Happy International Women’s Day!

It’s International Women’s Day! Every year on March 8, IWD honours women from all walks of life by recognizing their achievements, amplifying their voices, and empowering women worldwide.

As one of Canada’s top growing women-led companies, SUKOSHI is all about uplifting women and keeping that “girl’s girl” energy alive. From the founders and creators behind the brands we love to the team members and community that bring our spaces to life, women inspire so much of what we do.

This year, we’re shining the spotlight on the incredible woman behind SUKOSHI—our very own founder & CEO, Linda Dang!

Linda Dang, CEO

What’s your journey been like as a woman in leadership?

When we started SUKOSHI, it was a true startup environment. We moved fast, did everything ourselves, and didn’t have formal management structures in place. As we grew, I had to keep reinventing myself as a leader. I was learning in real time how to add structure without losing agility, make confident decisions with incomplete information, and lead through constant change.

Along the way, there were plenty of mistakes, and I had to get comfortable with the idea that mistakes are part of growth, not a failure of leadership. I focus less on getting everything right and more on building clarity, momentum, and trust. Growth requires evolving the business, but it also requires evolving yourself while giving yourself permission to learn as you go.

What’s a boundary you learned to set, and how did it change your life?

One of the most important boundaries I learned to set was separating urgency from importance. Early on, everything felt urgent, and I carried the weight of every decision, every problem, and every outcome. As SUKOSHI grew, that way of operating became unsustainable. I realized that constantly being available and reactive wasn’t good leadership; it was just exhausting.

Learning to step back, create space to think, and trust others with ownership changed my life. It made me a clearer decision-maker, a better leader, and more present outside of work. Setting that boundary helped me understand that protecting my energy isn’t selfish, it’s necessary for building something long-term.

What’s something you’ve learned that you wish more people understood about representation at the top?

As a woman of colour in leadership, one thing I wish more people understood is that representation at the top isn’t about optics or ticking a box. It changes the decisions that get made. When you’ve lived the experience of being overlooked, underestimated, or told you’re “too niche,” you build businesses differently.

When we started SUKOSHI eight years ago, the landscape was completely different. Asian beauty was constantly framed as niche, even though it’s one of the largest and most influential beauty markets in the world. I still remember explaining our vision and being interrupted with, “You should open a Hello Kitty store instead. That would do very well.”

Moments like that stay with you. They shape how you lead, how much conviction you develop, and how deeply you believe in building something before others see the value. Representation matters because it changes who gets believed early, whose ideas are taken seriously, and who gets to define what’s considered mainstream.

How do you support other women in your life, in small, everyday ways?

I support other women in practical, consistent ways. That often means listening, sharing context or advice I wish I had, and being honest about what the journey actually involves. Shared experiences are powerful, and I wish more people were open about them, especially the parts that aren’t polished.

I also try to create access where I can by making introductions, including people in conversations, and advocating for women in rooms they are not in yet. Over time, these quiet, everyday actions make a real difference.

What’s one sentence you wish every young woman could hear early in her career?

You don’t need to be fully ready, fully confident, or fully qualified to take up space; you grow into those things by starting.

Tell us about a few of your favourite SUKOSHI memories that make you proud.

There are so many SUKOSHI memories that make me proud, especially because many of them came from moments that felt heavy or uncertain at the time. There were countless roadblocks along the way. Nights where I stayed up until 5 a.m. working, wondering what it was all for. Leadership can be lonely, and vulnerability doesn’t always come easily. We often forget to celebrate our wins and move straight into solving the next problem or tackling the next project.

One core memory that stands out was during COVID, when all of our stores had to shut down overnight. It was an incredibly uncertain moment, but what happened next changed how I saw our team. People simply raised their hands. Our retail team stepped up in ways we never expected, and we got to recognize everyone’s hidden talents. A beauty consultant became our social media manager. Team leads became project managers. People took on roles they had never been hired for, but were more than capable of owning.

Launching our website during lockdown wasn’t just a business pivot; it was a testament to a group of passionate people coming together toward a common goal. That moment still reminds me that SUKOSHI has always been built on resilience, trust, and the belief that when people are given the chance, they will rise to it.

Thanks for Celebrating With Us!

We hope you stay inspired and join us in celebrating women, not just today but every day. For now, we wish you joy, courage, and strength. Here’s to embracing womanhood and chasing big dreams!

Want to stay connected with the women of SUKOSHI? Follow us on our socials!