Our Experience

Over the years, the Heritage Business Foundation has accumulated diverse experience working together with heritage establishments on a wide range of matters. Much of our work draws from a blend of different disciplines and expertise to craft bespoke solutions. Here you will find a curated selection of our past work.

NETWORKING, CHRONICLING & CONSULTING

Showcasing Our Tradespeople

THE PROBLEM

A seasoned professional photographer wanted to showcase Singapore’s vanishing heritage crafts, trades, and tradespeople for her latest project. She wished to share Singapore’s intangible cultural heritage and traditions with the world through her photography, having previously created books and exhibitions featuring similar subjects in other countries. But as she had come to Singapore only just recently, she was not familiar with the local culture or traditional crafts, nor was she acquainted with the tradespeople she wanted to feature.

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THE SOLUTION

The Foundation introduced the photographer to several heritage businesses and tradespeople in Singapore, and acted as an intermediary between her and these businesses. We guided the photographer on local customs and ethnic practices so as to foster a respectful cultural exchange, and enabled effective communication by facilitating meetings, performing oral history transcriptions, and providing translation services during discussions.

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THE SOLUTION

With our help, the photographer was able to reach out to a wider pool of heritage businesses than she originally expected; these businesses, in turn, benefitted from the increased publicity of their traditional trades. The Foundation also aided the photographer in garnering greater support and awareness for her project by developing partnerships with the government and other heritage sector organisations. We advised her on building and deepening those relationships, and provided guidance in the planning of museum exhibitions for her project. This institutional support allows the photographer to showcase her art – which depicts our traditions – to an expansive audience, thereby promoting both her work and our own cultural heritage.

THE SOLUTION

By breaking down cultural and language barriers, the Foundation strives to increase the accessibility and visibility of our heritage to both domestic and international audiences. We hope that, by encouraging interactions with our tradespeople and by enabling others to work in the heritage space, we can create new opportunities to chronicle heritage trades and ultimately increase their prominence in our community.

CONSULTING & NETWORKING

Supporting the Heritage of Kueh

THE PROBLEM

A team of university students embarked on a project to promote the visibility of kueh – bite-sized snacks or desserts traditionally eaten in Singapore and several other countries. They had provisional plans to organise three interventions: hold a workshop to introduce and educate new audiences about the origins of kueh, create social media presence to celebrate their cultural history and boost interest, and launch a website to catalogue information on these delicacies. While the students had good intentions in wanting to create awareness on the heritage dessert, they were challenged by a tight schedule, limited budget, and had difficulty moving their ideas from concept to execution.

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THE SOLUTION

The Foundation provided advisory support to the students – first by assessing the feasibility and likely effectiveness of the different interventions they were planning, followed by providing constructive feedback. The challenges of holding a physical workshop during pandemic restrictions were also explored, along with suggested adjustments to optimise the event’s viability. Additionally, we helped the students identify their intended target audience with reference to their desired outcomes, and suggested refinements to each intervention to better connect with their selected audience.

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THE SOLUTION

Given the potential synergy between this project and the Foundation’s work, we offered a range of additional support, such as funding, events management for their activities, and collaboration on their website and social media outreach. The Foundation also offered to connect the students to potential partners from both private and public sectors that might support their project, including businesses that specialise in making traditional kueh. By supporting youth-driven ground-up projects, the Foundation aspires to create a more robust ecosystem of initiatives for our heritage businesses, and to nurture the next generation of heritage champions.

CONSULTING, TRAINING & RESEARCH

Aiding a Heritage Business in Rental Negotiations

THE PROBLEM

A dispute had arisen between a heritage business and their landlord over the business’s eligibility for additional rental relief under a new government policy. The business owners were unaware of the policy’s requirements, and so could not produce the documentation necessary to show the landlord their eligibility. At the same time, the landlord was pressing the business to sign documents waiving any claim for additional relief.

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THE SOLUTION

The Foundation guided the heritage business through the new policy, and navigated through the process with them. Through our discussions, we discovered gaps in the business’s bookkeeping processes. Sales were recorded in handwriting on scraps of paper, and were tabulated by hand at irregular intervals. This led to missing data and occasional calculation errors, and made it difficult to determine whether the business was eligible for additional rental relief under the new policy. As such, the Foundation assisted the business owners in preparing a fresh set of comprehensive financial statements. We also helped the owners implement more robust bookkeeping practices internally, so that the business would be able to keep more thorough records in the future.

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THE SOLUTION

The newly-generated financial statements made it evident that the business had indeed suffered a marked shortfall in gross income in recent months, thus qualifying them for additional rental relief. The Foundation negotiated with the landlord using the new supporting documents and secured a favourable outcome, thus helping the business lower their overheads and survive a harrowing pandemic.

MARKETING, TRAINING & CHRONICLING

Helping a Heritage Business Engage with Customers Better

THE PROBLEM

A heritage business lacked a strategy for generating sales, and depended on prospective customers approaching them to ask about product range, production process, and pricing, as well as for photos of their products. Their sales team had not been trained, so each salesperson answered customer queries slightly differently, which sometimes led to confusion for customers. The lack of an efficient sales and marketing strategy meant that engaging with prospective customers was time-consuming and inefficient.

