Grow Your Business – Opinion expressed by Businessman contributors are their own. In 2001, Steve Jobs moved production of Apple’s iPhone to China without publicly stating the reasons for the decision. Personally, I’d forgive that for Steve’s “crazy” personal life. At the Fortune Global Forum sixteen years later, his successor – Tim Cook – explained why China was the perfect solution to Apple’s manufacturing needs: people.
According to Tim, Chinese people have extraordinary skills and are among the most innovative and entrepreneurial in the world. But Apple wasn’t the first. Nike made a similar move 20 years before Apple – in 1981. Walmart in 1996. And several other big companies before and after Steve did. And the process, as you might expect, is very complete.
Today, small and large businesses don’t need to spend billions setting up offices in China to take advantage of their more than 900 million working population. Even more interesting, as remote work is the new normal, you don’t even have to move your business. So how can you follow in the footsteps of Nike, Cisco, Apple, and Walmart without spending a fortune?
Do your due diligence
When expanding your practice to a country as big as China, doing extensive market research is essential. You can start by selecting several potential locations for your business operations and sampling a specific section of your target market.
Considering the growing diversity of the Chinese population, gathering sufficient data can pose some difficulties. You can take a holistic approach to your research. This will help you get a 360-degree overview of your potential customer.
While the research process may be very difficult for an inexperienced business owner, you can hire a professional market entry expert to help.
By accurately interpreting your research results, you can find the perfect location for your business as well as how to penetrate your targeted market segment.
Hire the right staff
The success of any company depends on the quality of its staff. As Time Cook explains, China has a multi-talented labor market that even the smallest businesses can leverage for growth. However, recruiting does not work in part. For foreign businesses, the difficulty is threefold.
To increase your chances of hiring the right talent for your business, use a leading professional employer organization based in China. These organizations know the workforce very well. They also understand government policies and usually help you stay compliant.
In fact, using PEO takes a lot of responsibility off your shoulders and saves money at the same time. Bringing together the HR department to deal with endless staff and regulatory squabbles can increase your turnover. Typical PEOs in China offer payroll and tax solutions.
When Nike entered the Chinese market in 1981, this service did not exist. They are spending an incredible amount of money setting up camp in a rapidly growing market. Today, even small businesses can proceed with little or no up-front cost.
Recruit insiders while remaining an outsider
Your business doesn’t have to be in China to have access to its workforce. Innovative employment solutions are now in place to make it happen. If you are a software company with Chinese customers, for example, you can hire a local customer support expert without registering an entity in China.
With the advent of remote work, entrepreneurs have access to a global talent pool. Working with freelancers may not fit into the company’s operational strategy. That shouldn’t limit you to hiring only local talent. Talent diversity is the new flexibility and a PEO can help you recruit a dedicated team of staff.
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