The entrepreneurial history of a rich girl in Chengdu

Li Minyang, who was born in 1981, took over a restaurant that was running poorly in 2005, and imbued its operation with ancient cultural concepts that are difficult to replicate. In a short period of time, it has established its position in Chengdu's catering industry. In addition to being in charge of this restaurant, Li Minyang already has two cement factories and an auction company under her name. Her capital even extends to many industries such as finance, energy, and education. Currently, she has a net worth of hundreds of millions.

In fact, she was born with a "golden key" in her mouth. And she always insisted that starting a business must be done by herself.

A wealthy family: a BMW as a college graduation gift

Li Minyang was born in a wealthy family in Chengdu and is the only daughter in the family. She began to play the accordion and printmaking when she was more than 2 years old. When she was 4 years old, a print she painted won second place at an art exhibition in Japan, which made her parents quite proud.

She is also very talented in sports. When she was in elementary school, a well-known coach named Wu in Chengdu suggested that she learn to play badminton and develop into a professional athlete. But her parents still wanted her to continue her studies. Li Minyang had excellent academic performance. She skipped two grades in a row and was admitted to a major university in the province majoring in finance when she was less than 15 years old. At that time, she was also the youngest student in this major.

When she graduated from college in 1999, her parents bought her a BMW 5 Series imported sedan as a reward. At that time, the car sold for nearly 800,000 yuan.

After graduation, she did not choose to continue her graduate studies or study abroad. Instead, she went directly to China Construction Bank. However, commuting to and from work at a fixed time soon caused her discomfort. Li Minyang recalled that she only worked for three years at CCB. During the day shift, she became emotionally exhausted.

Later, her father recommended her to join a company specializing in house sales agency and work as a back-office job for the general manager, responsible for daily meeting minutes, document sorting and other matters. However, Minyang Lee, who was active by nature, liked planning work very much, so she applied to work in marketing.

In the company, she was like a fish in water. She became the head of the department in more than half a year and became well-known in the Chengdu building sales circle. Facts have proved that it was this experience that greatly improved Minyang Lee's marketing planning capabilities.

Early Entrepreneurship: From 1 million to 10 million

Most of her previous development was based on her parents’ connections. In 2000, she finally made her first independent investment without telling her family - opening a clothing store in the bustling Yanshikou area of ??Chengdu.

Like most girls, Min Yang’s dream is to open a fashionable and unique clothing store. Without telling her parents at the time, she took over a 60-square-meter shop in Yanshikou. "Since the main consumer group here was still young people at that time, I planned to build a brand image store to sell fashionable clothes." She often flew to Hong Kong and Guangzhou to buy clothes. Half a year later, when business was already doing well, her parents heard the news from others.

Lee Minyang revealed that the funds for opening a clothing store mainly came from his own accumulation, and he also borrowed hundreds of thousands from friends. In addition to realizing her dream, the clothing store also made her a lot of money. Li Minyang remembers clearly that the clothing store named "Yi Yang" earned her nearly one million yuan when it was resold a year later.

Li Minyang subsequently established a trading company, mainly engaged in the import and export of medical devices, as well as automation systems and equipment for mechanical and electrical engineering projects and factory projects. She holds the titles of chairman and general manager. This time, although her parents let her develop on her own, they still played a role as a behind-the-scenes promoter in many projects.

While running this company, she completed a classic operation: In 2002, a university enterprise in Chengdu wanted to complete a sewage treatment project. Li Minyang first contracted a large part of it, and then subcontracted it to several different companies. While this model is now common, it was rare at the time. This innovative move allowed her to earn nearly 10 million yuan in just a few months.

The ups and downs of the business world: once threatened by competitors

After completing the accumulation of tens of millions of yuan, around 2002, she began to look for new investment projects and planned to operate independently. She has inspected many projects such as universities, hydropower, and coal mines, and finally settled on a cement factory in Huaying, Guang'an.

During this period, she met her current husband, another entrepreneur. In Lee Min-yang's eyes, her husband is a motivated person, and his family also approves of it, so the time from falling in love to getting married is not long. The couple quickly acquired this cement factory, and then acquired another large local cement factory, investing more than 30 million yuan.

After hard work, the two factories became prosperous, with assets reaching hundreds of millions of yuan. At the time, her husband was in charge of production and equipment, while she was in charge of marketing and finance. Their career reached a new peak, and Li Minyang also became a well-known figure in Huaying.

