Contact
  • HOME
  • / MEDIA /
  • How One Immigrant Daughter Pivoted Her Career and Built an Award-Winning Event Production Company

Stories

July 5, 2023

SHARE:

Dee Lee’s journey from being a middle school teacher to the founder of an award-winning event production company is a story that inspires us all to pursue our passion.

Despite facing various challenges and setbacks along the way, Dee persevered and learned from her mistakes, which ultimately led to her success. The road has been filled with ups and downs, but she never gave up.

Dee is a first-generation Teo-Chew Cambodian woman born in the United States. Her parents escaped from the Cambodian genocide and she is the oldest of three siblings. As a daughter of immigrants, she loves to use her platform to educate, inspire, and bless it forward to her AAPI community. 

Join us as we explore the challenges Dee faced and the valuable lessons she learned on her journey towards success.

FROM MIDDLE SCHOOL EDUCATOR TO EVENT PRODUCTION COMPANY OWNER

Dee was a middle school teacher in the largest school district, Los Angeles Unified, starting full-time teaching at just 23 years old. She had a talent for grant writing for the various schools she worked at. However, Dee’s pivot came when her daughters were born, and she felt unsupported.

“I was doing events and photography as a hobbyist. I quickly learned that I found a new love and pursued it part time. Eventually I retired from teaching and opened my first  LLC, got liability insurance, and the rest was history,” Dee said.

She faced a lot of challenges at first, mostly because she didn’t have enough business background to understand how to properly run a business. “Both my Bachelors and Masters were in education. I didn’t have a mentor. I learned a lot through trial and error.”

Eventually she found a network of event professionals that opened more doors for her. She started out in the Quinceañera market, where she made a name for herself as a designer in a Latino market. Although it was challenging, Dee thrived in it.

Along with the challenges she faced, she also encountered people who told her that she couldn’t make it. There was a time that she assisted a celebrity planner she admired, and was told that she was only good enough for small things. This was a devastating blow to Dee’s confidence. But despite these challenges, Dee persisted and emerged victorious. She continued to grow her business and inspire others with her journey.

MISTAKES SHE FACED ALONG THE WAY

Dee made a lot of entrepreneurial mistakes in the beginning of her journey. It was a new learning curve for her. She quickly learned why liability insurance was so important to have as a business owner, and she learned about quarterly taxes. She wanted to buy everything but she knew she shouldn’t.

“I still had a hobbyist attitude about pricing when I jumped into it full time. I didn’t know what market value was on anything and had to do a lot of research,” Dee said.

Networking was also a crucial part of her journey, as she learned the value of connecting with others in her industry and receiving valuable advice from them. Every piece of advice was like a gold nugget for her, and she took it all in. She was realistic with her expectations of growth and knew that success would not come overnight.

WHAT MOTIVATED HER DESPITE ALL HER SETBACKS

The honest truth about why Dee was so motivated and determined to succeed was the fact that she was the oldest daughter of her immigrant parents, and they thought that she was crazy to leave her profession as an educator and her two degrees. Even her cousins thought that she was just wasting her time in event planning.

She considered every mistake and situation as a learning experience, and worked tirelessly to establish herself and her business. Her goal was to become so successful that everyone would know who “Dee Lee” was.

HER CREATIVE PROCESS OF MAKING EACH EVENT UNIQUE AND PERSONAL TO EVERY CLIENT

When it comes to designing unique and personalized events for each client, Dee takes a meticulous approach. She is passionate about her work and loves the design process. She begins by sending her clients a list of discovery questions to help her gather information about their preferences and needs. She then schedules a virtual discovery call with her clients via Google Meet or Zoom, where she listens carefully to their ideas and aspirations.

Dee involves her clients in every step of the process, creating design boards together, and incorporating their personal preferences into the final product. Her approach is to make the process less transactional and more personable by humanizing the whole process.

Dee values building personal relationships with her clients, and they often embark on wedding planning and foodie adventures together. This helps her clients get to know her better, and it also enables Dee to understand her clients’ personalities and preferences. As a result, Dee is able to design events that are unique and tailored to each client’s needs.

