In this inspiring episode, entrepreneur and author Pak Wong shares his remarkable journey from Hong Kong to Canada and the lessons he's learned along the way. Pak tells Sharon his story of arriving at 19, building success on adaptability, integrity, and perseverance. He recounts how community trust and strong relationships helped him launch his first business venture, despite financial hurdles. Throughout his career, he has prioritized mentorship, giving back, and fostering meaningful connections in business.

Pak also discusses key themes from his book, Beyond Adversity, Dawn Awaits, where he emphasizes the power of resilience, mindset, and legacy. He shares practical advice on overcoming business challenges, embracing change, and maintaining a positive outlook. Now in semi-retirement, Pak continues to mentor young entrepreneurs and pursue public speaking to inspire others. Tune in to hear his invaluable insights on success, self-care, and the importance of community.

Pak Wong is a seasoned entrepreneur, author, and mentor known for his resilience, adaptability, and commitment to community. Originally from Hong Kong, he immigrated to Canada at 19 and built a successful career in hospitality and business. His entrepreneurial journey includes the acquisition of the Green Head Motel in Provost, a testament to the power of trust, relationships, and perseverance.

As the author of Beyond Adversity, Dawn Awaits, Pak shares insights on overcoming challenges, fostering a positive mindset, and leaving a lasting legacy. Passionate about mentoring, he has been involved with Entrepreneur Canada since 2016, guiding young business leaders toward success. 

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Transcript:

Sharon DeKoning: [00:00:17] Welcome back to It's Time for Success: The Business Insights Podcast. Today, I'm thrilled to introduce you to an incredibly inspiring guest, Pak Wong. Pak is not only a successful entrepreneur, but also an author whose journey is a testament to resilience, determination, and the power of lifelong learning. I should add 'a positive attitude' in there, too. That's probably one of the key things that I take away from you, Pak. Pak's story is remarkable. Originally from Hong Kong, he moved to Canada at the young age of 19. Embracing a new country and culture, played a significant role in shaping his career and life path. His journey is a powerful example of how adaptability, hard work and positivity can lead to success in both business and life. In his book 'Beyond Adversity, Dawn Awaits', Pak shares his personal experiences, the highs and lows of entrepreneurship, and the life lessons he's gained along the way. Today, we're excited to learn more about his journey, how embracing Canada has influenced his career, and the wisdom he has gathered along the way. In this episode, we'll dive into Pak's entrepreneurial story, explore the lessons he's learned, and hear his advice for navigating challenges while staying focused on what's important. Get ready for a conversation filled with valuable insights, inspiring stories, and practical tips you can apply to your own journey as an entrepreneur. Pak, thank you so much for joining me today. Let's talk about something significant in your path, like your business journey, and how you overcame it. I know from our coffee there's a few points, but let's talk about a few significant things that knocked you down, but you had to overcome and get back up.

Pak Wong: [00:02:00] Throughout the journey in my business ventures, the numerous situations and incidents that we have to deal with, some are tougher to address than others. The one that really stands out in my mind is how we acquired the Greenhead Motel. We came to Provost in 1985 on a lease arrangement to open up a new restaurant. We had a five year lease on the restaurant, and we were doing really well. We built a very vibrant business, but after about 3 or 4 years, we knew that in order to continue on with our success, we needed to have a longer term arrangement. We started to approach the landlord to extend our lease, but we were not getting any firm commitment from him. As the end of the lease was getting close, we were faced with the dreaded possibility of not having the lease to continue on with the business that we spent so much time and hard work to build. Having a young family and starting a new time, that was really devastating to even think about. Fortunately, through a local friend, and I think that's a testimony of how we build relationships within the community, we were able to make contact with Bob Gregory.

