2003: Starting with Foreign Trade

Chapter 98 Two-Wheeled Electric Vehicle Deployment Plan (Seeking First Subscription)

At 5 p.m., the exhibition hall closed, and staff from each booth were packing up their own stalls.

Some looked excited, while others looked dejected; such expressions could be seen every day during the exhibition. In this feast of wealth, there were those who were triumphant and those who were dejected.

Starting a business in an era of growth is indeed much easier and the best choice than starting a business in an era of stock, but it is no less fraught with fierce competition and financial ruin.

The investment in a single Canton Fair is substantial, but the returns can be substantial, so it's understandable that many companies are betting heavily on participating.

After returning to the hotel, Tan Jincheng took out 2000 yuan from his wallet and handed it to Sun Yuming: "Brother Sun, you and Brother Liu go and order a table of food nearby. Let's celebrate properly tonight."

"Okay, boss." Sun Yuming happily took the money.

"Wouldn't it be more enjoyable to celebrate by eating out? Why buy food to eat at home?" Zhang Xupeng asked, puzzled. He was getting bored eating in the hotel these past few days.

"Boss, the boss thinks it's best to keep a low profile right now. It would be troublesome if we got drunk outside and ran into some trouble," Sun Yuming explained.

"Alright, alright, keep quiet and make a fortune, I get it, go ahead." Zhang Xupeng said with a smirk.

It's all Xiao Tan's fault for describing the security situation here as so terrifying. Now everyone is afraid to go far at night or even go out. They just come back every day and watch TV idly.

Ugh, I've made so much money but I can't brag about it, so annoying!

How about I call my parents tonight?
Tan Jincheng nodded in satisfaction. Sun Yuming was two years older than him and Zhang Xupeng. After working with him for a while, Tan Jincheng also discovered that this guy was quite clever. He might not be a good salesman, but he was quite capable of handling other tasks.

He's hardworking, quick-witted, and quite meticulous, but he needs to work on keeping his mouth shut; he accidentally let slip some details about Dongguan.

But this guy didn't queue up on purpose. After all, Zhang Xupeng is also the boss. Tan Jincheng can ignore such a small matter, but if he and Liu Wenbin keep it from Zhang Xupeng, it's hard to guarantee that Zhang Xupeng won't get angry later.

There are no major problems, but what if they are no longer included in such good things in the future?

Given the current scale of Jinpeng Trading, it's true that they can't recruit many outstanding talents. Having a few competent people is already considered good. These days, college graduates are extremely valuable. Unless you break the company's salary structure and offer monthly salaries of tens of thousands, no one will even pay attention to you.

Educational background discrimination is still very serious in this era, as evidenced by the reactions of Gu Qingqing's roommates when she said that Tan Jincheng only had a high school education.

Tan Jincheng had also learned about the educational level of many manufacturing companies. Even some large private enterprises had relatively low educational levels. In this era, it was wishful thinking for any lousy company that would require a bachelor's degree as a minimum requirement.

However, it is much better than in the 1980s and 90s. With economic development, this situation will change day by day. In the future, it will be much easier to recruit college graduates. No matter what, Jinyi Industry must recruit a few highly educated technical talents.

It's not uncommon for high school graduates to pursue technical careers, and some are even geniuses. However, without systematic learning and the connections of university alumni networks, their potential for advancement is always limited.

In the future, whether manufacturing two-wheeled or four-wheeled electric vehicles, a large number of technical talents will be needed.

This is a real headache. Should we spend a lot of money to poach some talent from competitors who are already doing these things?
However, it's no exaggeration to say that the domestic market for two-wheeled electric vehicles is still in its infancy. Even well-known brands like Aima and Yadi, according to Tan Jincheng's check on the official trademark registration website, haven't registered their trademarks yet!

In this way, everyone is at least on the same starting line, which makes things much easier. With some memories from his previous life, plus the fact that Jinpeng Trading can now solve some of the cash flow problems, it's not particularly difficult to gain a certain share in the two-wheeled electric vehicle market.

However, Tan Jincheng never considered registering their trademarks, as that would be counterproductive and would actually harm his own interests.

