Ten Pies Baked With Heart

"We must have a pie. Stress cannot exist in the presence of a pie," said David Mamet, an American playwright who wrote this in the play "Boston Marriage." That perhaps explains one of the reasons Aaron Lee started Ten Pies, a bakery specialising in unforgettable handmade pastries that are Baked With Heart and bring joy to people.?

Welcome to Chatterbox Lounge, a monthly newsletter covering stories about people, places, and things that excite us and inspire you. We invited Aaron Lee, the founder of Ten Pies, as our special guest in the first Chatterbox Lounge newsletter.

You might be wondering how Aaron got the name "Ten Pies." He shared that he wanted the brand name to reflect the philosophy of "success through capability." In Chinese, this is described as "实力派" (shi2 li4 pai4) or "Capability Tribe." He later realised that the pronunciation sounded exactly like "十粒派" or "Ten Pies." It was so punny and on point that it instantly became the top choice for the brand name.

During the interview, Aaron shared that he has been a massive fan of cooking for most of his adult life. However, he only really got into baking four years ago. Initially, it was intimidating as people surrounding him kept telling him it was challenging.?

Fortunately, Aaron was determined to pursue his dreams and ventured into the pies business. After attempting, he realised it was more manageable than others described. It was more of mastering specific techniques through repetition and being precise and consistent with measurements. This aligned with his personality perfectly, as he has been obsessed with creating better pastries ever since.?

Aaron is an avid foodie and spends a lot of time thinking about, making, and consuming delicious things. Therefore, he always enjoys creating good food and seeing people enjoy his food. Also, Aaron harboured the aspiration of one day running an F&B business. So when the COVID-19 lockdown happened in 2020, he got the opportunity to delve into product development and research, and everything started from there.

Currently, Aaron finds that balancing his time and energy between the multiple roles of production, fulfilment, sales & marketing, and product development is one of the most challenging parts of running his bakery business. He says that since this is what most solopreneurs go through, he chooses to see this challenge this as an intensive training boot camp.?

"Embrace scary situations - even if you don't hit your goal the first time, you're levelling up and gaining valuable experience," said Aaron.

From here, you can tell that Aaron's strong persistence fuels him moving forward. He emphasised the importance of being able to bounce back from setbacks and keep working at them. The saying goes, "You must fight through some bad days to earn the best days of your life."?

What Aaron finds rewarding is the positive feedback he receives from customers who enjoy his food and keep coming back. He is motivated to see something he created bringing joy to people.?

When asked if Aaron has a favourite pie, he said he loves all kinds of pies as each has its good points. However, if he chose one, he would go with Apple Pie. He believes it goes well with most occasions (or even without). Well, you don't need a reason to have a slice of apple pie!

So, follow Ten Pies on Instagram. Enjoy a Chatterbox-exclusive deal by entering the promo code "CHATTERBOX10" (order here) and enjoy 10% off your purchase with no minimum.?

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