuffed with Nutella, marshmallows, Speculoos, and more.

Tell us more about this business of yours. When did you start, and what inspired you to do it?
I actually started it back in 2019, because in IB, we need laptops, so I started selling brownies to raise funds for a MacBook.

Later on, baking really grew on me, and it’s since become my passion. I run the business quite casually on my own on the weekends or school holidays. Sometimes when I’m busy, I’ll get my mother to help me cut the brownie pieces up.

What’s the toughest part about running your own business, and what’s the most fulfilling part?
The hardest part is that it’s a one-man operation, and since I’m a student, my busy school schedule makes this even tougher.

That said, the flexibility is one of the things I value most about running my business, because I can bake and take in orders at my own time and target. The most satisfying part is looking at the summary of invoices for the month and thinking “Wow, I actually managed to fulfil that many orders!”

I also love getting to experience everything that comes with running a business, like baking, customer service, admin tasks, and so on.

What’s one thing you’ve learnt about yourself through running your business?
One thing I’ve learnt is that I’m always looking for new ways to grow, accomplish more, and serve my customers better. I always feel so happy when I receive feedback from customers telling me how they love my new menu or flavours, or even the packaging of my brownies!

What’s the craziest thing you’ve baked?
Ooh, I think it would have to be the chocolate-rice-stuffed red velvet s’mores brownie. No doubt, it tasted superb, but my kitchen was in a mess! I spent the whole day baking and then cleaning up (laughs). Definitely wouldn’t do that again!

What are some other things you enjoy doing outside of baking?
I really love reading books—e-books specifically. I can start and finish a new book in just one day if it’s an e-book. In fact, I’ve had my eye on the Kindle for the longest time!

I mostly read fiction novels, but the book I’m currently reading is How To Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie. It’s about social networking, and I would really recommend it because it’s helped me with my social and communication skills.

Apart from that, I also spend my free time thinking about how I can be rich (laughs).

What’s one thing most people don’t know about you?
I don’t know how to use Facebook (laughs).