Xu Hongyan (third from right) serves dishes to customers at her restaurant in rural Nanjing, Jiangsu province, on March 28. She renovated her house into a homestay restaurant and started her business in 2013. [Photo by Li Bo/Xinhua]
Five entrepreneurs from Jiangsu province, East China, were recently awarded the honor of being included amongst China's top 100 student makers of 2017.
Zeng Fei, who completed his master's education at the Jiangsu-based China University of Mining and Technology last year, is a veteran garment businessman with over six years' experience.
The young man's initial inspiration was helping his friends find business suits – fitted and with reasonable prices – as the garment was widely demanded by Chinese college graduates for their job interviews, but they commonly charged high prices to boot.
He conducted market surveys, modeled for his own clothing, and posted his photos around the campus.
Though his alma mater had provided a free working place and equipment for him, Zeng confessed his first year's profit was only 275 yuan ($43).
"But I've never been afraid of failure. I always have passion for my business, and that will stimulate me and bring out my potential," he said at the time.
Despite its humble beginnings, the business soon started to take shape. Zeng's business expanded to areas including customized suits making and formal dress renting; he also registered his own company in 2014 and rode out the most difficult period.
The young man now has 12 chain stores scattering around the Yangtze River Delta region, and has over 300,000 individual clients and some 5,000 company clients. The business brought in 10 million yuan in revenue in 2017 and this figure is expected to double this year.
An overlook of Xu Hongyan's homestay restaurant in rural Nanjing, Jiangsu province [Photo by Li Bo/Xinhua]
According to a report released by the prestigious Renmin University last year, nearly 90 percent of college students have considered starting up their own businesses and 26 percent of them have even expressed a strong interest in entrepreneurship.
But amidst economically difficult times, with a shortage of funds and unsatisfactory sales being common issues, for many students their situation has worsened and it has made it difficult for many businesses to continue.
Xu Fei, another nominee, said he had encountered similar problems in his initial days and so he took a roundabout way to fulfill his dream of producing unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV).
He and his fellow makers realized it would be very hard for small companies like theirs to get financed, so they started by profiting from aerial video shooting services and used part of their earnings to produce UAV.
"It took me three years to make both ends meet, and now, we have accumulated a well-defined group of customers," Xu said.
He regarded starting up his business as more than simply a way to make money, it was a test of himself, and it was his ambition and determination that drove him forward.
"We live in the best of times, I hope with our efforts, we'll all realize our personal and social values," Xu said.
