8 Days — October 05, 2017

66

8 DAYS

money

The Moneymaker:

EXCUSE ME,

ARE YOU A

MODEL

BOSS?

Modelling for 25 years

(and counting) has

taught SERENA ADSIT

all the necessary skills

to run her own agency.

8 DAYS: What was it like making the

transition from modelling to running a

business?

SERENA ADSIT: You learn as you go, as long

as you don’t run it into the ground. (Laughs)

Over the years, my peers tended to be people

who are inclined to be entrepreneurs, so I

could bounce ideas off them, or they could

give me advice. I’ve never been a numbers

person, but I can do simple math and

use simple templates on Excel. (Laughs) I

made it a point from the first year to hire

an accountant to do our paperwork. There’s

always year-on-year growth so we’re fine. As

you grow into your work, it becomes easier

and you become more efficient.

What’s your typical work day like? My

days are very, very long. Office hours are

11am to 7pm. And because we start later,

SERENA ADSIT, 39, model-turned-entrepreneur. The prominent model

in the local scene has been strutting her stuff for 25 years, and now runs

commercial modelling agency Mint Singapore, which she started out of

her living room seven years ago. The vivacious mother-of-one aims to defy

model conventions by representing a pool of over 1,000 Singapore-based

talents that’s diverse in age (“from babies all the way to grandparents”),

ethnicity and body type (“we don’t need you to be stick thin, or taller than

1.75m”). And in between all this, Serena still finds time to model. “I don’t

turn down modelling gigs’cos I still like the work,” she quips.

HOME IS: A condo in Somerset.

HER RIDE IS: A BMW X5 M. “If there’s too much traffic or if I’m going

out later on, I’ll get an Uber instead. If I have a lot of errands to run, I’ll

hire a driver [to drive my car].”

WHAT’S IN HER WALLET: Name cards, credit cards (“I try not to

bring too much cash. Everything is cashless these days”) and her

driver’s license are stashed in a men’s wallet from Bottega Veneta. “I

like to keep things lean so I’ve been using men’s wallets for

10 years now. I used to have a pouch for coins, but now,

I keep all my coins in a ‘Serena fund’ jar in the office.

(Laughs) If anyone’s late for work, they have to put $1

or $2 in the jar. Or if they owe me money, like $10,

I’ll tell them to just put it in the jar,” Serena explains.

MAKE-UP: YUAN SNG (HP: 96950673)/ OUTFIT: STYLELOFT3 AT MANDARIN GALLERY