When I started this business, I was in the midst of writing my final year's thesis and juggling between modules I needed to score so badly in order to graduate with exactly what I aimed for. And yes, I did thoroughly enjoy my time running Dora's Wings although it was rather short-lived.
Dora's Wings didn't happen overnight. It took me five years to work on the recipe, and to get everything right. 5 years of trials and errors, and only 10 months before I eventually gave up on it. I never had any intention to start a business, but getting requests from friends and families after serving them during Eid Mubarak was quite the motivation for me.
Like many others, I started out small and taking very few orders. I needed to make sure I was capable of running it all by myself. Demands were growing fast, and orders were coming from schools, to friends, government agencies and private sectors. I was overwhelmed. I didn't get much help other than from my maid at that time. I would wake up at 4 am to make sure that orders were ready to be picked up just in time for lunch. Then I would go out and restock inventories. That was the life I had.
Maybe I was too generous with my pricing. I was slowly making loss over profit, and believe it or not, I was broke. I didn't know how to sustain myself. On top of that, my study was. . . ah a mess.
I couldn't do it. I had to take a break.
My break turned to years, and every time I ran into a customer, they'd often ask "bila lagi?" to which I answer . . . "but there are so many good chicken wings already!" Like YES. You have all the Korean restaurants and local businesses that make really yummy chicken wings that made it so much easier for me to just . . . quit.
Although I wasn't selling any, I would still make some from time to time at home. Sometimes for a birthday party, or during our open houses. I did have something planned in the future for Dora's Wings, but I guess I wasn't ready to take that risk.
Yet today, I couldn't be more happier.
When my brother approached me to get my permission to revive the business with his classmates (as a part of their module), I hesitated at first then I thought, why the heck not. It's hard to give away something you've worked on for so long, but it's also good to pass down your knowledge to someone else who is willing, driven and motivated to keep it alive. They were sold out within 2 hours, and was also sold out by the end of the day. I was also glad that we had some returning customers from years ago, and that alone showed me that the demand is still there albeit the competitions.
So thank you to those who had purchase Dora's BBQ Chicken! and BIG THANKS to all the students involved in reviving the business. Really truly a bunch of hardworking young adult! *KUDOS*
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PS: This was how Dora's Wings got its name.
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