Focus

Young entrepreneurs find starting up a hard sell

By Duan Yan and He Dan (China Daily)
Updated: 2010-09-15 07:51

Marrying ideas with experience

Editor's note: Hu Yubo, 21, was part of a team of students at Nanjing Normal University who made a documentary film on young entrepreneurs. She plans to start her own business after she graduates next year.

We made the film as a school summer project, and we interviewed several young people to ask them about their experiences in starting their own business.

Some of them had failed and some had succeeded.

One of the women we talked to was from a single parent family in Nanjing (capital of Jiangsu province) who was selling food on taobao.com to help her mother. She had to stay inside and stare at the computer all day, even when she was eating lunch.

The most memorable person, though, was this guy at Beijing Normal University. He has failed several times but was still optimistic and passionate when he started his fourth business, a tuangou website (a bulk purchasing service).

I also used the documentary project to do some research before I start my own wedding planning business.

My ring is engraved with the Chinese character for shuangxi, which means "double happiness" and is traditional for Chinese marriage ceremonies. I'm passionate about setting up a wedding planning company that offers great services.

I've seen lots of ceremonies with bad hosts. Wedding companies in Nanjing don't have good hosts. Without one, the entire event is awkward and uncomfortable.

A couple who owns a small wedding company offered to sell me the business for 100,000 yuan ($14,000). They said they would teach me what I need to know and help me with things like the planning and bridal makeup at the beginning.

But I realized that even if I bought their company, I would just be fighting for a small share of the market and that's not what I want.

Also, 100,000 yuan is not a small amount of money for me and I feel I need more experience and a stronger network of contacts who can help me.

My business plan is not just to open a small company. I want one that offers unique services that can be more influential.

Hu Yubo was talking to Duan Yan.

(China Daily 09/15/2010 page1)