Korean born Sabrina Kay has been surrounded by the fashion industry her entire life. She was only 19 when her family immigrated to America, and despite language barriers and being a single mother, Sabrina has become the founder and CEO of the California Design College in Los Angeles, a nationally accredited and award-winning college that incorporates innovative CAD/CAM software into fashion design.
Interview with Sabrina Kay.
February 25, 2003.
Interviewed by Lynna Kim
Transcribed by Anna Mai
Korean born Sabrina Kay has been surrounded by the fashion industry her entire life. She was only 19 when her family immigrated to America, and despite language barriers and being a single mother, Sabrina has become the founder and CEO of the California Design College in Los Angeles, a nationally accredited and award-winning college that incorporates innovative CAD/CAM software into fashion design. Sabrina 's own desire to teach led her to form CDC from the ground up, starting with only $500,000 and six students in her first year. Since then CDC has become a multi-million dollar business within only 10 years, boasting 2,500 graduates with a job placement rate of over 90%. Awarded as “The Most Successful Asian American Entrepreneur Under 40?in 1999, Sabrina's success has been recognized by many and serves as a source of inspiration for other Asian Americans, especially women. Additionally, Sabrina finds the time to write articles for the Korea Times and Korea Central Daily, and host a weekly radio show.
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Lynna: At the age of 19, your family immigrated to America. What aspirations did you have at that time and what motivated your father to pick up your whole life and move to another country?
Sabrina: I was really young and when you're 19, especially when you're in high school in Korea, you are not allowed to make a lot of decisions. So I really didn't have a lot of aspirations at that time. I had a lot of respect for my parents and I believed that my father did make a right choice.
Lynna: Well, when you founded California Design College in 1991, you decided to do something completely different, something really unique. You actually incorporated the computer software into fashion design. What inspired you to make such a bold decision?
Sabrina: When you are young and brave, it kind of makes you do a lot of things that you didn't plan on doing. I grew up in the fashion industry, so I was very familiar with fashion. Then, at that time I was also working at another college, and I loved being in education, being with the students. So, I wanted to incorporate fashion and education together and I started doing research on who was doing what out there. When I saw computer software—I have always been a geek, I love computers—I kind of wanted to know how these fashion technologies were getting into the workforce. It was kind of right at the beginning of the curve, no one was teaching computers to anyone and there were no facilities teaching computer fashion design. I saw the opportunity, I jumped at it, and it just flourished from there. I started with six students. I actually started a college in my bedroom for the first six months. It was just my assistant and myself, and we started incorporating the school. I was in my 20s, I didn't know what I was doing, and I didn't have any business background. So it was easy for me to just go ahead and do it because I didn't have a lot of information and I had no fear. So, we started a college and we started preparing all the self-study programs and went through all the application processes, got the license from the state, and then just started a school.
Lynna: And as you mentioned, it started with 6 students in your living room and it exploded to 2,500 students?
Sabrina: No, over 2,500 graduates. We have over 500 current students right now and we're growing each year. But, my goal was not to be really the largest institution around but we wanted to be the best institution around. And I think we accomplished that. Growth came very naturally. We never really focused on, “Okay, we're going to grow this much next year, we're going to grow that much next year.?We always focused on technology, we always focused on what we can do to be better. And that was our motto from the very beginning.
Lynna: So, you think the implementation of your computer software was a very attractive thing for your students?
Sabrina: Absolutely. That was our claim to fame; it was the niche, it made a difference. When you look at fashion design, a lot of colleges focus on artistic students, right? So, college students, high school students, or even students who are in junior colleges, they have to be either artistically talented or they have to be more of an artist or a creative person to be in the fashion industry or have guts to think about being a fashion designer. Three questions that I had the most, as a college counselor in the fashion design college, was, “Am I talented enough??That's always the first question. “I don't know if I really like this. I love fashion. I have always been looking through the fashion magazines and really I have a lot of passion for fashion, I love the fashion industry but I'm not sure if I am talented enough.?That's always the first question. The second question is, “What do you think I am going to be when I graduate??They don't know what's available out there and they cannot see that as a reality. People are dreaming but they don't see that as a reality. The third thing is, “How much do I make when I graduate??So, those are three questions and I wanted to solve for students. One of the ways that you can see yourself very clearly in what you're doing is by learning the computer technology. You are not focusing on your talent, you're focusing on the technological skills just like when you go to medical school, and you learn how to cut up people. You are actually learning with your hands how to do things. By doing it, people feel much more confident that they can really be a fashion designer because they are depending on the weapon called computer technology.
