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Have you (or anyone reading this) considered selling your services as a contractor / consultant? In particular, I imagine a web forum where you can discuss wha

by sounds 10y ago

Have you (or anyone reading this) considered selling your services as a contractor / consultant? In particular, I imagine a web forum where you can discuss what's going on in Shenzhen with interested people from the US, in English. You can develop jobs and even sub-contract work all using this forum. Of course, that's just an idea. How would you do it? I would be very interested in such a thing.

shenzhenconsult 10y ago
This is something I've been thinking about for a while and your comment has motivated me to follow through. I'm not based in Shenzhen but like you I'm very interested in talking to and potentially working with people who are. If anyone else is interested in participating in such a forum please email admin@shenzhenconsulting.com and I'll keep you updated.
- wzy 10y ago
  That quickness with domain purchase. Wow!
  - walrus01 10y ago
    well, .com domains are only like $10, assuming you already have your own DNS and httpd, it's not a bad impulse purchase for 1 year considering I see people regularly spend $6 on a fancy coffee drink.
  - shenzhenconsult 10y ago
    I had the domain registered in around two minutes. It took me a few more minutes to set up the Google apps account, Twitter and Slack channel :P
SexyCyborg 10y ago
There is a lot of demand for this. Unfortunately people are often very unrealistic about doing business in China. Being the contact point, translator or consultant means taking the blame for the usual problems. When translation does not get good results the translators are blamed because no one else can understand or really cares if the client is unhappy so they become a “whipping boy". Often very publicly. If I were not a local I would use a contract manufacturer. Westerners often think it’s a communication issue when it’s an relationship issue. Who you know and have relationships with. If you have established relationships with the people not willing to lose your future business by delivering poor quality then you are a contract manufacturer. You are not going to put anyone else in contact with those people since that is your IP and poor behavior from them would reflect on you and hurt your future business. But people want to save some money and try to do each little thing themselves. When that does not work there is always finger pointing. And I’ve never seen anyone blame themselves. It’s always the factory, the local Chinese, the translator/assistant etc.
- shenzhenconsult 10y ago
  What I want is a platform where entrepreneurs and engineers can interact with manufacturers to create hardware prototypes. I shouldn't have to be in Shenzhen to work with Chinese manufacturers, and trust shouldn't be an issue with a well-implemented feedback system.
  - FollowSteph3 10y ago
    That's the reason why you get such good prices. Hire cheap developers and you have to take a gamble on the deliverables. If you're willing to pay a fair or premium price your worries decrease ;)
    - shenzhenconsult 10y ago
      Sorry but I'm not sure how your comment relates to mine. I'm talking about the challenges involved in manufacturing a hardware product in China without being physically present there.
      - FollowSteph3 10y ago
        Trust and a well implemented feedback system cost money and effort and if you're going there it's most likely to get the lowest price and not the best service.
      - sounds 10y ago
        I actually think a "gamified" feedback system will lead to a bad outcome, especially because it builds a false hope that $random_user with $points > big_number will solve all my problems. A good system would have a few "core people" who work together over a span of years on several successful projects. By a few, I mean 3-7. If we can attract Bunnie Huang, all the better. :)
mads 10y ago
I thought about it, yes, but as SexyCyborg mentions somewhere else, there are a lot of unrealistic expectations to what can be done in China for little money. I saw this all too often also and the people trying to get into this consulting business always end up burnt and living very unhappy lives caught between their angry client and a factory, who thinks they delivered already and then some. You usually get what you pay for and that applies to China too. I wouldn't mind participating in a forum though.

by sounds 10y ago

shenzhenconsult 10y ago

This is something I've been thinking about for a while and your comment has motivated me to follow through. I'm not based in Shenzhen but like you I'm very interested in talking to and potentially working with people who are. If anyone else is interested in participating in such a forum please email admin@shenzhenconsulting.com and I'll keep you updated.

wzy 10y ago
That quickness with domain purchase. Wow!
- walrus01 10y ago
  well, .com domains are only like $10, assuming you already have your own DNS and httpd, it's not a bad impulse purchase for 1 year considering I see people regularly spend $6 on a fancy coffee drink.
- shenzhenconsult 10y ago
  I had the domain registered in around two minutes. It took me a few more minutes to set up the Google apps account, Twitter and Slack channel :P

SexyCyborg 10y ago

There is a lot of demand for this. Unfortunately people are often very unrealistic about doing business in China. Being the contact point, translator or consultant means taking the blame for the usual problems. When translation does not get good results the translators are blamed because no one else can understand or really cares if the client is unhappy so they become a “whipping boy". Often very publicly. If I were not a local I would use a contract manufacturer. Westerners often think it’s a communication issue when it’s an relationship issue. Who you know and have relationships with. If you have established relationships with the people not willing to lose your future business by delivering poor quality then you are a contract manufacturer. You are not going to put anyone else in contact with those people since that is your IP and poor behavior from them would reflect on you and hurt your future business. But people want to save some money and try to do each little thing themselves. When that does not work there is always finger pointing. And I’ve never seen anyone blame themselves. It’s always the factory, the local Chinese, the translator/assistant etc.

shenzhenconsult 10y ago
What I want is a platform where entrepreneurs and engineers can interact with manufacturers to create hardware prototypes. I shouldn't have to be in Shenzhen to work with Chinese manufacturers, and trust shouldn't be an issue with a well-implemented feedback system.
- FollowSteph3 10y ago
  That's the reason why you get such good prices. Hire cheap developers and you have to take a gamble on the deliverables. If you're willing to pay a fair or premium price your worries decrease ;)
  - shenzhenconsult 10y ago
    Sorry but I'm not sure how your comment relates to mine. I'm talking about the challenges involved in manufacturing a hardware product in China without being physically present there.
    - FollowSteph3 10y ago
      Trust and a well implemented feedback system cost money and effort and if you're going there it's most likely to get the lowest price and not the best service.
    - sounds 10y ago
      I actually think a "gamified" feedback system will lead to a bad outcome, especially because it builds a false hope that $random_user with $points > big_number will solve all my problems. A good system would have a few "core people" who work together over a span of years on several successful projects. By a few, I mean 3-7. If we can attract Bunnie Huang, all the better. :)

mads 10y ago

I thought about it, yes, but as SexyCyborg mentions somewhere else, there are a lot of unrealistic expectations to what can be done in China for little money. I saw this all too often also and the people trying to get into this consulting business always end up burnt and living very unhappy lives caught between their angry client and a factory, who thinks they delivered already and then some. You usually get what you pay for and that applies to China too. I wouldn't mind participating in a forum though.