Originally from Laos, I was raised by a single mother. My father passed away in the Vietnam War and our family suffered a lot because of it. In late 1978 we escaped to Thailand and then in January, 1980, we moved to the US. I was just 14 years old at the time. I am the first-generation Hmong girl immigrant in the US, which made it harder for me to learn and adjust to the new environment.

Today, through hard work, struggle and determination, I am a successful businesswoman. Right now, I am running my own loyalty program with Lyconet of America and I hold a level 6 title. I have over 17,565 customers and these numbers are growing daily. My goal is to help small and medium businesses understand the loyalty program and help themselves to be in the comparative edge.

My name is Maiyer Soung, and this is my story: The story of how I achieved my success and reached my goals.

I originally come from Laos, a country in Southeast Asia. I lost my father to the Vietnam War, and was raised by a single mom with 10 children, with me being the fifth child. My family suffered a lot because of the loss of our father and the Vietnam War situation. After the death of my father, my mother took us to live in Vientiane, the capital city of Laos. We lived there for almost four years. All I remember of our time there is that we didn’t have much to eat. To feed 10 mouths, my mom had to work very hard. She wasn’t educated or highly skilled so she did what she could, and found a needlework job. She taught me needlework when I was about 8 years old. To help my mother, I also started working as a needle worker, and I remember my first check pay being 400 Lao Kip at the time.

Not long after, in 1978, we crossed the river to Thailand, where we stayed in a Thailand camp. Then in January of 1980, we migrated to St. Paul, Minnesota. I was just 14 at the time. I am the first-generation Hmong girl immigrant in the US, which made it harder for me to adjust in the new environment and learn new ways. But I was a determined girl who wanted to go to school and learn. So I attended a public school and then graduated high school from Como Senior High School. I met my husband, Bee Soung in high school. We got married right after graduating high school. After marriage, my husband focused on obtaining his degree. Meanwhile, I worked to support our family and take care of our children. Together, we have 4 children.
Later, while he was finishing his degree and working, I caught up with my school work. I attended St. Paul College Tech for a 9 month course and graduated with a Diploma. Then, I started working in a corporate setting for 3 years. Later, I worked in a clinic setting for 2 to 3 years, and then in the non-profit sector for 7 years.

When I was working in the non-profit sector, I became the first Hmong woman to get certified as a Parenting Coordinator. I managed over 14 group sites, and collaborated with Early Child Education and St. Paul School District to teach their teachers and social workers how to successfully host diverse cultures in a parenting group. As a part of Hmong Women Association of Hmong and Lao, I had over 1000 families attending the parenting sessions. The parents were referrals from schools and counties near us. As a parenting coordinator, I ran a very successful parenting program for 5 years.

Later I left my job as a parenting coordinator to run my own business. I was confident in my abilities, and with my collective experience, connections and knowledge, I decided to open Mai Tax Services, Inc., Home Health Care, Inc., and Real-estate Investment. But I was striving to find out what made successful people successful.

In 2012, I knew about network marketing and after giving it some thought joined Lyconet, a network marketing company in 2013. After some failure in network marketing and learning from my mistakes I started making progress in the networking marketing industry. Consequently, today, I am running my own loyalty program with Lyconet of America. I hold a level 6 title. I have 17,565 customers and these numbers are growing daily. My goal is to help small and medium businesses understand the loyalty program and help themselves to be in the comparative edge.