What schools don’t teach entrepreneurs

In last episode seminar “UniPrep – Going to university”, Dr. Ly Qui Trung – Co-founder of Pho 24, Part-time Professor, Senior Advisor, Western Sydney University (Australia) said that the school can teach students business techniques, but in order to start a successful business, Everyone needs their own strategy. He calls these “unconventional skills” – the unique move of a businessman who knows how to steer, correcting what many others have done to create his own.

“If we do one action, the product is the same as thousands of other entrepreneurs, which means we have no difference – an important factor in determining the success or failure of a startup,” said the speaker.

Starting with the Pho 24 chain, Dr. Trung makes a difference with the market from business model to products. He said, after more than 10 years leaving the brand, he is still interested in this business model.

Before that, he used to spend a long time observing McDonald’s stores in Australia while studying abroad to learn. The businessman determined that in order to build a chain of Vietnamese food restaurants to expand around the world like that, he needed to choose dishes suitable for the fast food industry. Accordingly, when the opportunity was right, he and his family started with a popular Vietnamese dish – pho but beautifully presented, placed in a luxurious restaurant with professional and methodical service standards.

Second, the price strategy is also one of the “unique moves” that helped him create the success of Pho 24. Dr. Trung priced a bowl of pho at that time twice as high as the general market.

“When I came to Hanoi, when I opened the first store on Ba Trieu Street, I walked around and heard people say ‘do you go to a new pho restaurant, that’s 24,000 VND’. That is, the price is quite expensive but still very crowded. guests,” he recounted.

Dr. Ly Qui Trung does not value products according to the traditional calculation method, which is the cost of feed fluctuates 30-35% of the selling price. With the model of Pho 24, if so, it is not enough profit, the cost to rent prime premises, luxury space, top workers.

His “unique trick” is to sell his products differently from the market and set prices based on the payment level of diners. For example, if in Sheraton or the center of big cities, consumers have to drive out of the center, pay travel expenses to eat a bowl of pho costing 12,000 VND. Thus, the cost they spend is even higher than 24,000 VND.

If Pho 24 is located in the center or spreads widely, customers can eat it right away, then, although the product is expensive compared to the market and the cost of food, it is cheap compared to the actual cost of the customer. use.

The third unique move of Dr. Ly Qui Trung is to apply the business franchising model even when Vietnam has not yet, although it is already popular in the world. However, with limited knowledge and laws, he cannot apply 100% of the formulas of other countries to the market. The co-founder of Pho 24 has adjusted, invested at least 30% with his franchise partner. Therefore, he has the freedom to accompany and control the business model.

“An owner, whether creating a new business model or bringing it from the world into Vietnam, needs to have a personal mark and adjust it to fit the market and contemporary context,” he said.

To create “unique moves” suitable for themselves and businesses, according to Dr. Ly Qui Trung, first of all, start-ups must have knowledge from schools, society, books… Then, young people need to improve their creativity and thinking to make a difference. Not only in business but in all areas of his interest, he always asked himself: how could I do this differently.

He affirmed that skills can be learned or observed, but “thinking out of the box” is always a factor that makes it easy for entrepreneurs to succeed but also to fail. However, these risks are all calculated if the business person has a solid knowledge base.

“There are many startups but very few successes. Therefore, every time there is a business model or strategy to pursue, young people always need to think differently. Maybe you will fail, but if you succeed, you will always need to think differently. , it will be a huge success,” he said.

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