• Lindsay Jang moved to Hong Kong 15 years ago and has launched five businesses.
• Despite not all of Jang's ventures being successful, she says she has learned something from each.
• At 43, the entrepreneur and mom says she's finally found ways to disconnect and find work-life balance.

Lindsay Jang moved to Hong Kong 15 years ago and has kept herself busy, very busy.

Since relocating, she's launched five businesses — including a one-Michelin-starred restaurant and a workout technique listed on Gwyneth Paltrow's Goop. Now, at 43, she balances her time between running her companies and raising her two kids.

Born in Alberta, Canada, Jang is the eldest of three sisters. Her dad was a civil engineer, and her mom worked as a special needs teacher. A stroke of luck changed her family's path when her parents won a gold brick, valued at 100,000 Canadian dollars, in a local carnival lottery in 1981, the year she was born.

Shortly after, when her dad got laid off, he invested in a Chinese-Canadian restaurant in Sherwood Park, near her hometown. Her dad went on to run the restaurant, and her mom decided to be a stay-at-home mom. "Growing up, the restaurant was a huge part of our lives and really shaped who I am today," she told Business Insider.

Jang struggled to find the right career path. "I had scholarships for science and French, and I explored a few different paths — science, art school, digital publishing, and business management — but none of them fully resonated with me. I didn't graduate from any of those programs," she said.

She dropped out of college when she decided she wanted to become an actor.

She stopped in NYC before moving to Hong Kong

In 2002, Jang left Canada and moved to New York City to study acting. She took on a job as a floor captain at Nobu Fifty Seven, and began contributing to the restaurant's special events department. In 2009, at 27, she relocated to Hong Kong with her then-romantic partner, Matt Abergel, who had accepted a job offer as an executive chef.

They had two kids during their relationship before separating in 2011. Despite the split, they remain close. "We're best friends, co-parents, and business partners," Jang said.

In 2011, Jang said they raised around $500,000 to open Yardbird, the restaurant that went on to earn a Michelin star in 2021. It was followed up with Ronin — another izakaya-style dining bar — in 2012.

Jang said the primary investor in both restaurants had been a regular customer of theirs in New York. "He ate at Masa, where Matt worked, every week and would occasionally come to Nobu Fifty Seven," she said.

The team managed to find their rhythm at Yardbird early on. "We hit capacity within just a few weeks thanks to word-of-mouth, and once the media discovered us, it brought in a steady stream of guests," Jang said. "We didn't rely on traditional PR or marketing — instead, we gave out stickers and T-shirts to build the brand."

Social media was still an early concept — Instagram had just launched the year before — and it didn't play much of a role in the hype. Jang did, however, face challenges online in the early stages, when she was sharing the restaurant's no reservations and no service charge policies. "People didn't like those ideas and weren't shy about voicing their concerns," she said.

The restaurant has continued to draw in crowds over the past 13 years, despite the policies. "The main draw is without doubt the 20-plus types of yakitori skewers made with local 'three-yellow' chicken from beak to tail, grilled over binchotan charcoal," per the Michelin website. An extensive Japanese whisky collection has also added to its appeal.

After the couple split, they went back to being friends. "Between sharing businesses and kids, we take pride in giving each other the space and time to do the things that we need to do to be happy," Abergel, co-owner of the restaurant, told BI. "Things are pretty great most of the time, and when things are hard, we know that the foundation we have as friends is stronger than whatever we are facing."

Not all of Jang's ventures have been successful

Jang has also seen some of her companies fail.

Sunday's Grocery, which started as an extension of the Yardbird brand, opened in 2014 and closed in 2016. "We took over an existing business to test the concept, but the location wasn't ideal, and the costs were too high to make it sustainable," Jang said. "It was a valuable experiment, and while it didn't last, it taught us to prioritize scalability and the importance of location."

Jang went on to launch Sunday's Spirit in 2017, before wrapping it up in 2023 due to challenges with margins, certain team dynamics, and working within Japan's highly specific market structure. "Both of these ventures taught us that not every concept needs to be forever," she said. "Letting go of ideas that no longer resonate or fit the bigger picture is OK. The key is to embrace adaptability while staying true to the vision."

She continues to run Hecho, a creative agency she launched in 2017. Previous clients include Hongkong Land, a property investment company and Swire, a conglomerate working in sectors ranging from aviation and beverages to healthcare.

