Creative Capital: The Singapore mumpreneur who custom makes wall decals and cake toppers

Rachel Tan, a 35-year-old Singaporean mumpreneur, founded Urban Li'l, an interior products company that specializes in custom-made wall decals and cake toppers. The business began six years prior to the article's publication. The inspiration for the article's author to learn more about Urban Li'l came from a fabric decal car track featuring Singaporean landmarks and a custom laser-cut Chinese New Year family plaque, both of which were Urban Li'l products. Tan's interest in interior design and entrepreneurship began in childhood. She enjoyed reading Ikea catalogues and designing her own room at 13. With her brother, she gained early business experience by selling items sourced from Bangkok. Before establishing Urban Li'l, Tan worked for a decade in financial planning and analysis at various multinational corporations, aspiring to become a CFO. However, after becoming a mother in 2015, she sought a career that offered more control over her time to balance work and family life. This led her to pursue her passion for design and start Urban Li'l, though it took her four years to transition to running the business full-time. Balancing a corporate job, a startup, and motherhood was challenging, leading to constant multitasking and sleep deprivation. Tan eventually proposed a part-time work arrangement to her employers, which allowed her to work three days in her corporate role and two days on Urban Li'l. This arrangement provided her with renewed energy and better work-life balance. Her full transition to Urban Li'l occurred after the birth of her second child, when she left her corporate job, set up an office, and hired a team. Her confidence to commit to Urban Li'l full-time stemmed from its position as a pioneer in the custom interior decor market and her achievement of earning 75% of her corporate income through the business. The catalyst for Urban Li'l's growth was the family plaque, an idea that went viral after a fellow mumpreneur posted her custom "Home with the Teos" plaque on Instagram. This product led to a significant increase in orders for family plaques and other signage for various purposes. Urban Li'l's official debut product was SG50 National Day milestone stickers for babies, launched on August 1, the company's founding date, when Tan's SG50 child was six months old. These personalized stickers, designed for photo-taking, were well-received and motivated Tan to expand the range of milestone stickers to chart baby growth and achievements. Tan identifies not trying to do it all as the toughest lesson learned as an entrepreneur. She initially experienced burnout due to long working hours and motherhood responsibilities. She learned to delegate tasks and empower her team to foster creativity and ownership. Maintaining focus amid distractions, such as social media metrics, and prioritizing community growth are crucial for building a sustainable business. Effective cash flow management, a skill honed from her finance background, has also been critical, especially during periods of low cash flow due to multiple large projects. Among her favorite memories is the ability to transform houses into homes and empty spaces into meaningful playrooms through Urban Li'l's unique products. The company also had a successful Christmas retail store at Cluny Court, offering products and craft workshops. Urban Li'l's best-selling items include cake toppers, family plaques, nursery name signage, fabric decals, and Christmas wreaths and ornaments, which account for 70% of consumer sales. Corporate projects, designing gifts for clients, contribute nearly half of the annual sales. All products are designed in-house, with Tan now focusing on business development, sales, and marketing, supported by a dedicated design and production team. For brand attention, Tan emphasizes originality, noting that Urban Li'l has faced issues with product copying. Each product undergoes a rigorous design process involving five concept ideas before finalization. Being current and relevant is also vital; during the pandemic, Urban Li'l shifted its marketing focus to home decor like fabric decals and small party items, adapting communications to address the increased time people spent at home. Providing good and reliable customer service, including timely delivery for date-sensitive orders and prompt responses to inquiries, is also a priority. Customer feedback is highly valued for product development. Community involvement, such as participating in the CRIB society for women entrepreneurs and engaging in charity work like HappyTee, which converts children's drawings into t-shirts to benefit the elderly, is also part of their brand strategy. The business faced challenges during the pandemic but adapted quickly by bringing machines home for continued operations and bulk-producing popular items like fabric decals. They also created free printables for pre-schoolers, which drove traffic and sales to their website. Urban Li'l continuously introduces new designs and products weekly to keep customers engaged and remain relevant in a dynamic market. The focus has shifted from event and party decor to home decor to align with changing client needs. Looking ahead to the rest of 2020, Urban Li'l planned to expand its sales channels both locally and overseas, with a major annual launch for its Christmas Collection scheduled for October 2020. #Mumpreneur #RachelTan #UrbanLiL #InteriorProducts #HomeDecor #WallDecals #CakeToppers #EntrepreneurshipJourney #SmallBusiness #Mumpreneur #RachelTan #UrbanLiL #InteriorProducts #HomeDecor #WallDecals #CakeToppers #EntrepreneurshipJourney #SmallBusiness

64 months ago

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