Unexpected turn
Ms. Nguyen Thi Chien shared that after graduating from high school, she left her hometown Ha Tinh to start a business in Ba Ria-Vung Tau province. At first, she worked at a facility specializing in tattooing and beauty treatments. Being a hard-working person, every morning she took on extra work weighing fish for seafood buyers to earn more income.
Thanks to this job, she gradually got to know many boat and boat owners, then bought seafood directly from fishermen and brought it to neighboring localities to sell. The source of mackerel she bought was also used as an ingredient to make fish sauce.
"My hometown is Ha Tinh, my house is near the sea, so since I was little, I learned how to make traditional fish sauce from my grandparents and parents. When I came to Ba Ria - Vung Tau, the seafood resources here were also very rich. Sometimes when there was a good harvest, fish was very cheap. From this abundant source of raw materials, I cherished the idea of doing something to increase economic value and create jobs for people," Ms. Chien shared.
In particular, during the Covid-19 outbreak, Ms. Chien and other boat and ship owners froze fish to facilitate distribution and consumption, while ensuring output for fishermen. When the Covid-19 epidemic was under control, she decided to quit her job at the beauty salon and stick with the traditional fish sauce making profession.
"At that time, my decision was not supported by my relatives. Everyone said that the job at the beauty salon was clean, in an air-conditioned room, with good working conditions, but instead of doing it, I went to make fish sauce, which was extremely hard. But I still decided to stick with it because this was both my passion and my destiny," Chien confided.
According to this woman from Ha Tinh, there are many other reasons why she wants to stick with the traditional fish sauce making profession. That is because the Long Hai sea area, Ba Ria - Vung Tau province has abundant fish and salt resources, favorable for making fish sauce.
Ms. Nguyen Thi Chien (3rd from right), Director of Hati Production, Trade and Service Company Limited, promotes her products.
In addition, the demand for delicious and safe traditional fish sauce products is increasing. These things have urged her to change direction and decide to pursue the production of quality fish sauce to meet consumer demand.
Thinking is doing, Ms. Nguyen Thi Chien boldly invested in facilities, selected raw materials with fresh anchovies that had just been caught and salt purchased directly from salt farmers in the province.
After preliminary processing, the fish is fermented with salt in the traditional way for at least 1 year and goes through many filtering stages to produce the traditional Long Hai anchovy fish sauce product. Gradually, the product with the brand name Long Hai anchovy fish sauce is known and chosen by many customers.
Persistence and constant effort
According to Ms. Nguyen Thi Chien, to achieve the success she has today, her entrepreneurial journey has encountered many hardships and challenges. Among them, due to difficulties in capital sources, there were times when she had difficulty in purchasing raw materials. In addition, the price of traditional fish sauce is higher than that of industrial fish sauce, which is also a challenge in approaching customers.
Tourists visit Ms. Nguyen Thi Chien's facility
"Traditional fish sauce often has a distinctive smell, so at first many restaurants and diners are not used to it. After using it for a while, they like it. We have connected with a number of tourist attractions and tourist stops to introduce the product. In addition, we open our doors to welcome locals and tourists who want to visit and learn about the fish sauce production process at the facility. Thanks to that, the product is known to more people," Ms. Chien shared.
In 2024, Ms. Nguyen Thi Chien's "Traditional Long Hai Anchovy Fish Sauce" project entered the final round of the "Women's Creative Startup and Green Transformation" Competition organized by the Central Committee of the Vietnam Women's Union and won the Encouragement Prize.
Ms. Chien shared that when participating in the contest, she received support from all levels of the Association, as well as experts, to perfect and develop the project further.
"When participating in the contest, I received many new and useful comments and guidance from the judges and experts to help perfect the product and improve my business. The contest is also an opportunity for me to promote and introduce my products to the community. The Women's Union at all levels has connected me, helped me access capital as well as created conditions for me to introduce and display products at events and conferences," said Ms. Chien.
After the competition, to further develop the business, Hati Production - Trade and Service Company Limited was officially established, Ms. Nguyen Thi Chien took on the position of Director.
On average, each year, the company supplies the market with about 100,000 liters of fish sauce with product lines such as: pure anchovy fish sauce, fish sauce for babies, shrimp fish sauce... The company creates jobs for 10 local workers with an average income of 8-10 million VND/person/month.
According to the Director of Hati Production - Trade and Service Company Limited, in order to manage and operate the business effectively, she herself must constantly learn through training programs and from the experiences of other entrepreneurs. Despite facing many difficulties, she always strives and perseveres to overcome them.
"The path to entrepreneurship is not smooth. For women, the entrepreneurial journey also has many specific challenges such as balancing business and family responsibilities. I believe that to start a successful business, passion alone is not enough, but one must always learn and flexibly adapt to circumstances and the market.
Looking back now, I feel happy, I did not think that I had pursued my passion and had initial success. I will continue to try to develop the company's production and business activities. I hope that Vietnamese traditional fish sauce products in general, and Long Hai anchovy fish sauce in particular, will be known to more domestic and foreign consumers," Ms. Nguyen Thi Chien expressed.
SOME STARTUP EXPERIENCES OF MS. NGUYEN THI CHIEN
- For making traditional fish sauce, to ensure product quality, the process of selecting ingredients and fermenting must be thorough and closed. The fish must be fresh and delicious, the salt must have a strong flavor.
- There can be many difficulties in the entrepreneurial journey. The important thing is to persevere, not give up and always find ways to overcome challenges.
- Must maintain stable product quality, fully meeting food safety and hygiene standards.
- Besides personal efforts and family support, to start a successful business, other important supports are needed such as the attention, support, and companionship of agencies, organizations, and startup networks.
Source: https://phunuvietnam.vn/ba-chu-nuoc-mam-vuot-qua-thu-thach-trong-hanh-trinh-khoi-nghiep-2025061010352766.htm
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