For Yong Mei Ling, entrepreneurship has always been part of her vocabulary.
Growing up around the family business meant that from an early age, she was learning that it could be incredibly rewarding, but also that it came with a lot of responsibility.
But while she admired what her father, Datuk Kevin Yong had achieved as a businessman, Yong was equally determined to discover what she could accomplish on her own.
At 22, she launched Lemon Daisy Cakes, a boutique cake company that gave her a first taste of building a business from the ground up.
At the time, she was also working in the family business, giving her two very different perspectives on entrepreneurship: one shaped by an established company and the other by the uncertainties of starting afresh.
In 2018, Yong founded Kanteen, a move that deepened her appreciation for the creative and commercial sides of building a brand.
“I think I just always had this need to create something and see how far I could take it on my own,” she says.
The journey, naturally, has not always been straightforward, with many lessons learnt through trial and error.
“There’s a different kind of confidence that comes from building something from scratch. Nobody can really give you that. You have to earn it, and usually through making a lot of mistakes first!”
A candid admission from a businesswoman who has learnt to embrace both the rewards and frustrations of entrepreneurship, her experience has been about discovering what she is capable of along the way.
Learning to let go
If there is one quality entrepreneurship has brought to the fore, it is resilience. Yong has discovered that she is far more comfortable with uncertainty and chaos than she once imagined.
“Entrepreneurship really forces you to learn about yourself because there’s nowhere to hide. When something goes wrong, eventually the problem lands back on your table,” she says.
“You can blame the market, the supplier, the contractor, your team but at the end of the day, you’re still the one who has to figure out what happens next,” says Yong, adding that she came to realise she was actually quite good when 10 things were going wrong at once.
“I don’t panic easily. I tend to go, ‘Okay, what’s the first problem? Let’s figure out a solution’,” she adds.
Watching employees develop their skills, take on greater responsibilities and eventually become leaders gives her a sense of pride that goes beyond business milestones.
Yet, as her businesses have grown, so too has her understanding of leadership.
In the early days, being involved in every aspect of the operation was part of the job, but today, she recognises that trying to do everything herself is neither practical nor conducive to building a strong team.
“I’ve had to learn to trust people, let them make decisions differently from how I would, and accept that my way isn’t necessarily the only right way.”
It is a lesson that has become one of the most fulfilling aspects of her work.
Watching employees develop their skills, take on greater responsibilities and eventually become leaders gives her a sense of pride that goes beyond business milestones.
“I often feel like a proud mama when I see someone on my team grow and do really well. Sometimes I’m more excited about their growth than the business milestone itself.”
For Yong, the measure of a successful entrepreneur is no longer about having all the answers, but about creating an environment where others can find them, too.
“So entrepreneurship has taught me resilience, but it’s also taught me to let go, to trust people, and that sometimes your biggest impact isn’t just the business you build, but the people you build along the way,” she says.
Behind the restaurant doors
The public-facing side of the F&B industry can be an appealing one – from exciting new outlets and attractive interiors to carefully curated dishes and the excitement of a packed restaurant.
But behind the scenes, the daily realities are considerably less polished.
For Yong, the people side of the business has been the most personally challenging.
An unexpected resignation, equipment breakdown or delayed contractor or supplier problems can quickly disrupt operations, often with several issues occurring at once.
“And I think the hardest part is that you can’t react emotionally to every problem because everyone is looking at you asking, ‘Okay, so what do we do now?’”
“That’s probably been one of my biggest lessons: learning to separate emotion from the decision. You can genuinely care about someone and still have to make a difficult decision that’s right for the business,” says Yong.
It is a delicate balance between empathy and responsibility, particularly in an industry where the success of an operation depends heavily on the people who keep it running.
The financial side, meanwhile, has provided its own reality checks.
“You can have a restaurant that’s packed and still wonder where all the money went! There are so many costs and moving parts behind what looks like a very simple plate of food,” says Yong.
To her, the experience has reinforced the importance of understanding both sides of the equation.
