Took 8 Years in China to “Get It Right” With Sean Weisbrot

Michael MicheliniBusiness, Case Studies, Podcast4 Comments


What holiday just happened? I thought Chinese New Year was over?

And we are out promoting Cross Border Summit, pushed it out on our official Wechat account, Global From Asia, you’re getting some great feedback from people there!

And Asia Podcast Network – I just finished making the new website for that, we have a bunch of podcaster friends here in China and other parts of Asia – asia podcast network.

So if anyone is interested in these things – please add Claire -Wechat Id may be best, globalfromasia – or shoot us an email blog@globalfromasia.com and let’s get this new, new year rocking and rolling!

And now for this week’s show – Sean Weisbrot is a “need to know” connector here in Shenzhen and throughout China – hosting events, moderating Wechat groups, and he’s here with a fun topic we did during Chinese new year – why the last 8 years were a waste and the last 6 months he finally is getting it right – some interesting insights and let’s tune in! And, as always – show notes are on – Claire – wanna read it off – www.globalfromasia.com/getting-it-right-in-china/

Topics Covered in this Episode

  • Intro Sean Weisbrot

  • China

    So how did you first end up in China?

  • Wasted Years

    I loved it, we were chatting over Chinese New Year – and you asked me how long I was in China. For me, almost 10 years. And you said how it’s been about 8 for you – and you feel, like it was a waste up until 6 months ago. Can you catch others up on this?

  • 6 months ago

    What happened 6 months ago?

  • Skipping right to 6 months

    I mean, I feel those 8 years built you up to what changed in 6 months – but can others avoid those 8 years you went through and skip right to the last 6 months for their China entry? China experience?

  • China specifically?

    Did this have to be done in China? Is it a China specific “issue”?

  • Preparation

    If it is, can someone prepare for it in their home country before coming to China? Say, learning Chinese, building relationships?

  • China Burn out

    China burn out – I see you have been taking regular trips to Malaysia and other Southeast Asian countries – is this the “China burn out” that a lot of us go through?

  • Opportunities then and now

    China has changed a lot since you came 8 years ago – what was the opportunity then, and what is the opportunity now?

  • Recommendation

    Where would you recommend a listener to get started on their China entrepreneur experience, if at all?

People / Companies / Resources Mentioned in this Episode

√ http://consultnami.com
Sean Weisbrot’s LinkedIn Account
√ AsiaPodcastNetwork .com (offline)

Episode Length 33:04

Everyone hear Maggie crying in the background – Maggie – say hello! Now, get out of the studio!

Alright everyone – we got a lot of cool guests lined up – Claire is talking to some fun ones – and next week – we are talking about a new island on the outskirts of Tahiti and a trip in May that is being planned. See you next week.

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Podcast Transcription

“The problem was, I’ve been in China for so long that I was thinking in RMB and not in dollars but I started to realized that was my mistake and when I started to think in dollars, that’s when I started to be successful.”

Welcome to the Global From Asia podcast where the daunting process of running an international business is broken down into straight up actionable advice and now your host, Michael Michelini.

Mike: Okay everybody Global From Asia 162. I thought we finished all the holidays and Chinese New Year, I just found out this past weekend Saturday was a holiday, what was it, Claire ?

Claire: It’s Chinese Lantern Festival.

Mike: Alright, Lantern Festival. What is that for?

Claire: I’m actually not sure.

Mike: Oh man, Okay. So, I don’t feel so bad. Lanterns making lantern and setting off into the sky. Isn’t it Thailand, anyway?

Claire: Yeah, in China is a little bit like that, but not exactly like that.

Mike: Alright, well now, that holiday’s over, too. So, I think this week, finally everybody is back from Chinese New Year.

Claire: Yeah, I think so.

Mike: Mostly, no more holidays. I know there’s always people frustrated with ordering from factories in China business. But we should fully, fully back now. And thing heating up for Cross Border Summit, we’ve pushed it out on our official account Global From Asia. Because on our official account, we’ve got some great feedback and they’re chatting over to Claire, what was people have been saying?

Claire: People will say like, really great feedback and they were wondering like the requirement to join the show. Mike can you tell them a little bit more about that?

