study hard and get good grades go to a
good University start a respectable
stable career and make lots of
money anyone who's grown up in a
traditional Asian family like me knows
these mantras well they're ingrained in
us from an early age and it's an
expectation a given that will follow it
through our parents teach us that these
are the foundations of early adulthood
and will lead us to
happiness and most people like me do
follow these essential steps in our
adolescent years but it wasn't enough
for
me even though I checked all of these
boxes off I didn't didn't feel happy or
fulfilled something felt like it was
missing and I wanted more from
Life although I diligently studied hard
for years graduated from a great
University and landed a competitive
corporate job I didn't feel
fulfilled it wasn't inspiring and it
just wasn't
enough to me happiness is more important
than a career or money if your career is
stressing you out and not bringing you
Joy then for me personally it's not
worth the time
investment money is something that you
can recuperate regenerate and rebuild
but time is something that you can never
get
back so if you're in a job that is not
bringing you Joy on a daily basis you
need to ask yourself what am I doing
this for and then ask yourself if not
this then
what what can I do to help me align
myself more closely with my
values what can I do to help me take
significant steps towards achieving my
dreams what can I do to make myself feel
happier and more fulfilled because
ultimately your job is your life and
happiness and that should be your
ultimate priority
now don't get me wrong I don't want you
to leave this Hall tonight phone up your
boss and quit your day job right now
that would be a bold
move but what I do mean is that I want
you to start thinking about what is
possible what your potential is and what
your definition of success and happiness
is and how you can achieve
it and that's why I'm here talking to
you guys
today this is the story of embarking on
my entrepreneurial
journey and I hope that it can Inspire
and encourage you to chase your dreams
or at the very least to get you thinking
about how you define success and how you
can feel more fulfilled in your life
path from a young age I've always been
entrepreneurial I guess you can say it's
like an instinct
when I turned 16 I did what a lot of
kids do and I worked different jobs to
bring in some spare
cash I worked at a pizza store I did
cold calls and I worked
retail I was still working hard at
school and I was motivated to stick to
my after hours
jobs because although they were pretty
mind numing they were giving me real
world experience and brought in the
income I needed
to invest into business ideas that I had
dreamt about in high
school fast forward 3 years and I'd
started my first side hustle an
e-commerce dress store offering Drop
Shipping a contact lens brand and a hair
extension
company now they all failed
miserably but I was undeterred I could
feel myself growing and improving
improving every day so I kept myself
busy by brainstorming ideas to new
businesses as I continued my
studies soon after I graduated
University and began working my 9-to-5
corporate job an advertising role at a
marketing agency which was actually a
dream job for me at first but slowly and
steadily lost its
charm I learned a lot from the team and
I got some great experience but after 3
years there I felt completely
stuck I didn't have my own
voice I felt like I lost my spark
unmotivated and there was limited room
for
growth the routine and ritual of the
corporate world it was driving me down
into a state of Habitual coma I was just
going through the Daily Motions and I
knew I had to get out
but
how I remember the day that I was not
allowed to take time off for a wedding
this was a moment that I'll never
forget was this job that valuable to me
to give up a once in a-lifetime
cherishable moment for someone very
close to
me I felt trapped and I had a feeling of
uneasiness that my job could ultimately
dictate how I spend the rest of the days
of my
life and I know this sounds dramatic but
I didn't want to work to live I wanted
to live to
work I yearned for the freedom that
would allow me the opportunity to choose
my own schedule and at the same time to
do the things I loved while also
traveling and working
and I quickly realized that the only way
to do that was on my own terms and to be
my own
boss so I decided to start another
business this time it was
swimwear now an e-commerce swimwear
company might seem a bit
unusual but when I was a kid I was
always sketching up different fashion
designs and I was fascinated by the
fashion and beauty
industry it just so happened that my
best friend in La at the time was the
perfect partner to start this Venture
with although after graduation we' moved
to different cities we still linked up
for tropical
vacations and it was actually on a trip
to Mexico when we noticed there was a
gap in the swimware
market being petite Asian girls
ourselves we noticed that there weren't
many bikini Brands out there that
flattered petite bodies we also loved
lace fabric but there was only one other
brand out there at the time doing lace
in a flattering way that you could wear
onto the beach and so we found our
Niche and our business idea was
born she handled the creative content
and photography and I handled the
manufacturing side the operations and
the marketing it turned out to be a
great side hustle that allowed me to
work after hours when I finished the
Daily Grind of my corporate
job so I continued loathing my day job
and loving my online business for
another year now that my swimwear
business was operating smoothly I
decided it was time to start another
entrepreneurial
Adventure I started this with another
close friend of mine who I actually
connected with through a photo shoot for
my swimwear
brand for this one
our Focus was on
beauty our idea was to use her technical
skills as a permanent makeup artist to
train other aspiring artists in the
industry how they could start their own
profitable Beauty
businesses so we created a course
booklet we put together a custom course
kit and our Beauty Academy was
born it was online based but we also had
a a brick and mortar store for
training as you can imagine by this
point I was building Financial
Freedom but my life was getting pretty
hectic my two side hustles were growing
exponentially and as a result my
