The Dragon Continues to Emerge: Chinese Entrepreneurs... (2/3)

Part 2/3

In the last three decades, I have interviewed over ten thousand entrepreneurs globally and have seen many of them slowly flourishing. Today we read about thousands of industrious entrepreneurs, attempting to reach their respective goals and create their business into an instant success. However, unemployment and poverty prevail worldwide, and entrepreneurship development continues offering job opportunities to keep pace with the growing population, as many changes in the private sector policies curtailing employees' wages and benefits. Life has a cycle. A business, too, begins, develops, matures, declines, and new cycles initiate. Consequently, it is a natural order for many members of society to see entrepreneurship as a path for their success; social and economic development (Economy, 2019; Jin, 2019; OECD, 2019; European Central Bank, 2017; International Monetary Fund, 2017; Vanguard Group, 2017).

In China, 8,000,000+ students graduated from universities this past June, and many are searching for business opportunities that can be created at home and abroad. Entrepreneurs worldwide are rapidly continuing in their development today, are expanding to numerous countries, and are succeeding! The returning of Hong Kong and Macao to China in 1997 was a step forward that gave a different perspective to China’s government policies, and this opened many other opportunities for audacious entrepreneurs who took advantage of the historical event and are presently voraciously working, and renovating their dreams! Additionally, China has become a respectable player to the political and economic communities throughout the world; businesses are fruitful and expanding! However, China still has several issues that must be dealt with like climate change and millions in poverty. Accordingly, most countries have similar problems, including Human Rights issues and each must expeditiously take care of their corresponding internal affairs and modernize to global standards according to the United Nations Manifesto. Opportunities in business continue to develop globally, simultaneously; governments are slowly working on their respective long-awaited unresolved concerns. Meanwhile, entrepreneurship development has been an answer to unemployment and living standard's improvement.

Below is the result of a survey made between March 15 to November 17, 2019, where 1,105 Chinese entrepreneurs were asked, what made their business successful? The interviews were performed in five provinces: Kunming and Dali in Yunnan, Jimei, and Xiamen in Fujian; Tongliao and Hohhot in Inner Mongolia; Xi-an in Shaanxi and Beijing in Hebei. The survey was performed to 420 women (ages 21 – 63) and 685 men (ages 23 – 58) who responded enthusiastically about their entrepreneur spirit. The interviewees encompassed from 2 to 30 years doing business, have four to 7,000 employees working in their organizations and were chosen at random. This research was done with the assistance of university students:

96 percent of the interviews credited their business success to having “a deep understanding of [oneself] and constant learning and developing of business....” They acknowledged their friends who advised them about business and taught them to “understand how the market works. It is important to have a business mentality and the right attitude to face difficulties in business,” they indicated. The importance of “succeed is to have a clear idea about your goal. Do not blindly follow others. [We must have] a convincing mouth, to influence people to buy our products and to trust us,” they indicated. It is essential to "constantly analyze our skills, as it is consequential to manage my business properly the moment [it] starts. Learn modern thinking, explore for fresh opportunities and when you find them," you must continuously improve yourself. Innovation, experience, and capital are important factors in business but a person must always be ready for the opportunity. “It is important to stay away from pessimistic and passive people if you want to succeed," the interviewees declared.

93 percent of the entrepreneurs were extremely careful with their savings while focusing on their personal and business goals regardless of the obstacles they encountered along the way, they said. Furthermore, they continuously focused on the contemporary “market trends, and flexibility to react to unexpected circumstances like inflation, high-interest loans, and especially be aware of new opportunities” in their respective markets as they manufactured or purchased and sold innovative products and negotiated with suppliers for more competitive prices or credit.

100 percent see that Internet platform is important as this increased their sales considerably by offering deliveries to homes, office buildings, inclusive, to students in classrooms at different universities.

94 percent of the entrepreneurs interviewed indicated, “[what] helped me become successful was re-investing profits in the business.” They knew “deep in [their] heart” that it was going to be a strenuous road before they saw profits. However, it did not matter! These entrepreneurs wanted to be successful in their lives and give their parents a better life, as many had “lived a difficult life when they were growing up,” and they owed their parents a good life, they said.

