I should cross promote the two blogs more, not sure if people even realize i have this blog translated to chinese. When I first came to China at the end of 2007 my good friend, Gao Xing, gave me my chinese name, mai li ni , which is a best effort to convert my family name, michelini, to a chinese …
More Shenzhen Coworking Developments, Finding my Personal Strengths
Added Guangzhou to my weekly travel the past couple weeks, due to the Canton fair. Back in Shenzhen today, at least all these trade fairs are over now. It is just added that much more stress and complexity to my daily work life. After spending Sunday (Easter Sunday!) walking the fair with my good friend Brent, he helped bounce ideas …
Another Hong Kong Trade Show, Reflecting On My First Trip Here…
Came to Hong Kong this morning from Shenzhen, crossing the border, taking the bus to Wan Chai, knowing where to get quick food, stopping off at boot hk coworking space, preparing which booths I would visit, walking in, already being pre-registered for the show (therefore skipping the long line), going directly to the sections I am interested in, shake hands …
Photos From Li Jia, Visit to Dongguan Factory City
A couple weeks a photo journalist, Li Jia, came to the Dongguan Fiveislands ecommerce warehouse, but also other factories in the business network here in Chang An. Her main project was to interview and photograph the lives of factory women and their love life. I’ll save that blog post for once she gets me those photos, but in the meantime, …
Another Trip to Guangzhou Canton Fair
Been to Canton fair a few years now, thinking about my 2008 canton fair trip here. The Canton Fair is the biggest trade fair for Chinese factories to meet foreign buyers. Its held 2 times a year, in the spring (where we are now…) and then again in the fall. I met up with Larry who has his iphone app …
9 Ways I’ve Become More Patient In China
Took a few years but i am finally “broken in”…..it was something expats here told me would happen the longer i stayed here…..and I didn’t believe them! stop resisting and just let go. China is China, and its not going to change for some stupid white barbarian guy coming here. My last post I promised I would talk about comparing …
April Is a Stressful Month For Many in China, Not Just Me
As you can see, I’m pretty open about the extreme stress I have been under in business and travel. I think I am developing quicker. There is a saying I saw on a facebook status update that I liked and tweeted: “Always do what you are afraid to do” Ralph Waldo Emerson I definitely think working as a small business….in …
Further Developments in Shenzhen China Coworking
After Dongguan meetings and training sessions with new hires, came to Shenzhen to check out potential coworking office spaces. Met up with Gareth, who is working in the Overseas Chinese Scholars Venture Building, which was setup to attract overseas Chinese to return to China to open a company. I met him online and he has extra space there and is …
Example Schedule For The Next Few Days – Shenzhen, Hong Kong, Guangzhou, Dongguan
I was writing this as an email update for those wondering where I will be the next few days….seems the most common message or email I get from people is “Where are you now? Are you in Shenzhen, Hong Kong, Dongguan, or?” So I thought I would share the next few days with everyone….. give an idea of the insane …
Featured on Chinese Tech News – Twitter vs. Weibo
While some may not believe, I survived to successfully enter China and speak about Twitter and Facebook promotion (amazing because the government forbids and blocks it). But Chinese businesses that need foreign customers (ie export businesses) NEED TO USE TWITTER AND FACEBOOK. Flat out, no questions asked, more and more, you need social media in order to compete in today’s …
Launching New Chinese Ecommerce Shop – CashnCarry.cn
After months of preparation, last week we launched cash n carry Chinese shopping cart to sell the products in our fiveislands ecommerce center. It’s exciting to see it come alive…I am working mostly on helping foreigners enter the Chinese market, via this website, as well as making their own ecommerce shop and Chinese brand. In Hong Kong I have been …
Settling in China / Asia the Next 5,10 years, or more?
I think I am getting a bit more settled on the fact / idea / reality that I will be remaining in China (or at least Asia) for the next 5 years. That is an important step for my own mind…balance, and business goals. But it took me a long time to accept. Since coming to China at the end …
Differences in Internet Marketing in China vs. America
Recently got an email from a NY times reporter doing research on the Chinese internet space…and yea, while giving free reply and probably no reply or a thank you, I thought I would share and expand on the questions I received and answered in the email. 1) What do Internet marketers need to do differently in the China market as …
Speaking About English Social Media, In China
At this years’s biggest Chinese SEO fair I just spoke about optimizing English social media channels (SNS) which I worried about, as we all know, Chinese government has been blocking these websites, so about 80% of my topic cannot be accessed by my audience, (legally)! So when I was asked to speak on this subject…..I had to take a second …
Example of Miscommunication & Culture Differences in America & China
So the roadtrip yesterday was fun….up until about 1 hour before I had to arrive at the VIP dinner for speakers and guests….We were so late, so lost, and under pressure, it took from 9:30am to 8:30pm (almost 12 hours!) to drive from Dongguan, China to Xiamen, China! Unreal…… Well, I documented it while on my mobile phone last night, …