If money is a problem, quality is the answer for small businesses
Fu Guocheng small businessman
Beijing furniture dealer Fu Guocheng and his wife do not have the luxury of extra capital to help promote their small business and must rely on two golden rules to keep buyers coming back - offer better service and understand customer demand.
The couple have been running the business in southeast Beijing since 2000 when the city's commercial housing market started booming. The surge in home ownership meant more people were interested in creating a comfortable home.
The shop is in Shibalidian, one of two main traditional Chinese furniture markets in the capital, and Mr Fu says the number of outlets selling similar products has grown by about 50 per cent since the middle of last year.
The couple expect interest in Chinese furniture to continue to rise for the next few years as more families experiment with mixing traditional and modern pieces in their homes.
But, despite the market's strong potential and his 20 years of experience, Mr Fu is struggling with a shortage of capital for business promotion to meet the new competition.
'We struggle to maintain a good business on the increasingly competitive market because more people are getting into the traditional Chinese furniture industry. They are lured by the growing market where the core competitiveness is absent,' Mr Fu said.
Mr Fu does not have spare cash to upgrade his manufacturing equipment, hire more professional carpenters or expand the display area of his shop.
So he is keen to win customers by building a good reputation and relying on customers to introduce more business, an approach that sets him apart from many who are not reliant on repeat business.
'You cannot depend on cheating customers with unreasonable prices,' Mr Fu said. 'You cannot expect long-term business that way because you need reputation and honesty in addition to good product quality.'
