FAILING a few times in business did not dampen the spirit of Jaidi Hj Kipli, 41, owner of the popular Nasi Katok Mama.
From one small Nasi Katok hut in Lambak Kanan, Jaidi has expanded his “Nasi Katok empire” to span five branches three set up as Nasi Katok Restaurants named “Seri Mama Restaurant and Café” which rake in profits of more than $100,000 a month.
Life before his Nasi Katok Mama business was tough, Jaidi told The Brunei Times.
In the 90′s, he said he tried his hand at running various businesses he bred chickens, sold ornamental plants, ran a small café all using very small capital.
“Everything started when my wife gave birth to our twins. That night, I was so hungry so I looked for something cheap to eat. But I could not find any 24-hour street shop near the hospital selling $1 meals.”
He decided that was what the market wanted. And that was when he thought of putting up his own nasi katok business. Although that time, there were already quite a number of nasi katok huts and restaurants around the capital, Jaidi persevered with his business plan. “I have my faith in it and I will do it aggressively,” he vowed.
Coming from a humble background, Jaidi had to raise the capital on his own. His father, who passed away four years ago, worked as a driver and earned $500 a month. “I still remember during my school days, in a good day, my father would give me 10 cents as pocket money and then I had to walk all the way to school.”
But now, Jaidi doesn’t have to walk to anywhere if he chooses. Thanks to his business, he now owns eight European cars, plus his new pride, a red Nissan GTR.
But getting the business off the ground initially was not easy, he said. “I did not have any savings at all to start a business and I did not have anyone to lend me a big amount of money,” he said.
He tried to raise the capital by applying for a $10,000 bank loan. But he said the bank turned him down because he didn’t have a guarantor.
“I was very upset when my loan was not approved. But I put it as a burning coal in my heart that I would still open my nasi katok business,” he said.
In the end, Jaidi said he managed to scape together $1,000, which he borrowed from friends.
Jaidi opened his first Nasi Katok hut in Lambak Kanan (in front Milimewah) in 2004.
“My first week, I could only sell up to the equivalent of five whole chickens of nasi katok. I only made around $40 in profit a day,” he said despite working 24 hours with the help of his wife. “Sleeping time, no need to say, was always not enough. What was most important that time was to get a quick recovery,” he said.
At the time, he said he could only afford a second-hand refrigerator. But as the brand “Mama” became popular through word of mouth, business bloomed.
He said he decided to include the word “Mama” in the business name in homage to his mother. “It was one of the ways I paid back the love my mother had given me over the years,” he said.
“By the end of the first month … believe it or not, I managed to earn almost $3,000 of clean profit,” he said.
In the second and third month, Jaidi saw monthly profits swell to $6,000.
“The response given by the public was luan-luan memberangsangkan (tremendously responsive),” he said.
He said the queue of people buying his $1 nasi katok rivalled the queue of people lining up to stamp their passports at immigration control posts. People all the way from Tutong and Belait were willing to come and try the offerings from Nasi Katok Mama.
“Not only that, tourists came by the busload. They dropped by to visit my small stall and took pictures together with us,” he said.
“But again I tell you, it was really tiring but it was worth it,” he told The Brunei Times.
In less than 10 months, he said, he opened a second branch at SKH Kiulap.
“Over there, the respond was also very good. The good word about ‘Mama’ kept on spreading,” he said.
“With the income from the two Nasi Katok Mama huts, I managed to build my dream house worth $300,000, which I paid for in cash,” he said.
Two years later, Jaidi opened a restaurant in Muara. “Alhamdulillah, my monthly profit had grown to $30,000,” he said.
“Now, I am doing a major interior design at a cost of $100,000, using my own design and paid for in cash,” he said.
“The Bandar branch which opened in 2007 is the best-performing, churning out more than $40,000 a month in profit,” he said.
His Serusop branch was the fifth he opened. Nasi Katok Mama Serusop also branched out to include Thai dishes.
“Alhamdulillah, all in all, my monthly profit from these branches could give me more than $100,000 a month,” he said.
Despite his success, Jaidi doesn’t forget his humble beginnings, especially his father. Four years after his father passed away, he still wishes he could pay back his father for what he did for their family. “When I was still having a hard time, my father was always with us. Now that I am in a much better place, my father is no longer next to us,” he lamented.
Jaidi receives but he also gives, helping charity group KACA.
Jaidi also never forgets he is a Muslim first. “Business must be honest, no womanising, no alcoholic drinks and no gambling. Insya Allah, God will always help you.”
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