 My name is Emi Ortega Anderson, your host for Pinoy Power Hawaii. We want to thank you for joining us live here at the beautiful ThinkSec Hawaii Studios. We come to you every Tuesday at 12 noon. Today, we have another very empowering show in line with our mission. We aim to enrich and lighten, educate, entertain. And the big picture for us is we hope to empower. Women's Empowerment and it is a pleasure to have a good friend, BFF, the owner of Isabella's Boutique. I'd like to introduce to you Erlinda Tusa-Pauyan. Hello, good day sis. Good day sis. Thank you for inviting me here. Thank you for being here and for your willingness to want to share your success story. You know, I myself was born into Philippines also and you have your beginnings that we want to share with others. Of course, I want to congratulate you on your success in being one of the forefront of helping make women beautiful, not only in our Filipino community but over all Hawaii and throughout the world. Thank you for your empowerment. Oh, you're welcome sis Annie. So tell us a little bit about you and how you got started. From my business? Yes, but you're upbringing Muna and then Mamaya's family. Okay, good afternoon, my name is Erlinda Tusa-Pauyan. I was born and raised in the Philippines and I arrived here in Hawaii since 1990 and it's not an easy to start a life here that we have in the Philippines because it's really totally different. I almost go back home 1993-94. It's not only home six, it's hard to adapt the lifestyle here in the U.S. that you have to do everything by yourself. Welcome to the real world sis. You have the life of of course a pampered wife and then when you arrive here you have to do everything and you have to work hard to make everything possible. So you learned to multitask, no? Yes, I learned that. But it was a shock that how do women make it as a mother? I know, but for me instead of using that challenges in a negative way, I use that in a positive way. So I always think that, you know, I can make it, I can do this. Yes. So that's my mentality. So raising four children is not easy and sending them to school is not really easy to live here in America. But I prove it wrong. You know, everything can be possible and everything, you can do everything. With a proper mindset of not giving up and always striving to do your best, no? Yes. The main important thing is you have to have a big goal or big why, why you want to do it. You know, I think that's the more important thing. That's the foundation. No? Other than that, you know, it will not happen. It is easy to just give up. Yeah, right. Or you could have taken the easy way out. You can go back to the Philippines because that's your comfort zone, right? Yes. Yeah. So tell us a little bit about your tempered life because what others think of the Philippines, told-world countries, they think of the really difficult life, but in your case, you were one of the lucky ones. In the Philippines, I can't say it's hard to live in the Philippines because, you know, in even other countries, you have to work hard to have a better life in the Philippines. That's why we can afford to get maids, we can afford to have drivers, we can afford to have a cook. Yes, and do everything for us. Right, right. And as you know, we just come home and eat and not doing anything. So that alone is a big difference. So raising your children, you don't have to wake up at middle of the night to feed them. There's the yaya that does that, no? So this is the biggest adjustment here in Hawaii, and it's really hard. Well, it's difficult, but for some of us that grew up doing the things that we need to do to survive, it's natural to us. But in your case, you grew up with those luxuries and life. And that's why I enjoy going to the Philippines if I may mention that I take about two to three weeks and just kind of live the luxurious life. I always want to go back home, you know? Because you miss a lot of things in the Philippines that are not here in the US. So like what you said, you're pumping yourself. No, you just rest, you don't do anything. Right, right. Everything is, you know, given to you. Everything will be served to you. True. You know, we miss the Philippines. But let's go back to all the adjustment that you needed to make in order for you to survive and to make it to prove to those that were doubting your ability, but ability that more that you can make it work wherever you are. Like what I said, you need to have a big why or big goals in life in order for you to succeed. See, if you don't have that, I don't think that you can go or move forward if you don't have that. So for me, it's really a big challenge because way back in 1991, having four children is not easy. You know, I have to work two to three jobs. And as I said, in the Philippines, I never tried to work that hard. I never even, I don't even know how to clean the yard. And here in the US, I was able