In the basement of Club Monaco on Saint Catherine is a hidden gem of a space. Tucked next to the black leather coats in the men’s section is Café Myriade, which is where I met Ella for a chat about her personal journey throughout her career. I was excited about digging deeper into the reasons why she started her website, Bowls and Goals.com, and how. Ella found me sipping my cup of piping hot fresh green tea, and after a slew of movement, she settled into the couch across from me. “Sorry, it’s been a crazy day at work!” she said, even though she didn’t sound tired at all. Her energy and positivity shone through the entire hour, and her generosity in her answers blew me away. I politely waited for her to get up and order a drink, but when I realized she wasn’t going to, I said, “I have a lot of questions for you, so let’s get right to it.”
Cleona Tsang for Her Campus McGill (HC McGill): When did you first hear about the concept of personal branding?
Ella Tsang (ET): It was actually through Peg Brunelle in CaPS (McGill Career Planning Service). I learned a lot about how important it was to market yourself and create a personal brand.
HC McGill: So what do your parents think about this whole creative path? I can imagine they might have been little apprehensive about straying from maybe more traditional careers.
ET: That’s a surprising second question *laughs*.
HC McGill: It’s an important one!
ET: Yeah, totally! So you mean like choosing my path? Like choosing to not be a doctor? It’s funny because my two sisters are in the medical field. My older sister is a pharmacist and my other sister is a nurse, my brother in law’s a doctor, naturally when I was younger everyone was like ‘”Oh, she’s going to be a doctor or something.”
I told them right off the bat. From when I was young, they saw that I wasn’t a science person at all. I was always super creative; I wanted to be a filmmaker, I wanted to be a producer.
Me being the youngest they were open to it; they were like, “Whatever makes you happy. That’s the most important thing.” And my dad is in business too so when I told him I wanted to do commerce, he was super happy about it because there was finally someone in the family that understood him.
HC McGill: So when did your dreams of being a producer or filmmaker turn into an interest in commerce?
ET: I would say it was in the eleventh grade, when I was sixteen. I was in the IB program in Vancouver and I took a course called Business and Management. And I was like, “Wow, this is so weird. For once, everything just really makes sense.” Everything was just really intuitive and I enjoyed it so much, and I realized through that class that I was able to tie day to day practical tasks with something creative, and that’s a lot of what marketing does.
HC McGill: I’m still asking myself that sometimes, like, what do I want to do?
ET: Yeah, I’m super lucky I figured it out early.
HC McGill: For sure. A lot of people are still figuring out their path in university. So I know you’re from Vancouver! How do you think Vancouver’s vibes – I get a Vancouver vibe from Bowls and Goals.com -has influenced your attitude towards health, well being, and your life philosophy so to speak?
ET: I’d say Lululemon has influenced me a lot. It’s such a huge icon in Vancouver.
Originally in my early teens, I wanted to work for them. Through wanting to work through them, I did a lot of research on their company, and I really admire their philosophy, and their manifesto. You can see it reflected in my Instagram and blog. That really changed me—that whole idea of how you set goals, you set a ten-year vision and then break it down to 5 years, and then 1 year goals. It completely changed my life when I did that; it’s crazy what happens when you write things down. And you set a date to have it done by, and you write them in present tense, so it’s not like “I will work at L’Oreal by this day,”; it’s “I work at L’Oreal by this day.”
HC McGill: Okay, that’s amazing. I just got the chills. It’s insane how the present tense makes such a difference because it forces you to envision it happening right now.
ET: Yeah, it’s incredibly powerful.
For September 2016, I wrote: “I work at a digital marketing job that I love.” And it’s INSANE and its Sept. 2016, and I’m like “Oh my god. This is crazy.”
HC McGill: That’s interesting that you’d attribute your Vancouver influences to a brand. Which, when I think about it, just makes so much sense.
ET: Well, its very iconic of Vancouver—the whole healthy lifestyle, holistic health. A lot of people think being healthy just means eating salads, and going to the gym. But it’s not. It’s so much more.
A huge push to my personal growth was actually leaving Vancouver, and leaving my comfort zone. It was a huge push for my personal growth. I know I wouldn’t be where I am doing what I’m doing if I hadn’t left.
HC McGill: So about Bowls and Goals, what made you start that? Was it a flash of inspiration or…?
ET: It started with my blog, P.S. I’m Ella. I was also following some really cool people on Instagram, and I looked at my own feed and it was just selfies and pictures of food, and I was like, “No. This is not okay.” I wanted to have a name that was pretty catchy, and could be used across the board, so I decided on P.S. I’m Ella, and curated a new gallery. Then one day, my dad called me up, and was like ‘I’m buying domains. Do you want a domain?” and I was like ‘Sure!” And that’s how it happened! I didn’t know how to make a website though, and the only thing I really knew how to use was Tumblr, so that’s what I started with.
