Whether you’re planning a wedding, considering starting a side hustle, or simply looking for some inspiration to pursue your passions, this story is one you won’t want to miss.

Weddings are supposed to be one of the most memorable moments in a couple’s life, but the reality is that the cost of making that dream a reality can be overwhelming, especially for Asian weddings – with the elaborate customs and traditions, and the pressure of inviting every distant relative, including aunts you may not even know.

This is why last year, Lavinia Doan (Bao Nhu) decided to start LAV SUSHI, shortly after getting engaged. She wasn’t sure how to come up with funds for her wedding, and as a daughter of refugees, she had to start from scratch.

In a year of engagement, Lav achieved a milestone: she was able to save up $100K from this side hustle that she used to pay for her wedding. From being a one-woman team, her husband has now joined her in her sushi journey.

FOR THE LAV OF SUSHI

Lav is originally from DC, but she moved to Texas about 5 years ago for a job in oil and gas. She was supposed to work off-shore as an engineer in South America, but due to COVID, she was sent to various places like Midland, Carlsbad, and West Virginia. Although not the most exciting places, she tried to make the most of it by expensing meals, specifically sushi, which she loved. However, she found that the sushi in those places was terrible, so she started making her own.

Lav enjoyed making sushi, but there was a lot of prep work involved, so she started inviting friends over for sushi-making parties to share her passion with them. For her, having friends and family over for a meal was a way to show that she cared for them. Eventually, she left her job in oil and gas and started working in tech, where she was fully remote. Missing the human interaction from her previous job, she began seeking out ways to meet new people.

Being an extroverted person, Lav decided to list sushi classes on Airbnb Experiences as a way to meet people and share her passion with them. What started as a passion project soon turned into a side hustle when she got engaged and needed to find a way to pay for her wedding.

They started with sushi classes which are still their bread and butter, but have since expanded into catering, and homakases (omakase at home).

CHALLENGES OF STARTING HER BUSINESS

It was only two months after the first few classes when Lav got engaged.

Lav and her partner, Dan, started the wedding planning process and quickly realized that the cost of their dream wedding was almost triple what they had planned for. Post-COVID backups and inflation made for an expensive wedding. She knew that they had to either sacrifice their vision for the wedding or find another way to save up.

For them, the wedding was more than just a party to celebrate their marriage; it was an opportunity to give back to their friends, family, and colleagues and treat them to a fun weekend. They felt positively impacted by the people around them and wanted to return the favor at their wedding.

Starting her own business posed the biggest challenge for Lav as she struggled to manage and prioritize her time. In addition to working full time and planning their wedding in the US and Vietnam, she also wanted to maintain a semi-normal social life. She enjoyed spending time with friends, family, her partner, and even alone time. The business was a one-woman show for a long time until she realized that it wasn’t sustainable.

“I would joke with my partner that we would be able to afford the wedding we wanted but wouldn’t have anyone to invite because I hadn’t been able to find time to spend time with friends and colleagues, even my dog and partner were feeling the neglect!” Lav shared. She sacrificed sleep, workouts, and nutrition.

Many nights, after a long day of work and sushi-making, she questioned if it would all be worth it.

EFFECTIVE TIME MANAGEMENT WHILE RUNNING A BUSINESS AND PLANNING A WEDDING

In terms of time management, Lav admits that she is still learning how to do it well.

“I am a normal person and sometimes find myself spending too much time on my phone mindlessly scrolling, forgetting tasks that need to be done, and inefficiently bouncing from one task to the other. But I think it’s okay!” Lav said, and shared a few strategies that have helped her become more productive:

• Waking up early – She wakes up early every morning at 6 am to work out at a pilates studio that charges her if she misses a class. This incentivizes her to start the day early and avoid the temptation to stay in bed and scroll through her phone.
• Blocking off hours – She blocks off hours in her schedule to focus on specific tasks, which helps her prioritize and manage her time more effectively.
• Outsourcing – She has learned to outsource tasks that don’t bring her joy or are too time-consuming. This includes hiring people to help with her sushi business and outsourcing tasks in her personal life.
• Knowing your worth and what your time is worth – This helps her weed out opportunities that aren’t worth pursuing from a time, profitability, and brand standpoint.
• Never compromising the mission – Her mission is to bring the joy of sushi into people’s homes and educate them along the way. She refuses to sacrifice the quality of ingredients or cut costs to increase profitability because the joy and fulfillment of bringing this experience to people’s homes are more important to her than money.

MEMORABLE MOMENTS AND EXPERIENCES

Most of Lav’s friends know that she really likes a challenge, so much so that she feels like being purposefully unprepared presents its own challenge.

Lav signed up for the Houston Marathon, her second marathon ever at that point in time, which she had not trained at all for. She also accidentally overbooked a public sushi class for that same evening in her home. It was her biggest class so far.

