Meet Alice Ho, a global entrepreneur blending Eastern wisdom with Western innovation to redefine professional development and employee well-being.
Tell us a bit about yourself and your family?
I grew up in Singapore in a traditional Chinese family, where I was disciplined with a cane if I didn't do things my mum's way. Although I am the youngest, I was not treated as the baby. My mum preferred males over females, so I spoke up more at work than at home.
Wanting to escape, I chose global companies to work for (namely P&G, LVMH, Siemens, Elsevier etc), hoping to travel or be posted overseas. As a result, I’ve travelled to more than 40++ countries and have lived in 6 different cities.
Ironically, speaking up in these companies helped in my career progression. I became the only Asian female in an all-white Male management team and was posted to Amsterdam as an expatriate.
Growing up in a traditional Chinese family in Singapore, instilled in me (as a by-product) a strong sense of resilience and the importance of asserting myself. Today, I help more than 200 people within a short period of a year to have the confidence to speak up and self-promote their achievements.
Meanwhile, being retrenched and being a people leader for more than 2 decades, collectively shaped my aspiration to improve employee well-being and support individuals in their career trajectories, as I understand firsthand the impact these factors have on personal and professional fulfilment.
Have you had any formal training or family business?
I graduated from National University of Singapore with a bachelor in Economics and Geography.
I’ve been through a lot of leadership training programs under all the global companies I’ve worked for.
When Covid struck, I just became jobless. During this period, I’ve gotten myself certified in Professional mentorship, Uppiness Coach and Wealth & Joy coach (both are focused on employee’s well-being and
personal development). I’m also a Gold facilitator for #IamRemarkable.
I am also part of a bigger entrepreneur community around the world, and in this community, I get mentored in entrepreneurship, AI, marketing etc.
How did you come up with the idea for your business, and what was the process of turning that idea into a reality?
Shortly after moving to Amsterdam, a restructuring cost me my job. In a country where I didn't speak the language or have my professional network, I had to start over from scratch.
I didn’t have the idea to be self-employed immediately. I was totally lost and not sure what I should do. I don’t have the urge to go back to the corporate lifestyle.
During this time, I saw many people being retrenched and feeling lost in mid-career, just like me. I understand how it feels to be at a career crossroads, especially after many years of work when your skills seem irrelevant overnight.
It was a coincidental chance that I came across my ex -HR’s LinkedIn post about mentoring others and that triggered my memory of how I have been a mentor previously as well as how I am very much about employee’s well-being. I decided to reach out to find out more and gave myself some time to try out and do pro-bono work to further check in if this is what I would love to do.
Along the way, I’ve gotten myself involved more and more into this area (going beyond just mentoring) and expanded my company’s service to include running gamification programs to improve employees’ engagement level.
With over 20 years as a people leader, I have always advocated for employees’ well-being. Happy employees mean more engaged employees, which leads to better profitability.
Today, my business focuses on improving employee well-being and individual career trajectories.
The steps I’ve taken can be summarised in the following manner:
- Reached out to people I aspire to, and got mentorship from them.
- Constant learning and developing myself. When in corporate, I don’t have to care about personal branding, etc. Now that I am running my own business, I have to work on this part.
- Build my network, grow them in the Netherlands, while at the same time, not forget the ones I have back home in Singapore. My work does not limit me to only 1 physical location, thus I started expanding my outreach.
- Aim for completion, not perfection. A mantra my business mentor keeps reminding me of. Thus, go out to market, even if you have just an idea, as the market will give you the best feedback/data validation.
How have you grown as a leader since starting your company, and what have been some of the key lessons you've learned along the way?
In my first year, I wanted to do everything but was also conscious of the irregular income I now have compared to my corporate days. So I’ve made the following mistakes.
- Signed up for too many courses. Became overwhelmed and couldn’t reap the benefits they would otherwise be able to provide me for.
- I was “saving” and ended up trying to do a lot of things on my own, which resulted in taking time and energy away from more critical tasks.
- Do not be afraid to seek for help, and admit we need help.
- It’s ok to pivot. Business is a journey and constantly evolving.
- Stop beating myself up for thinking I wasn’t good enough. I know the first few years is always harder but I felt guilty for starting something and couldn’t finish it off (such as my YouTube channel which I’ve now stopped). I was concerned of how others view me but I think nobody really bothers!
- Stop overthinking!
Can you tell us about a time when you faced a major setback or failure in your business, and how you overcame it?
I actually don’t think I have faced a major setback thus far (which I am grateful for).
