The Entrepreneurs of Asia in New York

By Marivir R. Montebon

In New York, the number of women-owned startups rose to 58% between 1997 and 2010, compared to 50% national figures. The empire state ranks among the Top 10 states for women entrepreneurs. Asian women entrepreneurs, in particular, have shown vigor in the field of business. 

OSM! features three of these highly motivated business women. Hui-Man "Chow" Mok of upper west side's Zen Medica, Eileen  Formanes of Bibingka-esk in Bayside, and Manhattan's Imogene Raypon, make-up artist for healthy beauty - the Green Option for Glam.

HUI-MAN "CHOW" MOK - Believer of Holistic Health at Zen Medica

Chow is a young entrepreneur, in her early 30s, and relentless in setting up her Zen Medica which offers a wide array of natural health and beauty supplements. Business has been brisk since she opened her shop on 72nd Street on the upper west side of Manhattan. 

 

[caption id="attachment_2995" align="alignleft" width="300"] People will increasingly opt for healthy products - Chow of Zen Medica[/caption]

"Getting into holistic health is a new consciousness. The traditional chemical-based pharmaceuticals is not providing a  long-term solution to health. I understand people will eventually shift to more healthy options," she said optimistically.

Chow's parents come from Hongkong and have since settled in the US when she was a young child. She finished Nutrition and Dietetics and  had since worked along the line of her academic course. Two year ago, she decided to set up her own business and there was no stopping her since then, whether it was high competition or rigorous business regulations.

Towards the end of summer, Zen Medica spearheaded a holistic health fair at the Jewish Community Center on Amsterdam to promote organic health supplements to the community. That was a huge success, accounting for more walk-ins into the shop and online shopping. Zen Medica also conducts health seminars regularly.

Chow may be always tired at the end of the day, but she always ends it with a smile, looking at her daily achievements.

EILEEN FORMANES - Baking Bibingka for the World to Sample

At an international day celebration of the company she formerly works for, Eileen was prodded by her friends who tasted  her bibingka (a uniquely Filipino milk and rice cake) to begin selling the incredibly tasty pastry. The demand inspired her to open business in March this year, with the brand name Bibingka-esk. 

[caption id="attachment_2996" align="alignleft" width="168"] Bibingka-esk was born by surprise.[/caption]

  

Eileen's original bibingka now comes in different flavors: S'mores, Peanut Butter with Chocolate Chip, Chocolate  Strawberry, Cinnamon Sugar, Strawberry Swirl, Blueberry, Apple Pie, and Banana.

One can sample on the Bibingka-esk at the LIC Holiday Market on Long Island City for the entire month of December.

 

IMOGENE RAYPON - Healthy Glam for You

Imogene is a make-up artist by profession who uses healthy make-up products to ensure the lasting, healthful beauty of her  clients. 

[caption id="attachment_2997" align="alignright" width="160"] Imogene: Giving glam a healthy sense[/caption]

She finished her make-up course at the Chistine Valmy International School and has worked in various high end retail  outlets in the city, particularly Saks 5th Avenue, Bergdorf Goodman, Bloomingdale's and Henri Bendel. 

Now as an independent consultant, Imogene has chartered her own business by choosing products that are truly healthy and helpful to clients.

On December 7, she will hold a make-up seminar titled "The Green Option to Glam and Fab" at the Payag Cellar through the Pinoy Pride sa America from 10am to noon. A $45 fee includes kit, make up products, and breakfast.

 

Your Faith Looks Familiar: This Faithful Business is Brisk too!

By Marivir R. Montebon

We are pulling off a second interview with the brother-sister entreprenuerial tandem of Abe Medenilla and Shanna Wallace. Since the branding of the Your Faith Looks Familiar T-shirts, business has since grown briskly in the Big Apple and beyond.

1. What's the latest with the young brother-sister creative entrepreneurs got to offer these days?

ABE: We're preparing new shirts that feature familiar friends in fresh designs like the one you see in our ad, Niño. New characters are also coming soon.
SHANNA: New characters, very excited about them, especially our first female figure. More collectibles, wacky webisodes and worldwide ventures.