Mike: Okay, so we’re getting live feedback here. So yeah, it’s an exclusive event, so we don’t just want anybody to just go with just an application. People are curious what is that mean. We’re looking for people running, doing business already doing cross border import export E-commerce like businesses. So, yeah I mean we’re not looking for students learning English or other things. We’re looking for business owners doing real stuff cross border. And another thing that’s happening right now which is pretty fun is I’ve worked pretty hard over the last day in the Asia Podcast Network which is a network of podcasters and friends of mine here in China and around Asia at Asia Podcast Network. We got 2 white chicks in China, we got some made in China podcast and a bunch of great stuff, you guys want to check that out and see, maybe support the other podcast in that network would be great. So if anybody is interested in getting involved with any of these couple of things we’ve been talking about, Claire is here helping out and you can add maybe WeChat is best Global From Asia chat to her or should her and me email a blog@globalfromasia.com and let’s get this new year going. And now for this week’s show, we have Sean Weisbrot. He is the need to know connector here in Shenzhen and throughout China, hosting events in the past moderating amazing expat WeChat groups and he is here on the show we did during Chinese New Year. It was nice and quiet for us. We were in the garden complex right outside the Coco Park. He talked about why the last 8 years of his time in China has been a waste and how finally at the last 6 months, he’s finally getting it right. So he gives us some interesting insights and I even learned a couple of things and got some tips. So let’s tune in and as always our show notes are at.

Claire: www.globalfromasia.com/episode162

Mike: Okay, great and let’s listen to Sean.

Mike: So, welcome everybody to Global From Asia podcast. We’re here in Coco Park, Sparks as we call it, right? So, Sean Weisbrot got us here. We’ve been friends for so many years and great to have you on the show. Thanks for being here Sean.

Sean: Yeah, unfortunately we only see each other once every year, so.

Mike: Well one this one, I’ve been kind of hooked up in my house with my family and everything but also Shenzhen is so big, right, like there’s checko, futian, like different Lu Ho and all of this districts popping everywhere. Just like hour or more sometimes between places.

Sean: Yeah, I left at 1:10 and I got to you at about 1:50.

Mike: Crazy. Well, thanks for travelling over here.

Sean: And the girls, it’s been good, too.

Mike: Yeah, we have some nice Vietnamese. It’s been really cool. We’re chatting, it’s still Chinese New Year now as we recording. So it’s still quiet, a little bit. It’s not a quiet that I used to be in Shenzhen. We’re talking to it’s half capacity now of the people.

Sean: Something like that.

Mike: You’ve been in China 8 years now, right?

Sean: Almost 9. July, I’ll be 9.

Mike: Almost 9, we’re chatting about that on WeChat and you’re saying, what’s this kind of practice for an interview coz we’re trying to get on the show and trying to find some cool things to talk about.

Sean: That’s been a year process as well.

Mike: Yeah, I know. When we first, I’ve gotten to know you from a lot of different ventures. You’re a great business connector and a great business person here.

Sean: Trying to be.

Mike: And doing great things for the community. Maybe first you can introduce yourself on what you’re working on.

Sean: What on, I’m working right now?

Mike: Yeah, how would you like to be?

Sean: I’m working on how to get out on China.

Mike: Yeah, interesting.

Sean: Actually right now, so about a year ago, I started working on helping western startups in China to get connected with Chinese investors. Mostly because there’s a huge need and a huge gap that hasn’t been filled. A lot of people I found basically don’t understand Chinese culture. They come here because they want to interact with Guan Chang Bei, they want to get factories, or they want Chinese distribution or they some kind of go to market strategy but there’s a lack of understanding of the cultural aspect of how to make it happen. Or there’s a lack of funds. So, because I’m fluent to Mandarin and my job is to connect, it’s easy for me to find potential investors that could be good matches for these people so I’ve been doing that for the last year.

Mike: Cool. So today’s topic, yeah, you’ve asked me how long I’ve been here, almost 10 years, you’re going 9, so pretty close. You’re saying in our discussion like the last 8 or so years, we’re like what you say maybe not as effective as what the last few months have been.

