COLLEGE STATION, Texas — A young entrepreneur is making waves with her Whole Fried Chicken shop.
Ce Zhang, also known as Choco, explained her journey to where she currently is in the restaurant world. “I took over this restaurant because it was losing money and one of the owners was my moms friend and she reached out to me asking if I was interested," explained Choco. "I really want to open something fun for young people like this place you have karaoke, TV with sports."
She faced a common issue that many women in the business industry often come across: scrutiny from men.
"One of the challenges was that I didn't know the area or have help the previous owner, who was a man, wasn't happy about giving me this restaurant but the restaurant was losing too much money," said Choco. "His business partner, who was a woman, believed me, and gave me the chance."
Choco believes in the power of confidence in the face of doubt and hopes others won't pass on opportunities because of others.
"I feel like if there's any chance that you see, and you know you believe in yourself, you can do it. It doesn't matter how many people doubt you. There's been many times my parents didn't think I was ready, my friends didn't think I was ready, and I feel like I could've opened more restaurants if I did grab all the opportunities I lost."