#海外生活分享##国外创业##跨境电商##人物故事#
This is the 3,684th real story we have told
My name is Yang Yaozhong, I am 45 years old and I am from Haining, Zhejiang. He has been in business for 22 years and has been overseas for 8 years.
In 2008, I fell into the black hole of private lending due to poor management, and my debt was as high as more than 5 million. Many people think that I can only live with debts in my life, who would have thought that I would take the fast train of cross-border e-commerce and turn over.
In 2016, I went to Germany alone to establish a base camp and create an independent brand belonging to the traditional manufacturing industry of Chinese. was reported for plagiarism and filed a lawsuit with the Romanian National Tax Service.
(When I am middle-aged, I am still full of fighting spirit)
Now, I have not only won the lawsuit and proved myself, but I have also radiated the Chinese brand to the whole of Europe.
Life is like the tide of forging ahead, moving forward bravely, not afraid of difficulties, in order to be worthy of the heart.
I was born in 1979 in a small village in Haining, Zhejiang. In the 80s, the rural conditions were generally not good, and my father, who was originally a leader in the village office, lost his job, which made our originally poor life even more embarrassing.
Later, my parents had to go to the city to make a living, leaving me and my grandmother to rely on each other. Because of the poor conditions at home, I went to school later than others, and I was more playful than others. Every day, I only know the fun of catching turtles and shrimp in the fish pond, but I don't know the importance of learning.
(First from the right: I participated in the ribbon-cutting event of the company's European factory)
My parents have never been strict with me in my studies, nor have they expected me to be a Jackie Chan. They simply want me to be an honest, grateful, and well-intentioned person, and it doesn't matter if I achieve something in the future.
However, I want to be a responsible person like Zong Qinghou.
In 1999, after graduating from vocational high school, I worked as a cashier for a construction company. In the first month, I earned a huge salary of 1,000 yuan, and I arrogantly spent 800 yuan to buy the current fashionable BB machine (pager), feeling that I had finally turned into a serf and sang.
However, in this work that I was looking forward to, I gradually showed a restless personality. began to reject in his bones, unwilling to keep this job for the rest of his life. Is life all that can be done here?
(I visited the Cross-border E-commerce Association in Chengdu)
Once, when I was on a business trip to Kunshan, I saw a real estate agency with two large shops. Thinking of the real estate agency in Haining, all of them are a desk, a telephone, and a two-square-meter stairwell, I instantly had an idea in my heart.
After returning to Haining, I quit my high-paying job, spent 18,000 yuan, and rented a 50-square-meter shop with a lease term of one year, which started my entrepreneurial road. A lot of people don't think I'm thinking I'm a fool.
I was full of enthusiasm, I just wanted to bloom my youth in the struggle and break out of the world, and I didn't take these jokes seriously.
(View from the window)
In order to save enough resources, I walked the streets and alleys, and asked if there were any houses to rent and sell. Those who want to buy a house are all rich people, and they all work in large enterprises, so they must read newspapers.
So, I put half a page of advertising in Haining Daily. In addition, I taught myself how to build a website and established my own real estate network, which made real estate agents more formal and professional, and really found a lot of people.
Because my shop is large, the layout is more formal, and it looks professional and tall, which is several grades higher than those small intermediaries. When business is good, I can sell eight houses a day.
(Take a shot at the end of the day)
In Haining County, a suite of about 100,000 yuan, I can get a commission of one or two thousand yuan, and the net income is as high as 10,000 yuan a day. I used the money I earned to buy my first Wuling van.
When I tasted the sweetness of making money, I became more and more courageous and out of control.
In 2003, with the rise of e-commerce, I started a small retail and wholesale business such as foreign trade leather slippers and leather gloves in TB. In addition, our country's foreign trade door has just opened, and there are many foreign trade opportunities, so I started OEM processing while the iron was hot.
Some people say that standing on the cusp of the times, pigs can fly. And I was like stepping on hot wheels, with high morale.
(Logistics delivery)
At that time, I strengthened my belief in my heart and took Zong Qinghou, who started from scratch, as the goal of moving forward.
Therefore, adhering to the concept of small profits and quick turnover, whether it is domestic sales or export sales, as long as there are orders, I will include them all.
However, many co-packers at that time were not quality-conscious, and most of them were family-run workshops, which were prone to quality problems.
In several foreign trade orders, I have encountered the problem of unqualified quality. Gradually, I came up with the idea of building a processing plant.
In 2006, I couldn't wait to close my real estate agency, build a factory, and officially open on May 12th.
(Corner of the warehouse)
At first, I had just over twenty workers. Because of the increasing number of export orders, the number of workers gradually increased to sixty or seventy.
During this period, I have been shared by Ali as a successful online business. Jack Ma also wrote the words "never give up" in a notebook and gave it to me. At that moment, I suddenly felt that all my efforts were worth it.
