Samantha Mui, 34, is the founder of Thirsty Dumpling, a do-it-yourself dumpling-making startup.
Courtesy of Samantha Mui
Samantha Mui teaches people how to make dumplings for a living, making as much as $10,000 an hour, according to documents reviewed by CNBC Make It. That’s more than what she used to make a month from her corporate job.
“The biggest win in my life right now is I can go to a corporate office wearing a crop top and ripped jeans, teaching a cooking class and make more in one hour than I’ve ever made in a month,” Mui said.
The 34-year-old founded Thirsty Dumpling, which sells do-it-yourself dumpling making kits. As part of her business, she also teaches in-person and online cooking classes for private events, corporate clients and more. She’s also the author of the cookbook “Melting Pot.”
Mui’s departure from the corporate world came after years of ruminating about starting something of her own.
‘This is supposed to be the dream role’
Before starting her company, Mui worked in several service and corporate jobs. She’s worked in industries as varied as senior care and venture capital, but throughout those years, she said, she experienced many moments of sadness.
“For four years in my adult life, I actually lived with my parents,” Mui said. “I was very overwhelmed, because I had a lot of student loans at the time and … when I signed all the paperwork for the student loans, I didn’t know what I was signing up for,” she said.
I remember during that time feeling like this is supposed to be the dream role … but I’m not happy.
Samantha Mui
Founder, Thirsty Dumpling
“There were moments of despair, because I [felt] like: ‘I don’t know how I’m gonna make it,'” she said. “I think that also pushed me … to find something else, because I almost felt like it was a necessity,” she said.
Mui said feeling that way forced her to realize that she had to build something of her own, but it wasn’t until a major catalyst happened that she took the leap.
“I had a new role. It was a fully remote job doing events,” she said. “I remember during that time feeling like this is supposed to be the dream role … but I’m not happy,” she said. “I did know deep down that at some point, I would do my own thing. I just didn’t know what it was.”
I learned that at the end of your rope, all you care about is: ‘did you do right by others?’ … and ‘did I do right by myself?
Samantha Mui
Founder, Thirsty Dumpling
It was that year in 2022 that Mui’s father died suddenly, just a couple of months after her grandmother’s death. That made her realize that life is short, and that she had to be happy.
She said, “I learned that at the end of your rope, all you care about is: ‘did you do right by others?’ … and ‘did I do right by myself?'”
Shortly after, Mui said, she found clarity and decided to leave her corporate role. “I stopped fighting it, and … I remember not feeling bad at all. I was feeling really liberated,” she said. She wanted to take some time for herself to rest and pivot.
Just three weeks into unemployment, Mui had a phone call with her mom that ultimately sparked the idea for Thirsty Dumpling. Then, about seven months later in November 2023, she launched the business.
“Sometimes I feel like it’s [not] always my decision. It’s because I feel like there’s no other option for me, so I have to do my own thing,” she said.
Today, she can bring in $10,000 in an hour by teaching a class of 100 people to make dumplings.
Mui said she’s learned that trusting your gut is key in business and life. “Every entrepreneur has to have faith, because a lot of times you have to take action, even if you don’t — in the immediate [term] — know if it’s going to pan out well or not,” Mui said.
On top of that, she said, she’s learned how to value herself and her time as an entrepreneur. When she started the business, she said, she took on a lot of unpaid work which drained her energy, and it wasn’t until she shifted her focus to her bottom line that her business began to blossom.
“The minute I valued my time and energy … my business changed,” she said. “I learned [that] in every transaction in business and everything you do, it needs to be a healthy exchange … if I feel like I’m giving more and I’m not getting what I want out of it, you’re never going to be happy. So always finding that win-win situation is really important.”
When asked how being a business owner compares with working in the corporate world, she said, “I feel like, to my bones, this is what I’m supposed to do … Sometimes I wake up and I’m just like: ‘Wow, I cannot believe I’m doing this, because I feel so much more authentic to myself,'” Mui said.
“I just feel like I’m doing what my inner child always wanted to do,” she said. “I feel so much happier. So much lighter … and all I want is to continue this, and I really hope that I’m able to continue this.”
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