So she ran the Houston Marathon, walked to a bar to get some drinks with friends, and then went home to start prepping for her sushi class. LAV SUSHI was still very young at this point, so procedures weren’t very optimized at that point. “The class went well, but there were definitely moments where I thought I would drop the rice pot because my legs were quivering, and I could definitely tell that some guests were uncomfortable by how full the class was. Let me tell you, I never overbooked a class again,” she shared.

That’s not the end of it. After class, Lav cleaned up and started packing for a 2-month ski trip in Colorado. She couldn’t remember if she slept or not, but she did manage to catch her 5 am redeye the following morning.

“Sometimes I think about that day, and get tired just thinking about it. But I really did show myself what I can get done in a day. There are countless amazing experiences I have had with clients that I could write a novel. I have made so many friends and connections through the business, and am thankful to have gotten to know these people!” she adds.

EXCITING NEWS FOR LAV SUSHI

Despite all the challenges that Lav faced in running her business, she was able to generate $100K in one year for her wedding.

Lav and Dan got married just a month ago and they are now taking a break from their Houston-based business to focus on personal matters and other projects. They will soon embark on a six-week expedition to Asia to celebrate their second wedding and honeymoon adventure.

Their dedicated team will be taking care of LAV SUSHI in their absence, ensuring the city continues to enjoy the sushi experiences they offer.

In the meantime, they have some exciting news to share:

“We have been working on launching LAV SUSHI in Atlanta and it is fully operating and ramping up. We would LOVE some AHN support in ATL!”

WHAT MAKES LAV SUSHI UNIQUE AND WELL-LOVED

Lav thinks that the reason why clients of 2000+ love LAV SUSHI could be due to the personalized experience that is tailored to their taste preferences, with each menu being curated to suit their needs.

LAV SUSHI also offers unique catering menus that include a live chef and unlimited sushi, which always brings a “wow” factor to the guests. “People love that they can watch the chef’s roll the sushi right in front of them, and that they can make any requests on demand,” Lav said.

Another highlight of LAV SUSHI is their omakase concept, where they curate a surprise menu within the clients’ budget, which they can enjoy in the comforts of their own home.

CONNECT WITH LAV

Instagram: @lavsushi

Facebook: @lavsushi

Tiktok: @lavsushimaking

In a world that often values practicality over creativity, it can be challenging to pursue our passions and follow our hearts. But for Kelly Bit, the founder of SUBLIMA, it was a calling that she couldn’t ignore.

After years of working as a financial news journalist, Kelly realized that she missed the creative arts as a major part of her life. She started spending her free time making jewelry, and the intentional lifestyle switch brought her a lot of fulfillment.

SUBLIMA is a sustainable, handmade jewelry brand, referencing subliminal messages that produce hidden feelings in our everyday lives. Art imitating life.

In this article, we will explore Kelly’s journey of following her passions, the artistry and intentionality behind her jewelry, and how she is bringing her love of art and design to the world through SUBLIMA.

HOW IT ALL STARTED

I’ve always loved crafting. I’m an only child, and when I was very young, I spent a lot of my time drawing or creating cardboard models of things that I found delightful. I’ve always been captivated by beautiful forms and well-loved objects in our every day and creating artful homages to them.

During my career as a journalist, I missed crafting and the creative arts, so I started spending my free time making—drawing, painting, sewing, and creating jewelry. I wanted to invest in one of those hobbies in a more disciplined way, and I saw jewelry as having commercial prospects. I enrolled in metal smithing and wax carving classes after work, and that’s what gave me the skills and confidence to start a jewelry brand.

THE CREATIVE PROCESS

I love commemorating ordinary moments of delight by capturing something of their essence through elevated and artful jewelry that I make by hand.

I have many delightful memories centered around food and the people I enjoy it with, so that’s one reason why many of the pieces are Asian food inspired. I also tend to notice beautiful and aesthetic aspects of food all the time—like the way milk tea splashes with movement, or the mesmerizing repeating folds of dumplings—so those types of details make me want to highlight how interesting they look through an unexpected art medium.

The way that I make my pieces is by carving wax by hand to create wax prototypes. The prototypes are then molded, and from the molds, the pieces are cast in recycled brass or sterling silver and polished and assembled by hand.

HER APPROACH TO SUSTAINABILITY IN MAKING JEWELRY

The casting company I work with, which is based in midtown Manhattan and family-run, uses a New York-based company called United Precious Metals to recycle their metal and for purchasing refined recycled metal to use in new castings.