Sean: Yeah, essentially I feel like my entire 20’s in China were wasted. It’s a good thing and a bad thing. Granted the first 5 years I was an English teacher so that was my own doing. But I think a lot of people come here and don’t have an idea of what to expect or what they can do. And so they become an English teacher because it’s the best way to get here. Unfortunately a lot of people get stuck in English. I knew at about 4 years in, my Mandarin was really good. I was leaving in Huan, which is in Hoobei province central China. I knew that there was no future for me there. But I like China, I wanted to stay. So I came down to Shenzhen, I got a job as a HR Manager for of course an English school. I did that for a year then I got fired because I had a concussion. My boss was not very sympathetic to my plight.

Mike: Interesting. That’s legal?

Sean: He allowed me to keep the work visa, so whatever. It is what it is. But then I ended up going to non-profit because after I hit my head, I kind of just think, things change in my mind what was Important to me at that time and I wanted to be in society in China. I knew that I could speak Chinese but i never felt like I did anything in value. So I wanted to do that, then I ended up working with a guy named Glen (blurred) who’s now in the States. We started this thing called the Idea Exchange, we did that for, well him and I did it for 1 month and he was like, well you know look, I don’t have enough much time, I can’t continue. But it’s yours, you can keep it if you want. So I started the company and worked with my ex-girlfriend, well we are together at that time. For 2 years to build into community that was well known across the country. Actually, we had people in our public WeChat talking us literally from every province. We even have 1 person from Tibet who is subscribing to our account. That was really, really cool to see that we were countrywide I think. And then eventually I kind of run out of money and decided to stop and ended up getting a job with a company called Expats Expression, That was a Chinese company in Nanjing. I was still based in Shenzhen but I was essentially promised equity in the company for my executive position. I took a salary that was a third of what I should have been getting because they were new. And I ended up getting screwed, didn’t get any equity, walked away. But had all the money and more than what I’ve had before, I got fired a few years prior. Basically for those few years, I didn’t have a full time job doing Idea Exchange. I was living off on my savings, essentially for some years. And I went broke, stuff cut the job, we’d save all the money back and then when I left the job, I started to do the stuff with the western startups about a year ago.

Mike: Yeah, very cool.

Sean: Yeah, very long turmoiltous.

Mike : Yeah, I mean the last was crazy. I mean I met you from Idea Exchange, you are doing great, great work. Still doing well these days as far as I know, I mean you are not involved, but you created that. And you really should be proud of it. I don’t really think, you can look back and think that the last few years was a waste, I mean, I think even that project alone with all your others, in field of connections like I’ve done startup weekend, which you know some people might see also as a non-profit and kind of, some people say it’s a waste of time or others for me. But you know, a lot of these building this connections that you know, you are definitely a connector, I think I’m trying to be a connector, too as well as that now.

Sean: I’ll tell you why I think it’s a waste of time. When I was doing all of those things, I had the mindset of helping people but I forgot to help myself. And I didn’t have a business mindset, so I didn’t know how to use the network that I was building to make money. And it took me until few months ago or up to the last year to realized, how to really use my connections to make big money. When I was doing the Idea Exchange I would get the opportunities to give speeches and make 2,000 RMB for a speech. 2,000 RMB is like 300 dollars. It’s not that big of a deal, it’s really small money if you think about it. A lot of people that are living here like, oh wow 2,000 RMB like it’s really nice you should be lucky. But like, this would come along once a month, once every 3 months. It’s small money. The problem was, I’ve been in China for so long that I was thinking in RMB not in Dollars. It wasn’t until few months ago that I started to realized that was my mistake. And when I started to think in Dollars that’s when I started to be successful. I said, I’m in China and fluent in Mandarin. And yet I’m not successful. But surely there are people that are successful. One of the problems that I had was through all the years that I’ve been here most of the people that I have friends with were also foreigners that were not successful. And so I have this mindset that foreigners in China cannot be successful. And then when I started to think in dollars and I started to talk with new kinds of expats, I started to go, wait a minute, there are foreigners, some of them are making millions of dollars a year here. But we just don’t see them because we are too busy making money. Now that’s the curse and a blessing. A blessing in that, if they can do it so can I. But it’s a curse because well, they’re making that kind of money, what do they do with their time. And so, I came to realization that if I want to become wealthy and live the life that I want, I have to expand my money outside of China. And I have to do things that are beyond of this country as much as I do inside the country. So, few months ago I was talking with Myers, my mentor.

