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“Growth for me is bigger contracts and happier employees”- Karla Singson
What’s your backstory?
I’m a 50% rebel 50% nerd who graduated college at 19 and had nothing better to do. I cultivated a lot of non-committal jobs while writing on the side, until I got a job as a writer at one of the biggest advertising agencies in the country.
I got tired of that too; I hated the office politics and the dress code. So I quit it after almost a year, played poker for a living, and then wrote on the side. I had a lot of experience doing public speaking so on the side, I would accept hosting/ emcee opportunities. When I started doing bigger and bigger events, that’s when I learned I could make so much more if I was the one doing the event.
Now, 7 years later, my events and PR company is still my biggest business, and we have led campaigns for over 100 brands including corporate giants such as Sony, AirAsia, Sharp, BMW, Bosch, Hafele, and Alcatel, as well as big nonprofit organizations such as The Australian Embassy, World Vision, and Habitat for Humanity.
I’ve also taken my flower shop business seriously, and we currently have 5 dealers all over the country. Then over the past two years, I started two online businesses – PR agency and a VA placement agency, because I want more freedom of time and location.
How did you promote your business in the early days?
Everything was word-of-mouth and explicitly asking for referrals, albeit in really charming ways. For every successful project we have, that’s our seal of excellence, and it makes me have more confidence asking for the recommendation. I will never be shy about asking for something I know I deserve.
How have you been able to grow your business?
My biggest business growth came with hiring the right people—those who are far smarter, more hardworking, and more organized than me. I have my strengths, and they will have their own too. We fill each other’s gaps and I can do what I do best: sales and communications. And defining desired growth is also something that you should do properly, at the onset of your business. Growth for me is bigger contracts and happier employees, I don’t care so much about more clients or a bigger office or a new branch, really.
Where do you see yourself in a couple of years? What’s your dream?
In a couple of years, I will have several real estate investments which are giving me great returns, 5-7 businesses I love and lead with the best teams I can ask for, and thousands of students and young entrepreneurs I’ve helped to achieve freedom and success, whatever those words mean to them.
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