Law school drop-out, ex-digital agency owner, mom of two.
Some of you may know me from my past life in Hong Kong as owner of digital agency BeansBox, organizer of tech conference BarCamp, or the cat lady who had an Instagram full of street cat pics.
I have since moved to Canada in 2016 to start a new chapter. No longer a boss, I am happily working at Apply Digital, a product design studio.
After a 7-year hiatus, I have started blogging again because I miss writing, sharing and connecting with people outside of algorithmic social media feeds. I hope you enjoy your time here.
Topics I am enthusiastic about:
- Entrepreneurship
- Creative service business
- B2B sales & marketing
- Customer success
- Productivity
- PropTech
- Fitness & wellness
- Architecture & home design
Latest Posts
Retention vs. Acquisition
“Sorry, this promo is only for new customers.” I’ve been told that more than a few times by big service providers. Guess what? I’m…
Opportunity Cost
I hated Economics when I was in high school, but somehow I learned one thing that has influenced my daily life ever since. Opportunity…
Best time to take time off
When is the best time to take time off as a business owner? Never. There’s never a good time, but you must do it.…
The art of sending an invoice
Sending an invoice is like proposing to someone. If you are not 100% certain that they would say yes, you shouldn’t do it. Or…
Compete on the enchantment
Ron Baker writes about the Japanese concept of “Atarimae hinshitsu” – taken-for-granted quality. Things should work as they are supposed to. I’m also learning about…
Ask this one question to prioritize sales effort
“If you had to pick two, which are most important for this engagement?” QualityScopeTimePrice I used to ask every early-stage prospect that exact question.…
Stop doing 50/50 payment schedule
50/50 payment schedules used to stress me out so I stopped doing them. In the creative field, “complete” is always subjective because there are…
The best perk you could give to your employees
I don’t believe that the “customer is always right”. In my previous life as an agency owner, I did something unconventional. I gave each…
How do you talk about what you do?
Ask yourself – what are you getting paid for? We usually focus on describing what we do vs. the value our customers receive. Example…
Pricing on Purpose
“Costs do not determine price, rather, price determines costs and value determines price.” I have been reading “Pricing on Purpose: Creating and Capturing Value”…
1% Better Makes a Big Difference
How I got rid of 6 apps and 20+ spreadsheets in my productivity toolbox In the book Atomic Habits, James Clear writes about the British cycling…
Building Trust is More Important Than Building Your Portfolio
According to relationship expert John Gottman, it takes five positive interactions (aka “deposits”) to make up for one negative interaction. Gottman was referring to romantic…
Selling works best when you are not selling
I was reading “12 Timeless Principles of Selling” by Josh Braun and “Principle 5: Don’t Chase Cats” reminded me of a prospect meeting I had while…
2020 Review
I recently swiped this “Yearly Review” list from Marie Poulin at Notion Mastery and found it way more insightful than the usual “what went well, what…
Who Do You Say Yes To When Hiring?
Who do you say YES to when you are hiring? I say yes to people who: lift others upare resilientshow passion and energydon’t wait…
Celebrating 5 Years in Canada
I am celebrating 5 years in Canada and 4 years as an employee at Apply Digital in January. Looking back on these first years living and…
Putting a Price on What You Do
In my last article, Your Clients Will Thank You for Charging More, I talked about creative professionals who price work based on their “costs” to…
Does becoming parent make you a better manager?
Sometimes I wonder: does becoming a parent make you a better manager? I am quite late to this parenting thing, and seriously, this is…
Delivering Happiness – RIP Tony Hsieh
These past few days I can’t stop thinking about Tony Hsieh. I got his book “Delivering Happiness” as a birthday present from my fellow…
In defence of timesheets
Do you fill out timesheets? I do. 🤐 I know a lot of people hate them but I want to defend timesheets. Hear me…
WFH during COVID lockdown
This was my “home office” when COVID lockdown started and Apply Digital’s physical office was closed. I took this photo to remind myself of that…
Your Clients Will Thank You for Charging More
I started my career in the creative service industry 20+ years ago, and I’ve heard everyone from freelancers to agency owners sigh about the…
Incentivizing referrals with money is awkward
There’s something awkward about incentivizing referrals with money. I can’t help but cringe every time I see someone offering or asking for a referral…
What would you change if you owned the company?
What would YOU change if you owned the company? It’s a question I asked MailChimp employees sitting on stage in front of a large…
What makes a great job interview?
What makes a great job interview? For me, a good marker is that both the candidate and interviewer feel energized, not drained, when it’s…
Why I Don’t Miss Being a Boss
“Delivery for B. Liu?” “Yep, that’s me. You can bring it up.” Five minutes later, two guys were shuffling down the office’s hallway carrying…
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