Qu i nn Bu i Enjoying The Ride Quinn Bui learned an important lesson early on: money does not equal happiness. “Throughout middle school and high school, I sold candy and paper lanterns. I envied people who owned businesses,” says Bui. “Growing up, I was always told that money equals happiness. We weren’t well off, so my parents always said it’s important to go out there and try to make money.” But one simple question would change Bui’s perspective forever. “During my college years, I would always ask business owners out to lunch whenever they would come speak to the class. I would ask them a bunch of questions, but I’d always end with the same one: What do you regret?” Bui says the answers would vary between not spending enough time with family, not traveling more and working excessively. “These people were making millions of dollars and most weren’t happy. Then it hit me—money does not equal happiness. I had to change my mindset. If you asked me mid-college why I pursued a profession in this business, I would have said ‘money.’ Now, I say it was so I could create the freedom to do what I want, be around my family, travel more and help people whenever I can.” Bui has been in the promotional products industry for eight years. After studying entrepreneur studies at the University of NewMexico, he moved to Colorado to help his sister start her nail salon. It just so happened that her then-boyfriend was the owner of supplier Tropical Imports, and Bui took a job with the company. “When I started there, I Quinn Bui’s clients would say he gets really excited about lip balms. As the Southwest sales executive at Cedar Rapids, Iowa-based supplier Raining Rose, Inc. and president of the Rocky Mountain Regional Promotional Products Association, Bui is devoted to helping small businesses grow, and he isn’t afraid to hit the road to do it. by Kristina Valdez Bui and his girlfriend, Jenny Duong, with their beloved dog Mia, who passed in November 2021. 76 | DECEMBER 2021 | CONNECT
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