Alumni Update: Hong Wu Class of 2002

Daquan Yao and Hong Wu, husband and wife owners of Dream About Tea, immigrated from China five years ago. Daquan and Hong completed their MBA Degrees in 2002 from North Park University. While studying, they also conducted marketing research for opening their small business. In January, they started their tea business in Evanston, where they attend church, and because of its students and friendly population.

Education Opens Up Your Mind

Hong Wu, MBA Class of 2002

I once asked a friend of mine, "What is the most important quality that an employer expects from its employees?" My friend replied, "As a small business owner, the key thing I look for is an open mind." I agreed.

People are not born open minded. To the opposite, we are more inclined to accept things that are similar to ourselves and make passive changes until we have to. That's why we need to take continuous education to consciously open our minds to diverse ideas, perspectives and methods and catch up with today's dynamic, ever-changing world.

Two months ago, my husband and I finally opened the door of our first business, Dream About Tea, after fourteen months of preparation. It was a really challenging, and oftentimes, very frustrating process. My husband and I are from China, a country of completely different social and economic systems, and found that opening an American business was especially tough.

Before opening, we needed to think about all the things, big and small, such as making a business plan, conducting market research, finding funding, looking for a business location, remodeling the site, getting licenses, working with inspectors, etc.. Without the knowledge gained from North Park's MBA program, it would have been completely impossible for us to establish the business. The MBA program provided us with a way of thinking and a roadmap for finding the resources we needed. Even though I may have forgotten the details or formulas from the textbooks, we know how to find them and use them.

Another important lesson from the MBA program was that almost all businesses have gone through tough times before prospering. When things were not going our way, we told ourselves, "it is just a temporary situation, and we will able to get through this." We finally did succeed in launching our business, and though we know there are more bumps ahead of us, we know we can succeed.

As a small business owner, keeping an open mind has become an important part of our success. Eventually, my husband and I are planning to go back to school to continue keeping an open mind and learning even more about how to be successful as a small business. Of course, North Park will be the choice. During our two years of study, we built a of strong sense of belonging. We are so proud that we are North Parkers.

About Dream About Tea

Dream About Tea was born as a vision to provide a unique cup of tea fitting for friends' gatherings, business appointments, or an individual who would like to meditate in a relaxing atmosphere filled with the oriental décor, music and tea ceremonies. Our philosophy is to "spread tea love" through our tea-brewing expertise and you, our valuable customers.

Dream About Tea is a single-unit medium-sized teahouse located in downtown Evanston. We sell a full line of traditional, specialty blend and herbal teas together with a vast variety of fine tea pots, cups and gifts. In the teahouse, our customers will share one thing alike, which is a feeling of being in the ambience of peace and tranquility far from the madding crowd and turmoil of the big city to enjoy healthy tea drinks, a different cultural experience, and teas of mind that you will never forget.

We know that brewing a cup of tasty tea needs three important things: good tea, quality water and expert brewing technique. Only when all of the three factors are present would a unique cup of tea become possible. In the teahouse, Pi-Water, highly purified, chi-added and magnetized water is invested for every cup of tea.

Dream About Tea
Daquan Yao and Hong Wu
1011 Davis Street
Evanston, IL 60201
Telephone: 847-864-7464
Website