Portland gives you January sunshine like it’s a prank, and small business owners feel it in real time. Han and Joyce talk about the fakeout weather, shortening Goodies’ hours for sanity, and what “rest” actually looks like when your work never stops. From fight camp setbacks and sleep deprivation to “start small and test it” business philosophy, they get into the real risks behind entrepreneurship. Then it turns into a deep one: community predators, fake allyship, being used as content, and how gut checks and relationship-based trust help you protect what you’ve built.Chapter markers

Still here. Still building. Still betting on ourselves.

End of the year episode, Han and Joyce reflect on the realities of surviving 2025 as small business owners, creatives, and new parents. From storefront closures and brutal leases to burnout, self-doubt, and redefining success, this conversation is about what it actually takes to keep going when the shine wears off.

They talk about shedding expectations, giving yourself credit, the power dynamics between landlords and tenants, Asian American cultural momentum, and why consistency matters more than growth.

This episode is about clarity, grace, and making space for what’s next.

Chapters

00:00 – End of 2025 & Local Business Closures

03:10 – Shedding, Doubt, and Betting on Yourself

07:00 – Business Reality Checks & Parenthood

11:00 – Consistency, Grace, and Giving Yourself Credit

15:00 – Timelines, Second Locations, and Expectations

19:30 – Gambling on Yourself & Long-Term Vision

21:00 – Why the Podcast Matters

24:00 – Making Space for 2026

27:00 – What Actually Mattered in 2025

31:00 – Bad Leases, Landlords, and Power Dynamics

38:00 – Culture, Food, and Asian American Momentum

47:00 – Snacks, Trends, and What’s Next

55:00 – Gratitude, Community, and Looking Forward

The holidays can be full of joy, but they can also bring exhaustion, pressure, and reflection. In this episode, Han and Joyce talk about the end-of-year push of markets, the realities of running small businesses through winter, and the emotional weight that shows up during the holidays.

They reflect on capitalism, convenience, and waste, the tension of being anti-capitalist while running a retail shop, and how immigrant family traditions shape the way we think about money and gift-giving. The conversation moves through childhood Christmas memories, grief and loss, and the shift that happens when you begin creating holidays for your own kids.

This episode is about slowing down, letting go of survival mode, and finding meaning in the midst of a heavy season.

00:00 Holiday Catch-Up & End-of-Year Exhaustion

02:10 Markets, Community, and Showing Up for Friends

05:45 Winter Slowdowns & the Restaurant Economy

09:20 Dentist Visits, Healthcare, and Vulnerability

15:40 Capitalism, Convenience, and Waste

19:10 Immigrant Parents, Scarcity, and Survival Mindsets

22:50 Christmas Growing Up: Belief, Loss, and Illusions

28:30 Grief, Nostalgia, and Redefining the Holidays

33:40 Parenting, Traditions, and Intentional Gift-Giving

38:45 Anti-Capitalism While Running a Retail Business

44:30 Looking Ahead to the Year of the Horse

52:30 Gratitude, Community, and Closing Reflections

The holidays are here, and for small business owners, that means everything at once.

In this episode, Joyce and Han talk honestly about seasonal depression in the Pacific Northwest, therapy, and what the holiday season really looks like behind the scenes of markets, food carts, and community work.

A grounded conversation about pressure, resilience, and finding moments of meaning in the middle of it all.

Season Two opens with a Thanksgiving catch-up that turns into everything we love about this show — parenting, culture, business survival, and the weird reality of being Asian American during the holidays.

Joyce and Han talk about what life looks like right now: Tycho growing every day, Harlow entering a new era, and both Goodies and Kim Jong Grillin navigating the slowest season they’ve seen in years. We get into what regulars mean for small businesses, how families shape our relationship to holidays, and why Friendsgiving always hits harder than family chaos.

Thanks for listening and for supporting Goodies Snack Shop and Kim Jong Grillin during the slow season.

Chapters

00:00 — Thanksgiving Hellos

00:45 — Parenting & Watching Tycho Grow

02:00 — Genetics, Identity & Raising a Mixed Kid

03:00 — How Kids Change You

04:30 — Slow Season Hits Small Businesses

06:50 — Delivery Culture: DoorDash & Klarna

09:00 — Grit, Loans & Business Survival

11:30 — The Power of Regulars

13:30 — Growing a Small Business in Portland

15:00 — Growing Up Korean American on Thanksgiving

18:00 — Sharing & Building New Traditions

20:30 — Friendsgiving Over Family Chaos

22:30 — The Immigrant Disconnect With “American” Holidays

25:00 — Representation, K-Dramas & Asian Men Trending

27:00 — The K-Pop Effect & Visibility

29:00 — Portland Culture: Inspiring & Underwhelming

33:00 — Portland Food Scene vs LA

36:00 — Asian American Creativity in Food

40:00 — Small Business Reality & Slow Season

45:00 — Representation in Media: Bruce Lee to John Cho

55:00 — ICE, Immigration & Political Frustration

57:30 — Gratitude & Looking Ahead

59:00 — Han’s New Concepts & Season 2 Guests

1:00:00 — Outro

Second part of our bonus episode is here! Joyce and Han talk biggest ops, why they chose Portland, comfort meals, scent memories, bedside chaos, rice loyalty, and which superpower they’d choose. It’s tender, weird, honest, and very them.Chapters

00:00 — Intro from Producer Terence

00:24 — Question 1: Biggest op?

02:45 — Why Portland?

05:00 — Music 24/7 or never?

06:05 — Go-to comfort meals

08:20 — What’s by your bedside?

09:20 — How do you relax?

10:30 — Favorite scent memory

12:58 — Cats or dogs?

14:00 — Rice or noodles?

15:10 — Choose a superpower

16:30 — Closing thoughts + send more questions

A spicy grab-bag from the We All Look Alike community. Joyce and Han talk about finding your people, what makes Portland special for small businesses, biggest wins (including mom’s approval), what they hope guests take away from their spaces, the emotional labor of “education,” what a good AAPI Month event needs, post-shift drinks, last-meal fantasies, dim sum vs K-BBQ strategy, pump-up songs, and the truly unhinged: 20 Hans vs one silverback.

Chapter markers

Han and Joyce celebrate ten episodes of We All Look Alike with an honest talk about finding joy in the grind, rediscovering creativity, and what it means to build something that lasts. From burnout and business to family life and cultural roots, they share how community, collaboration, and a little humor keep them moving forward.

[00:00] Catching Up — Rainy days, yard sales, and family time
[03:00] Burnout & Boundaries — Finding balance as small business owners
[10:00] 10 Episodes In — Reflecting on milestones and community
[18:00] Joy & Creativity — How inspiration shows up in everyday life
[32:00] Collaboration & Culture — The “damage Asian” reflex and letting others in
[45:00] Authenticity & Adaptation — What it means to be Korean-American creatives
[55:00] What’s Next — Future collabs, gratitude, and growing together

Joyce and Han catch up on life with kids in the shop, a tiny new apartment, and the daily math of staying open. They talk neighbors becoming “chosen coworkers,” the reality of bad leases, and why reviews can sting even when the work is good. Then it swerves into culture: influencers, the matcha boom, and how trends shape taste. Warm, candid, and very Portland.

Joyce and Han talk parenting a “vampire milk monster,” why DoorDash feels like the dark side, and the small business math that keeps owners up at night.

Plus: home, family, and why racists don’t deserve tacos.