I don't want to live with that what if!

我不想活在那個萬一之中！"。

But only a brave few are willing to take the plunge, especially during a pandemic.

但只有少數勇敢的人願意冒險，特別是在大流行病期間。

Even when you have money in the bank account, you're worried that what if something happens

即使你的銀行賬戶裡有錢，你也會擔心萬一發生什麼事怎麼辦？

and then you have to make like a big-ticket purchase or you have to pay a high upfront

然後你必須進行像大宗商品的購買，或者你必須支付高額的預付款

cost to fix something.

修理東西的成本。

So that keeps me up at night.

所以這讓我夜不能寐。

So who'd do it? And why now?

那麼誰會去做呢？為什麼是現在？

I'm in Singapore speaking to one entrepreneur who quit her day job and took her side hustle

我在新加坡與一位企業家交談，她辭去了白天的工作，從事她的副業。

full-time to find out.

全職工作，以發現問題。

For Fiona Loh, this is what a typical day looks like.

對於菲奧娜-羅來說，這就是典型的一天的樣子。

It's not your average day at the office, but it's what gets her out of bed in the morning.

這不是你在辦公室的普通一天，但這是讓她在早上起床的原因。

I get up around 7am, we go through like the day-to-day production, we close off the bakery

我早上7點左右起床，我們進行日常生產，關閉面包房。

space at about 6pm, and then I head back and continue the second shift.

晚上6點左右，我就回去繼續上第二班。

28-year-old Fiona swapped computers for cookies last year, when she quit her stable job as

28歲的菲奧娜去年將電腦換成了餅乾，當時她辭去了穩定的工作，成為了一名普通的廚師。

a tech product manager for a bank to run her own bakery business.

她在一家銀行擔任技術產品經理，經營自己的麵包店業務。

Every day, I felt something like nudging within me.

每一天，我都感覺到內心有一種類似於催促的感覺。

What if, what if, what if?

如果，如果，如果，如果？

She is one of a growing number of people leaving behind their 9-to-5 jobs to pursue their passion

她是越來越多拋開朝九晚五的工作去追求自己激情的人之一。

after the pandemic disrupted traditional industries and careers.

在大流行病擾亂了傳統行業和職業之後。

One study found at least two in five employees were considering leaving their jobs to start

一項研究發現，至少有五分之二的員工正在考慮離開他們的工作，開始工作。

their own business.

他們自己的業務。

For months, self-taught baker Fiona had been operating Whiskdom as a side project on Instagram.

幾個月來，自學成才的麵包師菲奧娜一直在Instagram上把Whiskdom作為一個副業來經營。

But when Singapore's circuit breaker lockdown boosted appetite for home-baked goods,

但是，當新加坡的斷路器封鎖促進了人們對家庭烘焙產品的胃口。

she decided to take it full-time.

她決定做全職工作。

I was working back-to-back between my day job and my night hustle.

我在白天的工作和夜間的工作之間背靠背地工作。

A good 20 hours a day.

每天有20個小時的時間。

There was this day where I just sat there and I couldn't think.

有一天，我只是坐在那裡，我無法思考。

My mind was so fatigued.

我的頭腦是如此疲勞。

I had orders to do.

我有命令要做。

I had my deck to do.

我有我的甲板要做。

I had a manager to answer to.

我有一個經理要對其負責。

So, basically, there's work to be done everywhere.

是以，基本上，到處都有工作要做。

Without spending a cent on marketing, word soon spread on social media, and by July,

在沒有花費一分錢進行營銷的情況下，消息很快在社交媒體上傳播開來，到了7月。

Fiona had an 18-month waitlist for her molten brownies and levain-style cookies.

菲奧娜的熔化布朗尼蛋糕和萊萬式餅乾有18個月的等待名單。

We were selling out in like, 3 seconds every week.

我們每週都會在大約3秒鐘內賣完。

To meet surging demand, she moved Whiskdom's operations from her parents' public housing

為了滿足激增的需求，她將Whiskdom的業務從她父母的公共住房中搬了出來。

unit to a 620 square foot commercial kitchen in central Singapore in October.

10月，在新加坡中部的一個620平方英尺的商業廚房裡安裝了一個單元。

Because we were opening in the midst of Covid, a lot of businesses were closing down.

因為我們是在Covid的時候開業的，很多企業都關閉了。

So we went to get all the second-hand equipment that we could find.

所以我們去找所有我們能找到的二手設備。

The fridges, the chillers, these are all second-hand.

冰箱、冷卻器，這些都是二手貨。

We managed to get a grant for our ovens.

我們設法為我們的烤爐獲得了一筆撥款。

And then it really got down to rent, the security deposit, working out the numbers to see if

然後，它真正落到了租金、押金、計算數字，看看是否

I had enough runway within my existing savings.

在我現有的儲蓄中，我有足夠的跑道。

While Fiona's business is thriving, the same cannot be said for all independent businesses,

雖然菲奧娜的業務正在蓬勃發展，但不能說所有獨立企業都是如此。

especially those in sectors battered by the pandemic.

特別是那些受到大流行病打擊的部門。

In 2020, business closures actually fell while the number of new companies formed remained

2020年，企業倒閉的數量實際上下降了，而新成立的公司的數量仍然是

stable as the Singapore government, like many other developed nations, extended loans, grants

穩定，因為新加坡政府像許多其他發達國家一樣，提供貸款、贈款

and rental waivers to keep them afloat.

和租金豁免，以保持他們的活力。

Xiu Ru Lim, a lecturer at Singapore Polytechnic, told me more.

新加坡理工學院的講師Xiu Ru Lim告訴我更多。

Up to 6.8 million payouts was actually given to some 2,700 businesses, right, in the areas

高達680萬的賠款實際上是給了大約2700家企業，對，在這些地區

of retail as well as F&B.

