Daniella Santana – China Business Expert & LinkedIn Coach

We need to learn more about self-promotion. That’s the way to go for the future. Personal branding.

Daniella Santana is a China Business Expert and a LinkedIn Coach. She is passionate about helping entrepreneurs, business owners and consultants of the international trade industry become the go-to expert on LinkedIn by building a strong and powerful personal brand so they can close high-ticket sales. As an international trade professional herself for over 14 years, she felt how hard it was to get clients in such a competitive industry and today she’s a consultant on China Business, LinkedIn Coach and the host of Coffee & Business With Dany Santana Show and has been featured in various magazines, newspapers, blogs and podcasts. 

In a nutshell, tell us a bit about your job, and what role does technology plays in it?

I am Daniella Santana, Entrepreneur, China Business Expert and LinkedIn Coach. I started carrying out International Trade business with China many years ago and since then my business has evolved into online services, info products and online courses. I am also a business influencer and act as China KOL helping Western brands bring awareness to their products/services in China. With the use of the internet and many tech tools, I have been able to scale my business and have a thriving online and offline communities.

Where did your professional journey start and how did you get to where you are now?

It started back in 2005, when I moved to China and decided I was going to become my own boss but I had no business experience whatsoever. I used to be a physical education teacher back in Brazil and moved to China to experiment and see the world. That has changed everything. It opened up my mind for what’s possible and for a new reality, that I wasn’t aware of. I got to where I am right now by adding massive value to people’s lives and business, creating meaningful communities and using social media to share my message, especially on LinkedIn and WeChat.

When you think about ‘women’ and ‘technology’ what comes to your mind first? 

Women are super savvy when it comes to tech. There are a lot of great professionals and business owners out there that we never heard of. And the main reason is that the market is mainly dominated by men, but I also believe women in tech are not putting themselves out there as much and are not leveraging their personal brand to build a massive awareness of their business.

We always hear there are not enough women working in tech. What needs to happen to change that?

In terms of action, we shouldn’t be afraid of using social media and creating online communities around our business. We need to learn more about self-promotion. That’s the way to go for the future. Personal branding.

What skills do you need for a career in tech (aside from the actual tech skills)?

Learn how to share your message online in an engaging way. Storytelling and social media.

How does success for businesswomen look like to you?

Freedom. Success is to do what I love when I want while impact people’s lives and businesses in a positive way.

If you could go back in time, what advice would you give your 14-year-old self?

Spend more time in nature, start your own business and do only the things you love.

If you could host a dinner party with 3 influential people in tech, who would you invite and why? 

Hard one. I would invite 2.

Markey Tan, Tech Community Builder, because she is doing an amazing job in Shenzhen and China with her tech-related events.

David Rosa, Founder of neat.hk, it’s a fintech startup revolutionizing the way online banking is conducted in Hong Kong. 

Daniella Santana is a China Business Expert and a LinkedIn Coach. She is passionate about helping entrepreneurs, business owners and consultants of the international trade industry become the go-to expert on LinkedIn by building a strong and powerful personal brand so they can close high-ticket sales. As an international trade professional herself for over 14 years, she felt how hard it was to get clients in such a competitive industry and it wasn’t until she mastered her LinkedIn that she started to land speaking engagements, partnerships opportunities, and close 1M+ dollar contracts. Today, she’s a consultant on China Business, LinkedIn Coach and the host of Coffee & Business With Dany Santana Show and has been featured in various magazines, newspapers, blogs and podcasts.