However, like many wealthy people, they also began to receive threats from some people with malicious intentions. The most thrilling time was in 2004, when she was walking on the street and was suddenly kidnapped by four men. At that time, someone put a knife on her waist and threatened her to make concessions on some business matters.

Although she was not seriously injured this time, like many entrepreneurs, she began to learn to keep a certain degree of low-key. Nowadays, she still spends half of her time working in Guang'an, but she basically has to bring a bodyguard with her every time she goes out.

Targeting on catering: Let Chengdu help with advertising

In the catering industry, Minyang Lee is a rising star.

In 2005, her auction company received an auction commission for the transfer of a restaurant located near the Funan New District in the west of the city. "The restaurant is only a few hundred meters away from the Jinsha ruins." Li Minyang believes that the whole of Chengdu has been promoting Jinsha civilization in recent years, and using the Jinsha culture brand in catering will definitely achieve good results. She took over the restaurant and changed its name to Hongfeng Shufu Restaurant.

First of all, she created the "Jinsha Banquet" catering brand and registered the trademark for protection. Then she carried out a large-scale renovation of the restaurant covering an area of ??more than 4,000 square meters, making the decoration of the restaurant more like the ancient Shu style. .

“Chengdu people promote Jinsha Civilization, which also promotes our brand.” Taking advantage of this opportunity, she saved a lot of costs in brand promotion. Many tourists from other places or abroad come here to spend money.

They are also unique in developing dishes. Relying on technological innovation and cultivating catering culture, in just over a year, her restaurant has won a place in the Funan community where there are many well-known restaurants.

At the beginning of this year, at the China International Food Tourism Festival, which is popular among Chengdu’s catering circles, someone suggested that the cultural brand "Jinsha" should not be monopolized by a single company.

“The restaurant is the one with the least investment but the greatest reputation among the industries we are involved in.” During the debate, Minyang Lee acted extremely low-key, but she always attached great importance to the brand protection of “Sands Banquet”.

Lee Minyang prefers to use the power of capital operation. "Expanding catering through brand export is our new strategy." She hopes to open restaurants all over the country and overseas through franchising. It is understood that the "Jinsha Banquet" franchise store in Chongqing has been renovated and is expected to open in the near future. Investors from other places are also talking about joining.

Face-to-face

The influence of family on entrepreneurship has both advantages and disadvantages

Reporter: Does your family have a big influence on your entrepreneurship?

Lee Minyang: Of course it has an impact. I learned a lot from my parents, and my family gave me a lot of help when I was looking for ways to start a business and start-up capital. But I realized that I can't always rely on my family, because on the one hand, my family will influence my decision-making, and others will also doubt my achievements.

Reporter: What advice do you have for peers who want to start their own business?

Lee Minyang: To do business independently, you must have knowledge, vision, the ability to endure hardship, and the ability to put down your airs.

Reporter: Compared with other peers, what do you think is special about you?

Lee Minyang: I am now married and have a child, and I also have to go to and from get off work. In fact, everyone lives the same life, and everyone has stress and happiness. Everyone has to go through the early stages of life and entrepreneurship. Compared with my peers, I may have to develop earlier!

Reporter: So what are your plans for the future?

Lee Minyang: In fact, I am involved in many and complex industries now. I want to fix one main business in the future and stick to it.

Reporter's Notes

In Lee Min Yang's conversation, it is difficult to see the shadow of a strong woman. It is the Louis Vuitton bag beside her that reveals her status and identity.

Lee Minyang has always insisted that she relies on her parents to get started, and she relies on herself to make a fortune. She always tries to get rid of the influence of her family and insists on creating a new career through her own efforts. From this perspective, she is no different from ordinary entrepreneurs. She even has to bear more psychological pressure.

Hurun, an expert on wealthy people, said that people with good backgrounds often encounter three situations when starting a business: one is that their parents listen to politics from behind the curtain, the other is that their parents give them a ride, and the other is that they give up. in spite of. He believes that the first one is the most undesirable, while in the second and third situations, entrepreneurs must have their own temperament and wisdom.

I believe that Minyang Lee relied on more than just luck. A woman in her 20s struggled in the business world and finally broke out into her own world. Her entrepreneurial experience not only allows children from wealthy families to imitate and learn from her, but also serves as a model for self-made entrepreneurs.

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