'I do almost everything': Uncle Ringo boss reveals what it takes to be a female showmaster 

"I see the future in [my dad's] business, and also because it's who I am", states Joyce Lee as she surveys the scene at The Great Bay Fiesta.

It's still early in the day, and the Christmas carnival attractions are only just coming online.

Taking the time to speak to AsiaOne, Joyce is making her way around the fairgrounds doing her final checks before opening.

Not many people can lay claim that their office is an actual funhouse, but then again, the 38-year-old show director with Uncle Ringo is not quite like others.

Even from a young age, Joyce knew that she wasn't like other kids.

Her father, Lee Woon Chiang, founded the travelling carnival brand back in 1984 – the year that Joyce was born.

So is it any surprise that a good chunk of her childhood was spent at Uncle Ringo fun fairs, riding her favourite bumper cars to her heart's content?

"I have childhood memories of a lot of fun stuff," Joyce tells us.

While Joyce's formative years truly lived up to the company tagline "The fun never ends", as a child, she noticed that unlike the other kids at the carnival, her parents didn't have to tear her away at the end of the night.

"I didn't understand that because I spend my whole day at a carnival, playing rides and all that while my dad was at work", she explains.

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A chip off the old block

Having grown up as part of the Uncle Ringo set-up, Joyce is well-placed to fully appreciate the family business and is "proud of what [her] dad has built".

So when it came to the issue of succession, she sheepishly confesses that she "knew and was planning for it" at the back of her mind.

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But it wasn't a straightforward path for Joyce to don the hat of Uncle Ringo's first female show master, even if it was her and her dad's plan all along.

The mother of two shares that her father held the belief that she "should work outside" of the family business, in order to build up an expansive set of skills that would come in handy.

Fresh out of school, Joyce made her bones as a risk management consultant with accounting firm KPMG for six years before she was called home to Uncle Ringo.

In 2010, new regulations were rolled out for carnival operators. It was at that point that her dad came to her for help.

Confessing that he didn't "think [he] can do it [himself]", her dad asked Joyce to join the family business.

At the same time, her father's foresight of having Joyce gain external employment experience paid off as she had the necessary skills such as risk assessment and mitigation to get the company in line with the new industry regulations.

These two reasons were enough for her to leave her corporate life behind and join her dad proper at Uncle Ringo.

Women can do it too

Now if you think that it was all easy for Joyce from this point on, you are sorely mistaken.

There was no cosy corner office waiting for her, even if she started off on paper in sales and marketing. Instead, her dad wanted her to have a taste of all aspects of the business from the bottom up.

Consider it on-the-job training, but Joyce has tried her hand at everything from onsite operations, all the way up to business development.

Even to this day, despite holding the position of show director, she confesses that she still has her fingers in numerous departments.

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"I do almost everything", she answers when we press for her job description. Sounds like all that training has prepared her well for her role.

One such stint that was particularly rewarding for Joyce was in ride maintenance, she tells us.

Not one to shy away from getting her hands dirty, she recalls impressing even herself when sitting in on a maintenance session with her technicians and pulling off the physical gruelling task of repairing the carnival rides without any existing engineering knowledge.

Furthermore, as a female, the incident has an even bigger significance considering that there is still an age-old stereotype that women can't do manual work in her industry.

Joyce elaborates that this is particularly prevalent with many roles dominated by men and that "it's difficult for [these] people to accept that a female can be doing it as well".

But it's not all doom and gloom to be a woman in the carnival industry.

Joyce believes that her meticulousness as a woman has served the company well, especially when it came to financial matters. 

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Lessons of the father

Thankfully, she is happy to be backed by a "very supportive" team at work whom she works closely with.

Part of that supportive network includes her dad who is a big inspiration with his dedication and hands-on work ethic.

Besides setting an example for her, Joyce's dad also taught her several key business lessons that has helped her along the way as show director.

First and foremost, in people management.

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"[In] every good business, there must be a strong team behind it", Joyce says matter-of-factly, adding that it is important to take care of them.

"If you do not have the people to maintain, market and operate it well, then it isn't a good business" according to Joyce.

At Uncle Ringo, it isn't always about the hardware but the heartware, it seems.

Another lesson that Joyce carries with her from her dad is to always think on her feet.

With the local Covid-19 restrictions in place then, Joyce and the rest of the team had to put the brakes on their ambitious plans to expand the Uncle Ringo brand.

At the same time, she had to figure out a way to balance the company's finances as the blackout on events saw zero revenue coming into their coffers for a prolonged period of time.

"So, making quick and decisive decisions on the spot, that is definitely crucial", Joyce emphasises.

Which brings Joyce to her final lesson on being prudent with the company's finances — a simple thing, but one she cannot stress enough on.

Joyce prefers to be cautious with money so as to be well-prepared for anything unexpected.

The Covid-19 crisis had demonstrated how volatile the economy can be. At one stage, Uncle Ringo was burning through $100,000 a month during the height of the pandemic despite implementing cost-cutting measures.

Thankfully though, those dark days have passed and now Joyce and her team are back with a vengeance.

Lady Ringo and her impact

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Joyce and her team are running three events concurrently during the festive Christmas period.

Besides The Great Bay Fiesta, Uncle Ringo is also the brains (and brawns) behind Christmas In The City at Suntec City, Hello Christmas along Orchard Road and Changi Airport Games at Terminal 3.

Having been with the iconic carnival operator for the past 12 years, one can begin to see Joyce's fingerprints behind some of their latest innovations.

For instance, she shares that in moving with the times (and modern Singaporeans), Uncle Ringo has adopted a new RFID card system.

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This signals the move toward a contactless payment model and doing away with cash collection and paper tickets.

At this, we hear the gleeful screams of the first wave of kids and their accompanying parents heading towards the carnival game booths as they rush to tap their RFID card for a game of Ring Toss.

As Joyce prepares to leave us to resume her workday, we end off by asking if she has gotten the hang of being a showmaster.

"I think over the years, we have learned that [at] every event there will be hiccups,

"But we just take it in our stride to make them our learning point", Joyce replies.

While she and her team have already "gone through a lot together", Joyce says that it will always be an ongoing learning process for her.

Spoken like a modest showmaster indeed.

ALSO READ: Carnival firm Uncle Ringo stepping back into the game after year of sorrow

timothywee@asiaone.com

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