Episode 27: The Roller Coaster of Entrepreneurship

If you're thinking about starting a business, read this first...

*Before I start this episode, I wanted to tell you that I am trying something new for paid episodes only. I am adding audio at the very end so that you can listen to my essay like an author read out loud. See what you think, tell me how you like it, if you like listening to it (or not!). Thanks!

I grew up watching my parents run their own businesses. They immigrated from Thailand to the United States with only $600. Eventually, they became 1/5th owners of a Thai restaurant in 1984. Gradually, they became the full owner of that first restaurant, and then continued to add restaurants until they had 4 at the peak of their entrepreneurial time—all while my Mom still kept a full-time job at another company for another 20+ years. They were restauranteurs for almost 40 years until they retired last year in 2022. I watched how hard my parents worked, the ups and downs, the blood/sweat/tears, the financial stresses, the booming times, and the slow times, and I told myself my entire childhood that I would never have a business myself.

But here I am, this month, celebrating 18 years since I started my very own company—Oh Joy—in 2005.

Owning your own business is not for the faint of heart. Yet, I can’t see myself having a job in any other way…