Pak Wong: [00:04:25] We had a meeting with him, looked over the place, and we really liked what he had there. We saw a lot of potential. We talked and we came up with a deal, whereby we will purchase the Greenhead for $1 million. The way he came up with that price is, he said, I owed the bank $800,000, I contributed $200,000 of my own money into it, and that's what I wanted to get back and look after. Basically, we can buy the motel from him for $1 million. Which, at the time, is a pretty good value for what he's asking. But the thing is, being new in business, we do not have the capacity and ability to take on $1 million of commitment. In order to make the deal happen, he said, this is how we're going to do it. You can take over my bank loan of $800,000 and I will guarantee it for you. You'll see that it will be impossible for us to qualify, and you can pay me back my $200,000 seller's loan with no interest over ten years.

Pak Wong: [00:05:52] Basically, he's offering us an opportunity to walk in there with no investment and operate. I was in banking prior to that, and this is something that you can't even imagine being offered to anybody. My question to him at the time was, why did you have so much confidence and trust in us? The answer he gave me was something that I still carry in my mind all these years. He said, you came to Provost about five years ago, you have made a tremendous contribution to this community, and you have built a very successful business. As a matter of fact, you almost put my business out of circulation. He said, I would have no worry about your ability to make this a success. He said, this is my dream, you know what we have here, but my family is not interested in carrying it on, so I'd like to see it go to somebody like yourself. I knew that you were going to be able to make it work, and I hope you make millions. Those were the last words he said to me, and that's how we made the deal.

Sharon DeKoning: [00:07:15] To our listeners, I picked up a few things on that. Relationships, of course, that would not have come to you without trust. He felt comfortable coming to you. You put in years of hard work and showed your value to the community, but also community effort as well. I remember a story when I started It's Time Promotions. I was trying to start It's Time Promotions out in Manitoba, and I wanted to buy my first embroidery machine. It was $9,995. That's how much it was, I remember that. I went to the bank to get it and I couldn't get it. Sometimes as businesses, we need some help. We need some help to get going. I think that people are watching, people are listening, but you have to be good. I think that falls down to integrity. Integrity means doing the right thing when nobody's watching, even stuff like that.

Pak Wong: [00:08:09] Definitely. That's the most important part of a person's life.

Sharon DeKoning: [00:08:13] That's perfect. One thing when we had coffee, I just want to talk about this. Sometimes life's greatest gifts come disguised as setbacks. That's what you said to me. Is that your quote, or where did you get that from? I didn't write that down, but I really like that. That particular incident could exactly fall into there, right? It was a scary situation you were in.

Pak Wong: [00:08:38] You bet. I actually came across that quote when I was doing research for my book. It's so true. How we end up where we are now, that's precisely what happened. We were at the end of our bankruptcy and we basically lost most of everything that we took a lifetime to build. We were wondering, what is a person to do at 76 years old? What kind of options do we have? When the offer from the ranch came up, we just looked at it and said, it's something that we've never done before, but we were prepared to take on anything throughout our lives. We can learn, we can start all over again. I don't think age should be a limitation. That's always been the way I approach life, never be afraid to change, never be afraid to take on new things and believe in yourself. At the end of the day, what is important to us is health, family and community. We have that, and that's what kept us going and ended up where we are today.

Sharon DeKoning: [00:10:10] I did have a question written down I think that summarizes. What advice would you give to someone facing overwhelming challenges in business? You said concentrate on health, don't let that go second. Family, community, but overwhelming challenges. Sometimes there's times where it's so overwhelming. You know, you've been down there. You don't even know how to get through that day. For myself, I have a journal. I journal every day, it's a book you can buy, a three minute gratitude journal, I think it's called. I write down three things for gratitude every day. That's my way of helping me stay focused and being positive.

Pak Wong: [00:10:54] The way I address it is, when you're faced with a crisis, you just stay calm and lay out all the options in front of you. Look for positives, and then develop a plan and take action.

Sharon DeKoning: [00:11:08] So you make a little spreadsheet, a little notepad, and you write them. It's easier to get it all out of your brain and onto paper, isn't it? You can actually look at it.

