Li Hao

    HE was once a forest policeman in Inner Mongolia, which was then a job that would provide security for life.

    However, he chose to give it up and come to Shenzhen in 1992 to start his own business.

    His business career has coincided with a period in which the city has developed fast thanks to reform and opening-up.

    He is Gao Feng, one of the leading figures in the city’s home decoration business. In 2008, he was selected as one of the 100 outstanding entrepreneurs in Shenzhen.     

    Choosing Shenzhen

    Gao first visited Shenzhen on Jan. 19, 1992 to learn about reform and opening-up.

    The day Gao arrived happened to be the same day Deng Xiaoping, who is recognized as architect of China’s reform and opening-up, started his four-day inspection tour of Shenzhen. Deng’s visit provided stimulus to the city’s endeavor to pursue reform and opening-up.

    “It was my first visit to Shenzhen. I stayed at Prince Hotel in Shekou. Because, unlike in North China, there was no heating equipment, I was too cold to sleep at night,” Gao recalled.

    “However, when I walked out and saw flowers and trees on the sides of roads, I fell in love with Shenzhen,” said Gao.

    Gao made a decision to start a business in Shenzhen after returning to Inner Mongolia and he even turned down the offer of a promotion, surprising all of his colleagues.

    In Inner Mongolia, Gao was earning 180 yuan (US$28) a month, which was good pay in the early 1990s.

    However, Gao sold his house and borrowed 10,000 yuan from his mother to move to Shenzhen.

    Gao chose to check into the same hotel he stayed in on his first visit.

    He opened a wood flooring store, which only covered an area of 60 square meters, on Zhaoshang Road East in Nanshan District.

    “I knew a lot about wood because of my old job as a forest policeman,” said Gao.    

    Emotional

    rollercoaster

    Gao still remembers the hardships he went through in the early days.

    He had multiple roles in his store, manager, accountant, deliveryman and purchaser. He rode a tricycle to deliver goods.

    Gradually, Gao’s wood flooring store became successful and more branches opened on the same road.

    His wife also quit her job as a teacher and came to Shenzhen with their 7-year-old daughter.

    In addition to a growing business, Gao also received a bravery award from the city government for rescuing two children drowning in the sea.

    He was also hospitalized for more than 20 days after confronting and being beaten by six pickpockets on a bus.

    Gao’s wood flooring business started to struggle in 1994, putting him in debt of more than 1 million yuan. Piles of stock were left unsold in his warehouse.

    “By 1995, my business had gone bust. My wife and I spent almost every day thinking about how to transform our business. We chatted until midnight and decided to enter the home decoration market,” recalled Gao.    

    Reputation wins

    customers

    “Although the failure of my previous business had put me deep in debt, it helped me establish a good reputation and strong connections. Besides, my old business and new business were in a related field,” recalled Gao, who started providing home decoration service in 1996.

    Gao was well aware that credibility mattered in the home decoration service.

    At the beginning of his home decoration business, Gao bought 10,000 yuan worth of homemade plywood and intended to sell it claiming it to be imported.

    The homemade plywood looked the same as the imported one and was 1 yuan cheaper per plank.

    “However, as soon as I saw the plywood, I realized it would be wrong to lie, so I gave up the original plan,” recalled Gao, who later bought imported plywood for the customer and left the homemade plywood in his warehouse.

    “I became aware of the importance of credibility,” said Gao.

    Gao also pledged to harshly punish employees who intentionally use fake or substandard decoration materials. Gao’s emphasis on credibility brought him more customers.

    Two years later, he was a rich man.    

    Kindness brings hope

    A popular boss, Gao is always smiling and is easygoing with his employees.

    “I have a harmonious family thanks to my good upbringing. Once an official in a rural area, my father helped vagrants find jobs on farms. He told us always to be kind,” said Gao, whose father is 86 years old.

    Influenced by the father, Gao is a good family man and a highly respected member of society.

    He did not charge money to decorate the offices of a Web site serving disabled people in 1999.

    In the same year, Gao donated 25 containers of school tables and clothes to Weining County in underdeveloped Guizhou Province. More donations were later made to earthquake-hit Wenchuan in Sichuan Province and tsunami-hit Indonesia.

    “Young people should be enterprising but it is not advisable to pursue get-rich-quick schemes. Do what you do well and the money will follow,” Gao said.