Business

Edmund Moy is no stranger to money. As the 38th director of the US Mint, he earned the Alexander Hamilton Medal for public service awarded by then Treasury Secretary Henry M. Paulson, Jr. In addition, as the director of the US Mint, Moy oversaw the more creation of gold coins. So it’s no surprise that after he left in the …

By Jennifer Leeper In 2013, Nielson released a consumer report that called Asian Americans “significant, sophisticated, and savvy” and suggested that the AAPI community was an affluent and quickly growing market segment. But how are companies reaching the Asian consumer? Compared to other ethnic groups in America, Asian-Americans are highly accessible in their consumerism, because they love their smart phones …

by Suchi Rudra In just three months, Panda Sunglasses moved from Kickstarter project to Nordstrom showrooms. While still in school at Georgetown University, Ko and two of his friends had come up with the perfect fashion accessory: bamboo sunglasses. Like TOMS Shoes, a brand that donates one pair of shoes for each purchase, the sunglasses would be both eco-friendly and …

Thanks to the ACE, Asian American businesses can learn from each other; present a united front By Jenny Chen Ethnic minorities such as Hispanics and Blacks have had national organizations advocating for them – the US Hispanic Chamber of Commerce and the National Black Chamber of Commerce respectively. But until this past year, there were few such organizing bodies for …

By Jennie L. Ilustre Asian Americans only form 5 per cent of the total U.S. 300 million population, but over the years, their Spending Power continues to soar, and is projected to reach $1 trillion by 2017. This steady, rising consumer power was the subject of the latest report by Nielsen, top provider of information and insights into what consumers …

By Chris Peden The holidays are a time of year for spending time with family and friends, and showing appreciation for the people in your lives. If you gave small gifts to your clients or employees, you may be able to deduct the cost of some of your gifts on your taxes. The IRS outlines the rules in Publication 463 …

By Jenny Chen In a study by Bain and Company China comprises of one of the fastest growing online markets. On Nov. 19, 2013 Chinese e-payment company Alipay, International signed a partnership with Universal Air Travel Plan (UATP). Launched in 2004, Alipay is a subsidiary of the Alibaba group – which owns China’s largest B2B online marketplace Alibaba.com as well …

Asian Americans find comfort, success in online platforms like YouTube By Whitney Pipkin Fueled by a desire to connect with and share their culture, Asian Americans have taken to the Internet, using tools like YouTube to tell their stories and, in some cases, launch successful business ventures. Jay Kim, managing director of AAAZA (Asian American A-to-Z Agency), calls the generation …

By Chris Peden According to IRS Publication 463, Travel Entertainment, Gift and Car Expenses, you can deduct the costs of meals and entertainment when they “are both ordinary and necessary and meet one of the following tests: Directly-related test Associated test So what does all that mean? “Ordinary” means that it would be the type of expense that a normal …

Board 2020 vision allows more Asian Americans a chance at corporate boards By Jenny Chen In the year 2020, corporate and nonprofit boards will look very different from the ones today. At least, that’s the belief that panelists Virginia Gambale, director of JetBlue; Helene D. Gayle, director, The Coca-Cola Co. and Colgate-Palmolive Co.; Michael D. Rochelle, director, Military Officers Association …

By Tamara Treichel Asian American and Pacific Islanders (AAPIs) who run small businesses have a lot of reason to smile recently: The U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) has taken measures in the past year to create more opportunities for AAPI small businesses. The importance of AAPI-owned businesses to the U.S. economy shouldn’t be underestimated: At present, the United States has …

By Jenny Chen Washington, DC – Forget Asian says professors and marketing expert Bobby Kumaki of the Ronin Group. Forget Asian and think Asian American. Asians in America are very different from Asians in Asia. In his presentation Understanding the Asian Market Segment during the Multicultural Health National Conference Kumaki noted that the best way to reach Asian Americans is …

by Suchi Rudra A term like “online organizing” may not have been around for long, but in a time where social media is king (and can make or break a business), Olivia Chow and her colleagues–Rohan Grover, Deepa Kunapuli and Vincent Paolo Villano–are driven to grow this niche from within the AAPI community. Unofficially formed in the fall of 2012, …

by Jian Ping and Lily Yang Photos courtesy of ASCEND A record 2,000 Asian professionals and students from the U.S and Canada gathered at the 6th Ascend National Convention to promote collaborative alliances and leadership cultures in Anaheim, Ca from Aug. 23 to 26. Ascend is a non-profit organization whose mission is to help realize the leadership potential of Asian …

By Whitney Pipkin Yi Wah and Caitlin Roberts didn’t grow up eating a lot of pickles. Their Chinese mother considered them a pricey treat in the same category as Oreos. “You don’t buy pickles,” she’d say, “because they’re cucumbers.” But, over the past year, the Roberts siblings have built a business on the assumption that at least some people prefer …

By Chris Peden According to the 2010 US Census, Asian Americans combined owned 1.5 million businesses – a figure that is up 40.4% from 2002. Many of these small businesses are also family businesses, and parents have often considered employing their children for a summer or part-time after school to teach them the ropes of running a business. Before you …

Corazon Foley, Founding Chairman of the Fairfax County Asian American History Project (FCAAHP), has commended the partnership between the Asian Pacific America community and national and local corporations. This is a view shared by other organizations like OCA and the South Asian Americans Leading Together (SAALT), which point out that without the partnership–some of which are on a sustained, yearly …

By Mary Tablante Every day, people use Yelp to decide where to eat, where to go shopping or where to go to the doctor. The company, which provides reviews and ratings for businesses, passed 100 million unique visitors this year. Although the company helps consumers make decisions and allows users to share their experiences, the website has also garnered criticism, …

By Mary Tablante No business is perfect, but the following ways can help to increase online presence and deal with critiques of your business. 1. Respond to criticism “The best thing to do with a bad review is to respond to it, “ said Jennifer Garcia, a brand marketing specialist and social media strategist who is the owner of Logicreative, …

By Mary Tablante Health care reform is intended to provide everyone with affordable access to health insurance. But for small businesses, providing health care can be a challenge because of numerous factors, including the increasing cost of health insurance premiums. To help ease worries for small businesses the Obama Administration delayed an employer mandate until 2015. The mandate will require …

By Jenny Chen Karl Huie is a 2nd generation Chinese American and the owner of Pacific Heights Cleaners, a dry cleaning company in Marin County, California. His parents started the business in 1969. But Huie is bucking tradition – in 2007 he turned his parent’s dry cleaning business to a completely water-based system called Wet Clean. Traditional dry cleaning methods …

By Jennie L. Ilustre Lauding a recent law that removed the $4 million and $6.5 million caps on government awards to women business owners, the US Small Business Administration (SBA), American Express (Amex) OPEN and Women Impacting Public Policy (WIPP) recently launched a new partnership called “ChallengeHER.” “We’ve never seen opportunities like they are today,” American Express Vice President for …

Virginia – On April 30, the Virginia Asian Chamber of Commerce (VACC) and Virginia Asian Foundation (VAF) will host Build Virginia, the first Pan-Asian Construction Alliance of Virginia (PACAV) seminar at the KBS Training Center in Richmond. The PACAV is made up by a consortium of larger size private and public sector construction companies, general contractors, and Pan Asian American …

By Jennie L. Ilustre Photos: Jennie L. Ilustre The day after ANA received the 2013 “Airline of the Year” award, it launched its enhanced cabin service and products in its Washington, DC-Narita route starting March 31, operated with the Boeing 777-300ER. Mock-up displays featuring seats that turn into a bed, wide aisle space and bigger TV screens, including meal displays, …