Meet Sophia, a finance worker turned beauty studio owner from China
By Allie Ginwala
Please tell us your name, where you are from, and how long you have been living in New York City.
My name is Sophia Ching, and I was born and raised in China. I’ve been in New York for three years.
What brought you to New York City?
My boyfriend found a job here. So that was a good reason for me to change scenery.
Tell me about your early days in New York. What was it like trying to find work?
I was thinking I wanted to be able to build my own business in New York. I just wanted to work for myself because my family has always had its own businesses. My sister has her own business. My thinking at that time was, do I want to find a job here, too? There are great companies here, so a lot of options at that time, but I didn’t know where I wanted to go. I wanted a change because I’ve worked for so long. I wanted to explore the opportunities, like all the things I didn’t have a chance to do because I always had a job. So I was just looking for something new. It was more challenging than I thought. I was having a very difficult time doing phone interviews. Then I realized I needed more practice or training on interviews and that’s how I found the LEAD program.
What made you decide to give it a try?
I found out about the LEAD program at the New York Public Library. It helps women build leadership skills, and I thought that sounds very interesting. I went to the orientation for 20 immigrant women. I felt mostly we’re all on the same page. Some tried to adapt to their new life in New York City or moved with their husband from another country, or moved from another state or have been living here for a while. Some of them, like me, already got education here, but I still feel like we didn’t have the jobs that we wanted.
What was the valuable thing about the LEAD program?
We talked about different skill sets, and I think for me the most useful was that we had a lot of chances to speak up and you could do a presentation. Our program was just really open, very responsive. I think what makes it a good experience is being able to share, I think you have to be open. The team of women we had was just always very open and very sincere about where we are and where we wanted to be. We respect each other. We wanted to provide support to each other. We have a WhatsApp group, so we always keep each other posted. We have people who moved and send us greetings from all over the country.
Did you join in any other New Women New Yorkers programs?
We had a night where the LEAD graduates did storytelling. Everybody had their own style. I’ve always been a big fan of stories, but to hear different things, it was great. I said, in the future if there’s any opportunity to talk about your story, I’m going to be there. So when Arielle Kandel [NWNY’s founder] sent an email last spring saying, “Hey we have this Moth storytelling program,” I just jumped in. I love stories, but my difficulty is always how to tell a story. They really help you build structure, and you only have five minutes. They really break down what a good story is in three sections. What are the a-ha moments. I use this structure and now I can quickly tell stories.
You recently started your own business, Ann + Sofia Beauty Concept. Tell me about it.
So I wanted to work for my own business and my mom was doing facials and massages and she didn’t want to work for other people so she said, “How about we open one for ourselves?” So we started preparations one year ago. I had to train myself and get my esthetician license. We do skincare, facials, massages, eyelash extensions. We have two people working for us now because I still have a full time job in finance. I know a lot of people who knew exactly what they wanted to do and I just needed to do so many different things. So this one I have really been enjoying. I grew up with my mom, my sister and we always wanted to take care of ourselves, the skincare stuff is fun for us to do. Doing this is so rewarding.
What were your main challenges in starting your own business?
I just don’t see myself, personality-wise, sitting at a desk for the rest of my life. I just can’t picture that. So I think that starting your own business is so challenging but also so rewarding. It was very much learning as you go. And whenever you face a challenge, you have to figure out how to fix that when it presents itself. That’s just a very intense environment.
Do you have any advice for other women starting or wishing to start a business in NYC?
Well first, I didn’t follow any advice. That’s how I could open this place. Because if I had followed advices I should not have opened this place. If you want to be logical, reasonable, it’s just so hard to have a business because you have such a high chance to fail. We work very hard. And you prepare for the worst. This means you are going to be the only one who accepts accountability. You have to be ready, if everything is going wrong, that you are the only person to depend on. So you have to do the baby steps. You have to set a goal, one at a time. So for me right now that means pay the rent, pay the salaries, then increase your services and build your reputation.
What do you do for fun in your spare time?
I practice Kundalini Yoga, which is a combination of spiritual and physical yoga. They basically help you clear your mind. During NWNY’s storytelling program, I crafted a story about my first experience doing Kundalini yoga.
What advice do you have for other women who are considering the LEAD or storytelling programs?
I feel like I’ve benefited so much from them that I wanted to give back. My experience was very positive, I feel really lucky. I just feel like building communities is very important. Every time I go there I feel a positive energy.
