Disowned by his parents, "shrimp paste graduate" unexpectedly earns more than half a billion dong per month

Determination to start a business

In 2018, as a third-year English language student, Luan Phi (living in Ho Chi Minh City, 26 years old), despite his family's objections, started a business with... shrimp paste. With 20 million VND in savings, Phi borrowed another 50 million VND from friends and began his journey to enrich himself.

"I wanted to do something different or at least change people's habits in a positive way. By chance, I saw that the ingredients for bun dau were very cheap but every restaurant sold them at a high price, so I came up with the idea of ​​selling bun dau super cheap so that everyone could eat it," Phi shared.

Loving starting a business, Luan Phi was determined to do it, despite his family's objections (Photo: Nguyen Vy).

Seeing their son determined to sell noodles and shrimp paste, the young man's parents were not only angry but also wanted to "stop seeing each other". At that time, quarrels and conflicts in the English bachelor's family happened continuously. The shared house became cold, no one talked to each other.

"Starting a business is very hard, without support it becomes even more lonely and sad. I go to school every morning, take care of work at the shop in the afternoon, and when I get home at night I go straight to my room to sleep. Many nights I cry so helplessly, I don't know who to share with," Phi admitted, starting a business has never been easy.

Phi's restaurant is supported by students because of its cheap prices (Photo: Character provided).

With a small capital, Phi rented a space, decorated a simple sign, and placed a few plastic tables and chairs. To avoid running out of capital, he negotiated with his partner to pay the fees in installments.

A few months later, students flocked to the restaurant, Phi sold 200 portions of noodles per day.

Before he could breathe a sigh of relief after overcoming the initial difficulties, after only 1 year, the number of customers gradually decreased, the amount of goods sold was only 20-30 portions/day. Thinking about having to bear the huge cost every day, while balancing with studying, Phi briefly thought about giving up.

Sell ​​500 servings of vermicelli with shrimp paste every day

Difficulties forced the 18-year-old boy to a dead end, Phi could only close his room door and cry every night.

"With no one to ask for advice, I told myself to try my best every day, as long as today is a little better than yesterday," the young man confided.

Thinking "once you've thrown a spear, you have to follow through", Phi tried to change the way he served and decorated the store to be more modern. As a result, customers gradually returned, and Phi rose from the "brink of bankruptcy".

Without family support, Phi overcame difficulties alone in starting a business (Photo: Nguyen Vy).

"I am very happy when customers praise the food. Many times the restaurant is crowded and there are not enough tables and chairs, so customers come directly to the kitchen to help me prepare the food. The most memorable days are the days when it rains heavily, the wind is strong, the water floods the entire restaurant, and my staff and I get soaked. That is truly an unforgettable memory," the young man said.

Then from one shop, Phi opened 2 more branches, continuing to receive support. However, the Covid-19 pandemic in 2021 once again left the young man "empty-pocketed" after 3 months of struggling with expenses.

"It was almost Tet and I had no money left in my pocket. I used all my money to pay my employees' salaries, not a penny less. Thanks to that, the brothers in the restaurant were very close-knit, loved each other sincerely, and persevered through all the difficulties together," the owner of the vermicelli and bean curd restaurant shared.

After 5 years of starting his business, Phi has opened his 5th branch in Ho Chi Minh City. With the price of 23,000-46,000 VND/meal, Phi sells 500 servings of vermicelli and fried tofu every day. In addition, he also sells drinks, helping to bring in revenue of more than half a billion VND/month, of which costs fluctuate 50-80%, the rest is profit.

Many days when the power went out, Phi personally turned on the light for the customers to eat. This is one of the memorable memories of the young man when he started his business (Photo: Character provided).

"Today's success must be attributed to perseverance, "stubbornness" and effort. Every day that passes for me is a new lesson, I must know how to maintain or do better than yesterday, even if it's just a little.

But, thinking back, I regret starting so recklessly. If I had known how to plan and calculate, I would have made fewer mistakes and had less trouble," the owner of the vermicelli and bean curd shop affirmed that starting a business requires careful research and preparation.

To date, in addition to 5 vermicelli and bean curd shops, Phi is now running 4 more motels, a coffee shop and an accommodation facility in Da Lat. In the near future, the 26-year-old man plans to open a new coffee shop and a vermicelli shop.

Seeing their son's dedication, Phi's parents also changed their views and silently supported him.

"Managing too many things is like a double-edged sword. You have to know how to not take on too much work for everything to run smoothly. I have a team behind me to assign management tasks for each area and each business facility. That helps me save time and solve many problems at the same time," Phi commented.

Source link: https://dantri.com.vn/lao-dong-viec-lam/bi-bo-me-cach-mat-cu-nhan-mam-tom-bat-ngo-kiem-hon-nua-ty-dong-moi-thang-20230911153833117.htm