20 years ago, he gave up his stable job in the business department and chose to go into business. Now, the Tianxiangfang he founded has a well-known reputation in the Baoji region. He is the founder of Li Jimin- Shaanxi Tianxiang Food Co., Ltd. . The Tianxiangfang trademark was awarded the famous trademark of Shaanxi Province, the top ten famous mooncakes in Shaanxi, and the Tianxiangfang Crystal Cake won the title of China Cake. Tianxiangfang bread, rest-secure breakfast, as well as mooncakes, Tianxiangfang crystal cakes, and Tianxiangfang mung bean cakes, have become well-known brand products for their high quality and strong innovation. What stages did Li Jimin go through for his entrepreneurship? Let’s listen to his entrepreneurial story today.
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Give up stable work "Always thinking about to make trouble and challenge yourself"
Li Jimin's first job was to teach at Shilipu Middle School, and then worked at Baoji Radio for 10 years.
"At that time, I was too poor and my salary was relatively low. My family was not in good financial conditions. The family of three lived in the staff dormitory. As my daughter grew up, the economic pressure became greater and greater. I wanted to give my children a better living environment and education." Li Jimin said that in addition to improving the economic level, from his own factors, he felt that he could not feel progress in a step-by-step working environment, and there would not be much change. He could even see his working state at retirement. "I was young at that time and was unwilling to accept it. I always thought of trying it out and challenging myself. I felt that I could not do it all, but I couldn't play it out, so I wanted to try it out!"
"When I first started my business, I had no idea. I only had one idea to make money. I set up a street stall at that time, but there was no fixed place. So I thought of applying for a stall in Industrial and Commercial Bureau to start retail. After working for a year, I started opening a store, and I was even more sure that I wanted to 'go to sea' to start a business." In 1995, Li Jimin and his friends founded the first company near Renmin Street-Beihai Grain Trading Co., Ltd. The osmanthus ball purple dragon fragrant rice sold by the company at that time was a product that was very popular among Baoji people.
Leading the Wuwu Tianxiangfang: Starting making steamed buns
Li Jimin said that it was also an accidental opportunity to make Tianxiangfang. When he was doing Beihai Grain Trade, he and his entrepreneurial partners found that the quality of steamed buns circulating on Baoji market was average. After asking many consumers, they found that everyone felt that the steamed buns made in the small workshop were not particularly good. They thought whether they could make a good steamed bun that everyone liked to eat. It happened that a partner who provided flour was more proficient in steamed bun craftsmanship. After asking for advice, they founded Tianxiangfang in 1997. "When Tianxiangfang was first established, we only made steamed buns. We immediately created large-scale, factory-based, mechanized and packaging-based steamed buns in Baoji City . At that time, it was one of the best in the country. It can be said that Tianxiangfang started with steamed buns."
Tianxiangfang turned around: uninterrupted launch of new products
food products cannot always stick to the rules, and need to adjust, change, and adapt to market development. This is the most common sentence Li Jimin said, which is derived from his years of practical experience in business.
"Not long after I bought the steamed buns, we started selling frozen products, such as frozen dumplings and dumplings, but as the big brands entered the Baoji market, we had no room for survival, so we began to adjust and focus on baking." Li Jimin said that they started making bread, pot crumbs, mohua, mooncakes, and later made zongzi. Considering the eating habits of local people in Baoji, they launched a safe breakfast in 2013, and later launched a nutritious student meal. In 2015, button bowl was launched, which is steamed bowl . During this period, they also launched colorful clean vegetables, braised meat, etc. “Every adjustment and new product launches cater to the market. Only by adapting to market demand can we survive and develop."
According to reports, Tianxiangfang is following the times. There are four categories of products, namely baked bread, pastries, and mooncakes; the second is staple breakfast, safe breakfast - steamed buns, buns, soy milk...; the third is braised meat, such as beef, braised meat, chicken feet, pig's trotters...; the fourth is leisure crumbs and mohua. There are more than 400 distributors, which can be seen everywhere in the country.
Tianxiangfang's direction: building its own food empire
For more than 20 years, the rapid development of the company has made Li Jimin more confident in the prospects of the industry he is engaged in: no matter what he does, everyone wants to eat and always eat. "A company like ours is neither high pollution nor high energy consumption. It transforms farmers' surplus grains in large quantities. The social benefits it creates are incomparable to other industries. I want to build my own food empire. "This is where Li Jimin feels accomplished.
Nowadays, Li Jimin has new plans for the company, "Online sales is a trend now, and our business focus is also moving towards online sales, and we must develop diversified marketing. "
As a successful entrepreneur, Li Jimin shared some successful experiences. He said that starting a business should be cautious. First of all, you must have firm beliefs, and be able to endure hardships and be brave to try. "As an entrepreneur, I never want to 'change the track' easily. When doing something, I think about doing it forward and doing it well. During the period, I can adjust the direction and adapt to the market as the direction; secondly, no matter what I do, I must treat people with sincerity, not cheating, control product quality, constantly improve, learn, and constantly innovate. "
For young people starting businesses nowadays, Li Jimin believes that first of all, we should choose to "trot" in emerging industries, and try not to "snap gold" in traditional industries. Baoji cannot be compared with big cities like Shanghai and Beijing. Nowadays, successful, bigger and stronger companies in Baoji have divided up their market share and opportunities. Whether it is entrepreneurship or work, they will feel more accomplished. Secondly, no matter what they do, they must do it seriously, find ways to do it well, and do not take shortcuts.
Reporter Li Lin Editor Yang Yuting
