University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point at Wausau student Chee Yang has learned to overcome difficulties and form her own identity to make her impact in central Wisconsin.
A member of a first-generation Hmong American family, the Wausau-born native has paved her way in the community as an owner of multiple local businesses, speaking at conferences and competitions about her journey and success.
“Growing up, I’ve had to struggle with balancing cultural and American society expectations,” Yang said. “I grew up in a very traditional household, where gender roles were expected.”
After graduating college with an accounting degree, Yang and her husband, Kong Yang, started K&C Ginseng, a small ginseng farming business. Coming from a lineage of farmers, Yang learned how to run a business by helping at her parent’s ginseng farm growing up. Knowing how much can go into a business, Yang knew she wanted to continue her education.
Yang decided to join UW-Stevens Point’s MBA program at the UWSP at Wausau campus after hearing positive stories from close community members who were graduates of the program.
“Their experiences were my turning point to where I said I just have to do this,” Yang said. “My major regret is not making that decision to commit sooner.”
As part of the MBA program, she had the opportunity to complete the UWSP Impact Fellowship, which sparked the creation of her embroidery business, Emspired.
“I really wanted my fellowship to be based on a business that was meaningful to me,” she said. “Since I already had experience in the business world, I thought my background was a solid foundation to pursue my interest.”
She saw a generational gap between the younger and older generations within her Hmong community.
“It seems that the culture is fading, so I wanted to base my business on promoting and preserving the culture through the designs,” she said.
Through her business, she had the opportunity to collaborate and create products for businesses in the area.
“The number of people, ideas and responsibilities that Chee skillfully coordinated during her fellowship leaves me smiling and shaking my head in wonder,” said her faculty fellowship mentor Associate Professor Lyna Matesi. “I had a blast extending Chee’s capacity for more work into building a new business and her entrepreneurial capacity.”
Yang’s ventures propelled her into a new world of opportunities. In 2023, Yang was invited to speak on a panel at the UWSP Women’s Trailblazers and Entrepreneurs Conference, an event conference showcasing and developing women entrepreneurs from all sectors, and participated in the CREATE Portage County SURGE Pitch, a competition to pitch their business for panelists while refining their business model, gaining business exposure and building confidence.
“I saw it as a great opportunity as a minority woman in the industry to be able to speak on my entrepreneurial experience,” Yang said. “I’m not a public speaker, but throughout this experience, I didn’t realize how much self-development I would have gained because it forced me to put myself out there.”
Yang and her husband also completed UW-Stevens Point’s Small Business Development Center (SBDC) Entrepreneurial Training program to solidify her business plan for Emspired but also to lay out the groundwork for her and her husband’s next business venture, an autobody collision repair shop.
The MBA program has exposed Yang to new paths and opportunities that she never would have thought to pursue otherwise.
“Her commitment to developing, launching and marketing her business is unparalleled,” said MBA Director Adam Olson. “We are thrilled to be able to offer emerging leaders like Chee a chance to grow professionally, earn an applied MBA and significantly impact our region.”
After she graduates in May, Yang plans to continue her full-time career as a staff accountant with JARP Industries and put more time into Emspired to scale the business.
Source: UW-Stevens Point
