How My Immigrant Mentality Contributed To My Success As An Entrepreneur

Have you ever wondered what makes the risky business of entrepreneurship so enticing for immigrants? As an immigrant entrepreneur who also happens to be the child of two immigrant entrepreneurs, I've noticed that the mindsets, habits and values practiced by immigrants largely contribute to their overall success as entrepreneurs. After all, 25% of entrepreneurs and business owners in the United States are immigrants, and that number is steadily increasing.

Hard work is non-negotiable because there is no back-up plan for first generation immigrants like my parents and myself.

As I reflect back on the lessons I've learned from my parents while growing up, watching them run their businesses in a new country and now also running a successful business of my own, I pinpointed a few of those "immigrant lessons" that were most crucial to my success and have delved deeper into them here.

From a young age, I learned that hard work is non-negotiable. When I was four, I would watch my parents load up our old Toyota pickup truck with knick knacks to sell at the flea market. This was our Saturday family activity. Wake up at 4 am, load the truck, drive to the market, set up and sell until the hot sun left sun spots on our tanned cheeks.

Hard work is non-negotiable because there is no back-up plan for first generation immigrants like my parents and myself. Moving back home for us was not an option. And besides, who would pay for the plane ticket?

I, along with my parents immigrated from China to Guam (a U.S. territory) when I was 2 years old. One month after I turned 22 years old, I moved to New York City. I freelanced as a digital marketer while working 12 hour days at a startup. This meant my days began at 7 a.m. with client meetings and ended past midnight. Weekends were for freelance work.

My parents worked hard so we could rise above our circumstances. We were first generation Chinese immigrants living in Guam with no savings and no backup plan. My mom's engineering degree was not valid in the U.S. They worked three jobs to make ends meet, which meant that I hardly saw them together at the same time. My mom would take me to her house cleaning jobs and I would admire the vanity tables of the wealthy women.

Everything to lose because if I failed, I was the only person who could pick myself back up.

Growing up, my mother said, "Summers are when you play catch-up so when school starts you are not behind." Thus, my summer days were packed with English and SAT tutoring sessions, vocabulary memorization, calculus worksheets, piano practice and more. Until around sixth grade, when I became more fluent in English, school work was like chicken scratch. I didn't understand it. I don't remember getting extra assistance from my teachers and I certainly don't remember how I graduated grades one through five. My parents had to work to cover the additional cost of tutoring and I had to forego play time with my peers to play catch-up with academics. That additional hard work got me into a summer advanced program at Princeton University, the Aspen Music Festival and then a triple major at Williams College.

No one is truly risk-averse. It's just a mindset. Being an immigrant, I had nothing to lose and everything to lose at the same time. Nothing to lose because I was starting from the bottom. The best of life was in front of me. Everything to lose because if I failed, I was the only person who could pick myself back up. With no financial back-up plan, I had to "make it." Immigrants rise above circumstances each and every day. We see a possibility or opportunity and think to ourselves, "we can get there."

From a young age, immigrant children assume adult responsibilities. I remember explaining what a field trip release form was to my mother and eventually signing all of them for her. Any school related activity that required a parent's signature ended with up being poorly signed by me. This continued into high school when I had to fill out financial aid forms for college, peruse tax documents, and make sure my parents weren't being scammed in their real estate paperwork.

Heading into college, my sense of self-sufficiency felt more evolved than those around me. When holidays came and roommates went home, I burrowed myself in my dorm room to prevent getting into trouble for staying on campus. I propped first floor windows open with books to let myself into my dorm building because campus security shut off swipe card access. I remember thinking how resourceful I had become.

Through these setbacks, I learned to harness a quiet strength within me to propel me forward. Not a strength that came from whispering self-affirmations, but one that was required for the survival of my American dream. Today, I use it to negotiate client contracts, command board rooms and champion other female entrepreneurs.

We all experience small changes in our environment on a daily basis. Some go through big moves in their lives and career pivots. But immigrants experience the unfamiliar in every part of their daily existence.

They are uprooted from a place of familiarity and plopped down in an unknown, and at times unwelcoming, environment. Young children experience this going to school for the first time. As adults, we experience this with job changes, moving to a new city and even trying a new hobby or club. The unfamiliar can be stressful no matter the scale of the event. Often times, we have a say in the daily changes in our lives, but as an immigrant, everything becomes unfamiliar overnight.

Through these setbacks, I learned to harness a quiet strength within me to propel me forward.

Immigrants with a language and cultural barrier have to do what they are afraid of every day in order to survive. Communicating with the cashier could make going to the grocery store a dreaded experience. They combat difficulties with courage and optimism. Having already developed this increased sense of courage and optimism benefits me as an entrepreneur throughout the many decisions and risks that need to be taken when growing a business.

Coming from a low-income Chinese immigrant family, I was grateful for the little things like fresh fruit in the school cafeteria to bigger things like studying at the top liberal arts college in America. I was grateful to be among the brilliant minds of my professors. I was grateful for computer labs with rows and rows of computers any student could access. The hard work my parents and I put into our choices paid off and we get to reap the benefits.

I truly believe gratitude is one of the most important traits to develop for success in entrepreneurship. While there is always another goal or target that needs to be hit, and even though the perceived danger of failing is everywhere, the key to keeping a clear, centered mind that can make intelligent decisions is keeping yourself present by being grateful for everything you already have, no matter how large or small.

This article was originally published September 2, 2019.