{"id":12960,"date":"2024-03-28T15:40:10","date_gmt":"2024-03-28T20:40:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.uwsp.edu\/cps\/?p=12960"},"modified":"2024-03-28T15:40:10","modified_gmt":"2024-03-28T20:40:10","slug":"uwsp-at-wausau-mba-student-making-her-mark-as-an-entrepreneur","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.uwsp.edu\/cps\/2024\/03\/28\/uwsp-at-wausau-mba-student-making-her-mark-as-an-entrepreneur\/","title":{"rendered":"UWSP at Wausau MBA student making her mark as an entrepreneur"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point at Wausau student Chee Yang has learned to overcome difficulties and form her own identity to make her impact in Central Wisconsin.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

From being a member of a first-generation Hmong American family to graduating with her MBA from the UWSP at Wausau campus this May, she has paved her way by starting multiple businesses, speaking at conferences and competing in business pitch competitions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Although Yang is a Wausau-born native, her parents were originally from Laos and fled to Thailand after the Vietnam War before moving to the United States. Coming from a lineage of farmers, her family started a ginseng farm in Wausau and Yang helped throughout her childhood.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI grew up in a very traditional household, where gender roles were expected,\u201d said Yang. \u201cGrowing up, I\u2019ve had to struggle with balancing cultural and American society expectations.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Always knowing she aspired to be an entrepreneur and holding a degree in accounting, Yang and her husband, Kong Yang, decided to branch out with their own small ginseng farming business, K&C Ginseng, LLC. Knowing how much can go into a business, Yang knew she wanted to continue her education.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When the MBA program<\/a> at UW-Stevens Point initially launched in 2019, she was introduced to the idea by an acquaintance, but decided not to pursue it at the time. Years later, Yang decided to revisit the prospect after hearing positive stories from close community members who were graduates of the program. \u201cTheir experiences were my turning point to where I said I just have to do this,\u201d said Yang. \u201cMy major regret is not making that decision to commit sooner.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n

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Yang promotes Hmong culture through her embroidery business, Emspired.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

As part of the MBA program, she had the opportunity to complete the UWSP Impact Fellowship<\/a>, which sparked the creation of her embroidery business, Emspired.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI really wanted my fellowship to be based on a business that was meaningful to me,\u201d she said. \u201cSince I already had experience in the business world, I thought my background was a solid foundation to pursue my interest.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She saw a generational gap between the younger and older generations within her Hmong community. \u201cIt seems that the culture is fading, so I wanted to base my business on promoting and preserving the culture through the designs.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Through her business, she had the opportunity to collaborate and create products for businesses in the area.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe number of people, ideas and responsibilities that Chee skillfully coordinated during her fellowship leaves me smiling and shaking my head in wonder,\u201d said her faculty fellowship mentor Associate Professor Lyna Matesi. \u201cI had a blast extending Chee\u2019s capacity for more work into building a new business and her entrepreneurial capacity.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Yang\u2019s ventures propelled her into a new world of opportunities. In 2023, Yang was invited to speak on a panel at the UWSP Women\u2019s Trailblazers and Entrepreneurs Conference, an event conference showcasing and developing women entrepreneurs from all sectors.<\/p>\n\n\n

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Yang spoke at the Women\u2019s Trailblazers and Entrepreneurs Conference to speak on her entrepreneurial experience.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

Seeing panelists from CEOs to executive directors, \u201cI thought the whole experience was inspiring,\u201d she said. \u201cI saw it as a great opportunity as a minority woman in the industry to be able to speak on my entrepreneurial experience.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Yang has also participated in events such as the CREATE Portage County SURGE Pitch, a competition to pitch their business for panelists while refining their business model, gaining business exposure and building confidence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cFrom the beginning, I did not know what I was getting myself into, but I was trying to accept every challenge put in front of me,\u201d Yang said. \u201cI\u2019m not a public speaker, but throughout this experience, I didn\u2019t realize how much self-development I would have gained because it forced me to put myself out there.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Yang and her husband also completed UW-Stevens Point\u2019s Small Business Development Center (SBDC) Entrepreneurial Training program to solidify her business plan for Emspired, but also start the groundwork for her and her husband\u2019s next business venture, an autobody collision repair shop.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe SBDC counselors who commit themselves to the program and general public are impactful,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The MBA program has exposed Yang to new paths and opportunities that she never would have thought to pursue otherwise. \u201cHer commitment to developing, launching and marketing her business is unparalleled,\u201d said MBA Director Adam Olson. \u201cWe are thrilled to be able to offer emerging leaders like Chee a chance to grow professionally, earn an applied MBA and significantly impact our region.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After she graduates in May, she plans to continue her full-time career with JARP Industries and put more time into Emspired to scale the business.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhen I look back within the last year and a half, so much has happened. I\u2019ve developed so much as a person,\u201d Yang said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cChee is a determined leader. She embodies resilience, gracefulness and learning agility,\u201d said Matesi. \u201cI can\u2019t wait to see what she does next.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Courtesy of University Communications and Marketing<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point at Wausau student Chee Yang has learned to overcome difficulties and form her own identity to make her impact in Central Wisconsin. From being a member of a first-generation Hmong American family to graduating with her MBA from the UWSP at Wausau campus this May, she has paved her way by […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":12961,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,7,12,509,519],"tags":[85,343,344],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.uwsp.edu\/cps\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12960"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.uwsp.edu\/cps\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.uwsp.edu\/cps\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.uwsp.edu\/cps\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.uwsp.edu\/cps\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=12960"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/blog.uwsp.edu\/cps\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12960\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":12963,"href":"https:\/\/blog.uwsp.edu\/cps\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12960\/revisions\/12963"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.uwsp.edu\/cps\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/12961"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.uwsp.edu\/cps\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=12960"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.uwsp.edu\/cps\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=12960"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.uwsp.edu\/cps\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=12960"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}