schedule was getting really tough to
balance I knew I couldn't grow my
businesses without putting 100% of the
time and dedication into them so
something had to give
and as you can guess that's
right I took a very deep
breath and I finally quit my day
job
completely now don't be under any
illusion I didn't stroll out of the
office that day on cloud n with a spring
in my step and a huge smile on my face
quite the opposite I was absolutely
terrified my corporate job was my only
backup if these businesses failed so now
my financial safety net was gone but I
continually pushed any fearful thoughts
from my mind because I didn't want to
have that kind of mindset
anymore that type of thinking had kept
me in the rat race for too long already
so I replaced those negative thoughts
with the idea that these businesses
could not
and would not
fail but I had to be realistic too I
knew that all businesses have good times
and bad and I was prepared for those I
was prepared to deal with the stresses
that would surely come because I knew I
finally had a real shot at living my
life the way I wanted to live it and by
working on projects I loved and for
reasons that I felt were of real value
well it worked and I feel so
blessed 2 years later my beauty business
expanded to offer over 10 different
courses and we have classes in four
different cities across the US and
Canada with eight talented instructors
recognized in their
fields and my swimware company really
took off too two years ago I achieved my
goal of bringing my brand to Miami
swimweek now I don't have a fashion
education just a passion for design and
a commitment to the business so making
it to Miami swim week really was a wish
that became a
reality since then we've been published
in print shot by extraordinary
photographers and worn by influencers
and talent across the world this has
opened so many doors for me and I've
since started my own manufacturing and
design firm as
well we've been supported by so many
wonderful people in so many different
ways that help and support has been such
a crucial element of our success and
it'll be a crucial element of yours
too now being able to provide an
individual with all the tools they need
to become a successful and happy
entrepreneur is truly rewarding
I'm so grateful that I'm in a position
today to be able to give that gift to
others helping them build their own
profitable businesses and hearing their
success stories how they've gone on to
open their own brick-and-mortar Beauty
Studios or started teaching or have
become reputable artists in the industry
is indeed what drives me to do the
things I do
today it's also why I'm standing here
today to offer you my top five tips for
cultivating an entrepreneurial mindset
and for starting your own
entrepreneurial
Journey first let's start with the most
important thing your passion your reason
for being for doing now being an
entrepreneur is not for everyone as an
entrepreneur you'll be living and
breathing your business
247 so it needs to be something that
brings you Joy something that doesn't
even feel like work and something that
you'll do regardless of the
money the stress of being an
entrepreneur can make you feel so
overwhelmed at times so it's crucial
that you do what you love and love what
you
do now people always ask me when should
I launch my
business they really is no correct
answer and there is really no way to
launch a perfect product from the
beginning so my second tip for you is
just to focus on your Niche perfect your
product or service as you go and learn
from your customers just make sure that
your Brand's Core Business values and
mission statement is always being
honored stay authentic to your audience
and find out how you can stand apart
from your
competitors third is to build a trusted
and talented team partner with
individuals who have the skills and
knowledge that you do
not your success is dependent on what
everyone can bring to the table so
communicate collaborate and Elevate each
other in addition Network and build a
personal support system of like-minded
entrepreneurs having a strong Community
around you is essential to open doors
for you and to help you
grow rely on your mentors for advice and
support and don't let pride get in the
way of asking for help remember the
Mantra Teamwork Makes the Dream
Work fourth is to embrace
failure failure will be a part of your
journey to success but when you feel
like you want to quit just remember why
you started this journey in the first
place I have a lot of mentors who have
guided me through my journey and role
models who inspire me you'll need them
when times get tough and you feel like
throwing in the
towel have faith in yourself and hang in
there learn from the losses and
celebrate and appreciate the
wins finally set small achievable goals
it's easy to lose sight of the Finish
Line when it's so far away so to help
you get to your destination break down
your huge tasks into more manageable
to-dos this way you can hold yourself
accountable and stay focused on making
progress remember consistency is
key so there we go five things that'll
help set you up for success in your own
entrepreneurial Advent
Venture but of course I don't have all
the answers I still make mistakes and
I'm still learning and
growing and I still have a lot of
Unfinished Business there's a Long
bucket list of things that I want to
achieve in the future for my current
businesses and I've since started more
new
Ventures but most importantly I want to
continue mentoring young women and help
them achieve their entrepreneurship
goals as cheesy as it might sound the
freedom of working for yourself doing
something you love and making a good
living from it is truly
Priceless and there's no reason why you
can't do it too there will be a huge
number of challenges a lot of negativity
from others and periods where you don't
see any growth and may be tempted to
give it all up but never let go of your
dream don't be embarrassed by failures
or care what others think of you instead
use each setback as a learning lesson
from which you can grow and improve and
come back even stronger and wiser and
most important of all don't
underestimate yourself there are plenty
of people in the world who are ready to
do that for you your entrepreneurial
Journey maybe an uphill battle but it'll
be very rewarding so don't forget to
stop and Savor the moment and enjoy the
journey to success thank you
[Music]