Like many Asian-Americans in the US today, I immigrated over with my parents who came with high hopes of a better lifestyle not for themselves, but for their new-born child. With no college degrees or technical education, my parents worked intensely to get by. With the passing of my father at age 13, my mother had to work twice as hard in order to get by. I like to see the positives on things and so looking back, I realize that I had learned the importance of money management. With my mother working so hard just to get by, I joined the military so that I could go onto college without having to pinch her wallet.

Throughout college, I always held two jobs because I honestly did not want to ask my mother for even a nickel. After about two years of being a full-time engineering student, working two jobs, and being in the military, I knew I would not want to do this grunt work to this caliber forever. Even as a professional engineer, sure you make good money from the beginning, but that’s basically where the cap is. Being in the engineering department, I had often poked fun at the business majors and had pridefully considered engineering to be superior. As I progressed in my engineering career, slowly had I began to realize I was an entrepreneur at heart. I enjoy talking with people rather than grinding away at calculations. That is why I invested a little bit of the money I had in starting a side business with Arbonne.

Sure, the white Mercedes is a nice incentive, but the idea of working from home is what excites me to this day. Am I open to new business ideas? You bet I am. In the meantime, I’m going to continue building my network and generating valuable friendships. Even without a formal business degree, I’ve come to learn and believe that people comes first before any money will or even has the potential of being made. Thank you and I look forward to meeting you!