Throughout 2023, WBENC is recognizing and celebrating WBEs who have demonstrated remarkable resilience and capacity to reinvent themselves. The 2023 WBE Stars are being honored for perseverance and excellence through reinvention and innovation, despite the unprecedented challenges of recent years.
Meet Caron Ng, CEO of NU-SET Inc.—an innovative security solution company with 22+ patents and trademarks around the world. NU-SET’s strategic pivot during the peak of the pandemic has been nothing short of a masterclass in agility and foresight.
Witness Caron’s resilience and get inspired!
Each year, WBENC presents 14 women business owners with the prestigious Women’s Business Enterprise (WBE) Star Award, the nation’s premier recognition for excellence among certified women-owned businesses, honoring female owners for their leadership skills, business success, and ability to serve as an inspiration to others.
Meet Caron Ng, CEO of NU-SET Inc.
NU-SET is the only certified Minority-Owned and Women-Owned lock manufacturer and direct distributor in the U.S. Their primary customers are construction companies, property management companies, hardware retail chains (Such as The Home Depot, Lowes, and Grainger), Realtors, and Ecommerce platforms (Such as Zoro, Amazon, Wayfair, and Overstock). NU-SET specializes in lean production which enables us to service just in time services to our B2B customers with our resources.
“To me, resiliency means I will fail but I will pick myself up. I will do better next time. To me the opposite of resiliency is fear. I dislike ‘fear,’ it robs the ‘peace’ from us. Instead of ‘fear,’ I choose to have a go at it. The outcome is better than not trying.”
Setting an Example
When and how was your business started?
I accidentally inherited my business. In a family business, it is not an easy task to pass along or inherit the business. In 2017, with the need to raise funds and develop our electronic side of the business, I decided I wanted to write my own check.
What does resiliency mean to you? How do you practice resiliency as a woman leading a business?
To me, resiliency means I will fail but I will pick myself up. I will do better next time. To me the opposite of resiliency is fear. I dislike “fear”, it robs the “peace” from us. Instead of “fear,” I choose to have a go at it. The outcome is better than not trying.
What is a challenge or opportunity your business faced because of the COVID-19 Pandemic, and how did you face it?
COVID-19 Pandemic is both a challenge and an opportunity in itself. Every challenge has a way out, I may not get it right the first time. But I will figure it out eventually.
At the time, I believed I was more concerned about my friends’ business than mine. It was through the many conversations with fellow business owners, I figured out how to help and how to grow my business during the pandemic.
Provide an example of how innovation helped you overcome a challenge, pivot, or adapt to a crisis.
With the pandemic, we escalated our digital processing transformation and cloud storing. We simplified our process, and communications with our vendors and customers globally. We also spilt up our team working hours due to the rapid development of our global footprints. The outcome is we are much more agile and flexible to meet different customers’ needs, making us more adaptable to the unpredictable future.
What have you learned about yourself as a leader from mentoring or coaching others?
I learned to listen. In return, I learned new things through the lens of the mentees and others.
I learned to have empathy and there are endless learning opportunities. And I am just at the beginning of my journey, I still have a lot more to learn.
What do you view as benefits of being part of the WBENC network? How has your company grown and changed since its inception and since becoming certified?
I would not be here without the WBENC network.
Through the WBENC network of WBEs, corporations and learning opportunities, our company has grown in size, structure and sales channels.
What guiding words would you like to share with a newly certified WBE who is looking to get involved in the WBENC community?
Dive in. It’s life-changing both professionally and personally.
What areas of innovation do you foresee for women entrepreneurs over the next few years?
Under ESG factors and generative AI, women business owners need to link arms to learn and implement digital transformation, best practices, and partnerships.
NU-SET is the only certified Minority-Owned and Women-Owned lock manufacturer and direct distributor in the US. NuSet is an innovative security solution company with 22+ patents and trademarks around the world. Our primary customers are construction companies, property management companies, hardware retail chains (Such as The Home Depot, Lowes, and Grainger), Realtors, and Ecommerce platforms (Such as Zoro, Amazon, Wayfair, and Overstock). We specialize in lean production which enables us to service just in time services to our B2B customers with our resources.
