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  • Thursday, June 10, 2021 9:00 AM | Evelyn Lin

    Support AAPI-owned businesses!

    Introducing Bao Payroll



    http://www.baopayroll.com/

    YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yiYrCqdKa1o


    Origin Story of Bao Payroll:

    “Businesses often struggle to manage many different databases for their payroll, time & attendance, HR, and benefits. Also, with regulation changes all the time, business owners are also trying to find the best way to manage compliance risk as well as maximize the tax credits that they are entitled to.


    Bao Payroll offers a solution that integrates payroll, time, HR, and benefits. So when your employees have life changing events, bringing onboard new employees, or having employees moving on, you only have one database to manage. Bao Payroll also partners with industry professionals to make sure our clients are meeting all compliance requirements as well as maximizing the regulatory benefits that they should be receiving.”



    Personal Story:

    “For the past 15 years, I worked in a Corporate world that provides payroll and HR services to a book of clients. More often than not, I feel there are many clients that I could help, but Corporate policies and structures limited my ability to do so.


    The entrepreneur career path gave me an opportunity to customize my service offerings that would truly meet my clients' needs, instead of just helping my Corporate executives maximize profit for their shareholders.” -- Brian Chen

  • Tuesday, June 08, 2021 11:36 AM | Evelyn Lin

    Support AAPI-owned businesses!

    Introducing KCAL Insurance Agency

    https://www.kcal.net/

    YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/kcalinsurance

    FB: http://facebook.com/kcal.insurance

    IG: kcalinsuranceagency

    WeChat: KCAL3331111


    Origin Story of KCAL Insurance Agency:

    "Kenny Chang immigrated from Taiwan to the United States in the early 1980s. The challenges he faced as an immigrant who spoke little English led him to committing his life to helping the underserved Chinese-speaking community with in-language services. 

    In 1992, Kenny founded KCAL Insurance Agency. What began in a small office in Hacienda Heights has now expanded to a multitude of offices throughout Los Angeles and Orange County, including San Gabriel, Irvine, Diamond Bar, and Cerritos. After many years of hard work and dedication, KCAL has grown to become one of the most respected and leading insurance agencies in Southern California. KCAL has provided more than 5,000 businesses with their workers’ compensation insurance, customized employee benefits plans, and all types of business insurance. KCAL has also provided more than 120,000 individuals and families with their health, life, auto, and home insurance protection. Every KCAL team member is bilingual or multilingual. 

    Kenny's daughter Angela joined the company in 2016, making KCAL Insurance Agency a true family business with multigenerational collaboration."

    Personal Story:

    “When Kenny moved to the United States, he spoke no English. His aim initially was to find a job as a busboy, but none of the restaurants he interviewed at gave him a chance. His wife Emily pushed him to try out sales roles, noting that he was good at talking to people despite his broken English. Kenny first worked as a bank marketing assistant, but the bank he worked at "promoted" him and moved him from their branch location in Buena Park all the way to downtown LA. Life was hard, as the commute was long and he and Emily were in the midst of family planning. 

    In 1984, Kenny decided to find a job with a more flexible schedule and shorter commute. He found a job as an insurance agent.  However, in 1991, Kenny's boss decided to move back to Taiwan, and encouraged Kenny to start his own insurance agency. Kenny was forced to make a decision -- either try to forge his own way or try to interview for a new job. Kenny decided to try his hand at becoming a business owner, and with Emily's support, pooled together their life savings to open his own insurance agency business. 

    Kenny firmly believes that, "People buy insurance from who they know and who they trust." He's worked tirelessly at earning his community's trust in the past three decades. 

    For the past 15 years, Kenny has been hosting his weekly radio show, “A Beautiful Life”, on local radio station AM 1300. His show helps the Chinese-speaking community in the Greater Los Angeles Area stay up-to-date on the latest developments in risk management and insurance. He also serves as a Board Member for the Industry Sheriffs Youth Activities League and as an Advisor to Hsi Lai Temple. Every year, Kenny also donates student scholarships and hosts free educational seminars on a wide range of topics including cybersecurity, identity theft prevention, active shooter preparedness, tax and labor law updates for business owners, health insurance for seniors and for individuals, and much more. In 2015, he also served as the Chairman of Host Town Hacienda Heights in the 2015 Special Olympics World Summer Games.” -- Angela Chang



  • Sunday, May 23, 2021 10:05 AM | Evelyn Lin


    Support AAPI-owned businesses!

