We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Thanh-Thanh Dang a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Thanh-Thanh, looking forward to learning from your journey. You’ve got an amazing story and before we dive into that, let’s start with an important building block. Where do you get your work ethic from?
I come from a family of entrepreneurs. We were taught at a very young age to just work hard, and that nobody can ever outwork you. It does not matter what you do for a living. What matters is that when you are at work, you are present and you do it with passion. Be on time, show up and be ready. Don’t ever go into anything half-way. No dimmer switch!
Appreciate the insights and wisdom. Before we dig deeper and ask you about the skills that matter and more, maybe you can tell our readers about yourself?
I had my first cup of coffee in Vietnam as a child, sitting in the kitchen with my mom. That experience sparked a lifelong love of coffee and career dream of opening my own coffee bar long before “specialty coffee” came to the United States. I’ve patronized numerous coffee houses—drinking, writing and doodling in these homes away-from-home. Previously, I was a Strategist for national advertising agencies Rubin Postaer & Associates, and Dailey Advertising—consulting clients Honda and Del Monte, among others. Notable career highlights include being awarded a Platinum Album for my public relations work with Foo Fighters, Gold Album for rock band Fuel, and being on the PR team for David Bowie. When my husband and I ran into each other again after a long hiatus from when we first met at UCLA, we both spoke about changing careers. We moved to Puerto Rico to surf, and of course, to open a coffee shop with banana smoothies! It was great timing in our lives, and we never looked back.
There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?
Aside from technical skills, I feel it’s important to have organizational skills so you can teach your staff, make sure inventory is available and have procedures and processes in place. Also, know your USP (Unique Selling Proposition)! A lot of places look alike, and sell the same food or drinks. What makes them stand out is what their brand is about. Why should we care? Who are the faces behind the name? Do they have the same values as I do (the customer)? What can I get there that I can’t get anywhere else? That’s what matters to me when I’m a customer at any establishment.
What’s been one of your main areas of growth this year?
We hired a professional SEO service to help us reach the right audience at the right time based on search intent and relevant keywords. We concentrated our funds on digital marketing to grow our organic rankings on Google. We focused on our POS Loyalty programs through our Toast application. We always want to continue to tell our unique story through different tech mediums and retain the FuN vibe that is Banana Dang Coffee!
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.bananadang.com/
- Instagram: @bananadangcoffee
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BananaDang
Image Credits
Pix: Accion Pix: Nino Camilo Pix: Banana Dang
