IN the early eighties, Houston was a booming town. Immigrants from many Asian countries, especially the Vietnamese, settled in Houston and other cities of Texas. Many of these Vietnamese were of Chinese descent. They were very good business people. They were into all kinds of business.

      Among these businessmen was Mr. Bao's, owner of a Vietnamese-Chinese supermarket. He sold all kinds of native Asian goods and foods. Business was so good customers lined up in his store all the time.

      Mr. Bao's was my biggest advertiser. Every time my wife ran out o money, I ran to Mr. Bao's Chinatown supermarket to collect some advertisement money. I owed Mr. Bao's a lot. Until today, even if Mr. Bao's family is no longer in the grocery business, I always remember and appreciate the help he extended to my newspaper. His support helped the paper grow fast.

      Meanwhile, we were getting more and more advertisements from the local businesses because more Asians were moving into Houston. Many of these new immigrants were small-business owners. They were into the restaurant, grocery, real estate and jewelry businesses. Then there were Asian banks.

      Faced with this great opportunity, I decided to publish something that would complement my newspaper—a listing or directory of Asian, especially Chinese, businesses. It was to be called the “Chinese Yellow Pages.”

      The first thing I did was to compile names of businesses in the area, and then classified them into various categories. Then we were calling on all of them for sponsorship.

      My editorial room had another job to do. We spent almost five months collecting and collating all the names of Asian businesses in the area. Finally, we came out with the first “Houston Chinese Yellow Pages.” The book had 200 pages. Half of these were advertisements. We published the “Yellow Pages,” and made a decent profit from it.

      With the growing number of advertisers, the Chinese newspaper was now published weekly. And then we had more and more advertisers, so we decided to publish twice a week.

      But then I was faced with a big problem. The company that printed my newspaper did not want to take the printing job. The owner told me he did not have the time to print my newspaper.

      I was very disappointed. I thought the printer did not want the job because the order was “small.” I really felt bad.

      When I walked out of the door, I entertained the idea of setting up my own printing shop. I discussed the idea with my wife. We were being turned down, so why not establish our own printing press?

      After two months, I tried looking for another web-press printer. I got the same answer: “We cannot print according to your schedule.”

      One night when I was traveling along Highway 59, I passed the Houston Post’s big white building. I decided to stop by to see the huge printing presses that ran the newspaper. I asked myself, “Why couldn’t own one like this?”

      Why not, I told myself. Someday I’d own one like this.  In the days that followed, I inquired and gathered some information about web presses.

      During that weekend, when I brought my layouts to the printer, it happened that the press broke down. I approached a technician who was working on the machine. His name was Mike. He came from Chicago, where the machines were made.

      I asked him several questions about the web press machines. He jokingly asked me if I was interested to buy the press. I simply smiled and said nothing. In my mind, I knew exactly what I wanted to do. I asked him the phone number of the printing machine company.

      The next day, I called up Goss Press Company of Chicago. I asked the sales person to send me a packet about the new press.

      The following day, a special delivery mail arrived at my office. It was a packet containing everything I needed to know about the web press, including the cost it took to buy one. I was shocked and a little embarrassed to find out how much it cost: half a million U.S. dollars!

      The amount was simply staggering and out of reach. I knew then that I could not afford to buy a web press.

      Oh, the future seemed so tough and difficult. But I know I had to put up a fight to get what I wanted. (To be continued)