Making money from trademark transfers is out of the question; it's not like it's a particularly impressive name, so why wouldn't someone just register a new one?

Currently, the largest two-wheeled electric vehicle company in the market is Xinri, which is also located in Wenzhou, Zhejiang Province. It is the company that was endorsed by Brother Long. People born in the 80s and 90s should have some impression of this advertisement.

However, later on, the company's market share was gradually eroded. It's a company endorsed by the big brother Long, and those who know, know. There's no need to worry too much.

Speaking of two-wheeled electric vehicles, also known as electric bicycles or electric cars, they have a long history of development. As early as 1985, the year Tan Jincheng was born, my country produced its first electric bicycle, manufactured by Shanghai Yongjiu Factory.

However, this electric bicycle could only travel 30 kilometers and could not climb hills. Compared with motorcycles, it had no competitive advantage at all, and unsurprisingly, it failed to gain traction, remaining dormant for more than 10 years.

It wasn't until 1999, with the introduction of the national standard for general technical conditions for electric bicycles, that the commercialization of electric scooters was opened. It was around that time that Xinri entered the market. Interestingly, Xinri's boss had an even lower level of education than Tan Jincheng, having only graduated from junior high school.

No matter what kind of business you're in, people from Wencheng are always there!

Although the national standard was introduced in 99, the real landmark event in the development of the e-donkey industry was last year, in 2004.

Last year, 40 BMW 850 motorcycles were retired in a certain part of Beijing! After that, major cities began a new round of stricter motorcycle bans. In the same year, the new traffic law was introduced, which for the first time clearly defined electric bicycles as "non-motorized vehicles".

This also means that without any documents, you can own a vehicle that you can drive around the city for just two or three thousand yuan, and the demand has naturally doubled year after year.

Entering the market now is a bit late, but not at all. Like the foreign trade industry, electric bicycles are currently a very obvious growth market, and producing electric bicycles does not require any qualifications.

For manufacturers, as long as they can buy reliable batteries, motors, and controllers—the three main components—and the quality isn't too bad, they can make money, and the profit margin can be quite high if they control costs well.

Although Tan Jincheng is not very familiar with this industry yet, he has done some preliminary research and knows which well-known electric bicycle brands will be available in China in the next 20 years. Surely he can send someone to keep an eye on his competitors' moves?
For example, Tan Jincheng doesn't know when Aima was registered, but he did hire Jay Chou as its spokesperson. As a Jay Chou fan, it's impossible for him not to know that.

With Jay Chou's fame, Aima gained wider recognition in China, so it's understandable that they might try to steal his thunder, right? There's nothing wrong with fans asking their idol to endorse their company, isn't there?

I've read quite a few rebirth-themed online novels. I won't plagiarize songs after being reborn as a star, but I'll definitely know how to sing a couple of lines of Jay Chou's songs from the next few years. Maybe Jay Chou will think that he's a true fan and that he understands me, so maybe he can get a discount on his endorsement fee, haha.

"Hey, what are you thinking about, smiling so lewdly?" Tan Jincheng's dream of profiting from Jay Chou was woken up by Zhang Xupeng. "What?"

"What? It's time to eat? Brother Sun and Brother Liu bought the food. What are you thinking about so intently?"

"Really? Haha, I wasn't thinking about anything," Tan Jincheng chuckled.

Sun Yuming even brought over a small bottle of wine. With wine and meat, not bad at all. A working meal for four people at a standard of 2000 yuan is incredibly luxurious!
"Eat and drink more tonight to make up for not going to Dongguan City," Tan Jincheng said, nudging Zhang Xupeng with his shoulder after recovering.

The room wasn't big. After pulling over a small table and setting it up as a wine table, four people squeezed in, leaving no room to sit. They had to sit on the bed, but since they were all young men, no one cared.

Seeing that Sun Yuming had poured the wine, Tan Jincheng took the lead and raised a disposable wine glass, saying, "Come on, let's clink glasses and toast to our initial victory."

"Come on, cheers! May our company prosper!" Zhang Xupeng echoed.

