by LEE Yi Ling
Special Guest: Charlene Kwong
Event Stylist
Charlene Kwong used to work as an external auditor, who had obtained a remarkable level of achievement and recognition in the accounting profession. Nonetheless, in pursuit of her dream, she courageously left her comfort zone and ventured into the field of event styling. Her biggest encouragement in combating her fear rooted purely from her passion towards this new profession. This young lady, who has been conquering all with her passion, is the founder of Blissmoment – Charlene Kwong.
From a Chartered Accountant to an Event Stylist
Right after Charlene received her chartered accountant licence, she tendered resignation. Her determination surprised people around her, but their reactions did not stop her from pursuing her dream. She began to seek the meaning of life and enrolled in many approaches that seemed easy to make money, such as multi-level marketing (MLM), insurance, real estate, stock trading, etc. In the end, Charlene realised that a money-driven life without passion will not bring her afar. During her journey of purpose discovery, she heard her inner self whispering, “I want to radiate love and happiness.”
Charlene’s transformation from a chartered accountant to an event stylist was triggered by her younger brother. Based on his observation, he discovered Charlene’s passion in organising birthday parties and wedding anniversaries for her family, and she would always take charge on designing and decorating the venue. After giving the idea some deep thinking, Charlene felt the possibility of engaging herself in the career as an event stylist. Hence, she decided to embark on the journey.
For Charlene, flowers symbolise love and joy. They bring extraordinary happiness to people who see or receive them. She was determined to spread the blessings and fragrances of flowers to everyone, which led to her decision of starting a business related to flowers.
“Bliss” means total happiness and serene joy. Blissmoment’s mission is to create moments of love and happiness to each of her clients.
Overcoming Challenges and Blooming with Love
Many think that with her background as a chartered accountant, Charlene’s company will not suffer a deficit. Yet, she admitted that this is not the case. During her first year in the event styling business, she stumbled upon various obstacles and experienced different kinds of losses along the way. “Even though I have accounting basics, it does not mean that I have the knowledge of managing a business and making good use of my resources.” She perceives her knowledge as one of the skills for her business; she knows that there are still many unpredictable risks in the reality. “If a business is not managed heartily, I will not be able to realise the profits that I wished for,” she firmly believes. She knows that if she runs a business with passion, she will eventually excel even in an unfamiliar business field.
The hot climate in Malaysia offers limited flower selections; this has become one of the challenges for Charlene and her business. As a result, she has to understand the heat resistance of different flowers and select them according to venue. For example, flowers with higher heat resistance, such as roses, baby’s breath, carnations, dendrobium and eucalyptus are used for outdoor arrangements; whereas for indoor, more expensive imported flowers like tulip, peony, Phalaenopsis orchids and ranunculus are used. As much as Charlene wishes to achieve the same aesthetic effect as what is being done in Europe and Korea currently, it is impossible to deliver the exact same styles with the same types of flowers used, as not all types of flowers are suitable for all climates. The use of similar types of flowers as the European and Korean floral arrangements will result in higher overall costs.
“We need to strike a balance between beauty and costs.”
In addition, it is common to have different opinions with clients occasionally. Initially, Charlene would try to cater to her clients’ demands due to her lack of confidence and the fear of losing them. After some time, she gradually discovers that she should stand firm in her position and principles in order to convince them of Blissmoment’s professionalism. When facing unattainable requests, Charlene would choose to be frank to her clients and propose a new approach. If the opinions between both parties remained unreconciled, Charlene will then refer the client to her peers in the same field. However, this is relatively rare, as both parties will eventually come to a consensus. Blissmoment believes that with their sincere service, high efficiency and high quality products, their business will develop steadily in the market.
Be it operation or opinion discrepancy, Charlene managed to overcome all difficulties with her enthusiasm and passion. With her commitment, the company’s performance improved and new possibilities emerged.
Conquering Fear with Passion, Radiating Love and Happiness
Charlene had to start her business from scratch after transforming her career from digits to art. Apart from polishing her aesthetic sense, she also needs to re-establish her career. “At first, I only ran my business online and through my clients’ word of mouth. Some of my clients were also attracted by our faith and value,” she said. Because of having faith in herself, the level of satisfaction Charlene earned from her business was multiplying. As a result, Blissmoment gradually expanded its business from Malaysia to Singapore. A Singaporean couple even made the effort to fly all the way to Kuala Lumpur twice to meet Charlene for their wedding decoration discussions. Despite being unfamiliar with the customs clearance procedure, she completed the long distant project successfully, further anchoring her confidence.
At present, Charlene avails the advancement of technology and electronic marketing to raise public awareness of Blissmoment’s existence and value. She understands that public expects the best results at the lowest price. She has now adjusted her business model to generate a more systematic operation flow, which helps to reduce costs and lower the price, bringing the beautiful experience to more people.
Through the process of delivering beautiful moments to each and every newlyweds, Charlene feels her desire for her own happiness, and believes that she, too, deserves a stable relationship and a happy family – this is one of her biggest rewards at Blissmoment in addition to monetary return. Therefore, she always completes every project with a heart full of blessings, sincerity and joy.
“I will not limit myself within the field of event styling in the future, because there are alternatives to radiate love and happiness that I would like to try. At this stage, I am aspired to stabilise my current business. Then, by carrying the same aspiration, I will discover other business fields and own multi-businesses at the same time,” she shared.
In the wiry body of Charlene lives a truly aspired soul.
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