Profile of a Successful Woman In a Non-Traditional Business

Standing by the stack of lumber in her spacious warehouse, Joan Chan, President of Oriental Lumberland converses with ease about the building supplies she offers. Dressed in a tailored suit and armed with a wealth of knowledge about the intricacies of the construction industry, Joan represents a new breed of women who are entering non-traditional businesses.

Since 1986, Joan has owned and successfully operated Oriental Lumberland, a building material supply company. As far as we know, Joan is the only minority-woman owner of a building supply company in the Northeast. With annual sales of over $3 million that is growing 7 to 10% annually, and a full-time staff of 18, her success is evidence that Joan has managed to overcome gender bias in a business with a customer base which is 90% blue collar and often reluctant in seeking advice or professional help from women. Her buying group does over $4 billion in sales each year and she offers over 60,000 commercial and industrial products. From hammers to thermostats to brass hose splicers, and over 10,000 new items added this past year, Oriental Lumberland is a one-stop source for commercial and industrial businesses. Joan has accomplished all this despite the fact that she had no background in construction or building supplies. Rather, Joan learned about the products and how to stand out and earn the respect of customers as well as suppliers in this male-dominated business.

Despite her obvious success, Joan still battles with gender bias. Every day Joan has to prove herself. Though her staff and regular customers respect her professional abilities, Joan must convince potential customers and others meeting her for the first time that she is competent. In this male-oriented trade, Joan says must immediately demonstrate product knowledge and competence before she is dismissed as a dilettante. Joan states that people in her business are simply not accustomed to and not comfortable dealing with women. On many occasions, her male employees have been asked "Is she your wife?" or people assume she is the bookkeeper or receptionist. Over the telephone, Joan has to draw the caller's attention to the fact that she is a woman, otherwise it is assumed she is a man. How long does it take for Joan to convince people she is able and make them comfortable? Joan said simply, "It doesn't take long," as if convincing people is effortless. However, the real reason is that as a dynamic businesswoman, it does not take long for her to win skeptics over.

For some, going against the grain on a daily basis may extinguish one's business drive and be a source of frustration. But Joan does not feel burdened by her unusual position in a field largely closed to women; rather she feels that this day-to-day uphill battle is an interesting challenge. For practical reasons, Joan does leave most of the sales and smaller jobs to male staff, focusing her attention on special orders.

Joan emigrated from Taiwan at age 22 to attend the University of Illinois where she received a Masters in Teaching English as a Second Language. While working as a teacher in a private school, her entrepreneurial spirit made her want to start her own business. In 1978 she started an import/export business dealing with rattan. By 1980, the sales grew to a point at which she could make the business a full-time affair. She went into the building materials supply business when the real estate market was strong, the construction supply business was booming, and the rattan business was diminishing. Because of her strong fiscal management and good customer service, Joan survived the downturn in real estate construction and is now anticipating record growth with the new found strength in construction. Poised for growth, Joan's business has expanded from a 20,000 square feet warehouse to her present 30,000 square feet with 5,000 square yards of space in an industrial area of Brooklyn. As Oriental Lumberland continues to grow, Joan plans to work towards increasing business with government agencies.

Not simply focused on running her business, Joan is active in Asian Women In Business. She has served as a speaker for several workshops and has been a mentor to other Asian women business owners. She is certainly a role model and reflects how perseverance and hard work can overcome hurdles to business success. A single mother of a 13 year old boy, Joan is also actively involved with the Tzu-Chi Buddhist Relief Foundation, the Queens Child Guidance Center and the Chinese Cultural Association of Long Island. Oriental Lumberland, 1154 Flushing Avenue, Brooklyn, NY 11237, (718) 386-8200.

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