Filipina Single Mother in Canada Grew Her Cleaning Job Into a Million-Dollar Janitorial Business
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August 11, 2022
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We’ve all heard the stories of people who have started with next to nothing and come out ahead. They are able to turn their passions into successful businesses while providing them with a sense of purpose. But what does it really take to become a successful entrepreneur?
As a Filipina single mom who built a business in Canada, Lorephil Toledo had to overcome a lot of challenges before achieving success. She is now the CEO of her own company and an inspiring Filipino dreamer for female entrepreneurs around the world.
At a young age, Lorephil was already used to running her own business. She used to sell clothes, shoes, and underwear at school to pay for her own food. She has never been shy, and she even uses her skills to provide tutoring services in order to increase her income.
In 2011, Lorephil sought work in Canada. Her oldest was 2 and her youngest was 11 months. She was unhappy because she had to spend so much time away from her children in order to earn.
She overcame homesickness and missed her children by cleaning. “I found myself distracted by cleaning houses because I was homesick. I’m dreaming that my children are in here while I’m doing housework. I felt good every time I cleaned the house,” she explained.
Lorephil quickly realized that she could turn her pastime into a profitable business. Lorephil started the successful CanaJan Inc., a janitorial services company. Through her entrepreneurial spirit and hard work, Lorephil was able to serve the community with the best janitorial services.
She started out on her own and now oversees a team of 15 people. More than 350 of her clients are consistent, and she brings in millions of dollars annually. She is a multi-award winner, having been named Entrepreneur of the Year, New Citizen of the Year, and New Business of the Year in addition to being named Ambassador of the Filipino Canadian Trades. She was also invited to speak by the provincial government of Alberta.
When sharing her story, Lorephil mentioned a few of the lessons she has learned along the way. She encouraged everyone to have big goals. She believes that there is no impossibility in life, even for the poor, and that there should be no limit to one’s dreams.
She advises to work hard, “If you want to succeed, you have to work hard for it.” She felt dreams can’t come true without labor. She worked seven days a week for her company. She got four hours of sleep, skipped holidays for five years, and reinvested her money.
Lorephil is a firm believer in the saying “ “Don’t Quit.” She is confident that every difficulty can be overcome and that there is always a way out.
She upholds that in order to properly serve your customers, you must first properly serve your team. This is her reason for treating her employees well and providing free services to her regular customers. She added, “If you give something to the universe, it will come back double times.”
For most people in the accounting world, success looks like a corner office, a big team, and an endless stream of clients. For Angel Zhen, CPA, MST, success meant something entirely different — independence.
“I wanted to build something that valued freedom, quality, and impact,” he says. “After years in public accounting, I saw how the system rewarded long hours over real results. I knew there had to be a better way — to build a high-performing firm without sacrificing your life.”
That clarity led Angel to found Pasadena Tax CPA, a one-person practice that now generates over $500,000 in annual revenue and serves more than 300 clients nationwide. Angel’s work has earned national recognition from both CPA.com and the AICPA, including being named a 2025 Innovative Practitioner Award Finalist and 2025 Leadership Academy Selectee.
Turning Loss into Leadership
Angel’s story didn’t begin with business success. It began with loss.
“In April 2020, my dad passed away unexpectedly,” he recalls. “Because COVID hit and I was deep in tax season, I didn’t get to see him one last time. That moment changed everything — life, time, and purpose.”
Like many in Asian families, Angel describes his father as the pillar — the provider and decision-maker everyone looked up to. When he passed, Angel knew it was his turn to step up.
He moved back home to Rosemead, California, to take care of his mom and rebuild his life. What began as a moment of grief became a defining transformation. “Starting over during a pandemic forced me to innovate to survive,” he says. “I turned loss into fuel and fear into focus.”
Five years later, that focus became a thriving solo CPA firm built on innovation, strategy, and heart.
“There’s a Chinese saying, 苦尽甘来 — after bitterness comes sweetness,” Angel says softly. “Every struggle built the clarity, strength, and mindset that led me here today.”
Challenging the Traditional CPA Model
Angel’s biggest challenge wasn’t the market — it was his own mindset. As an Asian CPA, he grew up with messages about safety and stability: work hard, follow the rules, don’t take risks. But entrepreneurship demanded something different.