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THE SOLUTION

The Foundation developed a sales kit to help the heritage business engage with prospective customers more efficiently. We compiled the business’s entire range of over fifty products, and organised them into various categories. This process allowed the business to streamline their range, as we discovered some redundancies in their offerings which could be eliminated. The Foundation then coordinated with a photographer to take photos for the product catalogue and other marketing materials, and also to chronicle the business’s traditional techniques. Detailed product descriptions were also drafted to accompany the photos and to furnish customers with more information. Finally, we trained the staff to use the sales kit as their primary reference, thus ensuring consistency when interacting with customers and giving them greater confidence.

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THE SOLUTION

By providing the business with their first-ever sales kit and training their staff, the Foundation created a more professional image for the business, and helped them attract, engage with, and retain customers more effectively.

NETWORKING & CONSULTING

Sourcing New Premises for a Heritage Business

THE PROBLEM

The landlord of a heritage business wanted the business to either put tens of thousands into renovating the property, or pay a higher monthly rent instead. At the same time, sales had declined greatly in recent years, due to both changing consumer preferences and reduced footfall as a result of prevailing restrictions arising from an unprecedented pandemic. Many of the business’s workers were also ageing and ready for retirement, and manpower was notoriously difficult to source for in their industry. Faced with these pressures, the heritage business had decided to shut down.

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THE SOLUTION

The Foundation proposed an alternative to shutting down and found a new home for the heritage business, in order to keep them open and keep their traditional tradeskills alive. We sourced for, identified, and facilitated a meeting with a potential partner in the same industry as the heritage business, who was willing to help house the business under generous terms. The potential partner offered to let the business share their premises at little-to-no rent, and also offered shared use of their production machinery and personnel at minimal cost to the business. Further, the business would be able to sell their products at the partner’s premises and share the use of the partner’s delivery vehicles and systems, yet retain their own name and the lion’s share of their profits.

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THE SOLUTION

In connecting like-minded heritage businesses who prioritise the preservation of traditional trades over immediate monetary gain, the Foundation not only helps individual businesses, but strengthens the network of heritage businesses as a whole. Our investment in this network opens new doors to fresh opportunities, such as helping businesses forge new partnerships and collaborations with one another.

CONSULTING & NETWORKING

Facilitating the Sale of a Heritage Business

THE PROBLEM

A prominent traditional pastry store was ready to cease operations and sell their business after trading for nine decades, but the owners were facing obstacles with the sale. Coverage of the imminent closure on mainstream and social media had created significant interest among potential buyers. However, the owners were not well-versed in business valuation and sales strategy. This disadvantaged them when conversing with lawyers sent by potential buyers, and made it harder for them to assess the different offers and their nuances.

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THE SOLUTION

The Foundation proposed assisting the owners with the sale by evaluating the different offers on the table and sourcing for additional buyers. Offers were weighed based on several factors flagged as critical by the owners, such as the selling price and payment schedule, retention of the business name, and handover period duration. The owners had initially considered shuttering operations and waiting several years for more attractive offers to come in, but given their newfound prominence in the media as a result of the wide coverage of their impending closure, the Foundation advised them to capitalise on the sudden interest from buyers and sell while offers were readily forthcoming.

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THE SOLUTION

Finally, as the owners had intimated that the present offers were not meeting their desired selling price, the Foundation also agreed to source for other buyers in order to give the owners more alternatives to choose from. Through the Foundation’s assistance, the owners were empowered and given more options to ensure the continuity of their craft and business name.

CONSULTING & NETWORKING

Securing Six Figures to Keep a Heritage Business Going

THE PROBLEM

A traditional business in the manufacturing sector had occupied the same premises for many years, and the property and fixtures had depreciated over time. Critical machinery was malfunctioning often and required frequent repairs from specialised mechanics. The prolonged downtime was disruptive to the business’s customers, who considered switching to different suppliers. Extensive and costly renovation was also needed to bring the business into compliance with the latest government regulations.

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THE SOLUTION

The Foundation led negotiations between the owner and several potential investors who were seasoned business veterans. After several protracted sessions, during which we served as intermediaries and advisors, we successfully secured about $750,000 in fresh capital for the business. The Foundation simultaneously explored options for reducing the business’s overheads in order to stretch their dollar further. We opened negotiations with their landlord to freeze rent increases temporarily, and assisted the business with applications for rental relief relating to COVID-19’s impact on their business. We also spoke to several of the business’s customers, and convinced them to both delay their switches to different suppliers, and not to reduce the volume of their orders too drastically.

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THE SOLUTION

With the injection of fresh funds, the preservation of existing revenue sources, and a marked reduction in expenditure, the business avoided closure. They were also able to upgrade their machinery, manpower, and operations, which has resulted in less downtime and better working conditions for their employees.