ADVICE TO THOSE WHO WANT TO PURSUE THEIR PASSIONS AND THOSE WHO WANT TO ENTER THE EVENTS PLANNING INDUSTRY

Dee advises those who want to pursue their passions but don’t have the courage to do so to align themselves with a mentor to shadow. She emphasizes the importance of learning to do things the right way, which can be achieved by having a mentor who can guide and teach them. Dee also suggests networking and meeting new people, as it can lead to opportunities and connections in the industry.  Community is important to growth.

Dee receives a lot of emails from people who want to shadow or become a wedding planner until they see it unfold live. She acknowledges that this kind of job is not for the faint of heart.

“There is a reason it is not made for everyone and it is one of the top ten most stressful jobs. You have to know how to think on your feet, fix things on the fly, in order to survive,” Dee said.

CONNECT WITH DEE

Facebook: Dee Lee Designs

Instagram: @deeleedesigns

Pinterest: Dee Lee Designs

TikTok: @deeleedesings

Related Articles

AHS EMAIL ANGLE (4)

Blogs, Development

Know Your Value Proposition

Pain points and gain points are not necessarily new concepts, but some might think they are opposing concepts, when in contrast, the two complement each other. Through customer pain and gain points, you can get a better understanding of your customers’ needs, and offer a unique value proposition.

  • Pain point: As the name suggests, it’s something that “pains” your customers; an issue that they have that needs to be addressed; a challenge that they need to overcome.
  • Gain point: Gain point, on the other hand, is more about you. What can your product or service do for the customers; what can they gain from using your service; what can you help them with?

The two are extremely simple and are a good place to start when you’re trying to advertise your product or service since they consider both your and your customer’s sides to offer a value proposition that is valuable. 

[Book a FREE call with us]
If you want to explore our services more, visit the Asian Hustle Solutions website at AHS.

  • 1 min read

Development

Winning The Race by Understanding Customer Journey

Before becoming a loyal customer, a lead has to interact with your product/service at various stages. This entire process is summarized in the customer journey, divided into 5 main stages:

  • Awareness: The customer becomes aware of your brand and your product, usually through search engines when searching for a solution to their problem.
  • Consideration: The customer is aware of your brands but also your competitors’;, they start wondering which of the options they should choose from.
  • Purchase: The customer makes a buying decision, either from your brand or your competitors’.
  • Retention: After the purchase, you need to consider how to get them to repurchase many more times, since retaining is cheaper than recruiting.
  • Advocacy: At this stage, the customer is basically your brand ambassador., Tthey love your product;, they tell their acquaintances about your product.

Understanding the journey and what stage the audience is at can help you understand their needs and adjust accordingly. Each stage has a different touchpoint as well, so adjusting 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.

Book a FREE call with us

If you want to learn more about our services, visit the Asian Hustle Solutions website at asianhustlenetwork.com/services/

  • 2 min read
AHS EMAIL ANGLE (1)-png

Blogs, Development

Getting Back To Basics: 4Ps Marketing Mix

Sometimes, to create an effective marketing strategy for your business means going back to the basics. Popularized by Neil Borden, the 4P’s model is still widely used today, with each P representing a core aspect of the marketing mix:

  • Product: The core of your business, whether it is a physical product or a service. Understanding your product, what differentiates it from the competition, what is unique about it, etc.
  • Price: How much your product should be sold for. This should be based on the supply cost, how you position your product, and whether you should increase or decrease the price based on your target audience.
  • Place: The “where” of your product. Where can the customers purchase your products (online or physical stores, drug stores or supermarkets, etc). More so, it is also where you choose to advertise.
  • Promotion: How you reach your customer, either through advertising, public relations, or promotion, increases your brand awareness.

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.

