Solomon Leeder opened Leeder Quay Wines in Mui Wo in December 2019. The store sells mostly wines and beers, and over time it has evolved into a community hub, a space where locals drop by to have a chat and pick up a bottle to enjoy at home. In December 2020, Solomon went into partnership and opened Leeder Quay Wine and Liquor Store, also in Mui Wo, concentrating on spirits, mixers and more exotic beverages. Prior to the wine venture, Solomon was a lawyer in the shipping industry. Here, he provides some inspirational advice for budding entrepreneurs.
Q What are the main characteristics that every successful entrepreneur needs?
For me, the overriding characteristic that distinguishes the most successful entrepreneurs is their long-term vision, that and their unwavering self-belief in seeing it through. In other words, a combination of inspiration and perspiration.
Q What’s the single most important thing to consider when setting up a business?
Would you use your own products or services? If not then it will be an uphill struggle, people are adept in reading body language and when you have doubts, they can see through you.
Q Should you only start a business if you’re passionate about it?
Passion definitely gives you extra motivation but ultimately the question you should be asking is can you tap into a sustainable market to keep you going? You also need to be psychologically prepared, and willing to park your ego at the door for a while. You will need to get your hands dirty and you will be made to look a bit silly while you are learning the ropes.
Q What’s the key to entrepreneurial success?
Keep trying new ideas and don’t be afraid to fail. Failure is mandatory if you want to grow and progress. Once a business is doing well, you can sustain the momentum by constantly looking ahead and keeping yourself (just a little) on edge. Being comfortable will ensure you go backwards.
Q What’s the best piece of entrepreneurial advice you’ve ever been given?
“If a job’s worth doing, get someone else to do it!”
Q Are entrepreneurs high risk takers?
For sure there is a correlation between risk and reward but I don’t think entrepreneurs must be by definition high risk takers. Eventually most will settle at a risk tolerance level that is comfortable for them.
Q What types of legal contracts should every small business have?
Having dealt with legal contracts for many years in my past life [as a lawyer in the shipping industry], I honestly believe that most of them are not worth the paper they are written on. For me, the most important quality when doing business with others is to build up trust and let them understand that you are in this together for the long term.
Q How much time do you need to make a business a success?
As long as it takes! I don’t really have a fixed window in terms of return on investment. As long as the business is sustainable and I still believe in what I am doing then I will soldier on. In the same way, I don’t look at there being an endgame to what I am doing, but rather a gradual evolution to wherever this venture will take me.
Q Why did you decide to change careers and open the stores in Mui Wo?
My wife and I have lived in South Lantau for the best part of 10 years, so we thought it would be a great idea to live and work in the same community. It’s very different to the normal Hong Kong routine of commuting to the city every day. We set out to provide a different kind of experience and hoped it would work!
Q Do most of your customers shop online?
That was how I started my business but for a product like wine it is difficult to sell without the key ingredient of human interaction. The online segment is growing but we are still largely reliant on bricks-and-mortar customers. Interaction with clients is key in my business so when hiring staff, I always look for happy people. A smile goes a long way to disarm hesitancy.
Q What value-added services do you provide compared to the existing competition?
We provide free tasting at our shop in a more casual atmosphere so customers tend to feel more relaxed and are more forthcoming in terms of what they are looking for. By listening to clients and figuring out where the demand is coming from, we are able to diversify.
Q What is your Unique Selling Point?
Over-delivering at every price point! (Actually, that’s my motto!)
Q How do you reach your target audience?
I’m still trying to find out how! Of course, there are the print and social media angles but I truly believe that if you do a good job then word will spread and more people will look you up.
Q How do you operate in closed markets like the pandemic?
I used to spend a lot of time travelling to all corners of the world to look for wines that would be interesting and a bit ‘off the beaten path’ compared to what other wine merchants were offering. That hasn’t happened for over two years now but luckily, I had built up a network of contacts prior to COVID so I have been reliant on them for ideas for new products. If COVID had struck a few years back I probably wouldn’t have started this business.
Q Lastly, which entrepreneur do you most admire and why?
Muhammad Yunus, founder of Grameen Bank. He’s an entrepreneur with a moral compass who did great work in alleviating poverty.
Leeder Quay Wines – Shop S2 Mui Wo Cooked Food Market, Mui Wo Pier Rd7074 0208, cto.leederquay@gmail.com, www.leederquay.com, www.instagram.com/leederquay, www.facebook.com/leederquay.