Pak Wong: [00:11:17] When I address any kind of problem at work or in life, I always have two columns that I put out, pros and cons. Then you summarize everything and then use your best judgment to come up with a solution, and look for positive things. What's gone is gone. You learn from it and move on. One quote that I quoted in my book is from Winston Churchill. He said, success is the ability to go from one fail to another without loss of enthusiasm. It's so true.

Sharon DeKoning: [00:12:02] Sometimes mistakes are losses, it makes us better people. Better business people, better personable people. I have another question here. We talked about relationships. I know that they're very important to you and I think that they're the backbone of your whole 'being in Canada' and the Greenhead and all your successes, but what role have relationships and partnerships played in your success as an entrepreneur?

Pak Wong: [00:12:49] In life and business in particular, relationships are everything, in my mind. It's the foundation of building a vibrant and sustainable entity. The relationship that we devoted countless hours to build will, over time, be the most important asset. You and your business will be defined by those relationships.

Sharon DeKoning: [00:13:31] My boss once told me, I was 27 years old and I was hanging out with this person, he said Sharon, be careful who your circle is. He told me that, and at that time I was kind of offended. I was like, who are you to tell me who my friends are? But it's so true. You have to surround yourself with the right people, as well. You can have people that are, I call them, energy drainers. They exhaust you. You just have the right circle of people. I find as I get older, my circle's smaller, but it's stronger, if that makes any sense.

Pak Wong: [00:14:32] The one thing that you look for in friendship is positive people, it's so true. The reason that I was able to better the devastating loss of my business, is because I had people around me that really care and encourage me and listen to me. In my book, I dedicated the book to people that believed, supported and helped me throughout the darkness that I went through. It's so true. I would not have been able to come through the devastating loss without the help of these people. Communication and opening up is so key. We shouldn't try to shoulder everything ourselves. Count on your family, your friends. That's so important. Never be afraid to talk about it, because it doesn't make you any weaker. It actually makes you stronger.

Sharon DeKoning: [00:16:18] As entrepreneurs, we need to talk. But also, sometimes it's pride. Sometimes you're embarrassed, it's pride, it's hard to admit to any downfalls that you think that you should have done differently. But it's okay because that's how you get through them, to talk about stuff like that and help others. You can help others by any errors that you have created. It's important to help and give back. Speaking of which, that rolls right into my next question because you also mentor.

Pak Wong: [00:16:45] Yes, I have been with Entrepreneur Canada since 2016. I felt that with my experience in the hospitality and restaurant industry, I can help young upcoming entrepreneurs to go into business and avoid some of the mistakes that I made and paid dearly for. That's my way of giving back to the industry that has treated me so well.

Sharon DeKoning: [00:17:18] That is so awesome, I just love that. When I reached out to you, I said we should have a coffee because I wanted to talk about your book, which I read. It's 160 pages, it's 100% worth the read. I read it in one evening, and when I got up, my legs were numb and my butt was sore because it was one of those that you're going to want to read. I took a lot away from it, so thank you for sharing that with me. I think everybody needs to read your book. Any entrepreneur for sure needs to read your book. One thing you said to me also, always come back to being yourself and positive. You said, when you look in the mirror, that's the only one you are responsible for is yourself.

Pak Wong: [00:18:45] Definitely.

Sharon DeKoning: [00:18:45] Can you elaborate on that? Because I think that's very wise, and I think all our listeners need to understand that a little bit better.

Pak Wong: [00:18:58] I think that's a key to finding out who you are. As parents, for example, we all think, I want my son or daughter to be doctors, engineers, whatever. We try to steer them that way. I found that with my upbringing from my mom, she never really pushed me in any direction. She said, in life, pursue it in the way you see it, you learn from it. I think the most important thing that she taught me was, treat others like you like to be treated. Be a good person and be a good citizen for the community that you live in. That's how I would like to pass that on to the next generation or to people that read my book. That in life is basically in a nutshell. We are not responsible to anybody else other than that person that you look in the mirror every morning. If you can say to that person, I've done my best, I have conducted myself the best way and be happy with it, that's all you have to do. It doesn't matter what other people say or think about you, it's immaterial. You live the life you want.

