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Visit Mankato Truth be told, there was a time young Anna Bjerke didn’t have a stellar impression of Mankato. Growing

Photo by Jonathan Smith At first glance, one might admire the shiny chrome or the white wall tires or the

Photo by Jonathan Smith Wonder Woman Jennifer Spaude talks about balancing family, career and community. “Never too young to lead

Tim & Tami Tupy (Photo by Jonathan Smith) DOUBLE VISION For a lot of people, the pursuit of a healthy

In many ways, starting a business is like creating a piece of art: building a company often involves bringing together different “materials,” then honing and crafting them to meet the vision of what the entrepreneur wants the business to be.

An artist will first sketch a thumbnail of their project, much like an entrepreneur creating a business plan. An artist will then compose the basic elements needed to get the project going, much like a start up securing financing, a location, employees. Then the artist will start creating, one step at a time, adding detail and sometimes going in a different direction than the original sketch, much like a business owner finding the perfect niche for them.

According to an old Chinese proverb, “Learning is a treasure that will follow its owner everywhere.” The life of Wu Lin, born in Fuzhou, China 34 years ago, certainly reflects that teaching. From learning the art of sushi, to learning English, to learning how to run a business: Lin says his constant yearning for learning got him where is today. Where he is today, is a long, long way from his birthplace. For Lin that single step was discovering his true passion in the kitchen: sushi. A passion that led him on a journey from China to Japan and eventually the United States.