A Day in the Life

People are always asking what my "typical" work day is like. I decided to keep a diary to give you guys a glimpse into the life of a budding entrepreneur. Enjoy!

FRIDAY (NOVEMBER 23, 2012)

8am. Peeling myself out of bed is the hardest part of my day. I usually set at least 2 alarms on 2 different phones and put them on opposite sides of my room. I instinctively reach for my Blackberry to check emails while glued to my bed.

10am. After washing up & getting dressed, I log on to our admin site to see what's been funded on ZAOZAO. I'm disappointed to see there's been no funding activity. I make a list of items that are "expiring" soon so that I can make outfit sets, trend reports or wish lists to push the item across all our social media channels (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, Polyvore). I log onto Google Analytics next to see how many visitors came to our site and blog the day before. The main things I look at are which cities our traffic is coming from, how visitors are finding out about ZAOZAO (whether it's direct, organic or by referral) and what they are reading. 

11.15am. I rush to the bus stop down the road. It starts pouring.

11.45am. I finally get on a mini bus but am stuck in traffic because it's pissing rain. I'm going to be late to my lunch meeting which really irritates me. I hate it when people are late and always try to be punctual, which I am, 99% of the time. 

12pm. I get off the mini bus and sprint to the MTR station. Why is everyone moving so slowly?!

12.20pm. I arrive at the restaurant 20 mins late and feel awful. Thank god Vicky already started the meeting and all seems well. We soon find out one of our designers is a mutual friend of the lady we are eating with. Hong Kong is so small! The meeting goes well and I make plans to have a follow up meeting in the beginning of December.

1.30pm. Vicky & I decide not to go to our office in Shatin because it's too far (at this point it will take more than 75 mins to get there). Cocoon here we come! 

1.45pm. I have a soft spot for Cocoon. I love the space (14,000 sq. ft!) and the people. Everyone is so nice and friendly. I chat with Rayfil (one of the first Cocoonians I met) and Stephen (who's girlfriend is one of our designers). I bump into Patrick (an Entrepreneur in Residence at Cocoon. He co-founded Rotten Tomatoes & Alive Not Dead) and thank him for introducing us to another entrepreneur in Hong Kong. We update him about ZAOZAO and briefly chat about ways to raise awareness and drive traffic. He suggests we chat with Dan (co-founder of Xanga) so Vicky & I arrange to meet Dan next week. I catch up on some work emails. Vicky and I brainstorm ideas.

4pm. It's time to get moving again. We head to Central for our meeting at Holly Brown. 

4.30pm. We meet Alexandra from Luxe Nomad, a Singapore-based luxury travel startup. Alex mentions she enjoys reading our blog and I make a mental note to try and blog more. We talk about the benefits of working for a startup, different marketing strategies and more. Alex and I realize we have a lot of friends in common. What a small world! 

5pm. Our meeting with Alexandra is cut short because my 5pm has arrived. I finally get to meet fashion blogger Bryant Lee, who has been working with ZAOZAO. His interviews ZAOZAO designers who have had successfully funded projects for his blog series "Designer's Perspective", which. Bryant & I hit it off instantly. He's stylish, funny and very entertaining! I don't remember being half as interesting when I was 16! We talk about everything & anything: bloggers, MMM x H&M's latest collaboration, Wong Fu and the fact he's a triplet (I met his sister a few days before to discuss how ZAOZAO can collaborate with HKIS' student-run charity fashion show next year. She's polite, smart and nice. I immediately ask if she would like to intern for us). I feel really old when Bryant asks if I'm married, and secretly shed a tear inside.

6.30pm. Still at Holly Brown, I'm alone at last. I go through emails again and am delighted that a fashion organization in Hong Kong has replied to my email so promptly. I notice the subject title of my email is marked as "SPAM" and confused/worried. Ugh! How many of my other emails have ended up in spam folders? I've sent dozens of emails over the last few months that gone unanswered. I always assumed the other party wasn't interested and just didn't have the decency to reply. I frantically google words that are considered "spammy". I glance at myself in the mirror and notice how tired I look. Not a pretty sight.

9pm. I decide to call it an early night. I'm exhausted and don't feel like socializing. I head home and go through the rest of my emails. My to-do-list grows by the second. I focus on the top 3 things I need to work on this weekend: a business proposal, interview questions for a magazine feature and a story submission for an entrepreneur book.

11pm. All I can think about is ZAO ZAO ZAO ZAO ZAO but I can barely keep my eyes open. It's time to sleep. Till tomorrow...

9:30 PM  co-founder, diary, entrepreneur, life  5 comments