DURING its second Women Business Pioneers Symposium, the Asian Business Association of Los Angeles (ABALA) featured a panel of four female executives working across a broad range of industries to inspire other female entrepreneurs and professionals.
“We see that there is a large number of business owners who are women, and we wanted to create an event where we talked about issues that women face and had women leaders share their wisdom and facilitate that conversation,” said Farzana Nayani, programs and membership director of ABALA.
Speakers at the event held Tuesday, June 30, at the Los Angeles City Club, were Melinda White, area president of the west region at Frontier Communications, which offers TV, phone and Internet services; Betty Lo, vice president of community alliances and consumer engagement at Nielsen, a global and information measurement company; Suyen Pell, president and CEO of Anahau Energy, a company that provides electricity, natural gas, renewable energy and energy-related services (such as procurement, transportation and storage, and consulting); and Jill Dunk, co-founder of Mio and Mama Mio Skincare, which offers products geared toward women and pregnant women.
“[W]e also wanted to create a space for women because oftentimes, in the business world can have men and so we wanted to create an event geared to women and women in business because it’s a unique niche,” Nayani added.
The four female executives shared with attendees how they became leaders in their companies and challenges they face as women in business, among other topics.
Pell, a Filipina, told attendees about how entering the male-dominated energy industry was not easy and how people said she was crazy for leaving her job to start her company.
“But here I am … going nearly 10 years,” she said.
Pell and Lo also expressed how much they value family and their parents, who migrated to the United States for their children.
Upon moving to the US, Lo said her father was offered a job in Texas but was laid off three months later. Without a contingency plan, her parents then decided to open up a restaurant that didn’t really take off.
Still, they stuck with it for two years.
“Like many [Asians-American] immigrants, you know the hardship your parents go through to provide this opportunity for us, the next generation of kids, so that we have a better life, so that we have a better education, and that’s essentially what my family story is,” Lo said.
She shared that while the restaurant was running, she helped with the family business by peeling shrimp and serving beer.
“The reason why I tell you this is because it really formulated my knowledge of what our parents are willing to sacrifice so that we can have that better opportunity. [Helping with my parents’ restaurant] provided me an opportunity to work closely with my family members and understand some of the struggles, and that in turn helped me understand what I [wanted] to be when I grow up,” Lo said.
Similarly to Pell, White works in a male-dominated industry – telecommunications. She said she had to be smart about networking and aligning herself with winners, with people who wanted her to succeed and those who she could support in their success.
“I think that part of everyone’s success is who you surround yourself with,” White said.
In offering advice for female entrepreneurs and professionals, Dunk, whose company provides pregnancy skin care products, challenged attendees to find confidence in themselves.
“Really believe in yourself, strive for that [work-life] balance, and really believe in you,” she said.
Panelists also shared with attendees how they maintain work-life balance.
This year’s symposium sold out with 210 attendees, up from 175 who attended in 2014.
“Because [it] was sold out, it tells us that it is something that is much needed still and I think this issue of women in business is still an issue and I think the equality is still not there as much as we think that it is,” said Dennis Huang, executive director of ABALA.
He added that for Filipinos in particular, becoming a business owner could be an avenue worth considering.
“There’s also more than corporate work. Entrepreneurship may be a good [path] for [Filipinos] to create wealth, and obviously knowing how to navigate that and minimize the risk in doing so would be good for a lot of Filipino Americans,” he said.
Tuesday’s event allowed ABALA to reach a wider audience in a time-efficient manner, Nayani said.
“I think a lot of people are wondering how to do things, how to grow your business or how to balance family, but it’s hard to talk to each and every person. This way [through the symposium], we can touch more people and inspire more people,” she said.
(www.asianjournal.com)
(LA Weekend July 4 – 7, 2015 Sec D pg. 1)
