That Guy From China

So, today I’m checking out the Globe and Mail online, and find an article titled, “The entrepreneurs who see opportunity in crisis“.  I’ve been almost preaching to Canadian businesspeople the need to be aggressive in this recession, that there are plenty of opportunities available to those with vision and guts.  So I want to read about other Canadian entrepreneurs who share this idea.

The first paragraph quickly sets me straight:

YIWU, China — Zhou Xiaoguang knows a thing or two about surviving hard times. As a girl of 17, she left her poor Chinese village to make a living as a peddler. She sold embroidery hoops, needles and patterns, hefting a 100-kilogram sack as she moved by train from town to town.

It goes on to detail how this penniless peasant went on to build a multi-million dollar enterprise.  And it profiles other successful Chinese businesspeople as well.  The message they all have in common — yes, the economic recession is going to hurt a lot of people.  Even put a lot of people out of business.  But for those who survive, they’ll come out stronger on the other side, not only more experienced, but with a lot of their competition out of the way.

While Canadians are cutting back on spending, closing down facilities, etc., they are doing the opposite.  They’re buying up other companies (at bargain basement prices), expanding their facilities, etc.  So when this is all done, they’ll be in a far stronger position, and ready to dominate.

Folks, China’s rapid growth, and their increasing domination on the world market, isn’t because of the government.  Its because of the people.  The Chinese are the New Capitalists, and they’re out-competing us in every way possible.  Its not just about “cheap labor”; it is about businesspeople with both the vision and the guts to excel.

While there are some entrepreneurs here in Canada, by far the majority of businesspeople I talk to seem to be stuck in the “I’m doing well enough, I don’t need to do more” mode.  That, or “Now is not a good time to be taking risks.”  In the short term, that may work.  But over the longer term, those companies that are taking a passive stance, or that are afraid to take risks, are simply going to be out-competed and rendered obsolete by other companies that are aggressive, and that take risks.