The growth experience of successful people

Cai: The history of a Wenzhou businessman's struggle in Paris.

A Wenzhou native, 17 years old wandering in Paris, started his business under the pressure of survival and the dream of getting rich, and was frustrated again and again, and finally became a successful businessman through experience. His story is a microcosm of Wen Shang's survival of 6.5438+0.5 million.

In the past two years, Cai has often wandered around the country. Every time he goes to a city, the first place he goes is always the local electronic product market. This has become a habit he has developed for many years.

He is 42 years old, with a lion's nose and an honest face. He always walks in crowded streets with his head down. It is hard for ordinary people to think that he is a Wenzhou businessman who has lived in Paris for 25 years. He also owns his own factory and numerous joint ventures in China, and invests in real estate.

The complicated experience in Paris has always made him feel that his fate is unpredictable. One recent day, he met a mysterious fortune teller in Paris. The fortune teller was once a man of the hour in the business world. One day he went bankrupt and turned to study divination. He told Cai two secrets with a solemn face: wealth was predestined in previous lives; You have gained something unexpected in your life.

"I believe in these two things." Cai grinned. When he smiles, he always looks into your eyes, and his smiling face shakes silently and persistently with his body until he confirms that his happy message has reached your perception system.

But 20 years ago, he would never have such a smile. "At that time, the streets of Paris were always foggy and far away; People are walking, light and panic. " He recalled.

There is no sunshine in "heaven"

Cai wanted to go to France 25 years ago because of the encouragement and temptation of fellow villagers. He is only 17 years old and works in a construction company in Wenzhou. At that time, there were already 6.5438+0.5 million Wenzhou people in Paris, France, and his fellow villagers kept sending back postcards, which made him uneasy.

Yes 1982, he finally persuaded his parents to get a plane ticket to Paris from them.

The first time he flew to Paris, he still remembered the tension and excitement. He said that he would still fly between the two places every year, but he didn't feel anything. But what he didn't expect at that time was that from the moment he got off the plane, the long poor days officially began.

In the first year of his arrival, not only did he not see the imaginary "paradise", but even the sun in Paris did not exist. He sat in the dark leather bag factory of his relatives' house and looked at the scissors, rope and glue in front of him, and finally found the cruelty of reality. Since then, like all overseas Wenzhou people, he has shouldered an arduous mission-to be a boss and make a fortune.

"My youth was spent in pain." Thin Cai has never touched the clothes dryer, and he can't work day and night. The work he did was of poor quality and slow speed, which could not satisfy the boss's relatives at all. After all, it is also a cost for relatives to take him abroad and arrange for him to enter the factory.

A year later, amid complaints from relatives, he bid farewell to the leather bag factory. He first borrowed someone else's sewing machine, then borrowed some skins from other villagers, designed a bag himself and sold it in the street. But no one bought it at all, so he had to go to the grocery store to sell it one by one. A boss in Phnom Penh couldn't resist his soft touch, so he took the bag and paid several francs.

"After leaving the store, I went directly to a grocery store, bought a pack of hawthorn slices and danced while eating on the road." This is his first business in Paris. Countless businesses in the future are not as wonderful as this.

However, his handbag dream was quickly shattered and no one cared about the bag he made next. The pressure of rent and living expenses began to drive him wandering in the street. He first found a French clothing factory and went there to sew clothes, but he was not born to step on machines. He fumbled for a few days and was driven away by the boss. Fortunately, the French, who spoke of credibility, gave him 50 francs (a week's salary).

Later, he found a factory in Phnom Penh. Fortunately, he met two sisters, Daling and Xiaoling, who are both workmates. Although they are skilled, they are in the same boat with him, so try to protect him. A month later, the boss saw that Cai's work was not good and wanted to drive him away. The two sisters came forward and threatened the boss to resign. The boss had no choice but to keep him for half a year. The sisters happily dragged him to the ballroom to celebrate, but at the subway entrance, he stopped shyly-the money in his pocket was not enough to buy a subway ticket.

Cai found that there were many garment factories in Paris, and everyone had to eat lunch boxes. So he introduced himself to the bosses, saying that he was a chef from China and could provide dinner. Every night when he delivers meals to other people's clothing factories, he tells others that he owns them. Then out of the factory gate, when people are not looking, turn a corner and jump on the bus to go home. It's a pity that a week later, the food he cooked was terrible, and he couldn't change any new tricks, which was soon exposed. Have to face the embarrassment of unemployment again.

Start a business again and again, go bankrupt again and again

Two years after arriving in Paris, he and another fellow countryman who is good at clothing took a fancy to a shop, and finally decided to open a clothing store in partnership, with each side paying half the money.