In choosing to partner with my casting company, their ability to source recycled metals was important, and I love how I’ve been able to offer sustainable jewelry since day one. It’s important to me because using recycled metals compared to newly mined metals reduces greenhouse gas emissions and conserves natural resources. And I’m thrilled with the quality of the pieces—the recycled brass and sterling silver are both beautiful bright colors, and I provide a polishing cloth to keep the pieces shiny forever since none of the casted pieces are plated.

WHAT SHE HOPES TO COMMUNICATE WITH HER DESIGNS

I love seeing how different people style the jewelry and how they implement their vision of themselves—what they want to project into the world through their self-expression—using the jewelry as part of their toolkit.

My general hope is that the pieces can be marveled at as wearable works of art and that conceptually they serve as a reminder to see an elevated beauty in everyday moments. For some styles, like those based on Asian food or other cultural motifs, I’d love for people to wear them with a sense of pride or appreciation of Asian culture.

WHAT SETS SUBLIMA APART FROM OTHER BRANDS

Aesthetically, I aim to make jewelry that looks unlike anything else in the market, at once striking and timeless, with quality that lasts a lifetime. My designs are unusual and eye-catching, somewhat abstract, and can be styled as edgy or classic. Executing these concepts while drawing inspiration from my Chinese American heritage and Asian culture helps set SUBLIMA even further apart from the rest.

The rise in anti-Asian hate after the pandemic made me turn specifically to Asian culinary delicacies as a source of inspiration, to create symbols of cultural pride by elevating the beauty of Asian food through the art of jewelry in a highbrow way, and it’s not something that I’ve seen done by other artists.

Since the pandemic, and even before, there’s been a growing and palpable demand for Asian products and stories. There’s an appetite for consumer brands to create products that help reinforce the emotional connection to identity and culture. The way that I’ve been doing that with SUBLIMA is a two-pronged approach: first through visual representation, and more meaningfully, I’ve pursued partnerships with local nonprofits serving the Asian American and Chinatown communities here in New York. Since 2020, SUBLIMA has donated $65,000 to nonprofits supporting NYC’s Chinatowns, after-school programming, affordable housing, and food security.

KELLY’S VISION FOR SUBLIMA

My long-term vision is to be the premiere jewelry brand for Asians and Asian Americans and to have the jewelry represent not only high art but humanism and community impact.

One of my biggest desires and goals is for my work to gain more exposure so that its inspiration and aesthetic beauty reach more people. That means collaborating with more organizations and people who share SUBLIMA’s values, being part of events where I can meet people and build connections, getting my jewelry into more stores, and working with more cultural gatekeepers, such as editors or stylists, to spread the word.

CONNECT WITH KELLY

Website: sublimajewelry.com

Facebook: @sublimajewelry

Instagram: @sublimajewelry

Tiktok: @sublimajewelry

Nhut Cao is living proof that with consistency and the right plan, you will get there.

Despite facing numerous challenges while chasing his true calling, Nhut “Justin” Cao refused to be defeated by setbacks and never lost sight of his goals. His story is not simply about winning, but also about not letting the failures hold him back. You may want to grind harder after reading about his life. 

In 2014, Nhut Cao made a life-changing decision to leave his home in Vietnam and move to the United States. Despite being deeply familiar with and accustomed to his old life, he made the difficult decision to leave everything behind and start a brand new life from scratch. He got into a decent college, and earned scholarships, hoping to follow the traditional American dream of getting a stable 9-5 job and settling down. But that kind of path didn’t make him happy.

So he dropped out of school and decided to pursue entrepreneurship full-time. He tried many different businesses – from garage sale hunts, reselling and flipping items, tutoring, nail tech, and selling goods from America to Vietnam.

One day, he decided to take a leap of faith and entered into Amazon FBA. Despite all the negativities circulating on the internet about Amazon FBA that time and his fear of failing, he still risked everything to go for it.

Follow along as we delve into Nhut Cao’s journey towards pursuing his dreams.

I SAW MANY PEOPLE BUILDING AN EMPIRE ONLINE BACK THEN WITH A HIGH 5 TO 6 FIGURES MONTHLY — AM I BEING TOO LATE TO THE PARTY?

I learned about Amazon FBA through a stranger in an online forum, the BrickSeek Deals Group for resellers. I always wondered how he could make money flow into his wallet so easily.

It didn’t take me long before I searched “How to sell on Amazon” on Google and Instagram. I saw many people building an empire online back then with a high 5 to 6 figures monthly. The first thing that came to my mind at that time was “Am I being too late to the party?”

I fell deeper into the rabbit hole and found myself searching Youtube on how to get started. But the more I looked, the more I stumbled upon negative opinions, including:

“Amazon is overly saturated,”

“It’s impossible to make money with Amazon FBA in 2015”

“Don’t try or you’ll dive straight into failure!”

As a young entrepreneur, I was too scared to fail at that time, so I blindly believed them.