Sun Yuming and Liu Wenbin also raised their glasses one after another. Although they had not been with the company for long and did not feel a sense of belonging, they were indeed honored at this moment.

Although they weren't directly involved in the negotiation process, they went to Dongguan together. They say men have three unbreakable bonds, and this must be one of them.

"cheers!"

After a glass of wine, the atmosphere became much more lively. Zhang Xupeng stopped worrying about not being able to go out. He was the worst off, going back and forth between the exhibition hall and the hotel every day, never going anywhere else.

I've been to Guangzhou for almost a month now, but it feels like I've never been there at all.

"Next, you need to learn how to take orders on your own. Brother Sun and Brother Liu don't need to cause any trouble anymore. Just focus on taking orders. If you don't know how, I can teach you."

Reporting is definitely not an option anymore. Today, a clothing company from Beijing called Malaysia was actually removed from the exhibition hall. I also heard that other product exhibition areas also had companies being directly removed. It seems that the checks are really strict this year.

Fortunately, Sun Yuming and Liu Wenbin stayed at the booth all day, which avoided some suspicion; however, they definitely can't do it anymore, otherwise, if they are discovered, not only will the two of them get beaten up, but Zhang Xupeng and I might also get beaten up.

For your own safety, you can't go too far.

I didn't expect them to actually be serious this time.

"Boss, are you serious?" Sun Yuming couldn't wait to ask when Tan Jincheng said he would teach them how to take orders.

Liu Wenbin, who has a relatively calm personality, was also immediately impressed, while Zhang Xupeng didn't realize the weight of those words; of course, he didn't need to take them seriously either.

Boss Tan's ability to secure orders is evident to all. These days, there are a huge number of business people or salespeople. Anyone without capital to start a business will go into sales and run business. There's no other reason than that the educational and technical requirements are relatively low, and it's a commission-based job. As long as you have the ability, you can make money quickly.

After working for a few years and accumulating some capital, you'll have a broader perspective and a significant advantage, whether in terms of influence within the company or in starting your own business.

A top salesperson, the best performer; can do whatever they want in a company.

However, it's not easy for a salesperson to become excellent. Every outstanding salesperson has their own little tricks. If you could learn a little from Boss Tan's excellent order-taking ability, it would be extremely useful.

"Of course it's true, why would I lie to you?" Tan Jincheng said with a smile.

There are reasons for doing this.

Before a startup gets on track, its survival depends entirely on the owner's personal abilities.

But once things are on the right track, you can't do that anymore.

Moreover, once he returns, Tan Jincheng will devote more energy to his own business, and naturally, he won't be able to pay as much attention to Jinpeng Trading as he does now.

Therefore, we need to cultivate Zhang Xupeng's ability to take orders independently, and we also need to provide him with two qualified salespersons. Otherwise, if he has to personally handle everything every time, it will be a complete waste.

In this way, Jinpeng Trading's basic business will be largely established after one year.

Tan Jincheng didn't have much ambition for Jinpeng Trading. He just wanted to enjoy the best years of the import and export business, weather the financial crisis in 2008, and then maintain a certain scale.

As for whether he will switch to something else in the future, or simply close down the company and retire, that's up to Zhang Xupeng himself.

With exports also benefiting from exchange rate fluctuations, and maintaining its current aggressive stance, if Zhang Xupeng manages to hold out until 2010, his dividends will be at least in the tens of millions, enough to buy several houses and retire comfortably without any problem.

The decision to teach Sun Yuming and Liu Wenbin some business-taking tips was not made without careful consideration; currently, Jinpeng Trading is unable to recruit particularly outstanding talent, and these two are generally considered quite good after evaluation.

Sun Yuming is clever and quick-witted, and knows how to use some tricks. Liu Wenbin is a year older than Sun Yuming and is more composed, but that doesn't mean he's an honest person. Honest people can't do sales.

It would be best if they could become an assistant through training. But if they don't become one, or if they learn the skills and then leave, there's no loss. Just consider it an opportunity.

Once you've resolved all the entanglements of your past and present lives, it's time to set sail!

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(End of this chapter)