Corinna Shen: Education Key to Success

By Jennie L. Ilustre

Corinna Shen, owner of Seven Seas Restaurant located in Rockville, Maryland, believes that “education is the key for any kind of success.” Her great grandfather was one of the founders of Hunan University and was a secretary for the Education department in China.
“In China, teaching is the most respected profession. And because of my family history, I had always wanted to be a teacher,” she said. (But will wonders never cease? Her oldest daughter became a teacher.)
She recalled: “As an immigrant, I never gained full confidence in my second language, which is English. I never became a teacher.”
So the secretarial science major who was born and raised in Taiwan, did the next best thing. She focused on civic involvement and community service. She found other avenues to promote education, “including planning events and supporting different education organizations.”
She has served as the Director of Public Relations for the International Leadership Foundation for the past 11 years. She coordinates media coverage for all ILF affairs, works behind the scenes to coordinate logistics, leadership training and coordination of guest speakers. She is also the D.C. coordinator for ILF Young Ambassador Summer Program. She’s a perennial host to dinners for students and guest speakers.
She remarked: “Education can change people’s lives. One person can touch many lives for years to come. The impact of education, even one person’s contribution, can grow with time.”

Entrepreneur
Corinna, as her friends call her, is a successful Asian American entrepreneur. She and her husband Edward are prominent leaders in the Greater Metro Washington Area.
Corinna has nearly 40 years of experience in business, finance, marketing and community organization.
After attending Ming Chuan University in Taipei, Ms. Shen moved to the US in 1975. From Dover, Delaware and New York City, she settled in Seattle, Washington in 1976, where she managed a family-owned wholesale seafood business as well as a Seattle-based import and export company.
During this time, she transformed the family owned minority business into one of the largest US-Asia seafood exporters.
Currently, Corinna is the owner of Gourmet, Inc T/A Seven Seas, a successful Chinese restaurant located in Rockville, Maryland.
As a successful business owner and expert on Asian cuisine, she has appeared in several culinary workshops. She is also in demand among TV shows, radio programs and trade shows.
Corinna is also a partner with MIE Group, an international public relations consulting company promoting communication, relations and trade between U/s and Asia.
She serves on the Asian American Advisory Board of Maryland State, Montgomery County. She has made many contributions to non-profit organizations in the Washington Area.
She has received recognition from President Obama, the U.S. Department of Commerce MBDA, Maryland Governor Martin O’Malley, City of Rockville, Smithsonian Associates and Taiwanese Chamber of Commerce for her business leadership and community service.

Q & A

Why did you choose the restaurant business?
I married into the restaurant business more than 20 years ago. My background in business, seafood and public relations helped ease my transition and I found that I enjoyed the restaurant business.

Were your parents or other relatives restaurant owners?
Yes. I have a cousin who runs a successful restaurant chain in Taiwan.

Is cooking a passion of yours?
Passion is an understatement. I find pleasure in cooking for those I love and I enjoy entertaining. Food is art and a key component of culture throughout the world. I have enjoyed introducing Chinese culinary art in America. When I was in my 20s, I started a business called “Taking a Wok” which featured cooking in a 5-foot wok. What a great way to cook in an entertaining way at events that combined my love for food and hosting/entertaining at the same time.

What were your previous jobs before running your own business?

Since 1977, I have always run my own business. The first was a family-run wholesale seafood business. I then worked as a consultant for a transportation logistic crime prevention company. Next I owned a ceramic import company. Throughout all of this, I continued to work in public relations.
Then I met my husband and moved to Maryland. Since moving to Maryland, I have run several restaurants, a seafood distribution company, and served as an event planner/caterer.

What is your typical daily schedule?

There’s no such thing as typical or the same schedule every day, but give us an idea.
My youngest daughter is preparing to leave for college this fall. To this point, my typical day starts with sending my daughter to school. I then get right to work on a variety of tasks for the business that vary daily but include paperwork, accounting, emails, menu planning and coordinating catering events.
I often meet my husband at the restaurant to plan upcoming events. I also work daily with a variety of individuals in the Asian news community to continue my work in public relations, promoting a variety of organizations and individuals.

What is your advice to women who plan to start a restaurant business?
My first piece of advice is to have passion. If you do not have passion for the work, then you will not be successful.
I also want to tell women to not be afraid to fail. There will be decisions that are not the right ones, mistakes made, things that will have to be done twice, three times or more to get it right. They need to remember that even if there is a mistake made, they can learn from it and get right back on their feet.
Along with that, I think it is important to be strong and think like a problem-solver 24 hours a day, 7 days a week and 365 days a year.
It is important to surround yourself with a support system that you trust, and keeps you grounded. You will need them when things get difficult.
I’d also like to tell women to manage your emotions. There will be things that make you want to cry, yell and scream and give up. Anger, frustration, sadness, exhaustion are all natural feelings. It is important to recognize, manage and appropriate express these feelings so that they don’t impact work or your decision making. It’s important to make decisions based on thoughts and not on feelings.

When you started, please relate any story regarding a challenge or difficulty you have encountered. How did you solve it?
I did not start the restaurant business here, my husband did. I came in as someone new and in the beginning, there were many individuals who did not accept me. I had to prove myself.
In order to overcome this difficult situation, I had to present my true self, and I had to have faith that I would find success. I believed in my capabilities and had confidence in myself. I did not give up even when things were difficult and my positive attitude and hard work finally paid off. I reminded myself to always be cheerful and kind to everyone no matter what.

Who are your role models?
Pauline Tsui is the founder of OCAW and a pioneer for Chinese women’s rights in the United States. She has been an active member of the community and volunteers. She truly is a visionary. Even in her later life, she continues to be active in giving advice to her women friends.
Madame Chang Kai-Shek is my second role model. During WWII in 1945, she came to the US to give a speech to the US congress and senate. Her bravery and loyalty to her country moved me.

What are your plans for the future?
I would like to retire some day. Before I do so, I have one goal that I set for myself when I moved to Maryland: To cater a dinner for the President of the United States.