Westminister, California: Immigrants to the USA remind us that this land is a light on the hill, a beacon to the world. We know that business works best within a democratic, ethical society.

Where there is trust, capital becomes leveragable.

The miracle of our Bill of Rights and the Constitution is the focus on both our freedoms and responsibilities. In this light, there is no better story for us to tell than that of two people who in 1975 came here with nothing yet today they redefine wealth and have forever changed the face of this nation.

Here are great business lessons for us all.

Keep an eye out for the American Flag. It keeps popping up among all the other cultural symbols of these Asian people. A symbol of freedom and liberty, it is on everything - from buildings to ties - and for a reason. Remember the four freedoms?

We had the honor of spending a day with a man and his family who came to the USA in 1975 on a C-130 (military aircraft) through Camp Pendleton. His name is Frank Jao. He was the middle child of a large, poor family, a Vietnamese mother and Chinese father. He left home at the age of 11 and got a job delivering newspapers to support himself. By the age of 13 he and his six "employees" were the delivery system for a local Da Nang newspaper.

By the time he turned 18 he was working for the US Marines.

Within a 48 hours of arriving in California, he got a job as a vacuum cleaner salesman. Within a year he had taken the courses to qualify to become a realtor. With three years he was developing property for others. Within four years he became the founder of Bridgecreek Development and he broke ground on his first building of 50,000 square feet. That was 1979. Today, Bridgecreek literally owns millions of square feet in California and in China; and he has inspired the development of even more. California has become his home and the home of over 400K Vietnamese and their de facto capital outside of Vietnam.

Meet the people who started Little Saigon.

Frank Jao has been recognized by the President of the USA and today Frank is the president of the Pan Asian American Chamber of Commerce West Coast and he is spending 25% of his time taking US businesses into Asia.

Our story about Frank ends; we return to the studio; and Hattie introduces the former US Secretary of Commerce, Don Evans, who wants us all to call 800-USA-Trade and start exporting! All small business owners have a responsibility to their business, their families, the nation's economy and our balance of trade to begin to export.

Please visit BuyUSA.com and let's "follow our flag around the world."

Want to see an episode of the show on TV? To find out IF and WHEN this episode is airing,click here. To find out which episode of the show is airing on your local PBS-member station,click here. The people in Bridgecreek's headquarters watch SmallBusinessSchool on KOCE, 9:30 AM out of Huntington Beach.

CONTACT:
Bridgecreek Development
8907 Warner Avenue, Suite 118
Huntington Beach, CA 92647
Tel: 714.842.8038 Fax: 714.596.8663
E-mail: Click here.
URL:bridgecreek.com

• SUPPORT PUBLIC TELEVISION:
  Become a member of your local station. If you are already, great. If not and your business is doing well, consider joining the Producers' Club ($1000).

• GO FURTHER: Spend some time with the ten key points of the case study guide (just above in the green box) and each of the related transcript segments.

• RE-READ THE FOUR FREEDOMS. The Four Freedoms speech by Franklin D. Roosevelt, the 32nd president of the USA to Congress on January 8, 1941:
  1. Freedom of Speech
  2. Freedom of Worship
  3. Freedom from Want
  4. Freedom from Fear
  
  The United Nations would do well if all it did was to educate the world's people about the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

• STEP 1: "I'm Going to Start a Business. You have to at least say these words to yourself. It is the first step and a big step. Frank started at the age of 11.
  
  Bridgecreek Development is at STEP 8 of growth.

• Business Type: You can study other episodes of the show by industry, i.e. Franks is inreal estate and property development. Another billionaire success story is Ebby Halliday who gave all her wealth to others!

• 1500+ Questions and Answers within SmallBusinessSchool. Within every show there are about 15 questions and answers. Within the school, there is a place to record your answers to these questions. Your answers to the same questions that Hattie has asked all the other business owners become part of your own secure database where you have options to re-display your best answers within this site as your own profile page (that is this page), essentially an executive summary , a study guide and/or a transcript.

• JOIN, JOIN, JOIN: Your associations in your industry are keys to continuing education, market research, collaborations, strategic partnerships, capital and so much more ... you'll find that you enjoy being with like-minded people. Many will become friends for life. Here are a few of Frank's associations:
  • US Pan Asian American Chamber of Commerce: Frank is also very active with the national program .
  • Advisory Board Member for The Asia Society headquarters: 725 Park Avenue, New York, NY 10021 Frank is active with the Los Angeles group.
  • International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC): 1221 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10020-1099
  • Urban Land Institute (ULI) headquarters: 1025 Thomas Jefferson Street, NW, Suite 500 West, Washington, DC 20007 T: 202-624-7000 . Frank is active in the Urban Land Institute - Los Angeles.
  • Orange County Economic Development Consortium
  • World Affairs Council of Orange County, 25241 Paseo de Alicia, Suite 120, Laguna Hills, California 92653 T:949.380.3307
  • Vietnam Education Foundation (Get help exporting to Vietnam!).

• FIND YOUR STEP AND CHART A COURSE TO THE NEXT. If you already have a business, explore Steps 5 - 8. If you’re just getting started, spend time going through Steps 1 - 4. Three-dimensional business modelling is part of our research of critical ratios.

• FIRST PRINCIPLES: Starting a business is the road to economic independence for most of us average people. Read a little more to see why incorporating a business keeps the passion of the American revolution alive!