Book a FREE call with us

If you want to learn more about our services, visit the Asian Hustle Solutions website at asianhustlenetwork.com/services/

  • 2 min read

Stories

Building Tomorrow: How Nan Lin Redefines Homebuilding with 3D Printing 

For Nan Lin, entrepreneurship isn’t just business; it’s freedom. A freedom earned through sacrifice, relentless execution, and a refusal to accept the limits of a broken system. As the founder of Kaizen Capital and 4DIFY, Lin is reimagining the housing industry, tackling its inefficiencies with cutting-edge technology and a bold vision. His mission? To build stronger homes faster, at lower costs, empowering communities and challenging the status quo.

From Immigrant Roots to Visionary Leadership 

Lin’s journey began at age 10, when he immigrated to America with his mother. While adapting to a new country, he was inspired by his loving parents’ sacrifices, which shaped his relentless drive. “I saw the lengths they went to give me a better life,” Lin says. “Their love and dedication became my compass.” Years later, that resolve led to the creation of Kaizen Capital, where he transforms underutilized properties into vibrant housing solutions: ADUs, subdivisions, condo conversions, and luxury short-term rentals. By unlocking hidden value in land, he delivers market-rate and affordable housing that strengthens neighborhoods.

But Lin saw a deeper problem: traditional construction is slow, costly, and vulnerable to fire, pests, and natural disasters. Frustrated by an industry stuck in the past, he founded 4DIFY to lead a new era of construction through 3D-printed concrete homes.

Nan Lin | Founder and Principal of Kaizen Capital and 4DIFY

3D Printing: The Future of Housing, Today

Lin’s vision for 4DIFY was sparked by a frustrating reality: “Wildfires destroy neighborhoods every year, yet we keep building stick-frame homes that burn like kindling,” he says.

After visiting several 3D printer manufacturers, Lin partnered with New York–based SQ4D. It took nearly a year to secure exclusive licensing rights, navigate regulatory hurdles, and obtain building permits, but he got it done.

Now, 4DIFY is building California’s first community of 3D-printed concrete homes. As this article goes live, their first printed home is nearing completion, despite heavy regulations and a steep learning curve. The team is already outperforming traditional timelines and cost benchmarks. The second and third homes will soon print simultaneously, targeting completion in two months, effectively one home per month at under $200 per square foot.

Despite challenges as an Asian immigrant, Lin managed to transform them into motivation and success. 

“We’re aiming to build at half the cost and in a quarter of the time,” Lin says. “That’s not a dream. It’s the direction we’re heading.”

Built with concrete, reinforced with rebar, and topped with metal roofs, these homes are resilient against fire, wind, earthquakes, mold, and pests. They’re also designed for long-term savings, with lower maintenance, less waste, and reduced energy and insurance costs.

“Critics doubted it would work,” Lin reflects. “But seeing is believing. This is the future.”

A Philosophy of Purpose and Resilience

Lin’s journey has been marked by relentless challenges, some seemingly insurmountable. “Obstacles never stop,” he admits. Yet he transforms adversity into opportunity, fueled by a positive mindset, solution-driven focus, and disciplined execution. His trusted team is his backbone. “No one succeeds alone,” he says. “My team turns the impossible into reality.” This resilience shapes his leadership, blending bold vision with purposeful action to create opportunities, particularly for communities long excluded from wealth-building. “Housing isn’t just a product,” Lin says. “It’s a platform for empowerment.”

Recognition and Inspiration

Lin’s impact is gaining notice. The Sacramento Bee named him one of the Top 20 AAPI Change Makers, and he was honored in the Business Elite Awards’ 40 Under 40. But for Lin, the real reward is inspiring others. “I want to show the next generation of Asian entrepreneurs what’s possible when we claim our seat at the table,” he says.

Lin wants to create opportunities for those marginalized by elevating the future of construction, making it more accessible for his community.

Join the Housing Revolution

Nan Lin isn’t just building homes, he’s redefining what’s possible. Through Kaizen Capital and 4DIFY, he’s creating a future where housing is affordable, resilient, and sustainable. Follow his journey and see the revolution unfold.

Connect with Nan Lin:

  • 4 min read