Dropping out of school in 9th grade to work as a construction worker to help his family, after more than 10 years of effort, Nguyen The Duy turned to making cakes and achieved certain successes.
Working as a construction worker, Nguyen The Duy (30 years old, from Yen Bai province) never thought he would become a bakery owner. But after working as a construction worker for a while, he felt that this job was too hard, so Duy moved to Hanoi to work for a photocopy shop. Next, Duy worked as a kitchen assistant for a restaurant in Lao Cai city (Lao Cai province), but after a few months, he quit and returned to his hometown because he did not find passion for the job. After nearly 2 years of job-hopping, introduced by an uncle, Duy moved to Ha Long city (Quang Ninh province) to learn how to make bread.
Mr. Nguyen The Duy
NVCC
“When I was in my hometown, I couldn’t imagine what it was like to learn how to make bread or cakes. When I went to Quang Ninh province, the bakery owner let me learn how to make birthday cakes instead of bread. I learned the trade very quickly and was skillful, so after 3 months of basic training at the shop, the owner let me go to advanced training for another 3 months, then I returned to work as a master craftsman,” Duy shared.
Mr. Duy said that when he was a student, he often drew pictures of singer Dan Truong because he admired him so much. Because he had a talent and love for drawing since he was young, when he started learning how to make birthday cakes, Mr. Duy was able to develop his strengths, enhancing the beauty of the cakes.
The vivid flower decorated cakes are made by the skillful hands of Mr. Duy.
NVCC
After more than 5 years working in Ha Long City (Quang Ninh Province), Mr. Duy moved to Hanoi to work in another bakery. After 3 months, he moved to a new unit in Mong Cai City (Quang Ninh Province). Mr. Duy said that thanks to the long period of working for many places, he had accumulated experience to open a bakery later.
While working, Duy always sent money home for his parents to save up and later open a bakery. With that amount of money, plus borrowing from relatives, in May 2017, Duy and his cousin pooled capital (each person 150 million VND) to open a bakery in Yen Bai City (Yen Bai Province). After 1 year of opening the shop, Duy's partner stopped cooperating because the profit was too low. Seeing that, this young man used all his savings to pay off the capital to the other party.
A cake decorated with impressive flowers
NVCC
“After paying off my cousin, I was almost out of money, so I borrowed 50 million VND from a brother to buy a 5-tier cake display cabinet. When I had the new cabinet, the shop looked more spacious and magnificent, so customers paid attention, and revenue doubled from before. However, the difficulty now was that I had to shoulder the amount of work that was originally meant for 2 people. I woke up at 5am to make all kinds of cakes, then make more cakes, and sometimes I also did the delivery,” Duy shared.
After 3 years of running his own business, Duy was able to buy the house and the premises of his current bakery for 4 billion VND. Duy's bakery now has 2 workers and regularly trains students with a monthly revenue of more than 200 million VND: "I bought a house opposite the old bakery so I didn't lose my regular customers. Luckily, business has been stable since then, even during the period of social distancing due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the shop was still able to operate to serve customers because it is an essential item."
After nearly 10 years of learning and working for hire, Mr. Duy now has a bakery with admirable revenue.
NVCC
Sharing the reason why his bakery is popular with many customers, Mr. Duy said: “I learned the trade in 2010, so I still maintain the traditional flavors, for example, the sponge cake base will be beaten with whole eggs instead of separating the egg whites and yolks. Therefore, when making the cake, it still has a natural aroma.”
Mr. Cao Van Tuan (30 years old), currently working at kiosk 46HH01B Thanh Ha urban area, Ha Dong, Hanoi, said: “I have known Mr. Duy for more than 10 years since I studied baking with him in Ha Long city (Quang Ninh province). Mr. Duy is a very active person, always creative and meticulous in his work. He is always sociable and does not hesitate to share with new friends in the profession.”
Thanhnien.vn
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