Journalism of Courage
How a 21-year-old used ChatGPT to save family’s business from Rs 22 lakh debt
Using ChatGPT to revive her family's grocery store, the 21-year-old now pays her own university fees with its profits.
ChatGPT helped Enqi streamline inventory, improve marketing, increase sales, and revive her family’s struggling grocery store. (AI generated image)
At just 21, a Singapore university student has managed to turn her family’s struggling neighbourhood grocery store into a profitable business with an unlikely partner: ChatGPT.
According to CNA Insider, Lin Enqi stepped in to run her family’s grocery store in Kampung Admiralty when she was 18. The shop was in serious financial trouble at the time, carrying debts of more than S$30,000 (around Rs 22 lakh) while sales continued to decline. Looking for ways to work smarter rather than harder, she began using artificial intelligence to streamline the store’s operations.
One of the first problems she tackled was organising the store’s inventory after the business switched to a new point-of-sale system. With more than 8,000 products to be categorised, the task would have taken nearly a week if done manually. Instead, Enqi turned to ChatGPT, which completed the sorting process in just two days, saving considerable time and effort.
She also sought ChatGPT’s help to find ways to boost revenue without sacrificing profits. The AI suggested introducing shopping vouchers that customers could redeem after meeting a minimum spending requirement. The strategy encouraged shoppers to spend more while protecting the store’s margins, and Enqi said such AI-driven ideas played a key role in improving the business’s finances.
As she became more comfortable with the technology, Enqi went a step further by developing a custom GPT with support from Nanyang Polytechnic’s Centre for Applied AI. The personalised assistant was designed around her store’s needs, allowing it to remember previous promotions, recommend festive marketing campaigns and generate ideas tailored to upcoming holidays. This reduced the time she spent planning promotions and freed her up to focus on running the business.
ChatGPT has also become her go-to research assistant. Instead of spending hours reading industry reports, she now uses the AI to summarise retail trends and point her towards relevant sources, helping her make informed business decisions more efficiently.
Her success story is rooted in resilience as much as technology. According to CNA Insider, Enqi has been financially independent since she was 16. Today, the income from the grocery store helps her pay for her university education, which costs around S$10,000 (approximately Rs 7.4 lakh) annually, while also covering employee salaries and overseeing the store’s day-to-day operations.
© IE Online Media Services Pvt Ltd
Advertisement
Loading Recommendations...
Advertisement
Live Blog