Finding balance and staying healthy

In the past, Jang found it difficult to find a work-life balance. "I don't put rules on myself when it comes to disconnecting because my work and my life are about being connected," Jang said in an interview with Compare Retreats in 2020. However, more recently, she has found ways to decompress.

"I've been making a concerted effort to disconnect more," she told BI. Flexibility plays a central role in her time management. "I run my entire life from my phone and computer, which allows me the freedom to manage my schedule. So even though I'm technically always plugged in, I still make time for myself and my family," she added.

Her daily routine now includes a 20- to 45-minute session in the infrared sauna. She said it was a trip to HigherDOSE in New York almost 10 years ago that got her interested in the heat. "It was intense, but it felt productive. Since I had space at home, it made more sense to own one than to pay by the minute elsewhere."

A few years after the sauna was installed, during COVID-19, Jang transformed her TV room into a workout studio. "The space was better used as a place where I could sweat and move every day," she said.

Her most recent lifestyle adjustment was to stop drinking. "I cut alcohol out of my life over a year and a half ago, which was significant given my F&B background," she said. "I was nervous about what social situations would be like without alcohol, but I've found that my life has improved in every way."

Her career has also shifted toward fitness

Four years ago, she co-launched Family Form, a workout technique and studio in Hong Kong. She said the mat-based workout aims to use movement and infrared heat to strengthen and balance the body.

"People connect with it on a deeper level because it's approachable yet challenging, and it becomes part of their daily routine," she said.

Classes are often at full capacity with waiting lists. On Google reviews, nearly all of its ratings are five stars.

Expanding to mainland China is part of the plan and has come with hurdles. "We are building our China community for when we launch in Shanghai in a few months, and it's been interesting to navigate the approach in such a different market," she said. "It's been a grassroots effort mostly, and we're so grateful for the word-of-mouth support from our community."

In July 2024, Family Form received support for the directory listing of Gwyneth Paltrow's Goop. The listing states, "It's intense but also totally cathartic. "

"Someone from their team reached out to us," Jang said, regarding the posting, adding that they did not pay for the listing. "It was purely an organic connection." A representative for Goop did not respond to a request for comment sent by Business Insider.

In November, the company launched classes in Manila and will start in Shanghai in early 2025.

As for her future, Jang hasn't planned too far ahead. "I prefer to remain flexible and open to opportunities as they arise," she said. Jang said she has a few projects in the works, including a new wellness product brand that will launch next year.

"While Hong Kong will always be home, I plan to spend more time in a more relaxed environment once my kids are in university," she said. "Running multiple businesses has taught me the importance of balancing ambition with sustainability. The biggest life lesson I've learned is that success comes from staying true to your vision while remaining flexible enough to adapt to change."

• Nicole Kidman said she considered giving up on acting after the birth of her third child in 2008.
• Her mom, however, encouraged her not to give it up completely.
• Kidman said she's inspired by other working moms who "keep going."

Nicole Kidman once almost gave up on acting.

In an extended interview with CBS posted on Sunday, the "Babygirl" actor reflected on moments when she thought of leaving her career.

"When I gave birth to Sunday, I was like, well, I think I'm pretty much done now," said Kidman, 57, who gave birth in 2008. At that time, she had moved to Nashville and was living on a farm.

But it was her mom who encouraged her to reconsider. "My mom actually said, 'I wouldn't give up completely. Keep a finger sort of, in it,' and I said, 'No, no, no, I'm done now.'"

Her mom had responded, "Just listen to me. I think, keep moving forward. Not saying that you have to do it to the level you've been doing it, but I wouldn't give it up completely," she recalled.

"And that came from a woman who obviously was from a generation that didn't have the opportunities that I had, but she had helped create for her daughters," she said. Her mom probably wished she had that advice when she was little, so she could give it to her and her sister, she added.

Kidman's sister became a lawyer in her 40s and has six kids, she said.

"It's fascinating to me that we both, and there are only two of us, just keep going. We're inspired when we look around at other women in the world who, at a particular age, do keep going," she said. "They are still raising their children, doing the things they love, but also have careers and not apologize for it."

Kidman shares two kids, whom she adopted with her ex-husband, Tom Cruise, and two daughters, who are 16 and 13, with Keith Urban.

