Most experts hoard their knowledge. They build walls around their expertise and profit from other people’s confusion. Dang Hong Minh did the opposite. For nearly two decades, she’s been giving away what most consultants would charge a fortune for — the ability to understand your own business numbers well enough to sleep at night. That choice, to educate rather than gatekeep, transformed her from a tax consultant into something far more valuable: a teacher who’s helped thousands of Vietnamese entrepreneurs stop being afraid of their own accounting systems.

This isn’t a story about building a successful accounting firm. It’s a story about a woman who believes that the strongest businesses are led by owners who truly understand their numbers, and who has dedicated her entire career to making that understanding accessible to everyone who walks through her door.

The Education That Changed How She Teaches

When Dang Hong Minh returned to school as a young mother, she wasn’t just learning accounting and tax law. She was learning what it feels like to sit on the other side of the table — confused, overwhelmed, and desperate for someone to explain things in plain language. That experience of struggling to understand complex concepts while juggling real-world responsibilities gave her something most experts never develop: the ability to remember what it’s like not to know.

Years later, when she started working with business owners, that memory became her superpower. She could spot the exact moment when someone’s eyes glazed over during an explanation. She knew how to break down the most complex tax regulation into language that made sense to someone who just wanted to run their business without fear. Most consultants speak in jargon that reinforces their own expertise. She speaks in clarity that builds her clients’ confidence.

The Philosophy That Sets Her Apart

Here’s what makes her different from every other accounting professional in Vietnam. She doesn’t want clients who need her forever. She wants clients who eventually understand their systems well enough to catch problems before they become crises. While most firms profit from dependency, she builds independence. Every engagement is structured not just to solve the immediate problem, but to teach the client how to prevent it from happening again.

Breaking the Cycle of Fear and Confusion

When she entered the world of professional accounting, she discovered something disturbing. Business owners were terrified of their own numbers. They’d sit across from accountants who spoke in impenetrable technical language, nod along pretending to understand, and walk away more confused than when they arrived. The accounting industry thrived on that confusion, charging premium fees while keeping clients perpetually dependent.

She refused to play that game. From her very first client meeting, she made a promise to herself: every explanation would be clear enough that the business owner could repeat it to someone else. If they couldn’t explain it, she hadn’t taught it properly. That commitment to clarity became the foundation of everything she built.

Teaching Business Owners to Read Their Own Story

She realized early that most entrepreneurs don’t actually hate numbers. They hate feeling stupid. They hate being in the dark about their own business. So she developed a teaching method that starts with what they already know — the story of their business — and shows them how every number is just a chapter in that story. Revenue isn’t an abstract figure on a report. It’s the sum of every customer who trusted you enough to pay. Expenses aren’t boring line items. They’re the resources you invested to create value. Profit isn’t just what’s left over. It’s proof that your business model works.

Building an Education Movement Disguised as an Accounting Firm

When she founded Lien Viet in 2008, she didn’t set out to build the biggest accounting firm in Vietnam. She set out to create a place where business owners could finally understand their own businesses. The difference is subtle but profound. Traditional firms sell you a service. Lien Viet offers you an education.

Every new client relationship starts the same way. She sits down with the business owner and asks them to explain their business model in their own words. Then she shows them how to translate that model into numbers. Not accounting numbers — business numbers. Numbers that answer questions like: Are we making money on each sale? Which products actually drive profit? Where is cash flowing out faster than it should? These aren’t technical accounting questions. They’re survival questions. And she teaches every client how to answer them without picking up the phone to call their accountant.

The Classroom That Never Closes

What most people don’t realize about Lien Viet is that it functions as much like a business school as an accounting firm. She doesn’t just deliver reports. She walks clients through every line, explaining what it means, why it matters, and what decisions they should consider based on what the numbers reveal. Her team is trained not just in technical accuracy but in educational clarity. They’re teachers who happen to specialize in accounting.

The impact of this approach shows up in unexpected ways. Her clients make better decisions. They catch problems earlier. They negotiate with confidence because they understand their own financial position. They stop being victims of their own numbers and start being architects of their own future. And perhaps most telling — many of her clients stay with her for over a decade, not because they need her, but because they trust her.

Turning Fear Into Confidence, One Business at a Time

When business owners first contact her, they often share the same confession: “I’m afraid I’m doing something wrong, but I don’t know what.” That fear is paralyzing. It stops entrepreneurs from making bold moves, hiring new people, expanding into new markets, or even sleeping well at night. She’s made it her life’s work to replace that fear with knowledge.

The transformation happens in stages. First, she helps them understand what they’re actually required to do — separating real legal obligations from myths and rumors that circulate in business communities. Second, she shows them how to build systems that make compliance natural rather than stressful. Third, and most importantly, she teaches them how to recognize warning signs before they become emergencies. By the time she’s done, her clients aren’t just compliant. They’re confident.

The Ripple Effect of Understanding

The impact of her teaching extends far beyond individual businesses. Business owners who understand their numbers make better hiring decisions, which means more stable jobs for employees. They negotiate fairer deals with suppliers because they know their true costs. They price their products more intelligently, which means healthier margins and sustainable growth. They pay their taxes with confidence because they know every number can be defended. One educated business owner creates positive ripples that touch dozens of other lives.

What Every Business Owner Can Learn From Her Approach

If you’re an entrepreneur struggling with your numbers, her story offers a radical proposition: you don’t have to stay in the dark. The knowledge that protects your business isn’t locked away in advanced degrees or technical manuals. It’s accessible to anyone willing to learn. She’s proven this thousands of times over, taking business owners who could barely read a balance sheet and transforming them into confident decision-makers who understand exactly what their numbers mean.

The key insight from her approach is this — fear comes from ignorance, and confidence comes from understanding. Most business owners aren’t reckless. They’re just operating without the knowledge they need to make wise choices. Once they gain that knowledge, everything changes. They stop making decisions based on panic or hope and start making decisions based on reality.

The Gift of Clarity in a Confusing World

In an industry built on complexity and jargon, she offers something revolutionary: plain language. She believes that if you can’t explain a concept to a 12-year-old, you don’t understand it well enough yourself. That standard forces her to think deeply about every rule, every regulation, every tax strategy until she can distill it down to its essence. And that distilled wisdom is what she passes on to her clients.

A Legacy Measured in Fearless Entrepreneurs

When I think about Dang Hong Minh’s true impact, I don’t think about the size of Lien Viet or the number of clients served. I think about the thousands of business owners who now sleep better at night because they understand their own numbers. I think about the entrepreneurs who made bold expansion decisions with confidence because she taught them how to read their financial health. I think about the business owners who caught problems early and saved their companies because she showed them what warning signs look like.

She didn’t just build an accounting firm. She built an education movement that’s quietly transforming how Vietnamese entrepreneurs relate to their own businesses. In a world that often values keeping people dependent, she’s chosen to make people free. And that choice, repeated every single day for nearly two decades, is the real measure of her legacy.

You can learn more about Dang Hong Minh and connect with Lien Viet Accounting and Tax through her website and social media channels, where she shares practical knowledge on tax compliance, accounting systems, and building businesses that stand on solid ground.

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Le Duc Anh CEO of OceanLabs – Founder of QVID