Interview with Shreya Narang '24 and Rohin Narang '26 about their entrepreneurial venture "Sliced," by Dr. James Edge, Upper School English Teacher, History Teacher, Social Entrepreneurship Coordinator, and Tennis Coach. See more student entrepreneurs in action at this Sunday's Winter Market, 2-4:30 p.m. in the Dining Hall. For more about the event, click here.

Q. Where did this idea come from?

A. The idea of starting our own business originated from Shreya’s interest in baking. She began baking early in her life, and her younger brother, Rohin, began to develop an interest. During the pandemic, we continued to bake regularly for our family. We discussed the idea of possibly starting our own business over the summer of 2021 as a ‘joke’. However, we began to consider how we could convert this idea into a reality. Our first step was to list desserts we have made which have been popular, in order to begin the construction of our menu. We then priced each item, according to the expenses of the ingredients. Finally, we created our menu which includes the prices and the goods. 

Q. What has been the hardest thing you’ve had to handle through developing Sliced?

A. There have certainly been many challenges we have encountered while developing Sliced. It was very difficult to create an effective system which organizes our orders, our prior customers, and our revenue and expenses. Additionally, developing content consistently for our social media posts has been one of the hardest things to keep up with. Lastly, it has been challenging to continue to post on social media, while managing school work as well as attending extracurricular activities.  

Q. Where do you see Sliced going in the future?

A. We have two main aspirations for Sliced. The first is to be exposed and publicized to the Providence Day community, and other communities in Charlotte. Also, we hope to receive an increased amount of orders from members of the PD community.  

Q. What is your favorite part about this effort? 

A. We have certainly enjoyed many aspects while developing Sliced. Continuing to pursue one of our major interests has been very rewarding. Also, we have enjoyed establishing relationships with our customers, especially those who have ordered from us multiple times. Most importantly, we have enjoyed baking together and providing others with our goods. 

Q. What is something you were not expecting?

A. We have encountered two major surprises while developing Sliced. The first is the high amount of orders and support we received in the first two months. Additionally, having to revise our prices significantly due to inflation was unexpected, but it has taught us how to adjust our pricing according to the economy’s state and seasonal changes.  

Q. What is the most challenging aspect about running your own business?

A. There have been many challenging aspects we have faced while running our business. Staying organized has been difficult, as keeping track of our customers, payments received, expenses, and revenue has been frustrating. Also, agreeing on pricing and menu items has been a challenge, because, as siblings, we bicker. The most difficult aspect we have to do occasionally is turn down orders for when we are out of town.  

Q. What has been the overall effect of your enterprise on PD and the surrounding community?

A. So far we have participated in PD’s 2021 Fall Fest, Holiday Bazaar, and the Fall Fest of 2022. However, we feel we have yet to fully connect with the PD community. We hope to work with Flik and sell our delicacies at the Global Cafe in the future and advertise our business to the school community.  

Q. How do you balance school, activities, and Sliced?

A. In order to balance schoolwork, extra curricular activities, and Sliced, we work hard to manage our time. Also, if one of us has a lot of schoolwork the day we are delivering the order, the other sibling will complete the majority of the baking.  

Q. What is one piece of advice you would give other PD students trying to start a business?

A. It would be very difficult to chose one piece of advice to give to other PD student entrepreneurs; therefore, we have created a list of the most crucial points to consider:

1. Maintain a system where you can balance your business, school, and extracurriculars. 

2. Be patient!

3. Learn (if you don’t know how to already) the art of writing emails/responding to messages in a professional manner

4. Be sure to include a social media page for your business (IG, FB)

5. Be sure to establish healthy relationships with your customers

Follow us on Instagram @sliced4life.

Click this link to view our full menu, which is also available in our Instagram bio!