Melissa Sin
Behind Melissa Sin’s bubbly and friendly persona is an introspective and shrewd businesswoman. When she isn’t busy travelling the world to engage with new clients and partnerships for her family’s racking system manufacturing company SKB Shutters, she is busy attending to her own private business The Bag Atelier, a boutique accessories brand that specialises in crystal clutches. Courteousness, discipline and perseverance—those are the values that her father, Danny Sin, inculcated in her. “My father is a strict timekeeper; he always tells me that I must respect others and be on time, which is why I try to make it a point to be at least five minutes earlier for my appointments,” she explains. True to her words, even though she was hospitalised for a chest infection a day before our photo shoot, Melissa still showed up at our shoot location 15 minutes before the official call time.
She recalls spending her after-school hours in her parents’ office and manufacturing plant during her childhood. “It was a home away from home. Sometimes, I’ll have tuition in my parents’ office!” she admits with a laugh.
A certified accountant, Melissa joined one of the Big Four, KPMG, after graduation. “From working at a prestigious firm, I learnt how to stay humble. Every client is different, with various needs and goals. There’s always something new to learn each day. Take every obstacle one step at a time and you will be surprised at what you can achieve. I was lucky to have had great bosses and mentors to guide me throughout my career so far. They showed me how important it is to reflect on your milestones and past challenges,” she says.
Aside from her full-time job at KPMG back then, she also worked part-time for her family business. “After working long hours at the firm, I would spend my weekends helping with product launches, architect meet-ups and plant visits. I always joke that my first role in the company is do-everything-they-throw-at-you manager,” she said.
Melissa joined SKB Shutters full-time after four years at KPMG, where she now serves as its executive director. Her first responsibility was to solve the corporate inefficiencies within SKB Shutters. “I volunteered to revamp our aftersales department. I chose it because it was a division that had little focus from top management. Plus, it had issues such as messy lines of reporting,” she recalls.“i took the first step of listening to the team members, so I can handle the bottlenecks that made the division susceptible to misappropriation. There was necessary realignment done as well, to increase motivation and manage mismatched incentives,” she says.
With major teamwork, Melissa managed to turn around the department into a positive profit-centre through the introduction of a mobile app to improve the team’s follow up and customer satisfaction. “I wouldn’t say we are at our best now. I adhere to Bruce Lee’s infamous quote, ‘Be Water’ in this challenge—be fluid so we can adapt with the times,” she expressed.
When asked to advise her fellow second-generation business owners on how to excel in their endeavours, Melissa has this to say: “Always remind yourself why you have decided to commit to the family business. If it is positive, it should encourage you to persevere. If it is negative, ask yourself why are you still there? There’s no right or wrong—but you should always give your best in what you choose to do.”