Carline Ki, public relations consultant Age: The busier I am the younger I stay.
CAREER PATH: I was born and educated in Hong Kong. I got married at 18 and moved to Melbourne, Australia, with my husband. I did a five-year diploma in commerce at the Melbourne Technical College. During my last year at college, I got a job with Radio Australia ABC Radio in the Melbourne Overseas Service. I came back to Hong Kong in 1974 and joined an advertising agency as a media accounts administrator. I became director of a photographic studio in 1977 and in May 1979 I joined C. Cheney and Associates as an advertising executive. After that, I beame group advertising manager for Elegance magazine and then general manager for Panasia Publications Ltd, which publishes Domina magazine. In 1987, I set up my own business, Carline Ki and Associates Advertising, Public Relations and Promotions Consultants. I am now so busy that I sometimes have to turn business away. I have a 22-year-old son.
Carline's day: I work 18-hour days, sometimes seven days a week. I work from home and have two full-time assistants. Most mornings I am in my office at about 8.30 am, which is often when clients start phoning. In the mornings I concentrate on telephone calls, correspondence, administration, scheduling of appointments and I have a lot of organising to do. I go usually go out for lunch with a client and then have five or more appointments in the afternoons. Fortunately most of my clients are in Central; it wouldn't make sense for me to take on clients who are based in Sha Tin or miles away. I have many clients in the fashion and beauty industries, gyms and restaurants as well as some Urban Council film and art festivals. Some companies pay me retainers; others employ me on a project basis.
I do everything from organising opening ceremonies to press conferences, press releases, launching and promoting new products. Nearly all my clients are Western, which means I get a break at both Christmas and Lunar New Year. I try to take Sundays off, but it all depends what work I have on. I like what I do, it's exciting. And I love being kitted out in cosmetics, perfume and other goodies by my clients.
I love cooking so on free evenings I make dinner for my son and I. I watch two television sets at the same time while I am doing things in the evenings. Once a year I go to Bangkok for a week to relax.
Salary: A lot, but I work hard for it.
Ambition: To be a home-body one day and give cookery lessons. To write more books (my first, Golden Package For Ladies, was published recently).