By Dick Grove
A little more than a month ago I was invited by the Vietnamese Chamber of Commerce, and the Vietnamese Embassy to hold a workshop for Vietnamese entrepreneurs wishing to market their products through the US media. I considered this a rare opportunity to tell the INK PR story and find out firsthand if emerging companies in the countries too often overlooked for their entrepreneurial savvy, are in fact, ready to deal with the complexities of media marketing in our country. After approximately fourteen thousand miles of travel spanning twelve time zones and the international dateline, I can state unequivocally that the answer is yes, but with certain reservations. Certainly the entrepreneurial spirit is alive and well in Vietnam as well as the curiosity of how they can take advantage of the sheer size and potential of what America offers. Also present is the envelope pushing technological knowledge which makes them very competitiv
e with other foreign based entrepreneurs from their neighbors to the north and east. China, Japan, India should be on alert that Vietnam is close and in some cases surpassing their leadership positions.
The major barrier that lingers is an outgrowth of Vietnam’s slow transformation from a socialist country still shaking off the distrust and the bureaucracy created from millenniums of colonial rule and conflict, into a modern market-based economic power. It’s becoming easier to do business with Vietnam, but it does have its hurdles. I have every confidence this bureaucracy will begin to subside as the benefits become more apparent to the government leadership…and the young emerging entrepreneurs pushing for reform.
My enthusiasm about the business potential in Vietnam remains strong, and perhaps even expanded by my recent experience. More than one hundred entrepreneurs attended the INK workshop in Ho Chi Minh City…thirty crowded around me at its conclusion asking solid questions and wanting more information; and another four wanted personal meetings at my hotel to see how we might work together. But perhaps the most important indicator of our success was being invited to return for additional workshops and seminars in the future…and the friends made along the way.
