[SINGAPORE] Bernadette Giam, who runs food and beverage (F&B) group Creative Eateries with her sister, had her first taste of entrepreneurship in primary school.
As a Brownie – a younger version of Girl Guides – Giam sold a record number of Girl Guides cookies. Alongside other “rigorous assessments”, this contributed to her becoming her school’s first chief commissioner for Brownies.
“We were featured in the newspaper, holding up our certs, and I was also a flag raiser as a result,” Giam said. “So for a year, I was raising the flag and feeling a lot of pride.”
This formative experience may have contributed to her “nationalistic pride”, she said.
The 38-year-old mother of two was introduced on Apr 13 as a People’s Action Party (PAP) candidate for Workers’ Party (WP)-held Sengkang GRC.
Giam began volunteering for the PAP after the 2020 General Election, in which the WP won Sengkang GRC for the first time. She became chairperson of PAP Sengkang East branch this January.
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Taking on the opposition
Volunteering in an opposition-held ward is “undoubtedly a challenge”, she said.
“But it is also an incredible opportunity to step up and represent the voices of residents who may feel underserved,” she told The Business Times. “It is about getting to know the ground, problems and all, and bring new capabilities, fresh perspectives and solutions to fix those issues.”
Asked why she decided to run for election, she said her heart “has always been in serving”. Many Sengkang residents are around her age, and have young children and elderly parents to support, she added.
“It sparked my interest to be able to use all the skills that I had amassed over my 13 years, being a F&B business leader – to be able to harness that in order to meet the needs of the residents.”
Working in F&B often means one has to get their hands “very dirty”, she said. She has also dealt with many service providers – including plumbers, pest control and electrical licensing contractors – and managed a very varied workforce.
“The work of a branch chairperson and potentially a Member of Parliament is also to have a very diverse understanding of knowledge, demographics and to be able to be very effective in terms of diagnosing the problem and executing the solution.”
Joining the family business
As a child who loved animals, Giam wanted to be a vet. When that did not pan out, she chose to read English literature at the National University of Singapore, seeing herself as a “quintessential liberal arts student”.
Her first job was at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, fuelled by “a sense of patriotism” and having studied French as a third language.
But over two years in, she saw that her father and Creative Eateries founder Anthony Wong was “facing quite a lot of disruptions” with the business. Small and medium-sized enterprises were having trouble going digital, even with government support, she said.
Digitalisation was thus her “first order of business” when she joined Creative Eateries in July 2011. It took four to five years to digitise “every practical touchpoint within the business”.
She was surprised by “how challenging it is to do this on your own” – but also that neighbours or competitors can become close allies, she added, crediting those who helped her along the way.
Challenges in F&B
One of the biggest challenges for the F&B industry is that well-travelled Singaporeans are familiar with overseas dining trends and cuisine, she said. “Coming back to Singapore, they may not patronise as much because they are maybe even saving for their next trip overseas.”
Creative Eateries’ strategy is to focus on its unique selling point and the value it can bring to customers, she added. “It’s a lot about creating very memorable dining experiences.”
“Even though manpower is very challenging to manage… we do spend a lot of time advocating (to) our employees that service is key.”
Like other services industries, F&B has a 35 per cent cap on the share of foreign workers in its workforce. Asked if this is sustainable given a lack of local workers, Giam said “a more specific sectoral approach” is worth exploring to “help some sectors remain competitive”.
The government is doing a good job in attracting high-value industries that provide good job opportunities to Singaporeans, she said. “However, at the same time, it would definitely mean that our local workforce that will work in the services sector in the future may dwindle further.”
Her advice for aspiring entrepreneurs: reach out to successful founders and join networks. Giam herself is involved in several networks, including the Singapore Women Entrepreneurs Network under the Singapore Business Federation, and considers them important for moral support.
Helping others like herself
In particular, women entrepreneurs may struggle with self-perceptions and limit themselves unknowingly, she said. “Being able to see that another woman within your circle has actually overcome a very difficult period in her life… it is very empowering.”
If elected, she hopes to speak up for women entrepreneurs and businesses, as well as working parents.
As for her business, she has identified “high-potential individuals” to shadow her, and is getting her team to take on more leadership positions.
“I do recognise that I’m spreading my resources around in order to care for the Sengkang community as well, but it fulfils me,” she said.
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