HÀ NỘI — Footballer Nguyễn Anh Đức and Miss Sport 2007 Trần Thị Quỳnh shared their secrets to business and start-up success in an online talk show held by Vietnamese online newspaper Cafef on Wednesday.

Striker Anh Đức scored the crucial goal in the final of the AFF Suzuki Cup against Malaysia in December and is known as one of the wealthiest footballers in Việt Nam thanks to his business ventures.

Đức started his business with a sporting equipment store about seven years ago and then invested in sports shoes and clothing production, before creating his own brand, Anh Duc Sport (AD Sport). He has expanded his business into hotels, real estate and agricultural produce, with pepper the main product.

Anh Duc sport has stores across Việt Nam, with total monthly revenue of more than VNĐ1 billion (US$43,000).

“Being a professional footballer who has the opportunity to use professional and high quality sport items helps me to understand the products better as well as know the demand of the buyers so that I can work out strategy for our production and distribution of sport items. Big brands like Nike and Adidas are quite familiar to me so I know which type is suitable for Vietnamese people,” shared Đức.

When asked about time allocation given he is busy with training, Đức said: “My way is simple, after training, I return to the company, check the operation of my business with my staff. If I play a game, my staff will keep me posted through email, Zalo or other online platforms or call me.”

Miss Sport Quỳnh, founder and CEO of LaVita, a bakery company, said: “In life and business, there will be ups and downs sometimes you might feel depressed and want to give up but I think the most important thing is the way you maintain your aspiration.”

“I think one of the must-have traits of a businessperson is the ability to solve the problems by themself,” she added.

Quỳnh said she travelled, read and learned from others and herself to overcome the challenges faced during the first difficult days of her business. Now, LaVita distributes cakes to six supermakrkets and more than 10 hotels in HCM City, and made revenue of VNĐ3.5 billion ($150,000) in 2016.

“One of the things I learn by myself that I find the most interesting is online marketing. It’s like a fish learning to climb a tree. It’s desperate and hopeless sometimes but I think that one of the secrets to success is patience,” she added. — VNS