“I had to unlearn the belief that success required a big team, long hours, or a corporate ladder,” he explains. “I built systems, automations, and pricing models that gave me confidence and time back.”
Those systems didn’t just make him efficient — they made him exceptional. Today, Pasadena Tax CPA is recognized as one of the most efficient solo CPA firms in the nation, a model of what’s possible when technology meets intention. His book, The Profitable Solopreneur Playbook, expands on that mission — teaching other CPAs and solo business owners how to build practices that generate both profit and freedom.
Redefining Success in the Modern Asian American Dream
Angel’s success challenges a long-held cultural narrative — that stability and ambition are mutually exclusive. His mission is to show Asian professionals that they can have both.
“For the Asian community, I want to normalize the idea that you don’t have to choose between stability and ambition,” he says. “You can honor your roots while building your own path.”
Through mentorship, education, and storytelling, he’s helping others reclaim the idea of financial independence — not as a luxury, but as a form of empowerment. His philosophy is simple but powerful: “Build with intention, clarity, and courage.”
A Beacon of Innovation and Leadership
Angel’s recognitions from CPA.com and the AICPA are more than professional honors — they’re milestones in a larger movement to modernize the accounting industry.
“Being recognized by CPA.com as one of the most innovative practitioners isn’t just about accounting,” he says. “It’s about leadership, legacy, and resilience.”
His nomination for the 2025 Innovative Practitioner Award celebrates his ability to merge technology and empathy — running a fully remote, tech-driven practice that still feels deeply personal. 🗳️Vote for Angel Zhen, CPA → cpa.com/innovative-practitioner
Rooted in Legacy, Driven by Purpose
What drives Angel today isn’t just revenue or recognition — it’s the promise he made to himself after his father’s passing: to live with intention.
“I’m proud of building a $500K+ one-person CPA firm from scratch — without a team, referrals, or outside funding,” he reflects. “It’s proof that with clarity, systems, and consistency, one person can do extraordinary things.”
Beyond his business, he continues to inspire thousands of professionals across CalCPA, Asian Hustle Network, and beyond — showing that even in an industry built on rules, creativity and freedom can lead the way.
About Angel Zhen, CPA, MST
Angel Zhen is the founder of Pasadena Tax CPA, a one-person firm serving clients nationwide with a focus on tax strategy, clarity, and efficiency. He has been recognized by CPA.com as a 2025 Innovative Practitioner Award Finalist and by the AICPA as a 2025 Leadership Academy Selectee. Angel is also the author of The Profitable Solopreneur Playbook, helping others design businesses that create both wealth and freedom.
🗳️Vote for Angel Zhen, CPA as the 2025 Innovative Practitioner
Chris Hwang (left) and Jonathan Shen (right) – founders of The Golden Duck
Growing up with Asian snacks like salted egg yolk chips meant savoring flavors that felt both comforting and unforgettable. Yet when Jonathan Shen and Chris Hwang turned their eyes to the global market, they saw a different reality: these beloved treats were undervalued, underpriced, and largely overlooked by international consumers.
Back in 2015, Singapore’s FMCG market was crowded, dominated by established Western brands. Asian flavors were largely seen as niche, affordable snacks rather than premium products you’d gift or showcase in events.
Jonathan and Chris quickly recognized a gap: millennial consumers craved adventurous, culturally rooted flavors, but no brand was presenting them in a way that made people proud to share them.
They founded The Golden Duck with a vision to elevate Asian snacking to a globally aspirational experience.
Today, The Golden Duck has sold over 20 million packs worldwide, and is stocked in 650+ Woolworths and Metro stores.
How It Began: Inspiration from a Familiar, Unlikely Flavor
Jonathan Shen and Chris Hwang didn’t start with a massive budget or fancy offices. What they had was complementary expertise, and a shared passion for snacks.
Jonathan, with a keen eye for branding and marketing, looked at salted egg yolk and asked: what if salted egg yolk could feel luxurious?
While ubiquitous in Asia, it was rarely found outside hawker stalls or home-cooked dishes.
