Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Sarochinee Tiparos. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Sarochinee, we’re so excited for our community to get to know you and learn from your journey and the wisdom you’ve acquired over time. Let’s kick things off with a discussion on self-confidence and self-esteem. How did you develop yours?
When I look at myself, I don’t think of myself as a confident person. But I have always known if have passion for what I am doing, I will succeed. And when I say succeed, I don’t mean being famous or having a huge business, I mean following my dreams and being able to work at what I love every day. For me when I see customers returning or coming in for the first time and telling me with a smile on their faces that they love our products, that matcha is what Portland has needed, I feel good, and I feel like I’m part of this community. For me that is success.
For me building confidence comes from different places. You must not compare yourself with others. Comparing yourself to others can lead to feelings of insecurity and low self-esteem because you will be looking at what people have and you don’t have instead of looking at your own accomplishments. Also gaining experiences from different stages of life through work has also helped me build my confidence.
In the past 10 years since I came to Maine, I have worked at a coffee shop, three restaurants, and a bank. From working at a lot of different businesses, I’ve gained much experience to help me feel confident about opening my own business. At the bank part of my job was to help new business owners open new accounts. As part of that, I had to understand the risks and practicalities of being an employer and businessperson. All of this combined to help me understand how to build a business, set priorities, and understand the financial and emotional investment required. It also helped me see that people who own businesses are just regular people who are willing to try something new. I learned that since I am responsible and hard-working, there is no reason that I won’t succeed.
I have an awesome support system through my family and friends. They believe in my ideas and offer advice when I need it. We wouldn’t be where we are without all the people who support us, friends, family and customers.
Thanks, so before we move on maybe you can share a bit more about yourself?
Matcha Mood is the first ever matcha cafe in Portland, Maine. Everyone asks me why I chose to open something so different from everything else here. I did it becauseI love matcha. I know every business involves risk, but I noticed right away when I moved here that the Portland community and culture are very open to new things. People here are very adventurous consumers. They love new ideas and they are not afraid to try. So since there was nothing like Matcha Mood, I expected to do well.
It’s always been my dream to open a business with my sisters. This is something we have shared ever since we came to this country and started working in Thai restaurants. Those were the only jobs we could get because our English was limited. We knew it would make sense to someday work for ourselves. But the timing wasn’t right. We were in our early twenties then, and we had a lot to learn.
There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?
I think the three qualities that are most important to my success are patience, passion and courage. The advice I would give to people who are early in their journey is that you really have to be passionate about what you love and set the goals and focus on how to achieve them. Also believe in yourself that you can do anything, do not be afraid of hard times. Instead have courage to overcome any fear and challenges. Lastly, be kind to yourself, be patient and know that things do not happen in one day.
Before we go, maybe you can tell us a bit about your parents and what you feel was the most impactful thing they did for you?
The most impactful thing that my parents taught me is to be kind to myself and others. Also they believed in me and never doubted my decisions.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://matchamoodmaine.com
- Instagram: matchamoodmaine
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