Sharon DeKoning: [00:20:56] That's really cool, that really resonated with me. One thing we didn't talk about, and I know we talked about it over coffee. You had mentioned you come here from China, Hong Kong I believe, but you talked about embracing Canada and that was your belief when you moved here. Can you talk about that a little bit for us?

Pak Wong: [00:21:33] When I got to Winnipeg, up to a year of immigration applications. My uncle that brought me here passed away six months before I arrived. I gave up a pretty promising career in Hong Kong in the import and export business, but because of family tradition and commitment, I made the decision to come and help him. Six months after I landed, my aunt, who had been looking after the business by herself, decided to sell it. Here I am, landed in a foreign country, and it didn't have the things that I came for. It would have been very easy for me to turn around and go home, because that's where everything was. But I looked around and then I saw the opportunity. I saw the things that we have in Canada that I have never been able to dream of in Hong Kong. That's when I decided, I'm going to stay and I'm going to continue my education and make the best out of the whole situation. Once I made that decision to stay, I also decided, in order to be successful and move forward in Canada, I have to learn the Canadian way of life. So many of us that come from foreign countries are so fixated on maintaining their own culture and circle of friends, that they've forgotten that if you want to live in Canada, you have to be a Canadian. That was the first thing I made up my mind to do. The reason that I thought that way is, I have uncles that work with me at the restaurant at the time that have been in Canada for 50 years and still have no idea about the language and anything outside of the small circle of people that they deal with. I said, I don't want to be like that. I want to be part of the community, I want to be a part of Canada, I want to be a Canadian. All through my life, I never looked at myself as Chinese or anything different. I'm just another Canadian living in the community and making the best of it.

Sharon DeKoning: [00:25:10] Absolutely, I thought that was very wise. You talked about being Canadian and we talked about embracing the Canadian ways. There are ways of embracing Canada, but staying true to your culture and your beliefs. You mentioned that in your book, there's a few things. You just mentioned in your speech, in your culture, when your family needs you, you flew over. There's still ways of embracing your beliefs while inhabiting and embracing the Canadian way so I thought that was really good, too.

Pak Wong: [00:25:50] Certainly, I think I'm in an envious position because I took the best of both cultures. It doesn't mean that I'm giving up anything, but there's always improvement that we can do for ourselves. By adopting some of the Canadian way of life and preserving some of my Chinese way of life, I become a better person that way.

Sharon DeKoning: [00:26:15] There's a story I always thought that was funny, that you managed a Chinese rock band. I thought that was hilarious, that is awesome. That was a way of you getting out, so you thought it was important to get out into the community and do other things besides work?

Pak Wong: [00:26:35] I never really got into that aspect of it until I moved to Grand Prairie. Living in Winnipeg, busy working trying to make a living, I hardly even know the neighbors next to my house. When I left Winnipeg and started a new life in Grand Prairie, I also changed professions. Going from the hospitality industry, which is 24/7, to working as a banker for the federal Bank in Grand Prairie, that was a tremendous change. I wouldn't say for the better, but it provided me so much free time that I had to find ways to look after. That's when I started to get involved in community organizations, organized athletics and stuff like that. That's when I learned how important it is to be involved in the grassroots level of a community and make a difference. You can make a difference, you just have to be out there.

Sharon DeKoning: [00:27:47] Speaking of that, we can elaborate on that a little bit. Of course, being in an oil world, we've had ups and downs in the oil industry. During a downtime, you had talked to me about finding what you love and implementing it into your business to help you grow your business. You talked about basketball and you talked about hunting and how that has come back into your business. That might be a cool key takeaway for our listeners, can you elaborate on that a little bit?

