“Even when my shop was still very small, I wanted it to mean more than just a place to sell candles. Peace isn’t something to keep for yourself, it grows when it is shared”...
When Hiếu Bình first opened his candle shop in Cần Thơ – a city in the South of Vietnam, it was driven more by passion than by a plan. Bình is a young collaborator and active member of a community-based organization supporting LGBT+ youth. Besides primary occupation, he has a strong interest in fragrances, essential oils, and handcrafted products, which motivated him to start his own business. At first, his shop – named AIDAN-ADA - already had customers, but behind the counter, uncertainty remained.
“I opened my candle shop, but everything was quite intuitive. I followed my passion, yet I lacked a clear direction, from pricing and planning to how to grow the business sustainably,” Hiếu Bình shared.
Photo: Hieu Binh introducing his candle shop AIDAN-ADA.
That clarity began to take shape when Bình joined youth entrepreneurship support activities under the Skills to Succeed project, implemented by Save the Children in partnership with the Cần Thơ City Social Work Center. Rather than starting from scratch, the support helped him strengthen what he had already built, sharpening his skills, structuring his business thinking, and turning passion into a clearer pathway.
Through intensive training sessions and one-on-one mentoring, Bình enhanced his capacity in business and financial planning, customer and market analysis, green brand positioning, and the development of experience-based products. “The project didn’t change what I wanted to do,” he reflected, “It helped me organize my thinking to see my business more clearly and make decisions based on a plan, not only passion.”
With a refined business plan and start-up support, Bình improved his shop’s layout, diversified raw materials, and redesigned the customer experience. Guided by a simple vision - “Bringing peace into every candle” - his shop became a space where customers stayed longer, describing its atmosphere as peaceful and its scents as emotionally resonant.
Photo: Hieu Binh in his candle shop.
Photo: Hieu Binh introducing his work with Save the Children staff.
Within a year, the business expanded beyond retail, offering workshops and experiential services for large companies and organizations across different sectors in Vietnam. Alongside building his business, Bình has continued to pursue a community initiative he started from the very beginning of his journey, “The Remaining Peace,” supporting cancer patients, people living with HIV, and collaborating with local community groups and universities.
“Even when my business was still small, I wanted it to stand for something more meaningful,” Bình said. “Peace isn’t something to keep for yourself - it grows when it is shared.”
Photo: Hieu Binh in an experiential workshop for organization.
Photo: Hieu Binh in a community activity.
Strengthening youth readiness for work and livelihoods in Viet Nam
Hiếu Bình’s journey reflects a broader priority of Save the Children in Vietnam during a critical period of economic and social transition: strengthening adolescents’ and young people’s readiness for employment and livelihoods in a fast-changing economy. Vietnam is home to a large and dynamic youth workforce, with more than 53 million people of working age (*). Yet, despite this demographic advantage, only around 11% are considered highly skilled, and 83% of graduates lack the soft skills required by employers. (**)
Through integrated initiatives like Skills to Succeed, adolescents and youth are supported to develop essential soft skills, growth mindset, green thinking, career orientation, vocational skills, and entrepreneurship capacity. In the first 10 months of 2025, these efforts reached more than 40,000 adolescents and young people across Vietnam, with over 20,000 receiving direct support in career guidance, skills development, vocational training, and livelihood preparation.
Hiếu Bình’s story demonstrates how targeted, timely support can help young people move from uncertainty to confidence, transforming fragile beginnings into sustainable livelihood pathways with impacts that reach far beyond, not only themselves but also other vulnerable people in their community.
Source: (*) General Statistics Office of Vietnam
(**) Vietnam Institute of Educational Sciences