    Introducing sweetYippie crafts


    http://sweetyippiecrafts.com/

    Shop: etsy.com/shop/sweetyippiecrafts 

    Instagram: @sweetyippie_crafts 

    TikTok: @sweetyippie_crafts


    Origin Story of

    sweetYippie crafts:

    "sweetYippie crafts was created by Christina Yip in 2016. It started off as an Instagram account to showcase her growing practice of calligraphy and crochet. Soon, she expanded her interests to card making and other DIY crafts, including customized wedding signs. Throughout the years, her family and friends suggested that she open her own shop to sell her crafts, but she always replied, “I’m not ready, but soon!” or “When I’m good enough”. In 2020, she realized that if she doesn’t do it now, she will always give excuses. And now here we are: an Etsy shop that currently sells greeting cards, crochet pins, and customized gifts. More fun things to come soon! 

    what's sweetYippie? 

    sweetYippie is a play on words of my last name and my love for sweets and baking (although I no longer have an interest in baking). It's now grown to one of my core values of being kind (and sweet) to others."

    Personal Story:

    “I didn’t consider having a small business when I first started. I just wanted to have fun and create things for my loved ones, but over time, I always wondered “what if?” Crafting things always made me happy and I felt that gifting them to others would bring them a little bit of happiness too. At the end of 2020, I decided to stop making excuses and be brave! If I don’t sell anything, then at least I tried. The success or failure of a shop doesn’t define my artistic skills or myself. My shop has been open for 1.5 months and I’ve made a few sales, mostly to friends and colleagues (thank you!). I’m hoping to sell to many others soon, but now, I’m just crafting with love and happiness patiently until then.” -- Christina Yip


    As part of a local community initiative for the Asian American Pacific Islander (AAPI) Heritage Month, we are calling for submissions from AAPI business owners in Southern California! Several AAPI community organizations are committed to promote local businesses throughout May 2021. Taiwanese American Professionals Los Angeles would love to feature your story and promote your business! Please fill out the application today: https://forms.gle/U8dMqAJeshXjK9Yr7

  • Friday, May 21, 2021 10:12 AM | Evelyn Lin

    Support AAPI-owned businesses!

    Introducing NU-SET Inc.

    http://www.nusetlock.com/

    https://www.facebook.com/nuset.lock


    Origin Story of NU-SET Inc.:

    "NU-SET Inc. is a security solution and lock manufacturing company with 22+ patents and trademarks around the world. We are a 3rd generation family business and the only woman-owned lock manufacturer and direct distributor in the US. The original founders of our family business escaped a war-torn China to Hong Kong during the Cultural Revolution and began building the family business empire. In 1993, before Hong Kong was turned over to China, the entire family migrated to Los Angeles, California and began building the new roots here under the brand name: NU-SET. 

    NU-SET nearly closed its doors in 1997 because we did not understand the US market conditions. In the summer of 1997 we found a new market in building industry, and our business flourished! Then, in 2009 we faced another crisis when the housing industry crashed, it was during this time that we established our e-commerce platforms and the company made a complete turnaround. Our newest endeavor happened in 2017, when we invented and patented our security software called Eyecon. It uses block-chain technology to turn photographs in smartphones to keys for unlocking security devices. Eyecon is also the only Wi-Fi enabled lock box in the world."

    Personal Story:

    “If I am being honest, the entrepreneurial role was never my choice but rather my duty. The family business needed help, and I stepped in. There was a lot of pressure not to sink the ship as well as a lot of push back on changes I was making. I believe you have to be open to new ideas and changes in order to give your company a fighting chance. You can ask any of my staff, I love crazy ideas and learning new things. I know that I am just a steward and will eventually pass the baton. 

    Some life lessons I have learned: Never give anyone including yourself permission to put you down; continue to learn and to evolve; find a mentor to guide you.” -- Caron Ng

    As part of a local community initiative for the Asian American Pacific Islander (AAPI) Heritage Month, we are calling for submissions from AAPI business owners in Southern California! Several AAPI community organizations are committed to promote local businesses throughout May 2021. Taiwanese American Professionals Los Angeles would love to feature your story and promote your business! Please fill out the application today: https://forms.gle/U8dMqAJeshXjK9Yr7

  • Thursday, May 13, 2021 9:00 AM | Evelyn Lin

    Support AAPI-owned businesses!

