Restaurant: Kitchen 438
Location: Home-owned Business
Social Media: @kitchen.438 on Instagram
Small businesses have been booming in recent years with the advent of social media and food delivery apps to aid their success. Some grow so fast that they eventually lead to a conglomerate of multiple franchises. To get to that milestone, however, owners of small businesses must start at the root of all their potential and eventually branch out. Kitchen 438 serves as a testament to the passion and hard work put into small businesses in order for them to flourish.
Kitchen 438 is a small home owned business established in 2021 by Zainab Sajid, a student of The National University of Sciences and Technology. The business offers customers a variety of sweet as well as savoury food choices within affordable food ranges and aims to provide a quality food experience to those who potentially end up ordering. What started out as a hobby for baking and cooking was turned into a business idea less than two weeks ago. Zainab works tirelessly over the clock to complete orders as well as balance her school and social life. She credits Hamael Ahmad, a chef in Lahore who Zainab aspires to be like, for her motivation to keep her business running despite her busy schedule.
“Every time I feel like giving up, I just look up to their channels and my mood shifts right away.”
Finding delectable food at an affordable food range can be quite a challenge in the city of Islamabad. Zainab mentions that she tries not to keep her prices as high as the market rates in order to cater to university students who order on a tight budget. She goes out of her way to research the current market prices of restaurants and cafes to try and set her rates at a cheaper margin.
“I am still at the beginning of my business I try my best to set my prices at a lower rate compared to the market.”
Despite the hectic management put into a start-up, Zainab does not feel the need to hire extra help at the moment as she does not feel any overwhelming pressure in the early stages of her business. While many of her friends and class fellows have supported her business, she mentions that she does face criticism from her family regarding the burdens of managing a food service. Her brothers, on the other hand, are very supportive of her ventures.
“I face a lot of criticism at home in terms of this business, especially from my mom because she is worried about how hectic it will be to balance both uni and work.”
Zainab continues to run Kitchen 438 regardless of the obstacles that stand in her way and shows true perseverance in the face of criticism, serving as an example for small businesses everywhere that passion and hard work sets the foundation for a successful business.
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