Ye! Community Spotlight: Nguyễn Thị Hương Liên
Interested to know more about the young entrepreneurs who make up the Ye! global community? Then check out our latest community member spotlight.
The Ye! network spans more than 140 countries and is comprised of more than 16,000 entrepreneurs. That’s a lot of young people! These young innovators are engaged in some pretty cool business ventures- from building edutech platforms that aim to provide education for all, to creating new building materials to ensure the structures of tomorrow are resilient and sustainable; the Ye! Community is home to them all! Below we highlight one of the many exceptional youth entrepreneurs from the Ye! Community. Interested in being featured? Send us an email sharing your story to ye@yecommunity.com
Lien's journey started in 2013 when she hosted her first tour I Love HueTour while a student in Hue, Vietnam. Lien had been working as a waitress in a restaurant. Her job provided the opportunity for her to improve her English skills and engage with tourists. This experience sparked her entrepreneurial desire to set up a community focused business in tourism.
The I Love Hue Tour has expanded to various destinations across Vietnam developing into the I Love Vietnam Tour. In the future, she hopes to expand further to offer I Love Asia tours in Cambodia and Laos.
We spoke with Lien about her entrepreneurial journey last year. Check out the conversation below!
Can you tell us more about the I Love Vietnam Tour?
The I Love Vietnam Tour is a scooter tour which introduces guests to the real Vietnamese way of life with tours in cities across Vietnam. Guests ride on the back of scooters safely driven by our amazing Lady Drivers. Our tours are not only a business, they also help disadvantaged people in Vietnam. The I Love Vietnam Tour is a community business that contributes a percentage of its profit back to local NGOs. We offer many tour varieties including tours in sign language for the deaf and customisable tours suited to each traveller’s unique needs. Just ask us and we can make something happen!
Did you always know you wanted to be an entrepreneur?
My passion is changing the world. Being a social entrepreneur has always been my big dream. I want to continue to build and grow a community business that gives back to society. I believe that youth can be part of the solution. I want to align the energy of youth to support disadvantaged women. The I Love Vietnam Tour gives our Lady Bikers an opportunity to speak English with foreigners, therefore enhancing their language skills whilst also contributing to access to gainful employment for these women. My enterprise supports the local economy and contributes to helping Vietnamese society.
Lien attributes her continued success to her colleagues ''My wonderful mentors are the team''.
How do you make sure to keep learning and developing as an entrepreneur?
I believe everyday there is always something to learn. I read a lot of books, I follow the news and my role models, who I am always learning from. As an entrepreneur, if we don’t learn and develop ourselves, how can we lead our teams and encourage growth and progress! I make sure to spend time every day learning new things, either through reading or talking to people.
How do you market and promote your business? Which social media channels have been most beneficial for promoting your company?
We market our tours both online and off. I think marketing is about the big picture.
Online: We focus more of our energy on online marketing because we are a tourism business and today people tend to search more for tours using online sites. We market our company and products on Google, through various social media channels, and through online travel agents.
Offline: We leverage a number of different forms of offline marketing such as advertising in travel books, travel market shows, speaking at various travel events , which offer the chance to network and meet with potential partners and clients, and through travel focused conferences. We also still rely on word of mouth recommendations as a key way to secure future business opportunities.
What do you find most valuable about being part of the Ye! global community of youth entrepreneurs?
I think it’s a great network where young entrepreneurs like myself can share our experiences and knowledge with one another. Through the community, we can connect to achieve more impact. It’s a great network for finding entrepreneurs with similar passions. We can’t change the world alone, this requires an ambitious group that thinks differently and is able to work well together for one dream. I think the community is important in that it allows a way for entrepreneurs to help each other along our entrepreneurial journey.
Where do you see yourself 5 years from now?
I would love to become a Ye! Youth Ambassador to connect people while also working with a diverse group of people through the I Love Asia Tour. I can’t wait for my company to expand and grow to more countries by following the roadmap we have planned. I love to share and exchange knowledge and I hope to bring the I Love Tour business model to any country where it can add value and support the community.
To learn more about I Love Vietnam (or to book a tour) please visit: www.ilovevietnamtour.com
Check out Lien’s Ye! Profile here.
Ye! Community - interesting read? Would you like to share your entrepreneurial journey? Send us an email at ye@yecommunity.com.