Perseverance. Relentless work ethic. Smell the roses.
In 2004, I started Magnolia as Yong & Associates. Truthfully, the “associates” were me, myself and I. It was great and easy. Decisions were made swiftly and I talked to myself a lot. The last part proved to be a challenge as I didn’t have all the answers (surprise!) and having others to collaborate and share the battlefield was a lot more fun. Along came Sarah Quon, who said to me, “I’m comfortable right now and not sure if I want to be out of my comfort zone and work in a field (public relations) I am not familiar with.” I replied, “Life’s too short to be in your comfort zone, Sarah. Let’s get uncomfortable, and make some money, and have a lot of fun along the way.” The rest as they say is history.
Per·se·ver·ance
Noun: persistence in doing something despite difficulty or delay in achieving success.
In my case, I gravitated to “severe” in the noun. At the start, I didn’t look at the competition of marketing agencies and I was more focused on doing the work and making sure my customers were happy. Every month I persevered to ensure media placements were made in top-tier and vertical publications. I trained that muscle to hustle, overlook the challenges see the opportunities instead, and always focus on the customer and if we deliver on our promises, then work will come. When the breaks didn’t come, RFPs were won by others, staff turnovers, clients leave, the list goes on, the natural reaction is to have a pity party. But the muscle is trained to not stay long at the party, and move on and know that believing in yourself and the team will outcome any hardships along the way.
Relentless work ethic.
Most entrepreneurs and small business owners know the endless hours it takes to make a business successful. As you get better at it, you start to implement work-life balance (for some of you, please don’t smirk). As the agency evolved, we saw a dramatic shift from traditional media to digital marketing. Over the past three years, we saw the seismic shift and adoption of e-commerce and online marketing. Along with that, the expectations of the workforce changed – working from home, the Great Resignation / no one wants to work, “they don’t work like they used to”.
The bottom line, it doesn’t matter what the challenges are, or what lemons are thrown at oneself, there is simply no substitute for working hard. Unless you’re born into it or gifted with it, earning a good living (IMHO), and in my case, building a marketing agency, there is no such thing as an easy way to do it. But it’s absolute that you have to love what you do. It’s the foundation of everything we do. I stress this with my children, and the team at Magnolia, there is no point in getting up in the morning and working as hard as we do, if you don’t enjoy the work. Life is too short to sacrifice joy from what you do.
Smell the roses.
Grat·i·tude [noun]: the quality of being thankful; readiness to show appreciation for and to return kindness.
If someone said to me (at 37 years old when I started Magnolia), that it would still be around, a profitable agency, having employed many talented people from all roads of life, working with many splendid partners, and delivering great work for customers from all sorts of industries, I would have said, “yes, that would be my dream”.
The relationships that have been fostered and built have been beyond meaningful. I have few customers that have been with Magnolia from the start. As they moved from one company to the next in their careers, they have entrusted Magnolia along the way. Thank you.
The team that has crossed paths with Magnolia to build the agency. Thank you. I sincerely hope the time you spent at Magnolia was a great one. Where you deeply learned, deployed your skills successfully, and made some great friends and relationships.
Conclusion
19 years and counting. We are not done by a long shot. As our world continues to change, adapt to new technologies, I am so excited for the continuous learning, and collaboration with like-minded people that will push my creativity to the max. Very cool, indeed.
🥳🎂Happy Birthday, Magnolia.
“May you inhale the blood, sweat, and tears, and exhale the kindness, exhilaration, and joy to everyone that has made it happen.”
Xiè Xiè
谢 谢
Phoebe Yong – President & CEO