In a recent interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Kidman said she thought her career was over when she turned 40.

"Things are changing now, don't you think? Doors are opening. People are living longer and there's more to be said, and more stories to be told," she said.

Returning to work after having kids

Allison Venditti, the founder of Moms at Work, an organization for working moms, previously told Business Insider that work can give moms meaning and provide structure to their day.

"Work is a familiar space — and for many women who have worked hard and studied hard, they don't want to not work," she said.

The most important thing, however, is for women to have the choice, she said. "Choice in how they approach work and family, choice to go back to work early, choice to take more time off," she added. In the US, paid parental leave is not guaranteed.

Katie Alexander previously wrote for BI that she felt judged when she chose to return to work eight months after giving birth. But doing so allowed her to be a better parent, she said.

"My daughter comes first, full stop. Shaming working mothers who have no other option — for whatever reason — helps no one," she said.

A representative for Kidman did not immediately respond to a request for comment sent outside regular business hours.

• I was excited to take my two kids on my business trip while my husband stayed behind.
• Unfortunately, they came down with stomach bugs that were so bad, they ended up in the hospital.
• The experience taught me that I'm much stronger than I realized.

While I was away on a recent business trip with both of my children, I found myself in a position that I would wish upon no one. My six-year-old daughter and fourteen-month-old son both ended up in the hospital with a stomach bug. And to make matters worse, I got sick too. It was far from the trip I had imagined for us, but we got through it and it taught me — and my kids — that we can handle the hard stuff.

The trip was supposed to be great

I needed to be in Florence, Italy, for a month of work. I have my own public relations agency specializing in female-run businesses and I was booked back to back with meetings, networking, and on-site visits with clients. I told my husband I wanted our two kids to come along. My daughter is homeschooled, so being away and exploring a new place for a month would be a great educational experience for her. He agreed, but stayed home to oversee our renovations. Luckily, my mom was able to join to give me a hand with the kids.

Our time away didn't go as planned

On the eve of Halloween, my daughter woke up in the middle of the night vomiting. It lasted several hours, but by the next afternoon I thought we had turned a corner. The next morning, when my daughter finally seemed to have settled down, my son threw up. Seeing my little baby boy throw up, so tiny and frail, really startled me. And then he threw up again. And again. And again.

Since we were out of town and away from our pediatrician, I did what any concerned parent would do and took my kids to the emergency room at the nearest children's hospital. While in the waiting room, it was clear that a virus was making the rounds.

My daughter was still doing well, so she stayed with my mom in the waiting room while I took my son to be seen. He looked week and pale and a blood test showed that he had very low blood sugar. The doctors attached him to an IV for fluids, but he continued to throw up.

My son was admitted for overnight observation

As soon as we had arrived at the hospital, I called my husband and told him to meet us. He drove five hours from our town further south in Italy and made it in time for me to tell him that I would need to stay the night with our son while he stayed with our daughter and my mom.

That night, things took a turn for the worse when I ended up getting sick. Early that evening, I started feeling nauseous. In the middle of the night, I woke up and threw up — right there in the hospital bed with my son sleeping next to me. A few hours later, I threw up again.

The next morning, I woke up in the hospital bed with my sweet little boy who, while he still seemed pale, seemed more like his usual smiley and giggly self. I was feeling better too. I called to check in on our daughter and it seemed she was getting worse again. My husband said she was very weak, lying on the sofa and wasn't her usual energetic self. I insisted he bring her back to the emergency room.

When she was admitted, she too had very low blood sugar. It didn't improve in a few hours, so she was going to stay for a night too.

There I found myself, lying in a hospital bed with my then-fourteen-month-old son attached to an IV holding him in bed, and my daughter in the next hospital bed, attached to an IV, as well.

Spending two nights in the hospital with both of my children was one of the most challenging and frightening experiences of my life. I felt helpless. I felt scared. I felt overwhelmed. I was so nervous, but trying to keep it together and put on a brave face for my children.

The next day, their blood sugars were in a better range and we were told we could go home. I started crying with relief.

Something good did come out of this experience

As someone who struggles with severe anxiety, this very stressful situation taught me that I'm a lot stronger than I had realized. It also showed me that in difficult situations, I can hold it together and do what needs to be done, especially when it comes to my children.

While this was clearly not the trip I imagined, all that matters to me is that my children are okay.