Mike: Yeah, he’s great, he just had a baby girl.

Sean: Yeah, few days ago. He’s an Australian entrepreneur doing Amazon stuff in China for almost 10 years as well. He kind of help me to realized that I was the connector, doing business years ago, when I first met him, he’s like, you’re a connector, you should make money connecting with people. Okay, so we were talking a few months ago and then I decided to go Thailand for a holiday. I was really, really over China at that point, I really need to have a break. Right before I went to Thailand, Tim and I were talking about our course, and we ended up calling it WeChat millionaire. The goal was to teach people how to use WeChat to build a brand and then become a millionaire from that brand. And so I decided to devote my time in . All day everyday, to just building this video course. And I did it. I came back and I launched it and you know, I didn’t put any money in the advertising, I didn’t really do anything. But it was the time in Thailand that maybe I realized that I was thinking wrong. I should be thinking in dollars. Because I was doing a lot of research for cross border ecommerce and things like that in order to do the course because that’s what most people would be doing when they enter a China and build a brand and bring a product from overseas. I saw there’s multiple billions, you know, hundreds of billions of dollars a year potential in cross border between China and anywhere else in the world. I said well then, this is what I should do, I should be a part of this because this is where the money is. You know, on top of helping the startups to find investment. And so I got to a point where I had a friend come to me and say, Hey, I’ve got a construction company based in Dubai, they’re looking for some auditorium chairs to send to the university their building in Pakistan, I talked to them. Okay fine. Well then there’s this British guy and the Australian guy that I’ve met few years ago in Shenzhen, I have a trading company and I went to them because they are the only trading company that i know. It turns out, they actually know a factories that deal a furniture and they also deal with chicken feet. Chinese people are crazy about chicken feet.

Mike: Especially in Chinese new year. I’ve seen a lot.

Sean: So, I go to meet these guys. I go hey, you know I talked about this buyer, he wants to buy this chair blah, blah and by the way they also do chicken feet and they told me about it. I don’t know anything about it. But they told me, they kind of money that can make doing it. I said ok fine, you know, let me see. And I went through my whole network I started looking for people in all that. I found a guy and we spent like 2 months working on a deal, it’s got to close in about a week or so. Because of the holiday you know, the factory just opened but everybody is, here’s on a holiday so you can’t really do anything on the sign of contract and all that. But you know I realized that you can easily make millions of dollars, not hundreds of thousand dollars a year from 1 buyer for chicken feet as commission, passive commission. And when that possibility opened up to me, I realized that being in Thailand was the best thing I could have done for myself. Making that course in doing that research was the best thing I could have done for myself. Because the client from Pakistan only came to me after I got back to China. After I was in Thailand building the course and doing the research. So I already have this mindset that the trade was the best way to make money with quite little effort. And it’s not like, okay, we’re got to make hundred dollars a year there. No, you can make 10,000, 20,000, 100,000 dollars a month of these kinds of repetitive buyers. And if you sign 1 year contract, with the hundred thousand dollar, wish you could make 1.2 million dollars in that year. Like, life changing money that most people, you know working 9 to 5 jobs, I’m go like I’ll be happy if i can make 15,000 to 20,000 RMB a month. And it was that, mindset change. And so if weren’t for Myers, if weren’t for Thailand, if weren’t for all these years struggling in China that I would have come to this realization and be in this position where I could very quickly in the next few months start to see massive quantities of money coming.

Mike: Very cool.

Sean: That before I didn’t think that’s possible. That’s why I say that these year were waste. There’s actually a longer story, you know I’m Jewish and everyone’s kind of joke that Jewish are the merchants of the world. When I came to China, the age of 21, 22, I hated money. I hated finance. I majored in Psychology. I didn’t like anything related to manufacturing or trade. I didn’t want to think anything about that stuff, it’s too difficult, whatever. And 10 years later it’s what I’m doing, so if I have been more open minded when I came to China I probably would have already made those millions many, many years ago. And that’s what I mean that I wasted my time in China.

