Author: Phonh

I failed twice—and learned much more than I expected. In 2014, I spoke confidently about business growth—using words like “synergy” and “strategy”—from a comfortable office with weekly reports. And then everything fell apart. My first business closed in 2015. The second one lasted until 2019 before it died too. Both times, I lost money, lost face, and had to deal with people basically laughing at me behind my back. You know that feeling when you run into someone at the grocery store, and they ask, “How’s the business going?” and you have to pretend everything’s fine? Yeah. That was my…

This morning, I was playing with Dudo, my dog, in the garden. We were running around and having fun. It made me think about how different my life is now compared to 2015. Back then, I was sitting in an empty office. My business had failed. I felt lost and confused. I thought growing a business just meant making more money. But I was completely wrong. Today, I want to share what I learned about how to grow a business—the hard way. My Failed Business Taught Me Everything In 2015, I lost my first business. I used to sit in…

My Business Failure: The Wake-Up Call I Needed In mid-2014, I thought I was a genius. My partner and I started our business with big dreams and even bigger confidence. I thought I had it all figured out. Nine months later, we were broke, the business was gone, and I was sitting in an empty office, wondering what had happened. My confidence was completely shattered. Looking back now, I can see exactly where I went wrong. I spent my days sitting in a comfortable, air-conditioned office. I waited for reports to land on my desk. I made decisions from a…

You can’t become exceptional without first believing in yourself. It sounds simple, right? But self-belief is the only thing that stops you from giving up when you are standing in a muddy field under the hot sun, wondering if you made a huge mistake. Without belief in yourself, every challenge feels like a dead end. With it, every obstacle becomes just another step on your journey. My Story: From Doubt to Decision Let me share a personal experience that changed how I think about skill development. Recently, I decided to expand the flower garden at Dream Garden. It was a…

Running Dream Garden has taught me something important: you don’t need a big wallet to create something beautiful. Sometimes, the best low-budget garden ideas come from looking at what you already have. When we first opened our gates in 2023, visitors would compliment the view, but they would awkwardly stand around the edges of the property. We realized the problem wasn’t the view—it was the layout. We had a “big flat field” problem. Without defined borders, paths, or flower beds, a garden just feels like… a lawn. I sat down with my team one afternoon and said, “We need flower…

When I first opened Dream Garden, nobody knew who we were. We had flowers, but we didn’t have a ‘vibe.’ I realized that if I didn’t fix this, we were just another garden. When I opened Dream Garden, I had no idea how to stand out or grow. It was overwhelming. After a year of trial and error, things clicked. Today, I want to share what worked for us. If you’re a small business owner struggling with branding, these lessons might be exactly what you need. Why Brand Identity Matters for Small Businesses Before we dive in, let’s get one…

Today, as I stood repairing the old walking bridge in my Dream Garden, the sound of my hammer against rusty metal posts brought back powerful memories. This bridge, which I built with my own hands years ago, has taught me more about life than I ever expected. Let me share my journey from failure to success, and how a simple garden bridge became a symbol of everything I’ve learned about perseverance. The Bridge That Changed My Perspective Around 12:45 p.m. today, I walked to the bridge I built years ago. Time has taken its toll—the metal posts have rusted, and…

Yesterday, I was cleaning a bathroom at my resort. Not because we couldn’t afford cleaners. Not because I had nothing better to do. But sometimes, as a business owner, you need to get down on your knees and scrub the tiles yourself. Two of my staff members walked in, surprised. “Sir, what are you doing?” they asked. “Checking for cracked tiles,” I said with a smile. But really, I was doing something much more important. I was staying connected to my business. If you scroll through Instagram, you might think owning a business is easy. You see entrepreneurs relaxing on…

A few days ago, I was steering my boat down the Mekong River with tourists on board. The water was calm, and the sun felt warm on my face. As I looked at my boat’s bright pink color, I smiled. I remembered the day I painted it this color—and how everyone laughed at me. My boat is the only pink one on this river. When I first painted it, other boat drivers made fun of me. They said I was crazy. They said it looked ugly. But I didn’t let their words control me. Instead, I stayed calm and focused…

The Day I Painted My Boat Pink (And Everyone Laughed) I still remember standing on the dock with a paintbrush in my hand, watching the other boat drivers shake their heads at me. “Why are you painting it pink?” one of them shouted across the water. Another one laughed so hard he nearly fell off his boat. “Nobody paints their boat pink! What’s wrong with you?” Honestly? I didn’t have a good answer. I just knew I had to do something different. Let me back up and tell you why I made this crazy decision—and how it changed everything for…