The young boss in Van Thai Parish

(Baonghean) - At just 28 years old, Ho Van Tu owns a business installing aluminum and glass products and printing advertisements, providing regular employment for 10 local young people. He is also an active participant in cultural and sports movements; a model of a young Catholic man excelling in business and living a virtuous life in Son Hai commune, Quynh Luu district.

The Thien Van workshop, specializing in the installation of aluminum and glass products and mechanical parts, is located along the village road running straight through the center of Son Hai commune. For many years, it has been a trusted address for local residents when they need to build houses. The workshop currently employs 10 permanent workers, with an income of over 200 million VND per year. This is the business of young owner Ho Van Tu, a young man from Van Thai hamlet.

Sharing his experience of business success, he calmly said, "My secret is simply determination and hard work." His hometown is a coastal village where generations of people have toiled under the sun and rain, yet life remains full of hardships. From a young age, he knew the salty taste and the toil of fishermen's lives at sea. After finishing 9th grade, Ho Van Tu went to learn a trade to help his parents. He traveled all the way to Vung Tau to learn design and advertising drawing from his maternal uncle's family. Having a natural talent and passion for drawing, Tu learned very quickly. After a short time, he was able to assist and then become a skilled worker in a production workshop. For five years, while learning and honing his skills, Tu not only supported himself but also sent money home to help his parents support his three younger siblings' education.

Mr. Ho Van Tu's aluminum and glass manufacturing workshop (Son Hai, Quynh Luu).

Once he had mastered the trade, Tu began to harbor the intention of returning to his hometown to open his own production workshop. At the age of 20, he went abroad to work, hoping to accumulate some capital to develop his business. However, working overseas was also very difficult, and after more than a year of working abroad, he returned empty-handed. Not giving up on his intention to settle down and start a business in his hometown, Tu applied for a job at an advertising company in Dien Chau town to both accumulate capital and learn about the market and find business partners. After just over a year, having confidently built up business relationships, Tu boldly opened a shop specializing in producing signs, printing, and spraying advertisements right in his village. With only a small amount of capital, he borrowed nearly 30 million VND from friends to invest in a computer and an advertising printer.

After some time, realizing that the sign-making business in his hometown was struggling due to low demand, while the need for construction was increasing, he began to develop the idea of ​​making aluminum and glass products for local construction projects. However, the difficulty lay in his limited expertise and lack of experience in this field. He overcame this by hiring skilled aluminum and glass workers and welders for his workshop, offering them attractive salaries. He acted as a manager, responsible for both the input and output of products, and he didn't hesitate to learn directly from his workers. At the same time, he assisted the workers in creating intricate products with difficult details.

However, the entrepreneurial journey of this young Catholic man was fraught with difficulties, and there were times when he felt completely stuck. He shared: “In the early years of starting my business, I lacked capital to buy production machinery. Furthermore, the nature of the mechanical and aluminum-glass industries requires a large amount of capital to purchase raw materials, so I almost always had to borrow money from the bank, and then I had to work while paying off the debt. There were times when I felt like I couldn't make it through.”

In his hometown, the people rely solely on fishing for their livelihood, a precarious profession that few can now sustain. Therefore, he is determined that "having created jobs for the young people in his village, he must always strive to maintain and develop them." He diligently searches for inexpensive raw materials while simultaneously expanding his product offerings and seeking new customers. By successfully exploiting market demand, leveraging the skills of his craftsmen, and prioritizing trustworthiness and customer care, his workshop has become a trusted address for people both within and outside the commune. Products such as corrugated iron roofing, roller doors, windows, aluminum cabinets, and iron gates are increasingly popular and sought after by customers. After more than four years of hard work, starting from nothing, Ho Van Tu has expanded his workshop to include an aluminum and glass installation and welding workshop spanning 100 square meters. His business has a total capital of nearly 1 billion VND, providing regular employment for nearly 10 workers with an average income of nearly 4 million VND per person per month.

Not only is Tu talented and dynamic in economic development, but he also serves as the Head of the Youth Committee of Van Thai Parish, acting as a key figure in the parish's cultural, artistic, and sports movements. Thanks to his active and pioneering contributions, the cultural movements of Van Thai parish are thriving, becoming one of the bright spots in Son Hai commune.

As the former youth union secretary of a predominantly Catholic village, he has always been concerned with initiating and organizing movements and activities to strengthen solidarity between Catholics and non-Catholics in the community. He pioneered the establishment and development of a youth football team in the commune. Recently, he opened a uniform and sports equipment store right in the center of the commune (offering subsidized prices for underprivileged children). This is not only a new business venture for this dynamic and ambitious young Catholic man, but more importantly, it fulfills the wish that children have the opportunity to play and develop healthily. Speaking about Youth Union member Ho Van Tu, Ms. Pham Thi Tam, Secretary of the Son Hai Commune Youth Union, said: “Always at the forefront of the youth movement for economic development, legitimate wealth creation, and living a beautiful and useful life, Mr. Ho Van Tu is one of the exemplary Catholic youth of the commune. Besides his ambition to build a career and become wealthy himself, Mr. Tu is always conscious of creating job opportunities for local youth. Therefore, the Commune Youth Union is creating conditions for Tu to borrow capital to expand production and create jobs for many local young people.”

Dinh Nguyet