How do you stay motivated and focused on your goals, especially during challenging times?
- Taking occasional breaks and not being guilty about it.
- Spend time with loved ones.
- Have a digital detox day (for me is every Sunday) where I consciously do not touch or visit any social media or be bothered with impressions or comments on LinkedIn.
- Have a non-work related goal to work towards. In my case, I have an exercise goal that made me stick to working out as I want to meet my goal.
- Practice manifestation. Your inner world is your outer reality. Manifestation helps change the words I use about myself and aids me in making my dreams come true.
- When you help the less fortunate, it keeps your grounded and realised your adversity is minuscule compared to others.
- Do things you enjoy. Such as cooking, gardening, reading, exercising, or just chill-laxing!
What are your plans for the future of your business, and how do you see yourself evolving as a founder and leader?
Our vision is to redefine professional development by integrating the transformative power of gaming into corporate training, aiming to create a global community where employees are not only more engaged and financially savvy but are also equipped to build stronger, more supportive relationships in their professional and personal lives.
As for my personal growth and development, I want to have a community of like-minded professionals all coming together to empower others in their ways. I believe the world is big enough for us to collaborate, not compete.
If you could go back in time and give your younger self one piece of advice, what would it be?
I would definitely say -go explore and try new things when young. Generally speaking, we have all the time in the world to fail, pick ourselves up, and start all over again.
What's the most unconventional thing you've done to grow your business, and what was the result?
I’ve incorporated ancient Chinese wisdom into my business. Bazi personality analysis for individuals that is based on wisdom since the 4th century. A longer history and credibility in personality tests, than the usual Gallup, 16 personalities, Myers, etc.
To me, there is so much in this field of study that is worth spreading, just like how the West only got to know about the antioxidant benefits of goji berries when we already had them in our Chinese diet for centuries. Definitely an area worth sharing with people.
I prepared the report based on their birth chart, including their birth hour. It will reveal their natal personality, as well as the strengths and areas they should capitalise on. I also provide their personal manifestation mantra according to this report.
In fact, most people have a misconception about Chinese metaphysics. There is an old saying “ Millionaires don’t believe in the stars. Only billionaires do.” This was in fact said by none other than Mr J.P Morgan. I want to debunk this misconception so I added this service into my business as it is still about helping others to identify their blind spots and strengths to work it to their advantage and can help them in their own career and life trajectories.
At the same time, I’ve also added a simulation board game that is a great tool for innovative corporate team building as well as for individuals. In summary, it teaches the players the following:-
- Financial awareness (how to manage your own finances in case of adversity)
- Emotional awareness (how does one manage their emotions when face with life’s adversities)
- Health awareness (how to keep your energy intact. Health is wealth)
- Adversity awareness (how does one react to adversities in life)
- Play awareness (we don’t grow old playing, we grow old because we stop playing)
- Working with others (do we know how to work with others, that can include not just being friends but also collaborating with others to achieve their own dreams)
The game often ends with players having their own reflections that they discovered and my observations of their blind spots. Many times, players are shocked at what I’ve revealed. They didn’t realize that their moves in the game have reflected so much of them in real life!
This simulation game takes corporate team-building, and offsite events to another level. It goes beyond just bonding but also insights each player can take away from.
From corporates to NGOs to Universities, to public events-I’ve never received a single bad review!
What's the most important lesson you've learned from a failure, and how have you applied it to your business?
To me, it must have been during my corporate days. I was too involved in my work and did little to upgrade myself or even spend much time building a network.
Although my people skills are pretty good, I was too busy building my career and any time left was just for resting.
After I lost my job, I found out that I had to learn everything from scratch, including areas such as personal branding, pitching (a very important skill), and even time management!
These have now become important skills to have (which I am still improving) that have a direct impact on my business as well as decision-making.
What's the most meaningful compliment or feedback you've ever received from a customer, and why did it resonate with you?
The most memorable compliment I had was actually not delivered straight to me but to another person.
The client mentioned to a mutual contact that I had helped change her life during one of the lowest moments in her life.
This person did give me a very good testimonial but to hear her also mentioning it to a mutual friend further shows how much impact I’ve made in her own journey and that is very comforting to know that my work can help many others.
If you had to choose one thing that makes your company truly unique and sets it apart from the competition, what would it be, and why?
My games and my mix of both Eastern and Western wisdom sets me apart.
Find Alice Ho on Social Media:
- Companies websites - https://www.aliceho.nl/
- LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/alicementoring/
- Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/alicementoring/
- Email address - alice@aliceho.nl