Mike : Is still a good catchy headline for listeners today. I think people need that, I mean, it’s like, I always try to think if this NBA or like you know, this is like learning. I don’t want to disrespect people that do go through proper education. But I think a lot of times, the best education is on the ground.

Sean: Absolutely. I mean, I’ve met people that studied Chinese in university before they came to China for years. And they came here and I’ve been here for like a few months and my Mandarin was already better than theirs. Nothing learned a single word before I came. So, you know everybody learns differently, right. Some people need other people to teach them and others teach themselves.

Mike: But I mean, back to that mindset. Or I think in China a lot of us foreigners, we get stuck on saving money rather than making money.

Sean: That’s a mindset as well. Mindset is know how to spend in order to make more. Invest in yourself.

Mike: Coz I mean a lot of us we’re always trying get a rent lower or get the price product cheaper from the factory.

Sean: Yeah, it knocks on my profit.

Mike: We got stuck on that. We’re it’s really price more than increasing sales rather than trying to. Of course, it’s important to reduce your cost but, maybe.

Sean: You can outsource those things. That’s the difference between small business person mindset and I think business person’s mindset were a person who has the money or they have the well food go, I’m going to outsource all of this to people that I can hire. Like this person deal with negotiating with the factory to get my price lower. Have this person deal making the marketing and I’m got to make sure that they have what they need to do the job. Whereas the small business person much as I’ve always been, I’ve already rent 2 employees my max and now I don’t have any. Because I like to work alone, that’s just me. But I used to try to get everything done and I’ve been exhausted and I ended up doing the Idea Exchange was me and Lisa full time and we ended up destroying our body it’s because of it. I was 27, 28 and I was miserable shape. It’s taking me several years to rebound health wise. And I’m lucky that I was able to but a lot of people they end up using their health in order to grow their business and they should be thinking on how to grow their business so they could protect their health first.

Mike : That’s true. I just went to digital detox. Highly recommended.

Sean : Yeah, you told me about it.

Mike : I feel amazed.

Sean: I don’t think I can do a day without internet. I would love to but it’s difficult, that’s what I do.

Mike: Yeah, It was hard for me too I think. But just power phones off in the other room. I walk out without a phone. I have 2 phones so.

Sean: I remember when I used to travel in Asia many years ago. It was easy because I didn’t buy a sim card. But now with my phone, I can roam anywhere in the world with my China sim granted who would want to travel with Chinese internet, that’s horrible. Being in Thailand or Vietnam when you’ve got the Chinese internet on your phone, it’s the only thing you can use to access internet, you can’t even get Facebook, you are stuck with your VPN.

Mike: Crazy this, so yeah I think most of us, I mean I’m not sure for you but for me I had a China burnout for times.

Sean: Totally.

Mike: I live in the Philippines for like a year in 2010. I was going between China and Philippines a lot. I think it was a natural phase. Do you think for foreigners in China?

Sean: I think it’s very easy to become bitter. Because, granted Shenzhen has fantastic weather most of the year round well, like right now as we are discuss things. It’s easy to just go, I want to get out of that.

Mike: Yeah and then you do a good job with your WeChat group and there’s, but there’s lot like negative, well i don’t say expats but everyone in the world has negative people/

Sean: Yeah, you just cut the negative people out even if you yourself are negative. If you can recognize that you have that then if you just cut out the people from your life that are negative then it’s a lot easier to get positive again if that’s what you want.

Mike: So hopefully people can, think of it as an opportunity and not be so negative like the difficult challenges you’re facing can be used as an opportunity.

