His entrepreneurial spirit comes as no accident since his grandfather was an entrepreneur who established a farm feed company, and more recently his father who set up a petrol station.

Even with this solid background, Alex is an unlikely entrepreneur given that he was an incredibly shy child who often feared meeting visitors at the family home. A conscious decision to overcome his shyness resulted in him conquering the handicap and this experience has assisted him in coaching others in overcoming their fears in his specialty -- networking.

Alex set up Shanghai Networking News -- an online networking site -- as a result of his frustration trying to find networking events to attend each week.

"I had to wade through the various expat magazines to find what I wanted each time" he stated.

He cut his teeth in the media industry by working for Shanghai Expat -- an online guide and forum for expats living and working in Shanghai. This involved selling advertising space for the company and as Alex felt cold-calling was "soul destroying" he decided to focus on networking instead.

I asked Alex to sum up Shanghai Networking News in a few words using his elevator pitch.

"All the events in one place" is the pitch he uses and this sums up the real benefits of the site -- it saves people time in finding networking events and whether they are worth attending.

Any expat or local Chinese can go to the website and find out what networking events are happening, where they are and how much they cost. You can also read reviews of past events and gauge whether they would be suitable for your business.

"The bottom line is whether your target market will be there" says Alex.

Traditionally, business in China has been done using "guanxi" or "reciprocating with future favours", though local Chinese are increasingly using Western-style networking to develop their businesses. Many are keen to attend to attend western networking events such as chambers' of commerce networking nights.

As well as learning to network effectively with the appropriate etiquette, budding networkers also want to learn how to overcome their fears of walking into a room full of strangers. Alex has given much thought to this and incorporated networking training into his range of services. He describes the perfect networker as someone who builds long-term relationships, adopts a "what can I do for you" attitude and employs the "get what you give" principle.

"A typical faux pas at a networking event is to try to sell to everyone at the event", Alex comments, "You can tell the ones who don't get it -- they're the ones aggressively working the room trying to collect as many cards as possible".

Alex's training course helps novices avoid the pitfalls and, in time, get the best return on their investment through attending networking functions. The course looks at creating and developing relationships with networkers from other industries to your own. Overcoming cultural differences between China and the West are also covered.

Shanghai Networking News has expanded from the initial service of providing free information on events in Shanghai to providing training workshops, one-on-one networking coaching, and connecting people to the right people. For example, a foreign businessman or corporation could spend a considerable amount of time trying to locate a key decision-maker in their industry.Alex can help by using his extensive network of contacts to connect the two people for a fixed fee. The site also offers the opportunity for businesses to advertise their services online.

As the business evolves Alex would like to expand the coverage to the key cities of China and beyond. He also plans to write a book containing valuable information on networking in China, available for purchase from the site.

Bookmark this article:

Users' Comments (0)

Add your comment