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I was first introduced to Shanaz Ramzi, CEO of Starlinks PR, in 2003 when I entered into the field of journalism. At the time I was managing a publication and needed a review for a restaurant that had just opened. She was one of the foremost names who were suggested to me immediately, and I still remember our phone call. Writing for different publications, her reviews were a staple in each publication of note. I distinctively remember asking her to do the review for us, to which she replied, she would visit in her own time, would pay for the food and give it a proper untainted critique in her own way. The sincerity in her voice was apparent and her dedication in giving the review was direct that I still admire to this day.

This was a journalist of repute and she had established herself just so. A prolific writer, to say the least, Shanaz Ramzi, was writing an article a day for almost five different publications at a point. She discovered her passion for writing during her college days where she sought out her degree in 1981 from University of Karachi, Pakistan.

So dedicated to getting a solid education despite being newly married, dealing with a joint family system with in-laws, and then having children, she would drive herself every day from the DHA area to her university despite family protests. She recalls the memory of driving alone the distance on a remote road everyday, juggling in-laws, dinners and family obligations without much support for her efforts to obtain a degree. It was a difficult experience for her but she never complained about it or used it as a crutch. These to Shanaz were life-building lessons to be utilised in building her personality and her career. It was that ingrained ability to pursue a passion and her dedication to something she wanted to do that have laid the foundation for her success. It is this hard work that has resulted in the business that she has built up today as her own boss.

Shanaz is somebody who is a futuristic planner. She had already worked as head of media and publications for 11 years under the mentorship and then friendship of Sultana Siddiqui, President, HUM TV. She foresaw the trend towards digital media PR agencies and made a move towards the industry taking her son and daughter-in-law with her. The family-run business Starlinks PR is recognisable from their client database and the brands they handle. Her easy flow of working with both her son and daughter-in-law shows her ability to switch roles as a mother, a mother-in-law and yes, of course, a CEO. Managing all these roles could not have come easy to her, and it is her story that I would like to give the floor, or column to.

Who Am I?

My name is Shanaz Ramzi, and I am the CEO of StarLinks PR and Events. I started this company three years ago, at the ripe old age of 57. The roles I have played in life have been of an entrepreneur, a wife, a mother, mother-in-law), a daughter, a journalist, an author, and a grandmother.

The Life that Brought Me Here

My life has been a chain of events that have just led me from one thing to another. It was as if opportunity kept knocking, and all I did was to open the door. For instance, I was always passionate about writing, and graduated with my major in journalism, but I wasn’t exactly pushed to pursue a career in it, as I was already married when I was in the first year of BA, and before I knew it I had children and domestic responsibilities. It was an artist friend who much later, when my children were in junior and senior school respectively, insisted that I not waste myself, and practically bundled me in his car and took me to Dawn office to introduce me to editors of the various magazine sections of the paper. On his insistence I had written an article as a sample of my writing that I showed to the four editors of Images, Sunday Magazine, Review and Star Weekend respectively. All of them immediately gave me assignments, one of them with a deadline to submit it within 10 days.

And that’s how my career in journalism was finally launched. I met my deadline, was immediately given another article, and meanwhile submitted all the other assignments too while getting a new assignment from them. I was probably writing more than any full-time journalist, and there was a time when I was writing an article a day, as I started writing for many monthlies too.

My career in PR was again something I had not sought willfully for I was offered the job by Sultana Siddiqui after I had interviewed her for Star Weekend. At that time she hadn’t launched her channel, but had started hiring and asked me to head the PR department. I declined the offer, explaining I had no experience in PR and nor did I know any journalists other than the ones I interacted with from the English press. But she refused to take no for an answer, and remained adamant that I needed to do this for myself, if nothing else. Thus, my career in PR was launched! Meanwhile, the Oxford University Press contacted me since they had been following all the restaurant reviews I had been writing in various magazines, and assigned me a book on Pakistani cuisine, which I readily accepted. And that is how I evolved into an author.

