Imagine being eighteen years old, leaving everything you know, and flying to one of the coldest places on Earth. No family nearby. No safety net. Just endless months of Siberian winter stretching before you, temperatures dropping so low that your breath freezes before it leaves your lips.

This was the reality that shaped Nguyen Thi Minh Tam. And understanding those six years in Russia is the key to understanding everything she has built since.

When I first heard her story, I realized this wasn’t just another tale of business success. This was a masterclass in how extreme conditions forge extraordinary people—and how the discipline learned in survival becomes the foundation for sustainable achievement.

The Siberian Crucible

In 2002, Nguyen Thi Minh Tam left her hometown of Phu Tho, the ancestral land of Vietnamese civilization, and traveled to Siberia for her studies. She was barely an adult. The region she entered is known worldwide for having some of the most brutal weather conditions on the planet.

For six years, from 2002 to 2008, Nguyen Thi Minh Tam lived completely independently in a foreign land. She faced winters that seemed to last forever, isolation from everyone she loved, and the daily challenge of adapting to an environment designed to break those who weren’t prepared.

Most people would simply survive such an experience. Nguyen Thi Minh Tam did something different—she allowed it to transform her. Those frozen years taught her personal discipline at a level most people never develop. They built her capacity to handle pressure without cracking. They gave her an adaptability that would prove invaluable in business decades later.

More importantly, Siberia taught her a truth that became her guiding principle: to walk a long road, a person needs solid inner strength and clear values. Everything she has built since rests on this foundation.

Coming Home to Start Again

When Nguyen Thi Minh Tam returned to Vietnam in 2008, she didn’t return to her hometown. She chose Nha Trang, a coastal city blessed with gentle weather, international tourism, and access to Vietnam’s distinctive natural products. This wasn’t a random decision—it was strategic positioning for the long game she intended to play.

She entered the tourism industry, specializing in Russian tourists visiting Vietnam. Starting as a tour guide, she gradually moved into operations and business development. Over more than a decade, Nguyen Thi Minh Tam served hundreds of thousands of visitors, building deep understanding of Russian consumer behavior, culture, and needs.

This wasn’t just work. It was research. Every interaction taught her something about what international customers truly valued. Every tour revealed patterns in what Russians sought when they visited Vietnam. And slowly, an insight began forming that would eventually reshape her entire career.

The Pattern She Couldn’t Ignore

Working directly with Russian tourists year after year, Nguyen Thi Minh Tam noticed something consistent. Her clients showed intense interest in products that were good for long-term health, had natural and transparent origins, and carried authentic Vietnamese character.

They weren’t looking for cheap souvenirs. They wanted products with meaning and genuine quality. They wanted to bring home something real from Vietnam—something that would benefit their health and remind them of their experience.

Before the COVID-19 pandemic arrived, Nguyen Thi Minh Tam had already begun developing a parallel business in health products, natural goods, and Vietnamese specialties. What started as a complement to her tourism work was about to become something much more significant.

When the World Stopped

Then came 2020, and everything changed. The pandemic shut down international tourism completely. The Russian visitors stopped coming. The entire system Nguyen Thi Minh Tam had built over a decade suddenly went silent.

For many entrepreneurs, this would have been devastating. Years of work, relationships, and infrastructure—all frozen indefinitely. But Nguyen Thi Minh Tam had spent six years in Siberia. She understood frozen. She knew that winter doesn’t last forever, and that the time to prepare for spring is while the snow is still falling.

She waited. She planned. She refined her understanding of what she wanted to build when the world reopened.

The 2025 Rebirth

By 2025, as markets began recovering, Nguyen Thi Minh Tam was ready. She officially relaunched and expanded her model, developing a chain of stores offering health products, natural goods, and Vietnamese specialties for Russian tourists returning to Vietnam. But this time, the approach was different—sustainability and quality stood at the absolute center of everything.

The pandemic pause had given her clarity. She wasn’t interested in quick profits or shortcuts. She wanted to build something that would last, something worthy of the discipline Siberia had taught her.

The Bird’s Nest Business

Alongside her retail stores, Nguyen Thi Minh Tam developed a production and distribution operation for bird’s nest products, targeting Vietnamese and Chinese customers—markets that deeply value nutritional quality and long-term health benefits.