to clean yards just to survive. Right, right. You know, and I'm not ashamed to share this to everyone because if I can do it, they can do it. Right, right. So you went from cleaning people's yard to cleaning people's house. Yes, yes. And back home, you had somebody doing that for you. So it's really hard. And back then, you know, having four kids and then I have full-time job and then I have another part-time job. Right. And another part-time job during the weekend, we clean houses, we clean the yards. Yes. Even my children is helping me. You know, there are my strengths to do all these things. So even the kids got into the act of helping. Yes. So that's why my children are very responsible to their life. Because they know every penny that we earn is from our sweat. It didn't come easy. Yeah. Yeah. They don't feel the life that is spoon-fed. Oh. You have to work hard. If you want something in life. If you want something. Okay. So I want to encourage all the women out there to think, oh, you know, I have these kids. I cannot do that. I cannot do that. Because if I can do it, you can do it too. Right. So living in America is, you know, it's nice to live here because you have all the luxury life here that you can have. The opportunities. Yeah, the opportunity. But the difference is you're pumping ourselves in the Philippines is totally different. It's different. So I encourage my friends, my friends who are familiar with me from the beginning that if you really have a dream, you know, you will get it here in the U.S. Yeah. Because, you know, the opportunities, I have just grabbed it. You know, you can live like, yeah. Okay. So that brings us back to how you started with Isabella's boutique. And what was the main driving force, main reason why, sis, that you started to want to make women feel beautiful. Okay. I started, sis, after graduating from college, all four of them. So I have to think about myself now. It's my time to. It's your time. Yeah. It's your season. My time to take care of myself. So one day we went to a party and then when I walk into the hall, I think we have the same outfit. Really? Yeah. I have to go back home. That's what happened to me. So I started thinking of something. So that's how I started my boutique. So I started in a small business, in a small, you know, room. And then, you know, it started, it started. Yeah. I didn't expect this to happen, that people will, you know, accept me in this fashion industry. So in this fashion world, you know. You see, competition is a big department store. All the brand names, all these, you know, expensive clothings. But I think the difference is when you go out there, you're not scared to walk in the big room that you have somebody wearing like the same as your outfit. So I think that's what I'm thinking about. So I have the guts to start this business. You know, you know. It's like I'm trying to be successful in my business. Yes. And I know you have a lot of women, professional women, especially. Yes. And they come from all walks of life, like the doctors and the lawyers. Oh, yes. Plenty of doctors. They can look professional and also give that impression that they have power and influence. So that's what you help them do with confidence, right? Yes. And a lot of your creations are unique and tailored to that woman or that individual. Yeah. There are plenty of repeat customers that they keep on coming back. Because before, they don't think that they can afford expensive clothes or guns. But if they can see their feeling in their body, they're really happy. Yes. Compared to expensive brand names, they say this is more comfortable for them. And they don't have to do any adjustment or any alteration. So tailored for them. Yeah. And you really feel good about wearing it because it's made just for you. Yes. So those are the extras that one can expect from Isabella's boutique. Tell us a little bit about how you got the name for your boutique. Oh, I named my boutique for my first granddaughter. My only granddaughter is Isabella. And I love her so much. She is my inspiration while I started doing Isabella's boutique. You know, I want something, this is my legacy that I want to give it to my granddaughter when she grew up. She can help other people too. She can help the young generation to have their own style. So you want to leave that legacy behind for your granddaughter Isabella. A beautiful name, by the way. Thank you. It sounds so glamorous and classy. She's like Lola. She likes bling-bling. She's fashionable. With that, we will continue our conversation. Isabella's boutique can be found at the West Gate Shopping Center in Waipahu. And we will tell you more about it. I want to thank my guest, Erlinda Susatouya, the owner of Isabella's boutique for being here with us to help us with our empowerment. We will be right back. Aloha, I'm Gwen Harris, the host here at Think Tech Hawaii, a digital media company serving