Just another struggle with Chinese factory life…not sure if people here know, but due to high energy consumption and limited capacity of factories in China – they turn off power in certain factories. This is not the choice of the factory, but instead the local or province government forcing this to happen in order to prevent power outages (blackouts, brownouts) …
Visit To a Shenzhen Bluetooth Factory
A rainy Monday here in shenzhen, took a trip with my friend James to Long Hua district of shenzhen, the factory district of this massive city. It is a growing factory that wants to expand towards direct distribution, invited some foreigners to visit, discuss cooperation and assistance in marketing and branding. Late last year I had visited a mouse factory …
More Risks of China Business – Alibaba Spins off Alipay Without Telling Board
Man, we all love Alibaba, its a great brand, Jack Ma is looked upon like the god of ecommerce in China. But today’s news about how he signed off to spin off Alipay to a different holding company in China where he is majority shareholder…without talking to the board (ie: Yahoo!) …is just another sad example of the scary risks …
Example Of How China Market Is Its Own Market…
Spent a nice evening in Shenzhen with the local crew, discussing internet, mobile phones, china business… you know, normal geeky stuff. Vlad had this hilarious phone, by Lenovo, he bought in China wal mart – and he described a bunch of the features….let me explain the different features to highlight, and reflect on these points and explain how this is …
Shenzhen Chinese Ecommerce Meetup, Google China Here
In 2010 and even more in 2011 I’ve been organizing twitter meetups and getting more professional with ecommerce meetups. As I’m doing these, been doing a lot of hyper networking, and met the “Chinese side” of the Shenzhen ecommerce meetups and was invited to one, without too much notice of where it was, who it was by, when it started, …
Issued Another Lawyer Letter, Part of Doing Internet Ecommerce Business in China
Just another day in China, I got a scanned letter today, it was hand delivered to my Florida, USA address. I’m not going to say I’m getting cocky that “nothing can happen to me, I’m in China” attitude (though many of my Chinese friends seem to think they are immune to US law), but I am getting a better understanding …
Not All White Guys in China Are Rich!
Bet that title got your attention! But it is true, so many Chinese people see a white face and think he/she is rich. Maybe its culture, maybe its tradition, maybe its how In this post I put a statue I just saw recently in China, a fat Chinese guy. I’m told that a fat person in China means: Rich Happy …
Always On Call: Weekend Delivery – New China Warehouse Client!
Thats the thing about small business, YOU ARE ALWAYS on call. I am trying to get on somewhat of a schedule between Dongguan, Shenzhen, and Hong Kong, but life of a traveling salesman / social media dude (aka ME) life is anything but predictable and schedule-able. This blog of mine has intertwined my personal and business life – But GOOD …
Spending More Time on my Chinese Blog, mailini
I should cross promote the two blogs more, not sure if people even realize i have this blog translated to chinese. When I first came to China at the end of 2007 my good friend, Gao Xing, gave me my chinese name, mai li ni , which is a best effort to convert my family name, michelini, to a chinese …
More Shenzhen Coworking Developments, Finding my Personal Strengths
Added Guangzhou to my weekly travel the past couple weeks, due to the Canton fair. Back in Shenzhen today, at least all these trade fairs are over now. It is just added that much more stress and complexity to my daily work life. After spending Sunday (Easter Sunday!) walking the fair with my good friend Brent, he helped bounce ideas …
Another Hong Kong Trade Show, Reflecting On My First Trip Here…
Came to Hong Kong this morning from Shenzhen, crossing the border, taking the bus to Wan Chai, knowing where to get quick food, stopping off at boot hk coworking space, preparing which booths I would visit, walking in, already being pre-registered for the show (therefore skipping the long line), going directly to the sections I am interested in, shake hands …
Photos From Li Jia, Visit to Dongguan Factory City
A couple weeks a photo journalist, Li Jia, came to the Dongguan Fiveislands ecommerce warehouse, but also other factories in the business network here in Chang An. Her main project was to interview and photograph the lives of factory women and their love life. I’ll save that blog post for once she gets me those photos, but in the meantime, …
Another Trip to Guangzhou Canton Fair
Been to Canton fair a few years now, thinking about my 2008 canton fair trip here. The Canton Fair is the biggest trade fair for Chinese factories to meet foreign buyers. Its held 2 times a year, in the spring (where we are now…) and then again in the fall. I met up with Larry who has his iphone app …
9 Ways I’ve Become More Patient In China
Took a few years but i am finally “broken in”…..it was something expats here told me would happen the longer i stayed here…..and I didn’t believe them! stop resisting and just let go. China is China, and its not going to change for some stupid white barbarian guy coming here. My last post I promised I would talk about comparing …
April Is a Stressful Month For Many in China, Not Just Me
As you can see, I’m pretty open about the extreme stress I have been under in business and travel. I think I am developing quicker. There is a saying I saw on a facebook status update that I liked and tweeted: “Always do what you are afraid to do” Ralph Waldo Emerson I definitely think working as a small business….in …