Anationalnaturereserve,Mt.FanjinginTongren,GuizhouProvince,issacredtoChineseBuddhists.AnoldChinesesayinggoes,鈥淭ravelbroadensthemindandenrichesthesoulmorethanreading10,000books.鈥滻nasimilarway,entrepreneurswon鈥檛findsuccesswithoutinnovation,whichcannotbeachievedbymakingplansbehindcloseddoors.Rather,entrepreneursmustgoout,talkwithpeopleandspendtimeinnature.Eachtravelisanadventureandyouwillneverknowwhatthenexttripwillbring.Forthesereasons,Ibelievethattravelingcanbeinspirational.
ThisJuly,IwasdeeplyimpressedandinspiredbywhatIsawduringavisittoTongren,GuizhouProvince,withsomeentrepreneursfromNinghaiCounty,ZhejiangProvince.
IwasstunnedtofindaoncepovertystrickenmountainousareainGuizhou,Tongrenhasbeencompletelytransformed.ItisteemingwithvisitorsfromacrossChina,fashionablelocalyoungwomenandrowafterrowofnewly-builthotelsandhouses.鈥淲hathappenedhere,inthisremote,ruralcornerofChina?鈥滻wondered.
Theanswerliesinthecountry鈥檚reformandopeningup,aprocessthathaschangedpeople鈥檚minds.Notonlyhavethelocalsmanagedtogrowgrainonformerlybarrenterracedfields,buttheyhaveseizedonemergingtourismopportunities,whichhasacceleratedcleanindustryinitiativestohelpalleviatepovertybycapitalizingonthevalueofgreenmountainsandpristinerivers.
Whatinspirationdoesthatbringtoabusiness?Forme,thespiritofcraftsmanshipiscrucial.However,Icannotsurviveormakeprogresswithoutputtinginhardworktomakebreakthroughs鈥搄ustlikethelocalfarmersinTongren,whoblazedanewpathtooptimallyutilizetheirnaturalresourcestocreatebetterlivingconditions.Abusinesswillsurelydeclineifcraftsmenanditsoperationsdonotkeeppacewithmoderntrends.Onceatargetforinnovationisset,riskcanbeminimizedthroughdiversifiedproductionandaccesstothewiderinternationalmarket.
DuringmystayatMt.FanjinginTongren,Inoticedtworestaurantsonoppositesidesoftheroad,onepackedandtheothervirtuallyempty.Idecidedtotrybothtofindoutwhy.Attheemptyrestaurant,thevegetableswerefreshandthepricingwasfair:Itcostonly20yuanforabigbowlofstewedporkwithsoysauce.Iwaspuzzledatfirst,butlaterlearnedthatwhatmakesthepackedrestaurantsoattractiveisitssignaturedish鈥搒mokedpork.鈥淚t鈥檚deliciousbutnotgreasy,鈥漝inerssay.Bothrestaurantsuseporkfortheirmaindishes,butthebusyonehadsimplycookeditaspecialway.
Suchananecdoteshouldbeinspirationalforeverybusiness.Evenifyousellthesameproductaseveryoneelse,youcanremaincompetitivebybettermeetingthedemandsofyourcustomers.
ChuJiwangispresidentandfounderoftheNingboRuyiJointStockCo.,Ltd.,amajorChineselogisticsequipmentmanufacturer.Morethanjustanentrepreneur,ChuisarecipientoftheChinaCharityAward,thetopphilanthropichonorinthecountry.Ineachissue,heshareshisbusinessinsightsandinspirationsgainedfromhislifeexperience.