Ingrid Lee sits behind her food truck, Oden Bar, placed next to a hillside road with only one other business nearby. Customers line up for the authentic Japanese snacks until 1 a.m. each night. (Akie Ang, The China Post and courtesy of Huang Yu-ju)

Without a great location or heavy financial funding, a Japanese food truck in the outskirt of Taipei is proving that the make-or-break factor of a small business is to have a distinctive concept.

Ingrid Lee, the self-financed owner of Oden Studio and Oden Bar, has transformed oden - Japanese hot pot with assorted ingredients like radish, tofu or fish cake, also known as Guandongzhu in Taiwan - into a must-have dish filled with surprises.

Last year, Lee's food truck, that initially used to just have average daily sales of NT$1,000, became profitable enough for her to open a permanent restaurant, Oden Bar. Lee doesn't disclose the revenues, but said customers would flock to both venues in Neihu District from sunset to as late as 1 a.m., spending on average NT$250 per person.

Lee claims that her secret to success is simple: “Just think outside the box.” In fact, it was much more. She had mapped out a clear concept before jumping into the business.

Four years ago, the former director of a TV travel show became a mobile vendor after wondering, “Could life offer me more possibilities?” The mid-30s dreamer did not randomly choose to do what was hot in the market at the time. She searched for a niche-by marketing fresh Japanese oden as a novelty in Taiwan.

Lee said that in Taiwan, oden is sold as a grab-and-go cheap snack in night markets and convenience stores, offering around 10 ingredients and one soup base. Lee thought she could recreate the authentic Japanese oden experience- but by providing 40-plus ingredients simmering in a variety of soup bases.

Customers are in for a surprise if they are expecting Taiwanese oden such as plain meatball, cabbage or bean curd. Some of her Japan-inspired ingredients are Codfish Cakes (white triangle-shaped tasty ingredient in a spongy-texture), Crab Roe Ball (dumpling-shaped meatball filled with juicy crab roe), Meaty Fortune Pocket (moist mushroom-flavored meats wrapped in soft bean curds), Fried Burdock Tempura or Boiled Apple Slices, all simmered in a light soup base made of dried seaweeds, dried bonito flakes and assorted veggies.

　While most restaurants are lowering prices, her oden, priced four times higher than average, attract even frugal customers. Her competitive advantage-a bowl of aesthetically-arranged and carefully-selected ingredients. “I don't sell my oden by telling customers it is delicious,” she said. Despite long lines of customers, Lee doesn't mind patiently explaining the stories behind different ingredients to each customer.

With a limited budget, Lee placed the oden truck next to a hillside road with only one other business around. After spotting the dark hillside, she envisioned customers hesitantly walking uphill, following the dim lights, ancient Japanese music, the steaming oden smell, and “being wowed at finding a nicely-decorated truck parked in the middle of nowhere.”

The trailblazer did not stake her investment based on intuition. With no prior small-business experience, Lee first worked at a beauty store as a salesperson to gain key, hands-on skills, namely marketing, customer interaction and product display.

　Knowing that cash flow pressures can drive even profitable businesses into the ground, Lee set aside NT$200,000 for six months of personal expenses. With another NT$600,000 of personal savings serving as the start-up capital, Lee was able to stay debt-free from the beginning.

　To minimize her burn rate and shore up cash, Lee limited her capital expenditures by “shopping for cheap and creative alternatives.” For instance, she estimates she saved NT$470,000 by purchasing a secondhand food truck for just NT$30,000. She also cut labor costs to nil by doing everything herself in the beginning.

Her business also benefited from meticulous inventory control. “I used my TV directing experience to figure out when and why people tune in [visit the store] at a certain time.” For instance, she expects fewer customers on rainy days so she always reduces her output on those days due to the lower demand. Other times, she needs to increase inventory such as stocking more sodas on Wednesdays since elementary school students get off earlier.

　After her success attracted media attention, Lee said she has noticed many oden trucks sprouting up. Lee did not want the oden concept to become like the Portuguese-styled egg tart fad of the late 1990s, which died out after egg tart shops saturated Taiwan with undifferentiated, copy-cat tarts.

　“I cannot stop others from imitating my oden truck, but I can keep tweaking my concept.”

　Lee said the oden concept originally took the form of a mobile truck over a restaurant for lower risks-a smaller investment and the ability to change locations when necessary.

Then why open an oden restaurant that has much higher expenses and rent than a mobile truck?

“I knew the trend [oden trucks] would probably fizzle out.”

　　　Her new restaurant, Oden Bar, expands on the original concept with a new niche-a collection of the latest Japanese sakes at affordable prices.

　 The new restaurateur has proven that the ability to think ahead using a solid concept is what transfers a start-up into a sustainable, and scalable, business. And the cautious entrepreneur is not stopping yet.

　“The shops are only a warm-up for my next business venture, which will be unveiled when the time is right.”