When I first studied International Business at RMIT, I often looked at businesses from a macro perspective. We learned about markets, strategies, organisational structures, and how companies could scale. At that time, I sometimes thought my family’s business was relatively small and that some of those ideas did not really apply to us.
That perspective changed after I left home and started working in different environments. During my exchange in Australia, I worked as an all-rounder in a restaurant, where I learned to adapt quickly to a fast-paced working environment and work with people from different backgrounds. Later, I worked in Front of House and Administration at Lamborghini HCMC, where I interacted with customers with high expectations and learned to handle demanding situations with professionalism.
These experiences taught me things that a classroom could not fully teach me: how to communicate, manage expectations, stay calm under pressure, and build trust.
After almost two years of working outside the family business, I returned with a different perspective. My parents had built the business from difficult beginnings, starting with a small shop and gradually developing it into the structured business it is today. What impressed me most was not only how closely sales, sourcing, inventory, production, logistics, and customer service worked together, but also the people behind it.
Many employees have worked with my parents for years. I remember a colleague who has been with them for more than 12 years, and I began to understand that people stayed not simply because it was a job, but because they felt genuinely cared for and supported. I also came to appreciate the long-standing relationships our family had built with customers.
I realised that the true value of what my parents had built was not only the business itself, but also the people, relationships, and trust behind it.
I had once planned to work outside the family business for much longer. Returning changed that. I realised that coming back did not mean changing everything my parents had built. It meant understanding why it worked, preserving what mattered, and finding where I could add value.
Most importantly, I realised that learning from my parents is one of the most valuable opportunities I have.
Today, I am continuing my MBA at RMIT while applying what I have learned to import and export, logistics, sourcing, and new business opportunities. I also use the connections and perspectives I gained along the way to explore new suppliers, markets, and partnerships.
For me, joining the family business is not about choosing between my parents’ way and my way. It is about respecting what they built, learning from their experience, and using my own knowledge to help take it further.
That perspective changed after I left home and started working in different environments. During my exchange in Australia, I worked as an all-rounder in a restaurant, where I learned to adapt quickly to a fast-paced working environment and work with people from different backgrounds. Later, I worked in Front of House and Administration at Lamborghini HCMC, where I interacted with customers with high expectations and learned to handle demanding situations with professionalism.
These experiences taught me things that a classroom could not fully teach me: how to communicate, manage expectations, stay calm under pressure, and build trust.
After almost two years of working outside the family business, I returned with a different perspective. My parents had built the business from difficult beginnings, starting with a small shop and gradually developing it into the structured business it is today. What impressed me most was not only how closely sales, sourcing, inventory, production, logistics, and customer service worked together, but also the people behind it.
Many employees have worked with my parents for years. I remember a colleague who has been with them for more than 12 years, and I began to understand that people stayed not simply because it was a job, but because they felt genuinely cared for and supported. I also came to appreciate the long-standing relationships our family had built with customers.
I realised that the true value of what my parents had built was not only the business itself, but also the people, relationships, and trust behind it.
I had once planned to work outside the family business for much longer. Returning changed that. I realised that coming back did not mean changing everything my parents had built. It meant understanding why it worked, preserving what mattered, and finding where I could add value.
Most importantly, I realised that learning from my parents is one of the most valuable opportunities I have.
Today, I am continuing my MBA at RMIT while applying what I have learned to import and export, logistics, sourcing, and new business opportunities. I also use the connections and perspectives I gained along the way to explore new suppliers, markets, and partnerships.
For me, joining the family business is not about choosing between my parents’ way and my way. It is about respecting what they built, learning from their experience, and using my own knowledge to help take it further.
