Meet Erin Wen Ai Chew | Creative Entrepreneur, Freelance Writer and Real Estate Investor

We had the good fortune of connecting with Erin Wen Ai Chew and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Erin Wen Ai, we’d love to hear more about how you thought about starting your own business?
There was a time in my life when I realized that I no longer wanted to just work purely behind a desk and do a 9-5 job. I wanted to have the flexibility to work when I wanted and do what I wanted. After considering all the options, I came to the conclusion that working for myself and starting a business was the only way to go. The impending question was what business did I want to do and what was I passionate about?

I have always been involved in the community and served on a number of boards and committees, but my primary passion was to work to advance and empower the Asian community in my home country of Australia and in the United States. So I knew I wanted to do something in this space and be able to express this work in different ways and that is where the idea of being a creative entrepreneur came about and I set about making this work.

But doing so requires capital and time to receive name recognition. For years prior I had already been into real estate property investment and dabbled in foreign stock markets, so that income was critical in sustaining my daily needs in life and gave me time to start creating my own space and my business. For the entire time, it was all about encouraging myself – the process of establishing my business was one of the hardest things I have ever done.

This was in 2013, and now I have a thriving Asian Australian advocacy organization which does collaborative works with like minded organizations in the United States and across the world, and I have established myself as a freelance writer, writing for Australian mainstream and Asian American blog and media sites, focusing on issues of social justice and media representation. In addition, in 2019, together with business partners, we established a media company called FlixAsia, which aims at decoding Asian entertainment issues for those living outside of Asia and under that comes the site Being Asian Australian, which is a site talking about everything Asian and Asian Australian which has a global reach of over 100,000.

What should our readers know about your business?
Being a creative entrepreneur, many people don’t understand what that means or what it entails. For my creative business ventures, I consider the things I established since 2013 as my businesses.

In 2013, I established a linear advocacy network called the Asian Australian Alliance. Back then, the purpose was to just create an advocacy platform to empower and advance common issues affecting the Asian Australian community. Now, in 2021, we have created a platform which looks at issues around anti-Asian racism and empowerment in The Australian lens but we also collaborate and do projects with likeminded groups in the United States and around the world. A major project coming out is a global collaboration on a report talking about COVID-19 anti-Asian racism, but also to highlight and support other creatives who have done work in this area.

With my freelance writing, I continue to write and interview Asians from all over the world and showcase their films, TV shows, creative pursuits and community activism in unique angles in the writing I do, and this is reflected in the media company FlixAsia which I am a co-owner and director for. Writing is one of the most versatile creative pursuits and to be able to use words to express things differently and be able to enhance other’s understandings is something which keeps me going.

What sets me apart from others is that I am very open minded and always try to push the mould. I don’t like sticking to draconian systems of operation and part of my ethos is to encourage, mentor and support others who have similar pursuits.

I am most proud of receiving international recognition for the work the Asian Australian Alliance has done in tackling COVID-19 anti-Asian racism, and recently a documentary by LADBIBLE in collaboration with Amazon Prime Video has an entire episode dedicated to the work we have done in this area. I am also excited that in 2022 and 2023, FlixAsia will have its official and publish launch, with the prospects of the business being set up in China and other Asian countries in the near future.

Getting to the point I am at now, is not the end, and its still at the starting line, as the journey is still long. It has been a difficult road as a lot of it required my personal financial investment and I gave up other career opportunities to pursue this path. Along the way, I have learned that it is all about running my own race and not running against other people and that I need to focus and continually see the bigger picture. Also, one of the biggest lessons learned was to give my time rest and self care – no one can work 24/7, and to replenish the mental, physical and spiritual energy is extremely important.

I would like others to see me and my brand as something of an encouragement, and creating a movement to show others and the younger generations that it is possible to turn a passion into a business.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
Living in San Diego, I can say its a wonderful place to live and work. If my best friend was visiting, I would take them to El Cajon Boulevard and in and around University Avenue to experience cuisines from all over the world – from Africa, to Middle Eastern, to Mexican, to Vietnamese etc. I would also take them to Convoy Street, to eat Korean, Chinese and Japanese food – go for a brunch of dim sum and end the days with dumplings, ramen and Korean fried chicken. Of course there will be boba to quench our thirst.

Going to Balboa Park to work off all the calories from the constant eating and walking in and around all the different museums at the park would be a treat as well as check out the Japanese Gardens, which is so beautiful. San Diego has wonderful beaches from Pacific Beach to South Mission beach and enjoy the views at Coronado Island whilst eating delicious and fresh seafood. Taking a cruise around the San Diego Harbor would be a great way to end the week.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
It may sound like a cliche, but my biggest supports are definitely my family. My parents migrated to Australia during the 1970s from Malaysia in the hopes myself and my siblings would grow up in a country where our opportunities were endless. It has taken them a long time to truly understand what I do and what being a creative entrepreneur means, but they have never told me to stop and instead have continued to push me.

When I moved over to San Diego in 2016, my husband was my support and encouragement, always giving me love and flexibility financially to achieve my pursuits.

My colleagues at the Asian Australian Alliance ( the advocacy group I created in 2013) have continued with my initial vision and no matter how tough things are they are always there to support and help pick up any pieces when things don’t go well.

Website: www.asianaustralianalliance.net . www.beingasianaustralian.net , www.flix-asia.com

Instagram: @erinc8228 , @asianaustralianalliance, @beingasianaustralian

Linkedin: Erin Wen Ai Chew , Asian Australian Alliance

Twitter: @echewy, @asian_being, @AsianOzAlliance

Facebook: @Asian Australian Alliance, @Being Asian Australian @Erin Wen Ai Chew

Image Credits
Paddy Gibson Raymond Setiadi