Perhaps the only career I adopted out of my own free will is my current one-that of event management. With 11 years of experience behind me as a PR practitioner and over three decades of experience in doing events for voluntary organisations I had been associated with, Jaycees and later Heritage Foundation, it was almost a natural transition, and one I embraced willingly.

Challenges in our Business

The challenges that we are now facing and have been facing since last year, when workload increased a great deal, and we are getting all kinds of clients, is unethical clients. They get their work done from us, and then give us a run-around to pay up. Many friends in this business who have had their fingers burnt had advised me to take 100 percent payment upfront, but I hadn’t heeded it. Now I realise they were right.

Initially, the main challenges were finding good vendors we could rely on, as I had never directly interacted with them before even though I had experience of doing events. The next challenge was getting a good, efficient and ethical team in place. Mercifully, we struck good luck with both, and also never had to worry about roping in clients, as they came on their own accord without us having to go hunting.

The Recognition

I have received quite a few awards in the last year, and I cannot thank God enough for His many blessings. Since I launched this company we have received five international awards, coverage in an international magazine, and many local awards. The last one was a Global Women’s Award by the Warsi Foundation presented on the International Women’s Day, which was followed by a Tamgha-e-Fakhar Pakistan, also bestowed by them in a separate ceremony.

What we Do

StarLinks has a very varied portfolio considering it is such a young company. It does all kinds of events, from weddings and private parties to premieres, press conferences, award shows, and seminars, launches of outlets, products and even entire malls to research-based assignments and acting as fixers. We also do PR and digital media on retainer as well as event-based for individual as well as corporate clients. An intrinsic part of StarLinks is also its CSR component. We do a number of projects pro bono in order to give back to our country. StraLinks’ founding members, other than myself, are my son and daughter-in-law.

The Future for My field

The future of PR and digital companies is very bright as, fortunately or unfortunately, that has become the new wave media clients now depend on for their promotion. Most clients just want a presence on social media; they aren’t so concerned about print and electronic. But the downside of that is that everyone now claims to be a blogger, even those who have no idea about writing even one sentence of English properly, and after securing a huge fake following, expect to be paid an arm and a leg for their postings, be treated like celebrities, given front row seats, etc. As PR specialists we need to sift those with organic following from those that have only an inorganic one, and convince the client not to depend on such accounts for their promotion.

My Legacy

As a parent I felt my son was not enjoying my husband’s development business. He had recently come back from Dubai and had gotten married soon after; I asked him and his wife if they would be interested in setting this company up with me. I had substantial experience and enjoyed a reasonably good reputation in the industry, so if they cashed in on it now while I could still help them they would be set up. It was always my plan from the day I decided to launch my own company to use my experience and contacts to establish my family in the business so that I could then retire and let them take it forward.

My Pakistan

I am very clear about my role: I want to help promote Pakistan as a tourist destination, take ownership of all the wonderful things-like food, history, hospitality, pristine holiday spots, multi-cultural ethnicities-it has to offer, and project it to the world at large. I feel that as Pakistanis it is the responsibility of each one of us to take things in our own hands and propel our country forward in whatever little way we can, whether it is through cleanliness drives, awareness sessions or supporting authentic ventures that are working for Pakistan’s betterment.

My book Food Prints was a step in that direction too because I feel that we never take ownership of our own cuisine and its wonderful history, and allow India to take away all the glory and heritage as if it belongs solely to India. My work with the Heritage Foundation in the last two decades has also been to try and set things right in areas that have never received any government attention, or in flood-affected or earthquake-struck areas. In order to implement my dreams more effectively, I have now become the charter president of a Rotary Club, New Central, whose mandate is economic and community development, and I have started inducting like-minded members who are willing to give their time to Pakistan.

Words I Live By

Never worry about how much the other is earning or who they are. I concentrate on my work and I deliver my best. There is enough to go around, and only that will come your way that has been set aside by your Creator. Stay positive, be happy. Life is just too short to live it ordinary!

The writer is a Lifestyle Blogger and writer, covering all positive things from Pakistan