Chris, a stickler for quality and craftsmanship, understood that getting the recipe and packaging right could make all the difference.
When it launched, crowds queued for hours, wanting to get their hands on chips that tasted like home but looked like luxury. The Golden Duck’s Salted Egg Yolk later earned Jonathan & Chris recognition on Forbes 30 Under 30 Asia.
How It Went: Bold Flavors, Relentless Hustle
Entering a competitive FMCG market without big funding meant bootstrapping everything—from sourcing ingredients to hand-packing orders. They had to balance daring flavors with high-quality production, ensuring every snack met premium standards.
It wasn’t just about product innovation. Breaking into a market dominated by Western brands meant shifting perceptions: convincing consumers that Asian snacks could be modern and premium. Every unconventional pairing, every new flavor, was a calculated risk.
Chris ensured every ingredient and recipe exceeded expectations, while Jonathan told the story in a way that resonated with millennial snack enthusiasts.
They launched pop-ups, engaged directly with customers, and refined details one by one. Salted egg yolk became their signature flavor, but it was only the beginning. The Golden Duck now offers a growing range of gourmet Asian-inspired snacks, from Chilli Crab Seaweed to Tom Yum Goong and Spicy Mala Hot Pot.
What’s Next For The Golden Duck?
The Golden Duck isn’t slowing down. In 2025, the brand launched a new line of canister chips for Western markets including Australia, the United States, and Canada, with bold flavours like bold flavours like Truffle Wagyu, Kombu Seaweed Butter, and Sour Cream & Sriracha. At the same time, the company is actively entering new markets such as the UK, Europe, and China.
Innovation and sustainability remain at the heart of The Golden Duck’s strategy. The company continues to explore new flavors and formats while sourcing real ingredients to deliver premium, authentic taste experiences.
With every new flavor and product, Jonathan Shen and Chris Hwang are proving that Asian snacks can be premium and globally celebrated. Every bite is a story of heritage, innovation, and taste waiting to be told.
When you walk into VietFive Coffee in Chicago’s West Loop, the first thing you notice isn’t the rich aroma of Vietnamese Robusta beans. It’s the energy. Strangers sit shoulder-to-shoulder, conversations spark, and a sense of belonging fills the air. For founder Tuan Huynh, this space is far more than a café. It’s proof that redemption is real.
Tuan didn’t set out to build a coffee brand. He set out to rewrite a life story that once seemed destined to end behind prison walls. Today, he’s not just serving bold coffee; he’s serving hope, heritage, opportunity, and community.
The Darkest Chapter
Tuan’s early life was marked by conflict. Born in Vietnam, his family fled to the U.S. when he was just three years old, carrying little more than hope for a better future. They settled in government housing, where poverty pressed down on daily life. Like so many kids searching for belonging, Tuan got swept into the culture of gangs and drugs. At just 18 years old, barely an adult, his life took a devastating turn.
Convicted of first-degree murder, Tuan was sentenced to life in prison with the possibility of parole after 15 years. He spent the next decade and a half in Lansing Correctional Facility, one of the country’s maximum-security prisons.
Prison has a way of stripping people of their identity. For many, it cements a cycle of despair. But for Tuan, it became the crucible where transformation began. “Even in the darkest places,” he says, “I knew my story wasn’t finished.”
Choosing Creativity Over Despair
Inside those walls, during the latter half of his prison experience, Tuan chose to reimagine his life. He leaned into art and design, creative outlets that gave him purpose and revealed a talent for visual storytelling. Every sketch, every concept was an act of defiance against the idea that his future had already been written.
When he was finally paroled on June 21st, 2011, a date and time he still recalls with reverence, Tuan stepped into a world that had changed beyond recognition. He was a free man, but freedom didn’t come with an instruction manual. He carried the stigma of incarceration, the weight of lost time, and the daunting task of rebuilding from scratch.
A Door Opens in the Most Unexpected Place
Determined not to waste his second chance, Tuan pursued higher education, earning a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Conceptual Design. His portfolio caught the attention of the world’s largest advertising agency, which offered him a role in Chicago. For a refugee kid who had once been told he would never amount to anything, it was validation.
