Once a government employee, successful in the private sector: Part 1 - From a village teacher to the owner of the fashion brand Karoll

The first report introduces a teacher who quit her job after 18 years of work and became the owner of the fashion brand Karoll.

A difficult decision

On August 1, 2004, student Dinh Thi Thuy Trang (born in 1981, in Tran Phu ward, Hai Duong city) graduated from the Faculty of Fine Arts Education, Central University of Fine Arts Education (Hanoi) and returned to her hometown and applied to teach at Viet Hoa Secondary School, which was then a suburban commune of Hai Duong city.

Starting her teaching career, as someone who was born and raised in the city center, the young teacher had many disappointments. Teaching was like a disillusionment because the countryside had more difficulties than she had imagined.

After that difficult initial period, with the guidance and enthusiasm of generations of teachers at Viet Hoa Secondary School, teacher Trang gradually became familiar with and attached to this place.

The teaching profession has a lot of affection for students and colleagues. For Ms. Trang, the teaching environment in Viet Hoa is wonderful with colleagues who always wholeheartedly help her. Therefore, Ms. Trang never thought that one day she would decide to quit her job and leave this beloved second home.

"Born into a family that sells wooden furniture on Thong Nhat Street (Hai Duong City), I inherited my business talent from my parents, so I really like trading, teaching and doing business at the same time. I never thought I would quit my job in the state sector, but in 2022 I made this difficult decision," Trang shared.

There was a time when she was assigned to teach at 2 schools at the same time during the first 5 years of working. Her children were still young and her husband worked far away. Ms. Trang had to manage all her teaching, housework, and clothing business by herself.

The idea of ​​quitting came to Trang when a friend analyzed it and she herself realized that if she maintained two jobs, she could do well but not be maximally effective. Students at school might be disadvantaged, and sales staff would have little opportunity to develop.

Furthermore, quitting the job and becoming a civil servant will give way to young graduates who are eagerly waiting for this position, especially for art teachers.

So, Ms. Trang thought very hard before making this difficult decision. Recalling that time, Ms. Trang said that for 2 months, every time she went to school, she wanted to cry, she was very sad and her colleagues were wondering what happened to her.

When she submitted her resignation, she submitted three applications to three competent authorities at the same time to make a final decision. Many colleagues cried when she resigned and had to say goodbye to her teaching career and Viet Hoa Secondary School.

The new road is full of hardships

Overcoming difficulties, Ms. Trang entered a new stage in developing her business career with the home fashion brand Karoll, which she founded, managed and developed.

Since she quit her job at the school, Trang has no longer had lunchtimes when she would finish teaching and then grab her school bag and go to Highway 5 to catch a bus to the market in Hanoi’s Old Quarter to get goods to sell. There were also quick meals on the bus when she was carsick and tired. Instead, Trang has focused her efforts on her business and developing the Karoll brand.

Over the past 3 years, Ms. Trang has focused on managing and perfecting the organization of the brand's production and business apparatus with sales, marketing, media departments...

Ms. Trang has 2 showrooms and product sales stores on Tran Hung Dao and Pham Ngu Lao streets, 1 office in the HUDIC building on Nguyen Van Linh street (Hai Duong city), a factory in Hanoi...

No longer having to worry about lesson plans or teaching on weekdays, Ms. Trang devotes all her time and energy to the Karoll brand and her business.

Recently, Ms. Trang started working as a content creator on social networks TikTok, Facebook... With short, authentic, and simple videos from daily life activities such as taking care of family, exercising, business, product reviews, Ms. Trang's videos attract many people's attention.

Trang’s story of going from a village teacher to an entrepreneur has also attracted a lot of attention. Many colleagues and old acquaintances, upon seeing Trang’s image on social media, felt a sense of familiarity and encouraged her.

From building her personal image, Ms. Trang has promoted her Karoll brand and accepted advertising for trusted brands and trademarks in Hai Duong. Not only selling clothes, Ms. Trang now has a professional team to build her image and work as a content creator on social networks.

Reap the rewards

Looking back on the 3-year journey since leaving the government agency to focus on her business, despite some regrets, Ms. Trang has never regretted her decision.

From a small trader who only bought ready-made garments to sell, Ms. Trang has become an entrepreneur, founding and owning the Karoll brand, producing high-end homewear from design to finished product sewing and distribution.

The Karoll business and brand are owned and managed by Ms. Trang, who invests in production and business. She used to be an art teacher with a good fashion sense and knowledge of colors and designs, which helped her a lot when doing fashion business and creating this brand.

In the early days of making Karoll’s products, Trang and her husband drove a pickup truck carrying samples to sell at stores in neighboring provinces. Each time they traveled for several days, they would go into any store on the street they saw. Many places refused them, but they were not discouraged. There was a time when they drove all the way to the Central region.

Currently, Karoll - Trang's own fashion brand is famous as a high-end home fashion brand in Hai Duong. People often know her as "Trang Karoll".

Now, the Karoll brand is more stable. In addition to direct retail and on social networks or e-commerce platforms, Karoll also receives many large orders from agencies and businesses in Hai Duong.

The staff of about 25 people has a stable income, from 8 - 15 million VND/month and is mainly young, dynamic people in Hai Duong.

In the spacious and comfortable house named "Karoll House" in Dinh Long villa area (Hai Duong city), Ms. Trang is both a good mother and a good wife when she has time to take care of her family, a successful businesswoman running her business and also has free time for herself.

"Today's sweet fruits may not be big, but they are the sweet results of my hard work and difficult, risky decisions, while many people were worried, discouraged, and doubted that I could not do it," Trang confided.

Indeed, Ms. Trang's bold business decisions, including her decision to quit her job at a public school after 18 years of dedication and commitment, were once opposed by many people.

Ms. Trang said that because her father was a businessman and found the job too hard, he sent his daughter to school to become a teacher to ease her suffering. However, her daughter went into business and quit her government job, which made him very angry. Now, seeing her achievements, he somewhat sympathizes.

Up to now, although she has been out of work for several years, Ms. Trang still regularly contacts the teachers at Viet Hoa Secondary School in the past.

Throughout her journey from teaching and doing business to leaving the state agency, focusing on the private sector and achieving the results she has today, Ms. Trang always had encouragement and support from her husband, children, family, colleagues and friends.

She believes that as long as you make an effort, you can develop and grow in any environment. People must know how to sacrifice, dare to think, dare to do, and never regret their decisions.