Failure = Opportunity (in China)
Every day we hear on the news or read in the paper about how China is on the verge of becoming the next world superpower, almost always with corresponding prophesies of the United States’ imminent fall from grace. It all seems so inevitable and beyond our control as we passively watch the news reports flicker by on the TV screen. Rarely do we see where we personally fit in. Even less often do we see any opportunity to take action or benefit from such developments. But why? Opportunities surround us everyday, if only we open our eyes wide enough to see them. Stuck in our daily lives of work, consumption and leisure, we can forget that it is possible to break out of our routines and get more out of life. Sometimes it takes bad luck to shake up our lives before we recognize the opportunities that we have been passing by all along. This is exactly what happened to me.
My first stroke of apparent “bad luck” came in 2006 when the congressman I was working for ran for the U.S. Senate and lost. Suddenly, I was without a job and it wasn’t clear to me whether there were any jobs out there that I would both want and be qualified for. I had applied that fall to attend graduate school for international affairs and China studies but admissions decisions wouldn’t be mailed out for three or four more months and school wouldn’t actually begin until the next fall. So what was I to do in the meantime?
As it turned out, the misfortune of losing my job was probably the best thing that ever happened to my professional career – for it gave me the opening I needed to switch gears, quit D.C. political life and follow the “wave of the future”, as declared by our dedicated nightly newscasters. I decided to move to China.
On New Year’s Eve 2006, I landed in Shanghai, ready to start the New Year fresh as a student of Chinese language. My goal was to expand my knowledge of this ancient and complex culture in order to better grasp what this whole “Rise of China” hullabaloo was all about. If China is going to be the wave of the future, then why not be a part of it, right? And what better time than when I am jobless and still young enough to not realize that moving to China is crazy!
Needless to say, living and studying in China has been a mind-blowing experience of grand proportions. Not only have I succeeded at learning Chinese but I have also deepened my understanding of the world’s next superpower. Furthermore, I now more clearly comprehend the potential the U.S. has to safely ride China’s wave, as well as the danger it faces of potentially capsizing in China’s giant swells. Nothing could have better prepared me to start graduate school in China studies the next fall.
But then another dose of “bad luck” came along: I didn’t get accepted into graduate school! I had only applied to one school (the one with the best China studies program) and they didn’t want me. I was devastated. I cried and slept and slept and cried for 24 hours straight. I felt like a failure – like all I had been working for was a waste. But once again, what seemed like misfortune was actually a gift in disguise; I only had to have the optimism and bravery to realize it.
Instead of running home with my tail between my legs in embarrassment, I simply decided to stay in China and make the most out of my experience here. I extended my Chinese language studies for a year and set out to discover whatever adventure China had in store for me.
Little did I expect that my biggest adventure would begin while shopping. While visiting Beijing with a friend, I came across a little bead store filled floor to ceiling with gorgeous turquoise and coral beads. My friend and I immediately fell in love with the beads and soon decided to start a business selling them on the Internet in the U.S. Suddenly I went from language student to international trade entrepreneur! Since that fateful day, I have developed an online jewelry and art gallery business (to be launched in August 2008), toured and bought inventory from multiple Chinese factories, learned about U.S. and Chinese customs and trade laws and drastically expanded my understanding of the Chinese economy and complex U.S./China relations. Furthermore, the graduate school that rejected me last year accepted me this year and even gave me a scholarship! All it took was the bravery to step out of my comfort zone and push myself to take advantage of opportunities that were right in front of my eyes all along.
Tapping into Chinese trade opportunities is much less daunting than it may at first seem. Thanks to Alibaba.com these days you don’t even need to leave the comfort of your computer chair in the good ol’ U. S. of A. Having recently united with Yahoo, Alibaba is China’s biggest online business-to-business forum for manufacturers, importers, exporters and their agents. On the site you can type into a search box the goods you want to buy and the database will pull up a list of companies (mostly Chinese) that manufacture them. You then simply email those companies, request price quotes and product samples and continue on your way to becoming an international trade entrepreneur.
Okay, well, maybe I am over-simplifying things a bit. Of course, some problems will arise when doing business with China, as cultural differences between the West and China abound and the business environment here is ever changing. But if you do due diligence, educate yourself, remain ready for obstacles and be willing to bounce back when failure seems imminent, it is entirely possible to ride the China wave without drowning.
A couple of books that helped me to better navigate trading with China are All the Tea in China by Jeremy Haft and Chinese Business Etiquette by Scott D. Seligman. Although you could theoretically become a China trade entrepreneur from the comfort of your own home in the American suburbs, I can not over estimate the value of experiencing the country first hand by visiting or living here and building personal relationships with the companies with which you do business. Plus travel makes the whole trade experience so much more exciting! The U.S. dollar goes a long way in China (for now), so traveling or moving here for a period of time remains affordable too. For two years before moving to China, I saved a few hundred dollars from my paycheck each month and was able to live off that here for an entire year. Your money could go even further if you decide to get a job while you’re here, such as teaching English. Once in China, opportunities abound if you just keep your eyes and ears attuned for them.
My experience in China is only one example of how to break out of the humdrum of life and create opportunity where before there was only monotony or failure. Sometimes all we need to rejuvenate our lives is to realize that the only boundary holding us back is our own lack of creativity and initiative. If you feel stuck in your career or uninspired by life, stop waiting for adventures to come to you and go create them for yourself!
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Great article!
Elizabeth, you are an inspiration!