This video is the 3rd part of a blog series throughout 2018, with the pioneers of #TeamCharlotte to capture the opportunities and experiences in Shenzhen China in 2017. Check out the previous video blogs: Who is #TeamCharlotte and How Did They Find Out About Shenzhen, China? and Part 2 – Communication and VPN’s in China.

The video series are very informal, and a lot of joking is probably going to happen so be prepared to laugh!

Amanda Zullo: A lot of our industries, a lot of the work we do at home doesn’t exist in China. Whether it’s Crisis Management, or even social good, or corporate social responsibility. A lot of these concepts are completely foreign to China. It was very interesting to have communications and raise awareness about how we do work in the states, and how there is potential to incorporate that work in China.

Justin Witz: So take that forward, because we talked about this earlier, you mentioned the question to Vanessa, which was having a key relationship in China, and then also the Chinese counterparts having a key relationship in America. So can you provide more clarity on that?

Amanda: Yes, so what’s really interesting and what I feel like is a lesson learned from this trip, every single day there key themes were showing up. One of those was how strong it is to have an important relationship from a local here. And I think that is a very strategic business model that should be applied at home too. Thinking about relationships in other cities and states, it’s always really important to have someone local who understands the culture and context of where you are working, and how that same concept applies here.

So what I think was great, although the forum was a couple of long days we were able to develop initial meetings and communication strategies with other entrepreneurs here, and hopefully we will continue those conversations moving forward.

Justin: So you say long days, China has a saying “nine nine six” and that means if you are a normal employee you work from 9am to 9pm six days a week. If you’re a manager or higher it’s the “nine ten seven” 9am to 10pm seven days a week.