Anna Zhao

    anna.whizh@yahoo.com

    MARCUS MAHER, an Australian who owns five restaurants in Shekou, said the biggest secret to success in business is finding the right partners.

    Maher has people from many different nationalities working for him, but he doesn’t worry about whether the people he works with are Chinese, Hongkongers, or Americans as long as they are good people.

    After living in Shekou for more than 14 years, Maher is a good source of information about things and people in the area, and he said he just thinks and acts faster than other people when it comes to seizing opportunities.

    “I am often one of the first to hear about what is going on in the area, like if a business is up for sale or if a manager or a chef is not happy. It’s quite a large network here and I can catch these people before other people know they are available,” he said.

    He said business was quite good for his restaurants, but now they’re facing greater competition as more restaurants have sprung up in Sea World since the Chinese New Year.

    As a person who values good partnerships, he likes to share resources with other people because “customers can get better service and sometimes good things happen.”

    Being in the catering industry himself, Maher said he only visits restaurants he thinks are really good, such as a Japanese take-away restaurant and a Vietnamese restaurant in his neighborhood.

    “There are a lot of average places. Sometimes we see them open and know it will only last three or four months before closing,” he says.

    He attributes the short lifespans of such restaurants to a lack of research and a lack of love for the place.

    Gary Isse, an American who runs a food and drink website in Shekou, said some restaurants just look Western without showing real concern for people who live in the area.

    “Some people just come in from outside and they have no idea who we are, what Shekou is about, or how to hire anyone here. They just think they can open up a restaurant and they’re going to make money,” Isse said. “I think they fail because they are not part of the community, they never really join the community.”