THE MOST IMPORTANT THINGS WHEN STARTING A BUSINESS

You will not find what I am about to write in any book or newspaper. I hope this article encourages more people to consider entrepreneurship as a career option. Those writing startup articles are not entrepreneurs, and even when they interview tycoons, the answers are tailored for the press. Tycoons are usually too busy to write. If they write books, they are already so successful that they no longer remember their mindset and understanding when taking their first steps. I think this article suits many people because I am right at that mountain’s foot: little money, daily mistakes, but also some experience and achievements.

1. WHY I SUPPORT YOU ENTREPRENEURSHIP

Because an economy always needs people to solve its many problems and always needs new products and services. When you start a business, all your time is your own; you can work whenever you like, and you will be rich, very rich, extraordinarily rich if you succeed. But things are not that easy: you may lose a lot of money, despair, and face criticism from your family…

I know many people whose entrepreneurial journeys did not go as planned and who lost a great deal, but they all matured through those experiences. Nothing is a failure if you learn from it. ‘There Is No Failure, Only Challenges’ is the title of 1 very famous book by the chairman of HuynDai. You need just 1 quality to become an entrepreneur: a love of solving problems. Everything else can be learned and practiced through willpower and determination.
You may not know that an owner such as Xôi Yến, 1 sticky-rice shop near Hoàn Kiếm Lake on Nguyễn Hữu Huân Street, can pocket VND 4–500 million in profit in 1 month. Or an FTU alumna from K44, born in 1987, who has already bought a VND 5-billion house on Kim Mã by opening Take One. Mr. Điệp, CEO of Vật Giá, born in 1979 and from FTU K36, now has assets of several hundred billion dong, and there are many other quietly wealthy people…

The world of entrepreneurship is often little known because no school teaches it, and it never appears in the Admissions Information Guide. University teaches a profession for working for others. Parents always want their children to be “stable,” but the reality is stable poverty—when will they ever afford a home and a car in this crowded Hanoi?

2. WHAT IS A STARTUP ENTREPRENEUR LIKE?

To succeed at something, I must be very clear about the person I want to become. Entrepreneurs are not simply people with a lot of money. The Vietnamese word for entrepreneur includes ‘nhân’—a person—so they must pursue something greater than satisfying their own desire for wealth. Starting a business is about fulfilling dreams and passions and contributing to the society around us. Their names live on after they die; that is what is truly worth aspiring to. They always consider the environment and consumers’ interests in every product and service. Make money by every legitimate means, rather than at any cost.

3. WHAT TO PREPARE BEFORE STARTING A BUSINESS

Overcoming Psychological Barriers to Get Started:

Vietnamese people are not accustomed to welcoming failure. They do not want their children to take risks and will do everything to stop them. Families usually want their children to ‘focus on studying,’ unaware that university teaches little that greatly helps a career. You must ‘train’ your parents to accept that they can no longer control your future and tell your family beforehand that entrepreneurship may cost money and many other things. They should therefore not torment you when you fall; let you fall a few times, and you will get up and move on yourself. (A better way is not to tell your parents.)

The next barrier is your own limitations. You have 1 idea you think is extraordinary and spend months thinking about it, but you still dare not do anything because you feel hesitant. You are too comfortable in your comfort zone and convince yourself you are not mature enough to implement the idea. To overcome this barrier, develop a habit of acting immediately—or, as young people say today, “If you like it, go for it.” Give up procrastination at all costs. If you leave it until tomorrow, there will always be the day after, next week, next month, and then never.

As for lacking resources, you should know that in entrepreneurship, resources are always scarce: do a little and you lack a little; do more and you lack more. The best time is today, not tomorrow. A journey of ten thousand miles begins with just 1 first step. To take a cold shower, you must first pour water over your feet. If you are going to stumble, choose a time when you are young and strong enough to get back up. There is no better time than your student years. Thinking a lot without acting is like acting without thinking.

4. WHAT TO LEARN FIRST: Communication – Sales

The first lesson is to value money and understand how hard your parents work to earn it. Communication is a vital skill for success, while selling is a vital skill for entrepreneurs. Take on 1 sales job that requires you to overcome shyness about speaking in public and accept others' rejection in 1 cheerful way. Learning not to give up is extremely important. When starting a business, the owner personally handles sales, accounting, cleaning, production…

Selling is 1 honorable profession because salespeople sustain the entire organization. Always see each sale as 1 challenge to conquer. Practice selling as many kinds of products as possible to understand how approaching individual customers differs from approaching organizations. I remember taking jars of traditional rice wine from room to room in the Construction University dormitory near Tết, offering them for sale. Everyone liked them, but they were all out of money and would not buy. )). Looking back, it really was awkward. No matter how “ridiculous” your work may seem, it will still become 1 beautiful memory later, so do not be afraid to do things you have never done before.

5. START SMALL IN BUSINESS

Once you have developed a thick skin, begin doing something for which you must take full responsibility. Remember the mantra “start small, really small.” Some people who like business and have a good idea take a funny approach to starting out: they pour all their money into the venture and make it grand and polished. They do not realize that 99.99% of first business ventures fail, not because the ideas are poor but because their execution is weak. A few small business ventures teach deeply lasting lessons about marketing, logistics, choosing a location, decoration, sales, negotiation, purchasing, preparation and planning, and maintaining the fighting spirit to keep going…
To learn to swim, you have to swallow ten liters of pool water before you succeed. Reading books alone will not make you an entrepreneur; you have to get out there yourself. Being street-smart is extremely important, just as important as being book-smart (sorry for using English terms, as explaining them in Vietnamese takes a long time).

