“Mom, when you keep doing your best, you’ll never fail,” these were Lily Tran’s son’s encouraging words for her when she needed it most. With the support of her biggest fan, Lily took the plunge and opened her own business. She attended classes given by Business Impact NW’s Women’s Business Center, found funding for her bookkeeping and tax services business through Ventures, and officially launched her small business May of this year.
Now Lily is working for a greater purpose. She is living her dream and taking care of her family. Since opening her business Lily includes her son in the process. They communicate with each other about her responsibilities and engagements in relation to her business. She is able to be more present in her son’s life with her flexible schedule—she gets to go on field trips with him and participate in his classroom activities.
Lily confides, though, that with everything she has on her plate, she is still working things out. It has been challenging for her to find the time to fulfill all her duties, but amid this struggle, she has also been learning to manage her time better, prioritize what is important, and cut out distractions in her life. “When I’m with my son, I focus on him,” she says. She does not to beat herself up in moments of difficulties; she learns from them, gets back on her feet, and finds solutions. Lily went into small business with the understanding that there would be tough times, but that is okay because as long as she is giving 100%, these moments can serve as lessons. Through this experience Lily has grown as an entrepreneur and as a mother. We are so proud to be a small part of Lily Tran’s success.
To learn more about Lily and her work check out her website here. Lily also participated in our IMPACT Pitch competition; here is the video she submitted.