But something was still missing. After eight years in advertising, Tuan felt the pull of something deeper, something personal. On a trip back to Vietnam, the first since leaving as a child, he discovered his family’s legacy: generations of farmers cultivating Robusta coffee. That revelation ignited a vision.
Coffee, he realized, could be the perfect medium. It wasn’t just a drink. It was heritage, resilience, and connection poured into a cup. And with that, VietFive was born.
Tuan Huynh (right) with his uncle
Building VietFive Against All Odds
Launching a business as a formerly incarcerated person was no small feat. Doors closed before Tuan could step through them. Banks hesitated, investors doubted, and skeptics assumed his past would define his future. But Tuan refused to let rejection write his story.
Instead, he built VietFive from the ground up, importing beans from his family’s farm, shaping the brand through design, and pouring his heart into creating not just a business, but a movement.
VietFive is vertically integrated, meaning Tuan controls the process from farm to cup. That ensures authenticity, quality, and fair practices. But more than that, it provides every sip tells a story. A story of Vietnamese resilience. A tale of personal redemption.
The Power of Representation
For Tuan, VietFive is not just about coffee. It’s about representation. Too often, the stories of immigrants, refugees, and formerly incarcerated people are missing from mainstream narratives. By building VietFive, Tuan created a stage where those voices can’t be ignored.
“When people drink our coffee,” he says, “I want them to taste more than flavor. I want them to taste legacy, survival, and pride.”
That representation extends to the community VietFive has built. Walk into the café, and you’ll see it as a true “third space” where all are welcome. From business leaders to students, from immigrants to lifelong Chicagoans, VietFive has become a gathering point for connection.
Turning Pain Into Purpose
Tuan’s proudest achievement isn’t revenue numbers, though VietFive is on track to approach seven figures this year. His real pride is seeing familiar faces return, watching conversations unfold, and knowing that his café has become a home for many.
The struggles he faced, incarceration, rejection, and underrepresentation, didn’t vanish. But he reframed them. Each obstacle became a stepping stone, each “no” a chance to persist, each bias an opportunity to prove that transformation is possible.
In Tuan’s words, “VietFive is not just about beans. It’s about belonging.”
A Vision for the Future
Tuan’s mission is clear: to elevate Vietnamese Robusta on the global stage, to create spaces of connection, and to rewrite narratives that society often overlooks. He envisions VietFive not only as a coffee brand but as a global movement rooted in heritage and social impact.
For the Asian community, VietFive stands as an affirmation, proof that their culture, history, and voices belong at the table. For those who carry the weight of incarceration or failure, it’s a beacon of hope that broken beginnings can lead to beautiful new chapters.
Redemption in Every Cup
At its core, VietFive is more than coffee. It’s a story of redemption steeped into every brew. It’s the story of a refugee child who stumbled, a prisoner who refused despair, and an entrepreneur who now builds bridges where walls once stood.
When you sip VietFive, you’re not just tasting Robusta, you’re tasting resilience. You’re part of a narrative that proves our past does not define our future.
As Tuan Huynh himself puts it: “VietFive is my second chance in a cup. And I want every person who walks through our doors to feel that same possibility, that no matter where you’ve been, there’s always a way forward.”
To win your customers, you need to run many marketing activities across multiple channels. And then those conversions came pouring in, but you don’t exactly know where those conversions come from since there are too many ongoing activities. That’s what marketing attribution does. By assigning credit to touchpoints, you can gauge how effective each touchpoint is to the conversion.
There are two types of Attribution:
Single-source attribution: Credits are given fully to one touchpoint, assuming that is the most effective one at driving conversion.
Multiple-source attribution: More complex models. This type of attribution model acknowledges that multiple touchpoints contribute to the buying decisions and gives partial credit to each.
Understanding attribution will help you to know where the revenue comes from so you can optimize your budget and gain more from your spending. to said touchpoint makes it more effective and less costly. Understanding the journey can help you win the race.
Why Asian Hustle Solutions?
At AHS, we specialize in helping brands capture attention and inspire action — whether you’re launching a new product or scaling your business, we’ll guide you to marketing that resonates and delivers results.