RESEARCH, TRAINING & MARKETING

Bringing a Heritage Business into the Digital Age

THE PROBLEM

A traditional F&B establishment was having difficulties incorporating IT solutions into their business, and lacked digital presence. This limited their ability to share information such as new promotions or revised opening hours with prospective customers, caused them to miss out on potential sales from food delivery platforms, and made it harder for them to compete against newer market entrants with rapidly-growing followings on social media, especially among the younger demographic. Many back-end processes such as tallying sales were also done with pencil and paper, which was extremely time-consuming and labour-intensive.

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THE SOLUTION

The Foundation introduced and integrated IT solutions into the establishment’s operations for the first time ever in their history, to boost their efficiency and outreach. First, the establishment’s needs were assessed by consulting with the managers and shadowing them for several days. A lack of basic IT infrastructure was identified as a preliminary problem, and a contractor was brought in to lay cables for networking. After confirming their networking requirements, we acquired, installed, and set up suitable hardware, bringing fibre broadband and wireless Internet access to the premises. The outdated CCTV system was also upgraded and connected to the new network.

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THE SOLUTION

This paved the way for the next stage of intervention, which was to introduce computers for the handling of back-end processes like accounting. Computers, peripherals, and relevant software such as Microsoft Office were acquired, and the management and employees were trained in their use. The Foundation also developed strategies for the establishment’s maiden foray into social media marketing, and worked with the management to set up social media accounts, create photographs, graphics, and copy for their first posts, as well as design promotional campaigns to attract new customers and boost sales. Finally, various food delivery platforms were introduced and integrated into the business’s operations.

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THE SOLUTION

Over this series of interventions, the business’s back-end processes became significantly more efficient, and the management was equipped with new tools and ideas to keep them competitive with newer F&B businesses.

CONSULTING & TRAINING

Introducing New Leadership to Ensure Business Survival

THE PROBLEM

An ailing business was on the brink of shutting down because they had stayed fixed in their ways after decades of operation. This had led to diminishing sales, while overheads had slowly crept up and competition had intensified. In these circumstances, the owner was ready to retire, and close the business with his departure.

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THE SOLUTION

The Foundation approached the owner and offered to facilitate succession. The owner explained that he was very selective about who he would be willing to relinquish the business to, regardless of financial incentives. As such, we scoured for prospective successors with the requisite industry experience, so that the owner’s legacy would be done justice.

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THE SOLUTION

Eventually, a new management team was selected, but there was significant friction between the owner and the prospective team because of vastly different attitudes towards the conduct of business. After protracted and complex mediation between both sides, the Foundation was able to arrange a smooth exit for the owner on very generous terms. The new team took the helm gradually over a transition and training period, during which time the Foundation provided management consulting services to them, and continued to serve as intermediaries between parties. This timely leadership refresh ensured continuity of the heritage business, and with the Foundation’s assistance, the new management team has since taken the business onward to greater heights.

NETWORKING, CHRONICLING & PROGRAMMING

Helping a Business Leverage Their Heritage

THE PROBLEM

A new owner had just taken over a heritage establishment, but knew very little about the unique heritage of the business he had just acquired, as the previous owner had left very abruptly. Though the new owner was confident in his business acumen, he desired to learn more about this particular establishment’s heritage, and how they might be properly protected. The new owner also had radical ideas for bringing the business forward, but worried that too much change would affect the authenticity of the business’s products.

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THE SOLUTION

The Foundation first identified the traditional techniques and equipment used in this business’s line of work, and created a list of protected internal processes to be preserved so that all of the business’s products would always remain true to their heritage. We also collaborated with a photographer to help document these traditional techniques and equipment in action.

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THE SOLUTION

Once the new owner had settled in more, we connected him with various heritage enthusiasts, academics, and artists, as we believed the potential synergies would be mutually beneficial. This led to a fruitful collaboration in which the establishment hosted a prominent artist’s exhibition of photographs and memories celebrating Singaporean culture and heritage, with some of the exhibits featuring the establishment themselves and their surrounding neighbourhood and community.

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THE SOLUTION

Understanding the business’s heritage also brought the new owner a tangible and immediate benefit. The Foundation defined a new direction for the business in consultation with the owner, which leveraged heavily on the establishment’s heritage and authenticity as their defining characteristic to help them stand out from their competitors. The business has since launched their new branding with our assistance, ushering in a new age while honouring their legacy.

Contribute to Our Heritage.

 

Our heritage is the legacy from the past that we continue to inherit today. It represents our history, our identity and our values.

 

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Contribute to Our Heritage.

 

Our heritage is the legacy from the past that we continue to inherit today. It represents our history, our identity and our values.

 

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A Home for Heritage
Establishments

About Us

Our Partners

Our Members

Engage Us

Support Us

Contact Us

Follow Us

A Home for
Heritage Establishments

© Heritage Business Foundation 2024. All Rights Reserved
© Heritage Business Foundation 2024.
All Rights Reserved.