2. Who is your mentor in this venture, especially on the 'faith side' and the entrepreneurial side?

ABE: Concept-wise we're just a 2-headed creator but we do have a NY-based consultant for the purchasing and sales side.

SHANNA: It's compelling to take the best out of of every belief system and introduce our own perspective. We take inspiration from different situations and mostly everyone in our past. Even though my siblings and I had a very religious upbringing... I for one, went to an all-girl Catholic School from 1st Grade to Senior Year in HS, we were always interested in other creeds and schools of thought. I liked questioning my personal beliefs--they're usually challenged and upgraded or simply strengthened.

As far as the entrepreneurial side, we consult with Mercedes Gonzalez of Global Purchasing Companies. Everyone in the business of retail & fashion should make it their business to take her workshops or find her on YouTube, she's got a wealth of useful information and is so supportive of emerging designers.

3. Is business doing good so far? What challenges?
SHANNA: The journey has been amazing, we're getting tremendous support from our whole family as far as funding, manpower and sales. There may be a lot of competition just because of the countless shirts out there, fortunately, our original designs really standout and there is nothing in the market quite like our brand. The YFLF characters always create curious & cool conversations with whoever sees them! I'd say we have the-chicken-or-the-egg-challenge... selling in retail stores & selling to the end-use-consumer. Popular retail chains will buy in bulk if they sense a decent demand from the public & the public will demand it if they see the products in popular retail stores. Like anything in life, it's a balancing act. We're happy to take it on.

4. What should we look forward to as far as your faithful products are concerned?

ABE: We have only been selling in pop-up shops and that's going fine. We want to step things up and concentrate on retail chains. We have conversations going with some stores already. We're also looking for distributors abroad, starting with Asia. Referrals are welcome!

5. How was it like doing business in the Philippines and here? How are you both able to pull it off?

ABE: Our parents have always been negosyantes in the Philippines and have pushed us to go into business way before. Now, we are finally doing it! Also, our mom's store in Marikina has been burned to the ground late last year. Now, she's coming to NY to help us with the retail side. She is turning that accident into a fortunate event. Works!

SHANNA: My Mom and Dad owned two stores in the Philippines while the 5 of us were growing up. My Mom managed them on beastmode when my Dad passed on to his next life, it was incredible experiencing her thrive and still continue to make their business bloom. She taught us a lot about excellent work ethics, maintaining relationships with integrity, staying faithful & grateful, being creative... & smiling with your eyes, among others! Her name is Corazon (heart in Spanish), she's wonderful and so inspiring, I took all her lessons to heart but never thought I would follow in her footsteps this way.
We look forward to open our own brick and mortar in Soho one day and expand the brand onwards. One of my Mom's stores closed down years ago due to the economy and the 2nd one was ravished in flames with the town's entire market last year...blessings-in-disguise.
We're honored & thrilled that she's now choosing to help us take our own business to the next level. She always says, "Papunta ka pa lang, pabalik na ako." [You've just started your journey while I'm already on my way back.] Words of the wise. We'll use her wisdom to our advantage and express gratitude in advance to where this adventure leads.

YFLF Gurus: Believe and Let Believe! (and grab a shirt while you're at it)

By Leani M. Auxilio

October 12, 2012-- The second day of this year's New York Comic Con, held at the Javits Center. After much prodding (read: whining, pleading, promises to do the dishes for a whole month, and some slight and subtle parental blackmail), I finally got Marivir Montebon (aka The Mother/Boss) to buy me a pass to get into what is every anime otaku's private Mecca: The New York Comic Convention.

