Minhthi Nguyen: Face-to-Face
The pandemic has taken its toll on many of our beloved communities—exacerbating issues of poverty, homelessness, and crime—and at some point, I began to feel as though these problems were too great to be fixed. Naturally, it is easy to feel overwhelmed and helpless when I’m sitting in front of my computer screen, flooded with “bad news” and “fake news.” I initially joined the LSB Community Fellows Program with the hope of gaining some semblance of agency, and so I was delighted to be partnered with the San Jose Office of Economic Development (OED) as their Business Development Outreach Intern. This was an opportunity for me to look beyond the computer screen, to finally meet my community face-to-face.
My very first day with the OED was unlike anything I could have anticipated. We arrived at Japantown in the afternoon and immediately began knocking on the doors of small businesses. It was amazing to watch my supervisor and her team at work. To go from door to door is, without a doubt, time consuming and meticulous, but demonstrates how important it is to build relationships with our small business owners. Every month, the OED goes on “biz-walks” just like this one. I was fortunately able to attend a second biz-walk in my first week, located in Vietnam Town on Story Road. As a Vietnamese-American born and raised in San Jose, I am very familiar with the plaza. I was both excited and nervous to utilize my experiences and skills to communicate with the business owners. It was challenging at first; they were somewhat wary and skeptical, while I was unaccustomed to switching between Vietnamese and English. However, just as I warmed up to my native language, the owners began warming up to us. I’ve learned that building meaningful relationships takes immense time, dedication, and (most importantly) sincerity. The OED’s efforts to establish contact show these businesses that they are seen and valued. Still, it is crucial that we continue to check-in with those businesses to understand their needs and concerns.
My supervisor has told me that small businesses are the city’s glimpse into the community. I hope that during my time at the OED, I can continue to meet with these businesses face-to-face to better understand why they do what they do and how we help them grow. While the progress may be slow and the steps are small, this snapshot of what the OED does has taught me to value the little victories.