Leading Through a Crisis

You have navigated Boba guys through a lot of change, including the pandemic. Can you describe for us what that chapter was like, when you had to shut down most of your stores and your operations, what did you learn from that? And what advice would you give other leaders on how to successfully lead change?

Oh, you know, crisis management is like, oh man, it brings back so many memories. I would say, it was probably—2020 was my least favorite year in my entire life, by far.

For many companies.

Right? And just people…I mean, I think people who lost jobs in hard times. For me, I think people don’t realize this, number one, if you’re a founder and you’re a CEO of your own company, people forget that if I lose, not just Boba Guys, I lose everything, because Boba Guys in retail is tied to personal guarantees, your leases are tied to your personal assets. So, I don’t mean this in any way that’s condescending, or people just don’t understand.

Most people, if they lose a job, they lose their job. I lose my job, and my livelihood, I lose my house. I don’t think it’s the same thing, it’s not a fair shake. So, that’s why I think people don’t—people who villainized founders and CEOs. So, to me, I think people don’t empathize enough with leaders. So, I say this out loud for those watching, because people need to, we’re human.

I’ve had people to my face, say the worst things. I’m a human. So, I say this because small business owners, people are like, “Well, why’d you close up shop? This owner just collected money and didn’t care about their employees.” I can tell you, if you are a restaurant, a nail salon, a dry cleaner, even a chain, a small chain like me, we built this because we love people. It’s how we got here. I’m not a hired CEO, I’m not a CEO for hire, I didn’t come from other companies just to be a CEO, I started this whole company myself.

So, to me, I think the hardest part was being de-humanized, to be honest. Because people didn’t really realize how hard it was firing people, I cried so much. I’m even getting emotional right now.