Lynna: You've convinced me. I think I want to go into fashion design. Well, in 1999 you were awarded as the “Most successful Asian American entrepreneur under 40.?Do you feel your Asian American background has helped or hindered your rise to success?
Sabrina: I was definitely under 40. I don't know if I was the most successful Asian American woman. I was honored and I was very flattered that I was awarded for such an honor, but I never really focused on what I am, whether I am Asian or I am a woman. I was never discriminated against by being Asian or by being a woman, nor have I ever had an opportunity to take advantage of that situation either. There are some minority small business loans, there are a lot of programs focused for women, but once you start labeling yourself and victimizing yourself, then you become that. I truly believe that if you want to be treated equally, you have to act like an equal. When you look at our industry, a lot of college presidents are 50- and 60-year-old white males. Until now, I thought I was a 50- or 60-year-old white male. I acted like one and I went there as a colleague and I worked like a colleague instead of victimizing or labeling myself as an Asian American woman business owner. I think that just focusing on your goal, focusing on your future instead of focusing on what can be possibly negative or a hindrance to you, helped me a lot more. Again, ignorance sometimes is a great blessing that you can have. I didn't know any better.
Lynna: Well, actually I have never really heard that side of the story. Usually the media portrays women striving so hard against male domination. It appears in your perspective, since you've been through that experience, that it's not like that exactly, that it's by your own personal standards and if you think that you can do it, then you can do it.
Sabrina: Exactly.
Lynna: So, do you feel that the media has misportrayed Asian American women?
Sabrina: I don't think the media has misportrayed them because prejudice is not something that happens overnight, it's something that happens over time. People live by it everyday. And, I think it exists, but once you start victimizing yourself to be that victim of the media, you become that victim. So, when you become more of an equal, you truly believe that you are one of many and the opportunity is equal and you don't focus on what is so-called weak or a weakness for you. Then, you don't think about it. So, when someone calls me a successful Asian American woman, I have to look at the mirror to see if I am an Asian American woman just to recognize that “Okay, that's right, I am an Asian American woman.?But, I think business is really gender-blind and race-blind because business always looks at the results. And as long as you are successful, it doesn't really matter what color or what gender you are, you are successful.
Lynna: Right, great. Okay, as you probably know, traditionally, the West has valued entrepreneurship, while the East has valued more communitarianism—the “me?versus “us?mentality. So, you chose the path of entrepreneurship, and how do you feel about this divide in values? And do you see more Asian people adopting the Western value?
Sabrina: Western and eastern values came close together, I think within the last 10 years. And a lot of the western values of “failure is great,?you know, you fail 10 times and succeed once and then the success is much more sweeter than the success without failure, is more of a western value. Good examples are Abraham Lincoln and Thomas Edison. We really look up to them as mentors because of their failures, not just because of their success. And I think that that's a great spirit. Whereas, Asian mentality is “failure is a disgrace?to the family and once you fail, you've dishonored your family and you really did not do well. So, a lot of Asian culture, I think, strives to be more timid and doesn't encourage the boldness. But somehow, recently, a lot of Asian people, I really believe, lead the entrepreneurship. So, you see a lot of Koreans and a lot of Chinese business owners in Los Angeles and I think it's because when we came to America, well, welcome to the world of no choice when you don't speak the language and you have to make the money. You end up starting something of your own. And then you end up kind of being assimilated into Western culture and you learn that failure is okay. We're not ashamed of a possible failure type of spirit, so when you combine those two spirits together, it's a beautiful combination. It creates wonderful entrepreneurship in this country.
Lynna: We also know, along with being the president and founder of CDC, you write columns. You write for the Korea Times and Korea Central Daily, as well as a weekly fashion talk show. So, it's obvious that you are very immersed in the media. Do you feel that the media has played a large role in publicizing CDC?
