On the Ground China Tips for Entrepreneurs with Marcus Maher

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Happy Tuesday morning everyone, I’ve never officially stated it, but this show has been sticking to a weekly release on every Tuesday morning 10am Hong Kong time. Occupy Central is still going on and I have been blogging a bit more lately in addition to this podcast, you can read my article about my feelings on it at globalfromasia.com/occupy/ – try to not get political, but I can’t keep silent about it anymore as it affects me, this show, and my business so much!

Have had a few visitors to Hong Kong the past week on their way to DCBKK in Bangkok, had a chance to catch up with Nikos from CoinSimple.com and Dimitri from OnSign.tv, with Dimitri I was able to convince him to do an audio testimonial

Dimitri also inspired me to write a 4,000 word blog post on a first time business traveler’s guide to Hong Kong – from the airport to hotels and back again – you can check it out on www.globalfromasia.com/hkguide – all this writing has from the book has become a habit as I am in final edits in the book for release on Nov 1.

I’m having a lot of fun with this podcast, and meeting new business friends from around the world – it is a great honor. Ok so now for this week’s show we have Marcus Maher, an Australian entrepreneur based in China for over a decade who gives us an amazing interview on tips on being an Entrepreneur and businessman in China. He dropped so many value bombs – this is a bit longer show than normal but I was just so amazed with the tips we kept on recording, now enjoy!

Topics Covered in this Episode

• Introduction of Marcus Maher
• How did you first get started doing business in China?
• Here in shenzhen you have quite an empire of businesses – starting in wine right?
• How do you go about finding the right partners and team for each venture?
• As a foreigner business owner in China – what are some insights you can share? Positive and negative welcome
• And while you are focused on local business – you have been involved with some online businesses – can you share?
• Importance of contracts in China versus the West
• Cost control as a focus and strategic advantage
• Keep a flat management structure
• Avoid war with competitors at all costs
• What is your long term vision for business in China?
• Discussion on the Housing market in China
• How can people reach out to you for further questions?

People / Companies / Resources Mentioned in this Episode

• Listener Nikos’s company CoinSimple.com
• Listener Dimitri’s company Onsign.tv
• DCBKK event
• “You must be shapeless, formless, like water. When you pour water in a cup, it becomes the cup. When you pour water in a bottle, it becomes the bottle. When you pour water in a teapot, it becomes the teapot. Water can drip and it can crash. Become like water my friend.” – Bruce Lee
• 45,000rmb for a third of a page on print advertising
• Shenzhen-Standard.com
• Spaxtel.com
• wechat.com and a delivery app he is building soon (name not released yet)
• Contact Marcus via Marcus Maher’s Linkedin
• Another plug for my upcoming book
• Blog post on Occupy Hong Kong and Business
• Blog Post on the Hong Kong Business Traveler Guide

Episode Length 49:24

Thanks Marcus for sharing those insights – I am sure people here learned a ton, even I did and i’ve been around the block a few times. Marcus is pretty amazing how he can build the right teams, build up ventures and drive constant business. But like everyone, he had many learning lessons. We all just need to take action, take risks and stay positive as we learn and grow in business.

That’s a wrap everyone – this was a longer show than my normal 20 – 30 minutes – what do you think? Too much? I live off feedback and appreciate it all – shoot me an email at mike @ globalfromasia.com and I’ll get back to ya. Cheers!

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