Opportunities brewing for foreigners in city
Print Edition
SHANGHAI has always prided itself as being a city of entrepreneurship and commercial opportunities. As the economy is deregulated, it’s not only the Chinese who are taking advantage of the chance to start up businesses.
In 2010, according to the national census that year, there were 143,156 foreigners living in Shanghai. That figure continues to grow. Although most expatriates work for multinational companies here, some are beginning to look outside that box. One of them is 62-year-old American David Henry.
Henry came to Shanghai 20 years ago to teach English. At that time, it was difficult if not impossible for a foreigner to start his own company in China. But times have changed, allowing Henry to think about starting his own business here. He chose coffee bean roasting for his enterprise, inspired by his grandfather’s love of coffee and by the relative rarity of that business in the city.
Unfamiliar with Chinese commercial laws, Henry found the initial going tough. But when Chinese acquaintances agreed to help him through registration and legal procedures, and friends with business experience agreed to advise him on the ABCs of running a company, the road ahead smoothed.
“It’s small, so it wasn’t all that complicated,” Henry told Shanghai Daily. “In fact, it took only several months to set up the business with 250,000 yuan (US$41,000) of startup capital.”
The company, named Jonas Emil Coffee Roasters after the grandfather, buys raw coffee beans from importers, roasts them and then sells the beans to households and offices in the city. Henry and his Chinese partner Feng Zhenghai took a training course in San Francisco to become “senior roasters.”
Startups always face unforeseen challenges and Jonas Emil Coffee Roasters was no exception. Suppliers of premium-quality Arabica coffee beans were difficult to find. Henry and Feng had to do a lot of networking in the coffee industry to make the right contacts.
At first, the business roasted only about 10 kilograms of beans a week, mostly for expatriate families. As Henry and Feng began promoting the business at trade fairs, word spread and customers increased. Employees were hired to visit offices and explain the service.
Today the business roasts up to 50 kilos of beans a week. Henry gave up teaching last year to devote himself full time to the business, which has also hired an additional roaster.
“About 90 percent of our individual clients are expats, but more and more local people are drinking coffee, especially in offices,” he said.
They lease an 80-square-meter workshop in the Pudong New Area and a 20-quare-meter office in Baoshan. The sites are away from downtown, but cost just 6,000 yuan a month to rent.
The business has also taken on a new partner who has shop space in Pudong. Henry and Feng will provide beans and coffee-making technologies free, and share the profits once the coffee shop opens next month.
Foreigners who are interested in starting up businesses in Shanghai can turn to agencies to help them through the application paperwork.
That’s what 42-year-old Jason Inch, another American, did when he started a human resources consultancy in the city in 2010.
Inch is a business consultant, writer, and speaker who came to the city in 2004. He is the author of 2012 book “China’s Economic Supertrends” and the 2008 book “Supertrends of Future China.”
“I had been working as a teacher in joint-venture business school programs,” he said. “And I saw an opportunity in human resources consulting. So I formed ICT — InChina Corporate Training.”
He said it was relatively easy, taking only about two months.
“The government has requirements in terms of minimum capital and industry focus, but I didn’t think the policies were overly restrictive,” he said.
Last year, he set up a second company called LOHAUS, promoting a lifestyle of health and urban sustainability.
“My second company was much easier to start,” he said. “I didn’t need an agent that time because the registration process has become so streamlined.”
He said Shanghai is ideally placed to foster entrepreneurship, with the education skills of the Chinese and the number of foreigners settled here.
“Shanghai has always been a great entrepreneurial city,” Inch said. “It’s in the blood. Foreigners should find it easier to start a business here.”
- About Us
- |
- Terms of Use
- |
-
RSS - |
- Privacy Policy
- |
- Contact Us
- |
- Shanghai Call Center: 962288
- |
- Tip-off hotline: 52920043
- 沪ICP证：沪ICP备05050403号-1
- |
- 互联网新闻信息服务许可证：31120180004
- |
- 网络视听许可证：0909346
- |
- 广播电视节目制作许可证：沪字第354号
- |
- 增值电信业务经营许可证：沪B2-20120012
Copyright © 1999- Shanghai Daily. All rights reserved.Preferably viewed with Internet Explorer 8 or newer browsers.
