From Adversity to Abundance: Amy Chinian on Resilience, Entrepreneurship, and Empowering Women

SPEAKER_01 0:00

Welcome to the Living the Dream Podcast with Curveball. If you believe, you can achieve. Welcome to the Live in the Dream with Curveball Podcast, a show where I interview guests that teach, motivate, and inspire. Today's guest is an inspiring entrepreneur whose story proves that resilience, faith, and determination can rebuild even the toughest situation. After the 2007 financial crisis left her and her family three million dollars in debt, and without a home, she refused to give up. And with a simple red picnic basket and in home services, she built my hair helpers and turned it into a multi-million dollar company with a mobile service division and a national product line beyond business success. Amy Chenyan mentors women and she serves families with compassion and she shows others that setbacks can be comebacks. So, Amy, welcome to the show.

SPEAKER_00 1:23

Thank you so much. I'm so excited to be here. If I can encourage one person, it's worth it.

SPEAKER_01 1:29

That's what it's all about. Why don't you start off by telling everybody a little bit about yourself?

SPEAKER_00 1:34

Absolutely. So I'm a uh native Californian, and um I met my husband and got married in 1991 and had five children in eight years. And um if that wasn't enough, it my husband had a booming business. He was in the car business. And so I I was a stay-at-home mom. I got to I got to stay home, but I was never home. I was always the one, you know, doing the help at the school, doing the moms and prayer group at the school, doing the art. I was always active with my children. And so my life was a lot different than it is now. Um, I had to switch gears because in 2007, um, there was a financial crisis that shook up our whole business. It shook up my husband's business to the point where his clients were car dealers and he was selling aftermarket products to car dealers. So when the car dealers started going out of business, um, lo and behold, he did too. And I kept thinking that God was going to answer this prayer in a different way. I thought, oh, we're gonna be fine. We're well established, he's the top of, you know, top of his business. Um, and he had been in that business for, you know, over 30 years. So it was like domino effect. Everything started falling apart to the point where we lost the building where he had his business. It was a great building in Venice, California. Um, we lost our home. We um dipped into our children's college fund. And needless to say, we were three million dollars in debt.

SPEAKER_01 3:34

Well, um, you know, what was kind of going through your mind and uh when when when you had to start over, you know, with uh five children and uh children and a red picnic basket, what gave you the courage to keep going?

SPEAKER_00 3:50

Well, you know, it's interesting because I had star my children gave me lice. Um, I had never grown up with lice. And when I was 43, uh my children had lice, head lice. And if you've never had head lice, it's very easy to catch. You catch it head to head. And it's something you're never prepared for because no one likes to talk about it. They feel embarrassed, they feel um like a stigma attached. If you get lice, you're dirty. Well, it's quite the contrary. They love clean hair. So my children had given me lice, and I was about ready to have give birth to my fifth child, and I found out I had lice. And so I had tried the overcounter products that don't work. Uh, the lice are immune to them. And then I went to the yellow pages and found a company, one company in LA. Now there's many companies, but I found one company to come to my home. And it was a pretty penny. I'm not gonna, I'm not gonna lie to you. It was, I think it was $1,500. There were so many of us, and we all had lies. So she she took care of us and she left. And I thought to myself, oh my gosh, that was just an answer to prayer, having somebody come and help you when you're in that situation. And so I had that always in the back of my mind. And before my husband lost his company, I had started kind of just dabbling around, you know, just learning about it. Um, I bought books, I watched videos, I said, I'm gonna see what I can do here to help people. I wasn't thinking, oh, I'm gonna start a company. Um, because I had always had a job. I was, you know, with my children. I was taking care of them. So when he lost everything and we were so in debt, um, I said to myself, okay, this is more than a hobby. This is survival mode. This is a company. We're gonna be doing something here to support the family. So I started with friends and family. Uh, we we were so in debt I couldn't even um buy buy like a lot of stuff that you need to start a business. I mean, you know, we had um a friend that was a graphic designer and he made me a logo and then he made me a web page. It was so little by little, you know. We bought products over the internet, I threw them in a picnic basket I bought for a buck at a garage sale, and I started just going friends and family. And I had no idea what I was doing, but nobody else did either. So I just smiled, you know, you that term fake it till you make it. That's what I did. And I just started perfecting my technique over the years, you know. I I I was doing this for quite some time, and I would bring home checks and I'd show him what I was doing. He's like, oh my gosh, this is great, honey. Just keep keep it up. You know, I'll help you. We'll get you the right products, we'll get you what you need. And, you know, pretty soon, you know, I built up clientele and and people started hearing about me. Um, but it was a long process. It's been 18 years. But you know, it really goes to show you that you can start a business if you see a niche, if you see a need. You don't need a lot of capital. Um, you don't need to put yourself in debt by loans and you know, renting out big buildings and stuff. You know, you just really need to have something you're good at. Find something you're really good at and just build around that. Just find one thing, become an expert in one thing.

