To foster effective partnerships with Chinese businessmen, foreign entrepreneurs learned the best way to seal the deal is through personal connections. (Photo : Getty Images)
Are you thinking of fostering a partnership with a Chinese person? It's not enough to be introduced through an acquaintance, a lesson learned and shared by Marco Ropke, a Canadian entrepreneur, in an interview with The Globe and Mail.
Before opening the Pastry Training Centre of Nanjing, Ropke was emailed by a Chinese individual, inviting him to conduct classes in China.
After several exchanges, Ropke found out the person he was talking to was a vice president for Sina.com, a digital media company. After a home-cooked dinner in Vancouver, Ropke finally agreed to teach professional bread baking and pastry classes in Nanjing for two weeks.
And the rest, they say, is history.
"We arrived last August with no plans beyond teaching, but the pastry classes hit social media within two days--Sina.com was happy with the outcome--and we had a long waiting list," shared Ropke with The Globe and Mail.
Due to its success, Ropke explored the idea of opening a school in Nanjing. His partner? The wife of Sina.com's vice president.
"Finding the right partner is destiny," said Rozemerie Cuevas, a Canadian fashion designer currently based in China. "We started out in Vancouver back in 1986 and for the next 25 years I tried to expand but production costs were too high. If I didn't leave, my business would've died."
Fortunately for Cuevas, she met a Chinese couple whom she became industry associates with. The partnership allowed her to expand to China, as the couple manufactured her clothing in the country.
"Because we had been kind, they reciprocated and agreed, even though it wasn't financially viable for them because our quantities were too low."
Cuevas is now based in Hangzhou, where she moved five years ago, and her clothing line, Jacqueline Conoir, is now available in 70 locations across China.