屬於零售業和餐飲業。

Elsewhere, I think, around the globe we can see a lot of new businesses being formed.

我認為，在全球其他地方，我們可以看到很多新的企業正在形成。

And quite a number of those, while the statistics do not actually fully report it, are also

而其中相當多的人，雖然統計數據實際上沒有完全報告，但也是

single business establishments.

單一商業機構。

Meantime, the rapid adoption of technology during this period is likely to spell more

同時，這一時期技術的迅速採用可能會給我們帶來更多的好處。

opportunities for new businesses like Fiona's, said Xiu Ru.

秀茹說，像菲奧娜這樣的新企業的機會。

Under the pandemic situation, the competition has leveled out a little bit.

在大流行的情況下，競爭已經平緩了一些。

With the government grants and incentives that encourages businesses to go digital,

隨著政府的撥款和激勵措施，鼓勵企業走向數字化。

this has provided opportunities for small business owners to look at starting out from scratch.

這為小企業主提供了從頭開始的機會。

While Fiona only received a government grant for her ovens, she had to fork out 50,000

雖然菲奧娜只得到了政府對她的烤爐的補助，但她不得不掏出50,000美元

Singapore dollars from her personal savings for the business, putting her home-buying

她從個人儲蓄中拿出新加坡元用於創業，將她的購房款用於購買房屋。

and wedding plans on hold.

和婚禮計劃擱置。

Despite her strong head start, with individual bakes selling for more than 6 Singapore dollars

儘管她取得了強勁的領先優勢，單個蛋糕的售價超過了6新加坡元

and boxes of six going for 38 Singapore dollars, Fiona's earnings are currently nowhere close

而六盒的價格為38新加坡元，菲奧娜的收入目前還遠遠沒有達到這個水準。

to her previous salary.

與她以前的工資相比。

At the end of the day, if I really wanted the money, I would have stayed in banking.

最後，如果我真的想要錢，我就會留在銀行工作。

I basically draw a minimum sum now, enough to pay off my insurance bills, enough to basically

我現在基本上只提取最低限度的金額，足以支付我的保險賬單，基本上足以

feed myself, and then the rest of it I plan to put it back into investing in the business.

養活自己，然後剩下的錢我打算再投入到業務投資中。

Now that she's the boss, Fiona has a lot more to worry about, such as expenses, accounts

現在她是老闆，菲奧娜有更多的事情要擔心，比如開支、賬目

and her staff.

和她的工作人員。

As Whiskdom has expanded, Fiona has taken on three full-time staff, including her 62-year-old

隨著Whiskdom的擴大，Fiona已經吸收了三名全職員工，包括她62歲的

father, Jackie, a retired service engineer.

父親傑基是一名退休的服務工程師。

The additional manpower allows Whiskdom to produce up to 2,400 baked goods per week,

額外的人力使Whiskdom每週可以生產多達2400個烘焙產品。

four times more than what Fiona managed alone at home.

比菲奧娜在家裡獨自管理的要多四倍。

Meanwhile, she has expanded her clientele to include corporate customers and international

同時，她還擴大了她的客戶群，包括企業客戶和國際客戶。

markets, such as the U.S. and China.

市場，如美國和中國。

We try to find new ways to streamline operations, to have more bakers coming on certain days

我們試圖找到新的方法來簡化操作，讓更多的麵包師在特定的日子裡來。

to do more of the prep work and leaner operations on the other days where we don't require as many people.

在其他不需要那麼多人的日子裡，我們要做更多的準備工作和更精簡的操作。

Of course, there are all the other things like making sure we can pay our bills, making

當然，還有所有其他的事情，如確保我們能夠支付賬單，使

sure we can pay our employees, making sure we have sufficient cashflow to keep the business running.

確保我們能夠支付我們的員工，確保我們有足夠的現金流來維持業務的運行。

But more so than that: 'okay, what's next for us?'

但比這更重要的是。'好吧，我們的下一步是什麼？

That added responsibility means Fiona must be even more careful about planning her business

這種額外的責任意味著菲奧娜必須更加謹慎地規劃她的業務

for the future.

為未來。

Estimates suggest that 20% of new businesses fail within their first two years and 45%

據估計，20%的新企業在頭兩年內失敗，45%的企業在頭兩年內失敗。

within five years, often due to poor market knowledge, scaling too quickly and lack of finances.

在五年內，往往由於市場知識不足、規模擴大太快和缺乏資金。

Does it concern you that they're all opening during a pandemic?

你是否擔心它們在大流行期間都會開放？

Do you think that's a risky time?

你認為那是一個有風險的時間嗎？

It really depends, right.

這真的取決於，對。

If you're able to manage your business fundamentals well, you're able to manage your cashflows,

如果你能夠很好地管理你的業務基本面，你就能夠管理你的現金流。

and your eventual rate of expansion, this could actually be an opportunity for a lot of businesses.

和你最終的擴張速度，這實際上可能是很多企業的一個機會。

But even with the added stress of running her own business, Fiona doesn't plan on

但是，即使是在經營自己的生意的額外壓力下，菲奧娜也不打算

clocking back into the office anytime soon.

很快就會打卡回到辦公室。

When you go into entrepreneurship, you end up having to be everything and you end up

當你進入創業階段時，你最終不得不成為一切，你最終會成為

having to do everything on your own.

必須自己做所有事情。

It's very different from being employed.

這與就業有很大不同。

But I guess, for myself, I really enjoy doing it.

但我想，對我自己來說，我真的很喜歡做這件事。

You're not going back?

你不回去了？

Not going back.

不回去了。