🎉 Today, I proudly celebrate Hospitality Confidential’s first birthday by sharing my POV as a first generation- Korean-American woman. 🎈About a month ago, I bought a fritter from a humble strip mall donut shop owned by an elderly Asian woman. Donut shops in CA have a history, serving as one of the first accessible business models for Cambodian refugees and other Asian immigrants. She had a gold balloon taped to the register in the shape of a number one. When I asked about it, she proudly wiped her hands on her apron and shared that her store was turning one. I tipped her, wished her many years of prosperity, and wept the whole way home. Yes, I’m a sensitive soul. 👩‍👧She reminded me of my own mother, and her mother, and all the immigrant women who have come here through hardship and sacrifice to create a world of opportunity for their daughters. My family came to this country with nothing but $3 in their pocket and pumped gas into peoples’ cars to buy food. They pulled through tremendous adversity as immigrant entrepreneurs to create the life and family they have today. 💭 Since becoming a business owner, I think a lot about my legacy and the gold standard my grandparents and parents exemplify. ✍🏼 This post is about how fearless entrepreneurship also changed my life. 📌 It's about challenging culturally restrictive expectations that truly define the first generation female Asian American experience to even consider opening a business. It’s about discovering success as a Korean-American when I spent a lifetime believing that I could never successfully be Korean nor American. 🙏 It’s about celebrating the warm welcome and support we have received as a business rooted in excellent service with advocacy for change. To me, that is how I honor my legacy. 👀 Finally, it’s about visibility. Celebrating CEO stories from the POV of intersectional women, children of immigrants, and other communities is important in diversifying our perspective of business success. 🥂 If you have been part of our journey so far, thank you. I’m eternally grateful and so happy to share that we are thriving and growing. Year 2...Let’s go!