She chose bird’s nest deliberately because the industry demands exactly what she values most. It connects directly to human health. It requires honesty, knowledge, and genuine care. It doesn’t allow for rushed development or deception.

The process Nguyen Thi Minh Tam follows reflects her core philosophy: work slowly, work solidly, control quality from the source, and prioritize long-term reputation above short-term gains.

The Marathon That Proved Everything

Nguyen Thi Minh Tam joined the BNI HN06 business community, which emphasizes cooperation and sustainable development. She also participated in entrepreneur training and health discipline programs with Pham Thanh Long.

But the most visible proof of her transformation came in October 2025, when Nguyen Thi Minh Tam exceeded her personal goals by completing 21 kilometers and earning a medal at the Techcombank Hanoi Marathon. This wasn’t just a fitness achievement—it was physical evidence of willpower, discipline, and the ability to endure.

The woman who survived Siberian winters had proven she could survive anything she chose to face.

Family Journeys Across Vietnam

Despite her business ambitions, Nguyen Thi Minh Tam maintains clear priorities. She loves travel and views each journey as an opportunity for learning and energy renewal. She has visited China, South Korea multiple times, and countless destinations within Vietnam.

But the trips that matter most are the family caravans. In 2023, she traveled with her husband and child by car from Nha Trang through the Northwest highlands of Vietnam. In 2025, they continued their exploration from Nha Trang to Ca Mau, the southernmost point of the country.

These journeys aren’t vacations—they’re investments in family connection and deeper understanding of Vietnamese land and people. For Nguyen Thi Minh Tam, you cannot authentically sell Vietnamese products without truly knowing Vietnam.

The Philosophy Behind the Business

Beyond her role as an entrepreneur, Nguyen Thi Minh Tam lives by principles that shape everything she does. She maintains discipline in daily habits and physical training. She prioritizes natural, healthy products in her own life. She stays connected to nature and simple values.

Her belief is straightforward: to sustainably sell health products, you must first live healthy and live with discipline. She doesn’t ask customers to trust products she wouldn’t use herself or recommend to her own family.

This integrity creates a different kind of business. It grows slower than competitors willing to cut corners. But it builds deeper trust and lasts longer. Nguyen Thi Minh Tam learned patience in Siberia. She’s not in a hurry.

The Road Ahead

Looking forward, Nguyen Thi Minh Tam focuses on developing her chain of health product and Vietnamese specialty stores for international customers, expanding high-quality bird’s nest production for Vietnamese and Chinese markets, building a personal brand connected to credibility, discipline, and authentic value, and walking the long road alongside fellow entrepreneurs in her community.

Notice what’s absent from her goals: fame. Nguyen Thi Minh Tam doesn’t pursue celebrity or viral attention. She chooses instead to become a serious professional who creates sustainable value for customers, partners, and community.

What Entrepreneurs Must Learn from This Journey

The transformation of Nguyen Thi Minh Tam offers wisdom that every business builder needs to absorb. First, your hardest experiences become your greatest assets. Six years in Siberia could have been wasted time. Instead, they became the foundation for everything that followed.

Second, observation during service reveals opportunity. A decade of working directly with Russian tourists taught her exactly what products to develop. The best business ideas often emerge from paying attention while serving others.

Third, forced pauses can become strategic advantages. The pandemic stopped her tourism business, but it gave her time to refine her vision and prepare for a stronger comeback.

Fourth, authenticity in health businesses isn’t optional. You cannot build lasting trust selling health products while living unhealthily. Customers eventually sense the disconnect.

Finally, discipline transfers across domains. The same discipline that helps you survive extreme cold helps you complete marathons, build businesses, and maintain family connections. Develop it once, apply it everywhere.

The motto of Nguyen Thi Minh Tam captures her entire philosophy: walk the long road, live with discipline, do business with heart. In a world obsessed with shortcuts, she offers proof that the longer path leads to more sustainable destinations.

To learn more about Nguyen Thi Minh Tam and her journey, visit minhtamnhatrang.com.

---

Le Duc Anh CEO of OceanLabs – Founder of QVID