Bavita Dhillon: Be The Light You Want To See
Welcome back to an all-new Head’s Up. We had a little break to recuperate and now we are back with new interviews and features to share with you guys. Over the last two weeks, the team at Head’s Up wanted to show our commitment towards representation and diversity and in order to do so, we have decided to feature one female entrepreneur every week, starting today!
This week, we are bringing you our interview with Bavita Dhillon, the founder of Bavitaeats and Co-Founder of Big Wieners KL. She shares with us her start in the F&B field, the challenges she has faced and what lessons she has learnt along the way.
So if you enjoyed the interview, be sure to share and till our next issue, stay safe and stay healthy.
After cooking professionally for 10 years, she heeded the call to start Bavitaeats in 2011 to provide menu consultancy services and kitchen staff training for various restaurants, gastrobars and cafes.
As a consultant, she worked with F&B founders to develop recipes for their outlets, taught the staff how to source products and re-create newly developed recipes to ensure smooth operations in the kitchen.
“My journey with cooking has been lifelong, having cooked for my family since I was young and then cooking in professional kitchens through my adult life,” says Bavita Dhillon, the founder of Bavitaeats and Co-Founder of Big Wieners KL.
Periodically, she also produces Bavitaeats-branded artisanal products such as sauces, bread and specialty festive items for gifting purposes. Having always made sausages for her family and friends, and the encouraging reviews soon lead to the idea of her second business.
Last month, Bavita partnered with another chef to start a home delivery service called Big Wiener KL to carry their specially-made artisanal sausages and condiments which are all homemade.
Reaching for the stars
“I know it sounds simplistic, but seeing a smile creep up on someone’s face when they take a bite of my cooking is my goal. It is a battle within myself to make sure what works in my head is translated well onto a plate,” she says, adding that for the most part, it works well for her.
“A satisfied customer is the biggest success you can get because they become your fan and advocate. Everything else in business will fall in line after that.”
She credits her two sons who have become her biggest critics and cause for constant evolutions.
On growth, the self-funded independent entrepreneur who turns to family when the workload gets high says having an investor can help her business to scale up, get better equipment and also move to a purpose-built unit.
It will allow them to diversify their product offering and tackle issues related to talent, which more than often requires a lot of thought.
Overcoming Challenges
“We are facing unprecedented times right now. This is not going to change anytime soon and I believe that the biggest challenge for the food industry at large is to be constantly moving and shifting to adapt to the changes,” she says.
This, she says, means being sensitive to social, economic, political and lifestyle changes.
“You know how the keyword for 2020 was ‘pivot’? I think the new keyword should now be ‘adapt’.”
Commenting on tackling the stereotypes facing female entrepreneurs, Bavita says the one good thing to have come out of the past year is a more levelled playing field.
“We are all in this together and I’d like to believe that there is little or no place for misogynistic behaviour in the entrepreneurial world.
“Let your product do the talking. Whatever you do, believe that your product or service stands toe to toe with the best, irrespective of gender or social standing. Both investors and consumers have definitely evolved to look at ethics more now. That’s probably one of the good things about social media where transparency of how you portray and run your brand is at the forefront,” Bavita tells Head’s Up.
In the face of the Covid-19 pandemic, Bavita says she has been fortunate in the sense that one of her ventures is home-delivery based. As she and her team prepare items that can be cooked in the comfort of her customers’ homes, she credits the excitement and relevancy her product has in these times.
“It's not easy and it’s an ever changing learning curve, but I relish every moment of it as I am deeply proud of what my partner and I have created.”
What more can be done?
Bavita urges for more focus and support groups especially for new entrepreneurs, As a mother, she is a firm believer that nurture triumphs nature.
“If we lay the right environment for growth, we will reap the benefits as a society. It's the same with entrepreneurship,” she says.
On encouraging more female entrepreneurs to start a business, Bavita says, “Be the light that we want to see. Seeing strong successful and independent women do well and in their own special way is the single biggest inspiration you can get.”
Even if they are a competitor, the co-founder of Big Wiener KL believes the positive action is to support each other.
“Buy their products, go to their stores, comment on social media, rate them on Yelp. Whatever it is, be the light that we want to see.”
On entrepreneurship, she says there is no greater teacher than the bitter experience of failure. Picking yourself up time and time again builds character. She also encourages entrepreneurs to have good and trustworthy partners who will have their back professionally, financially and emotionally.
“Leave your ego at the door especially when it comes to investing your own money or getting others to invest their money in you,” Bavita concludes.
To order from Bavitaeats, please refer to : Instagram.com/bavitaeats
For a taste of Big Weiners KL artisanal sausages, please surf on to :
https://www.bigwienerskl.com/ or follow their Instagram page https://instagram.com/bigwieners.kl?utm_medium=copy_link
Whether it’s a pitch or if you would like us to tell your story, reach out to the team via headsupnewsletter@gmail.com