“You learn how to run a company only by running a company.” — Ben Horowitz 

I love Hard Thing About Hard Things! That among many other giant works that has supported me a lot during this spring. But it is about running a company, not about China.

“You learn how to run a company in China only by running a company in China.”

You need to fill the gap on your own. By doing. That’s always the best way.

China is a heaven for working. You always learn new and you never  feel bored. After a spring running a company in China, I’ve though come to see some parallels. I believe for running a company you need to combine three things, in a right balance.

1 Company; 25-30 %

2 Customers; 50-60 %

3 Non-profit / community; 15-20 %

(Or updated; 30 –  50-60 – 10-20)

First one is taking care of the “bureaucratic” necessities. This means that your company gets registered, you have the stamp, you can receive and transfer payments, your visa issues are ok, HR works, systems are ok. That takes about 25-30% of your time and focus. If you don’t do it well, the consequences and lacks in this side in China multiply 7-fold rapidly. Then you suddenly take 70-80% of your time of fixing all the potential challenges arising. Where’s then the time to develop your customers and ideate new cases?

Next one is about customers first. For Trump it’s the American steel workers and coalminers – for him America first means that. For running a company your own customers – whoever they are – should be at your core. This should be 50-60 % of your time. Developing customer relations, taking the sales funnel forward, closing cases, doing your best, learning new by doing. Alibaba, Google and any big successful big or small company has this at the core.

Finally I would add a 15-20% of time for those kind of chores that won’t necessarily directly benefit your company or give revenues. This is the (often non-profit) community work that you do mainly for free for the sake of it, for the love of it. It eventually has at least 2 benefits for your company:

a) Company benefits: it increases your network, influence, brand and may bring connections that develop later to direct customer relations.

b) Personal benefits: It keeps you energised, in a good mood and helps you to avoid the loss of vitality due to bureaucratic necessities and sometimes other challenges. It also strengthens your sense of ethics and self-respect.

Choose this 15-20% about something that you truly love and like and feel good about. The side-effects will highlight in every aspect of your company and your life. But don’t make this part too big – otherwise you neglect the company necessities, or may lose some essential cases that are crucial to the development of your business.

This is based on my past experiences in China.

——

On Customers

I myself have got 12 customers on my own in 4 months. The average case has been around 2-4 days project where supporting the customer to know China better, network with key contacts and help with practicalities. The average payment has been 1000-2000 € per customer.

I’ve simultaneously been processing an official registration of my company. Got it done in around 3 months, at 20 June with a good support from a local partner in Hangzhou, Ringtiger. I give 3% of my company share and they take care of the process and accounting. No other payments needed.

I also have rented an own office space closely my home, at Nexus, where a friend from the community just newly launched a Nordic-style cool gaming and international related space. I pay early-bird 600 RMB per month. I cycle 5 minutes, or walk 15 minutes from home here.

I already got the “magical stamp” that is needed everywhere, I’ve opened up a commercial bank account at ABC, Agricultural Bank of China, one of the 4 major banks, and will be able to receive direct payments in a week.

———

On Charging the customers from China

70% of customers have been Finnish and Nordic. I had two options, to put up an own entity in Finland, or use a temporary light entrepreneurship service, such as ukko.fi. My brother, a successful entrepreneur himself, advised the latter. Did it. Has worked relatively well for so far.

What about the 30 % of the Chinese customers? I have charged direct payments where I can – cash, e-pay (Alipay). Some cases – such as seminars, I’ve been able to have a direct lecture fee, which doesn’t need a taxation process, (fa piao), which is China is very important.

Another option is to charge for your friends company. But that demands big trust and close friendship. Have noticed in the past years that China doesn’t work with the same code of conduct as places like Finland or Sweden.

——

Why it works?

I haven’t basically done any marketing at all. Still I’ve got telephone, wechat and email beeping regularly. That has been due to the combination of

1 ) high-interest in China for Finnish technology, companies and talents,

2 ) lack of local people and traditional support services in general and even more for the new wave of startups and SMEs,

3 ) my personal background as running Slush in China, working with the Chinese and Nordic startups and SMEs locally, and having enough basic knowledge on Chinese culture, language and customs.

I was surprised how fast this could take up. I would have been happy for a few customers, but the market interest and needs have been very wide.

How should I give a grade for myself for running the projects? I have worked on my own, but with occasional projects with support of local contributors, such as Angry Birds China co-founder Pan Tianyi, or got advice from seniors, such as Lari Iso-Anttila, with over 10 years experience in Nokia, and several years on doing business in China.

The spring has been my own MBA for running a company. I’ve read carefully wide collection of books and articles and tried to learn as much as possible. The most important of those has probably been Ben Horowitz’s classic, but also many other articles, books – and especially clever people that you meet, randomly and agreed.

——

WHAT YOU LEARN ?

I learn all the time not just about running a company, but also about China and its business environment. Whereas the knowledge in the past has been more theoretical, on the safe side on non-profit community building or fighting someone else’s battles, now I’ve got my own ass into it – and feel terrified and awed at the same time.

A lot of lessons-learnt.

Finally I often get back to a few core stuff I learn at Aalto university entrepreneurial circles, and at its follow-up, Slush.

True entrepreneurial spirit is about these things:

Do what you love

Aim to the stars (Land on the moon)

Pay forward

Don’t fear failure

Never give up

Steve Jobs talks about doing what you love, and about connecting the dots.

That’s what I’m doing. It ain’t always easy, but you gotta do what you think is the right thing to do, for yourself and for others.

EPIC MOMENT

One of the most epic moments of the Spring was when I was having a dinner with a good friend and colleague, an official from the city of Helsinki. He said to me: Lauri, I have the most amazing job, I can travel in China and around the world, join some very meaningful meetings, with influential people… But sometimes I would just like to be at my home and renovate the house, the ceilings, fix the car, do something that lets you see immediately the results of your work.

I though about it. Do I have that kind of feeling? Would I actually like to do something else than what I’m doing?

It’s rarely in your life, but here I’ve felt this way: regardless of obstacles or limitations, if I could choose whichever thing, wherever in the world, at this moment I wouldn’t like to do anything else except what I’m doing right now.

Jesus.

When can you get into that?

That’s when you feel that you are doing something that you love.

And if you keep on doing it, you will ALWAYS achieve something meaningful for yourself and often also for the society. If you have good support networks, or access to good materials, you can also make that a good business, if you want to.

That’s what I’m heading towards. Let’s see where we are in 1-2 years.

——-

P.S. 100 years ago people aimed on going to America to find their entrepreneurial dreams. Now more and more people start coming to China, and you can see and feel it. China dream, at its best, can be a dream for everyone in the world, not only the privilege of those who are born in the Middle Kingdom.

Godspeed!