And I, like a monkey looking in the mirror, got carried away. Soon I planted a big heel on this ravine-crisscrossed road, and I broke my head and bleed.
Although there are many foreign businessmen who come to me to place orders, due to their lack of experience, they do not strictly control the turnover of funds, there is no cost budget, and there is no production plan and risk prediction, which results in a fault in the capital chain.
All the orders were completed and when I actually got the money, I realized that it was a loss-making transaction.
(Cross-border Commodity Exhibition)
In 2008, I received 2 foreign trade orders, part of which was handed over to Ningbo processing factory for processing, and part of it was processed by myself. Who would have thought that the Ningbo OEM factory did not ship the goods within the agreed time, resulting in the cancellation of all orders by foreign businessmen, and I directly lost 200,000 yuan.
In order to keep the factory running, I scraped together funds from everywhere. But because the bank approval procedures are too cumbersome and long, I can only borrow from the private sector, from the initial 20,000 yuan to millions of yuan, and the huge flow of funds is like a huge black hole, making me owe more and more.
In March 2011, I owed more than $5 million in arrears. In the end, because the wages of the employees could not be paid, the factory could not operate normally, so I had to declare bankruptcy and close down, but I could not sleep comfortably with millions of debts.
Later, the government came forward to negotiate with the employees and helped to pay a 7% discount, and my father helped me borrow money to settle the employees' salaries.
(Inspect the market in Southeast Asia, take a picture)
Many people think that it is impossible for me to turn over again in this life, after all, the arrears of more than 5 million are like a Mount Tai. In order to force me to repay the money, some people carried the elderly man in his 80s to my door and blocked the door, forcing my parents to be anxious.
But I am glad that the closure of the factory allowed me to stop the loss in time and did not cause irreparable mistakes.
Failure does not mean that I give up or run away, and I will not stop my life at this point because of a fall.
Life is because it is wonderful, and life is not a point, but continuous, ups and downs.
In 2012, I came to Hangzhou to reopen a TB store, put my old inventory up for sale online, and started a wholesale business.
In addition to this, I also started to contact my previous customers to help them find professional co-packers and earn commissions from them.
(Thailand Warehouse)
As long as I make money, whether it is 3,000 yuan or 5,000 yuan, I will transfer the money to the creditor as soon as possible.
Slowly, I started co-packing. In order to avoid the previous problems, I thought that I had a problem with management, so I only recruited a few salesmen and merchandisers.
Who knows, there is a similar problem as before, even if I buy raw materials to find a foundry for processing, I still can't avoid the problem of untimely shipment from the foundry.
In the end, because the shipment was not timely, the foreign trade customer invited a well-known lawyer in Hangzhou to sue me, and asked me to compensate for the deposit of 200,000 yuan and the loss of the order.
(At cross-border e-commerce exhibitions)
Fortunately, I actively communicate with customers and take the initiative to take responsibility. In the end, the foreign businessman gave me a chance to repay the loan in installments, and I was able to continue to survive.
After two failures, I realized that OEM for overseas brands is not as easy as I imagined.
俗话说：“宁为鸡头，不为凤尾。 ”
So, I came up with the idea of becoming an independent brand, based on the international market like Nike and Adi, and becoming an irreplaceable brand.
In 2013, I started to "try out" cross-border e-commerce. This time, I did everything myself, whether it was cost or quality, I strictly controlled it.
(With the explosion of cross-border e-commerce, business trips have become the norm)
After a period of exploration, a pair of baby shoes that cost $3 can be sold for $8.99 on cross-border e-commerce, and I can earn several dollars in addition to the logistics costs in the middle.
Although the pace of shipment in the early stage was slow, with my diligent efforts, I finally gained a firm foothold in the market. Because of the good quality, there are a lot of repeat customers, and it slowly becomes well-known.
After 5 years of hard work, I finally paid off all my debts. I also re-replenished the money that had been discounted by the previous employees, bought gifts, and went door-to-door to thank them for their tolerance and understanding.
In 2015, a client asked me if I had ever thought of going abroad and setting up my base camp in Germany.
At that moment, I hesitated. First, I don't understand the language, second, I don't know much about foreign policies, and third, if I fail again, then I really have nothing to lose.
(Busy and busy)
After careful consideration, I decided to give it a try. After all, my products are very marketable in Europe, and if I step out of the country first, I can not only better open up the overseas market, but also seize the opportunity.
So, I went to Germany to investigate. In order to find out if I am qualified to start a business in Germany, I have a long discussion with a local lawyer and accountant and tell me the truth about the failure of my business in the first place.
In 2016, I officially set up camp in Germany to build a brand that belongs to China's traditional manufacturing industry.
