Making Lemonade Podcast with Anne and Carol

Anne Fan and Caroline Chou

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ENTREPRENEURSHIP

This is the Making Lemonade Podcast where Anne, a real estate broker in Chicago, and Carol, an architect and designer in Hong Kong, discuss their lives from two different continents and how they adapt to new challenges and make the most of it!

03/11/2020

S01E09 - Anne’s new coffee shop, Tomokohi

In loving memory of Dr. Fan In this episode, Anne shares about her up and coming coffee shop, Tomokohi. Topic covered: 01:18 - Anne shares about the reason for her to open the coffee shop and the current progress. 03:17- Anne talks about how covid has affected her plans and the concept behind the coffee shop. 06:08 - Anne shares that the coffee shop is her passion project and talks about the reason for her to start a coffee shop which is so different from the job of being a realtor. 09:03 - Anne talks about how she uses her realtor background to her advantage to open a coffee shop. In the next episode, Anne and Carol will talk about the concept of giving without expectations, and how they’ve learned to manage those expectations. Check them out on Instagram @tomo.kohi or visit their website at Tomokohi.com Connect with Anne https://www.linkedin.com/in/annefan http://fanofluxury.com anne@fanofluxury.com Connect with Caroline https://hk.linkedin.com/in/cchou http://openuu.com hello@openuu.com

12 min
20/10/2020

S01E08 - Continuing Education and Certifications - Cornell certificate / ARE exams

Season 1, Episode 8 - Continuing Education and Certifications - Cornell certificate / ARE exams In this episode, Anne and Carol talk about how they stay engaged in their profession and what types of continuing education and certifications they are working on. Topics covered: 00:44 - Anne talks about why she decided to enroll in the Cornell Hotel Real Estate Investments and Asset Management Certification Program. 05:12 - Anne talks about meeting experienced classmates from around the world. 07:20 - Caroline shares that she is currently in the progress of taking the AREs (Architect Registration Exams) and to get a US architect license. https://www.ncarb.org/ 09:34 - Caroline talks about why she needs to take the AREs even if it’s not required in Hong Kong. You can also visit our website at: makinglemonadeshow.com for more details! In the next episode, Anne is going to share her up and coming coffee shop, Tomokohi. Connect with Anne https://www.linkedin.com/in/annefan http://fanofluxury.com anne@fanofluxury.com Connect with Caroline https://hk.linkedin.com/in/cchou http://openuu.com hello@openuu.com

15 min
06/10/2020

S01E07 - Anne's acting life, auditions, and how she prepares for her roles

Season 1, Episode 7 - Anne's acting life, auditions, and how she prepares for her roles In this episode, Anne’s going to share how she got into acting and how she prepares for different roles Topic covered: 01:13 - Anne talks about her mom being excited for her to start pursuing a career in entertainment after graduation. 02:20 - Anne shares about her lucky moment that she had caught the eye of a casting director and got her first role on an episode of a NBC show. 07:26 - Anne shares about how she met her agent at an event. 09:18 - Anne talks about how she prepares for the role as a new actor. 10:41 - Anne shares about different types of acting classes and she feels lucky to be able to learn from other experienced actors and comedians and receive valuable feedback. 14:21 - Anne shares about how auditions are different now compared to pre-Covid and talks about some advantages of using self-tapes 16:40 - Anne talks about a fun role she had last year in a Peyton Manning commercial. 18:06 - Anne shares that she is currently enrolled in a 8 week advanced scene study workshop that is conducted via zoom. 19:41 - Anne and Carol will talk about their continuing education next episode. Follow Anne on her Instagram @fanofluxury to follow her in acting classes, auditions, and daily life! Connect with Anne https://www.linkedin.com/in/annefan http://fanofluxury.com anne@fanofluxury.com Connect with Caroline https://hk.linkedin.com/in/cchou http://openuu.com hello@openuu.com

21 min
22/09/2020

S01E06 - Volunteer Work and Non-Profit Involvement

Season 1, Episode 6 - Volunteer Work and Non-Profit Involvement In this episode, Anne and Carol talk about how they spend their time outside of work and their involvement with professional and non-profit organizations. Topics Covered: 02:08 - Anne talks about her volunteer work for CASL (Chinese American Service League). https://www.caslservice.org/ 08:15 - Anne’s CASL Virtual Gala on October 29, 2020 https://www.caslservice.org/events/ 09:38 - Carol shares about her Wellesley AAR (Alumnae Admissions Representative) on interviewing high school students applying to college. https://www.wellesley.edu/ 15:00 - Anne talks about how she helps people through her mediation volunteer work at CCR (Center for Conflict Resolution). https://www.ccrchicago.org/ 20:20 - Carol shares about her architecture volunteer work at AIA (American Institute of Architects) Hong Kong chapter. http://www.aiahk.org/ In next episode, Anne will share about her acting career. Connect with Anne https://www.linkedin.com/in/annefan http://fanofluxury.com anne@fanofluxury.com Connect with Caroline https://hk.linkedin.com/in/cchou http://openuu.com hello@openuu.com

