If[onlineentrepreneurialventures]aresupportedbypreferentialpoliciesandfunding,younggraduates,whohavepassionandawidevision,canachievemore.
WangZhiyong,associateresearchfellow,InstituteofPopulationandLaborEconomics,ChineseAcademyofSocialSciences
Younggraduatescannowcalltheirowncareershots,thankstoe-commerceandencouraginggovernmentpolicies
ByGeLijun
Formostuniversitygraduates,workingingovernmentorganizationsorcompaniesinbigcitiesisthefirstchoiceaftergraduation.ButLiGuoqing,amarketingmajor,foundtheprospectofbeinghisownbossamoreexcitingchallenge.
LigraduatedfromtheTianjinChengjianUniversityin2014.Theninsteadoflookingforjobsinbigcities,hewentbacktohishometownMinxianCountyinnorthwestChina’sGansuProvince.Withtheknowledgeacquiredintheclassroom,heopenedastoreonTaobao,theChinesewebsiteforbusiness-to-consumerretail,sellingtraditionalChinesemedicinalherbsonline.
“ItwasnoteasytofindajobwhenIgraduated,”Lirecalled.“AsmyhometownisrichintraditionalChinesemedicine(TCM)resources,Iopenedanonlinestoretosellthem.Forasmallstartup,itiseasier[tolaunchanonlineventure].”
Oneyear’sexperiencetaughtLitheadvantagesofrunninganonlineshop.Itdoesn’trequiremuchfundingorbusinessexperience,whichmeanslessriskandpressure.Italsohasamoreflexiblebusinessmode.
Becauseoftheseadvantages,moreandmoreuniversitygraduatesarelaunchingtheirownonlinebusinesses.
“IamluckytobelivingintheInternetage,”Lisaid.“TheInternetbringssellersandcustomerscloser.UsingittogetherwiththemarketingknowledgeIobtainedinschool,Icanfindmorebusinessopportunities.”
TheNetresult
AccordingtotheChinaInternetNetworkInformationCenter,bytheendof2015,Chinahad688millionnetizenswith50.3percentofthepopulationenjoyingInternetaccessandover90percentcompaniesusingit.
LastMarch,PremierLiKeqiangproposedthe“Internetplus”actionplaninthegovernmentworkreport,aimingtointegratetheInternetwithtraditionalindustriestofueleconomicgrowth.
Toencouragestudentstostarttheirownbusinessesandopenonlineshops,theTianjinChengjianUniversityisofferingentrepreneurialcoursesandtraining.Theseexplainthedosanddon’tsofstartingabusinessandanalyzeindustrytrends.TheuniversityalsohelpedLigetcentralandlocalgovernmentsubsidiesforentrepreneurs.
AmeetingoftheStateCouncil,China’scabinet,inApril2014proposedmeasurestoencouragegraduatestostarttheirownbusinesses.Graduateswhoopenonlineshopsone-commerceplatformscangetsmallloansandsubsidies.
Attheendof2014,theMinistryofEducationsaiditwouldhelpgraduatesingettingtrainingforstartupsandservicesforindustrialandcommercialregistration,fundraisingandtaxreductionin2015.
AccordingtoaprojectreportbytheChinaAssociationforEmploymentPromotioninJuly2015,over10millionpeoplefoundemploymentby2014thankstoonlineshops.Ofthem,6.18millionpeople-60percent-foundjobsduetotheonlineshopsopenedbyuniversitygraduates.
“AlongwiththedevelopmentoftheInternet,therewillbemoreself-employmentopportunitiessuchasopeningonlineshops.Iftheyaresupportedbypreferentialpoliciesandfunding,younggraduates,whohavepassionandawidevision,canachievemore,”saidWangZhiyong,anassociateresearchfellowattheInstituteofPopulationandLaborEconomics,ChineseAcademyofSocialSciences.
Stepbystep
WhenLiwasachild,hesawhisparentsgrowingChinesemedicinalherbs.Whenhewenttouniversity,hewouldreadabouttheherbsonlineandanalyzethefluctuationsintheirpricescausedbythesupplyand-demandimbalance.Basedonhisreadingandhisparents’yearsofexperience,herevisedaguidebookonthetechniquesofgrowingangelica,aclassofperennialherbsfoundinthenorthernhemisphere.