It’s Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month, and I have the opportunity for my business to be spotlighted by the Tapco Credit Union. It’s got me thinking about how growing up Chinese American in Richmond and Berkeley, California has influenced my business.

Growing up Asian in America, I had a unique experience because my mother insisted on treating us girls equal to the boys, including with all of my cousins (I was one of 21 grandchildren.) As my mother shared the story, my sister was the only first born girl who got a baby party when she was one month old, just like every first born son got one.

None of my Asian girlfriends got treated equal to their brothers growing up. It didn’t matter how smart they were, they had to work 10 times as hard to get the praise and the education that their brothers got.

My mom taught me I could do anything I wanted when I grew up, and she was a good role model for that. She used to lobby in Sacramento in the legislature for gifted education. While she looked like a short Chinese woman, when she opened her mouth and spoke perfect fluent English, she always got everything she wanted. She said that every child deserved this level of education, but if you can’t afford it for every kid, you need to provide it at least for the smartest kids, because if you don’t, they will be the biggest troublemakers when they get bored. 

I am very glad to be born in America, with my equal opportunity mother (and a father who obviously backed her up). I grew up with freedom of choice and freedom of speech and expression as my birthright. My parents encouraged my artistic endeavors, where most of my other Asian American friends had to put their creative interests on the back burner in favor of an education in accounting or the hard sciences.

It hasn’t always been easy, to get past the personal, cultural, and even genetic propensities for submissiveness and taking care of everyone else before oneself. This is a challenge that most women seem to face, but it seems to be more exaggerated for Asian women, at least the Chinese, Japanese and Korean women I have known.

What is Equal Opportunity?

When my mom said I could do anything I wanted when I grew up, she included being the President of the United States. While we both knew that I would never want that job, she wanted me to know that there were no limits to my options. She would be there to support me whatever I chose to do.

As a Health and Longevity Coach, I recognize that loving what you do and how you contribute to the world is a huge part of living in vibrant health for a long time. More people die at 9am on Monday morning than any other time. How does that happen? Equal opportunity to work hard at a job you hate is not doing anyone any favors in the long run.

If you are looking at starting your own business or changing careers, what if you start from uncovering your gifts and talents. Recognize that you have a combination of interests and skills unique to you. 

We each have an equal opportunity to take our gifts – and our challenges – and create a business (or position within someone else’s business), where we can thrive. When you find that sweet spot for yourself, you will experience an enjoyment of life that will contribute to your health and longevity.

Following are my answers to some questions asked by Tapco:

The inspiration for my business, and how my vision is coming to life

I’ve been an artist and entrepreneur my whole life, never being one for a 9 to 5 job.

My current focus as a Health and Longevity Coach began developing over the last 5-10 years, as more people started to look for natural and alternative approaches to deal with things like Alzheimer’s disease, diabetes and high blood pressure.

At an Alzheimer’s conference years ago, I watched as several people asked the speaker, a medical doctor, if there was anything they could do to reduce their risk of Alzheimer’s. The doctor replied, “What we know is that what is good for the heart is good for the brain.” 

Unfortunately, that was the extent of his answer. That was all he knew, since doctors get very little training on nutrition in medical school.

Knowing about many dietary and lifestyle things we can do to decrease inflammation and reduce one’s risk of Alzheimer’s. I decided it was time to start sharing what I had been learning about the importance of both nutrition and energetic/emotional healing. I enjoy making complex concepts easy to understand, so I started giving health workshops on heart health and brain health.

On a different front, as an artist of custom hand painted tile murals and sinks, I got involved in green building. I learned that there are many sustainable solutions that already exist, like rain gardens, thermal storage and rainwater catchment. Most people just didn’t know about them. Many eco-friendly solutions can improve our quality of life more than most people realize. I have seen people who move into a green built, toxin free home see a dramatic reduction in asthma and have improved sleep, while saving on their energy bill.

Combining health and sustainability solutions in the business arena has not been easy. While it has always made sense to me, most people couldn’t make the connection. That is changing, as erratic weather events and climate change become of greater concern. In conversations with people, when I point out, “We can’t live a long time on a dead planet,” they get it.

I am writing a book titled, Achieving Health and Longevity: The Artful Pursuit of Wellness and Vitality. I will bring together principles and strategies across a broad spectrum of disciplines.The reader will be able to choose simple lifestyle changes, tailored to their particular needs, that can lead to major improvements in their health and wellbeing, while moving toward increased sustainability.

