The Moment Everything Changed
Yesterday was a beautiful weekend at Dream Garden Koh Chraeng Island. Families laughed, children played, and visitors enjoyed boat rides along the peaceful Mekong River. As I prepared my tour boat for a group of 11 guests, one visitor smiled at me and said something I’ll never forget:
“You’re so lucky. This place is amazing—it’s like it appeared overnight!”
I thanked him with a smile. But inside, I was thinking about something completely different.
Lucky? Maybe. But this “overnight success” actually took me 15 years, two major failures, and more hard work than most people can imagine.
Why I’m Sharing This Entrepreneur Success Story
If you’re struggling right now, feeling stuck, or wondering if your dreams will ever come true, this story is for you.
Success doesn’t happen quickly. It’s messy, painful, and full of lessons. But if you keep going, even after failure, you can build something amazing.
Let me show you how.
Phase 1: The Invisible Years (2008-2010)
Working as a Gardener
In 2008, I was just a gardener working with my uncle. Every single day, I was covered in dust and dirt, pulling weeds under the hot sun, and earning very little money.
My friends? They had nice office jobs with air conditioning and steady paychecks. They wore clean clothes. They had benefits. Meanwhile, I was standing in the dirt, sweating, working long hours for small pay.
But I didn’t quit.
Why? Because I loved working with nature. I loved creating beautiful outdoor spaces. And deep inside, I knew this experience was teaching me something important.
Moving Up: Becoming a Landscape Decorator
In 2009, I asked my boss if I could learn more about landscape decoration. He said yes.
This changed everything. I started developing creative ideas for gardens and learning about the outdoor recreation business. Nobody encouraged me. Nobody told me I was doing great. These were my “invisible years”—the years when I was learning but had nothing to show for it yet.
Important lesson: Success starts long before anyone notices you.
Phase 2: The Learning Years (2011-2014)
Learning Business Without Knowing It
By mid-2010, I left gardening. In 2011, I started working as a waiter in a small restaurant. After one year of hard work, I became the stock manager in 2012.
This job taught me how to manage inventory, deal with customers, and understand how businesses actually handle money.
Meeting My Business Partner
Something interesting happened in 2012. I forgot my wallet at the restaurant one day. When I went back to get it, I met someone who would become my closest friend and business partner.
We talked for hours about our dreams. For six months, we kept sharing ideas about starting a recreation garden business together. By mid-2012, we decided: we would start our own business.
Key lesson: Sometimes the best partnerships happen by accident.
Phase 3: The Failure Years (2014-2019)
Attempt #1: The Collapse (2014-2015)
In mid-2014, we launched our first business. We were so excited! We thought success was finally coming.
We were completely wrong.
We made every possible mistake:
- Wrong location: We didn’t research where customers actually wanted to go.
- Poor planning: We spent money on the wrong things.
After just nine months, in 2015, our business collapsed. We lost almost everything. All we had left was empty land, unused equipment, and debt.
People laughed at us. They said we were foolish for trying. I felt ashamed and lost. Most people would have quit and gone back to a regular job. I almost did.
Critical lesson: Failure is not the end. It’s part of the journey.
Attempt #2: The Heartbreak (2017-2019)
In 2017, we found another partner and decided to try again. We thought we had learned from our mistakes.
But we were wrong again.
This second attempt also failed—this time in 2019. Our new partner quit. He lost faith in the idea. Now it was just my closest friend and me. We had failed twice. We had been laughed at twice.
But we held onto each other. We refused to quit.
Phase 4: The Preparation (2020-2022)
After failing in 2019, I realized I needed more than just passion. I needed knowledge.
For three years (2020-2022), we did not start a business. Instead, I focused entirely on education. I joined business training programs at the University of Management and Economics. I took courses to learn exactly why we had failed before.
I worked, I saved money, and I studied. We were preparing for one last try.
Phase 5: The Breakthrough (2023)
The Birth of Dream Garden
In 2023, my friend and I decided to try one more time.
This time, there was no big opening ceremony. No fancy marketing. No huge investment. Just two people who had failed twice, applying every lesson they had learned.
What We Did Differently:
- Customer needs first: We asked what people actually wanted.
- Tracking every dollar: We managed money carefully.
- Great service over marketing: We made sure visitors had amazing experiences.
Slow, steady growth: We didn’t try to get big fast.
The Reality of Success After Failure
Starting in 2023 was not easy. It didn’t grow fast immediately. There were days when almost no one came.
But I kept showing up. Every. Single. Day.
Slowly, things changed. More visitors started coming. People told their friends about us. We built a loyal community. Today, Dream Garden is finally standing strong.
7 Lessons from My Journey
Today, when people say “You’re lucky,” here is what they don’t see:
- Success takes much longer than you think. My “overnight success” took 15 years.
- Failure teaches more than success. My two failures taught me what NOT to do.
- The invisible years matter. When I was a gardener earning little money, I was building skills for my future.
- Keep the right people close. My business partner stayed with me through two failures.
- Learn constantly. Education (2020-2022) changed everything for me.
- Focus on customers, not yourself. My successful business focuses on what CUSTOMERS want.
- Never, ever give up. If I had quit after the first failure, I would never have built my dream.
Final Thoughts: Your Turn
If you’re struggling right now, please remember this: You might be in your “invisible years” right now. You might be learning lessons through failure. That does NOT mean you are a failure. It means you’re still on your journey.
My journey took 15 years, two major failures, and countless difficult days. But today, when I see families enjoying Dream Garden, every hard moment was worth it.
Your success story is being written right now. Keep going.
What about you? Are you working on a dream right now? Have you faced failure? Share your story in the comments below.