the people of Hawaii. We provide a video platform for citizen journalists to raise public awareness in Hawaii. We are a Hawaii nonprofit that depends on the generosity of the supporters to keep on going. We'd be grateful if you'd go to ThinkTechHawaii.com and make a donation to support us now. Thanks so much. Hi, I'm Rusty Komori, host of Beyond the Lines on Think Tech Hawaii. My show is based on my book also titled Beyond the Lines, and it's about creating a superior culture of excellence, leadership, and finding greatness. I interview guests who are successful in business, sports, and life, which is sure to inspire you in finding your greatness. Join me every Monday as we go Beyond the Lines at 11 a.m. Aloha. Welcome back to Pinoy Power Hawaii. I am your host, Amy Ortega Anderson. Thank you again for joining us. We're going to return after our conversation with my good friend, Erlinda Susatouya, the owner of Isabella's boutique. So, we were talking about your desire and your legacy that you want to continue, and hopefully leave it with your granddaughter, Isabella. What were some of the challenges early on when you started the business? Were there times when you were challenged? Oh, yes. There's a lot of challenges. Starting a business is not easy. You have to have the passion to do it. That's really, really important. Yes, and you need to love what you're doing. What you do. Because if there are no sisters, it's really hard. Because you think about nothing. How can I do this? How can I make it? But if you have the passion to do it, you're very smooth with what you want. And in your business, you're happy that you can change people. It's a priceless feeling that you feel deep inside when someone says, wow, I look this good. And you know that you've done your part in creating that one of a kind of million-dollar feeling, for the return clients. So tell us a little bit more about the design, the creation. How do you go about creating an outfit that is unique to the individual? Well, first of all, if I meet the person, I have to look on their body shape, body type. I have to ask them a lot of questions. What are their favorite colors? What are they comfortable with? Because if there are no colors, even if you design something, but if the customer is not comfortable wearing it, it doesn't matter. Because it's not a match. Because no matter how good I do it, if you're not comfortable, it won't happen. Because no matter how good it is, if it's deep inside of you, you don't look good. So it's hard. It's not right. So you need to, you want to, and then you can carry yourself when I make a creation for you. That's what's there. Because no matter how good it is, you put a lot of decorations. If you cannot carry yourself, it's hard. That's a big challenge for me. Sometimes, the customer is having a hard time, whatever they want. And sometimes, it's hard just to guess. It's also like a puzzle that you fill up with your customer. That's what happens to us. Until slowly, the confidence is built up that he tells you what he wants. So from there, we start with scratch, until we fill up what we want. So we will call the customers how many times for fitting and adjustments to make it comfortable. Those are the extra work. The extra service that you do to make them happy. But we don't charge any extra trades. Oh, that's really, really important. Nowadays, it's hard to find a place where they don't charge extras for those extra things that we need most. I think that's why Isabella's boutique is unique is for spending time to our customer. Really showing that you care. Yeah. The number one thing that I noticed with our customers is we spend time with them. So who are some of the designers that you emulate or who do you give credit to your success? I know you have one individual that you also credit for supporting you all the way. Of course, first of all, my husband, Ernest, and he's always there for me. And he is... Well, every time I have a design, he tells me if I need to adjust or anything. So he's my number one critic. So he's your silent partner. Yes. So she is always behind my back to tell me, okay, this is not good. And also, of course, my sister. She helps me a lot. And if there's something that I need to be done right away, she's there for me. She's there for you. No, sister Ampi. And of course, Atenati, Atenati, they're a good employee that for us, too, they really work hard and they don't complain. They serve our customer really well. So it's really, really important to have a good team to make sure that you deliver the things that you promise to your clients, no? I think the secret part is you have to treat your employee good. Yeah. So that they will... It's just like one big family. So they feel comfortable with you. Yeah. That's the ingredient of anyone's success is to treat others that are around you that are supporting you the way that you would want to be treated. Yes. I