Recent Harper graduate establishes first business in China

Posted 18 July 2018

A Harper Adams University business graduate, Rowena Minney, from Stewkley, Buckinghamshire, has established her first ever business in one of China’s largest cities aged just 24.

She said: “I first came to China in the summer of my first year with Harper on an exchange trip to Beijing. It was there that I gained a solid insight into the country and culture, which sparked my interest in China.”

Rowena graduated from Harper with a first class honours degree in business management with marketing. She said: “With my degree being in business it made sense for me to explore a country that is an economic superpower. It’s growing at an exponential rate and it’s an exciting place to be so I went back for a consulting project, placement and as a participant on the British Council’s Generation UK programme learning Mandarin at Hangzhou Normal University.”

Rowena has established her first business called Chinglish in Hangzhou which she hopes will help her share the same opportunities and experience she has had in China. These include earning a high salary, gaining international work experience and enjoying the beautiful country and Chinese culture.

She said: “Chinglish is a recruitment company that places English teachers in schools and educational institutions across China. We offer this service for free to the teachers that are both already in China or people that are outside wanting to come and give it a go.

“We already have in place other services and plans to expand and differentiate the company and what we can offer to various clients.

“I’ve always wanted to own my own business, so to be able to do so in such an exciting country is great. I also love that I’m in a position to be able to offer others the same experience of working in China and to support them while here.”

There have been many challenges for Rowena as a foreigner setting up a business in China, these have included the language barrier and cultural differences. However, Rowena attributes her skills learnt on placement and modules from her business degree at Harper as having helped her to grow the company and attract Chinese investors.

“Skills learnt on the international marketing module have come into great use. Our advertising name abroad is not suitable to use within China itself so we needed to think of a new name with the same logo to overcome this obstacle. Also realising the appropriate marketing channels to reach the target audience and developing a social media strategy has been crucial.

“This year only confirmed to me that I wanted my future to be here with the numerous opportunities and entrepreneurial spirit that is shared within the expat community is a real incentive and great environment to be a part of. You can learn so much from very interesting and experienced people.”