    Introducing Mythopoeia

    http://www.mythopoeia.us/

    https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/mythopoeia/glow-book-1


    Origin Story of Mythopoeia:

    "Mythopoeia is a creative company founded by Vincenzo Ferriero and Ray Chou in 2014 that approaches narrative through shared mythology. We started the company as a means to take control of our own projects after we graduated from NYU Film and worked in the entertainment industry for a couple of years. We decided on comics because the medium can be cinematic while requiring a lot less resources and maintaining the integrity and intentionality of our work. Instead of working with a publisher, we decided to self-publish because we saw at the time the potential in crowdfunding and building our own audience. Since our first project in 2014 we've sold over 50,000 comics and have since expanded into tabletop roleplaying games. We're both huge nerds at heart living the dream by creating what we love. Learn more about our comics and games at www.mythopoeia.us."

    Personal Story:

    “Ray Chou is a Pasadena born Los Angeles writer and educator. He had often wondered about adapting a surname for his writing endeavors before deciding he was perfectly fine with his name the way it is thank you very much. Ray is one half of the writing duo Mythopoeia, independent creators of the comic series Skies of Fire and Glow - their work has been exhibited at conventions worldwide from San Diego to Bucharest.  Ray is also the Head of Education at Breakthrough Training Center, an after school preparatory academy located in the heart of the San Gabriel Valley looking to break the bamboo ceiling through an empowering education focused on developing purpose through project-based learning, critical thinking, and entrepreneurship skills. He loves working and talking with kids, irresponsibly sparking their imaginations.” -- Ray Chou


    As part of a local community initiative for the Asian American Pacific Islander (AAPI) Heritage Month, we are calling for submissions from AAPI business owners in Southern California! Several AAPI community organizations are committed to promote local businesses throughout May 2021. Taiwanese American Professionals Los Angeles would love to feature your story and promote your business! Please fill out the application today: https://forms.gle/U8dMqAJeshXjK9Yr7

  • Wednesday, May 12, 2021 9:00 AM | Evelyn Lin

    Support AAPI-owned businesses!

    Introducing Pixel Canvas 

    https://pixelcanvas.com/tap

    https://www.linkedin.com/company/pixel-canvas-studios/


    Origin Story of Pixel Canvas:

    “Pixel Canvas started out as a video game studio back in 2018. We’ve released an award winning VR horror game Reiko’s Fragments and have enjoyed some success and was awarded the Epic MegaGrant. However I decided to pivot the company towards virtual events during the Covid 19 quarantine period around March 2020. The decision had a lot to do with my personal background and professional experience in physical event design and 3D visualization. I’ve spent over a decade at event design agencies such as George P. Johnson (GPJ) and the idea for virtual events was because during March of 2020 the events industry was in panic trying to find a solution to quickly translate canceled physical events into a virtual experience. For me the solution was crystal clear because what I was already doing at GPJ was designing and rendering physical exhibit booths and environments inside a game engine the Unreal Engine. This is also the engine I used to build Reiko’s Fragments with my team in Pixel Canvas. So for me I knew if I simply added a few of my programmers from pixel canvas to add some interactivity to the 3D designs you can simulate the exhibit booth experience. After spending many years in the event design industry I’ve finally merged it with my passion with interactive video games and the result is a truly engaging virtual events platform that can be experienced through your web browser from any device no downloads required. We launched our first virtual event with Verizon in Sept 2020 and since we’ve delivered multiple virtual events for big brands such as Warner Media, LG, British Telecoms and many more.”

    Personal Story:

    “My background professionally for many years is 3D art and design. I’ve spent most of my career in the events industry designing and visualizing physical events before they are physically built. The problem was I’ve always wanted to break into the gaming industry because that is where my true passion is. I not only loved playing games but loved creating levels within games such as Little Big Planet. The biggest challenge was location because I spent most of my years in Washington DC and the amount of game industry opportunities there was very rare and I found myself stuck in the event industry for 7 years before I decided to move to Los Angeles. The city was exactly what I was missing all those years. I quickly met so many gaming industry professionals and creative people in the first couple months. Some who are now my closest friends inspired and pushed me to start my own game company. I think the biggest lesson learned for me is location does matter and the people around you can lead you in very different directions in life.” -- Joey Lee

    As part of a local community initiative for the Asian American Pacific Islander (AAPI) Heritage Month, we are calling for submissions from AAPI business owners in Southern California! Several AAPI community organizations are committed to promote local businesses throughout May. Taiwanese American Professionals Los Angeles would love to feature your story and promote your business! Please fill out the application today: https://forms.gle/U8dMqAJeshXjK9Yr7

  • Sunday, May 09, 2021 1:38 PM | Evelyn Lin

    Support AAPI-owned Businesses!

