We were lucky to catch up with Amy Guo recently and have shared our conversation below.

Amy, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Before we get into specifics, let’s talk about success more generally. What do you think it takes to be successful?

I think it takes grits and curiosity in things and people. I used to think success is only for certain type of personalities or traits, but it was for everyone.

When I first started my international student journey in Canada, I was 16 years old. All I wanted was to stay in North America and continue my life here. All of my international friends have gradually gone back due to visa expirations, but I managed to stay for over 15 years because I kept looking for opportunities to renew my visa, to work, to continue my life here.

In my career, everyone was trying to make more money by jumping from place to place. I stayed at one place, also a start up, because I wanted to learn every aspect of what I do and the industry I’m in. Almost a decade later, I’m the top earner amongst my counterparts and am able to provide added value that’s out of my job descriptions to my clients all because I’m curious to things and interested in getting to know people.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

With close to a decade’s project management, operations and business development experience in the beauty industry, Amy is well-versed in developing high quality products for beauty companies. Amy’s years of knowledge and resources in primary packaging and formulation manufacturing also provides added value for her clients.

Amy is a driven and passionate individual with a background in business management and a love for cosmetics and skincare. During her time in college, she discovered her passion for the beauty industry and pursued a 2nd bachelor’s degree in Beauty Business Management. Since then, Amy has immersed herself in every aspect of the beauty industry, from packaging development to product development, contract manufacturing, and logistics. With a thirst for knowledge and a desire to constantly learn, Amy is always eager to take on new challenges and gain new experiences. Graduated with her MBA degree, Amy believes that continuous self-improvement is key to maximizing her clients’ business value.

Amy is currently with a beauty packaging supplier called Asquan Group, serving as the West Coast Sales Director.

How’d you build such a strong reputation within your market?

What really helped me build my reputation is to complete every project to my best ability. Even if there might be difficulties on the way, I always give my best try and be as invested as I can. I also go to a lot of industry events and make myself known to all sectors of the industry. When people think of Amy, they think of reliability, responsive, top service, and honest and fun as a person.

How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?

I actually tried to start a business with one of my friends in 2023. We were 4 months in the development of the product and realized that we both didn’t have enough network or resources to develop a sustainable brand. Even if we loved our concept and truly believed in it, it was getting difficult to continue. That was when we realized that maybe we were too ahead of ourselves and maybe it was a good idea to continue our career in our industry for a little longer before starting our own business. We had to recognize our “failure” and swallow our ego and look for a sustainable job.

We were glad we pivoted once we realized that there was just not enough knowledge and resources we needed instead of wasting more time and investing more money on something that could’ve been so much easier down in the line in our career. We recognized the wrong timing and got out as soon as we realized it.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.asquangroup.com
• Instagram: asquan_group
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/amygyc/