SME Spotlight: Hon Kah Trading dreams of a cycling city
How Hon Kah Trading, or Cycling Lesson, went from fulfilling people’s dreams of owning a bike to fulfilling their dreams of riding one.
Open up Hon Kah Trading’s old website cyclinglesson.com.sg on your browser and the first words you’ll see are “At Hon Kah, we don’t believe that you must fall to learn to cycle.” This is the noble philosophy that has guided Hon Kah Trading for over 20 years. However, where Hon Kah promises its customers a smooth ride, the store itself has had a rather bumpy journey.
In December 2000, Edmund Lee, dissatisfied with his position as a housing and insurance agent, decided to pick up where his father, a first-generation Singaporean, left off — bicycle trading.
However, during the store’s first three months, sales were poor. Hon Kah had to sublet half the shop to a foot masseur to lower the overhead costs. Edmund even pivoted to bubble tea during the 2002 boom with his friend helping to subsidise some of the capital infrastructures. When the bubble popped after six months, Hon Kah was still struggling.
So Edmund decided to try something new: teaching people how to cycle.
Edmund had always wanted to be a teacher but never completed junior college and felt that he wasn’t qualified. Nevertheless, he derives a profound sense of satisfaction from teaching so he began to offer lessons on how to ride a bike. While he focused on developing these cycling lessons, his wife helped to anchor sales and service and together they made Hon Kah Trading what it is today.
Today, Edmund continues to teach both the young and the young at heart, many of whom can pick up the skill within one or two lessons. His students are of all needs and abilities. He has taught people with autism and Down Syndrome, even the blind have managed to pedal away. He boasts a cohort from all corners of the world including Hong Kong, America, Indonesia, Australia, New Zealand, Thailand, Japan, Taiwan and China.
Edmund is particularly proud of his participation and sustained contribution towards Ride for Rainbows, happening 8–31 October 2021. This year marks the fourth year Edmund has participated in Ride for Rainbows, a charity cycling event that aims to raise funds and public awareness to support children who suffer from a range of chronic and potentially life-threatening illnesses, as well as their families.
However, passion is not enough to sustain a business. Such a physically intense trade takes a toll on one’s physical and mental wellbeing. In addition, customer needs change all the time. Edmund finds that the younger generation tends to require a ‘softer touch’ in terms of guidance. And perhaps it is because of the fixation on academic results, busy parents or growing up in a competitive society, but scheduling has become a challenge for younger students whose days are packed with activities.
Luckily, with new challenges come new solutions. Digitalising a bicycle shop, especially one so rooted in brick and mortar, isn’t easy, but on top of the new SEO friendly website cyclinglesson.sg, Edmund also utilises several digital tools. Calendly, for example, has been invaluable in scheduling lessons. Cashless payment methods like Paylah and Paynow have also made transactions easier. Whereas Square, his inventory management and point of sale system has helped him to transition from pen and paper to one-touch receipts. At a glance, he can keep track of his revenue and receive automated notifications whenever his existing stock is low.
The older generation might find it difficult to digitalise, but it’s just like riding a bike once the tools are in place.
One would be worried trade shops like Hon Kah Trading might find it difficult to thrive in a fast-advancing society, but it was not so long ago that the bike-sharing boom and bust came and went. Singapore is bursting with cycling enthusiasts and as the country pushes for greener modes of transportation, Edmund’s dream that Singapore will one day become a cycling city may not be so far off. Until then, he continues to actualise the dreams of others who wish to cycle, and he does so without ever letting them fall.
Hon Kah Trading, 4 Queen’s Rd, Singapore 260004; cyclinglesson.sg
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