Welcome back to the Blog, Friends!
Today I am humbled and grateful to be sharing about an interview that I was asked to be a part of. I was recently approached by VoyageLA Magazine to share my journey on embarking into the Wedding Industry and starting my own business. Thank you to VoyageLA for this amazing opportunity and allowing me to share my story.
“The journey to get here has not always been easy or ideal. I have faced a lot of opposition and negativity starting out in both my personal life and in the industry.
I started Bowties & Bouquets when I was just 19 years old. I also grew up in an Asian American community and those of you familiar with Asian American communities might be able to imagine some of the questions, opposition, and judgment that I faced for choosing this career path. People laughed in my face. They told me ‘you’ll regret it, you’ll fail, you should get a real job’. There are those in my life who still don’t support my decision to pursue my dream.
Getting started in the industry was no joke either. Back in 2014, the Wedding Industry was extremely competitive. It was impossible to find a company that would even consider letting me join their team, either as an intern or an assistant. If it wasn’t for Joy being willing to take a chance on me and let me shadow her business, I never would have gotten to where I am today.
Throughout my journey, I’ve faced a lot of failures and a lot of opinions about me, some good, others not so much. I lost my third client because the Mother of the Groom ridiculed me for my age. This was a huge slap in the face but I learned to stand strong despite the negativity, and I learned how to get back up time after time after time. I used to be so afraid of my failures, afraid of messing up. Yet here I am now, able to embrace my failures because each failure has taught me a valuable lesson. My failures teach me how to be a better professional, a better business owner, and a better person. I think it’s important to remember that our failures remind us of what we need to learn. They challenge us and take us to new heights. I love every single one of my failures. I and my business would not be where I am without them.”
As I celebrate my 5 year Business Anniversary, it is an incredible experience to reflect on the highs and lows and what I have learned throughout these past 5 years. What an honor and privilege it was to share my story!
Thank you to my Friendors (wedding vendor friend) and loved ones for all of your continued support of me and my business! I wouldn’t be here without you all.
You can check out the full interview here. Share with me your thoughts below!
xoxo, naomi
