Ideas on How to Become Rich - learning from the best in business and entrepreneurship (China)
Hi good morning to you!
In my last few blog posts, I shared with you all the rich and powerful tycoons and magnates in the United States, today, I will shed insights about the richest people in China, the fastest growing economy since 2005 .
China has always been a "laggard" in terms of economic and social developments. This is due to its great population of over 1.3 billion people. Yet during the last 5 years while the world was struggling with unemployment and economic woes, China has shot up to become one of the most powerful countries in the world.
Why is this sleeping giant now so energetic and revitalised? The answer is very simple. Since the opening of China's doors to the world in the 1970s by the late Deng Xiaoping, former premier and a social reformist, the general population have been very unhappy with their communal way of living and want to break out of the traditional mould of being an agricultural state. Also investors and businesses from all over the world can come into China freely with the opening up of their doors. Multi-national companies such as Macdonalds and Coca Cola have gone into this great "dragon land" . Also the young people of this country are very restless and hungry for money, knowledge and power.
In fact the top 50 richest people in China, a vast majority are below 50 years old. What does this mean? It means that spirit of entrepreneurship and business awakening have ignited their desires to grow big and strong. The three fastest growing industries in China are telecommunications - internet and mobile phones , electronics and of course their homegrown agricultural produce .
Names like William Ding Lei and Wong Kwong Yu (in their thirties), Zhu Mengyi and Robin Li (in their forties) command huge wealth and riches equivalent to some of the richest people in the United States. This is because China's per capita income is very low so if you are worth US$100 million in China, you are actually as rich as the American counterpart who is worth US500 million . Cost of living is very low in China .
What are the secrets to these people's success? Basically there are 3 reasons:
a) HUNGER FOR MONEY AND POWER:
Like Steve Job mentioned in his shareholders' meeting sometime ago, you have to be very hungry for money , for power and for knowledge. The hunger is fuelled by opportunities around you. China's miraculous growth was due to these hungry business leaders and entrepreneurs who want to make it big in life and make it big in the world.
b) ABILITY TO DO SOMETHING PERCEIVED TO BE OF VALUE FOR OTHERS
Everyone of us has a certain perception of things around us. So if you have the ability to do something perceived to be of some value for others, you will succeed and become rich and powerful especially in China, where the market base is so broad and extensive (1.3 billion potential customers). That is why those who came up with telecommunications and internet services have made it so rich that they are laughing their ways to their banks everyday. In fact while the banking systems in other countries are collapsing like dominos, Chinese banks are busily counting money and ascertaining wealth of its population at large.
c) NEVER GIVE UP MENTALITY AND HARDWORK
The third factor for China's economic success and wealth is the hardwork and philosophy of "Never Give Up" . This is because there is a famous Chinese saying which means failure is the mother of success. You have to fail in order to succeed well.
The path to entrepreneurship is never easy. It NEEDS lots of determination and guts . I admire these rich young Chinese who have made it to the list of world's richest people. I myself have been an entrepreneur for years; the road is winding and tough. Yes, of course I am satisfied with my success although I am not one of the richest people in the world. Still I am a millionaire among the top 66000 richest in my country.
Recently when I went to China for a visit, I saw over the television news. some young people in major cities like Shanghai and Beijing when interviewed by news reporters told the viewers that life is basically the same in 2009. There was not much impact from the economic crisis(which the major countries are suffering from ) in most Chinese cities. Business went on as usual. In 2009, China even tried to bail out other large economies like the United States.
I believe that with Chinese people wanting to be rich and powerful, coupled with their conducive social and political environment for entrepreneurship and business, the opportunities in China over the next few years would be tremendous not only for huge multi-nationals (MNCs) but individuals like you and me.
So if you want to be rich and powerful and live in a country with very low cost of living, China is the way to go....
Cheers and have a happy day:)
Sally Klaus
Ideas on How to Become Rich
