Loving lavender, Đỗ Đức Mẫn, a young man from Central Vietnam, decided to open a shop selling it, with initial capital of just 10 million dong drawn from tuition money and loans from friends.
Đỗ Đức Mẫn, owner of an online lavender shop importing hundreds of bouquets from France and the United Kingdom each month. Photo: Provided by the subject.He devoted 1 full year to exploratory marketing and used his tuition money to import the first batch of lavender to Vietnam, but failed miserably. Undeterred, after more than 3 years of studying while running a business, Đỗ Đức Mẫn (born in 1989, Lệ Thủy District, Quảng Bình Province) now owns an online lavender shop importing hundreds of bouquets from France and England each month, along with buds, seeds, essential oils, and other products made from this imported flower.
Mẫn's entrepreneurial journey began simply with a love of lavender. “I was captivated by lavender’s rustic simplicity and subtle elegance. Its qualities were also an excellent fit for the seasonal business I had in mind. The flowers are easy to preserve and retain their value for a long time,” Mẫn shared.
Naturally cautious and studying economics at Hanoi University of Agriculture, Mẫn spent a full 1 year marketing the product before deciding to start the business. “Calling it marketing sounds grand, but mainly I created a page, gathered every piece of information about lavender, and shared it with people. That helped me understand their demand for this flower,” Mẫn said.
Mẫn said he initially had no products to sell, yet many people showed interest and called or texted orders. With no money available, he borrowed from friends and used some unpaid tuition funds, gathering over VND 10 million to take a chance on a small trial batch.
To find suppliers, Mẫn asked friends studying in France and the United Kingdom to seek contacts, but without success. Mẫn looked for businesses that had previously sold lavender in Vietnam, but by the time he contacted them, nearly everyone had given up because the market was too small and import costs were high. After a long search online, Mẫn finally found an export company in the UK.
“Every beginning is difficult.” Despite having a fairly methodical marketing approach, Mẫn ran into bad luck with his very first shipment. He recalled: “I excitedly counted down the days until the shipment arrived, but when I opened the box, all the petals had fallen off, leaving only bare stems.” After investigating, the economics student learned that the flowers had fallen apart because they were not handled carefully during domestic transport. Fortunately, he had not accepted deposits, so he could readily apologize to his first customers.
After his first failure, little capital could be recovered, so Mẫn again borrowed small amounts from friends. For the remainder, he pawned his motorbike to bring in a replacement shipment and keep faith with customers who had ordered previously. Learning from experience, this time he routed the shipment through an address in the UK before sending it to Vietnam. Although costs rose, this ensured the flowers did not fall off.
Besides retail sales, Mẫn's lavender shop now supplies stores in the city at 200,000–350,000 đồng depending on the number of stems. Monthly revenue reaches tens of millions of đồng, not counting occasions such as 14/2, 8/3 and 20/10…, when orders far exceed normal days. Mẫn says prices are currently kept close to European retail levels. Profits are modest but help cover study costs; best of all, the house always carries a faint lavender fragrance.
To meet the needs of all customer groups, besides flowers, Mẫn also imports essential oils, dried flowers, buds, seedlings and seeds to sell alongside them. Because the flowers are difficult to grow in Vietnam’s climate, Mẫn spent time browsing foreign websites for cultivation and care methods to share with customers. ‘Besides the income, the most enjoyable thing since I started selling flowers has been meeting so many lovely, charming customers. Most people who like lavender share a gentle, romantic and very polite nature,’ Mẫn said sincerely.
Mẫn said men selling flowers are not unusual today. Although he makes this clear in his online shop, first-time visitors to his rented room are surprised because they assumed the owner was a woman. He believes men face a disadvantage in lacking the dexterity and decorative flair to create many dazzling, eye-catching bouquet styles. But lavender is a rustic flower requiring little fuss. “Still, some male customers really like ordering here because they can ask me to deliver flowers to their girlfriends. Sometimes I end up as a customer's ‘stand-in,’” he confided.
“The hardest part of this business is proactively securing inventory. Because every transaction takes place online, we cannot directly inspect the quality or quantity of goods from suppliers, creating considerable risk. Sellers may also spend a great deal of time finding a satisfactory supplier. Shipping is another issue: goods normally arrive once every 2 weeks, but delays can sometimes last 1 month, causing us to miss orders. Customers are disappointed, and I feel even worse,” Mẫn said.
Discussing future business plans, Mẫn said he would continue selling online for now. At the end of this year, after graduation, he would move into the inner city and rent a place more convenient for customers to visit and buy products.
According to Trịnh Nguyên
Chương trình liên quan tại YUP Education: X-Startup – khóa học khởi nghiệp «Khởi Chánh Nghiệp» · The Journey – lộ trình phát triển doanh nhân
