Quit high paying job and retire
Graduated with a master's degree in finance in the UK in 2012, Mr. Tang Dinh Son (36 years old) started working at a reputable bank in Hanoi, and has been working there for 10 years. Son's income of more than 1,000 USD/month is considered stable.
After finishing his master's degree in finance in the UK, Mr. Son decided to return to his garden and start a farm (Photo: Character provided).
However, not comfortable with the hired work, Mr. Son decided to "retire" to work on a farm, a field completely unrelated to his trained profession.
"After 10 years working in banking, my income is quite high. I live in Hanoi so I don't have to worry about housing or vehicles. However, my daily life is repetitive, from home to work, waiting for my salary at the end of the month, I don't feel happy. I really want to change my life.
"Finding life in the city restrictive and suffocating, I decided to "retire" to become a farmer," Mr. Son happily said.
He shared that he had planned to "retire" so during his time working at the bank, he invested all his savings in buying land in Nha Trang.
"I chose Nha Trang because I like the climate in the coastal city. At first, I bought the land as a reserve asset, and later if the price was good, I would sell it, but I had no intention of returning to build a farm. It was not until 2021 that I decided to quit my job and informed my parents," Son shared.
From a bank employee who sat in an air-conditioned room all day, Mr. Son has now become a real farmer (Photo: Character provided).
Leaving a stable job, neatly dressed, a life of "never getting wet in the rain or the sun" to go to a remote place, thousands of kilometers away from Hanoi to do farming, Mr. Son shocked many friends and colleagues. His parents also strongly opposed their son leaving the city to return to the countryside.
"You have a good education and a stable job, but you still go to work as a farmer. Are you crazy? How can you stand it there?", Mr. Son recalled what his father said more than 2 years ago.
A few days later, Mr. Son wrote a resignation letter from the bank, despite his parents' efforts to dissuade him. He put all his faith and bet on his decision. He was more confident when he saved enough money to survive for a year without a job or income.
In the early days of "retiring" to live, the Hanoi native was defeated by the Central region's sun, he lost nearly 20kg compared to when he worked in an office. Moreover, holding a hoe for someone born and raised in the city was extremely difficult.
But Mr. Son was still determined to do it, considering it an unforgettable experience.
Foreign chili made with Vietnamese sauce for sale abroad
While he did not know what to plant or raise, Mr. Son happened to read a foreign article about a spicy food competition. Son recalled his time studying for his master's degree in England, and because he loved spicy food, he tried many types of chili peppers from different origins.
"Chili is an indispensable spice and has economic potential, but in Vietnam, if you start a business with normal chili varieties, you will not be able to compete with famous brands. From there, I came up with the idea of investing in growing foreign chili varieties," he said.
Mr. Son shows off a Carolina Reaper pepper, the world's hottest red pepper (Photo: Character provided).
Thinking is doing, Mr. Son went online to learn and asked friends abroad to buy seeds for him. Initially, he chose to grow Carolina Reaper peppers because this spice has high economic value, up to nearly 1 million VND/kg.
With seeds in hand, Mr. Son started to grow seedlings and planted a few dozen pots for fun, the germination rate was only 30%. Having no experience in agriculture or knowledge of chili peppers, Mr. Son decided to just plant them for fun.
After some research, Mr. Son realized that the climate in Nha Trang is suitable for chili peppers to reach their best spiciness, but Da Lat is the most suitable place for growing seedlings. Without hesitation, he decided to pay to rent a garden in Da Lat to produce seedlings.
Initially, he planted a small number of chili plants, which grew well and gave high yields. However, when Mr. Son expanded the model to over 1,000 plants, the Hanoi scholar received the first bitter fruit. The entire chili growing area was destroyed by pests.
From his love of spicy food to his journey of starting a business with chili peppers, Mr. Son was not easy (Photo: Character provided).
Besides, many chili varieties are not suitable for Vietnam's soil and climate, so all the plants died, losing all the investment capital. The money he saved was "burned" on the dream of foreign chili.
"The first year of starting the business, I had no income and then was destroyed by pests, my investment was almost lost. Regretting the money I had "thrown out the window", there were times when I thought about giving up and going back to office work to earn back the money I had lost", Mr. Son confided.
But then, regaining his spirit, he determined to travel everywhere, to chili growing areas in Da Lat and Dak Lak to learn how to grow and care for chili plants with the belief that he would be successful in the near future.
After months of studying and living in the chili garden, Mr. Son gradually gained experience and found a way to treat pests and diseases for the plants. By applying the right techniques, Mr. Son successfully conquered most foreign chili varieties.
Currently, in addition to maintaining the cultivation of main chili varieties such as "dragon's breath", red and yellow carolina, palermo, and habanero to make chili sauce, Mr. Son also grows more than 50 other types of foreign chili to serve visitors.
Every day, 1 hectare of chili peppers yields 1-3kg of fresh chili peppers. Mr. Son does not sell them but uses them to cook his own brand of chili sauce.
"1kg of fresh chili can make 10 bottles of 100ml chili sauce, each bottle costs 250,000 VND, sometimes there are none to sell," said Mr. Son.
In addition to growing the main chili varieties for economic purposes, Mr. Son also grows more than 50 foreign chili varieties to serve visitors (Photo: Character provided).
On average, he sells 250-300 bottles of chili sauce each month, earning about 70 million VND. Total annual revenue from chili is nearly 1 billion VND, after deducting expenses, he makes a profit of 400-500 million VND.
To date, his chili sauce brand is available in restaurants and supermarkets specializing in organic products in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City. In addition to his main source of income from chili sauce, Mr. Son also has additional income from selling seedlings.
After gaining experience, Mr. Son often livestreams on social networks to share experiences and answer questions for people who share the same passion and want to start a business growing foreign chili peppers like him.
From his success, Mr. Son often shares his experiences and guides local people to change their farming models (Photo: Provided by the character).
After two years of leaving the city to return to the garden, Mr. Son has reflected and found it difficult to evaluate whether this decision was right or wrong. For now, he plans to maintain a stable chili growing area on the farm, and later, when he has capital, he will rent more land to expand the garden.
"Quitting a high-paying job to return to my hometown to start a business was a bold and risky decision. That risk initially helped me earn a much better income than my previous job," Son concluded.
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