Here I go again with my business terms but I can’t help it. Having a business finance background, everything I see, touched and get involve in gets somehow related to business. Extremely useful tool to have!
So here I am, starting anew once again. Fresh starts are what we need when we’ve fallen so low. It’s the one hope we can count on… to give us the motivation we need to continue striving on.
Starting all over again is refreshing but also tiring. The only thing I have going for me is that I’m not exactly starting from the bottom. At least I’ve gotten somewhere and although I’ve tripped and fallen a few stairs down, I’m back on my feet and ready to climb again.
Being in this line of work (or really, any line of work) relationship building is incredibly important. That’s a given. What I find to be also very important is diversifying assets. Put these two together and you have a quite a handful to handle!
So as of late, I am slowly attempting to immerse into the Singaporean market. Because my new management is Singapore-based, it only seems logical to develop and expand in Singapore.
The first bit is always the hardest. Because in reality, I am a nobody in Singapore. Not only that, I am based in Malaysia so it gets pretty tricky because it wouldn’t be the wisest choice to just immediately pack my bags and ground myself in Singapore so soon. First of all, living expenses in Singapore is a whole lot more costly. I do love how safe and pretty Singapore is but realistically speaking, if I am not well received as a public figure or an artiste in Singapore, the jobs won’t roll in and I would end up living on the streets.
So being recognized by the industry will take a lot of time and a lot of effort. And because it’s not a sure thing (when is anything ever in this crazy world?), it didn’t seem realistic to just move down over to Singapore right away. Hence, I have been flying back and forth for the past couple of months building my portfolio, attending a bunch of crucial meetings with producers, directors from TV, music, movies, etc. Along the way, my new manager has picked up a couple of jobs for me and at least I still have some jobs in Malaysia to keep the food on the table.
But it is tough. Because every step I make in this portion of my career and from here forth, it has to be thought out extremely carefully. Great things don’t just happen after all. My Dad would always remind me of Horace Greeley’s quote,
“Fame is vapor, popularity an accident, and riches take wings. Only one thing endures and that is character.”
I will always keep these words close to heart!
As of now, I am still going through the grind. But I can say confidently at this point that I truly believe that the combination of 1) people skills, 2) proper preparation through experiences, skills, and talents I have honed in the past, 3) determination and motivation, and most importantly, 4) diversifying my assets, have proven to be quite effective. All with the help of an amazing manager, of course.
I haven’t yet nailed any big movie projects or TV gigs or began work on a music album production or any of the sort, but I have faith that with all the bullets I’m shooting at every direction, one of them is bound to hit a bulls eye.
The key thing is not to put all your eggs into one basket. Having said that, it is important to stay focused. At the end of the day, you don’t want to be doing a million things and only be mediocre at every one of them. I know that. My Dad always warned me, “Don’t be a jack of all trades and a master of none!” but I will always tell my dad, “Pa, I am a jack of all trades and a master of some!” As you can tell, I’m pretty close to my Dad… we talk a lot ;p
I am better at some things than others but it really depends on which opportunity strikes first. Once it does, I will build on it. As long as my management and I identify it as a good project to work on, it will get priority and it will also get my full attention.
If and when all the networking, meetings and showcasing of my skills and talents pays off, and I bang a big one, the need will call for me to be in Singapore for the next little while.
As for now, we wait.
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