UMS STUDENT RUNS FAMILY BUISNESS
By LEE CHUN FAI
Being a university student can takes a lot of experiences and benefits from running a small business. A good example would be a university student from University Malaya Sabah (UMS) gains much of experiences in running his family business in Ipoh. Wei Heng, 22 years old currently taking Bachelor in Marketing, Faculty of Accounting, Economics and Business in UMS. “I really can learn a lot from my family business and this actually is related to my current study which is major in marketing.
Wei Heng helped to run his family business while he is already in primary school. His family’s business sells various types of food such as fried noodles, traditional kuih, fried crackers and biscuits in night markets at different places in Ipoh area. Many of the food are prepared handmade by themselves in his home before sell in the night markets. “My elder brother and sister will help running the business after they have finished their work at evening.” he added. The business had been running for more than 10 years and this business has been supported by many customers and also the residents nearby. The business runs from 7 pm until 10pm three days a week.
He then willingly shared his thoughts and experiences from running his family business in the night market. “First of all, I have learned time management which is very important in running any business.” Wei Heng said. “We have to get the ingredients from the suppliers, cook the food, and set up for the business at the right time to fulfil our customers needs. “he added. Next, Wei Heng also learned soft skills such as cooking skills which can be improved time over time. Practice makes perfect. Moreover, Wei Heng can easily know the price of many ingredients and managed to make the food at reasonable price in order to attract more customers.
“I also have plenty of knowledge in studying marketing course which is related to the business including how to promoting myself, how to become an entrepreneur and how to understand the customer’s behaviour and needs” he then said. At the same time, he also gained plenty of benefits from the business such as earning some pocket money, helping his families and learned the right techniques to run a business.