There is a very popular "bidding meeting" system among Wenzhou people, that is, everyone pays money to help a person who wants to do business, saving him the time of accumulating original funds, and then this person pays a fixed amount every month until all debts are paid off. This method is very effective in small private enterprises with loan difficulties, and villagers also trust each other.

Cai racked his brains, found all the people he knew and signed a meeting. However, the funds he raised were 50,000 francs less than the investment needs. In desperation, he rented his rented one room and one living room to others at the price of 300 francs per month, on condition that the other party paid a deposit of 50 thousand yuan.

His rental price is really low, but the idea of collecting a deposit has solved his urgent need. The new store can also be used as a temporary residence in the future. The lease contract was finally implemented the day before his store lease contract was signed, but according to the regulations, the new tenant can't finally pay until he moves in.

In order to sign in the store smoothly the next day, he decided to move out one day in advance and let the tenant live in. It was a miserable homeless night, and he walked all night in the brightly lit streets of Paris with his savings and luggage.

The store was implemented, but the money for the equipment was not enough, so he won the installment payment with the manufacturer. However, due to the lack of experience in opening a store, I still suffered a loss. At that time, all the employees in the store were "black workers" (hired workers who did not declare their work contracts). Because workers don't file tax returns, they pay their wages entirely in cash, and the payment of income is basically a check clearly marked by the French. After one year, the profits on the company's books are very high, and high taxes have to be paid. After deducting the cost, I hardly made any money.

The partner thought that the profit of this business was not as good as his previous income and decided to give up the cooperation with Cai. However, Cai's previous debts have not been paid off, and if he withdraws, he will lose the opportunity to pay off his debts. So he gritted his teeth and paid back the other party's funds, and he supported the shop by himself. But this struggle is meaningless. His business got worse, and it didn't take long for him to close the shop and sell it. Pay off the remaining debts, and you will have no money.

"From that day on, I understood beggars in the subway very well." Cai later said: He sat in the subway aisle, holding his knees, staring blankly at the beggars who were carefree and playing for money.

But he quickly pulled himself together and rented another factory, still processing clothes. At this time, he found himself in a management dilemma. If his salary is low, the workers will be slow and inefficient. Later, he got a raise, and his speed immediately increased. But the minds of workers are also accumulating with experience. Sometimes he calculates the workload of workers piece by piece, but in the few minutes when he goes out to answer the phone, some workers secretly take back a few pieces and count them in the new round of work.

Business developed slowly, and he began to have more than 100,000 francs in his hand. He wanted to develop a bigger factory and make his own products. He wandered around the third district of Paris where Chinese people were concentrated and decided to produce men's swimming trunks. Because he saw that the business of the swimming trunks shop was very good, especially the sewing and shearing was very simple, and there was no need to invite designers, just choose printed fabrics.

However, just when he launched an ambitious plan to make ready-made clothes, he found that his newly rented big factory turned out to be a Jewish factory. Jews were seized by the police for hiring illegal workers and tax evasion, and naturally became the key targets of supervision. Before long, his factory was raided and all the workers were driven away. His factory came to an end again because of poor capital turnover.

Giving the key to others this time, besides being penniless, is also in debt. But for him, this is not the first bankruptcy anyway.

Suddenly fell from the sky.

It has become his habit to walk alone in the street. He doesn't know what's on the street either. In short, he thinks that fate is like a hide-and-seek game. Only by constantly observing and searching can he discover the mystery inside.

On this day, he walked into an electrical appliance store run by the French. "I can sell fax machines on a commission basis." Looking at those practical and convenient electronic product introduction materials, he was tempted.

At that time, he didn't even have the cost of entering the fax machine, so he decided to take some materials to sell first. That's around 1988, and almost no one in the Chinese area knows about fax machines.

His first fax machine was sold to Mr Duan, who is in the belt business. He took pains to explain to others: "In your big wholesale business, how complicated it is to send samples to Auchan and Central Department Store every day! I wish I had this machine in the future. Just put the sample in the fax machine and the other party will receive it immediately. There is no need to send someone over. "

The other party accepted his suggestion of trying it out for a few days with a grain of salt. However, in the evening, his phone rang: "Mr. Cai, how did you even cheat your fellow villagers?" Why can't I find the entrance to put the belt in the fax machine? " ! "

After a long explanation, the other party finally understood what the fax machine was all about. Next, he sits in front of Mr. Duan's house every day and waits for him to pay off the payment. He is a man of few words, and he can't ask for money because of the feelings of his fellow villagers. This wait is three days, and no one can get rid of it. Mr. Duan finally understood, so he paid him the money, which was exactly what he needed to get into two machines. From this time on, the business of selling one or two fax machines a month can make him barely eat.