My Journey with Paperkutz SG

Paperkutz SG is almost 1. Thus i guess it's apt for me to make a post dedicated to my home business.

The idea to start a custom sticker business had been around since 2011. But i kept shelving the idea because I need to invest a small amount of money on the machines and materials. Thus, i delved into selling cosmetics online through Spendless Cosmetics. Wasn't really making much money with them though. But anyway, those were the past.

Why i waited till 2015 to brave myself into putting in money into the business? Because I had the support of my fiance. Back then when i was still with the ex, i did mention about investing in this particular machine but well, seems like i was communicating with a wall. But with fai, even he was excited and gave me the go ahead with the investments. Oh, apologies for not wanting to reveal what is the machine i bought; Singapore is quite a small country so I'm kinda selfish into sharing what I have. Imagine many people getting the same thing then i guess the demand for customized stickers will decline since every Tom, Mary & Jane can make their own stickers.

Well since I had been eyeing the machine since 2011, naturally the curiosity in me will want to learn more about it's functions and capabilities even though I do not have the machine on hand. COnfusing at first, but once i got the machine in March last year, i slowly got the hang of it.

To be honest, I got slightly demoralized and almost gave up because it was so complicated! But when i think about the monies i put in, and the future that i have planned, i made sure i persevered on. Life is a lifelong journey anyway. This is when i learnt that watching videos and reading tutorials about a particular instrument doesn't really help much unless you have hands on. Same theory like when you are at work lah kan?

I am thankful for the small group of friends who supported my initial journey in Paperkutz SG. Without them I could not have a portfolio to advertise on social medias. I'm even more thankful for my fiance whose ideas seems neverending. Because of him I also managed to play around more with the instrument and create unique stickers like couple stickers, and hard to find stickers. Somehow I feel like he's the boss and I'm just the worker, because he assisted in putting the price guide on the stickers i made for customers.

My first ever product with Paperkutz SG

But nothing is perfect in the beginning. I wasted alot of materials, and i really mean, ALOT! because I wasn't familiar with the settings, I had to play around with the settings, had to do alot of trial and error. And sometimes when I thought i was already accustomed to the machine, something just had to go wrong. But it's part and parcel of starting up a business. We learn from our mistakes.

I don't come from a family of entrepreneurs. My relative in Malaysia only recently started their teak furniture business which is thankfully doing well, but not after several failed attempts at other businesses. I didn't really know who to learn the business trade from, thus I'm still not willing to take a big jump and do something big. Either way, I'm still quite tied up with my full time job.

Halfway through, my buddy in Gixxers@SG entrusted me to help him with his business decal. Honestly he's a scary client. Fussy, OCD, but the end product finally made all of us happy. Then, we decided to create a club decal for the Gixxers. Again, fussy fella. But his fussiness is not about the typical boss who only orders around, he's particularly observant and has an eye for intricate details, which makes the Gixxers@SG sticker more stand out even though it's of die-cut finishing. 

Shortly after, I had a bulk order with a corporate company. The experience was honestly, shit. Sometimes the "people up there" has the IQ but low on EQ, or importantly, basically no common sense. You obviously do not demand to pay $1 for a design with intricate detailing. I was down with severe back pain at that point of time, suspected slip disc, i couldn't stand or sit for long periods of time. So it made the work even more not worth the time I honestly regretted dealing with them. But then again, it's another learning point taken.

All these while managing Paperkutz SG, I learn a lot of things. At least it rejuvenated my brain cells which was long dead when I work day in and day out in the lab. 

From customized stickers, to customized wedding/engagement guestbooks, I'm now venturing into the custom apparels business. It will definitely take a while to take off, but patience is obviously going to be a virtue. I've done up several customized baby rompers/tees/vests and thanks to the Almighty that my customers loved them.

So much love from my customers who entrusted their faith in my services, and double triple love from my recurring customers who came back for more! Alhamdulillah...

Guess that's all for now. In the mean time, check out my previous works... And happy 1st year Paperkutz SG!

Elated with my customer's feedback.

Happiness need not be in the form of money.
A happy customer = A happy Zue

For a friend who keeps coming back for more. haha

Decals for the riding community.
#S4KPDTRIP2015 for the group to Port Dickson in September 2015

Decals for the Riding Community.
Ohana means family, and family means no one gets left behind.

From Prospin to Prospin Motorsports, Made with much TLC from Paperkutz SG

Whizzcar review Part 1: The HOW-TO process

Lots of people have been asking me where i rent the cars i drive from. But each time i try to explain to them, not many understand what i meant when i told them it's a "car sharing scheme".

For more information, you may go to www.whizzcar.com . But then again, why the need for this post if i'm just going to ask you to read off from their website right? haha

So i've been a customer of Whizzcar since June/July 2014. Registration was made through online, their admin staffs will send you several forms (through email) that you'll have to revert back to them through mail/fax. If i remember correctly, one of the forms asks for your preferred payment method. Through this, your registration fee is also being charged at the same time (better if you opt for credit card payment because if you opt for GIRO then i guess there'll be complications if you have insufficient funds in your bank account. You have to check with Whizzcar regarding GIRO payment because I opted for payment through credit card, i find it easier).