Pak Wong: [00:28:19] As a matter of fact, after that conversation, my next project will be a book about this subject. We talk about pivoting, we talk about how to address adversity, and that's one thing that I learned throughout the years. What better is it to involve what you like to do and what you are best at being part of your business. Then it doesn't really become work, it becomes exciting for you to be involved in. The reason I got into all this is, in a business related way, by involving in all these activities I expanded my circle and relationships with people that I come into contact with. The one thing that I always stress is, out of sight, out of mind. It's so easy to say, somebody comes for a donation for a club, you write a $100 check and say, get out of my face. No, I don't believe in that. When I am passionate about supporting a certain organization, I would devote time and effort and resources to make it happen, to make them be successful. You're in the advertising business, you probably understand that very well. We can never put a price or return on advertising, but if you do the right thing, it's always. That has proven so true in my 30 years of business in Provost. That's what built our business over the years. It's the relationship, the contribution, the authentic care and desire to be part of it that makes us who we are.

Sharon DeKoning: [00:30:23] You can't be in everything. You're running a business, It's very time consuming. Finding something to focus on that you're already interested in, it makes it a lot easier and then you can focus on that. You have to tell the story about, you sponsored a team and you went in. You know what story I'm talking about, that's the best one. I love it, tell everybody that one.

Pak Wong: [00:30:48] It was the senior hockey team that we sponsored back in the early 90s. It's called the Provost Blades, they played in the Hockey League in the area. It was during a final series, a seven game series between Provost and Consort. It was game six in Provost, I was there watching the game. It was in the second period, Provost was behind two one. In the second intermission, I went into the dressing room to give a pep talk to the team. Out of the blue, I came up with an idea. I walked in there with a $300 gift certificate to the Trophy Room Lounge.

Sharon DeKoning: [00:31:41] Which is your lounge, elaborate on that.

Pak Wong: [00:31:45] Which they come to patronize every Friday night game, the home games. I said, whoever scored the tying goal will get the $300 gift certificate. Then I said, to make it even better, I have a $700 gift certificate waiting when you guys win the game. My total commitment was for $1,000 to them. I don't know whether I was crazy, but it seemed to be a good thing to do at the time. As it turned out, they scored the tying goal in the next period, and they ended up winning the game.

Sharon DeKoning: [00:32:33] You were out a thousand bucks.

Pak Wong: [00:32:35] I was out a thousand bucks, but the moral of the whole story is that the team and the fans all came into the lounge after the game that evening, and they spent over $5,000. Sometimes in life you do things that you think are right. I think it was a tremendous encouragement to them.

Sharon DeKoning: [00:33:04] In your favor. You already were part of that, that was your sponsor, that was your relationships, that's where you put your energy into, so that definitely came back to you. As a wrap up, we talked about integrity, we talked about the importance, we talked about being able to shift and pivot. That's really important. Anything else for our listeners that you would like to express?

Pak Wong: [00:33:30] The thing that I would like to stress, which I mentioned in my book, is I want to be remembered as a person who loves well, works hard, gives generously and leaves things better than when he found them. To me, that's a nutshell of what life should be. We are here to serve, we're here to do our best. At the end of the day, that's what you're going to be remembered by and that's all we can do.

Sharon DeKoning: [00:34:03] I asked you a question when I was there, why did you write a book? Can you explain to us why you wrote that book?

Pak Wong: [00:34:08] There's three things. The top is legacy. Even in my own family, I lost remembrance of my family, my father, my mom. I had very little knowledge of their lives when they were young. Now with my own family, I don't want that to happen to them. I want them to be able to know where I'm coming from and how our life was lived. Legacy is probably the top of mind. The other thing is, even at this stage of my life, I still have the desire to do more. In order for me to be able to help people down the road, I want visibility. This book will give me that, and also opportunity. The opportunity for me to contribute more to people that I come into contact with. That's, in a nutshell, why I like to do it. I'm not going to look at the bestseller writer, that's not what I have in mind. My goal is, I want to broadcast this message, and hopefully if I can help even one person because of it, that's worth it.

Sharon DeKoning: [00:35:38] I think you and I can relate. We've said that every time I come in, I'm always drawn to you. Even this podcast, it could be just local, I don't care if five people listen to it, that's not the idea. I just want somebody to listen to your story, to be able to embrace it, take something away from it. That's exactly what I'm hoping for, is to help somebody out there.