The idea of Bowls and Goals was at the end of last year after I saw how my photos of healthy breakfasts on Instagram were exploding.
HC McGill: Oh, people love those. I know I do!
ET: No, it gets so crazy that I have 500 likes on a smoothie bowl and I get nothing when I post a picture of myself, and I’m like, “Thanks”. But I saw that demand, and it goes back to that passion I have for holistic health. So in the end is that I created a space where I could write about it and learn more about it for myself and be able to share it with other people. Like me, people are really getting into that whole ‘Girl Boss’ mentality, where you work really hard and you achieve your dreams, but really the most important thing is taking care of yourself. So I decided to mesh the two together and so that’s why my slogan is ‘Your online wellness inspiration for health inside and out.”
HC McGill: So when I visited Bowls and Goals, I saw that you mentioned making something called a vision board. Why do you think vision boards work? Why do you think they are so effective?
ET: Well, it’s something I’ve talked about at another point on my blog, but it’s something called the law of attraction, which is this whole idea that essentially you attract whatever you think about. With vision boards, it’s this whole idea that when you have a vision and you take the time to plan it out, and you’re thinking about all these things when you’re staring at it every single day, naturally the law states that you attract these opportunities into your life. Some people think it’s bullshit, but when you think about it, it makes a lot of sense. Making a vision board means you’ve already put all this energy into all of these things. You end up naturally doing the things that lead you there.
(Above: Ella’s vision board)
HC McGill: It sounds like a similar concept as the notion that happy people attract happy people, and sad people attract sad people.
ET: Exactly! Exactly. It’s not any kind of science, it’s just common sense.
HC McGill: Would you say that there is a fine line between being very focused on your goals, and being obsessed with attaining them? Do you think it could ever get dangerous?
ET: There’s definitely a fine line between motivation and obsession. What I’ve learned is knowing when to let go. You have to know when to let things go. I’ve had horrible interviews before. I interviewed with Lululemon at the head office, but they weren’t looking for a digital person with my level of experience. You have to be motivated enough to look at the bigger picture.
HC McGill: What is something you absolutely cannot give up in your life?
ET: Family. It’s an old-fashioned answer, but it’s true. No matter what happens, they are there for you. Family and health. Friends are amazing but at the end of the day, your family will always be there for you. They kind of have to be.
Health is super important too. Some people think they’ll succeed if they just slave away and down coffee, like, you’re going to burn out and die.
HC McGill: And finally, where do you see yourself in ten years?
ET: I’ll be thirty-one…career-wise, I still see myself at L’Oreal, maybe in a senior digital position still doing what I’m doing but obviously much more of an expert at it. One thing I am really passionate about is giving back and being able to help and mentor students or new professionals going into the field just because I really appreciate all the help I got along the way. So that’s what I’m kind of doing on the side. I will probably still be very active in I Am That Girl—this overall movement of empowering young girls to realize their dreams, their potential, and self worth. That’s something I’m very passionate about. I’m not sure at what scale I’ll be doing that in ten years, but I’d hopefully still be doing that.
In terms of side-gigs, I will definitely be a yoga teacher teaching part-time yoga classes on the weekend.
HC McGill: So what is I Am That Girl? Is it a blog or a website? Could you tell us a little more about what they do?
ET: It’s actually a non-profit organization. We have about a hundred chapters all over the world. Essentially the motto of the organization is to transform self-doubt into self-love.
It’s a place where girls can come together and be vulnerable and talk about things society doesn’t want to talk about. We say it’s a place where girls can “love, express, and lead.” The whole idea is that we can lift each other up on the way up. It’s not about bringing people down and being competitive in order to win but we can all win by being together. It’s really about helping girls realize their potential.
HC McGill: What are some of your favourite cafes in Montreal? Where would we most likely find you?
ET: SO many! My favourite favourite cafe right now though is Leaves Cafe on Montagne. It’s tiny, but it’s so nice, especially when it’s a nice day out and there’s all that sunlight coming in.
There’s another one called Café Pista on Beaubien Street—past the Plateau. I also like Café Myriade. That one’s always been a classic.
HC McGill: What about these cafes make it on your list?
ET: It’s usually that they have fast wi-fi and outlets.
HC McGill: I mean, there’s McLennan.
ET: OH I hate libraries. But yeah the coffee, and the vibe. Generally brighter places…and as basic as it sounds, places that are more Instagram worthy.
We parted ways on Peel and Saint Catherine, her headed home, and myself headed back to campus. I couldn’t help but notice that I felt way more tired than she looked, and then I couldn’t help but think to myself that I should take some of that advice. My vision board is now in the works, and it’s safe to say I’ll be working on that ten-year plan too.
Ella will be speaking about the importance of personal branding and goal-setting on Wednesday, November 16th. If you want to hear more from this truly inspiring young woman with things to say and goals to slay, make sure to RSVP to our event!