Last week we saw a great documentary on doing business in China, called ‘Brits Get Rich In China.’ The documentary features three British entrepreneurs; Tony Caldeira, Peter Williams and Vance Miller.

Tony Caldeira had a successful cushion business in Liverpool, but his company lost the battle against cheap Chinese imports. In order to save his company he decided to go to China and set up his own cushion factory. He invested millions of his own dollars to achieve this goal.

Peter Williams invented a device to increase the efficiency of air-conditioning units. He more or less expected to be rich overnight by showing his invention to the Chinese. After weeks without making progress he gets the help of a local businessman who has a unique personal way of doing business.

The third entrepreneur is Vance Miller. He sells cheap kitchens in Britain and buys the parts at a hundred different places in China. His way of doing business is clear and he shows no interest in cultural differences when it comes to money or deadlines. By visiting suppliers that fall behind with their orders and telling them straight, he gets things done.

The documentary ‘Brits get Rich in China’ can be found on Youtube. Here are the links. Please enjoy three different approaches on how to do business with Chinese. And if you have had similar or completely different experiences, please be our guest and let us know!