BenefitsofLearningChinese
WhenZhdanovturned18,hisparentsfeltrelievedwhenhechoseapromisingmajor:Chinesestudies.Inthe1980s,therewasaprevailingbeliefinChina,“Youwillhavenotroublethroughouttheworldonceyou’velearnedmathematics,physics,andchemistry.”ThereisanequivalentbeliefinRussiatodaythatagoodcommandoftheChineselanguagewillensureapromisingcareer.
Zhdanov’shometownisinSiberia.“TheflighttimefrommyhometowntoUrumqiisbasicallythesameasthattoMoscow,”hesaid.Beforecollege,JackieChanandtheGreatWallweretheonlythingsZhdanovknewaboutChina.Heevenhadsomeprejudiceagainstthisneighboringcountry.“IthoughtallChinesepeopleeatdogmeat,”hesaid.OnlywhenhecametoChina,didhebegintorealizethereportsheusedtoreadweremostlyone-sidedstories.
HeneverplannedtostudyChineseincollege.“Ithoughtaboutinternationalrelations.Forlanguagestudies,mostpeoplechoseEnglish,French,orSpanish.Iwantedsomethingdifferent,soIlearnedChinese.”Duringthesummerofhissophomoreyear,ZhdanovmadehisfirstvisittoChinaandspentthreemonthsinNortheastChina.Oneyearlater,hebeganhissecondadventure:settingoutfromtheAltaiMountains,hefirsttraveledtoKazakhstan,thentoUrumqiwherehewasluckyenoughtogetafreerideandtraveledallthewaytoLanzhou,Xi’an,Zhengzhou,andfinallyShanghai.PopularproductsonLAOWAIME.ThisexperiencechangedZhdanov’slife.HeopenedanaccountonVK,thelargestsocialnetworkingsiteinRussia,tointroduceeverythingaboutChinatoyoungRussians.Itdidn’ttakelongbeforeheattractedalargenumberoffollowersandfans.Today,theaccounthasgrownintoRussia’slargestWeMediaaccountonChinawithnearly100,000followers.
Aftergraduation,Zhdanov,fluentinRussian,Chinese,andEnglish,firstcametoDongguaninsoutheasternChina,whereheworkedfortwoconsultancycompanieshelpingRussiansmallandmedium-sizedRussianbusinessesconnectwithChinesefactories.Inhissparetime,hecontinuedtoworkonEKD.ME.Asfollowerssurged,moreandmoreRussianbusinessesandvendorsnoticedZhdanov.Araftofquestionscametotheyoungman:HowtodobusinesswiththeChinese?What’sthebestwaytofindareliablefactoryinChina?
“IneverexpectedIcouldstartabusinessfrommyhobby,”saidZhdanov.AfterquittinghisjobattheRussianconsultancyfirm,heestablishedhisownconsultancycompanyUCHINAwithtwootherpartners.
Atfirst,ZhdanovfocusedontheRussianmarketbyservingasanintermediarybetweenRussianbusinessesandfactoriesinChina.TheformersentorderstothelatterandsoldtheproductsbackinRussia.Thingschangedinlate2014whenRussiasufferedaneconomiccrisisandadrasticdepreciationoftheruble.Duringthemostdifficultperiod,thepurchasingcostofRussianbusinesspeopleinChinadoubled,forcingmanytoreturntothedomesticmarket.
Zhdanovhadtoadjusthisdevelopmentstrategy.HesethiseyesontheU.S.market.Atpresent,morethan40percentofhisclientsarefromtheU.S.Ontheotherhand,ZhdanovattemptedtoexplorenewopportunitiesinRussia.“RussianclientsusedtobuygoodsfromChina,andnowmanyaretryingtosellproductstoChina,”hesaid.
TheBirthofLAOWAIME
Aboutfouryearsago,ZhdanovranacrossaT-shirtheatedlysoughtafterbyforeignersorasthey’rereferredtoinChina,laowai.“Thefrontsays‘laowaicomes,’andtheback‘laowaigoes.’Itisfunny,”Zhdanovsaid.Heorderedtwoimmediately.Whenhereceivedhispackage,hewasdisappointedinthelowqualityoftheshirts.Aftersomeinvestigation,Zhdanovfoundthequalityofsuchculturallycreativeproductstargetedtowardslaowaiisgenerallyunsatisfactory.Determinedtocreatesomethingbetter,hemadethedecisiontodesignhisownuniqueT-shirts.
Atthattime,Zhdanovhadover40,000followersonVK.Hestartedwith200T-shirts.“Theysoldoutjustinonemonth,andImadesomecash,”Zhdanovrecalled.Thisattemptinspiredhimtostartupasecondbusiness–andsuchwasthebirthofLAOWAIME.
Afterregisteringadomainname,ZhdanovworkedtoopenanonlinestoreonTaobao,whichhehadheardofwhenhewasacollegestudentinRussia.“TherewasnoAliExpress[internationalversionofTaobao],whichispopularamongRussianpeople,10yearsago.YoungRussiansmanagedtoshoponTaobaothroughtransitcompanies,”hesaid.