“F&B is fun, creative and incredibly rewarding, but behind the scenes, it’s a very operational business and numbers are important.”
As her businesses have expanded, she has found herself spending less time on the restaurant floor and more time dealing with strategy, expansion, financials and people management.
It is a change that comes with growth, but one she admits she sometimes misses.
“When we had fewer outlets, I spent so much more time physically working in them. I knew the team really well, I knew our regular customers, what they ordered, who came in every week. There was something very personal about it,” she says.
“Some of my close friends today actually started as customers and eventually became friends. I even met my husband while I was working at one of the outlets! So I guess being on the floor had some unexpected benefits,” says Yong.
Today, her role is more removed from those everyday encounters. The business has also had to adapt to a world in which restaurants are expected to maintain a constant presence on social media.
Running an F&B brand now means thinking about social media, influencers, content calendars and what might appeal to an increasingly visually driven audience.
While she appreciates the opportunities that digital platforms offer, she does miss the relative simplicity of the earlier days, when more of her attention could be devoted to the immediate experience of running an outlet.
Still, change is part of the territory, and her willingness to adapt has been shaped by an appreciation for the foundations on which she built her businesses.
A source of inspiration
Yong’s entrepreneurial journey has been shaped, in no small part, by her father. Having watched him build a company from scratch, she regards him as a personal mentor.
One lesson she has carried into her own businesses is the importance of looking after the people who help build them.
“He’s always done that. Business will have good years and bad years, but he’s always felt a responsibility towards the people who helped him build it,” she says.
It is a principle that remains central to her own approach to leadership, even as she develops a style that reflects her personality and the changing business landscape.
Where her father may have led differently, Yong describes herself as more collaborative. She values differing opinions and wants her team to feel a sense of ownership, rather than simply waiting for instructions.
“I’m also very conscious about brand, culture and how people feel, both employees and customers,” she says. “Some of that is probably generational. The way you build a business and a brand today is very different from 30 years ago.
“But the funny thing is, the older I get, the more I find myself agreeing with him. There are definitely things he used to tell me when I was younger where I’d think, ‘No, Dad, that’s so old-school. And now after running businesses myself, I’m like… ‘Oh. Okay. He was right’”.
Beyond the hustle
Marriage has brought a new perspective to Yong’s understanding of ambition, giving her life greater meaning without diminishing her drive to grow her businesses.
“I’ve always been very independent and very ambitious, and I don’t think marriage has changed that at all. If anything, it’s just really nice having another pillar of support in my life,” says Yong, who got married early this year.
“Business can be such a roller coaster. You can have an amazing day and then the next morning something goes completely wrong. Having someone to share both sides of that with changes things.”
While business growth, revenue and expansion remain important, she is increasingly conscious of the life she wants to build beyond work.
“Success is also having freedom. Having time for the people I love. Travelling. Building a family. But also building businesses that create opportunities for people. A place where I can develop leaders, watch people grow, and hopefully see them achieve things they didn’t think they could. That’s actually one of the parts of business I find most fulfilling,” she says.
Marriage, she says, has not made her less ambitious, but changed how she views achievement.
“It’s not only about how big a business I can build anymore, but what kind of life I can build, and how many people I can bring along and grow with me,” says Yong.
On another personal note, padel has become Yong’s favourite way to switch off from work.
What began as a hobby has evolved into training sessions and tournaments, fuelled by her competitive streak.
“When you’re playing, you can’t be thinking about an outlet opening, a factory issue or what’s happening tomorrow. You’re just there,” she says.
Travel is another source of pleasure and inspiration, although the entrepreneur in her rarely takes a complete break from observing the world around her.
“Wherever I go, I’m looking at restaurants, cafes, packaging, supermarkets, retail concepts… I can genuinely spend an embarrassing amount of time in an overseas supermarket,” she says.
For Yong, the rewards of entrepreneurship are increasingly measured not just in business milestones, but also in the freedom to pursue her ambitions while making room for the people and experiences that give life meaning.