Meet up for business people in Hanoi

Hi Khuyen,

Please note that we have a section dedicated to Events here : https://www.expat.com/en/events/asia/vietnam/hanoi/ you can organize your meet up in this section.

Good luck,
Christine

Hi Christine,

I am aware about that section.

However, that section is for events which are decided about time, location and contents.

I'm just posting to see feedbacks from people first, to see what is the best set up.

(Now there are 4 other people want to join from other forums).

I am interested. I am ramping up my coaching business here as well as creating workshops and corporate training events. Spent over a year at RMIT Vietnam (Hanoi) as a lecturer

For those who want to know about the updates:

I) Who joined: 11 people: David Newman, Kim Dong, Truong Dong, Fabien Jacob, Johnathan Nichols, Julien Godard, Reece Wallis, Thu Dinh, Tsvyatko Kabahchiyski, Huy Nguyen and me.

II) What we shared:

We shared about our background, our work, the challenges in our work, our projects/ideas, what are we looking for and also why we are here in Hanoi.

For example: there are two people in the group are working on their homestay projects (with different purpose), two people are looking for Vietnamese assistant/building a Vietnamese team to work with them.

We also received questions/advice/comment/feedback from each other.

III) Future of the group:

1) Purpose of the group: networking, collaboration, sharing, building relationship, recommend people to each other for people who work or do business in Hanoi or want to.

2) Meet-up:

+ Host: we will rotate host as much as possible, everyone will have a chance to lead the meet up the way they find it's best (with some agreed principals). The host will decide about where to meet, when to meet, what to discuss.
For now we will try to meet once or twice per month.

So far we have:
- Johnathan Nichols will host the next meet up at Apini pub 236/7 Au Co.
- Thu said she can host the event at her homestay project at Long Bien (April onwards)
- David suggested to host sometime at a co-working place.

+ Location: location is decided by host and we will meet at multiple locations to keep it fresh. Host will visit the location and make arrangements with manager of the venue in advance.

+ Time: the meet up will be organized in evenings and weekends. We may change to different times to check which one work best for people, and make chances for different people to join depend on their availability.

+ Content/schedule:

Our meet up will consist some basic parts as follow:
- Welcome & Introduction (30 minutes – an hour)
- Host presents a topic in around 15 minutes.
- Host will lead discussion based on the topic.
- Revise about the group.
With breaks in the middle.

Depend on purpose/situation, host also can include ice-breaking game/site visit tour (for example if we visit your homestay project).

Depend on how big the group is, the discussion part can be in one whole group or divide into smaller groups.

At the end of each meet up, we will spend around 10-15 minutes to revised about our group:
- Is there anything we should do with our group? Anything we should change/update/be aware of? Any opportunity for us as a group? Anything we need to make clear with each other?
- We also can share about any collaboration happened in the group or from the group.
- We will also identify who will/want to host the next meet ups. So be ready with your ideas if you want to host in future. You also can email me/share with the group in advance.

Each meet up should last around 2-2.5 hours but not more than that. If we would like to, some of us can go for drink/meal afterward but the actual meet up shouldn't last longer.

3) Online platforms:

I've created a Facebook group and a LinkedIn group, message me if you want to join because I can't post links here.

Online platforms are where we announce next meet up, discuss, share information …
We encourage each member joining the page(s) to contribute your profile to build a directory. You can share about: who you are, what do you do, what can you offer and what are you looking for in your business, your website/profile (if any), your contact info (if you would like to, otherwise, people can message you); also what you think you can contribute to build the group.

You also can invite/introduce other people to join, only note that this group is for business/working people, not for students/people who want to practice English/looking for a job.

I encourage you to join online platform to receive update about next event. It will make things faster/easier than email.

4) Experiences about the first meet up: (from my own experiences and from what I've heard from people):

+ This is a good set up because anyone can discuss and share in the circle and can feel belong, unlike some other networking events, mostly 2-3 people speak with each other.

+ The discussion here is more useful.

+ From my observation, this was my first networking event that there wasn't any business card was exchanged/given.

5) The next meet up:

The next meet up will be hosted by Jonathan at 6pm Sunday March 11th at Apini pub, no. 234/7 Au Co street. Jonathan will announce the topic later and he (or I) will post the event onto Facebook/LinkedIn.

Please register in advance if you come! (We still welcome you if you have last minute decision, but registration in advance will help us to arrange better). Feel free to share about the even to anyone you find suitable.

Again, thank everyone for joining, contributing ideas/suggestions and those interested in the group but wasn't able to join! The group may still morph and change and develop, so all your contributions and ideas are appreciated, though I/we may not able to implement everything.

