She Turned Her Family’s Home Into a Coworking Space for Digital Nomads

This as-told-to essay is predicated on an interview with Nguyen Thị Thanh Thơ, aka Hana Nguyen, 36, founding father of Hana’s Coworking in Da Nang, Vietnam. It has been edited for size and readability

I by no means deliberate to work with digital nomads. The truth is, three years in the past, I did not even know what “coworking” meant.

I used to be born within the countryside of central Vietnam and, in my teenagers, moved to Da Nang with my household for school. I first studied enterprise administration, and later skilled to grow to be a pharmacist.

After graduating in 2016, I discovered a job in a neighborhood pharmacy. It was the standard job for a lot of Vietnamese graduates: secure however low-paying; not particularly difficult but additionally very boring.

I could not get enthusiastic about it, and I did not see a future for myself there.

In 2023, I met a foreigner on an internet discussion board who wished to go mountaineering within the Marble Mountains, a gaggle of cave-like temple buildings in southern Da Nang. I made a decision to affix.

At the moment, I used to be inquisitive about foreigners, however my English was poor, and I did not actually know the way to join with individuals from different international locations.

That small encounter modified every thing. Just a few days after visiting the mountains, my new international buddy took me to a coworking space. I had by no means seen something prefer it earlier than — individuals from everywhere in the world engaged on laptops, talking in English, and sharing concepts.

One thing clicked instantly.

I felt drawn to the group

I did not have cash or expertise, however I had motivation. In early 2024, I spoke to a buddy who owned a resort with an unused flooring.

I supplied to manage a coworking space there. I informed her that I might strive working there for 2 months without spending a dime. If it labored out, we might speak about cash. If it did not, we might each transfer on.

After a number of months, the challenge actually took off, and I received some good publicity from Vietnamese TV and visiting content material creators.

I labored there full-time for greater than a 12 months, doing every thing myself — managing the area, cleansing, speaking to clients, and organizing occasions. I negotiated a wage of about $250 a month, which wasn’t a lot, however I cherished it.

Finally, I noticed I used to be constructing one thing precious and with potential — however I did not personal it. I started feeling exhausted and knew it wasn’t sustainable. Across the similar time, my dad fell unwell with most cancers. I knew I wanted to make extra money to help my family, so when one other buddy supplied me an area inside his bar — unused through the day — I mentioned sure.

That was the primary coworking area the place I felt some possession.

I did not must pay hire, which labored as a result of I had little or no cash — I could not even afford to rent employees. However nonetheless, I managed to construct the group. I organized occasions, seaside journeys, yoga, dinners — something that helped individuals join.

Since I wasn’t paying hire, I knew this association might solely be short-term, so I labored up the braveness to ask my dad and mom if we might convert one of many flooring in our three-story household home into a coworking space. I defined that I would must borrow cash from members of the family and spend a number of months renovating the home.

Regardless of the danger, my dad and mom agreed

It wasn’t straightforward. I used to be working nonstop and felt burdened, however the high flooring, which may seat 18, stuffed up rapidly, so I expanded the coworking area to different components of the home. I can now match 30 individuals and cost $76 a month.

I nonetheless handle every thing myself. I haven’t got staff. My father is a guard on the entrance, and my mom cleans the place, so it is nonetheless very a lot a family business.

Many individuals ask me why there are such a lot of digital nomads in Da Nang. I feel it is as a result of the town is pleasant, inexpensive, and tremendous handy. You could have the seaside, mountains, city life, and a world airport shut by.

Da Nang is the type of place the place you’ll be able to go for a stroll alongside the seaside within the morning, work through the day, swim within the sea within the afternoon, and eat nice meals within the night — and it isn’t costly.

The largest problem I’ve seen amongst digital nomads is loneliness. Many individuals arrive alone, with out mates, and every thing feels unfamiliar — the tradition, transportation, and day by day life. That is why group is so essential. Everybody researches on-line earlier than they arrive, however an actual connection solely occurs in particular person. That is precisely what I am making an attempt to foster with my coworking area.

At my occasions, round 20% of contributors are Vietnamese. Many come to observe English, however additionally they study alternative ways of working and residing. Some locals have even discovered freelance work with nomads in design, tech, and advertising and marketing. That makes me proud.

I am nonetheless studying. I haven’t got an enormous grasp plan. I simply know I like connecting individuals, and I imagine group can change lives — together with mine.

Do you will have a narrative to share about residing overseas? Contact the editor at akarplus@businessinsider.com.