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Savvy college students in business
May 18, 2010, Tuesday
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HANGZHOU college freshman Zhu Luquan runs an Internet store, sells goods on consignment in two shops and is the youngest booth owner in Coolmind Fair, selling creative baubles.
Each month the 19-year-old entrepreneur, nicknamed "Boss Zhu," earns thousands of yuan.
Boss Zhu says he's just one of many college students starting easy trial businesses, such as operating Internet stores and selling lots of goods on consignment in "check shops." Check shop is a kind of store where cabinet boxes are rented out to different people to sell various goods. Zhu handles eight lots.
He launched his business as soon as he entered Hangzhou Vocational and Technical College, aiming to pay his tuition and gain business experience.
It's no longer big news that traditionally risk-averse young people are starting businesses while in school, but many seem to be doing better than older entrepreneurs due to more information on the Internet and more support from society.
Zhu, who comes from Wenzhou famed for its small commodity trade, seems to have inherited his hometown's tradition of being smart in business. He purchases different sorts of goods from Wenzhou for his different sales targets.
For example, he stocks cheap fancy clothes for one consignment shop near campus because most of his customers are female students. At the recent Coolmind Fair, an animation festival, he chose creative toys for adults.
"Orienting your business correctly is the first key to success," says the young boss. "And it's always important to collect more information from varied sources."
Through one of his channels, the school's notice board, he acquired four free consignment lots in IEspace, a shop in Xiasha District. The private shop that opened this month offers space for more than 400 consignments exclusively from Hangzhou college students. It charges no rent, commission or upkeep fees. The only rule is that a "check seller" who comes in last in a regular three-month assessment loses his/her space.
The rent-free policy aims to attract a lot of sellers and customers, and then to attract advertisers who target them, says store director Xu Weiliang.
The store's principle for selecting sellers is that their offerings be "creative, stylish and welcoming." So far 200 students among thousands of candidates have been selected to sell unique and eye-catching products. Among Zhu's offerings are match boxes decorated with cartoons.
The success of these young college entrepreneurs has rather startled their elders in business who, by comparison, had few options when they started out, except for running a "real" store.
Liu Fengming, who graduated five years ago, started a print shop near the rear entrance to campus. But when the entrance was closed, traffic fell and business suffered.
"That's the risk you take running real store," says Liu. "Younger people now have better resources than we did. When I was in college, even taking a part-time job was unusual."
Instructor Zhou Qiong at Zhejiang University of Technology says young people are more savvy these days about start-ups.
"Students nowadays are more commercially aware and some even invest their tuition money to start a venture or speculate on the stock market," she says.
"If they benefit, they pay the tuition when they graduate, if they lose, they ask their parents for more money. Many parents understand and support their children in their investments," she says.
The number of young entrepreneurs has risen dramatically in the past couple of years, evidence by the hectic "Online Trade" forum on every college's BBS. Every day there are thousands of clicks.
Now that selling goods on a school BBS is possible, selling on the Internet is just another step forward.
Hangzhou, as the headquarters of online seller Taobao, welcomes innovative ideas and young entrepreneurs. Opening an online shop is common among college students.
In 2009, Taobao offered nearly 1 million slots to public sellers, including around 350,000 college students aged 18 to 22 years old. This represents 10 percent of the total number of store owners, according to the company's public relations department.
"Participating in social activities, including running a business, is a way to supplement college courses and book learning," says Zhang Lei, a sociologist from Zhejiang University of Technology.
"It is normal for students, who are typically short of cash, to make money in a number of different ways in the information age," he says.
Each month the 19-year-old entrepreneur, nicknamed "Boss Zhu," earns thousands of yuan.
Boss Zhu says he's just one of many college students starting easy trial businesses, such as operating Internet stores and selling lots of goods on consignment in "check shops." Check shop is a kind of store where cabinet boxes are rented out to different people to sell various goods. Zhu handles eight lots.
He launched his business as soon as he entered Hangzhou Vocational and Technical College, aiming to pay his tuition and gain business experience.
It's no longer big news that traditionally risk-averse young people are starting businesses while in school, but many seem to be doing better than older entrepreneurs due to more information on the Internet and more support from society.
Zhu, who comes from Wenzhou famed for its small commodity trade, seems to have inherited his hometown's tradition of being smart in business. He purchases different sorts of goods from Wenzhou for his different sales targets.
For example, he stocks cheap fancy clothes for one consignment shop near campus because most of his customers are female students. At the recent Coolmind Fair, an animation festival, he chose creative toys for adults.
"Orienting your business correctly is the first key to success," says the young boss. "And it's always important to collect more information from varied sources."
Through one of his channels, the school's notice board, he acquired four free consignment lots in IEspace, a shop in Xiasha District. The private shop that opened this month offers space for more than 400 consignments exclusively from Hangzhou college students. It charges no rent, commission or upkeep fees. The only rule is that a "check seller" who comes in last in a regular three-month assessment loses his/her space.
The rent-free policy aims to attract a lot of sellers and customers, and then to attract advertisers who target them, says store director Xu Weiliang.
The store's principle for selecting sellers is that their offerings be "creative, stylish and welcoming." So far 200 students among thousands of candidates have been selected to sell unique and eye-catching products. Among Zhu's offerings are match boxes decorated with cartoons.
The success of these young college entrepreneurs has rather startled their elders in business who, by comparison, had few options when they started out, except for running a "real" store.
Liu Fengming, who graduated five years ago, started a print shop near the rear entrance to campus. But when the entrance was closed, traffic fell and business suffered.
"That's the risk you take running real store," says Liu. "Younger people now have better resources than we did. When I was in college, even taking a part-time job was unusual."
Instructor Zhou Qiong at Zhejiang University of Technology says young people are more savvy these days about start-ups.
"Students nowadays are more commercially aware and some even invest their tuition money to start a venture or speculate on the stock market," she says.
"If they benefit, they pay the tuition when they graduate, if they lose, they ask their parents for more money. Many parents understand and support their children in their investments," she says.
The number of young entrepreneurs has risen dramatically in the past couple of years, evidence by the hectic "Online Trade" forum on every college's BBS. Every day there are thousands of clicks.
Now that selling goods on a school BBS is possible, selling on the Internet is just another step forward.
Hangzhou, as the headquarters of online seller Taobao, welcomes innovative ideas and young entrepreneurs. Opening an online shop is common among college students.
In 2009, Taobao offered nearly 1 million slots to public sellers, including around 350,000 college students aged 18 to 22 years old. This represents 10 percent of the total number of store owners, according to the company's public relations department.
"Participating in social activities, including running a business, is a way to supplement college courses and book learning," says Zhang Lei, a sociologist from Zhejiang University of Technology.
"It is normal for students, who are typically short of cash, to make money in a number of different ways in the information age," he says.
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