Davis Nguyen is the Founder of My Consulting Offer, a for-purpose organization that helps aspiring management consultants land jobs at consulting firms such as McKinsey, Bain, Boston Consulting Group, Deloitte, and others.
Since 2017, My Consulting Offer has helped more than 800 aspiring consultants land their job offers.
You can find out more at https://myconsultingoffer.org/
Today, we sit down with Davis Nguyen to learn a bit more about his journey as an entrepreneur.
Q. How did you get started as an entrepreneur? What inspired you?
Davis Nguyen: My journey to becoming an entrepreneur started with my grandma. When I was growing up, my grandma was one of my caretakers. She was an entrepreneur who never finished high school because she grew up during the Vietnam War. When she escaped to the US with her family, she left with only $200 in her pocket. She didn’t even have an English course under her belt.
When she arrived in the US, she started working two jobs and saving money. Eventually, she opened a nail salon in Atlanta, where we grew up. She became one of the first people in the local Vietnamese community to own their own nail salon. Growing up as poor as we were, my grandma always believed that being a business owner was how you can give back to others through your products and services and being able to hire people. That is what inspired me.
My grandma supported my ambitions and always encouraged me. I’ve always been entrepreneurial, even as a kid. I sold candy and soda in elementary school and traded Yu-Gi-Oh! Cards on eBay when I was in middle school. In high school, I learned to sell more stuff on eBay. When I was in college, I started several side businesses.
There was also a time when I worked for Bain and Company as a management consultant. This eventually led to my current company, My Consulting Offer. When working at Bain, I wanted to learn everything I could from them so that I would know how to become an entrepreneur myself. It was at that startup where My Consulting Offer would start when I took a 40% pay cut to join the startup.
Shortly after joining, my family had a medical emergency, and I needed to come up with the money to cover the medical bill. So, on the weekends, I started a service reviewing resumes and doing mock interviews with people who wanted to apply to management consulting. That is how My Consulting Offer got our start.
Q. What entrepreneurial tricks have you discovered to keep you focused and productive?
Davis: On a given day, you can have 100 items that you could be working on. To be focused, I start my day by asking myself: “What is the one big thing I need to do today that, even if that’s the only thing I got done, would still help us achieve our goals?” Then I start with that item.
Q. How do you stay organized with such a busy schedule?
Davis: I like using the Eisenhower Matrix to see what I am thinking about doing, and, for each box of the matrix, I ask: 1) What happens if no one does this? (Delete). 2) If it has to be done, can someone else do it? (Delegate). 3) Does it have to be me who does this? (Do).
Q. What would you do if you had a magic stick?
Davis: If I had a magic stick, I would wish for three things:
- Everyone in the world has access to enough healthy food and clean water.
- Everyone in the world has access to educational opportunities to advance their lives.
- Everyone in the world knows the pain of conflict, so we have less of it.
Q. If you were to write a book about yourself, what would you name it?
Davis: If I were to write a book about myself, I would name it – “Life Happens For You, Not To You.”
Q. What motivates you?
Davis: I want to leave the world a better place than the one I came into, that’s what motivates me.
Q. What is one of the best or most worthwhile investments you’ve ever made?
Davis: Investing in a good bedtime routine and a good bed is one of the best investments I’ve made. It allows me to have more energy during the day to make a difference in the world.
Q. What key activities would you recommend entrepreneurs invest their time in?
Davis: 1. When times are rough, think about how far you have come and what you are grateful for 2. Looking at your to-do list, and think, “What actually needs to be done to achieve my goals?”
Q. What is your ‘one-sentence’ piece of advice you’d like to give to someone who wants to become an entrepreneur, coach, or business owner?
Davis: Talk to people who are doing what you want to do. Ideally, talk to someone who is willing to share the negative side of things as well, not just the positive one. That way you see if this is what you really want to do.
To keep up to date with Davis Nguyen and his journey, connect with him on LinkedIn.