25 min
15/09/2020

S01E05 - How Carol ended up in Hong Kong and her life as a designer

Season 1, Episode 5 - How Carol ended up in Hong Kong and her life as a designer In this week’s episode, we’re gonna learn about Carol’s life as a designer, and how she ended up starting her business in Hong Kong Topics Covered: 00:18 - Anne introduces how Caroline ended up getting married and starting business in Hong Kong and how she runs her design studio with her partner, Kevin. 02:30 - Carols talks about moving back to Asia with her now husband, Kevin, on Christmas about 8 years ago. Their 2 dogs Oki and Dolce also move back with them. 03:45 - Carols talks about living in Boston for 10 years before moving back to Hong Kong. She studied at Wellesley College in Boston, and Rhode Island School of Design for architecture school in Providence, Rhode Island. Carol and Anne talk about the famous bakery, Pastiche in Providence. 04:45 - Carols shares that she graduated from architecture school, and Kevin’s architecture school and culinary career. 05:30 - After Carol graduated from school and Kevin quit his job, they were contemplating and figuring out future plans, and decided to move. 06:18 - Carol shares about the first year struggles, as Hong Kong was crowded and busy and she didn’t speak the local language and had no friends here. 06:55 - Carol discusses the local Chinese dialect in Hong Kong, and how she’s still learning the language. 08:13 - Carol shares about moving and looking for a place to live. 09:00 - Carol said she lived a bit far from the city center and she didn’t have a car, so she could only take the bus to travel around. 09:55 - Carol said she missed Asian food when she was in Boston, and talks about the good balance of western and Asian food in Hong Kong. 11:47 - Carol shares that she found a job in Hong Kong as the purpose of moving back is for Kevin and his friends to start a business, but after 3 years, the 2 partners decided to leave. 13:04 - Carol talks about their design studio OPENUU, originally started up by Kevin and his friends, but when they left, she and Kevin rebranded and relaunched the business. 14:04 - Carol said most of her clients are by referral and meeting them and the company mainly works with hotels and co-living owners, restaurants and retail businesses. 15:25 - Carol shares about the typical design process of her company. 16: 42 - Anne shares that she is happy to get into more details of Carol’s perspective of designing for a hotel and wants to know more about how corporate standards can affect hotel designs in the further episodes. Next episode Anne and Carol will share about their non-profit involvement and how they volunteer their time. Connect with Anne https://www.linkedin.com/in/annefan http://fanofluxury.com anne@fanofluxury.com Connect with Caroline https://hk.linkedin.com/in/cchou http://openuu.com hello@openuu.com

19 min
08/09/2020

S01E04 - How Anne ended up in Chicago and developed her career in real estate

In the fourth episode, Anne talks about how she ended up in Chicago and her career in real estate, and how she transitioned after graduating from law school to real estate. Anne and Carol also discuss Carol's real estate investment in Chicago and the process of doing that from abroad with Carol living in Hong Kong. Topics Covered: 00:18 - Caroline introduces how Anne ended up in Chicago and how she developed her real estate business. 00:30 - Anne and Carol catch up about their weekend. Carol talks about taking her daughter out on the boat in Hong Kong. 01:22 - Anne shares about her Labor Day Weekend in the US. Anne and her friends rented a lake house in Wisconsin for the long weekend and went jetskiing and also dined at a local supper club. Carol shares she's going to watch Anne's IG stories for a recap of her weekend. 04:03 - Anne shares some of her family background and their interest in real estate. Her uncle owned a commercial brokerage and specialized in land acquisition and development so over the years property investment was just something the family always had a hand in. 4:40 - Anne discusses her move to various states before arriving in Chicago for law school. After graduating from law school a semester early, she planned to pursue a career outside of traditional legal work. She took that legal education and combined it with all the knowledge she had growing up in a family that loved real estate investment and begin her career in real estate. 05:25 - Anne talks about her focus on investments from the beginning because it's what she knew best. She shares that her clients typically buy and hold properties. They range from condos to small multi-family buildings to mixed-use buildings. 06:01 - Anne specializes in guiding clients into their first-time investments in Chicago and show them how they can make a healthy return on the investment. Having a legal background helps her to better explain concepts to her clients. 06:28 - Carol shares that Anne helped her find her first investment property in Chicago. Carol now owns two investment properties in Chicago purchased both without seeing it in person beforehand with the help of Anne. 06:54 - Carol discusses what she felt was the most challenging part of purchasing her first investment. Carol said it was hard to get a feel for the neighborhood because online she could only see photos and price. Carol relied on Anne's expertise in the local neighborhoods and videos of the surroundings. 08:16 - Carol shares about the returns on her investments over the past four years are around 6-7%. She states that the value in each property has increased but also the HOA fees have also gone up. Carol says overall the return has been steady. 09:00 - Anne shares she is happy to get into more details of what a good investment looks like in Chicago on a future episode. Send us a message if you want to hear more about the details of this deal or any other future deals. 09:20 - Next episode we will hear about Carol's move to Hong Kong and her life as an ex-pat. Follow Anne and her stories on Instagram at @fanofluxury, and tour some Chicago listings and good restaurants in and around Chicago! Connect with Anne https://www.linkedin.com/in/annefan http://fanofluxury.com anne@fanofluxury.com Connect with Caroline https://hk.linkedin.com/in/cchou http://openuu.com hello@openuu.com