Within the next few days or within the next week, you'll receive your receipt of invoice for your registration with Whizzcar and your token (not really the token like your bank's OTP token. Again, there will be few forms for you to double confirm your signature and fax it over to their side. There will also be several documents that you need to submit. Okay let's copy and paste a paragraph from their website ...

Upon approval, you will need to submit the following documents via e-mail, fax, or mail to process your membership:

1. Copy of driver’s licence (and/or supplementary member’s)

1. Copy of identification card (and/or supplementary member’s)

1. Signed GIRO / credit card authorization form

1. Copy of proof of income (payslip/CPF contribution/tax assessment)

1. Initial payment for joining fee, membership fees, and deposit

Anyway, the token looks like this ...

So together with the token, you'll receive a members pack. It contains your user ID and password to login to the exclusive members only portal where you're going to book the cars from. It also contains a guide on how to go about making the booking from the point of online booking, to collection, driving off and returning the car.

I'm just gonna show you readers a slight info into how the booking process is like .... Upon logging in, you will be given the option to "Reserve a Whizzcar" or to view your "Electronic Invoice", Yep! Paperless billing people! Save the trees yo! Okok back to booking the car... Click on "reserve a whizzcar" and go to "Graphical Reservation". It typically lists down all the cars available categorized under the areas they are at. As for me, I stay in Tampines, so i have 3 options to book my cars from.

But sometimes, luck may not be on my side. So i have to like click on the areas one by one and see which cars is available. But if luck is on my side then .... (see pic below)

Green bars indicates available slots. Red bars indicates that the car is booked for that specified timing. The blue bar refers to my own reservation. Bookings are made in 30 minutes blocks. And lets say if you decide to book a car at 4.05pm, you have to DIE DIE start your booking at 4.30pm because bookings CANNOT BE MADE IN THE PAST. No worries, there will always be prompts.  After your booking is confirmed, a SMS will be sent to the mobile number you registered with, complete with the car number and location. BUTTTT .. do take note that the block number of the carpark is not indicated in the SMS sooo if you aren't familiar with the area (and to prevent you from last minute kancheong when you wanna collect the car but forgot where the car is located at), take note of the block number when making your booking.

Whizzcar's cars are always parked at their designated lots. So far i haven't had any problems with outside cars being parked in their lots because the pillars will have the Whizzcar logo, the back walls will have a warning stating "No parking. Fine $50", and the designated lots are painted RED with labels "FOR WHIZZCAR ONLY". So i guess it would really take a stupid, asshole, idiotic driver to park in that lot. But you may never know, there's ALOT of brainless drivers in Singapore. hah.

OK prior to driving off, you have to unlock your car right? BUT HOW? haa, that's when the token comes into the picture. You just need to tap and hold your token on the bottom right side of the front windscreen. Wait for the red light turn to orange (then you will hear the car unlock itself) and then the orange light will turn to green. COOL RIGHT. okay car unlock liao, but no key, how to drive? where to get the key from? MAI GANCHEONG! the key is located in the front dashboard. before driving off, BE SURE TO CHECK THE CAR THOROUGHLY for any extra scratches or dents. there will be a card indicating any cosmetic flaws to the car cause by other users. You do not need to update anything, just give Whizzcar a call if there are other extra damages you find.

So there you are! Ready for a drive! But, be sure to be a courteous driver and fill up the petrol tank for the next user ya! There's far too many times i took the car and the tank was only a quarter full! NAUGHTY NAUGHTY! *inserts angry face* I don't understand! Why is it so hard to fill up the petrol? Petrol is fully reimbursable, FYI. GOOD RIGHT?!

Upon returning your car, place the keys back into the slot inside the dashboard. Check that no belongings are left behind. I learnt a lesson the hard way the first time because i left my cashcard with $30+ value in the IU unit and locked the car with the token. TAKE NOTE: You can't unlock the car once you tap your token on the "idk-what-gadget-that-is" to lock the car to signify the end of your booking session.

FYI, if you're going to go several places, you don't need to tap your token to unlock/lock the car. Just lock the car manually with the key.

That's about the first part of registering with Whizzcar.

What are the damages?
One time Joining fee: SGD107 (payable only for first month)
Refundable deposit: SGD100 (payable only for first month)
Subsequent monthly membership: SGD10.70 (irregardless of bookings made or otherwise)

What are the requirements to sign up for Whizzcar?
Valid driver's license (DUH!!)
Minimum 1 year experience
Between 21 to 65 years old
Singaporean, PR or EP holder

Next post, I will talk about the pros and cons of Whizzcar, and why i still decide to stick to Whizzcar.

Stay tuned!