By: Joshua Finley

Rita Kim’s road to creating a successful Mochi Donuts business was paved with both deep personal challenges and tireless drive. Openly sharing her difficult upbringing, Rita explains, “My childhood involved domestic violence. My parents were very violent, which affected my mental health and self-esteem.” She adds that the persistent emotional abuse left her plagued by self-doubt, feeling never good enough.

Yet through processes like meditation and self-concept mirror work, Rita strengthened her mindset – a crucial factor she credits hugely in her eventual business prosperity. “In anything I do in life, mindset is very important,” Rita states. “Without the right mindset, I wouldn’t have been able to do it.”

Transforming Trauma into Triumph

Initially conforming to parental pressures, Rita pursued accounting at university in Australia, where she immigrated at the age of 18 years old. However, mounting financial strains coupled with simple lack of passion soon led her to quit school and enter the workforce instead.

Rita shares that in Australia, hands-on experience trumps formal education when seeking many corporate roles. Over the next decade, while self-teaching skills like accounting programs MYOB and XERO, Rita steadily climbed the ranks within the nightlife industry, ultimately managing a luxury strip club while simultaneously bookkeeping at a brothel.

“Nobody actually asked me for my degree,” Rita explains. “As long as I proved I knew what I was doing, I got the job.” Later recruited into commercial lending at a bank, her career continued flourishing sans college credentials. “I earned a competitive salary,” Rita recalls, “even without a degree.”

Turning Challenges into Sweet Success

When COVID-19 struck, Rita yearned for change, no longer content with the career ceiling and boredom of being an employee. Remembering the mochi donuts she fell in love with while visiting Japan, a lightbulb sparked.

Rita discovered only one existing mochi donut shop in her area of Sydney, with a poorly conceived business model. Trusting her instincts that she could offer superior donuts with better customer service, she and her business partner gave birth to what became Mochi Donuts.

Beginning in a tiny office kitchen, word quickly spread. Leveraging social media and strategic delivery during lockdowns, Mochi Donuts expanded promptly. Now, just three years in, Rita Kim’s donut empire now spans multiple locations across Sydney and employs a significant number of staff.

Key Lessons for Aspiring Entrepreneurs

For aspiring entrepreneurs, Rita recommends first fueling your journey with sheer passion. Additionally, she advises leveraging debt or investors whenever possible. Finally, Rita stresses that high-level coaches and mentors can greatly accelerate growth.

“You can only go so far for so long without mentorship,” Rita notes. “With coaching, you can track success by learning from those who have already done it.”

Though Rita Kim’s path has been marked by steep obstacles, she emerged with deep wells of strength and compassion. Motivated by her childhood trauma, Rita actively supports charities benefitting vulnerable children, pets and victims of domestic violence.

Additionally, through her thriving Mochi Donuts business, Rita creates fulfilling jobs, brighter days, and sweet treats for the Sydney community. She explains, “If I can help business owners turn dreams into reality while supporting important causes, I’ll leave my world better.”

To learn more about Rita and her approach, visit her website here.

Published by: Nelly Chavez