What challenges have I faced as an Asian American/Pacific Islander business owner, and how have I overcome them?

My biggest challenges as the owner of a heart based, socially and environmentally conscious business come from being so out of the box in my thinking, that I haven’t always been good at doing the everyday business tasks. My mother and I once talked about how we were, “ahead of our time.” It made so much sense!

Then the problem became, when is the right time to launch or implement a project? I have been taking courses and workshops from entrepreneurs and influencers to learn about marketing, course creation and other aspects of how to run my business effectively and how to reach my ideal customers. Lockdown provided an opportunity to work on my message and my branding.

It seems that, with scientists predicting that the first person to live to 150 has already been born, the time is right for empowering people to restore and maintain health and vitality, so that they have the option of living to 150 and beyond on a healthy, vibrant planet. 

What advice would I give other Asian American/Pacific Islander people interested in starting their own business?

• Focus on developing your strengths and your gifts, rather than spending all of you energy trying to get better at things you aren’t good at or don’t like doing. You can find someone else to do those things once your business takes off
• Reframe any limiting beliefs – What are your beliefs around money, having to work hard, how worthy/unworthy you are? When you are in business for yourself, limiting beliefs can dramatically affect your sales, so reframe those limiting beliefs using affirmations like:
  • I love helping people and I get paid well for my services
  • I am grateful for the abundance of money I give and receive 
  • I attract my ideal clients with ease
• Build your confidence Low confidence and poor self esteem will make you second guess everything you do. Watch this TED talk by Emily Jaenson for tips to increase your confidence.
• Learn to tell good stories – Stories of your customers’ results help your potential clients understand why they need your products/services. Toastmasters is a great place to learn to be concise, yet engaging as you explore how to talk about your business and what you do.
• Lean in to what makes you unique – In a world with millions of ways people can spend their money, creating your business and brand around what makes you unique in your field is a good thing. In this regard, being in the Asian minority could be in your favor, depending on your business. 

What are some of the most valuable lessons I’ve learned as an Asian American/Pacific Islander person in business?

• One good idea from a training, event or video can make a huge impact on your business and/or your personal growth
• Always keep an open mind and be willing to pivot as needed – This became a necessity for businesses to survive during the pandemic. In reality, I think all great business ideas can benefit from flexibility in the process of implementation and marketing.
• Throw perfection out the window – Instead of spending too much time trying to make everything perfect, just get things going.Based on feedback, aim for improving the next version by at least 30% each time. Pretty soon you’ll have a really great product.
• Happy Money (from the book by Ken Honda) comes when you give and receive money with gratitude, and when you and the customer are both happy with the services/products provided.

My goals for the future of my business, and some steps are I am taking to achieve them

• Workshops for families and educators sharing tools to help our young people and their families address the health challenges that have been exacerbated by the pandemic
• Creating a family friendly community and membership for ongoing support and empowerment on the journey of Health and Longevity
• Complete the book I am writing, Achieving Health and Longevity: The Artful Pursuit of Wellness and Vitality. 

I have been connecting with parents and educators within the Sumner/Bonney Lake School District to see how I can deliver a few workshops to parents, teachers and/or students, even before the end of the current school year. I feel this is one of the greatest ways I can help our community right now, as I have simple, yet powerful tools that can help people of all ages reduce stress, anxiety and depression, while increasing their sense of wellbeing and the ability to focus and accomplish anything you want.

I have joined the Bonney Lake Tehaleh Satellite Rotary Club, and frequent the Sumner Rotary Club as well. The relationships I am building there, are helping me connect with people in the Sumner/Bonney Lake School District. It is also being amazing to be one of the volunteers for the EarlyAct Club (youth Rotary) at Liberty Ridge Elementary School. Through the relationships I am building with the students, parents and faculty, I am being able to assess how I can best use my skills as a Health and Longevity Coach to empower our families to thrive.

Stories of resilience and strength in the Asian American/Pacific Islander business community

One of my friends in Olympia is Toy Kay, author of An American Picture Bride. Her story is one of incredible resilience and self determination. Toy’s parents took her out of high school in Montana, and she had to move to Olympia at the age of 16 to marry a man she had never met. After many years working in his family restaurant, with determination she went back to school. Over the years, she learned to make choices that would help her grow beyond the challenges she faced. At 98, she is the oldest Chinese person in Olympia, and still owns investment property.