The commitment and drive to improve of entrepreneur Đặng Thương Tín, a YUP student, have inspired, continue to inspire and will keep inspiring entrepreneurship among younger generations.
STARTING A BUSINESS FROM… A PILE OF DEBT
At 27, owning and running a successful online consumer goods company thanks to choosing his own approach, Đặng Thương Tín has great ambitions for the future.
Ambitious to improve, committed, highly dedicated, and kind: these are the words senior consultant Lý Trường Chiến uses to describe his student Đặng Thương Tín, founder and CEO of Always Company Limited. After meeting and speaking with this young CEO, I believe Mr. Chiến was not exaggerating.
Đặng Thương Tín
From Distributing Flyers to Becoming a Successful CEO
In 2011, with limited capital and the modest business experience he had accumulated, Đặng Thương Tín founded Always Co., Ltd., specializing in online distribution of cosmetics and dietary supplements. ‘This was not my first company; I had previously tried event organizing and learned many lessons after failing,’ Đặng Thương Tín began his story.
Tín had aspired to become an entrepreneur since childhood. While studying, he also worked for event companies, doing everything from packaging products and distributing flyers to emceeing and managing teams… With some experience behind him, at 22 he struck out on his own and established an event company called Always. The market was fiercely competitive, leaving no room for small companies. After a year and a half of struggling, Tín exited with debts exceeding 600 million dong.
“After a failed start, the pressure of debt was so overwhelming that I pursued anything that could earn money honestly. At the time, phattoroi.vn, a website I had created while working in event management, was performing quite well and had several contracts worth hundreds of millions of VND. Seeing friends succeed in online sales, I shifted entirely to e-commerce. I first sold products from an American brand, then became the exclusive distributor of Sakura cosmetics from Japan, along with several other reputable cosmetics and dietary-supplement brands,” Đặng Thương Tín shared.
As the business became profitable, in 2012 Tín invited expert Lý Trường Chiến to advise him and began building management systems and company culture. ‘Always future day,’ the 10-year vision, is discussed annually; detailed yearly plans are drawn up for company and individual development, and a goal-management system is established…
“Our 10-year goal is for Always to operate in Vietnam and 4 ASEAN markets. At the beginning of month 7, Always Singapore began operations, initially distributing Sakura products and several products originating in Japan. To achieve this goal, Tín began recruiting people and developing a successor team 2 years ago.
Always Company Limited
Think long term
Young, dynamic, and passionate about building wealth, Đặng Thương Tín is determined and confident in his competitive strategy. Compared with companies selling the same products, Always has a much stronger management foundation and company culture. Once its internal capabilities are sufficient, it will break through quickly.
Compared with online retail giants such as Tiki and Lazada, Always is not a rival and does not compete directly. It serves its own segment, using flexibility to overcome scale. This agility helped Always through a difficult period when a major brand it was developing successfully ran into trouble and had to recall products.
‘Sales at that time fell by as much as 60%. I had to call a company-wide meeting, explain the situation, and ask those who could stay with the company for another six months to stand on one side and those who wanted to choose another path to stand on the other. Ninety-eight percent of the employees chose to stay. I was deeply moved and became even more determined to revive sales. Through that incident, Always learned an additional lesson about selecting products for distribution: distribute only products from reputable brands with a long history,’ Tín recounted.
Now that the business is stable, the young CEO is focused on investing in people. “In a few years, I will hand the business over to another CEO. I want to sow seeds, give more, and contribute more to the community. The name Always also points toward endurance, the desire to serve the community, and building wealth sustainably. The government has many policies encouraging entrepreneurship, and the market still offers ample room for young people to try their hand at business. Newcomers to business still have opportunities to succeed if they choose the right field and invest seriously and systematically,” Tín shares.
What is admirable about this young entrepreneur from Quảng Nam is that despite his desire to become wealthy, he prioritizes developing life skills and nurturing the soul. According to Tín, Always is a young team that needs extensive development in both work and life skills. Each year, the company allocates a learning budget, with individual budgets and specific learning plans for everyone from leaders to employees.
Tín himself continually learns, updates his knowledge, and applies it to company management. Each month, the company sets aside 5% of profits for charity. On Father's Day and Mother's Day each year, the entire company makes cards carrying loving messages for their parents… All these activities are voluntary, grounded in love and the responsibility of a young citizen and entrepreneur.
Collected
Original link: http://nld.com.vn/kinh-te/khoi-nghiep-tu-dong-no-2016101400243489.htm
Chương trình liên quan tại YUP Education: X-Startup – khóa học khởi nghiệp «Khởi Chánh Nghiệp» · The Journey – lộ trình phát triển doanh nhân
