Things I'm Learning from People I'm Meeting


Funny how things in my work and personal life converge - or maybe they're converging because one's feeding off the other.

Here's what's taking up my time now:
- I'm working on building my own business, LINEA, in communications consulting and training. And meeting some really cool, independent businesspeople.
- I'm taking a REALLY great Travel Photography class with Eyes On Asia, and discovering that there are things to shoot in Singapore, and shooting with some really cool people,
- I'm working with volunteers to beef up the learning program at the Whampoa Family Service Centre and learning that diversity=different points of view=a stronger program.

I actually started off wanting to focus on PR for Very Small Businesses and Small/ Medium Businesses. But I quickly realised that businesses that small don't care about putting marketing disciplines in silos - they don't have the time or resources. They want everything linked together - something some larger companies see as a theoretical thing called Integrated Marketing. So I'm quickly finding other independent partners to work with to meet VSB needs.

The businessespeople (men and women) I've met have an independent streak that's tied very tightly with pragmatism and a link to their business goals. Paradoxically, their business goals aren't measured purely by numbers but whether they're doing something that ties in with their beliefs and ideals and ultimately makes them happy.

Through my photog class, where each of us shoot around a single travel-related theme, I'm meeting independent shopkeepers that are totally going against the grain. I'm shooting Singapore Retail: Beyond Orchard Road. (The food one was already "choped" by a German classmate who speaks Singlish, says AIYOH a lot, and is fast becoming a laksa expert. Singapore cab, Little India, and Skateboarding are some of my other classmates' themes.)

I've been spending a lot of time at the Ann Siang Hill/ Club Street/ Haji Lane area where stores have strong, distinctive personalities. They're run by young people with guts and strong vision that the books, clothes, accessories, homeware that are making them happy will make their potential customers happy to hang out there - and buy stuff - as well.

I'd like to take some of the older kids (ie 11-and 12-yr olds) at Whampoa to visit the area to meet these cool store owners, hang out in bookstores - especially one really cool kids' bookstore called Woods in the Books on Club St. Mostly I'd like them to chat with entrepreneurial young people who aren't confined to the mainstream, so that they realise it can be done.

At Whampao, volunteers who've only been with us a few months have come up with some really cool, specific suggestions to improve the Saturday program. One volunteer suggested we weave in some Math rather than focus on English all the time. So another two other volunteers are building a "manufacturing and commerce" game into this Saturday's program. We're going to give put the kids in teams, give them Monopoly money, "sell" them raw materials to make bookmarks and decorate clothes pegs - and they're going to make goods, price 'em and "sell" 'em back to the volunteers.

So, new people, new headspace, new ideas that are opening a really different world to me. Couple of people asked me if I'm going to take a chunk of time off to travel. I'm thinking - later. Right now I'm just starting on this really cool journey.