Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Len Tran. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Len, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Do you wish you had waited to start your own firm or do you wish you had started sooner?

I started my business in 2021 and I should have done it five years sooner. Five years ago, I spent countless hours searching through the internet and taking courses about my industry, which is inspirational speaking. I struggled with who was my intended audience and that in itself took a while to solidify. Looking back I should have just given a speech to anyone and then from there I should know who the speech would resonate with more. What I have learned is that we tend to overthink things rather than just taking action and test out the water. Nowadays, I still find myself adjusting. When you think you have an answer to a solution, there will always be another element added to the problem that would require you to either adapt or adjust.

Len, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

In 1982, my father and I along with twenty-three other people were on a small fishing boat leaving Vietnam after the Fall of Saigon in 1975. It took us twenty-one days, stranded in the middle of the South China Sea, before we got rescued by the Hong Kong coast guards. My dad and I spent almost a year in the Hong Kong and Philippines’ refugee camp before arriving to New York City. We were placed in the South Bronx in December 1982. Living in a one-bedroom apartment with two other Vietnamese men who we just met was something we were used to while living in the refugee camps with hundreds of bunkbeds placed near each other. What makes it special while adjusting to life in New York City was that we didn’t give up. Even though we were searching through the dumpsters at night to find whatever that we could salvage, we were content, hoping that someday we make enough money to change our lives. In 1998, I graduated with a Chemical Engineering degree from City College of New York. After working as a Sales engineer and a Process Engineer at a Waste Water Treatment Plant for a couple of years, I decided to change industries and joined the Patent and Trademark Office. In 2007, I became a supervisor and have been in the leadership role for more than fifteen years.
In 2019, I started to write my memoir detailing my journey of coming to the United States of America. In October of 2022, my memoir, Split Up by the Sea, was debuted.
In 2021, I founded Kinetic Mind, LLC in order to help individuals through my coaching to find their true north. In addition, I am a speaker for corporations and organizations to show them how to destroy distractions and focus on successful actions. I am currently writing a self-help book on how to overcome the obstacles and find the real you.

Do you have any insights you can share related to maintaining high team morale?

I have been working in a team environment for the last twenty-five years, of which fifteen of those years I have managed a team of more than sixty employees. First and foremost is trust. Your team members or subordinates need to have faith in you. Your words and actions need to coincide with each other. I find that it is much easier to accept a mistake and move forward rather than coming up with excuses so that you don’t have to take the blame. To maintain high morale, I believe that we need to be transparent as leaders. Reaching out to your teammates from time to time is also the best way of building rapport.

Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?

When I graduated in 1998 with a Chemical Engineering degree, I couldn’t find a job. During that time, the market wasn’t in demand for chemical engineers. I looked through the newspaper and saw and ad for college students with a sales opportunity. The next day, I arrived to the venue and saw many other college students and graduates. We sat through an hour of presentation on how to sale cutlery products. I bought the package and started selling at my neighborhood. The first day of selling was the hardest. I didn’t mind getting the “No” as the answers, but when you get doors slamming right at your face that’s when you start to wonder if this job is for you. I had a choice of quitting, find another job, or heading to the next neighborhood and knocking on more doors. When I thought back of how I came to America and digging through the dumpsters, I realized it was just another obstacle that I have to go through. Indeed, I got more doors slammed at my face, but at the same time, I also got orders. I don’t allow obstacles to hold me back, but I used them as motivation to be better nowadays.

Contact Info:

• Website: LenVTran.com