Sachets, silk scarves, scallops, skin care products that blend traditional Chinese medicine, these products that look delicate and useful, no one will associate it with a group of disabled people. However, there are still such a group of people, even if they are physically disabled, still cannot stop their pace of success. "No one is perfect, no gold is bare", mutilation, in fact, is also a kind of beauty. In this issue, let's walk into the entrepreneurial story of Chen Anqi, an alumnus of Beijing Union University——
Sudden loss of vision Life has changed dramatically
In the second grade of primary school, her eyesight suddenly dropped, changing Chen Anqi's normal life. Fearing that her parents would blame her for the vision problems caused by watching TV and playing with her mobile phone, she did not dare to tell her family. Over time, Chen Anqi's vision declines faster, but whether she wears farsighted, myopic or amblyopia glasses, her vision problems have not improved at all. After that, her parents took her to the doctor for examination continuously, and in two years she was unfortunately diagnosed with congenital macular degeneration.
The sudden illness completely disrupted Chen Anqi's life and had a great impact on her. Because of vision problems, Chen Anqi, who was in elementary school, could barely keep up with the progress of learning, but after entering high school, because the academic pressure became greater, Chen Anqi could no longer bear the heavy academic curriculum of high school, and began to give up on herself and return home in her second year of high school. After that, Chen Anqi went to the restaurant as a greeter and looked for various jobs, but was dismissed because of vision problems.
Fortunately, Chen Anqi did not give up studying, let alone give up life. Under her persistence and efforts, she finally participated in a single move to enter the School of Special Education of Beijing Union University for study.
Enter the university and start a new life
After entering the university, Chen Anqi was fortunate to meet her like-minded friends and start her new life.
Because of the high requirements for vision and strength in her major, Chen Anqi decided to find another way. Perhaps, good people will always be favored by heaven, when Chen Anqi is faced with a choice again, the School of Special Education of Beijing Union University happens to cooperate with the research team of universities and clinicians of top three hospitals to establish research on traditional Chinese medicine culture integrating scientific research, design, product production and service. After that, Angela Chen and several like-minded classmates set up the current research and innovation center, and she was born in 1998 to become the legal representative of the company.
Entrepreneurial distress Regain confidence and move forward
This small team of 5 disabled people and 1 able-bodied person, in the early stage of entrepreneurship, they encountered the same problem as all entrepreneurs - shortage of funds, and it is for this reason that the products they produce cannot be effectively produced and promoted, and they cannot gain the trust of customers.
At first, they borrowed money from family, friends and other disabled people in society to mass-produce a batch of 200,000 skin care products, but no one bought them because of their lack of popularity. But in the face of difficulties, they did not give up, readjusted their mentality, and with the help of teachers, they slowly had sales, and even cooperated with clinics in Henan and Inner Mongolia. With unremitting persistence and efforts, their products have gained some fame, and although the money earned is not much, it can also ensure the normal operation of the R & D center.
Although there were difficulties and setbacks in the early stage of entrepreneurship, it was fortunate that the team members brainstormed together and gave full play to their respective strengths: one visually impaired graduate student used his professional knowledge to conduct offline technical research, the other visually impaired person was responsible for serving customers and modifying through customer feedback, while the hearing impaired members carried out PPT production and product cover design, and sound members were responsible for external communication - it is precisely because of the concerted efforts of each member of the team that this small Chinese medicine culture research and innovation center continues to survive and develop.
Later, in the final of the second Beijing Disabled Youth Integration Entrepreneurship Competition of the "SiXiang Cup", Chen Anqi's Chinese Medicine Culture Innovation and Research Center won the second prize.
This small company, which was only registered in 2017, not only carries the dreams and persistence of 6 of them, but also represents the love of life for these disabled people. As Chen Anqi said: "The road to entrepreneurship has frost and snow and warm sun, there is light and darkness, but the burning ideal in our hearts is our greatest motivation, do not forget the original heart, the future can be expected!" ”
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Source of this article: Beijing Welfare Foundation for the Disabled