I have met a lot of hardworking women in my life, but one woman that stands out to me is June Quan. She is known by many as the blogger behind Stir + Style and co-owner of popular food and beverage establishments, such as Sip Matcha and Eat Shrimp Daddy. To say that she has accomplished extraordinary things would be a complete understatement. June spent her undergraduate college years at the University of California, Davis and then went on to attend the University of San Francisco School of Law in pursuit of becoming an entertainment lawyer. She interned for companies such as MTV Networks and Lucasfilms, passed the California Bar exam and even became an attorney working in Los Angeles. To the outside eye, June seemed to have successfully obtained the career she had worked so hard to achieve. Yet, one day she decided to take a leap of faith and leave her career in law to chase after her true passions: food and fashion. With the help of Instagram and YouTube, June has established her own platform, in which she is able to do what she truly loves, while spreading the same positivity and love to her fans. She’s also working as a Real Estate agent, helping her clients find dream homes. Although the journey to paving her own path to happiness has certainly not been easy, June has endured each obstacle every step of the way. We had the opportunity to speak with June about her experiences.
Her Campus: If you could go back to your college days, is there anything you would do differently? What advice would you give to your younger self?
June Quan: I would tell myself that everything is going to be fine. I think I gave myself a lot of pressure trying to figure out what exactly it was that I wanted to do. I went in as an Animal Science major and then switched to Anthropology after realizing that I didn’t need to be an animal doctor to love animals. Anthropology was something I was initially interested in, but then I changed to an English major because I decided that I wanted to go to Law School after interning for MTV in New York. The advice I would give to my younger self is that it’s okay to explore. Maybe I should have just left science right away and tried different things earlier on.
HC: Do you have any favorite college memories?
JQ: I met some of my best friends in college. A couple of my college friends are actually going to be my bridesmaids! In my opinion, I lived the college life to the fullest. I lived in the dorms, lived with my friends afterwards, went out and had fun at parties, and yet, [I] still studied hard. I really loved being at UC Davis, and a lot of my memories come from working in campus recreation. I became supervisor and was always at the intramural courts. From my college days, I think I developed the leadership skills that I have now today. You can encourage your team to work hard and still have fun at the same time. As an employer, I’ve realized how important it is to have a lot of team bonding events.
HC: Your blog Stir & Style is all about your love for food and fashion. If you could represent yourself as a certain type of food, what would it be, and why? And if you could represent yourself as a certain type of clothing, what would it be, and why?
JQ: For food, I would choose noodles because I’m versatile and can adapt to different situations. Noodles can be served in a variety of ways, hot or cold. In a similar manner, I can get along with a lot of different people. Noodles can go with a lot of different dishes and help compliment the tastes of other ingredients. I love trying to bring the best out in other people. And for clothing, I would say a pair of shorts. I think [that] I’m not very fancy, and I like to stay back to the basics—to keep it simple. Like a pair of shorts, I’m down-to-earth and ready to get my hands dirty. But at the same time, I can still dress it up by wearing fancier shorts. I think shorts are versatile, like noodles.
HC: How do you create your blog posts? Can you describe what the process is like?
JQ: It all comes down to being authentic. I am truly doing what I want to do, and I’m passionate about it. I don’t have to think much about my posts. Other than branded content and campaigns, I’m just at a restaurant, and if I’m loving the food, it just takes a one-minute video of me enjoying the food to create the post. My feed isn’t beautiful, nor curated; it’s just passionate and authentic. I have eaten a lot of food that I did not love. If I don’t like the food, I just won’t post it. I want to be genuine and recommend food that I actually like.
HC: You are the co-owner of several food and beverage service establishments, such as Shrimp Daddy and Sip Matcha. What would you say has been the most challenging aspect of running a business? Would you ever consider creating your own clothing line?
JQ: The most challenging aspect is staying up-to-date with exactly what the customers want and need. We always want to serve their needs and solve their problems. [We want to] help our customers understand the ‘why’ in why we do things and understand our concept. I would want to have a megaphone and address each problem from each customer. How can I make catering easier? Inquiries about catering—I send back responses. How can I make the experience the best it can be? Starting with our taste, keeping our customers happy. At the end of the day, we have a deeper meaning behind why we have stores.
Dan and I have always been interested in starting a clothing line. [We’ve] definitely thought about it and [are] working towards developing merchandise. Merch is definitely in the works.
HC: What accomplishment are you most proud of in your career?
JQ: I’m most proud of taking a leap of faith and leaving my job behind as an attorney. At the moment, my greatest achievement had been passing the California Bar. I was so proud of myself for that; I had worked and studied so hard. Leaving the job that I was so proud to have—that decision ultimately was the best decision I could have ever made because it led to where I am now.
HC: It’s evident that you are an extremely driven woman who has had to persevere through many challenges to get to where you are today. What does female empowerment mean to you? And why should women have equal opportunities to obtain leadership positions?
JQ: Female empowerment means loving yourself and believing in yourself regardless of what people say or what people do. Being truly comfortable in my own skin. When I was comfortable with who I was, that was when I felt my strongest. Knowing yourself, loving yourself [and] being yourself is my definition of female empowerment. Women should have all the rights that men do. We have so much to offer, and we’re just starting to break the barrier. I hope all the young women that are questioning themselves think about what their passions are and what they want for themselves and why they want it. Once we get to that point, we’ll be more comfortable to pursue what we love, and once we pursue [those things], great results will happen.
HC: In 2011, you were named Miss Chinatown USA. How was your experience competing in the pageant? Why is important for you to embrace your identity as a Chinese-American?
JQ: My grandfather was very involved in the Quan Family Association, and one day at dinner, he suggested that I run for the pageant. I had never thought about entering a pageant; I had been a tomboy my whole life. But I could see it in my grandfather’s eyes that it would really make him proud if I did it. I had just graduated from college, I was ambitious and adventurous, so I thought why not? A lot of people that I was going to be competing against had experience. But I decided to do it, and I won my very first pageant. Through the pageant, I was able to truly embrace being Chinese-American. In kindergarten, my mom would send me to school with soy milk juice boxes, and kids would always say, “Ew, what’s that?” and these comments would leave me feeling ashamed as a child. I got so embarrassed and would feel like I didn’t belong. At the pageant, I was able to embrace who I was and my culture. I even brought my friends, some who are not Chinese, and opened their eyes to my culture. I felt so loved and free to be who I was. This translates to who I am now. I eat a lot of food, especially Asian, because I’m not afraid to eat the weird stuff and say my opinion.
HC: To many of your readers and fans, you epitomize the definition of “Girl Boss.” Who would you say is your Girl Boss?
JQ: My Girl Boss is my mom. She ran my dad’s medical practice as an office manager. She was a Real Estate agent, she took my brother and me to our basketball practices, all our extracurricular activities, cooked us meals. She taught me to live my life, be myself, care for other people and to love God.
HC: What advice would you give to college women that are interested in a career of blogging or Real Estate?
JQ: I think the first thing you should do is just go for it. Take that step, start that blog post. When I started my blog, I had no idea how to create a website. When I started YouTube, I had no idea how to edit videos. The first step is always the hardest step, and it’s not going to be perfect. You need to start creating content. For those interested in Real Estate, start studying and doing your research. Take that test, learn from other people, look at listings, learn about the value of property as soon as you can. Start today.
Check out June’s blog here, and stop by one of her restaurants today!