don't know. We have an upcoming event, a fashion show, A Mother's Love coming up. Tell us about that and other shows that you've done in the past. Yeah. We have, you know, a fashion show coming in on May 11th. But before this, last year, we also did a fashion show and the benefits goes to a tenfold church. So we're doing this not for us. It's to help others. We're reaching out. So last year, we helped tenfold church. This year, we are helping, you know, the cancer patients and the people that... the scholarship, of course. And your foundation. Yes. So we're helping a lot of people. Yeah. It's about empowerment and the orphanage always... there's a special place in my heart for them. So when they ask for additional help, I never hesitate because I know I have people like you that are also willing to give and share our blessings with others. I want to thank you for that opportunity to work together with you. We have many people supporting us and backing us up all the way too, including our PPP Neuropower Co-Familia. So I'm so grateful for that. Of course. And without them, you know... Yes. You know, nothing will happen. That's right. Okay. The teamwork is really important. Yes. The teamwork. Just like Isabela, even if we don't have Isabela, we still don't have her. So just give and take your friends. Yes. That's really, really important that we make sure that we also take care of the others. But more so, our topic this morning with my daughter, Jamie, really, really important to also replenish, recharge. We need to take care of ourselves. Yes. What do you do to refill your cup just so that you can continue serving? What are the extraordinary things you do for your family? Well, now I started going back again to the gym. So I started thinking of myself now. Not like before. It's like, work, work, work. 24 hours. Yes, 24 hours. So now it's like, I give time. I go socializing. So that's number one to meet other people. So it's really nice. And we spend time together, me and my husband. So just me and him alone. We just go out. So sometimes we just go in McDonald's and just have ice cream. Just to talk. And just share quality time. So because you don't have to go in this expensive restaurant or an expensive tour. We spend time together. You can just go someplace and have a talk. It's the quality time. Like what you said. It's really important. So in addition to what you're doing, helping women feel and dress comfortably and beautifully. What other things that you might want to do? Are there other things in your bucket list that you would like to try or perhaps want to work on? In business you mean? In business or any other part of your life? In my bucket list is this year I want to go back again to the Philippines. I want to look more into the Philippine maids. Small businesses like doing crops. So I want to explore that and then bring it here to the United States. That's my bucket list. If I can do this, I can help other people to make it happen. So that's my bucket list. And of course, the people we help in the Philippines, our scholarship, they like it. And the people we help are citizens, so I want to meet them. So another bucket list is to have some of the people who don't have a job. So I'm looking for something that will give them a little job like to learn something. Yeah, to start from there. Wow, those are nice, beautiful dreams that we would like to see happen. That's what I always think to help others, not about myself. If I see them happy, I'm happy. That's priceless, no? Because it's not all about money. It's about seeing someone happy that makes you happy. It's a priceless. There's a part of me that would like to revive the old-fashioned weaving in the Philippines. There's nothing like that. Just a little, because machines are used. But if we can go back again, we can start the... So there are many things to learn in the Philippines that we don't see other people. I just want to start. I would like to help you do that, sis. Okay, we're pregnant. With the one minute remaining, please invite our audience for our big May fashion show. Please help us for our incoming fashion show on May 11 at Pagoda Hotel. You can call us 808-375-6225 and 808-285-0830. The ticket is only $60. And it has a lot of door prices. So you can help our conservations. You can help our scholarship. All this benefit goes to people that are in need. That's right. I want to thank you for being a part of our empowerment. It is good to have someone that is dedicated, committed to helping others improve their lifestyle. And you've done that, sis, and for making women feel beautiful in fashion. Thank you so much, sis, for inviting me here. Thank you again. Maraming salamat. Aloha. We want to express our gratitude. It's a great episode of Power Hawaii. Again, our mission, we aim to enrich, enlighten, educate, entertain, and we hope to empower. And with that, we say maraming salamat. And mabuhay.