We had the good fortune of connecting with Carla Bianca Ravanes Higham and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Carla, have there been any changes in how you think about work-life balance?
I have been working in the Marketing / Communications / PR Industry since I graduated from college and I became engulfed by the industry. I falsely believed that constantly being in a heightened state of crisis and being on call 24/7 added worth to me as an employee and as a person. After 15 years, I’ve come to realize that while work is a vital part of my life, it doesn’t define who I am. I realized that my chair at work can be replaced at any given time so to achieve balance, I needed to slow down, take a step back, and see things from a different perspective. I made a decision that I wanted a full, thriving, and healthy life and that led me to a journey of seeking things that created a life of balance and this is what led to an even happier career. One that is founded on joy rather than obligation.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
When people ask me what I do for a living, I often say I tell stories and this is true but more than just telling stories, the best part about my career and the industry I’m in is finding the connection among those stories in a way that’s relevant to the audience and our clients. I feel stories have always connected cultures, people, and in our case, clients with their audiences. The first part of my career was dedicated to helping multinational companies such as Coca-Cola, Starbucks, and Nickelodeon to name a few to transition into the Southeast Asian Market. Together with a strong team, we helped these brands develop strong and successful communications strategies that speak to the local market while highlighting their global differentiators. In 2017, I moved to Los Angeles permanently and to start over in a new place with a new network took a lot of grit, determination, and humility. If there’s anything I learned, it’s this, do not take things personally but instead frame each situation, no matter how difficult it may be, as an opportunity to learn and grow. When we stop taking things personally, we give ourselves this wonderful opportunity to find creative solutions that lead to better opportunities. I’ve also learned the importance of doing it afraid. More often than not, we’re afraid to say yes to opportunities because we’re not completely ready for it, the truth is, we’re never really fully ready for anything so might as well say yes, enjoy the ride, and learn as much as you can. And lastly and I cannot stress on this enough but we must always do things from a place of joy. When we do things because we enjoy them, it leaves a lasting impact on everything we do. Every day, I center myself and remind myself of the reasons why I do what I do and that has made a whole lot of difference. Today, I am fortunate enough to work with a company that believes in the same things and it has been working well for all of our clients.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
Nothing beats how beautiful LA is so I always make sure to let them see it. My husband and I often suggest hiking – we love Mount Lowe / Inspiration Point in Altadena. Hole in the wall restaurants all around Pasadena and Highland Park are always good choices when it comes to food.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
I would like to thank my army8 team, I’m blessed to work with a team who values the same things I do: respect, integrity, a thriving work life balance, and creating tactics for our clients out of the desire to impact their businesses positively. My family has seen me through the worst and the best and their encouragement, especially my husband’s, has made all the difference in my life.

Website: army8.com
Instagram: carlaravaneshigham
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/carla-bianca-ravanes-higham-0b421967/
Twitter: biancaravanes
Other: carlabiancaravanes.com

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