Refresh familiar dishes

After graduating from Kon Tum Pedagogical College, Tran Thi Kim Hue became a Literature teacher at a secondary school in Mang Den town. Satisfied with her teaching job, Kim Hue still wanted to try her hand at another field to develop herself and increase her family's income. When she shared this idea with her husband, he supported her. The two of them thought together and considered what products to choose to start a business.

Realizing that Mang Den has a specialty of smoked meat with the special flavor of doi seeds, mac khen seeds and typical spices, Kim Hue has cherished the idea of ​​starting a business with this specialty. She herself often chooses smoked meat to entertain guests and as gifts for people from far away. However, if she continues to follow the beaten path, it will be like other production facilities, making it difficult to compete, so Kim Hue has tried to find a unique recipe to differentiate her product. So after class, she takes advantage of the weekends to go to villages and hamlets, meet with elders to learn from their experiences, and try to innovate this familiar dish.

Kim Hue and her husband

In 2022, Ms. Kim Hue won the Encouragement Prize in the "Innovative Startup" contest organized by the Department of Science and Technology in coordination with the Women's Union of Kon Tum province.

Choosing raw materials is an important step in the process of making smoked meat. To get the soft and sweet taste, the meat must be fresh; before being slaughtered, the animal must be raised naturally to produce firm meat. This step requires the buyer to have experience and be willing to spend a lot of money to get good products. Another requirement in the processing process is the smoking technique to achieve the desired flavor, not too salty or too dry.

During the product testing process, Kim Hue encountered many failures, some batches were not cooked evenly, some were blackened... One time near Tet, when she had just received her monthly salary, she eagerly put money into making a batch of smoked meat, but the finished product was not as expected. Regretting the effort and money spent, the couple encouraged each other, "Let's save it for home use, it's not a waste". The meat that had been made could be eaten gradually, but the worries about household expenses could not wait. After each failure, Kim Hue told herself that she needed to try harder.

And after 3 months, she had made a satisfactory product. The couple brought it to tourist attractions in Mang Den to introduce to visitors. Surprisingly, that batch of products received positive reviews from buyers. Kim Hue will always remember that the batch of meat that day, about 8 kg, was sold out. Holding the money from the sale in hand, the couple cried tears of joy. After that, instead of having to bring it to tourist attractions to sell, groups of diners came to Kim Hue's house to buy it.

Bringing Mang Den products far and wide

From the main product of smoked meat, after 5 years of starting up, now the "Hue Tam Mang Den" establishment of teacher Kim Hue has developed many other product lines, such as: one-sun dried beef, dried beef sticks, dried beef pieces marinated with Mang Den's typical spices... The "Hue Tam Mang Den" smoked meat brand has achieved 3-star OCOP and has been selected to display and introduce products at Mang Den fair and many cultural-tourism promotion events inside and outside the province.

Products of "Hue Tam Mang Den" facility are welcomed and loved by many diners.

Looking back on her entrepreneurial journey, Kim Hue said that, starting out as an "amateur", without her own efforts and support from her family and local organizations, she would hardly have achieved the success she has today. In the initial stages of starting a business with many uncertainties, the encouragement and support from the Association's officials at all levels helped her become more confident. "The Association created conditions for me to attend training courses on business administration and was supported to connect with other startup support organizations. Thanks to that, I overcame the initial difficulties and gradually developed production. No longer limited to Mang Den, my products are now present in more than 15 provinces and cities," Ms. Hue excitedly said.

And from those training sessions, Kim Hue has gained more knowledge about financial management, building marketing strategies and developing her brand. She has learned how to make reasonable financial plans, how to optimize production and distribution costs, minimize risks, and increase revenue. She has taken advantage of online sales channels and linked up with local stores, and participated in culinary events to promote and introduce her products to more people.

Working two jobs at the same time, in addition to her efforts and diligence, Tran Thi Kim Hue has her own ways to balance teaching and business.

1. Weekly work plan: Kim Hue creates a list of tasks to complete during the week and checks them off when completed, helping to avoid confusion and ensure work progress.

2. Choosing a priority job: Ms. Hue always puts teaching first, ensuring that she completes assigned tasks well before focusing on business.

3. Effective financial management: Ms. Hue tracks business-related expenses such as raw materials, transportation and labor, then subtracts them from income to determine actual profit, helping to control finances and reinvest appropriately.

4. Organize family life reasonably: The division of work in the family is agreed upon by both husband and wife, children are independent in their studies. When there is time, Kim Hue's husband can support his wife in transportation and processing.

5. Choose a flexible business model in terms of time: To be able to do 2 jobs at the same time, choosing a flexible working model in terms of time is a very important factor so that people can proactively arrange their work without conflicting schedules.

Source: https://phunuvietnam.vn/co-giao-van-khoi-nghiep-voi-san-vat-cua-vung-dat-mang-den-20250415153747413.htm