Cynthia Cheng, Webitor-in-Chief, Prospere Magazine

Submitted by haley on Mon, 07/20/2009 - 09:28.

Prospere Magazine is an online publication for successful and driven women. They combine stories on finance and business with lifestyle and fashion pieces.

What does a typical Thursday look like for you, starting from when you wake up – to heading to bed?

I have a home office, so I don’t work a 9-5 schedule. Generally, I’m up by 9 am on a Thursday (or any day of the work week) and have logged onto my computer within a half an hour. Thursday is the day my weekly fashion designer profile goes live, so the first thing I do is link the post to Facebook and Twitter (my Twitter account is @prosperemag if anyone wants to know). I spend the rest of the day writing and editing upcoming articles as well as reading newspapers, magazines and message boards to get ideas for posts, especially if I haven’t started my Friday op-ed piece. I often make my Friday articles relevant to current events. Depending on my schedule, I may also be interviewing people I’m profiling. Besides fashion/accessories designers, I also profile women with “interesting” or “unusual” careers. I also correspond with my current volunteer writers and those who are interested in writing for me.

In between researching, writing and interviewing, I often tack on time to run errands. Working from home allows me to be more flexible with when I can do things (e.g. taking a yoga class at 2 pm). I don’t have to wait until after work or during lunch to take breaks. I try to work at least 6-8 hours each day.

I do put in overtime hours. If there is an evening event I’m covering, I don’t reduce the amount of work I do during the day. If I don’t have an event, I would have done most of my work by dinner – after dinner is left for minor research, relaxing and talking to my fiancé on the phone – we talk every day! I usually go to bed by 1 am.

What was your first job out of school?

After I finished my mandatory work placement term/internship for PR school, I temped as a receptionist/assistant to a director for a department store where I prepared spreadsheets, typed up letters and did other admin assistant duties.

What are the 3 skills you require most to do your job well?

Good writing skills, an interest in social media and patience!

What do you love most about your career?

The really flexible hours and the chance to meet people I may never be able to otherwise.

Do you have any warnings?

You have to be able to deal with people who may not understand your timeline or your job – I have had writers email me to ask why their articles aren’t up yet (answer: articles are scheduled when they’re scheduled – they don’t go up immediately unless it’s time sensitive). In addition, professional behaviour is important. If you’re covering an event, you should behave as if you’re there to work, rather than an attendee. For me, it means not drinking alcohol.

If you could try a different career on for a year, what would it be?

I would either be a fashion designer, specializing in clothing for petite women under 5’4” (because there just aren’t that many out there – and those who do exist get very little publicity…c’mon fashion magazines, what’s the deal here?) or host a news-style TV program.