Priscilla Vang’s Journey from Refugee to Citizen to Multi-Venture Entrepreneur, Part II

Episode 328: Priscilla Vang’s Journey from Refugee to U.S. Citizen to Multi-Venture Entrepreneur, Part II

Episode Notes

Priscilla Vang is a multi-venture entrepreneur. Thirteen years of corporate accounting and tax preparation, plus two degrees in financial accounting and tax accountancy, prepared Priscilla to launch three connected ventures in 2016. An accounting and tax practice, a payroll processing business, and a staffing firm that educates and assists small business owners in running profitable businesses.

Before buying those businesses, Priscilla had a breakdown in 2013. We discuss the confluence of things that led to her breakdown, an ‘aha’ moment, and where she is today. Concerns about the next generations of her Hmong ethnic group are top of mind too.

Priscilla knows about raising the next generations. Her son and his wife are expecting their fourth child in July which makes Priscilla a grandmother four times over. In addition, she is connected to a huge family and 66,000 Hmong who live in Minnesota. The largest Hmong ethnic group in the United States.

We address Priscilla’s concerns—like lack of motivation and comparisons within families—with solutions and review a program by Professor Helen McGrath called the Bounce Back! Program. “Bounce Back!” is an acronym for some of the foundational principles of resilience.

B – Bad times don’t last, and things get better.

O – Other people can only help if you share with them.

U – Unhelpful thinking only makes you feel worse.

N – Nobody is perfect – not you, not your friends, not your family, not anybody!

C – Concentrate on the good things in life, no matter how small.

E – Everybody suffers; everybody feels pain and experiences setbacks; they are a normal part of life.

B – Blame fairly – negative events are often a combination of things you did, things others did, and plain bad luck.

A – Accept what you can’t change and try to change what you can.

C – Catastrophizing makes things worse — don’t fall prey to believing in the worst interpretation. (In the absence of facts, our minds make up stuff. Don’t assume things.)

K – Keep things in perspective. Even the worst moment is but one moment in life.

Vulnerability and Shame. One of the reasons we fear vulnerability is because of the feeling of shame. We don’t like feeling shame. Brené Brown, Ph.D. developed the constructive Shame Resilience Theory when she noticed that the fear of being vulnerable hindered meaningful connection with others. To arise out of shame, Dr. Brown discovered four elements of shame resilience:

Recognizing shame and understanding our shame triggers (physical sensations like elevated heart rate or shaking).
Practicing critical awareness of ourselves, our environment, and the way things work.
Reaching out to others and sharing ourselves and our stories (building a social support network).
Speaking shame keeps it from flying under the radar (Graham & Graham, 2015).

As we close, Priscilla explains two special offers for podcast listeners. Have her review your taxes for the prior three years or check your financials to prepare for our next tax season.

TWO SPECIAL OFFERS FOR YOU:

Priscilla can re-examine the prior three-year taxes for only $225.00.
Bookkeeping Review to get your financials in order intact before tax season for only $375.00. Priscilla will review your financials so you can avoid tax extensions. Call 651-776-2222 or email enlightensolution10@gmail.com

Tune in to Priscilla Vang’s Journey from Refugee to Citizen to Multi-Venture Entrepreneur. DOWNLOAD

NEXT STEP: Challenge yourself and do the Conscious Attentive Leadership Mentoring (C.A.L.M.) Activities, below.

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Episode Resources

27 Resilience Activities for Students and Adults

27 Resilience Activities for Students and Adults (+PDF) (positivepsychology.com)

How to Practice Critical Awareness

Brené Brown (brenebrown.com)

How to Practice Critical Awareness

Conscious Attentive Leadership Mentoring

After listening, do these three C.A.L.M. Activities:

Take this risk or do this adventurous task: Take advantage of Priscilla’s two offers above. Next, practice critical awareness, a shame resiliency technique we talked about. This means noticing and adjusting expectations. Become aware when a limiting belief surfaces, like when you feel you aren’t good enough or compare yourself to others.