“A suitable career or skills must be learned in relation to the business [they were] going to start,” was 100% of the responses received from the interviewees and was strongly emphasized. The lack of support and the environment that surrounded these entrepreneurs when they started their businesses was an obstacle, but they continued as most of them were under similar conditions in the country. They, however, had the necessary equipment, know-how, and funds (family or friends support), when they started in their respective industries. The above circumstances were prevalent variables that affected those who did not make it in the world of entrepreneurship; they indicated was a common denominator. The interviewees further said: “If you want to be successful in your business: You must, firstly, have a good family relationship, social interrelationships, mutual respect with your employees, and the knowledge about what you are walking into…” You must know “the business channels and stay in contact with your potential customers.” I followed conversations with 23 of the interviewees who reflected the majority of the entrepreneurs’ responses that lead me to the following conclusion: Chinese's entrepreneurs agreed that people must be committed, updated in their respective market trends and take advantage of the opportunity, as it was “necessary to act expeditiously so we could maintain our business alive,” they said. Today, extraordinary opportunities will appear, and they must be ready for these new conditions as indicated by 93 percent of the interviewees. Different than the past, “it was time to grow under distinctive circumstances. In our time, the economy in our China developed quickly so we took advantage of the opportunities. Many of our friends and relatives opened businesses during the last twenty years and did excellently. They became very rich…” When opportunities appear, entrepreneurs must be ready to act in teams. An entrepreneur indicated a famous Chinese saying: “If a person acts alone he will not do much, but if two or more people get together; we become a tiger!” Entrepreneurs have a unique value proposition in their markets. They must be deeply committed and be persistence to pursue their dreams wholeheartedly. “We must bring to the markets the needs of our people if we want to prevail,” indicated a prominent produce sales entrepreneur.

In March 2019, President Xi Jinping and the P. R. of China Congress voted in their yearly meeting for foreign investors' policies to be transparent. They will have less government involvement, establish a modern business process that will open doors to foreigners' investments, and favorable policies to businesses in China (Jin, 2019, Chen, Drakopoylos, and Goel, 2019). These brand-new policies “will open many opportunities for us here at home and globally because taxes will be lower and quality products less expensive," 96 percent of the interviewees indicated. New entrepreneurs must be cautious in their business ideas, must learn management skills, be creative in the finances, have a thorough market analysis, and change their marketing through Internet platforms.

Ninety-eight percent of the interviewees said, “young entrepreneurs must give their best effort to finish what they started regardless of the difficulty they encounter.” 96% gave credit to their success to the following key variables: Knowledge, employees’ trust, and mutual respect. “You must be diligent not just look pretty as New York appears at night when all the lights are on,” indicated a popular 36-year-old female cosmetics and beauty salon entrepreneur from Beijing. To enforce the idea of this “new China,” many young people are enthusiastically speaking about, and foreigner investors are eagerly waiting for, President Xi indicated in April 2019, that China will increase imports of merchandise and services in larger quantities than previous years and will lower its tariff rates. “China has become a global factory and a worldwide market,” Xi reiterated to world leaders in the opening ceremony of the Second Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation in Beijing in June 2019. The new policies for transparent open markets and international investments will give China many opportunities that “we must also take advantage and become cooperative and diligent as it will benefit us all," i.e. the world economy, indicated a fish export-import entrepreneur.

The Chinese entrepreneurs have worked collectively and not individually as this is learned since childhood at home. Their philosophy of life is that an “individual alone cannot accomplish much work,” versus when they work as a team. “When we are united, we are unstoppable,” indicated two 21-year-old student-entrepreneurs involved in the clothing and electronics industries. “You must stay with your vision until all opportunities' blossom. Our government reduced taxes by 188 billion last year and intends to cut taxes by about $2 trillion dollars in 2019, which will help our business profits tremendously,” a 47-year-old prominent construction engineer-entrepreneur said during our two-hour discussion... emphasizing, “we must take lead of the opportunities' President Xi is offering to our modern China," he concluded.