I help train the leaders of the biggest companies in the world

In one line, what do you do and what is your most significant achievement?

Training the leaders at one of the biggest companies in the World.

Who are you and what business did you start?

Im Kit, and with accumulated experience in the Mental Healthcare, Pastoral Care, Coaching, and Human Capital industries, I started a training and advisory company, tackling the people side of the business.

In a nutshell, I help businesses get their people, workplace relationships and culture right, so it facilitates and accelerates their growth instead of getting in the way of it.

What's your backstory?

It all started with an unsatisfied feeling deep in my heart, and being brave enough to listen to it.

As an organisational consultant, although I enjoyed the work and the problems I was solving, I felt there was an emptiness in the way organisations' people problems were being addressed in the corporate world. I felt that a lot of the time, my work would probably end up making employees' lives worse. I really wanted to help organisations, but more importantly, the people within them.

So I left. Looked everywhere for companies whose work aligned more with what I did. When I couldn't find one, I realised there was a gap and a real need for more intimate organisational interventions. But also for the first time I was confronted with the question, “Am I going to have to start something?”. The rest is history.

What should be the first steps to take to enter your industry?

Provide value. Start by helping 1 person solve a problem they face. It doesn't have to be paid or a formal arrangement, but even just a casual conversation with a friend. If someone can come out of a conversation and say, “Hey thanks, that was really helpful”, or “I tried what you said I should do, and it really worked”, you may be on to something.

I think when it comes to the advisory/consulting industry, if you come from the perspective of genuinely wanting to help, and being fully invested in the people you're helping, you'll do a pretty good job. If you do a good job, money will come.

How did you spend your First 100 Days of launching your business?

I can't pinpoint an official launch date. I started when I still had a full-time job. But the first thing I did was get my message out there. I created an Instagram account and started posting informational content about the problem and how people could solve it on their own. One day I got a DM from a friend saying that their company was dealing with that exact problem and they invited me in to talk to their director - 2 hours of meetings later I got my first client.

So in short, I would say spend the first 100 days providing value and exhibiting expertise. I see too many businesses rushing straight into trying to make money from day 1, without addressing the most fundamental questions Who are you? How do you help? And why should anybody listen to you/buy from you?

Since launch, what has worked to attract and retain partnerships/customers?

To me, it's all about relationships. Almost my entire customer base is built on relationships. I have had clients who only became my clients 18 months after we met for the first time. In the 20 months before that happened, it was a lot of relationship-building. Wishing them Happy Father's Day, Merry Christmas, and Happy CNY, and dropping by their office for a coffee when I was nearby.

Of course, my business requires more intimate professional relationships. But I think for all companies, whether service or product based, creating a positive and trusting relationship, making sure you're held in positive regard in the mind of your customer, is a must.

What has taken you from 0 to 100?

For me, it was one finally closing that one big client who was a household name. I was able to mention them in case studies and examples of my work, together with a glowing recommendation. Looking back, everything started to progress a little quicker and easier then.

But there is always this quote by Jacob Riis that Kobe Bryant famously hung in his locker. “I go back and look at the stonecutter hammering away at his rock perhaps a hundred times without as much as a crack showing in it. Yet at the hundred and first blow it will split in two, and I know it was not that blow that did it — but all that had gone before.”

That's how I see going from 0 to 100 - all the hard work that comes before.

I still remember the countless rejections (still happens often!), meetings that went nowhere, and smaller projects that built me up to the moment where I could firstly, get that deal, and secondly, have the competence to deliver it well.

It's all part of what makes “getting there” feel so great.

What is one underrated thing in your industry that business owners should start doing/using?

Create content around the problem you are trying to solve.

I owe so much of my success to creating on LinkedIn. I think all businesses will benefit from it - be bold, and speak to the world about the problem you solve and how you solve it. I went from being a 20-something-year-old, with no experience, no reputation, no testimonials, to a 20-something-year-old who CEOs with years of experience go to for help.

How? Because I wrote a post about a problem they happened to be facing and they liked what I said. It really is that simple.

What was one failure you had to go through that others in your industry should look out for?

You need to learn your business cycles. In my first year, I didn't know the cyclical ups and downs of being in a training/consulting business. In Singapore, opportunities slow down from before Christmas to about a month and a half after Chinese New Year - everyone's in a holiday mood and then recovering from it after, so nobody wants or has the time to speak to you. I went 4 months without closing a single contract.

I panicked. I was stressed. I spent more money trying to advertise. I even tried to pivot out of my product, which would have been a horrible decision. I didn't know that everyone in the industry pretty much experiences the same lull. In the 5th month, I closed a record dollar amount in contracts.

Learn the business cycles of the industry you're in so you can plan accordingly (and don't panic and make rash decisions).

What platform/tools do you use for your business?

Tons! Especially when you're a small and lean business, systems are your best friend. The tools that make the biggest difference to my business are:

Buffer for social media content scheduling.

Shield for social media content analytics. I can observe what topics hit or miss, and learn what topics my customers are paying attention to.

Deskimo I run all over the country for work, from CBD, One-North, Tuas, and Changi Business Park - being able to find an office in an instant, no matter where I am, is so important.

Aspire for banking. Sending invoices, and making and receiving payments is tedious. I need an easy-to-use and quick bank to handle it all.

PayBoy for payroll, HR claims, and expense management.

Find as many tools as you can use to help you with tasks that take your time and attention away from what you are good at, or what makes you money.

How are you doing today and what does the future look like?

I'd say I'm doing pretty well. What I always look for is trajectory. Am I heading in the direction I want to be? Not speed, but direction. If it's yes, then I'm doing pretty well.

But you see, work isn't everything to me. I love to play Golf and have aspirations to play competitively. I run marathons, I want to start a family. All things I can only work on when I'm young. There are many things to me that are just as important to me as my business and I think being able to balance it all is going to help me put attention and effort into my work for longer into the future.

In the future, I want Emote to be internationally known as a company culture expert. But I am in no hurry to get there. One case study I always go back to is that one of my favourite leadership consulting firms took 50 years to be where they are today - I've only been doing this for about 2. So all I need really is to be heading in the right direction, and having lots and lots of patience.