From Cultural Expectations to Creative Freedom – She Finally Chose Herself with Van Lai-DuMone

Built For This: Stories of a Maverick

In this inspiring episode of Built for This Podcast: Stories of a Maverick, host Jenna Bayuk interviews Van Lai-DuMone, the Founder and CEO at worksmart Advantage and author of "What if Pigs Can Fly?”. Van, a Vietnamese refugee, shares her remarkable journey from fleeing Saigon at the fall of Vietnam to becoming an entrepreneurial force in leadership training. With her deep passion for creativity and curiosity, she discusses how her upbringing shaped her entrepreneurial journey, how her family’s resilience empowered her, and how she is now revolutionizing the workplace with creative problem-solving.

Van’s story is a testament to overcoming adversity, whether it’s navigating a new life in America or shifting from a corporate career to founding her own company. In this episode, she opens up about her experiences, including starting a ballet bar studio, launching her digital creative toolbox, and her vision of bringing creativity to corporate leadership. This episode will inspire anyone feeling stuck or uncertain about their path, urging them to take that first step toward pursuing what excites them.

Key Takeaways

Refugee to Entrepreneur: Van shares how her immigrant experience taught her resilience and work ethic.

The Power of Curiosity: How creativity and curiosity have shaped her leadership philosophy.

The Importance of Resilience: Learning from the adversity her family faced and how it inspired her to keep going.

Creative Leadership: Why Van believes creative problem-solving is essential in the workplace.

Entrepreneurship Journey: The lessons from starting and growing her own business, Work Smart Advantage.

Digital Toolbox: Van’s new creative problem-solving toolbox, launching soon, is designed to help leaders and facilitators bring creativity into their organizations.

Noteworthy Quotes

"The idea of living on a farm has always been in my head. It’s my ‘what if’ curiosity." – Van Lai-DuMone

"If you’ve got that curiosity, just take the first small step. It won’t happen if it stays in your head." – Van Lai-DuMone

"I want to be that person who helps bring creativity and play into the workplace to solve problems." – Van Lai-DuMone

"Everyone can be an entrepreneur; you just have to start small and keep going." – Van Lai-DuMone

Key Timestamps:

[00:00:00] Trailer & Introduction to Van Lai-DuMone and her journey

[00:02:22] Growing up as a Vietnamese refugee and the early lessons in work ethic

[00:07:14] The cultural shift and struggles of her parents in America

[00:11:00] How Van found her career path through various trials and pivots

[00:22:00] Starting her digital creative problem-solving toolbox

[00:28:50] Overcoming personal challenges and the role of resilience

[00:37:04] The story behind her passion for animals and the dream of a farm

[00:35:33] The Journey to Writing "What If Pigs Can Fly" and Following Curiosity

[00:41:33] The Vision of "What If Pigs Can Fly" Farm and Mini Animals

[00:52:27] Van’s future plans and vision for creativity in leadership

[01:00:13] Advice to somebody who is hesitant to pursue their curiosity

FOLLOW OUR GUEST VAN LAI-DUMONE ON:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/vanlaidumone/

Website: https://www.worksmartadvantage.com/

Book: https://a.co/d/8t2JNQ5

FOLLOW OUR HOST JENNA BAYUK ON:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jennabayuk/

Website: https://kinshipkollective.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jenna_bayuk/

Email: [email protected]

FOLLOW BUILT FOR THIS - STORIES OF MAVERICK! PODCAST ON:

Website: https://kinshipkollective.com/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/kinshipconsulting/

X: https://x.com/JBayuk

Tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@builtforthispodcast?

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kinship.consult

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/kinshipconsult