Change of Fortune: How One Determined Immigrant Built His American Dream

by The Cairo Jazz Band, Alex Lee

Overview

“There’s just something different about the way entrepreneurs approach life.” --Vincent HoSang Even as a kid growing up in Jamaica, Vincent HoSang felt the world beckoning. The son of immigrants who had left their village in South China for a better life, he witnessed his parents’ struggle to eke out a living to support their large family from a grocery shop in a remote and impoverished rural area. By fifteen, he faced the death of two siblings, separation from his family, and life as a high-school dropout. At twenty-seven, he arrived in New York with an unshakeable determination to make his fortune, and started his new life as a minimum wage factory worker. Today, the boy who often went shoeless has his own factory, and is one of the world’s largest producers of Jamaican patties. Part memoir and part “how to” book, Change of Fortune will resonate with readers who love a classic bootstraps immigrant tale, and show would-be entrepreneurs how to build their dreams with true grace and grit.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780997496109
Publisher:	BookBaby
Publication date:	12/01/2016
Pages:	322
Product dimensions:	5.75(w) x 8.75(h) x (d)

About the Author

Born in St. James, Jamaica, Vincent HoSang came to America in the 1960s at the age of twenty-seven. Without the benefit of money or even a high school diploma, he went in search of the life he knew he was destined to have. With perseverance, hard work, and faith, the young immigrant built his business the old-fashioned way: from the ground up. Today, he is president and CEO of Caribbean Food Delights, one of the largest global producers of Jamaican-style patties. He lives in Tappan, New York, with his wife and business partner, Jeanie, who is president of their affiliate company, Royal Caribbean Bakery, located in Mount Vernon, New York. Change of Fortune is the fulfillment of a promise to their children, who also work alongside them, to share this inspiring story.

Editorial Reviews

2017-04-25
A Jamaican immigrant from a poor, rural background becomes a successful entrepreneur in New York City in this memoir. HoSang's debut (with co-author Lee) starts with his humble beginning, when he was born in 1940 in Springfield, Jamaica—a town with no electricity, running water, or paved roads. He was one of 10 children in an immigrant Chinese family, and constant poverty forced his family members to take jobs all over the island; he eventually apprenticed in his uncle's small grocery. He would later take the lessons that he learned there about supply, demand, and location to the land of opportunity itself—New York, where he toiled as a milkman and factory worker, saving every penny. Opportunity eventually came in the form of a comfort food from his homeland: the Jamaican patty, a flaky turnover filled with beef, chicken, and/or vegetables, which would become the backbone of his food-production business, Caribbean Food Delights. HoSang slowly grew his company, as well as his family, persevering despite crises involving con men, inspectors, strikers, and debtors. All the while, he was spurred on by his desire to put distance between himself and his impoverished origins. HoSang's memoir effectively portrays a life lived entirely through the lens of enterprise, and it's full of advice that rejects the cynical shrewdness of typical business guides. Rather, this book is as upbeat as its author, never allowing itself to wallow in failure or self-pity and always emphasizing the importance of faith, focus, and constant hard work. In particular, it stresses the importance of the company that one keeps, as HoSang credits much of his own success to surrounding himself with people whom he trusted and admired. The book also includes firsthand testimonials from many of the key figures in his life, including teachers, partners, friends, and family members. A striking memoir that's full of advice, inspiration, and positivity.

Kirkus Reviews