I delayed my plan until two years later, after the burnout of being constantly on-the-run sourcing for products through garage sales, going to Walmart at 1 am trying to snatch some discounted laptop BrickSeek deals to only make an insignificant amount of profit, I was mentally and physically exhausted from the reseller hustle and being the one-man team from sourcing to listing, fulfilling orders to customer services. I escaped the rat race with the hope of earning my time back for my family and loved ones, but this life is draining me even more. 

I finally gave in to the idea of risking it all to Amazon FBA. I remembered telling told myself:

“After all, what do I have left to lose as an immigrant? Nothing.”

“I don’t want to keep trading my time for money as a reseller.”

“I don’t want to continue being a one-man team doing all the work myself. If I ever fail, I still have time to make it back with more experience rather than regret not doing it”

Then I scooped up all of my savings and liquidated everything I had to start my Amazon FBA. And the rest was history.  

BUT YOU KNOW WHAT IS THE BEAUTIFUL THING ABOUT BEING AN IMMIGRANT? WE DON’T GIVE UP EASILY.

It was not as easy and beautiful as many other Amazon gurus portrayed it to be on social media. I was constantly making a bunch of mistakes as a new seller and sometimes fell into the trap of self-doubting for not being able to make it drift in.

I learned everything I could from Youtube. I bought courses. I signed up for classes. But after all the hard work, there was still no sign of payoff. But you know what is the beautiful thing about being an immigrant? We don’t give up easily.

I paused to rethink all of my problems and tried to seek credible information from books and the internet to solve them. Then it finally hit home to me that maybe I was too invested in the ‘how’ when instead I could start with the ‘who’.

So I started to widen my circle, find more people who were truly making money on Amazon FBA and work for them for free. In exchange, I could build a long-term, win-win relationship with them. I could ask them for help and be always surrounded by experienced sellers.

But certainly, success won’t come overnight. There were days, weeks, and even months of not seeing any progress or result. I couldn’t find a product. I couldn’t make a sale. Being overwhelmed with bad reviews no matter how much I tried to improve the quality.

I applied many methods to overcome the challenges, such as celebrating even the smallest wins every day; or breaking my biggest goal into smaller, more manageable ones. However, the principle that helped me the most during this trying time was the 1% each day approach. 

Even on the most exhausting days, I am committed to spending at least 15 minutes on my business. By consistently dedicating time to my store, I developed a habit of working towards my goals, which can help me stay motivated and focused even during challenging times. And as I made progress, I found that my motivation and momentum increased, making it easier to stay on track and achieve even more.

Finally, in 2019, I was able to bring in close to $500k in revenues by 2019, thankful that I didn’t give up on myself.

STRATEGIES TO STAY COMPETITIVE IN THE CONSTANTLY EVOLVING AMAZON, ACCORDING TO NHUT

• Put data over emotions: When making business decisions, it’s important to rely on data and facts rather than emotions or assumptions. 
• Surround yourself with experienced sellers: Building a network of experienced sellers can provide you with valuable insights and knowledge that can help you make informed decisions and stay ahead of the competition.
• Enhance your social presence: Building a strong social identity can help you connect with your customers, build brand awareness, and enhance trust. 
• Stay away from selling me-too products: Selling unique or innovative products can help you stand out in the crowded Amazon marketplace. Focus on offering something new and different that solves a problem or fulfills a need for your customers.
• Do not rush into the game without researching: Never think that you have known it all. There’s always something to learn, especially in the ever-changing environment of e-commerce like Amazon.

MAKING MONEY IS NO LONGER MY PRIORITY

As a seasoned Amazon FBA seller, making money is no longer my priority. Instead, I’m driven to give back to my community. As the saying goes, we attract what we want, and I have been fortunate enough to connect with like-minded individuals who share my passion for helping others.

My team in Vietnam connected me with local authorities to aid those in need and support me in every step of this ‘paying it forward’ journey. I am also proud to say that my mentees have used the financial power they earned by learning from my secrets, to donate to many less fortunate lives. Isn’t it incredible how we can use our skills and resources to make a positive impact on the world around us? 

TAKE A CHANCE

If I could go back in time, I would tell my younger self to trust in his abilities more. When I was starting, I got scared by all the negative things people were saying about Amazon and ran away in fear of failure. But once I learned to trust in myself, even when things were tough and I wasn’t making money right away, I was able to stay focused and keep pushing forward.

And that’s also what I want to say to anyone who’s still scared to take a chance. The hardest thing to overcome usually isn’t a lack of money or support from others – it’s the doubts and fears in your head. But you have to step outside of your comfort zone to make progress and grow.

So take that chance – believe in yourself, and remember, life starts outside your comfort zone!

CONNECT WITH NHUT

Find more about Nhut’s story at:

Instagram: @justinthehuncho @nhutcao

Website: amzshifu.com