Sabrina: I cannot deny that media has helped CDC's growth. I jokingly tell people that I sold my time to the media because we didn't have the money to advertise. So, I volunteered to write a lot of newspaper columns and go to all the talk shows. So, I became a household name, therefore CDC became a household name. But also, a lot of times, publicity is a blessing and a curse at the same time. When you have that much publicity, people's expectations are very high. And, you have to live up to those expectations. After I started CDC, I feel that I never really had a personal life, I never had privacy and that was the price to pay. I was willing to do that because I had to grow my baby, and we didn't have a lot of funding to grow my baby. I was willing to sacrifice my privacy. I took that responsibility very seriously. When media talks to you and when media is with you, then you are not just talking, you are talking to so many different people, and you are influencing a lot of people's decisions and thoughts. So, I take that very seriously.
Lynna: I'm just curious, it sounds like you do enjoy your job. Do you have any regrets along the way, or would you want to do this no matter what?
Sabrina: I have absolutely no regrets. I have been so blessed. Byron said he woke up one day and he became famous. I woke up one day and I just couldn't believe what the heck happened to me. You know, you set a great expectation for yourself and you have a very high standard to achieve your goal. When the reality exceeds your goal, when reality exceeds your dreams, then what do you do? You've got nothing but to thank God, you know, “Thank you, I don't know what I've done, but thank you for this blessing.?And then I'm willing to give back to whoever needs it.
Lynna: You provide Asian American women with a role model to look up to. Now I know before you said you don't want to label yourself as an Asian American or a woman. But, the reality is, I'm sure there are a lot of Asian Americans who look up to you. Now, having that kind of position and inspiring these young women, how does that make you feel? Does that bring you more pressure and give you more expectations?
Sabrina: I think so. Whether it's my students or anyone else, whenever someone tells me that they look up to me as a role model, I'm completely flattered, number one, because I don't know if I deserve that role. But, I look at my mentors who have helped me along the way, and they didn't volunteer to be mentors but they became mentors because of their actions and because of their sincerity. And I think I sincerely believe that whoever comes to me, I am willing to help because I have a great story to tell. If that inspires anyone, I feel extremely blessed that I can be part of their life, in some way, some how, in any way possible.
Lynna: Who are some of these role models that you've had along the way?
Sabrina: The greatest mentors that I had in my life, and I still do, are my parents. My father brought me all the goodness of human beings. He brought me literature, poetry, opera, classical music, all the good things in life. And, then he taught me how to be fair without being weak. My mother was very good at stressing me out, ever since I was a child. She brought me discipline, how to be the best, and how to be assertive and ambitious without losing femininity. So, I think my parents who were so different from each other—I still wonder how they lived together for 40 years—both brought interesting values to me and I think that made me who I am today. Along the way, I've had great mentors—business colleagues and other college presidents, even neighbors whom I meet—and I am a people-junkie. I love people. I love friends. And I'm a very loyal person, so once I make a friend, I want to keep them for the rest of my life. There are not that many that you feel that “I'll do anything for you?and “You'll do anything for me,?but I feel blessed that I have enough that it spills out of my ten fingers. I feel really blessed that I have those great friends who are also my mentors.
Lynna: That's wonderful, wow. One final question. What advice can you offer to other Asian American women striving to make it in America?
Sabrina: I would say to stay focused and that's one of the most important things in life. I think we are all born with A.D.D., you know, there are a million and three things that interest you everyday. Especially when I talk to my creative students, they have thousands of ideas, and they dream of these ideas every single day. You know what? Ideas don't pay. The reality is that you can only do so many things in 24 hours. The first step is information. A lot of times, when you have thousands of different interests you cannot be the expert; you cannot be the professional in many areas. So, be an expert in one area. Have that information. Be the junkie in one career or one thing that you choose. Be the best so that no one else can compete with you because you are the best. Whether it's singing, or running, or anything else, whatever your passion is, have that information, have great mentors, and have great friends. Surround yourself with that one thing that you like the most. Then, the second step is to make a solid plan based on that information. And then, put it into action. When that information becomes action, then the transformation starts. That's when the success begins.
Lynna: Wonderful. Thank you so much for your wonderful answers. We appreciate it. Thank you so much.
Sabrina: You're welcome. Thank you for having me.