Fountain Valley Chamber Looks to Create Stronger Ties with Vietnamese American Chamber

When the Fountain Valley Chamber of Commerce and the Vietnamese American Chamber of Commerce hold their first-ever joint mixer Wednesday night in Fountain Valley, it will be more than just a meeting of business owners with a mutual interest in ramping up revenues; it will be a window into a culture that's playing a big part in Fountain Valley's past, present and future.

About 11,000 Vietnamese-Americans make their homes in Fountain Valley, and the city certainly has its share of Vietnamese-owned businesses. But, while younger, second-generation Vietnamese-Americans are joining the professional ranks and opening businesses in Fountain Valley and other cities, many older Vietnamese-Americans are choosing to remain insulated in Little Saigon.

"You've got the Vietnamese-Vietnamese, and the Vietnamese-Americans," said Ken Duong, founding partner of the TDL International Law Firm and a member of both chambers of commerce. "I divide them by mindset--from survival to maintenance to, like with my generation, expansion. How can we expand into the mainstream and work with non-Vietnamese customer bases and clientele? For the Vietnamese Chamber, it's realizing there's a lot of businesses that are outside Little Saigon proper that are doing really well that are following all the rules and laws and procedures, and can thrive without succumbing to the culture and the drawbacks of being in the Vietnamese community."

Business owners in Fountain Valley will have plenty to learn from their Vietnamese counterparts as well, Duong said. Because the Vietnamese Chamber's roots are ethnic rather than geographic, it has more than 1,000 member businesses worldwide. It's the sort of global business perspective that could be eye-opening for business owners who take a great deal of pride in being local.

"The Fountain Valley Chamber can learn from that from an international perspective," Duong said. "Just because it's a geographic chamber doesn't mean we're limited by geography. Anybody who wants to do business with us in Fountain Valley can join our chamber from anywhere in the world. The Fountain Valley Chamber, once we understand that perspective, we'll be much more open in the way that we do business in the community."

While each group of businesses owners can learn from the other, Duong said, the ultimate goal is to capitalize on the already existing common ground by encouraging businesses with roots in both communities to be involved in both chambers. The potential best-case scenario, he said, would be to create a unified environment that might draw the attention of large corporate entities based in Vietnam looking for a home in the U.S.

"One of the big goals of the mixers is letting both communities know that they can benefit from joining two chambers," Duong said. "You have your strength in your ethnic chamber connections, but you also have your strength in your geographical connection. All the businesses in Fountain Valley that are Vietnamese should join the Vietnamese Chamber, and the Vietnamese businesses located in Fountain Valley should join the Fountain Valley Chamber, so you can synergize and bring the two chambers together to help you grow your business."