Today we’d like to introduce you to Tuyen Chau.
Hi Tuyen, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
Some may know me as Keli or “Kelly” pre-2014, a nickname bestowed upon me when I entered the first grade. Since a young age, I have always been interested in forms of self-expression—writing, music, photography, etc. Inspired by stories of my late paternal grandfather pursuing photojournalism in Vietnam during the 60s and my late eldest paternal uncle having been a cải lương (Vietnamese opera) singer, confirmation bias or not, I felt more connected as to why I felt I had to pick up a microphone and camera.
Growing up, we did not have much, so the luxurious karate or piano classes were out of the question. Eventually, I was able to work part-time and save up for a camera and that was when I started offering photography services which later branched out to design services. After graduating, I continued freelancing and worked full-time at small to mid-sized companies. In 2019, I had the opportunity to work at a franchise brokerage agency. Within eight months, I helped implement structure, increased sales, and decreased costs in the marketing department that it eventually branched out to a new division. This experience made me realize that I enjoy building structures, teams, and plans for businesses with creativity at the root.
Currently, I am on a small business journey with Broken Rice Media LLC and business development on a secret project that I am working on. My goal is to thread together all of the basics that I continue to learn in order to create a strong foundation for anything that may come.
Outside of that, I find joy spending time with my family and three dogs while working on personal projects and mental/physical wellbeing. Things could change. All I know is that everyone faces adversity and life is fickle so it is important to live each day intentionally and that means differently for each person. My hope is to share stories that will inspire others to learn self-expression and to find ways to give back to the community with the little time I have on this earth.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
I believe that struggle is necessary for growth even if it may not seem that way in the moment. Right when I started formulating my own thoughts and how I made decisions, I had to look at perspectives with much more depth than normal because the decisions I made were atypical compared to the ones the system normally received.
With the path I chose, I had to think creatively to make up for what I did not have in order to continue growing professionally and personally. This meant not relying on my credentials or blaming my circumstances but building from the ground up instead.
The journey I chose led me to sacrificing what would have helped make the road a bit more smooth sailing but I would not have it any other way.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your business?
Broken Rice Media LLC is a media company founded on March 2021 after being rebranded from Keli Chau LLC. The reason for this rebranding was because I wanted to maintain future growth scalability (secret project) and accurately represent our mission.
Broken rice are grains of rice that get fractured during the milling process or transportation so it ends up getting packed into a separate bag to be sold as broken rice. It is often consumed by the poorer community because of its cheaper price due to its “lesser” quality. This signifies not allowing circumstance to determine the journey, as a specialty dish was formed and popularized within the Vietnamese culture today. I resonated with this feeling because of my upbringing in a low-income community which inspired me to be creative when having to find solutions to obstacles.
Broken Rice is also translated to Cơm Tấm, an underrated dish overseas but one of my top 5 Vietnamese comfort foods. It is a rice dish made with the fractured grains of rice, served with grilled pork chop, sausage, egg, steamed egg meatloaf, fresh vegetables, and drizzled with a fish sauce and garlic chili pepper vinaigrette.
Those who know me have always been aware that a part of my mission is to honor my Vietnamese culture even though I am Việt Kiều (overseas Vietnamese). Born and raised in Georgia, I have held onto my heritage to ensure a connection with my family and to pass down the language and cuisine to the future generation.
Broken Rice Media’s vision is to bridge the gap of ambiguity between small business owners and digital media through transparent, quality, and affordable solutions. Authenticity and communication are the two most valuable assets that a company can provide its consumer and that is the only method that both sides can grow in this day and age. With that, Broken Rice Media is focused on providing the basics of marketing and quality but money-saving visual solutions with no nonsense.
Where do you see things going in the next 5-10 years?
Over the next 5-10 years, I see that media and marketing services will continue to grow and adapt to changes with consumer behavior and technology. New trends are inevitable but a business must adapt to the change in order to keep up with the market. Photography poses, design techniques, and marketing solutions can make twists and turns, but in the end, it is important to be able to offer value and style but with authenticity at the root.
The technical side is only a tiny part of it though. I believe a big shift that has been happening is the consumer demand for transparency. Consumers have become more aware with access to knowledge more now than before. The demand is only going to continue to grow especially with how easily accessible and fast information can spread these days.
Contact Info:
- Email: hello@brokenricemedia.com
- Website: https://www.brokenricemedia.com/
- Instagram: www.instagram.com/brokenricemedia
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/brokenricemedia
- Twitter: www.twitter.com/brokenricemedia
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCm9juCzg3VC9hihrZreaELA?view_as=subscriber
- Yelp: https://yelp.com/biz/broken-rice-media-lawrenceville
- Other: www.instagram.com/chauntuyen
Image Credits:
Broken Rice Media LLC
