We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Wendy Kim. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Wendy below.
Wendy, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Naming anything – including a business – is so hard. Right? What’s the story behind how you came up with the name of your brand?
When I was eleven years old and in my math class, I raised her hand and was excited to learn and participate. After class, a classmate came up to me and said: “Wendy, you’re such a showoff.” I decided at that point that I had to play small, go with the flow and not make waves to be accepted in my community and culture. In my book (which is the same name as my compan), Beyond Blending In: An Immigrant Daughter’s Guide to Overcoming Cultural Obstacles for A Life of Abundance and Authenticity, I talk about my journey of overcoming cultural challenges and embracing cultural advantages and our diversity. My passion is to empower other Asian-Americans, women and people of color to see themselves as the valuable contribution they are to the world and to stop playing small. When we go beyond blending in I believe the world is bigger, brighter and more beautiful.
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
Growing up, I wanted to comform and assimilate to fit in. I find that many people of color and women do this, but that this holds them back and others around them. I work with people from underrepresented groups to see that they are already powerful and that when they embrace who they are, they are able to have amazing influence and impact. I do this through training and coaching for organizations and private clients as well.
Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?
I had been seeing private coaching clients for years when one of my clients asked me to speak to her Hispanic Leadership Group at her company. I loved so much seeing how inspired the group was and I had always resonated with working with people from underrepresented groups. It was at that point I decided to get my Certification in Diversity and Inclusion. I took on my background in corporate management, my work coaching people from underrepresented groups, and my DEI certification to pivot more on shifting companies and elevating the leadership of people from underrepresented groups, which has been challenging and very rewarding.
We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.
I remember early on in my entrepreneurial journey, I struggled with leaving my corporate job to go out on my own. I had a conversation with a friend of mine and she questioned why I would leave the security of a high-paying job. I remember feeling not supported in that conversation, but I decided I had to do what I thought was best, even if others didn’t understand. A few years later, she asked me to coach her to start her own business. Now she has a thriving business she loves.
Contact Info:
- Website: beyondblendingin.com
- Instagram: beyondblendingin
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/beyondblendingin
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/wendy-kim/
Image Credits
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