Before joining the family business, Ho Chao-qiong earned over 6 million from her own PR project
She didn't plan to inherit the family business; instead, she first proved she could independently earn and survive through her own PR firm, which earned her father's confidence to let her choose her own position and carve out her own department.
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Raised as the 'big sister' managing the family from age five
Ho says she started managing the family schedule at age five—booking vacations, deciding where to eat, all under her control, because her three younger sisters and one younger brother were close in age and her mother needed help. Years later, she learned from her sisters that her ‘discipline’ had been stricter than their mother's, so much so that the sisters would find ways to stay at school to avoid coming home. She later realized her difficulty making friends with peers as a child was the cost of bearing responsibility so early.
— He ChaoqiongFather opened doors to the powerful, but never discussed what she saw
Starting at age seventeen, Ho followed her father to social events, meeting Hong Kong's top business leaders, government officials, and entertainment figures. But her father never debriefed afterward or asked ‘what do you think of this person?’—he'd met too many people to discuss any one of them intentionally. She says the real education came from watching him navigate different situations firsthand, not from what he said directly.
— He ChaoqiongDisrupting charity circles as an outcast that no one initially trusted
When she returned to Hong Kong and joined the top ten charities, Ho was the youngest. She quickly became seen as a troublemaker for refusing to accept the convention of ‘one dinner and one concert per year,’ with some asking her father to move her elsewhere. She requested to take sole responsibility for a project, and within years she had grown a Viennese Opera Ball fundraiser from the industry standard of 500,000 to 1 million HKD to 3 million HKD; one televised fundraising gala she organized raised over 10 million HKD in a single night. These results won over the uncles and aunts who had doubted her.
— He ChaoqiongMaking 6 million a year, but never telling her father
Ho landed an annual retainer contract through her PR firm worth over 6 million HKD—her highest-earning year in her PR career. Right then, her father proposed she join the family business, offering a monthly salary of over one hundred thousand HKD plus a director's seat. She knew she was earning far more than he was offering, but chose not to mention it. Looking back now, she still says, ‘I don't have it, he doesn't know.’
— He ChaoqiongShe built power by creating a position no one else wanted
After joining Wynn, her father gave her a director title but no specific responsibilities; department heads were also reluctant to have her involved in daily operations. Rather than use her status as the boss's daughter to override her teams, Ho met with every department head, assessed the situation, then proposed to her father the creation of a ‘Corporate Affairs department,’ which she then expanded to include HR—a position that threatened no one's territory but made her the only person who could report the true state of the entire company to her father within two years.
— He ChaoqiongUnder the most pressure, she does the hardest work first
Ho says she always handles the hardest task first each day, rather than like most people who save the easy ones for the start and push the hard ones to the end. Her logic: avoiding a problem won't solve it, and your avoidance will only create more misunderstandings with the other party, generating unnecessary trouble. Even when the fault lies with her team, she believes you must face it head-on immediately, imagine the worst outcome, rather than wait for others to back down first.
— He ChaoqiongShe avoids perfection to prevent larger failures
Many assume that Virgo Ho is a perfectionist, but she says the opposite is true—she knows life can't be perfect, so she never insists on perfecting every task. Instead, she reminds herself not to overlook small, seemingly simple mistakes in pursuit of a perfect outcome; if you ignore these small issues for the sake of perfection, by the time you discover them, it's often too late to turn back.
— He ChaoqiongThat generation became idols not through packaging, but personality
Ho recalls that 80s Hong Kong stars and singers ‘truly had talent’—no image consultants, no agency-manufactured personas, they dressed entirely from their own personalities, and whatever they wore became a trend, not because of paid endorsements. These people became idols precisely because they were different from ordinary people; personal charisma and individuality were the core. Now most of these old friends have gradually left, which gives her a sense of sadness.
— He ChaoqiongIn their own words · checked verbatim
Dad was our savior for everyone. When we had to study, it was so difficult, we didn't have time off, we wanted to take a break—but Mom would never allow it. Just study, study, nothing but studying. The moment Dad came home, we could finally play.
爸回家是救星 就是我们所有人 比如说要读书啊 很辛苦啊 没时间去 甚至想停一顿啊 那我妈是永远不允许的 你就学习学习 只有学习 爸一回家 就可以玩了
He Chaoqiong13:06
But why don't you take the knowledge you have and this energy and apply them to a bigger stage—the kind where it matters to people in society?
但是你为什么不把你这样的学问 以及你的这种能量放到一个更大的 一个舞台 就是人 在社会里面
But that year, do you know how much I earned from this project? I charged a retainer—it wasn't just a single project, but a full year of comprehensive PR work—I earned over 6 million. From one project.
但是我一年 你知道我赚了多少 从这个project 我收费 因为是一个retainer 就是不是一个单单一的项目 是一整年的整套的公关推广 我赚了600多万 一个project
He Chaoqiong42:37
When there's difficulty, if you avoid it, first it won't be resolved, and second, the situation that's already problematic might, because of your avoidance, actually create more misunderstandings, more unnecessary complications.
就是有困难 你如果躲避 第一是不会解决 第二 有可能把已经不好的事情 因应你的这种反应 反而构成更多的误解 更多的不必要的这个事
He Chaoqiong1:09:15
Quite the opposite. I know very well that life can't possibly be perfect, so what I pursue is not perfection.
刚好相反 我就明知道 根本人生是不可能有完美的 我追求不是完美
He Chaoqiong1:11:17
So today's definition of an idol is very different from ours back then. The idol you like now is carefully packaged and manufactured. But the reason our old idols were idols—it's because they weren't like ordinary people. What mattered was their personal magnetism and individuality.
所以 现在的偶像的 定义 跟我们以前 是不一样的 你现在喜欢的 这个偶像 是精油 一番包装 打造的 以前我们喜欢的 为什么它是偶像 是因为它是 不像一般其他人 它要突出的是 它的 个人的魅力 跟个性
He Chaoqiong1:34:28
I feel a certain sadness now—so many of those old friends from back then have gradually slowly left.
现在我很有一点失落 就是我以前这批朋友这种 也已经逐步的慢慢很多都离开了
He Chaoqiong1:36:04
Figures
| Age when she began managing household affairs | 5 | 3:01 |
| Age when she began accompanying father to social events | 17 | 12:06 |
| Annual PR retainer fee for one contract | Over 6 million HKD | 42:37 |
| Monthly salary offered by father for family business role | Over 100,000 HKD | 43:38 |
| Percentage of HK and mainland brands choosing her as their first stop for PR work | 90% | 36:25 |
| Years spent transforming Macau's tourism image | 25 | 1:05:10 |
Glossary
- King of Friendship
- Ho's term for her father's exceptional social ability—his talent for becoming genuine friends with anyone and remaining the center of attention in any setting.
- Retainer
- A PR engagement model where services are charged on an annual fixed-fee basis, rather than as one-off project fees.
- Corporate Affairs
- The department Ho proposed and founded herself, overseeing brand management, media relations, investor relations, and cross-departmental coordination.
How to listen
Entrepreneurs and professionals interested in how family business heirs build their own success rather than parachuting into positions, and how to manage stress in high-pressure work.
If you're looking for business decision-making takeaways, you can skip the later section where she discusses nostalgic celebrity gossip and retirement cooking plans.