[caption id="attachment_1337" align="alignleft" width="228"] Chibi Sebastian: <3[/caption]

Okay, I exaggerate. There are other Cons out there, and most anime addicted/manga readers/comic fans are as fanatical about them as they are of the NYCC. But this was my first comic con; cut me some slack. I was... bedazzled. And silently cursing myself for bringing less than a hundred bucks. Roaming around the stands, I found myself staring (Was that a Kuroshitsuji figure?! OMG SEBASTIAN MICHAELIS! CIEL! I WANT!), ogling (Whoa, that is one realistic Hoshigake Kisame cosplay!), and ultimately depressed because I missed every single one of Tom Felton's autograph sessions (I'm still depressed, actually).

Still. I made the best of everything. Walking around the stands with a couple of friends from City College, I got called over to a curious stall selling shirts with cute chibified deities (and Satan, too!). As if the guy wearing the Air Monk garb from Avatar wasn't enough to get me fangasming (fan + orgasm; I'm a BIG fan of the Last Airbender series), I saw that the woman who called me and my friends was cosplaying as Mama Mary. Oh yeah, definitely fellow Flips. Introductions were made, I won a cute pen I was really coveting during my Dice of Destiny roll, bought a Nino shirt that says "Take the world by the balls," (because I'm Cebuano and Santo Nino is the cutest chibified deity, just saying), and promised to stay in contact with Ate Shanna and Kuya Abe, the osm Gurus at YourFaithLooksFamiliar.com.

Interview with the Gurus:

1. Who got the idea of making religious icons hip?

SHANNA: The idea of tiny baby deities was Kuya's brainchild. (Pun intended.)

ABE: I had the idea brewing for a long time & when I teamed up with Shanna,
it came into fruition. We developed it into what it has become now.

2. Are you religious, spiritual, inspired?

ABE: Spiritual and very open minded about religion and tradition.

SHANNA: I was super religious, like evangelist religious. Now, I'm deeply spiritual ...and maybe slightly irreverent.

3. Do you still have other religious icons in mind to 'hippify?'

SHANNA: Yes! Magic is brewing on our drawing boards.

ABE: We have a few additions to the YFLF Gang coming. Without giving too much away, one character will be female and the other is "one-who-shall-not-be-named."

SHANNA: And it's not Voldemort.

4. Are you enjoying high sales since you started?

SHANNA: High sales remains to be a goal. We started selling during our launch in NY Comic Con and we're so grateful for how YFLF was welcomed.

ABE: We've launched last weekend and the response from customers have been overwhelming. Sales-wise, we're off to a good start.

5. Where are these shirts being sold, aside from the online store?  Do you have an outlet in NY?

SHANNA: Several US and Philippines retailers are interested in selling the YFLF shirts & we will definitely keep you posted.

6. Do you have plans to make other products? What products?

SHANNA: Decals, stationeries and amulets, oh my! lots more.

ABE: Definitely. Watch out for hoodies and plushies too.

4. You guys had your debut at the New York Comic Con! :D How awesome was that?

SHANNA: It couldn't have been better! If we didn't launch there, we wouldn't have met you & thousands of other amazing creatures. :D

ABE: It was an awesome experience selling the shirts and talking to people who have become instant fans. We love New York!

5. How did you guys get started on this venture?

SHANNA: There's just too much random and quirky, "with a twist" stuff out there. That just doesn't cut it. I believe in substance and humor, simple but not simplistic.

You're making something, you might as well make it say something good and real. You better fulfill a need. People need to laugh more. Hello, YFLF!

ABE: I'm tired of seeing a lot of crap out there so we want to make better stuff.

6. Is this your only product line, or do you have others?

ABE: Other lines are in current development. Just a broad idea, we have an Elephonkey character. We're also developing a "fun and games" line, that has started with our Game Lover shirt (see picture). We hope that people notice that our designs are not just pretty, they're pretty conceptual.

SHANNA: Like a good story, this is only the first chapter...

ABE: Believe and let believe.

SHANNA: You gotta have faith!

 

[caption id="attachment_1334" align="aligncenter" width="408"] OSM's Leani Auxilio with the YFLF Gurus.[/caption]