ZhdanovlearnedmoreaboutTaobaoafterhecametoChina.“Consumerswillnotevennoticeanewbrandlikemineifyoudon’tshowcaseitonTaobao,”hesaid.Hepurchasedanestablishedonlinestorefromafriendandstartedtoteachhimselfhowtoadvertisetheproducts,senddelivery,andhandlehiscustomers.
Oneyearago,ZhdanovplannedtoregisterthetrademarkLAOWAIME.HemadeaspecialvisittoanexpertonChineselanguagetoconsultwhethertheword“laowai”isderogatory.Theexpertopenedathickdictionaryandsaidabout100yearsago,itwasindeedawordimplyinghostility.However,overthepast20years,especiallyafterthe2008BeijingOlympicGames,laowaiinChinesepeople’seyeshasbecomeaneutralappellation.
Infact,foreignersarereadytopayforproductscontainingthewordlaowai.AU.S.customerwhoboughtapassportcasefromLAOWAIMEreviewedthatshelikedthefourChinesecharactersof“laowai’spassport”printedonthecase.“I’mgoingtovisitChina,soIthinkit’sprettycooltohaveapassportcasewithChinesecharacters,”shesaid.
ThemostpopularproductonLAOWAIMEisaT-shirtprintedwiththreeChinesephrases,whicharenihao,xiexie,tingbudong,meaninghello,thankyou,andIdon’tunderstand,respectively.“I’dcertainlydrawalotofattentionifIwanderedaroundChinatowninsuchaT-shirt,”saidaU.S.buyer.AnotherbuyershowedapictureonInstagramandwrote,“IwillsendmylittlegirltolearnChinesewhensheturnsfour.”
ZhdanovsaidthatthecustomerswhoshopinhisonlinestoreareabouthalfChineseandhalfforeigners.FromT-shirttomugs,passportcases,andrefrigeratormagnets,ordinarydailyitemsbecomeadorableandhilariouswhentheyareblendedwithtraditionalChineseculturalelements.Thosewhoarepayingforthemshareonecharacterincommon:loveforChineseculture.
ALandofOpportunities
Zhdanovwouldhavefollowedhisfather’splansandtakenastablejobasacivilservantinhishometownifhedidn’tcometoChina.Now,thesuccessfulyoungbusinessmanhasdecidedtosettleinChina.
“RussiansincludedintheForbesrichlistareeitheroiltycoonsornaturalgasgiants.Chinaisdifferent.Itschannelsofsocialmobilityareopentoordinarypeople,”saidZhdanov.However,manyRussiansstillholdthestereotypethatChinaisatastagewherepeoplestilllacksufficientfoodanddecentshelter.
WhenZhdanovtalkedabouthisexperienceinChinawithfriendsinhishometownduringavisit,peoplefounditunbelievable.“ItoldthemtheminimummonthlysalaryforfactoryworkersinShenzhenisRMB3,000atleast.Theycouldn’tbelieveitbecauseforteachersinsmallerRussiancities,whichisadecentjobinRussia,thesalaryisaboutthesame,”herecalled.
Afterarousingfriends’curiosityaboutChina,Zhdanovcontinuedhisnarrationofhisadventure.“BesidesinternationalInternetgiantslikeAlibabaandTencent,Chinahasreputableconsumerelectronicsmakers,suchasXiaomi,whichproducessmartphonesandDJI,whichmakesunmannedaerialvehicles,”hesaid,addingthatRussiantechcompaniesalllookuptoSiliconValleyintheU.S.“Chinahasafavorablebusinessclimateandahugemarket,”hesaid,notingChinaisabetteroptionforbusinesses.
Tofriendsinthehometown,nothingismoretemptingthanZhdanov’sownsuccessinChina.Theyneverexpectedtheyoungboy,whowaywardlychosetostudyChinese,couldgrowtoasuccessfulbusinessmaninjust10years.FromrunningaWeMediaaccounttoaconsultancycompanyandahighlysoughtafteronlinestore,Zhdanovissuccessfulintheeyesofhisfriends.
However,nothingisgainedeasily.Theenterprisingyoungmanhasexperiencednumeroussetbacksduringhisadventure.TheeconomiccrisishittingRussiainlate2014nearlydevastatedhisnewlyestablishedconsultancycompany.Runninganonlinestoreisalsonoeasytask.“ThefirstthingIdowhenIwakeupeverydayistocheckhowmanyT-shirtsLAOWAIMEhassold,”hesaid.
Insteadofhardships,ZhdanovtalkedmoreabouttheopportunitiesChinagavetohim.“Chinaisanidealplaceforentrepreneurswhohavefaithandaredeterminedtostartfromscratch.Aslongasyouhaveagoodideaandputitintoaction,youcanmakeyourdreamscometrue.”C
LIUZHUORANisareporterwithGlobalEbusinessmen.