Making Lemonade Podcast with Anne and Carol Anne Fan and Caroline Chou

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

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

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

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

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

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