Young boss 'dare to sell books

Yet, there are people who are both successful in business and extremely kind. That is CEO Le Ba Tan (36 years old), the young owner of the used book business “Ba Tan Sach” with the motto: “Dare to sell books – dare to be kind”.

Ông chủ trẻ ‘dám bán sách – dám tử tế’ — *Book cleaning staff at the bookstore Can Ki – 4511E Hai Ba Trung, Vo Thi Sau Ward, District 3, HCMC PHOTO: TGCC*

Bravely start a business with old books

Born in Thanh Hoa , Le Ba Tan lives and works in Ho Chi Minh City. Graduated from the History Pedagogy major at Ho Chi Minh City University of Education, he taught History for a short time. Before entering the book business, he also tried selling other products but they did not work out. Finally, thanks to his passion for reading, knowledge of books and a knack for business, he decided to sell used books and was successful.

Regarding the reason for selling used books in Ho Chi Minh City, Mr. Tan said: “For me, Ho Chi Minh City is an open land for everyone. This place has all the conditions to help a person start a business. For the book industry, this city is even more suitable, because the demand for reading and collecting books of everyone here is very high. Saigon - Ho Chi Minh City is a paradise of used book stores, both in the past and now. The difference is that now it is more abundant because there are many more online used book stores.”

Selling used books is not an easy job. Mr. Tan has spent 7 years in business, with sweat, tears, and smiles. Talking about winning and losing, gains and losses in the business world, the young boss with a tall, thin, scholarly appearance and a face that exudes wisdom expressed that he likes to talk about positive things, so he shared his 3 joys about the book business:

“First of all, through this old book buying and selling job, I understand myself better. With this job, I feel like my whole self has truly developed: I have both developed my strengths and overcome many of my own limitations.

Second, I am able to pay high salaries to my staff. This high salary proves two things: one, the old book industry can become a stable source of income, and two, this industry has the potential to become a professional industry, contributing to the welfare of society.

Finally, I received help from many people, especially a strong and talented staff. Currently, the entire 'Ba Tan Sach' system has 4 stores with 15 employees. Although all of them study in many different fields, they all have one thing in common: a love of books."

Currently, he no longer operates a book cafe business. But there is still a free coffee and tea counter, so that customers who need it can help themselves while looking for the book they like. This water counter is on the porch for customers to conveniently make drinks, and there is a book counter for free. Customers who come to buy books can choose 1-3 books here.

With the initiative of giving away books on Sundays and exchanging old books for new ones from the shop, he saw that customers were very happy and liked it so he has maintained it until now. This is a creative step in the book business that only exists at “Ba Tan Sach”, demonstrating the passion in the used book business that Mr. Tan has done in the first 10 years of starting his business.

Spread kindness

In addition to business purposes, Mr. Tan determined to try to live a kind life: applying it to both his personal life and his business. He humbly does not consider himself a kind person, but "daring to be kind" is what he aims for every day, in every thing he does. Therefore, when buying books, selling books, talking to his staff, or meeting anyone, everything he does in a day, he always sees it as an opportunity for himself to strive to live a kinder life. He and his staff all want to, through the work of buying and selling used books, be able to sow seeds of kindness wherever his shop is present. For example, the staff of "Ba Tan Sach" supported the people of the North affected by the recent storm and flood with 10 million VND.

Or when buying old books, his shop always publicly announces the purchase price; is ready to explain in detail why the purchase price is that way so that customers can understand; if they encounter fake books, his shop also helps customers identify them so that later, customers can distinguish between real and fake books when buying books; or organizes many book competitions to connect more with readers. Within the shop, he has organized study sessions for employees to improve their knowledge, helping them understand more about books and help them understand more about life.

Mr. Tan added: “The old book business is also a way to preserve memories and culture. For example, books that have been printed for a long time and are not currently being reprinted, at most only libraries and families keep them, not everyone can access and read them. But old bookstores will be a bridge for those books to reach those who need them more easily. Besides, it is very common to open an old book and see the handwriting of the previous owner in it. That handwriting can be what the previous owner felt about the book; and those notes will sometimes give us another perspective on the content of the book. Old books will also help customers save money, because the price of old books is quite cheap.”

In addition to activities to spread kindness, Mr. Tan's bookstore has organized many reading promotion activities, demonstrating breakthrough thinking in the book industry as well as honoring reading culture in the community. In early September 2024, the store organized a session to learn about Kieu fortune telling at the store branch on Thu Duc City Book Street, Ho Chi Minh City. This place also organizes screenings of movies adapted from literature. Then, the Old Book Store (at 451/10/7 Hai Ba Trung) will be open on the weekends, so that customers in need can come and borrow books to read on the spot. The bookstore also coordinates to organize "Writing History Pages" talks on the topic of Vietnamese history and culture and targets young Vietnamese people; organizes the first issue on Southern culture, about writer Ho Bieu Chanh...

Tan’s used book business is aimed at everyone. But with reading promotion activities, he mainly targets young people. Part of the reason he organizes these activities is to create an additional information channel for young people to easily access books, know how to choose the right books, and have an additional environment to meet and exchange with each other about books.

To him, customers are also benefactors, people who in one way or another have helped him and the “Ba Tan Sach” shop a lot. On this occasion, he would like to send his sincere thanks to everyone for everything they have given to “Ba Tan Sach” over the past time, even though there are times when he and his team still have many shortcomings.

In the new era of self -discovery and conquest of the universe, books are the shortest bridge to reach the dreams of humanity. Mr. Tan expressed with emotion: “Living, studying and working with all my heart is the way I repay people and life. Especially repaying my parents. My parents and family have been with me since I was born, until I left Thanh Hoa for Saigon to study and start a career, going through many ups and downs in life. 'Dare to sell books - dare to be kind' is to repay my parents, repay my loyalty to heaven and earth and repay all those to whom I am grateful”.

Thanhnien.vn

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/ong-chu-tre-dam-ban-sach-dam-tu-te-185241010170817916.htm