Many business lecturers at Vietnamese universities are poor because they lack close contact with businesses. Their teaching often comes from books, and few actually run a business, so do not expect university education to prepare you for entrepreneurship. You study ‘strategy,’ ‘branding’ and other things used by large companies. A startup’s needs differ greatly from textbook content. You can begin small, selling flowers on 8/3, or on a larger scale by buying clothes to sell online… You should start with a small group rather than alone, so you also learn teamwork.

One very important step is to begin building your own startup ecosystem. Do not listen to or stay close to people who favor stability and comfort; they will try to pull you down so you are as ‘stable’ as they are, giving you a thousand reasons why you will not succeed and why your idea is worthless. Find friends who want to start businesses and people who already have, and learn from them. Only entrepreneurs can lift one another up and bring each other joy when times are rough.

By their side, difficulties will feel lighter and challenges more interesting. Some lessons can be learned without paying a price. Without a guide, you will move very slowly. Wait until graduation, a “stable” job, and an income before starting a business? No. Your resourcefulness matters more than experience at corporations.

Read books—many books about business and entrepreneurship. I have read and listened to some 3-400 books and audiobooks. Almost everything I do or plan to do came from ideas books gave me. Billion-dollar entrepreneurs also read an enormous number of books. Students tend to spend their time reading k14; the words they probably read most are ‘wardrobe malfunction,’ ‘rape,’ ‘long-legged beauties’… In 1 month, read at least 1 book and reduce the time spent reading things that merely entertain and satisfy curiosity.

6. REAL BUSINESS

The moment has come when you have 1 promising idea and want to turn it into 1 fortune. Now real money and real people are involved; this is no longer a matter of riding a passing wave. Not knowing what lies ahead has driven many young people into bankruptcy, full of anguish and regret. Write it on the wall yourself and remind yourself never to forget.

Oh yeah! My idea is worth millions of dollars!

Always begin a business by testing the viability of the idea first. This is mandatory. If your idea is home-delivered vegetarian meals, do not rush to buy equipment, tables and chairs or invest in a website. Test how large your market is and how much you can supply. Try creating a blog, advertising around your office area, cooking at home and making deliveries. Moving from idea to reality is an entirely different story; the market may not be as large as you think. Buying lots of equipment and renting premises before doing anything could waste a great deal.

Entrepreneurship is about building wealth, not proving how clever you are. Plan and calculate ahead. Risk is inevitable, but arrange things so a fall does not hurt too much and you retain the determination to continue. Many people fall so hard that merely thinking back frightens them.
Remember that ideas are cheap; execution is what matters. Nokia used to make wood pulp, and Deawoo was 1 textile workshop… Your idea matters less than how well you can execute it. There is 1 company in the United States worth USD 6 billion that simply makes custom teddy bears, with customers sewing the bears themselves. Following 1 piece of advice from 1 veteran, you should start with 1 existing idea and do it better: you can make a profit, and serving 1 type of customer better will give you a much greater chance of success. Do not stake everything on 1 idea that has never existed anywhere in the world; the risk of failure will be very high.

7. MONEY

The lifeblood of a business, and businesses often die from running out of money. So when starting out, find every possible way, at any cost, to save money invested in the business. Costs often rise to 3–4 times what appears in your one-page draft “business plan.” Be meticulous and calculate enough funds for 1 year; do not expect revenue after 3–4 months to finance continued operations. Buy used equipment, seek donated items, use open-source software, ask someone to build your website, or find a logo on Google and customize it, for example.

Used items you buy can often be resold for nearly the purchase price, so you can retain plenty of money. As long as you have money, you can try again. Once it is gone, getting or borrowing more from others becomes very difficult. One misconception is that starting a business requires a lot of money; in reality, your ability to raise money matters more. Whatever happens, you will never have enough money for your first business—the further you go, the more you need. You should also start with your own money, rather than money from your parents, to ensure every hiring and purchasing decision is sound.

8. PEOPLE

Start a business with a founding team of no more than 2 people in executive roles. A 3rd person is bound to create conflict. Think of the large, successful companies we know: they all started with 2 people or 1. Google had Sergey Brin and Larry Page, Apple had the 2 Steves, and Microsoft had Bill Gate and Paul Allen—Steve Balmer joined to help run it, not to co-found it. Hiring mistakes can kill your business. Choose team members who work because they love the idea, rather than for money.

Choose people you can care about and get along with, so you can understand one another in difficult times. Choose only those with the potential to stay with your business for the long term. Treat employees very well, like siblings, because they are people you see often and they determine your quality of life. Only people like that can make difficult, discouraging times easier. Starting a business promises plenty of storms and challenges.

Nurturing a startup is like raising 1 newborn baby: its only goals are to survive, have food, and remain free of illness. Do not overfeed it in an attempt to make it grow very quickly. Learn about and apply Lean StartUp (lean entrepreneurship?). This means customers are themselves 1 part of the product development and production cycle. Google Docs, for example, is continually developed and revised according to customer requests, whereas Microsoft Word releases 1 version every 2 years, so even discovered errors cannot be fixed in time.

If you have read this far and still find it interesting, perhaps you could become an entrepreneur. With the effort I have put in, I want to help as many people as possible. To be fair, if you like it, share it with as many others as you can. Let’s spread knowledge.