Meet Kristine Phommachanh | Mom of 4 & Entrepreneur

We had the good fortune of connecting with Kristine Phommachanh and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Kristine, can you tell us more about your background and the role it’s played in shaping who you are today?
I am definitely proud to say that I was born and raised right here in Houston, Texas. I am first generation Asian-American in my family, My mom and dad both immigrated here from Laos at a pretty young age. My mom came with her family as for my dad he left behind his parents and siblings to come to the United States. For as long as I can remember he always said, “I didn’t come here and work hard for you to not make something for yourself.” It wasn’t until I had children of my own to understand the true meaning of that because then it was like I got to take a step back and reflect on how hard both of my parents had to work and sacrifice to provide for both my sisters and me. I didn’t grow up with the latest and greatest but what I was given or able to get I was like Yessss! Mom and Dad got me such and such, I definitely took a lot of things for granted and I didn’t truly know the hard work of a dollar. Then as I got older I realized that Oh, I have to work in order to make money and I have to make money in order to buy the things I want or need, Who I have grown to be is because of them and seeing what they have accomplished it most definitely pushes me to work towards something and never settle for anything, to always continue moving forward. My family has owned a Donut shop called Sweet Donuts for close to 20 years, my aunt and mom have been running this shop 6 days a week by themselves, my aunt does all the prepping, baking and back operation, and my mom does front house operation. Seeing their hard work and seeing them go from immigrants who didn’t even speak the English language to successful business owners truly is the American dream and a dream I strive for myself and a big reason why I decided to become an entrepreneur and start my own business.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
I feel like I have three full time jobs, Honestly, it is three full time jobs. Being a mom of 4, my normal 8-4:30, and my small business Sunsets + Cactus. It goes without saying I always feel like there’s not enough time in the day, but I have somehow always managed to find a way to get everything done that I need too. Trust when I say that it hasn’t been the easiest by any means. I think I’ve always had this creative spunk to me, I went from ordering countless amounts of different decals for my cups to finally deciding maybe I could potentially be self-taught, save a little money and make them myself. A Cricut machine and endless possibilities later here I am, It was definitely a huge learning experience for me, what materials worked better, the sizing of the cut, vinyl options etc. It is a lot harder than how it looks, the attention to detail, did the cut come out correctly, is the positioning right? Am I weeding out the correct things out? I’m all about different ideas and pushing myself to create things that are out of my comfort zone. My thing is, Got an idea? Great, let’s do the dang thing and create something that YOU want. It’s all about self-expression for me, nothing is ever to simple or too much honestly.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
Houston is such a diverse city that there is so much to see and do. Honestly it all comes down to what you are in the mood for and what it is exactly that you want to do! I am a huge sucker for Dim Sum and so my go to spot for that would definitely be Ocean Palace. I think boba is definitely my drink of choice so Tea Top is where you would catch me for that!

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
My munchkins!! Kaeden, Kailie, Cameron and Liam deserve every ounce of credit and recognition as they are definitely the huge reason why I am where I am today and why I do what I do. I want to be able to give them what my parents were able to give to me when I was growing up. My parents have also been truly instrumental in my success, their constant tough love and belief in my capabilities has always given me the push I needed to get to the next level and aim higher than what I set out for myself. Last but not least, My husband Michael. He is such an amazing support system in everything that I have wanted to do. It’s definitely a team effort for sure because I know I couldn’t have done all this without him being alongside me. He’s the brains behind all my ideas and madness.

Instagram: @sunsetsandcactus

Facebook: www.facebook.com/sunsetsandcactus