SPEAKER_01 7:48

Well, what did what what lessons did uh these uh tough years teach you about resilience?

SPEAKER_00 7:55

Well, I surprised myself, and it's really um my relationship and my foundation is uh is the Lord. And so it taught me to lean on him during tough times. Uh there might be people out there with no faith. I understand that, but it sure does help when you have a foundation. And you know, it doesn't happen overnight. Success does not happen overnight. Um I opened one salon and saw that it was doing well, then I went to a different location. Um and then COVID hit, and one of my salons, I didn't have any customers for three years. And so now we're at six locations. And I built my uh I have a um Amazon store, a national brand of products. Um, you know, you just it just takes a step at a time. Um, I'm not quick to do anything, but I'm careful about my choices. Uh we have 30 ladies working for us now. Um, the mobile division uh just means that you're going to someone's home. You're taking the products to their home. Uh, I don't have a van, I don't have um a car, I do it in. I mean, my ladies, the mobile ladies just simply go to someone's house. You know, there's a lot of traffic in LA, and some people don't like driving, and they want you to come to their home. So we do that. And so I'm open seven days a week. Uh, we answer our phone all day long, uh, book appointments. Um, and I love what I do. I love helping people, it works for me.

SPEAKER_01 9:42

Well, tell us about that national product line and talk about the turning point that that uh transfer form your company Maya help us from a small service to a multi-million dollar company.

SPEAKER_00 9:53

Mm-hmm. Okay. Um, my product line. Remember, I told you I was perfecting my technique. Um, I was using different products and kind of seeing what the results were with headlights. Um, headlights are interesting. Um, they can be hard to kill, and they're hard to kill with over-the-counter products, which are perithrums. But with oil, oil suffocates them and then hand combing them out. Um some companies use a heat treatment. I don't care to use that because I want to use something that parents can do at home. They can watch me and they can learn. And if they ever get lice, they can buy my products. So I don't need any kind of fancy contraption. Um, my most of my ladies that work for me are licensed cosmetologists. Uh, they're very good with people, good with hair. Uh, we do sectioning, parting, combing, and then they come back five to seven days later and we check to see if there's been any more exposure. My products are non-toxic. Um, I'm proud of that because you don't need chemicals to kill lice. You just need to suffocate them and comb them out.

SPEAKER_01 11:13

Speaking of that, we have uh the lice treatment center here uh and they use uh heat. So yeah, that's uh that's great there.

SPEAKER_00 11:23

Is that um oh I know the heat treatment, yeah. I I've been around actually longer than them, probably twice as long as them. And there's nothing wrong with the heat treatment, but you know, when you can show a mom, this is what you need, this is what you need at home, and you don't have any fancy dryer, you just have your comb and your products. Uh, they can buy my products on Amazon under My Hair Helpers, Natural Life Removal. People can buy my products on my website, which is www.myhair helpers.com. Um, I have all social media. I have some really interesting videos on TikTok. Um, I have a uh very successful TikTok. People love to see what I'm doing. It I guess it's satisfying, right? A lot of things are kind of gross, but they're satisfying. Um, so yeah, you can buy my products on all of those sites and then follow the um, you know, how to.

SPEAKER_01 12:30

Absolutely. And and speaking of uh satisfying, you have a passion for hiring and mentoring women. So tell us about that and why that's so important to you.

SPEAKER_00 12:41

So I find that a lot of women did not grow up with mentors, they did not grow up with a father figure, you know, the family structure is very broken. And so when I step into their lives, I try to encourage them uh to be their best, and that there is room for um movement in my company to, you know, help me out, help me train ladies, help me open a new territory, um, help me build manuals, you know. And then I I try to give them advice on investing and where to put their money, how to save their money. Uh, I try to, you know, encourage them with, you know, to go to church, you find a good church, just in all those ways. I try to be the best I can be.

SPEAKER_01 13:39

Absolutely. That the world is better for it. So talk about uh raising five children and and running a business, you know. That couldn't have been easy. So uh how did you balance family life and entrepreneurship during those uh tough years of getting started?

