‘Listening to sound advice can help turn business around’
those wanting to generate millions of ringgit in sales should consider listening to advice and apply it well, says an entrepreneur.
that was what helped durian Crepe Rabi founder Robiatul Adawiah Ibrahim, 37, turn her struggling dessert venture into a highly lucrative business.
And she does have the track record to back it up, having raked in millions of ringgit in crepe sales.
“there was a time when I wanted to give up, especially when I had just started.
“At that time, I was still working as a kindergarten teacher earning RM900 a month. I accepted orders for various types of dishes.
“But I recalled the advice given by the trainer of an online class I joined, to not give up.
“It really was tiring as there were quite a lot of orders, but I persevered when I thought of providing a comfortable life for my children and family.
“thankfully, things went smoothly for my business,” she shared with Bernama.
Robiatul had a tough start as a food entrepreneur when
she started selling an array of dishes including roast chicken, pasta and lunch sets out of a rented home in Kampung sungai Penchala, Petaling Jaya in selangor, from 2015 to 2017.
In 2018, she quit her teaching job to focus on the business.
In time, she managed to generate RM20,000 in annual sales.
In 2018, her durian crepes
went viral, resulting in a rise in demand for her desserts and sales of over 100 packs a day.
It also helped that she applied what she had learned in various entrepreneurial classes.
she built a network of agents to market her crepes and reach a wider customer base.
With 10 agents in her network, her sales reached
RM150,000 a year.
Robiatul’s business expansion included renting a house in Mutiara damansara, Petaling Jaya, for her operations centre and upping production to 20,000 packs a month, resulting in sales hitting Rm1.3mil in 2019.
she even entered into a contract with a d24 durian supplier to ensure a steady supply of fresh fruit for her crepes.
Customer demand for her durian crepe kept on rising, especially during the Covid-19 movement control order, hitting a high of over Rm4mil in sales in 2021.
In recognition of her success, Robiatul was chosen as the Federal territories Islamic Religious Council’s (MAIWP) entrepreneur Icon in 2023.