Li Guoqing weighs Chinese medicinal herbs

For most university graduates, working in government organizations or companies in big cities is the first choice after graduation. But Li Guoqing, a marketing major, found the prospect of being his own boss a more exciting challenge.

Li graduated from the Tianjin Chengjian University in 2014. Then instead of looking for jobs in big cities, he went back to his hometown Minxian County in northwest China's Gansu Province. With the knowledge acquired in the classroom, he opened a store on Taobao, the Chinese website for business-to-consumer retail, selling traditional Chinese medicinal herbs online.

"It was not easy to find a job when I graduated," Li recalled. "As my hometown is rich in traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) resources, I opened an online store to sell them. For a small startup, it is easier [to launch an online venture]. "

"One year's experience taught Li the advantages of running an online shop. It doesn't require much funding or business experience, which means less risk and pressure. It also has a more flexible business mode.

Because of these advantages, more and more university graduates are launching their own online businesses.

"I am lucky to be living in the Internet age," Li said. "The Internet brings sellers and customers closer. Using it together with the marketing knowledge I obtained in school, I can find more business opportunities."

The Net result

According to the China Internet Network Information Center, by the end of 2015, China had 688 million netizens with 50.3 percent of the population enjoying Internet access and over 90 percent companies using it.

Last March, Premier Li Keqiang proposed the "Internet plus" action plan in the government work report, aiming to integrate the Internet with traditional industries to fuel economic growth.

To encourage students to start their own businesses and open online shops, the Tianjin Chengjian University is offering entrepreneurial courses and training. These explain the dos and don'ts of starting a business and analyze industry trends. The university also helped Li get central and local government subsidies for entrepreneurs.

A meeting of the State Council, China's cabinet, in April 2014 proposed measures to encourage graduates to start their own businesses. Graduates who open online shops on e-commerce platforms can get small loans and subsidies.

At the end of 2014, the Ministry of Education said it would help graduates in getting training for startups and services for industrial and commercial registration, fund raising and tax reduction in 2015.

According to a project report by the China Association for Employment Promotion in July 2015, over 10 million people found employment by 2014 thanks to online shops. Of them, 6.18 million people - 60 percent - found jobs due to the online shops opened by university graduates.

"Along with the development of the Internet, there will be more self-employment opportunities such as opening online shops. If they are supported by preferential policies and funding, young graduates, who have passion and a wide vision, can achieve more," said Wang Zhiyong, an associate research fellow at the Institute of Population and Labor Economics, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.

Step by step

When Li was a child, he saw his parents growing Chinese medicinal herbs. When he went to university, he would read about the herbs online and analyze the fluctuations in their prices caused by the supply-and-demand imbalance. Based on his reading and his parents?years of experience, he revised a guidebook on the techniques of growing angelica, a class of perennial herbs found in the northern hemisphere.

Since his college days, Li had the idea of running his own business. So upon graduation, he opened his online store to sell wild and cultivated TCM herbs.

However, despite the advantages of starting an online venture, growing business is no cakewalk. "It's not easy to rent space and it's even harder to develop a business," Li said. "To get more customers and win their trust, I would sit at the computer from day to night, processing orders and answering queries online. At the same time, I also had to take photographs of the herbs, display them online, and then pack the products for delivery." But despite the pressure, Li kept his business running. He attributes his perseverance partly to the local government's support.

In 2015, Minxian was the chosen county for e-commerce development. Since then it has been allocated Central Government grants worth 10 million yuan ($1.53 million) annually. An e-commerce association has also been set up to promote local online ventures. Its members often get together to brainstorm how to improve their businesses.

"To support young people in starting their own businesses, our association organizes training projects, helps entrepreneurs coordinate with government departments to get more concessional loans, solves logistic problems and provides office space for free, as well as free water, electricity and the Internet,?said Du Xudong, Vice President of the association.

In collaboration with the local government, the association also invites experts to give lectures. Last year, Wang Sheng, a professor from the Shanghai University of Finance and Economics, spoke on how to develop e-commence in rural areas, which was very popular with the members, Du said.

"The logistics network is developed here, and I can learn from the experience of other e-commerce businesses," Li said. "In addition, local government departments give us much-needed help and support. When the association saw the room I had taken was small and shabby, they found a new place for me and it is free.?Li is hoping that the local government will implement national policies more effectively and work more efficiently.

Last year, his e-shop had a turnover of 1.4 million yuan ($214,395) and the business is growing fast. At the beginning, his family didn誸 support him but now they help him run the online shop. In 2015, it was declared Minxian County's Star Shop and Li received 2,000 yuan ($306.3) as subsidy from the local government. A prosperous Li is now married and the proud owner of a car.

As for his future plans, Li wants to register a company to grow and process TCM herbs so that he can sell them online more professionally and efficiently. The fledgling entrepreneur draws inspiration from the words of Ma Yun, founder of the Alibaba Group, the Chinese e-commerce giant: "Why not have our dreams, in case they can be realized one day?"