Open doors

After a much needed respite from work yesterday it was time to get back at it today as we are leaving tommorrow and still have items that we wish to accomplish before boarding our flight back to the states.

We visited with Donghi Risheng Decoration, a Chinese manufacturing and retailing corporation, to explore the possibility of manufacturing BSN products in China. Like any business, we must look at all options available to produce our products at the best possible price. This will allow us to expand the operation and enhance student learning by getting involved in the BSN curriculum. Additionally, this is yet another "real world" aspect of BSN that is a very valuable lesson to students.

We arrived at the offices of the firm and were ushered into a conference room after noticing a sign in lights welcoming the Denver City Professors. After viewing a short film about the company, it was time to get down to business. It immediately became clear that the Chinese firm was just as interested in becoming a player in the American market as we are in branching out our operations to include a Chinese component. The timing may not be right at the moment as BSN is still growing and the Chinese company is building a new factory that will not be open until October. Nevertheless, we now have a contact that we can use to explore the possibility of manufacturing some of our products here. The possibility exists also that BSN students may be able to design for Dongyi Risheng Decoration.

One other valuable lesson was learned today, and that is the importance of building relationships and contacts as it pertains to business and life in general. Our meeting was arranged by Entrepreneur and Honorary Professor of Tsinghua University, Yu Weifeng. This is the gentleman that we were introduced to and who took us to dinner upon our arrival from the states. Without his contact and influence, it is doubtful that we would ever have been able to meet face to face with the executives from the Chinese manufacturing firm. Thanks again to Mingli He for securing this contact for us.

Tommorrow is time for another long plane ride. We actually get into San Francisco 3 hours before we leave Beijing, although the flight is still 12 hours long. It will give us plenty of time to think about our trip here and ponder the many decisions that have to be made about the doors that have been opened for us by our trip to the far east. For BSN, the door to China has certainly been "opened" and we have high hopes for the future as we walk through this door.

-Brian