Best,
Khuyen

Hello,

Please send me the LinkedIn group link.

Thanks!

Hi ! I would love to your group.

I was a member of BNI previously in singapore.

And i love connecting with like-minded people.

Thank you

HanoiJoe wrote:

Hello,

Please send me the LinkedIn group link.

Thanks!

gabriel06 wrote:

Hi ! I would love to your group.

I was a member of BNI previously in singapore.

And i love connecting with like-minded people.

Thank you

Hi HanoiJoe and Gabriel,

I will send you PM for the links soon, as I may not allowed to post the links here.

Apologize for late reply, I was in a business trip.

And thank for being interested in the group!

Hello Khuyen,
I have just read your post about business people in Hanoi!
It was exactly what I wanted to read. It inspired me to write this email to you so I can meet people that I really find important when I'm away!
I travelled from Hanoi to Ho Chi Min for the past 7 weeks looking at where I want to start working, studying and volunteering.
I've travelled around some of the world for the past 28yrs!
I lived in Thailand for 5yrs and Cambodia for 2yrs. I had to go back to London to have surgery on my spine but as soon as I could, I got on a plane and decided Vietnam was where I wanted to be. When I get off of the plane, I feel like I'm home. It never feels like that when I hit down in London???
It's funny really as I never dreamt cental Vietnam was where I would have stopped, i now realise having the beach near me was the deciding factor.
I always travelled alone but my friend of 35yrs decided to come with me and now she has gone, I was so looking forward to a bit of peace I didn't do my usual checks and that is to meet likeminded people and that is one thing I am finding really difficult here in Da Nang.
So Khuyen I am writing to you because I loved Hanoi and if I could come up to the next available meeting I would really appreciate it.
My Facebook is Rachel ***, it's the one with a work photo, I was the scenic artist on a show called “ Doctor Who” not a facial pic. I think another way is rachelweatherstone/me.5.
I would love to hear from you.
I'll be re opening my LinkedIn now I'm here.( I had a stalker and just shut everything down.
I,m  also studying my second degree, this one started as web development (coding and programming) but changed this second year to game design which I chose because of the modules not the final being game design.
I've been a designer for many years with my other degree , Batchelor of Arts in Theatre,Events and Performance Design, also a HND in Spatial Design. I love my job but because of this back op I'm thinking of the next few years, I know I will struggle working 10/16 hr days.  So before I really start to struggle, I thought I'd do something about it!
I hope I haven't gone on? I just wanted to give you a little run down of me. I have so much more to offer and as I said, I would love to meet up with you all, as I'm writing this I'm also pretty nervous but know it's the only way when something feels right.
I hope you're well ?}
Everything you want is coming true,
Rachel

Hi Rachel,

Thank you for interested in the group and meet up!

The meet up is on hold until further notice due to I'm currently in my hometown till August. However, you still can make friends with people in the group and meet them. Also, meetup.com offers other meet up where you may be able to find other like-minded people. (I've sent you some info via Facebook about it)

As you are in Da Nang, perhaps it's also a good idea if you would gather people in Da Nang to meet. I know at least one person would be interested in it. He sent me messages here on expat.com.

I mean I appreciate that you're interested in my meet up, but since I can't set up a schedule of a next meet up for the group yet, I'm trying to find other options for you.

However, I will be able to help you better if you tell me what're you looking for exactly. And why my post is exactly what you wanted to read? Are you looking for ideas/advice about career/business? something you could do here in Vietnam?

If you looking for ideas/advices about career development, a meet up with a group of people may be not a solution, a meet up with 1 or 2 people which focus on your problem will be helpful.

Let me know so I can see what I can arrange for you! You also can answer me on Facebook.

Best,
Khuyen

Hi Rachel,
Welcome to Hanoi... though I am now in Vancouver. But, I was a part of this group while I was in Hanoi.

Can I suggest a couple of different contacts for you in Hanoi that might help you network with expats and locals in the area. Find CreativeMornings Hanoi on Facebook (they also have a website). I was one of the founding members of that. Michal Teague, who runs that, has a design background and is currently teaching at FPT. Her husband, David Moore, teaches at RMIT, is a filmmaker, but the two of them ran a graphic design/advertising agency for a number of years. Michal has a LOT of connections.

And the space where CreativeMornings meets, The Learning Hub, is a co-working space targetted towards social enterprises, and there are a few young local artists who base themselves there.

Hope that helps,
David

Hi,

I just see your topic,  and it seems suitable with me, that can have some helpful and support for the people by my own company in providing the services as tax compliance, company registration...

So, pls share me the going plan and schedule for meet up.

Tks
Nguyen