Now my bookshop is located close to this area, and I can tell you there are a lot of Chinese businesses already there. As well as the ubiquitous bazaars and alimentacions (corner food shops) they have restaurants, beauty saloons, supermarkets and even driver schools for Chinese speakers in the area. This is not something unique to this part of town, nor to Madrid. It’s been noted for many years that the Chinese community are building up their own businesses all over Spain. There have been articles and research into how they manage to succeed in such a hard business climate. Perhaps one of the best articles I’ve read is this one, that gives the “10 Chinese commandments for entrepreneurs”. The full article is in Spanish, but I will list the “commandments” here in English, because I think they make good points. I have to admit I don’t comply with some of their guidelines, but this is a list I refer to often...
1. Choose a good premises, in a good location, but at a cheap price. Good advice if you can find such a property.
2. Start to go into business at an age as young as possible. No idea if this is good advice or not.
3. Don't become emotionally attached to the business. If it doesn't work, change your line of work. -makes a lot of sense
4. Competition is healthy. Yes, you can learn from your competitors. Just don't take too much personally.
5. Don't stick with just one business, lest you become a slave to it. Again, seems like very good advice. I do diversify into more than just bookselling, but that's partly because I have to!
6 If hiring workers, better to hire Chinese people. This point could inflame some people, I suspect. If hiring directly I personally would go for bi-lingual staff, because that's what my business needs.
7 Never ask the bank for a loan. Better to ask friends or family, in order to avoid paying interest. I think most of us can understand where this is coming from...
8 When your sector becomes saturated, look for another. Seek out new business opportunities. Sound advice, I would have thought, and something I'm always looking into...
9 Give your customer what they need, even if you don't understand why. Basically listen to what your customer wants - it can lead to a new revenue stream.
10 Work and hoard money for several years even if it means living a pauper's life. This is probably the main area I fail. I have to keep networking with certain people here in Madrid, and if I lived a hermit's existence I would have missed out already on certain opportunities. I prefer the slogan "moderation in all things" not that I achieve that either!
The summary is that I have a lot to learn from Chinese business practices, even if I feel that one or two of the "commandments" don't apply to my bookstore. And if the sale of the Edificio España goes ahead, I expect to see this part of Madrid change a lot.
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