Before Going Entrepreneurial in China

By ROBERT PARKINSON

HAVING spent a de- cade running businesses worldwide， I thought the time had come. I made one of the most important decisions of my life – go entrepreneurial！ If I were to tell you that I had cherished this “be-an-entrepreneur”idea since childhood， you would probably try not to snigger. Isnt that the sort of answer a child gives to the question， “What do you want to be when you grow up？”Many children grow up hoping to achieve their dreams， but few do. As it happens， mine was set in China – a goldmine in the eyes of many expatriates. At least， that was the case perhaps a decade ago， but nowadays there are certain must-know factors to consider before starting a business in China.

Motivation

The most crucial aspect of starting businesses in China is neither the language nor the guanxi – the necessary government connection. It is the desire to be ones own boss that matters most. I still remember how I successfully sold something to my parents at the age of six. I started my entrepreneurship when I was 16 by running a marketing business. After graduating from university， I worked for an international recruit- ment company for 10 years. Although a valuable asset to my boss， my being somewhat headstrong did not sit well with him. The main reason why Im so keen to run businesses and not take orders is my desire to succeed. I regard my decade of experience in that company as an apprenticeship. Thanks to that experience I now own three businesses in different fields， and my life is such fun！

Language & Culture Barriers

Far fewer Chinese respond with the exclamation “wasai！” – equivalent to “wow！”these days when they hear expats speak fluent Mandarin. However， 10 years ago when I first arrived， nobody cared if I could speak the language or not， and whenever I tried to practice speaking Chinese with locals， the conversation would always end up in English. However， since the rapid development of Chinas economy， linguistic aptitude and cultural understanding are now essential to expats who want to run businesses here. Otherwise， I doubt it would be possible to survive even one month.

Your Business Niche

As regards fields of business， I suggest starting with what you are good at. For instance， it might be difficult for a five-star hotel chef to succeed in the emerging P2P business in China. Although a hot niche market， there is no place in it for outsider expats. One of my businesses is head hunting， and my success is thanks to my rich experience in recruitment. If you are an expat with abundant experience in a specific business in your own country and find that the Chinese market in the field is a blank page， I would encourage you to go for it.

Trustworthy “Helpers”on the Way

Once you are physically in China， rather than visit Tiananmen Square or the Forbidden City， you should set to work meeting different people. Starting businesses without connections is uphill work. Through LinkedIn groups， the Beijinger， FC clubs etc.， you can easily gain information about networking events. Pick out the useful dates and prepare ample business cards. Networking brings opportunities to communicate with experienced expats and successful local business people， and will help you to upgrade， or rather localize， your business ideas.

Style of Company Culture

My last tip is on establish- ing a company culture. The traditional Chinese organization structure is hierarchical. Employees are divided into clear management levels. Bottom tier employees do not discuss ideas with managers， who are two or three levels higher than them. In stark contrast， multinational companies from America and Europe put less emphasis on hierarchy. For expat start-up businesses， a flat organization structure might be an advantage in attracting talented people. Set down clear company rules and be fair and transparent with your workers. If you offer different commissions to two sales managers， once they find out they will either fight each other or you.

Of course， there will be troublesome business rules to deal with during the process of setting up a business in China. Complex taxation procedures， company registration and business development cannot be done without help. Imagine that you were able to find a finance director with 10 years experience of dealing with tax bureau， and a sales manager with quality clients and sales channels– wouldnt that make your entrepreneurship in China easier？ So confirm your niche and build up a mighty team！