Sean: Absolutely like I said I was in August, I came back from the States I was there for 2 months for my 30th birthday and all that. Then I came back and then a month later I went to Thailand because I just had a good time in the States so when i came back to China I was like (beep). Like I saw the price in Bangkok was like a few hundred RMB it’s like I’m getting on this plain and I’m staying for a month. Because Thailand, and that’s what really where my revelation happened, you got to do digital detox, there’s a beach and you have a revelation about your life and somewhere. I had a revelation that changed my life. And I think most people are so busy chasing the money. They’re so busy working that they forget about themselves. They forget about who they are and what they want and what’s Important to them. So yeah, you can kind of call what I’ve going to burn out or you can call it a desire to expand myself. It depends on how you cut the negative way or the positive way. for me, my goal in 2017, right now I’m teaching myself Japanese because Japanese uses, they call it Kanji, it’s from Hanzi from Mandarin. So i already know the hardest part of Japanese. I just have to learn how to re pronounce them in the Japanese way. So I’m teaching myself Hiragana and Katakana because it’s very, very similar. It’s very simple, I’m sorry. So my goal is I want to spend 3 months in Japan this year because I originally was supposed to go live in Japan not China. But I’ve never been, and it’s so closed and I already know part of the language. So it’s like no reason not to. So my goal from now on is to think less about China and think more about living in different countries and experiencing new things. So I like want to live in Japan for few months and then maybe go to Israel for few months and for this year alone. So I stressed that having a full time job is the worst thing you could do for yourself. If you have the ability to control your money, where at least have a way to have some money every month, without working too hard to make it. If you can live in different countries and kind of experience things for yourself if that’s what you want then absolutely you should do that because you only have one life.

Mike: I definitely think travel is really best way to open your mind, right? I mean, I was in New York City like almost 5 years. And it’s really depressing for me. And once i started leaving for San Diego for a while and ended up in China, I think I’ll still be here, to be honest. But you just kind to find where life takes you and I think by seeing a different culture realizing that everybody is the same and different perspective is amazing.

Sean: Something that I thought about before. We started today, I didn’t want to say it to you earlier coz I don’t want to be special. It was kind of my impression of Chinese people. Which is one of the reasons one of the mindset that I have now and I guess this is especially for people of might want to come to China and that is what I see, it’s really hard for me to look down on Chinese people. It’s hard for me to hate on them. Because I see, at least our generation is stuck between the past and the future. They desperately want to have a happier lifestyle. They want to fight for freedom of happiness because society is so controlling of young kids. It doesn’t enforce creativity. It doesn’t promote imagination on kids. So I see them growing up watching western media and learning about the way we live and being friends with us here and desperately wanting to understand us and be more like us. So there’s that positive aspect. But they are also very closed minded because they’re stuck in the past and society telling them change is bad. So it’s hard because you try to explain to them that things can be different, that they can change, they can have a better life and they don’t see it. It’s just if, they are staring on the wall and outside that wall and of the outside of that wall something better, it’s not even a glass house they can’t even see it. They can’t imagine it. And so they’re stuck. And that’s the hardest thing for me about China is that I’m doing the Idea Exchange wanted to help Chinese people to reach a better life for themselves. And found myself incapable of doing so that’s one of the reasons why became this franchising stop. And it felt like I was actually helping anybody.

Mike: Yeah, i think, well it seems not only for Chinese, there’s a lot of people in the world are like this. I mean people they want to help but they don’t want to do the work or want to change themselves.

Sean: I think it’s different, I mean understand you could say about that to Americans as well. It’s not that they don’t want to do the work, it’s they don’t see it being possible so they don’t try. And I think phase is what stops them. Phases that old aspects of society is what holding them back.

Mike: Yeah, you’ve mentioned a lot in this Chinese business books but it’s totally true, right? For me I have staff, I hire full staff, I have to be careful not to point out a mistake that they made in front of others because they lose face .

Sean: I couldn’t do that. I just feel like I did it wrong and this is why you can improve yourself. I wouldn’t make it. The thing is I’ve done HR I majored in psychology so I’ve been an HR manager before in the states and in China. I’m again with my own employees and i found that the best way to manage any body no matter where they from is try to leave emotion out of, any kind of critic or any kind of communication with them related to that thing. Just focus on behavior. They might go well you’re counting my behavior, counting my personality. You’re saying that I’m wrong, they take it personally. The absolutely do, Chinese people. But by trying to remove emotions you at least or at least make it easier or if you do the Mandarin it’ll be easier because you can try to insert some of their culture in doing, you’re not going again they culture by doing it in the first place.

