Going from a “Nobody” to RM 150+ million in 5 years?! | Hui Jing Lee, Co-Founder of Bila-Bila Mart

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Hui Jing’s life reads like a TVB drama.

Her mum was forced to be the sole provider for the family after her dad landed them in bad debt.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, Hui Jing understood the importance of money & joined the work force young - at the below-legal age of 15 - for a mediocre RM4/hour.

It wasn’t easy.

But it kickstarted a series of jobs that saw her go from working as at McDonald’s to The Body Shop to becoming a finalist for the Red Bull Female Driver Search in 2009 (they were offering a cash prize) to becoming an insurance agent (where she learned the joys of passive income) to joining a radio station as a road runner and finally…

Co-founding one of Malaysia’s fastest growing local convenience store chains, Bila-Bila Mart.

Which is on track to hit a whooping RM150+ million in revenue & 100 stores by the end of 2025, with an IPO on the horizon!

Not bad for a Brickfields girl who was once locked up & held ransom due to bad family debts.

If there’s one thing that clearly stands out about Hui Jing’s story, it’s this: Taking risk

During the interview, she spoke of how:

“Throwing everything outta the window (i.e. leaving corporate) sounded like an adventure. I wanted that adventure.

 Because I was just thinking, okay, now I have no commitments. I don't have a family… If I don't do it, if I don't risk it, I don't really see how is the world outside, when am I gonna do it?”

That said, life hasn’t been without its challenges.

Once at a bar, she was told, “Jing,  you talk too much as a female. Can you shut up?”

And also advised to stop working and to “ask your husband to feed you.”

Needless to say, that lit a fire in Hui Jing that led to the founding of Bila-Bila Mart, where she also spoke about:
✨ How Dettol saved ‪@bilabilamart‬ (they opened their first physical store during MCO)
✨ Their first breakthrough (pivoting from the idea of selling hot food → kedai runcit model)
✨ The process for local SMEs getting their items into Bila-Bila Mart
✨ Dealing with chauvinistic men who question Jing’s very young team
✨ Why you are the decision maker of your own fate

Highlights:
0:00 Introduction
0:58 When’s the last time you lied to yourself?
2:35 Going into debt + held for ransom
5:06 You can be poor, but don’t be poor in dignity
5:85 Working at age 15
8:24 Working part-time at McDonald’s, Body Shop, entering motorsports etc.
10:32 Was it all for the money?
13:18 I need to have power
17:12 Always understand the objective
18:47 Examples of leadership
23:48 If I want to write my biography, how do I want my book to be?
25:57 Too much data = analysis paralysis
26:56 Throwing everything out the window for an adventure
30:18 Any regrets?
32:42 Can you shut up? Ask your husband to feed you
34:38 Starting Bila-Bila Mart in 2019
36:30 Why insurance is a cult
39:26 Opening the 1st physical store 2 days before MCO?!
41:42 1st big breakthrough
43:14 Where the real income comes from
44:54 Collaborations / protecting small brands
47:24 Secrets to a successful brand
49:13 Are you their (employee)… mother?
51:43 Team culture
56:54 Facing discrimination
58:04 Turning point for feeling confident
59:27 ‘Balancing’ motherhood
1:02:36 What’s next - going for IPO
1:03:45 How listeners can help

Special thanks to Bila-Bila Mart for sponsoring this episode!


🎙️Show notes/transcript for this episode: https://www.sothisismywhy.com/153

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WHO AM I:
I'm Ling Yah, ex-lawyer turned LinkedIn personal brand strategist & host/producer of the So This Is My Why, where I interview inspiring people about how they found their why, and their blueprint for turning that why into a reality.

I’ve interviewed 150+ Olympians, Michelin-starred chefs, top entrepreneurs, VC founders, Hollywood actresses, and more.

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