She immigrated to the U.S. and was sleeping in her car as a single mother–now, her candy company brings in over $9 million a year

When Gia Huynh immigrated to the United States from Vietnam successful 2016, similar galore different immigrants, beingness for her wasn't easy. For years, she worked 14-hour days astatine nail salons to enactment afloat.

At the time, she was successful her 20s with conscionable $50 successful her pockets, Huynh told CNBC Make It. "I was moving astatine a nail salon beauteous overmuch 7 days a week, from greeting to night, 14 hours a day," she said. At 1 point, Huynh recovered herself homeless, surviving retired of her car arsenic a azygous parent with a 5-week aged son.

"I was facing homelessness, and with a babe successful my arm. I had nothing," she said.

Today, she is the laminitis of Silky Gem, an online candy institution known for their handmade crystal-like confections, besides known arsenic 'kohakutou' successful Japan oregon 'mứt rau câu' successful Vietnam. Her concern brought successful implicit $9 cardinal successful 2024, according to documents reviewed by CNBC Make It.

Huynh was calved successful Dong Nai, Vietnam, and grew up successful Ho Chi Minh City. She says she was the youngest of 4 siblings and grew up successful a mediocre family.

"My dada utilized to conscionable spell successful the jungle to chop bamboo and wood and things similar that to sell. He's ne'er home, really. He's ever working. And my ma just, you know, worked [however] she [could] to enactment nutrient connected the table," she said.

As a kid, Huynh's parents ever had to enactment truthful they would often permission her successful the attraction of their neighbor, who she called "uncle" astatine the time.

"It was a unsmooth childhood," said Huynh. "I [became a] home and intersexual harassment unfortunate [at age] 4 ... That was my archetypal puerility memories, basically. It was nether the antheral I telephone uncle."

In school, she was often made amusive of for her tegument colour and she didn't decorativeness 5th grade.

"I was ever got bullied, [people] called maine names, conscionable due to the fact that I had darker skin, basically," said Huynh. "Because I didn't postgraduate 5th grade, household and friends [would] ever belittle me."

This situation created intelligence scars for Huynh. She says she felt precise underestimated and this manifested successful her being precise quiescent and ne'er speaking her mind. It wasn't until caller years that she's learned her ain worth, she said.

In 2016, Huynh immigrated to the U.S. with her hubby and lived successful Florida. She says that the archetypal fewer years successful the U.S. were highly hard and successful immoderate ways, beingness was easier backmost successful Vietnam.

"In Vietnam ... adjacent if I marque a small money, it's inactive plentifulness for america to instrumentality attraction of our lives there. But [when] we moved [to Florida], it was a batch of struggle, due to the fact that I was the main [source of] income for the family, and we were surviving retired of my parent successful law's house," she said.

After astir a twelvemonth successful the U.S. together, successful 2017, Huynh and her ex-husband separated, mostly owed to fiscal struggles and conflict, she said. After that, she met her ex-boyfriend and had her archetypal son.

"I had my lad successful 2019 with my ex-boyfriend and that was a precise abusive relationship," said Huynh. "I ended up losing everything connected that relationship. I mislaid my job, I maxed retired each [my] recognition cards. I took my lad retired of [my ex-boyfriend's] location erstwhile helium was lone 5 weeks aged and lived retired of my car."

After a fewer weeks of surviving retired of her car with her newborn baby, Huynh decided to determination to Maryland and got a occupation moving astatine her sister's nail salon. However, since it was Covid, Huynh says she was hardly making capable to get by and she had to beryllium separated from her lad for 10 oregon much hours a day.

She was determined to make a amended beingness for her household and son, truthful she began to experimentation with online concern ideas.

On apical of taking attraction of her lad and moving astatine the nail salon during the day, Huynh would experimentation with her concern ideas aft she got location from work. From selling handmade soaps to bikinis, she says she tried retired astir six different online concern ideas earlier landing connected the thought of Silky Gem.

In precocious 2021, Huynh was scrolling connected societal media erstwhile she saw a fewer videos showing creators eating crystal candy.

"I recognized the candy due to the fact that we utilized to marque it backmost location with my large grandma," said Huynh, adding that it was thing they had during peculiar occasions similar Lunar New Year. "I asked my mom, and she said ... we had the look for it. So that's erstwhile I started practicing."

She was inspired to recreate the candy she loved arsenic a kid successful Vietnam, and yet spent $500 connected ingredients to commencement experimenting with the look successful her ain kitchen.

"After I travel backmost from the nail salon, I play with my son, enactment him to furniture and beauteous overmuch [make candy] from midnight to three, 4 successful the morning," she said, adding that she'd past aftermath up astatine 6 a.m. to spell to enactment the adjacent day.

By aboriginal 2022, she started selling her candy creations connected Etsy and rapidly began to marque money.

"The archetypal 3 months was hardest ... we were making similar I would say, $600 to $1,000 a month, [but] I was truthful happy. That's capable for my son's diaper and milk," she said.

In March that year, she landed her archetypal influencer post, which went viral and brought successful $3,000 that day. From there, income grew quickly, said Huynh. In the first nine months successful business, Silky Gem brought successful implicit $1.8 million, she added.

Today, Huynh has been capable to prosecute some of her parents, and they each assistance to tally the concern together.

"It has conscionable been astonishing ... It truly changed what I presumption astir myself," she said. "My full life, I believed that I'm worthless, useless. I don't person the skills, I don't person the acquisition for immoderate of this."

One of the biggest lessons she's learned is that: "You are your ain enemy. You are the crushed that you would neglect successful life," she said.

"I was blaming each the radical astir my confidence, my acquisition and everything else. I was playing the unfortunate paper for my full full life," she said. "But that's not true. You tin bash it if you enactment your caput [to it]. I didn't spell to connection school. I didn't postgraduate 5th grade, but due to the fact that I enactment my caput to this, I marque it work."

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