10 min
01/09/2020

S01E03 - Carol's restaurant Mean Noodles

Season 1, Episode 3 - Carol's restaurant Mean Noodles In our third episode, Caroline talks about her restaurant business Mean Noodles with her husband Kevin. Anne and Caroline discuss how the restaurant business is doing, and what their signature dishes are, and what new products they have. Topics Covered: 00:19 - Anne’s introduction and about her co-host Carol’s restaurant in Hong Kong. 00:41 - Caroline shares about her restaurant business Mean Noodles, in addition to her design practice. 1:09 - Caroline talks about how they operate two businesses. 1:46 - Caroline introduces her husband Kevin and his background. 2:07 - Anne and Caroline discuss why they decided to open a restaurant, which is very different than their interior design business. 2:40 - Caroline shares about the advantages and disadvantages of running two businesses, and how it helps her as a designer, and Kevin’s background in culinary. 4:22 - Caroline talks about the whole design and renovation process, as the designer and the restaurant owner. 5:07 - Anne and Caroline discuss Mean Noodle’s signature dishes, which has been voted best Laksa in Hong Kong. 5:38 - Caroline shares about using their creative background to their advantage, including logo and menu designs. 6:13 - Caroline shares about Kevin’s market adventures on Instagram lives. Follow Kevin to the market on instagram @meannoodles. 7:05 - Anne and Caroline discuss the dine-in restriction with COVID19 challenges, and what’s been happening for the last few months at Mean Noodles. 8:03 - Caroline shares about the launch of their new product InstaLaksa. Next week’s topic is about how Anne ended up in Chicago and how she’s building her career in real estate. Follow us on Instagram @meannoodles and Facebook http://facebook.com/meannoodles, to watch Kevin livestream his shopping adventures. Connect with Anne https://www.linkedin.com/in/annefan http://fanofluxury.com anne@fanofluxury.com Connect with Caroline https://hk.linkedin.com/in/cchou http://openuu.com hello@openuu.com

10 min
25/08/2020

S01E02 - Carol's work as a designer

In the second episode, Caroline talks about her work as an architect/interior design in Hong Kong. Anne and Caroline discuss how her interior design business is adapting to COVID-19 challenges. Anne Fan holds a Juris Doctor degree from DePaul University College of Law (Chicago) and a Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration/Marketing from Northeastern University (Boston). She brings a strong combination of business and law into the real estate industry. With an emphasis on international business, negotiation, and mediation, she accentuated her natural talent in creating solutions. With her legal background and business acumen coupled with negotiation expertise, Anne provides a truly unique array of resources and facilitates her clients through the real estate process seamlessly. Whether she is working with an investor or a traditional home buyer, she can pinpoint key elements that should be carefully considered according to their needs. She is patient with her clients and not afraid to go the extra mile. Anne works hard to make sure her clients are comfortable with their investments. She founded and leads her team, Fan of Luxury Group, at Compass. Caroline Chou Design Director of award-winning interdisciplinary firm OPENUU. Originally born in Texas, Chou spent her early years shuttling between Taiwan and the U.S. — where she later went on to study architecture at the Rhode Island School of Design. Along with husband (and OPENUU founder) Kevin Lim, Chou has become something of a marquee name on the burgeoning Hong Kong design/architecture scene. Since Chou and Lim moved their business to Hong Kong in 2012, OPENUU has been awarded ‘Best of Year’ firm by Interior Design Magazine four times; and bagged the prestigious Will Ching Design Prize this April — awarded for ‘original and excellent’ design by small companies with up to five employees. Topics Covered: 00:19 - Anne’s introduction and her co-host Caroline. 1:17 - Caroline talks about her 2-year-old daughter, and her zoom classes. Anne and Caroline discuss the new normal of online schooling and private tutors. 3:52 - Caroline talks about her work as an architect/interior designer in Hong Kong for 8 years, and her practice with her husband Kevin. They manage a small team of designers, and work with clients with interior renovation needs, mainly focusing on hotels, restaurants, and retail spaces. 4:58 - Caroline talks about how COVID-19 has affected their company and their clients. She talks about the current on-going hotel project, but businesses are slow to start new projects, because of the hotel and restaurant industries. 5:31 - Caroline and Anne discuss the dining restrictions and safety measures and dine-in restrictions in Hong Kong vs Chicago. 7:05 - Anne asked about how COVID-19 impacted Caroline’s business operations. Caroline talks about how OPENUU adapted to work from home. 8:12 Caroline discussed how client meetings changed from face-to-face meetings to online calls. 10:02 - Caroline and Anne discuss the process of material selection. 11:00 - Next week’s topic is about Caroline’s restaurant Mean Noodles, and how they pivoted during COVID-19. 11:13 - Sign up at openuu.com to download a free copy of a budgeting worksheet. Connect with Anne https://www.linkedin.com/in/annefan http://fanofluxury.com anne@fanofluxury.com Connect with Caroline https://hk.linkedin.com/in/cchou http://openuu.com hello@openuu.com

