10 | Women in Business—Fall 2017 published by Business in VAncouver
Career calling | Five women making it happen
Women Making It Happen Women in Business reached out to five women in different industries across B.C. to see how they got into their careers, advanced and challenges faced along the way Dene Moore
Phoebe Yong, founder and president, Magnolia Marketing Communications ■ After
completing an undergraduate degree in communications and an MBA in marketing, Yong got her start doing sales and marketing for a tech company before joining a nascent Sierra Wireless. “It’s a huge company now but I was, I think, employee No. 51 or 56,” she says. As head of marketing and communications, she was part of growing the telecom company into a publicly traded global enterprise. There she worked with huge global brands such as Microsoft and AT&T. “The one lesson I always remember from there is that even though you’re small, you’ve got to act like you belong at the table with them,” she says. “That was a great experience.” As the company grew, so did Yong’s job. As head of global marketing, she was travelling regularly to Asia and Europe. Then children came along. “Once you have children you have to go all in … but I
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Phoebe Yong founder and president, Magnolia Marketing Communications
If you don’t love what you do, then there’s not even a starting gate
also love what I do,” she says. “It was part of my identity, such a huge part that if I didn’t have it I think I would feel something was missing from my life. I still wanted to carry on with it.” She began working part time as a public relations consultant. Then, five years ago, Yong decided to establish a marketing agency. Today, Magnolia employs 10 people. What has she learned along the way? Choose the right customers. “It’s OK to say no.” Make the right partnerships. You don’t have to do it all yourself. Love what you do. “It’s a lot of work starting your own business in this field and if you don’t love what you do, then there’s not even a starting gate.” And don’t waste time pointing fingers – a lesson she learned planning a major corporate event. “About 5:30 I went to the caterer to make sure all of the towels were perfect and the candles were lit, and the caterer said to me, ‘Where is the liquor licence?’ I said, ‘What do you mean? That’s not my job … Nobody told me.’” Instead of yelling or crying, Yong asked what she needed to do. That meant finding the Vancouver police official responsible and getting authorization. “I drove around like a madwoman looking for that police officer,” she says. She found him. The papers were signed and the party went on. “I was an hour late but I didn’t lose my job.”
2017-09-12 10:24 AM