The path is right under your feet

For Pham Thi Hong Phuong, living in Ho Chi Minh City, failure is an inevitable part of the growing up process of young people, as long as they dare to move forward.

Hong Phuong is the owner of a coffee shop - where she sells drinks and cakes that she makes herself. She graduated with a degree in Biotechnology, but after a period of practical experience, Phuong realized that her true passion is baking - not only because of her passion for flavors, but also the feeling of being given warmth through each product. The 9X girl decided to give up her professional job to pursue the F&B industry with the goal of creating a place where people can come to relax, work or simply find inspiration every day.

Phuong's future goal is to open an independent bakery or combine it with the current coffee shop model but in a larger space.

Phuong confided: "We are not always ready and have the best conditions to start - the important thing is to dare to take the first step". Phuong told herself to do small things with a big heart because love is not enough, but requires skills and discipline. She honed her skills: mixing, designing spaces, managing finances, taking care of customers... and sometimes did everything herself. At first, Phuong only sold online with handmade cakes, gradually learned experience and accumulated capital. Three years later, she opened Bittersweet bakery & cafe. According to Phuong, "Bittersweet - Bitter and Sweet" are two seemingly opposite shades, but when combined, they are the true flavors of life. "Bitter and Sweet" symbolizes the experiences in her journey - there are hardships, discouragement but also full of sweetness when seeing the smiles of diners, the support of relatives and the joy of living as a dream.

Instead of expanding quickly without enough resources, Phuong focuses on careful financial management and taking advantage of social networks to strengthen connections and build a community of loyal customers for the restaurant.

The shop gradually stabilized and created its own mark. Phuong both directly made the cakes and managed the business. The financial pressure and competition in the industry were huge, Phuong kept in mind that the customer experience was the top priority: from the quality of food and drinks to the space, music and sense of familiarity. Besides maintaining its identity, she still researched, tested and developed new seasonal cake recipes. Ingredients and processing procedures were strictly guaranteed, even when costs increased.

On her entrepreneurial journey, Phuong cherishes every memory with her family, customers, and staff; especially her close friend and current manager of the shop who has always been by her side.

Source: https://nld.com.vn/loi-di-ngay-duoi-chan-minh-196250621201228889.htm