Chinese-American Business Seminar Aims to Help Entrepreneurs

Chinese-American entrepreneurs received an exciting opportunity and a chance to learn from the best as they attended the first Chinese-American business seminar at the Bay 101 Casino in San Jose, June 6.
Chinese-American Business Seminar Aims to Help Entrepreneurs
Jasper Fakkert
6/20/2013
Updated:
6/20/2013

SAN JOSE—Chinese-American entrepreneurs received an exciting opportunity and a chance to learn from the best as they attended the first Chinese-American business seminar at the Bay 101 Casino in San Jose, June 6.

According to co-organizer Michelle Chiu, doing business in the United States proves a challenge for many Chinese Americans. “Many Chinese people work very hard, but they don’t necessarily succeed,” she said.

To reach out to the Chinese-American entrepreneurs, Chiu and business consultant Keith Meggs, with the support of Bay 101 Casino, took the bold step of reaching out to help. The casino, wanting to give back to the community, sponsored the event at no cost to the attendees.

“There are numerous event options for many professional groups in the Bay area. The belief is that more professional and high-level exchanges like this one are needed for the Chinese community,” said Meggs.

Chiu, originally from Hong Kong, says that many Chinese in the United States are still doing business in “the China style, the old style.” She wants them to understand the importance of marketing research, a solid business plan, branding, and understanding the local tax and legal system.

The organizers teamed up with leading experts in the business field in the Bay Area to provide attendees with the knowledge and know-how of success in business.

The keynote speaker was none other than the celebrated San Francisco real estate agent and professional speaker Herman Chan, a social media darling and former supermodel. Herman, with his own unique personality and wit, spoke in detail about how he has developed the use of social media to establish his own brand and lectured attendees about the importance of online branding and the use of social media to distinguish oneself.

After the speech, Chan told reporters that he was very excited to attend the live seminar and found the audience to be engaging. When a reporter asked him what methods are used to maintain his branding, he said that he often appears in the media, and similarly, he had welcomed the engagement with this new Business Speaker event.

One of the attendees, Jessica Sun, said she thought the event was “very practical and useful” and that she was inspired by it. When Sun started her advertising business a few years ago, it didn’t work out. Now, however, she is determined to make her new business—which provides Mandarin language courses—successful.

Ken DeLeon, a real estate agent and speaker at the conference, says that one element in success is “not to be afraid of distinguishing yourself from your competitors.”

The Wall Street Journal ranked DeLeon as the top agent in the United States in his field in 2011, with $275 million in sales that year.

He encouraged participants to become the fearless entrepreneur with the courage to distinguish him or herself and the knowledge to take calculated risks to become the leader in one’s respective field.

David Yang, a business and litigation attorney with 30 years of experience, explained the importance for small- and medium-business owners to understand their responsibilities, such as labor laws and how to prevent lawsuits. 

Yi Lin, founder of Agape CPA tax firm, explained to the entrepreneurs how to set up a business properly and what to look for when choosing an accountant.

According to Meggs, “the event was well received by the guests and the contributing speaker panel.” 

“One aspect of the event was to provide local area professionals with a new means for making contacts with other like-minded entrepreneurs,” Meggs said. “Based on the lively exchange before and after the presentations, it appears that many new relationships were kindled.”

“You could tell very hardworking and innovative people [were in attendance],” DeLeon said after the event. “Everyone was professional at a high level. I thought it was great.”

Jasper Fakkert is the Editor-in-chief of the U.S. editions of The Epoch Times. He holds a Bachelor's degree in Communication Science and a Master's degree in Journalism. Twitter: @JasperFakkert
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