I immigrated to America at 13 years old along with my two sisters. We left our rural village in Fujian, China to reunite with our parents who immigrated a few years prior with no money, but plenty of hope for a better life.
The culture shock was incredible. Back in our hometown village, we didn’t even have indoor plumbing! And being unable to speak English made the adjustment all the more difficult.
My parents worked tirelessly at their restaurant, as did I. My afternoons and weekends were spent bussing tables, washing dishes, and waitressing. Eventually, the restaurant became a success.
At the same time, I committed myself to learn English as quickly as possible. Gaining proficiency was a years-long process, but it was worth every single minute of effort.
Shortly after high school, our family relocated cross-country to the San Gabriel Valley. Knowing I wanted to follow in my mother’s footsteps as an independent businesswoman, I set my sights on a degree in Business Entrepreneurship from USC.
Gaining admittance to the school was a challenge and working 3 jobs to pay my way through was even tougher, but experiences like these are invaluable.
As a senior, I was thrilled to earn an internship with a commercial real estate brokerage. I worked extremely hard and the broker took note. My reward was an offer for a full-time position after I graduated, which I gratefully accepted. But I quit within a year, completely disillusioned with real estate.
As the months went by, I noticed the broker cutting corners. Then I noticed him massaging the facts. Then I noticed him outright lying to earn business. It became clear that my leader was undeniably unethical so I left the company and left the world of real estate altogether.
A few years later, I did make my way back into real estate. This time it was on the residential side. No longer a naïve college intern/new-hire, I was able to align myself with trustworthy mentors and brokers. I soaked up information like a sponge. I doubled and redoubled my efforts not just to “succeed” in real estate (after all, my first boss was “successful”), but to provide my clients with the level of care and transparency I would want for my own mother.
In the ensuing years, I became…
- #1 Listing Agent at Keller Williams Pasadena (2017)
- Ranked Top 20 of all 150,000+ Keller Williams agents in the US (2018)
- Broker-owner of my own boutique real estate brokerage in Pasadena (2019)*
- One of the San Gabriel Valley’s top luxury brokers, helping clients buy and sell over $100M+ in real estate per year (Present)
- #1 Agent across all brokerages for homes sold in Pasadena (2021 & 2022)
It has been 25 years since I immigrated to America and I’m proud of the life I’ve been able to build here. I have learned many lessons along the way, and have countless more to learn, but among the most important is always to serve my clients with the same care I would provide to my own family. I know that by keeping this one lesson close at heart, I never need to worry about my career.
*After reaching over $100M in annual real estate sales as an independent Broker-Owner, I made the strategic decision to join EXP Realty as a Broker Associate. This has enabled me to focus 100% of my time and energy on serving my clients with excellence.
