Lee takes on business like a true engineer -- fuelled by small part business wit and intuition, but backed up by big part calculated percentage of success.
In recent years, a new breed of entrepreneurs is slowly but surely washing onto the scene, turning conventional business rules around and shaking up the game altogether. It is rather easy to identify the few who belong to this new dynamic group -- they are often young, fearless and are masters at multi-tasking, taking on everything in their stride with the single conviction to do as much as they can with their youth.
Jay Lee happens to be one of those. Despite being trained to be an engineer, he has proven himself successful as a marketer, designer, business plan developer and most recently, director of a new swanky Italian F&B establishment in town.
“It’s about knowledge,” says the business development manager of SKS Worldwide as well as the director for the newly opened Palazzo Viva Italian restaurant in Bangsar. “It’s about pooling together what you know and using that to your advantage.”
Such was exactly how he borrowed everything he learnt, knew and spearheaded at SKS Worldwide, a product manufacturing company founded by his father Lee Kian Seng, and channeled it into the materialisation of his new Italian restaurant located in the heart of Bangsar.
"We don't get there by guessing. We get there with statistics"
Like how SKS Worldwide covers a wide range of areas from providing furniture and fixtures for the world’s biggest hotels, to offering consulting and business development strategies to multibillion corporations around the world, Palazzo Viva is as diverse in its offerings. The restaurant serves a seamless transition of breakfast, lunch, dinner and supper foods all under one roof, complete with a bar of its own and different sections dedicated to hot or cold fare accordingly.
“From SKS, I learnt that the secret to a successful business is customisation,” tells Lee. “You can’t specialise only in one product and expect to sell the same thing for the next 10-15 years. It helps that I like coming up with solutions which are F&B related.”
Having been trained from a young age to step into his role, Lee exudes an aura of unmistakable confidence when it comes to his area of expertise. Here is a passionate F&B pioneer who has done his research and who knows very well the operations of the establishment inside and out.
“I am an engineer,” he says with a chuckle when his assuredness was pointed out. “I grew up from a very technical and mechanical background so everything has to be feasible. Everything has to be realistic. You may have a vision, but it’s more important to me to ask “How do we get there?”
For Lee, it is small part business wit and intuition, backed up by big part calculated percentage of success.
“We don’t get there by guessing. We get there with statistics,” he says. “I believe in calculated risks and calculated expenditure. For me, it’s 'if I want this vision, how do I achieve this vision?' On top of just having a good idea, I must also have a good solution to it. It’s all about the solution and how to get there.”
"You need to be willing to learn"
The 29-year-old also isn’t one who is afraid of getting his hands dirty and credits that to being one of the reasons for his success.
“I believe that before we can teach someone, we need to teach ourselves,” he tells.
This can be seen most clearly with the investment he has put into the details of his new restaurant. “From cleaning and serving to the renovation and development of this restaurant, I was involved in every step of it. When a plate of food comes out, I know how it is cooked, I know how it is prepared, right down to what plate they are using to serve it.”
Despite all the preparation he has been put through and all the reliability of numbers, however, it doesn’t mean he hasn’t got his qualms. As they say, a little fear keeps one on one's toes to always be on the lookout for the smallest window of opportunity.
“In business there is always risk. How can you guarantee that you will do well? No one can calculate that,” he tells earnestly. “But what we can do, is to ask ourselves, how can I achieve it closest as possible to my goal?”
He intends to get there by keeping an open mind and learning as much as he can, wherever he goes.
“I am not fearless,” he admits. “I have just learnt to be flexible."
“Where ever I travel for business, people are always teaching me something, I’m always learning something. From there I pick up very invaluable things. You need to be willing to learn.”
For now, his purpose is to expand and grow as much as he can, both on the professional side and on the personal side, guided strictly by the above.
“At the end of the day, it is all about self-improvement. It is up to you how much more you want to better yourself. “
“You can never say you’ve learnt enough. As much as we can absorb, we try to absorb. That’s my business mantra."
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