SPEAKER_00 13:55

Oh wow, it was something else, I'm telling you. Well, I sent two of my girls, my husband and I sent two of our girls off to college on full financial aid scholarships, and he and I and three children had to move into a tiny apartment. Um, when we lost everything, we we had to leave our house and move into a different city. Um, and it was a very small, tiny apartment. And so my my younger kids grew up in this business. Okay. They saw me struggle, they saw me go home to home. And my youngest used to hop in the car with me. She'd say, I'm coming with you. She says, I I don't want to be left home alone, mommy. And even though she was at an age where she could be left home alone, she didn't want to. She wanted to be with me. So she's now 25 and she's got her own daughter, and she's married to a captain in the Marines at Camp Pendleton, and she helps me with my business. And then my other daughter, who she's 27, she runs my salon up here in Thousand Oaks. Uh, my son is in commercial real estate. He went to USC and he's got his own career, and my other daughters have their own career. But the youngest ones, you know, I never forced them. I never said, oh, you know, help me take over this business, you do it. And I never said that. But they they saw that it was good. They saw that it was something they could do. And it was a balancing act for a long, long time. And my husband kept trying to, you know, reinvent himself in the car business. He got his broker's license and he was trying to do something kind of similar in the car business, but it just didn't work out. So he looked at me one day and he says, You know what? I'm gonna join forces with you. Is that okay? Will you hire me? I've been married 35 years. I said, Of course I'll hire you. So he's been a great blessing to me. Uh, he runs the whole um internet team. He runs all the finances, you know, because he had a business. So he knows what he's doing. Um the pro the the challenge is not talking about business all the time when we're together, you know, um making time just to be a married couple. That's that can be kind of challenging.

SPEAKER_01 16:28

Well, looking back, um, what what does living a dream mean to you now versus uh you know back then when you first got started?

SPEAKER_00 16:38

That's a good question because everybody's dream is different. My dream is to be able to be my own boss and to help people have a better life, push people forward, to leave a legacy for my family, um, to share the good news uh wherever I go. Um and you know, that's my legacy. If I can leave someone's life better, uh that makes me so happy. You know, different things motivate different people. Mine is is different, you know. I'm not motivated so much by material things, although you know it's nice to have comfort. But what motivates me is just using my God-given gifts.

SPEAKER_01 17:36

Absolutely. So, ladies and gentlemen, you can get these products on uh Amazon or you can go to myhairhelpers.com and check out everything that Amy and her company is up to. So tell us about any upcoming uh projects that you and your company are working on that listeners need to be aware of.

SPEAKER_00 17:55

Well, if you're in a state and they don't have any lice companies nearby and you see a need in your state and your city, uh you can reach out to me, and if there's enough people there, um, we could talk about doing something together. Of course, you would work for me. Um, but I'm always open to ideas, open to expansion, um, always looking to, you know, build my brand. Um, and I do have a nonprofit that is amazing. It's called Life's Free Forever. And I don't like to turn people away because they don't have money. So I had a child reach out, 10 years old. She says, Can you help me? I'm being bullied at school. Uh, my grandma doesn't know what to do. And I said, Honey, just come in. Just come in. Have your grandma call me. I want you to come in. I I want I want you to have a good life. So, you know, that goes for anywhere. If if somebody's hurting or troubled with this, I want to be a uh a solution to that problem.

SPEAKER_01 19:06

Yeah, we have uh lice treatment here, but I bet you uh it's probably cheaper to go your way because uh when you go in to do the examination, you know, that's $25. And then, you know, if you have it, I think it's like uh $50, $60, something like that. So yeah.

SPEAKER_00 19:23

Oh, it's more than that. I know it's more than that. Yeah, yeah. Well, I'm here to be a solution to people's problems, and uh, you know, it's in giving you receive, right?

SPEAKER_01 19:38

Absolutely. Well, close us out with some final thoughts, maybe if that was something I forgot to talk about that you would like to touch on, or any final thoughts you have for the listeners.

SPEAKER_00 19:48

Well, just become an expert at one thing, and from that one thing, doors will open. Okay, you don't have to be a marketing expert, um, but you can read up on business and see how to market your skills, uh, whatever that would be, whether it's you know, pressure, pressure washing or dog sitting or you know, anything you can think of if you're trying to make a living and support yourself, you know, just browse the internet and see, you know, what's what's in your community, what you can, you know, do. Um, and you know, create your own, your own company, create your own success. Um, it's doesn't come overnight, um, but it's little by little. And it's rewarding, very rewarding to to build something and be able to support your family. Um, most of my ladies, you know, in this economy in California is so expensive. Most of them have two jobs. Some are cosmetologists, they do this and then they do their haircuts on the side. Um, it's a lot. Yeah, you just find one thing and become an expert.

SPEAKER_01 21:07

Absolutely. Great, great lessons from Amy. Uh definitely an inspiring entrepreneur. And you know, visit myhairhelpers.com, myhairhelpers.com. And like she said, if you uh don't have uh life treatment centers or anything like that, you know, contact her and uh work with her and get it started, get those products and uh check out everything that she's up to and gonna be up to. So to keep up with all things living the dream, visit www.curfall337.com. Share that website and the show to everybody you know. Thank you for listening and supporting the show. And Amy, thank you for all that you're doing. And uh, you know, I appreciate you joining me and telling us about those products.

SPEAKER_00 21:59

Thank you so much. I enjoyed talking to you and your listeners. They can always reach out to me for encouragement if they need it on my email. You can find it on my website. Okay, info at myhair helpers.com. That's my web that's my email. Okay, God bless you. Thank you for having me.

SPEAKER_01 22:17

For more information on the Living the Dream with Curveball Podcast, visit www.curveball337.com. Until next time, keep living the dream.