Editor’s note: This article was first published in November 2011; time references such as “twelve months ago” and “started operating in July” (2011), as well as the economic crisis it mentions, refer to that time.
Sometimes we talk about the great stories of entrepreneurs who have already achieved solid success, to the point that many people going through a hard time tend to see what these entrepreneurs have achieved with their businesses as out of reach. That’s why I think it’s a good idea to show, from time to time, real, “flesh-and-blood” people close to home: people who were unemployed 12 months ago and today have their own business with good prospects for the future. And, most importantly, people who live 5 kilometres from me.
We’re talking about Beatriz Peña, a young entrepreneur who, faced with the difficulty of finding a job and seeing that the situation wasn’t going to improve, simply chose not to waste her time sending out CVs and to spend it instead on developing different business ideas, which in this short time already have excellent prospects.
Beatriz says that after finishing her degree she worked for several companies. About a year ago she lost her job. That was when she came up with Nhue Concierge.
“Nhue” is a word that means “elite” in Vietnamese, and concierge is French for “porter“. In the past, luxury hotels employed these people, whose job was to satisfy their guests’ whims and meet their needs. That is exactly what this entrepreneur’s business idea is based on.
The company started operating in July, although one of its lines of business, tailor-made tourism, is still being developed. Its business is acting as the traveller’s assistant and adviser 24 hours a day.
Nhue has three lines of business: Nhue Concierge, specialised and exclusive tailor-made tourism; Nhue chic to chic, a leisure club for women; and Nhue travel, an outbound travel agency. They have an office from which they operate, although many of their services are sold online.
If we asked some people why they don’t start their own business, they would tell us it’s because of the delicate economic situation (the crisis). Yet if we ask Beatriz why she started her own business, she answers that she did it because of the delicate economic situation.
As we can see, we all start from the same situation, but with a different mindset, and it’s that mindset that changes our situation.
Further reading
- The advantages of starting a business in a time of crisis
- Business ideas in leisure and tourism
- How to start a business with no money
- Life is a table: which side of the table do you want to be on?
- There is always a way out; you just have to know how to find it
Featured image: Fred Cherrygarden, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