Pak Wong: [00:35:59] It's so nice of you to be doing what you're doing. I often wonder where you get the time and energy to do what you do. That's the thing about being in business, you find ways to, of course make a living, but I think the ultimate goal is to serve. To make life better for other people. That's what I'm still trying to do.

Sharon DeKoning: [00:36:29] I'm going to read you a story. I got this piece of paper on my desk on Monday. I have a cleaning lady, she cleans our Airbnb and she cleans the store here in Lloyd for me. This is a note from her. I could quit right now, and I'd be happy with the rest of my life. This note, to me, is everything I wanted to do in my life, so it summarizes it. 'I know this isn't much, but I just want to thank you for your generosity and for how well you've taken care of me since I started working for you. Every time you open your little mirror, just remember that the person looking back at you is deeply kind, truly impressionable, and an absolute beauty inside and out. The world needs more people like you. As long as I'm around, I got your back.' How remarkable is that? I can't even express the pride I feel. I believe that everything that you've worked at over the years, that is you to a tee, as well. I believe it 100%.

Pak Wong: [00:37:26] It's so nice to see. That's why we're doing what we do, to see that kind of benefit that people are getting out of it. It's not the material or money that we make, that's just part of the journey. At the end of the day, it's what you have done for other people. It's a journey that counts.

Sharon DeKoning: [00:37:54] You're right. One thing we did talk about briefly, if you want to take an opportunity right now to talk about it. I don't know if you want to do it just now, or what you want to do later down the road, but speaking in public to help others. I don't know if it's just industry based or about this whole podcast on helping other people. Is that something that you're wanting to do, is become a public speaker?

Pak Wong: [00:38:20] That's something that I've been wanting to do for many years, and I have done that on occasion. But this book, and hopefully some of the exposure, will pave a way for me to do more of it. I'd like to carry that message to young people in business, and life in general. I think I have a lot to offer. I think, going forward, that's what I'm going to spend my time and energy on. Age is just a number, it is forever.

Sharon DeKoning: [00:38:55] That's really great. You do have a remarkable story behind you, and your positive attitude is amazing.

Pak Wong: [00:39:02] One more thing that I'd like to interject is, we talk about self-care. Self-care is not selfish. Self-care is actually necessary, because in order for us to be able to help others, we have to be physically and mentally capable to do that. Looking after yourself and taking time to recharge is a necessity, it's not a luxury. So keep that in mind.

Sharon DeKoning: [00:39:31] When you say take care of yourself, that's physical and mental.

Pak Wong: [00:39:36] Physical and mental, both. You bet.

Sharon DeKoning: [00:39:39] Thanks for joining us, for being here with us, sharing your story. To our listeners, thank you for tuning in. If you'd like to learn more about Pak's journey and his book, 'Beyond Adversity', be sure to check it out on Amazon. Don't forget to subscribe to the podcast channel and share this episode with anyone you think that would find it helpful. Pak has the book that you can download, and also if you're needing a speaker, he's available. Pak, if there are any young entrepreneurs or others facing adversity, would you be open to chatting with them? Is that something they can reach out to you with? Are you willing to share a contact number?

Pak Wong: [00:40:19] I'm definitely open to talking about this to anybody that would like to listen to my 2 cents worth. By all means, my phone number and email address is available. I look forward to it.

Sharon DeKoning: [00:40:35] We'll put it on the transcript for everybody, if they want to reach out to you. Because you definitely have a lot to share. I think as a quick recap here, just to summarize everything up from what I've learned from you is, being able to pivot, be open minded and look for opportunities, and positive attitude while giving back, while taking self-care. Until next time, keep striving for success, and remember every challenge is an opportunity to grow. Take care everyone, thank you for listening.

Pak Wong: [00:41:09] Thank you, Sharon.

Sharon DeKoning: [00:41:10] Thank you, Pak.