    Introducing C&J Gardening Center

    https://cjgardeningcenter.com/

    https://www.facebook.com/CJGardeningCenter



    Origin Story of C&J Gardening Center:

    "The company was started in July 2018 with my father, my partner Jason and myself, Calvin. The first challenge was learning the different types of plants and how to care for them. Also, as a small business, having to know all components of how to run a business- from logistics to creating an online business, updating coding, optimizing search engine optimization, filing business and tax documents, and so much more! Everything had to be built from the ground up.

    It was really hard the first year to not only learn about the business side, but how to get people to view our site and have customers. To be putting in so much work and not see a profit for a year, you really have to believe in your company and yourself. There were a lot of trial, errors, and correcting how to provide a great customer experience. It's important to analyze the company and see how it can be improved as well as taking (reasonable) customer feedback.

    The most difficult is that customers expect deliveries to be next day like Amazon prime. We would explain to the customer, because it is a live plant and not a small product, it would take 2-10 business days for delivery. It cannot be shipped via USPS or FedEx since it would most likely damage the plant. We have to route and personally deliver each plant. Also some customers are not knowledgeable about plants and may expect plants to be luscious, green and fruiting when it might be deciduous. Some customers want homogeneous looking plants, but no two plants will look or be the same because it is a live plant! Patience in helping and teaching customers is an area we focus on so we can provide the best customer care.”

    Personal Story:

    “Similar to many Asian American families, my family also immigrated to the United States with barely anything. My parents worked hard, oftentimes working three jobs to support us. My family started a business. I grew up seeing how a small business is run and understood the value of the dollar at a very young age. My parents put us through college in hopes of a better future. However, life had different plans. I graduated during the 2008 Great Recession. With jobs limited, I tried my first business as a T-Shirt company. However, the market was very crowded and soon cornered by larger companies with more capital. I thought about what I can do and what I've learned. My dad does plant nursery with a brick and mortar store but didn't have an online presence. Researching this field, I found that there weren't many nursery in Southern California that had a user friendly digital presence. Realizing this potential, I decided to try reaching a younger market who are environmentally conscious. It was perfect as I was also concerned about environmental impact. We hope to make a greener, better planet one home at a time! The biggest life lesson is adaptability, having grit, having the bravery to take the first step into the unknown, and taking what you've learned and creating something you believe in.” -- Calvin Wong


    As part of a local community initiative for the Asian American Pacific Islander (AAPI) Heritage Month, we are calling for submissions from AAPI business owners in Southern California! Several AAPI community organizations are committed to promote local businesses throughout May. Taiwanese American Professionals Los Angeles would love to feature your story and promote your business! Please fill out the application today: https://forms.gle/U8dMqAJeshXjK9Yr7

  • Friday, April 30, 2021 9:00 AM | Emilyn Cahn (Administrator)

    Thank you to everyone who attended the TAP-LA Good Good Laugh Show (Benefitting #STOPAAPIHATE) virtual event Thursday April 29, 2021!

    The night of comedy and drag featured performers from across the globe. For Asian American Pacific Heritage Month, we celebrated our heritages, identities, and sexualities with the best and brightest API performers from Comedy Central, Netflix, NBC Asian America, and more with 100% of ticket sales going to support #STOPAAPIHATE.


    Big thanks to our wonderful performers:
    ATSUKO OKATSUKA
    GARRON CHIU
    JES TOM
    JULIA SHIPLETT
    MISS SHU MAI

    Hosted by TERESA LEE

  • Saturday, April 10, 2021 8:00 AM | Evelyn Lin


    Thank  you to everyone that attended the TAP-LA  and TAP-OC joint Home Buying 101 virtual event Saturday March 27, 2021! We hope this has helped you gain confidence in buying your first home.

    Big thanks to our wonderful speakers for giving us an very informative talk. If you have further questions or missed out on the event you can contact our speakers directly with any of your home buying or real estate questions.

    Realtor Kevin Kuo: Facebook, Instagram, or YouTube. (LA)

    Realtor Jack Tsai: Instagram, YouTube, (626) 376-013, or JAQrealestategroup@gmail.com (LA/OC)

    Realtor Jack Wang: (949)232-8688 or email realtywang168@gmail.com (OC)

    VP of First Commerical Bank Olivia Fu: 949-228-3761 or Olivia.fu@bankfcb.com

    To keep up with upcoming Taiwanese American Professional Los Angeles events please follow us on Facebook, Instagram, or sign up to our newsletter.



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