Liang Chiu was born in Taiwan and immigrated to the US with his brother and mother when he was 4 years old. He has always been intrigued with many subject areas and been really friendly which makes him get along with just about anyone. Hobby-wise, he loves to travel, enjoys horseback riding, hiking, fishing, cooking, wine tasting, reading, watching movies, attending networking events, attending New York Fashion Week, Paris Fashion Week, Cannes Film Festival events.

He earned his Bachelors’ Degree in Marketing and International Business from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. and MBA in Marketing from the University of Maryland-University College. His professional career has been in Growth Marketing for 20+ years. His first job after graduating from the University of Wisconsin was at Yahoo, where he got his experience with online advertising and marketing. When the dot-com bubble burst, he got into the Internet Security industry working at McAfee and Symantec. The role he took on at Symantec oversaw the Norton Antivirus brand and its online store business. This is where he got involved and fascinated with eCommerce, and leveraging Affiliate Partnerships with a variety of Business & Industries to drive growth and adoption of Norton Antivirus products and increase sales for Norton brands’ online store.

With the gaining popularity of Social Media Platforms and services in 2007, he wanted to part of the growing marketing trend he joined a series of startups in the online photo sharing space, online travel space, and fast fashion cross-border eCommerce (DTC) startups leveraging social media influencers to drive brand awareness, social media engagements, user acquisition, boost online sales. He also has spent 4 1/2 years in a boutique influencer marketing agency working with prominent global brands and startups in developing their Influencer Marketing strategies and come up with ways for brands to work with Social Media Influencers in the most effective and beneficial way possible. Then in the fall of 2019, he decided to take on a new chapter in his career and start an Influencer Marketing Consulting Business to educate DTC startups about how to work with Social Media Influencers ( from searching to vetting, and onboarding, and managing them). Additionally by networking influencers and recruiting new ones to add to my roster of influencer Rolodex for brand collaborations.

What do you do for a living?  

I'm an Influencer Marketing Consultant and entrepreneur who travels quite frequently during non-pandemic times. 

How did you start your remote work journey?  

I already have an early start with my remote work before the pandemic.  The previous Influencer Marketing agency I worked for was based in the Seattle, Washington area.  So I have already been working remotely for about four years prior to launching my own Influencer Marketing Consulting business right before the pandemic started.  

What have you learned working from home? 

I learned that working from home, I must be disciplined and not get distracted by other things, so I have to find a quiet part of the home to set up as my home office.  Additionally, I had to make sure I structure myself according to the priority of tasks/ projects and manage my time effectively.  

The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted almost every part of the economy and our daily lives. What challenges have you encountered both personally and professionally? How have you weathered these challenges?  

I think the challenge on a personal level is that I'm unable to meet up with friends, and go to any of the events or travel.  To weather these challenges I often schedule video calls with friends via Zoom or Google Meet as an alternative.  Watching travel shows or looking over old travel photos and videos to reminisce about the wonderful places I traveled to in the past.  On the professional level is to take advantage of technology and conduct more meetings via video calls.  Other than that, I'm still relatively unaffected by the pandemic in conducting business.  

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The COVID-19 pandemic has created an increased sense of fear, depression, and isolation. How have you been able to get through pandemic-related anxiety and stress issues?

I think I'm able to manage these things well. I stay in constant contact with friends and family.  And make sure I allocate time to relax and exercise, as well as learn new things.  So there are fewer things to worry about.  For example, I made time to learn French, cooking, and baking, and watching youtube DIY videos to make minor home repairs. 

What are your best mental health tips?  

I think my best mental health tips are to make the best of the situation to learn new skills, work on hobbies, instead of meeting friends in person, stay in touch via phone calls or video calls, and still make time to exercise.  This way you still have a good balance and structure in place.  

Before the pandemic hit, you may have worked in an office or corporate setting, but what do you foresee happening now? How do you see companies allowing employees to work?

As companies start planning going back to the office, some companies are already making working from home a permanent thing.  Some companies are planning for employees going back to the office in a limited capacity.  But one thing for sure working in an office or corporate setting will not be the same moving forward for the next few years until the coronavirus is completely contained.  

Do you believe that remote work is the future?  

I do think remote work is the future, or in some cases, companies will make employees work partially in the office and partially remote.  

How do you think COVID will shape the future of business?  

I think the future of business will be so much different where there will be more virtual trade shows instead of physical ones.  There may be fewer business trips, where many of the meetings conducted by companies across borders will be over Zoom.  

How can readers get in touch with you?   

Readers can get in touch with me via:www.linkedin.com/in/liangc

Email: liangc889@gmail.com

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