Continuing her family's legacy: 26-year-old woman taking over parents' hawker business after their retirement

Many youth straight out of polytechnic would aim to go to university or find a corporate job to build up their resume.

But 26-year-old Hweeyi dreamed of different things—she wanted to be a hawker. 

Hweeyi is the daughter of Ngoh Jook Guan and Ivy Lim, the owners of Botak Porridge. 

After finishing her polytechnic education, she helped her parents full-time at the stall for a year. 

"I've always wanted to take over my parents' business after graduating from polytechnic at 20 years old," she told AsiaOne. 

However, her parents had different plans for her. 

"They told me to pursue my own dreams and career, and work for what I really want for these few years," Hweeyi said.

"If taking over the business is still what I want after five years, I can come back."

And five years later, that's exactly what she did. 

In between that period, she did try other things like signing up to be a police officer—another dream she's had since young. 

"It was an amazing journey," said Hweeyi, who resigned from the job earlier in May. 

But at the end of the day, her heart still lies with the hawker scene. 

Taking over the family business 

For now, Hweeyi is working full-time with her parents till they retire.

After which, she will fully take over Botak Porridge, which has two outlets in Tampines and Punggol. 

Hweeyi's parents opened their first outlet in November 2017, while the One Punggol Community Centre began operations in November 2022. 

She will be doing so with her 27-year-old cousin, and they are also looking to hire other youngsters like themselves to expand the team. 

"The children in our family have grown up and we are interested in taking over the business. This will allow our elders to slowly move towards retirement, towards a senior advisor and mentor role," said Hweeyi. 

As for her parents' plans after retirement, Hweeyi shared that her mum will be travelling. 

"Before she set foot in this hawker business with my dad, she was a travel agent at 21 years old," Hwee Yi revealed, adding that her mum has been passionate about travelling and exploring the world since a young age. 

"For her, since she still has the energy, and now, the time, she would love to continue her journey of exploring the world. She would also like to rekindle her friendship with the mountaineering friends she made in the past." 

As for Hweeyi's dad, he will still be helping out with Botak Porridge but on a part-time basis. 

"He is still very invested in the business, especially our first stall at Our Tampines Hub. His hours would be shortened but he will still head down to interact with his customer-turned-friends and to ensure quality in the stall as well. He would be our main mentor."

The struggles of being a hawker 

While becoming a hawker is something that Hweeyi has wanted to do for a really long time, she doesn't deny that it isn't an easy job. 

She told us that one challenge is striking a balance between providing affordable options to customers, all while making a profit, and meeting their staff's salary expectations. 

"After Covid-19, we saw an increase of 30 per cent in costs, mainly contributed by the increase in salary of our staff, followed by rising costs from suppliers," revealed Hweeyi. 

@hawkergirl98 Daughter duties ? #hawker #hawkergirl #onlychild #bobian #sos ♬ girls like me don't cry (sped up) - thuy

Another struggle is the physically taxing nature of the job. 

"Long hours and the non-air con environment are a given struggle for every hawker. But to us, it is all worth it when our customers appreciate our craft and our efforts," she told us.

The final factor is the emotional aspect of working in F&B. 

"To me, the real struggle is when people take advantage or look down on us. When our efforts are not appreciated, that hurts me the most," shared Hweeyi. 

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