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The article was written by Lindsay Jernigan, published on JingNews.
文章由Lindsay Jernigan撰写，刊载于JingNews.
5 of My Biggest Lessons from the First 6 Months of China Start Up Execution
1. Plan for growth and success
This past April, in true 4-Hour Work Week style, I set out to write my own press release. The latest version of our website was live. We had been working hard to put hundreds of adding hundreds of pages of content and automating our naming quiz feature. I was ready for some people to come check it out! I found a website called PR.com. On PR.com for 60 dollars you can post your press release and journalist looking for stories and content will hopefully pick it up. I looked up ‘how to write a press release’ and got going. The key pieces of advice were to have a catchy title and write the press release as close to a ready-to-publish article as you could.
I tried my best and pressed submit. I had not at all planned for what was about to happen. What ensued was a very fast media cycle. People were contacting me around the world, from both regional newspapers to the Telegraph, the BBC and NPR. When my Norwegian friend told me she saw an article about me in Norway, I felt completely out of control! The site was about to crash, our quiz wasn’t redirecting properly, I was a struggling to keep my head above the water. In short, people were giving us money and we weren’t delivering the product.
When I pressed submit on that press release, I sort of saw it as 60 dollars that I would probably never see again. PR.com sounded like a gimmick anyways! However, had I shifted my thinking, I would have been prepared for global recognition and record traffic numbers. Had I thought more about the effect that this press release could have on the website, I probably would have waited to press submit. Sometimes our brain goes to prepare us for the worst possible outcome, but sometimes the worst possible outcome is, in fact, not preparing for the best.
2. Don’t back down from small failures – find the opportunity in them.
When our we had some angry customers with no control over the situation, it was hard not to panic at first. The website was live and the Internet does not have closing hours. We couldn’t look back now. Our hands were tied and our only choice was to deal with it.
Despite our issues, we never had to refund a client. Instead we spoke to them and gave them special attention, which in their mind was much more than they had paid for anyways. It was incredibly time consuming, but it was actually beneficial. By interacting with the users, who would have otherwise remained voiceless as a passive user of the site paying for an automated service, we understood much more about them. In those conversations we also learned what the exact issues were and we were able to fix a few. Most importantly, we got the opportunity to turn some unhappy people into promoters and supporters of our website.
3. Customer Service can set you apart, especially in China.
This leads me to my next point – the art of customer service is something that is lacking in China. We noticed that even when we disappointed a user or client, we were able to shock them with the level of service we provided. Clients would complain because they were expecting to be taken advantage of or ripped off. One time when we apologized and offered compensate for our mistake, the user we shocked and ended up apologizing for his or her initial harsh words.
People expect bad customer service, so when you give them a good experience they have a great impression. After speaking with one client for a total of five minutes he exclaimed, “This was the best customer service I have ever received!” Customer service can be a powerful differentiator and a very effective way to boost your brand experience, especially in China.
4. Know your business, feel your gut, define your priorities
In trying to register my business in China as a WOFE, I found that advice is a tricky thing. All different types of people have all different types of businesses. I often look at starting a business as almost an artistic expression. It is impossible for two people to have the same execution. This is something I have tried to keep in mind when seeking advice.
In China, where the systems are opaque and confusing, one can get pulled in a lot of different directions. When, I myself, give others any sort of advice, I do so with the caveat that there is no ‘right’ way and every business is different. I am merely providing one example and that person might find a better approach for his or her business.
When on the receiving end of advice, I always try to remember that I know my business best! I know my background, my goals, my personality, and morals. It is important to listen to these and your ‘gut’. Others might have a seemingly straighter path or ‘better way’ of doing things, but it might not be your way of doing things. I found in spending some time focusing on these internal feelings about situations or decisions, I was able to make decisions faster and with less doubt and uncertainty – because it was simply they way I wanted to do it.
5. Thinking big and small
My biggest challenge in starting my company has been learning how to think big and small at the same time. I think that all of us naturally gravitate towards one end of the spectrum. For me, I am definitely a big picture thinker, so it takes a lot more energy for me to stay focused on the details of the execution. However, these details are incredibly important! An idea is only as good as its execution, after all. Yet there are also diminishing returns to being too detailed oriented.
As an expat in China especially, we live in a world of constant simulation. On a daily basis we learn new things, see new things, have new experiences. Our brain is in constant curiosity mode. I have found that this constant stimulation can be exciting and thought-provoking, but also quite distracting. In a land of many opportunities, it is hard to just focus on just one. But at the end of the day, I have realized that I need to stay committed to my business for others to also commit to it.
It’s the small details and everyday tasks that ultimately comprise the business. I would much rather be thinking about how to grow and evolve my business. Yet, I wouldn’t have a business if I didn’t first sit down and write a blog post about why Furry might not be the best choice for an English name. I try to always keep the ideas grounded by the details.
Writer: Lindsay Jernigan
Bestenglishname.com launched its most recent version in March of this year. The inspiration for the website was founder, Lindsay Jernigan’s experiences living and working in Shanghai. She met many young professionals and students with ill-fitting and inappropriate English names. She witnessed how these names were marginalising her colleagues and acquaintances in an increasingly globalised China. The website never promotes adopting an English name, but rather provides the only resource in China, created by a native English speaker, for those already seeking an english name.
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