FROM MILITARY TO BUSINESS OPERATIONS

When 1st Sergeant (1SG) (NS) Edlan Chua joined his brother's fledgling business in 2006, he had no idea Paradise Group would grow to be the success it is today.

Clad fashionably in a long-sleeved white shirt and fitting black pants, 1SG (NS) Chua was a picture of confidence as he strode into the Paradise Dynasty restaurant at the Lot One shopping mall for his interview with PIONEER.

His boyish good looks belied the 10- to 16-hour workdays that he clocked as second-in-command of Paradise Group, the local restaurant company that boasts a chain of 29 restaurants - ranging from fine dining establishments to casual dining hangouts - and a host of awards.

As the group's Chief Operating Officer (COO), 1SG (NS) Chua is intimately involved in every aspect of the company's workings, such as daily operations, marketing, finance, human resource issues and even the choice of cutlery and utensils used in the restaurants.

Comparing himself to a builder, who, brick by brick, brings the vision of the architect to fruition, the 33-year-old former Commando, who spent six years in the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF), said: "The architect can have great ideas but you need someone to materialise them."

The architect, in this case, is his elder brother by three years, Paradise Group Chief Executive Officer Eldwin Chua. In 2002, the older Chua started his own cooked food stall at Defu Industrial Estate. Four years later, 1SG (NS) Chua joined his brother and what followed was an accelerated growth in their business. At one point, said 1SG (NS) Chua, the group was opening a new restaurant each month.

"At that time, I felt that I had achieved the things I wanted to achieve. I had joined the toughest unit in the Army and had gone through some of the toughest courses. My brother had also been asking me to help out, so why not?" explained 1SG (NS) Chua on his decision to join his brother.

Passion and determination

When asked if they had modelled their business strategies and policies after more established companies, 1SG (NS) Chua said that the brothers did not plan for such growth at the beginning.

"Along the way, if there was something we needed to do, areas that we could innovate in and expand on, we did it. We didn't expect that we would achieve this, but with passion and determination... things just fell into place bit by bit," he said of the group's success.

It is perhaps this doggedness and never-say-die attitude that has helped propel the group's business from a small hawker stall in an industrial estate to the heartlands and places like ION Orchard and Marina Bay Financial Centre. But 1SG (NS) Chua was quick to point out that he did not parachute straight into the cushy appointment of COO.

"My brother started from scratch, and when I first joined him, I also started from scratch. I did everything from washing plates, taking orders to being a cashier and serving food," recounted 1SG (NS) Chua of his early days in the business.

The modus operandi then, when money was collected in a Milo tin and tallied on a daily basis, was a far cry from business operations today, said 1SG (NS) Chua. He spoke animatedly about how his work was very much about managing human expectations. From a small group of 10 when the business first started, the group has since grown to having about 1,200 staff on its payroll.

"Different people have different expectations and requirements, so it's about how you lead them to achieve the same goals. It's as though you are fighting a war. You need the soldiers' morale (to be high) and you need everyone to believe in the same goals in order to win the battle," said 1SG (NS) Chua.

Modelling after the SAF

As a greenhorn, he started out by modelling the company's structure after what he had picked up in areas such as reporting hierarchy and year-end appraisals during his time in the SAF. "We learnt along the way. I would try to apply knowledge and skills in areas that I felt were useful, and if it was good, I'd keep it."

"I think the Army inculcated in me very strong values. In my unit, we had a lot of mottos, like 'tough times don't last, tough men do'. It's pretty applicable in the private sector. When I put my mind to something, I make sure I achieve my goals It's a lot of perseverance and hard work," said 1SG (NS) Chua, who travels three months in a year to scout for new sites and to manage the group's overseas outlets in China, Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand. The group plans to expand to Japan by the end of the year.

Outside of work, 1SG (NS) Chua enjoys spending time with his homemaker wife Joyce and his two-year-old son Edison. So does he already have plans for his son to follow in his footsteps?

Like the consummate businessman that he has become, 1SG (NS) Chua said: "It boils down to his ability at that time. If he has no interest and passion, and if he is not capable, how to let him run the business?"

"I think the Army inculcated in me very strong values. When I put my mind to something, I make sure I achieve my goals."
- 1SG (NS) Chua, who attributes the success of the business to determination and hard work