EDITOR'S Note:

Shanghai's strong economic growth should be attributed to not only the robust performance of state-owned enterprises but also the emerging power of the private sector. The number of private businesses now account for 72 percent of the total in the city, according to the local statistics bureau. Shanghai Daily has launched a biweekly column about small business people in Shanghai and how they cope with the challenges of entrepreneurship.

Business: Interior decorating

Company: Yingyue Decorating Co

Interviewees: Zhang Lin

Age: 31

Business started from: 2009

Initial investment: 500,000 yuan (US$76,250)

Annual profit: about 1 million yuan

Future plans: creating a new brand line of Art Deco products

Parquet floors, ceiling fans, large movie posters and steel casement windows. The interior décor harks back to a Shanghai home in the 1920s. That's exactly the look Zhang Lin tries to replicate for her customers.

Zhang, 31, runs an interior decorating firm called Yingyue on Shaanxi Road S. in Shanghai. Her specialty is restoring the interiors of old houses built more than eight decades ago.

Two years ago, Zhang quit her job with a well-known decorating firm and struck out on her own with one partner, Wang Xuan. They invested 500,000 yuan (US$76,250) in the new business, which targets a niche market of old European-style villas that are in need of restoration.



"To me, the style represents the historical and cultural legacy of Shanghai"

Zhang's office is on the second floor of an old house in Shanghai. It's an area of old historic buildings in one of the city's leafier neighborhoods.

"These houses have been gaining in popularity since the 1990s," said Zhang. "Both the government and foreigners interested in local culture are keen to buy them and restore them to their former glory."

She added, "But buying is not equal to preservation, and few people know how to restore an old house."

The fate of much of the city's grand old architecture has been a hodge-podge of often unregulated development. Many old homes were gutted to make way for hotels. For example, the old French Club building and its gardens, which used to be a sports field in the early days, are now the site of the high-rise Okura Garden Hotel.

"When the wooden floors, hand-laid tiles and decorative ironwork are removed from an historic Shanghai house, it no longer tells the same story," said Zhang. "The opulent yet elegant decoration is the soul of the building."

Zhang majored in interior design as a student, so she is familiar with the Art Deco style of houses in the 1920s and 1930s in Shanghai.

Art Deco flourished in Paris in the 1920s and spread across the world in the 1930s. Its bold and, linear symmetrical features are still considered stylish modernism.

Zhang's interest is more than just good business strategy. She personally is passionate about preserving the city's past, including historic architecture and design.

"To me, the style represents the historical and cultural legacy of Shanghai," said Zhang. "It is also a mirror of the simple and graceful lifestyle intrinsic in the city."

"I didn't realize there were so many problems until I started to do the business ... It was a total mess."

But passion and professionalism are far from enough. Zhang, like many entrepreneurs, found that turning inspiration into a business is tougher than it sounds.

"I didn't realize there were so many problems until I started to do the business," said Zhang. "I needed to deal with the antiquated equipment originally installed in houses and handle legal issues with the government. And there were continuous conflicts with construction crews. It was a total mess."

Experience is a wise teacher. Zhang has grown adept at problem-solving. She has hired six employees, each in charge of one facet of the business, such as administration, customer service, legal affairs and old furniture restoration. She also has signed long-term contracts with handpicked construction workers, fashioning them into three well-trained teams. They take 70 percent of decorating fees from every project.

So far, Zhang hasn't had to market her business.

"All my clients come to me by word of mouth," said Zhang. "Maybe it's because Yingyue is the only decorating company specializing in the Art Deco style."

Zhang is careful about what work she accepts. A project can take three to seven months, and she doesn't want to stretch her resources too thin.

On average, Yingyue handles 15 projects a year, charging about 1,800 yuan per square meter for an interior restoration.

"The demand for goods reminiscent of the good old days of Shanghai is still on the rise."

Last year, Zhang launched a series of new services, including selling Art Deco-style furniture.

"Modern furniture seems odd in the old houses," said Zhang. "But it's extremely hard to buy Art Deco furniture since few factories are still making it."

Zhang managed to convince several furniture factories to cooperate with her. In order to offer design drawings to the manufacturers, she bought as many books as she could find on the subject of old furniture in Shanghai.

She manages to collect bits and pieces of décor and furnishings from old houses whenever she can and was lucky enough to secure tiles thrown out by the famous landmark Peace Hotel when it underwent a major refurbishment.

Zhang also started a trusteeship management service recently. She offers foreigners, who buy old houses in Shanghai as an investment, a comprehensive service package, including restoration work, rental and housekeeping.

"Some foreigners need to go abroad frequently and they don't have much time or energy to take care of a property," said Zhang.

Zhang charges 500,000 yuan for the trusteeship service, including furniture for a standard three-story house.

Zhang's overhead costs amount to 1 million yuan a year, including office rent, salaries, construction team commissions and payments to furniture manufacturers.

Yingyue has annual revenue of 2 million yuan. The profits are divided evenly between Zhang and her partner Wang, who is a passive investor in the business.

There are an estimated 500 old houses left in Shanghai from the 1920s and 1930s, mostly in Xuhui, Luwan and Jing'an districts. That means the scope of Zhang's current business model is limited.

So she's planning to launch her own brand of retro-chic furniture and interior décor items that will take her business beyond just old houses to a wider range of homeowners.

"Art Deco represents an attitude of life featuring simplicity, elegance, and leisure" said Zhang. "The demand for goods reminiscent of the good old days of Shanghai is still on the rise."