Apply Self-Compassion: After raising your awareness, notice the sensations you feel in your body. Maybe your tummy is agitated or hurts. Provide yourself comfort with a self-hug. Allow the little gremlin its voice instead of shutting it down in some destructive way. Hear what the protective gremlin says and determine the next best step. Stay in charge of how you respond; please do not put the gremlin in charge.

Welcome Appreciation: “I appreciate Priscilla Vang. I appreciate her joyful spirit, abundance thinking, and the gratitude she exudes. I appreciate her adventurous spirit and courage in finding a pathway out of her limiting beliefs. I appreciate her commitment to raising the next generations of Hmong ethnic groups differently. I appreciate her appetite to learn and expand her entrepreneurial leadership skillsets and admire her ability to keep taking calculated risks and do hard things.”

Your Turn. Start with, “I appreciate what I heard from today’s Guest Mentor, Priscilla Vang. I appreciate this week’s adventurous task because….”

“Most of the problems in our lives and world are caused by relational dysfunction, a dysfunction in how we relate: as social groups, as individuals, to animals and the environment, and even to ourselves. Therefore, developing relational literacy—the understanding of and ability to practice healthy ways of relating—is essential for personal, social, and ecological transformation.” —Melanie Joy, psychologist, author, theorist, educator

When WeMentor… your life becomes more meaningful!!! Redefine how you lead and mentor while redesigning your business. Dual Innovation with Mentoring WORKS.

Podcast Guest Mentor

Priscilla Vang

Priscilla is a multi-venture entrepreneur. Thirteen years of corporate accounting and tax preparation, plus two degrees in financial accounting and tax accountancy prepared Priscilla to launch three connected but different ventures in 2016. An accounting and tax practice, a payroll processing business, and a staffing firm that educates and assists small business owners in running profitable businesses.

Rewards Staffing LLC is a firm that fulfills staffing requirements for manufacturers filling entry-level positions and provides farmers with field workers. Farming connects Priscilla to her heritage of farmers who immigrated to Minnesota from Laos. This business provided Priscilla with enough cash to buy her accounting and tax practice, Enlighten Accounting and Tax Solutions, LLC, and Payroll Vault, a payroll processing franchise in St. Paul.
Enlighten Accounting and Tax Solutions, LLC is a firm where Priscilla provides fractional CFO services for small businesses as they grow profits to support a full-time CFO role. This means she offers bookkeeping, tax preparation, and tax consulting. She also prepares budgets and financial projections to aid in strategic growth decisions. Her focus is always on improving cash flow and net profits.
Payroll Vault offers customizable payroll processing services and human resource expertise services that help small businesses hire new personnel and manage the human resource needs of those already employed.

TWO SPECIAL OFFERS FOR PODCAST LISTENERS:

Priscilla will review your taxes (the last three years) for only $225.00.
Bookkeeping Review to get your financials in order intact before tax season for only $375.00. Priscilla will review your financials so you can avoid tax extensions. Call 651-776-2222 or email enlightensolution10@gmail.com

PRISCILLA’S OVERALL PURPOSE

Priscilla prospers in life by working with business leaders to understand how to grow their businesses, work together, and realize their aspirations. A true problem-solver that provides a unique set of practices to assist small business owners in achieving extraordinary results. A well-organized professional with strong analytical skills to provide fractional CFO services and business development management that cultivate financial prosperity, a healthy and productive work environment, and provides inspiration and healing for living a meaningful life.

Priscilla has been married to Roger Vue since 1997. They have one married son expecting their fourth child in July of 2022. Priscilla expresses her creative side by making crafts, enjoying nature, and spending quality time with her huge extended family.

Episode 328: Priscilla Vang’s Journey from Refugee to U.S. Citizen to Multi-Venture Entrepreneur, Part II