Mike: Yeah, I guess. I agree. I tried to remove, been thinking of that left my emotion on, my business and personal but, I would usually try to take them in another room maybe and talk to them. But this whole phase thing is true like and they’ve really don’t want to go against their family. Or as i think maybe i speak for Americans I think more western mind set is independent. Of course my parents are happy with what I’m doing, but even if doing anywhere and they will support me. Or I think Chinese are much more restricted I think or at least in their mind.

Sean: To quote Cartman from south park, I do what I want.

Mike: We’ve been talking about that on lunch and the stuff that I’m going through, It’s cool man. Well this has really been amazing talk. For listeners like you said a lot of listeners are in China or Asia, maybe they’re 9 to 5 in their home countries, trying to figure out how to get here. We’re talking about opportunities, you’re doing trade now, is that what you think will be something for them or what would you think is.

Sean: So, I was telling you earlier today with my course, I will give that link.

Mike: Yeah, we’ll get to link that.

Sean: I put up for 200 dollars, but then decide to put to 15, without telling me.

Mike: They tricked.

Sean: I had one guy reached out to me, who’s an American in Zhangdou, do in Chinese and speaks Mandarin as well and he said man, I’ve been doing trade, I’m an employee of a Chinese company, I’m doing trade at this massive network and like I saw your course, I think it’s great and as I just wanted to talk to you. We sort of talking you know, talked almost every day, this is like a few weeks ago that he start messaging me.

Mike: Very cool.

Sean: And I was talking about chicken feet and other opportunities. He got suppliers and buyers all over the world and I have been building my own network for that as well. So we’re trying to do business together now and find opportunities. And that’s really what I want understand is that, but also the course was never really about helping people to do their own brand. I mean, it was, but what i want is for people who are interested in trade to reach out to me and any body because if you have a product that you want to sell in China. I might have a distributor that would buy a lot for me. Mostly people that I talked to, they buy containers at the time and not got to buy a hundred of product and tried it out and see what goes on. So if you have a desire to have your own product or if you have a license and agreement with the company to represent them in China as a sole distributor or something like that, we can hopefully help you to sell your products or their products.

Mike: So really cool. So we’ll link up the course. But of course, how could people reach out to you or your businesses?

Sean: Well, I have an email, I’m happy to have you email me sweisbrot@gmail.com and yeah I’m in China most of the time. I check my email but I’m trying to do my best kind of be a little be more Global From Asia.

Mike: Yeah that’d be cool. Trying, too man. Well thanks so much for sharing and we had some great conversations today. I’m sure listeners will get a lot out of it and best of luck for you in 2017. Let’s make some money.

Sean: Yeah. Cheers.

Mike: Okay and now we have another guest. This has been a lot of guest today Maggie Michelini. What’s up? You got say something. Say hello to the guest.

Maggie: Meow.

Mike: Meow? There you go.

Maggie: Hey.

Mike: Good. She’s on the podcast, 1 year old baby on the podcast. Alright guys, so we have a lot of cool guests lined up. Claire has been helping introduce a new guests to me. And it’s been getting fun. Maggie is a little bit young but maybe she can be a guest soon. And also next week, we got to be talking about a new island forming on the outskirt of Taihiti and a trip we might take there in May. So it’s got to be a real fun while we are getting ready. We’re editing now so we will see you guys next week and Claire how would get people on the show notes?

Claire : So it’s www.globalfromasia.com/episode162.

Mike: Alright and always subscribe to our newsletter, too. People are actually are replying to them, they’re liking the newsletter so check that out at globalfromasia.com/subscribe and I’m got to stop live on this week and let’s just get ready to rock in 2017 is good for US and the rest of the world as well as for China. So let’s get going.

To get more info, on running international business, please visit our website at www.globalfromasia.com that’s www.globalfromasia.com. Also, be sure to subscribe to our iTunes feed. Thanks for tuning in.

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Tags: asia, business, career, china, e-commerce, ecommerce, entrepreneur, guide, tips

4 Comments on “Took 8 Years in China to “Get It Right” With Sean Weisbrot”

  1. Andrew Voda

    I found this podcast particularly good and felt that Sean shared a refreshing and somewhat contrarian perspective on China.

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