12 min
18/08/2020

S01E01 - Anne's work as a real estate broker

Anne Fan holds a Juris Doctor degree from DePaul University College of Law (Chicago) and a Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration/Marketing from Northeastern University (Boston). She brings a strong combination of business and law into the real estate industry. With an emphasis on international business, negotiation, and mediation, she accentuated her natural talent in creating solutions. Caroline Chou Design Director of award-winning interdisciplinary firm OPENUU. Originally born in Texas, Chou spent her early years shuttling between Taiwan and the U.S. — where she later went on to study architecture at the Rhode Island School of Design. Along with husband (and OPENUU founder) Kevin Lim, Chou has become something of a marquee name on the burgeoning Hong Kong design/architecture scene. Topics Covered: 00:27 - Caroline’s introduction and Anne tells her story about her current situation in Chicago. She spends more time now enjoying her home office whereas before she was out a lot and didn’t cook at home much. Now she enjoys taking her coffee at home. 1:36 - Anne talks about her role at Compass where she leads a small team. They help people find income-generating rental properties and full-time residences. 2:20 - Anne explains what “income-generating” properties are. These are rental properties that have really good rental potential, where an owner can easily find a tenant for their units. Homeowners can get healthy returns on their investments. 3:09 - Anne narrates how COVID has affected real estate in general not only in their firm but the whole realty business in Chicago. 5:09 - But she explains the difference of their property amongst other real estates which is much more beneficial for their tenants because of the location and feature that is important during the quarantine. 6:36 - Caroline asked if there are still people buying properties during COVID. Anne answered, yes. The explanation entails, take advantage of buying these income-generating properties while the interest rates are low. 7:47 - Caroline asked, what are the safety measures in place during house tours since people are afraid to go out due to the pandemic. 8:05 - Anne and her firm introduced Virtual tours. Also, there are lots of showings using Lockboxes which are master lock key boxes that can hang on doorknobs or fences so the renter’s agent can access the key and unit themselves. They are also offering Virtual Open houses as well as some in-person open houses with masks, shoe covers, and gloves. They Limit the showings in tenant-occupied units for safety and protection measures. But what is great is that interest rates are very low so new homeowners and investors are taking advantage. And we all know once COVID passes these properties will increase the value. Connect with Anne https://www.linkedin.com/in/annefan fanofluxury.com Email: anne@fanofluxury.com Connect with Caroline https://hk.linkedin.com/in/cchou openuu.com Email: hello@openuu.com

13 min

9 Episodes

Creator

Anne Fan and Caroline Chou
Years Active

2K
Episodes

9
Rating

Clean

Making Lemonade Podcast with Anne and Carol

Episodes

S01E09 - Anne’s new coffee shop, Tomokohi

S01E08 - Continuing Education and Certifications - Cornell certificate / ARE exams

S01E07 - Anne's acting life, auditions, and how she prepares for her roles

S01E06 - Volunteer Work and Non-Profit Involvement

S01E05 - How Carol ended up in Hong Kong and her life as a designer

S01E04 - How Anne ended up in Chicago and developed her career in real estate

S01E03 - Carol's restaurant Mean Noodles

S01E02 - Carol's work as a designer

S01E01 - Anne's work as a real estate broker

Hosts & Guests

Anne Fan

Caroline Chou

About

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