Whether it was 5 years or 20 years of struggle, I decided to go on this bumpy road.
In Germany, Chinese companies have a preferential policy that parcels sent to Germany through China Post Express can enjoy part of the turnover tax exemption. But I'm sure that the scale of e-commerce will continue to grow in the future, and it will definitely attract the attention of the European Union.
(The cost of cross-border e-commerce is getting higher and higher)
So, I rejected the policy. Although I pay a part more tax than others, I was able to avoid the impact of the tax increase on the company by formalizing the cost accounting in advance.
Sure enough, in 2019, Germany began to fully implement logistics taxes. Many domestic sellers do not calculate the selling price according to the cost of paying tax, and the value-added tax on the product is as high as 19%~21%, resulting in the cost being eliminated due to excessive cost, and I have not been affected in any way.
Slowly, I summed up three operational "rules": one is localization, wholeheartedly integrated into the local market, in order to gain a foothold, the second is compliance, legalize the compliance of enterprises, never touch the legal red line, and the third is not to blindly expand, for businessmen, greed is a taboo.
After two years of hard work, my business in Germany is basically stable, and the company has gradually occupied a place.
(My warehouse in Romania)
In the first half of 2019, after much consideration, I decided to register a new company in Romania. However, due to the epidemic, it has not been able to operate normally, and it did not start to operate slowly until the end of 2020.
However, the Romanian National Tax Service considered my business to be irregular, and directly sealed the warehouse. At that time, there were more than 70,000 pairs of shoes in the warehouse alone, as well as two containers of safety seats and baby strollers.
What made me angry was that they said that I was suspected of tax evasion and would be fined 18,000 euros (about 137,000 yuan). Most of the Chinese who start businesses abroad have the mentality that more is better than less.
However, if I admit the penalty, it will be tantamount to admitting that I have evaded taxes, which is completely different in nature.
(Entrepreneurship is like a marathon with no end)
I found a well-known local lawyer in Romania, and after many consultations. I learned that the interests of the enterprise can be protected by legal means, but it may take a long time to fight.
I firmly told my lawyer that I had to bite the bullet in five or ten years. For nothing else, I also want to fight for Chinese companies and prove that Chinese are not unscrupulous businessmen as outsiders imagine.
After that, I closed my online shop and shipped all the unshipped Romanian orders from Germany, ready for this protracted battle.
The local tax bureau was surprised to learn that I had hired a lawyer, as it was the first time that a Chinese company had dared to stand up and raise objections against them.
They thought that I didn't cry when I didn't see the coffin, and insisted that my warehouse inventory and accounts did not match, and they wanted to take stock of the entire warehouse, so that I could retreat.
(On a business trip, feel the seaside style)
The vice president of the Romanian Chinese Association, after learning about the situation, supported seven or eight workers to me, and took stock for two days. In the end, the number of counts was accurate except for the difference of 100 pairs of shoes.
I was adamant that I had a lot of a pair in stock, and asked to recount it. The tax staff does not need to take a count, this figure is already very accurate.
After three weeks of lockdown, my warehouse is finally back in the air. Unexpectedly, they applied to the German Federal Tax Office for tax cooperation under the pretext that I had business dealings with a German company.
The German Federal Tax Service and the Romanian National Tax Service investigated for four months and found no problems before giving up.
When the case was closed, the local tax bureau confirmed that I had not evaded taxes and was not fined. Through this battle, I have won their respect and changed their perception of Chinese companies.
(Looking back, I found that the road is more and more interesting)
Today, I have almost all of Europe. Most countries have begun to lay out the past, this year I am also drawing up a plan for Southeast Asia centered on Thailand, and will expand to Vietnam, Malaysia, and Indonesia in the future, so that more countries can recognize Chinese brands!
In my spare time, I will share my experience of doing cross-border e-commerce on self-media and teach others to do cross-border e-commerce for free. Let those who want to do cross-border e-commerce or have plans to go overseas can gain something from it, so that more Chinese products can spread to the corners of the world.
Some people say that it is difficult to start a business, and cross-border e-commerce is even more difficult. But how many things are easy in this world?
Who is not falling on their heels, stepping on mud, stumbling and walking, and never lose confidence in themselves at any time.
What determines success or failure is never the starting point and talent, but the ability to do what is said, the ambition of Yugong to move mountains, the perseverance to wear drops of water, and the good and evil with a clear conscience.
(Welcome to pay attention to the protagonist "Overseas Entrepreneurship Brother Yang")
[Dictation: Yang Yaozhong]
[Editor: Twenty-one]
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(*This article is based on the oral statements of the parties, and the authenticity is the responsibility of the oral narrator.) Friendly reminder from this account: Please identify the relevant risks by yourself, and do not blindly follow the trend to make impulsive decisions. ）