She Witnessed Overseas Era of Hunan's New Energy Industry
7 years of SOHO experience,
13 years of experience in lithium battery,
14 years of international trade experience,
Successful transformation model from Consumer end to Business end,
Performance continued growth up to 50% for 5 years,
Alibaba international station from 0 to 4 stars,
2022 GMV breakthrough 40 million,
Lithium battery accessories, solar related products are exported to the European Union, Australia, the United States and other around the world
...
These are the number stories of Mandy Zhao, the General Manager of Changsha Deligreen Power Co., LTD.
In the first half of 2023, the "new three kinds " of products have become the new trend of China's export.
The total export of the "new three kinds " of products include electric vehicles, lithium batteries and solar cells, increased by 61.6 %, driving China's overall export growth by 1.8%.
In Hunan, the total export of the "new three kinds " of products was 2.48 billion yuan, up 51.7% year on year.
The new energy industry with the label of "high technology, high added value, green and low-carbon" has become a new wind gap for the development of cross-border e-commerce, and Mandy Zhao is the witness of this round of China's foreign trade structure optimization and transformation and upgrading.
From Tutor to Trader
l shall be telling this with a sigh,
Somewhere ages and ages hence.
Two roads diverged in a wood
and l took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.
----The Road Not Taken by Robert Frost
Mandy Zhao, who majored in English, is undoubtedly familiar with the poem. Her entrepreneurial career, as the one described in the poem, is full of choices and surprises.
"In 2007, I graduated from a normal school. From 2008 to 2010, I worked as a salesperson in a new energy company and came into contact with the new energy industry and international business, during which I got married and my child was born, and I worked as a hosting teacher for a period of time.”
In 2012, when Mandy Zhao's baby girl entered the kindergarten, she could finally "free" herself from the housework and chores, and seriously think about her plan for the next stage of her life."At that time, I felt that my life had entered a bottleneck period. I was very lonely at home and could not find the meaning nor goals. I told myself from my heart that it was time to make a radical change.”
With a computer and a heating table, caring the baby with the left hand , caring the on-line shop with the right hand, in this way, Mandy Zhao began her SOHO career.
In 2017, her entrepreneurial road had a qualitative change, Changsha Deligreen Power Co., Ltd. was formally established, which also marked her from "fighting alone" to "team fighting"."I am a real 'grassroots entrepreneur’--the company's initial start-up capital, 50,000 yuan borrowed from Alipay. At that time passion was the key weapon I had, with it I headed into the new energy track.”
Growing up together with Alibaba International Stations
However, the fuller the ideal was, the skinnier the reality would be.
Mandy Zhao felt extremely stressed as soon as the company had just been established.
"The situation was summed up in three words: no money, no human resource, no experience. Although I majored in English, the advantage of language was not translated into actual productivity. The first employee I recruited resigned in less than 3 months. I felt very depressed and lost.”
After the setback, Mandy Zhao began to actively reflect on the way to break the game, and the conclusion is—— I must go out to learn!"
In the second year of the establishment of the company, Deligreen entered the Alibaba International Station. Through attending the Orange Success Camp, Hangzhou study tour, and learning Alibaba's' three axes ', I gradually began to master the methods and skills of managing the company. From learning alone to leading the team to study together, the management team has grown from only myself to 14 core managers now, and the retention rate of excellent employees has reached 90% during 5 years.”
In Mandy Zhao's opinion, managing enterprises needs to work on three "forces" —— product, organizational, marketing.
"The international station is like a bond, bonding the customers and us, but also bonding us with more other peers in the competition to cultivate themselves. At the same time, it is also like a scanner, constantly giving us feedback with inquiries and data. These three forces became the 'golden Triangle' of our team.”
In this process, Mandy Zhao also successfully realized the transformation from C end to B end. The company's performance increased from 9 million in 2019 to 40 million in 2022, maintained a growth rate of 50% for five consecutive years, and exceeded 400 inquiries per month at the peak.
Let the whole world enjoy the good life brought by technology
As a native "Hunan sister", Mandy Zhao is full of the fighting spirit of "just bitter, bored", which has also become her indomitable confidence and power on the road of foreign trade.
"Since 2008 to contact lithium battery industry, I often call customers at 2 a.m., 4 a.m.. At that time our clients around the world didn't know what lithium iron phosphate is. These new concepts and nouns are introduced in the communication and slowly and familiar among clients. Maybe this is a kind of alternative' cultural output."Mandy Zhao smiled.
With an unyielding spirit, customers and the market are also cultivated and consolidated in this process.
"In 2021, we contacted an American customer. At the beginning of his business, he had only one person, and the first order was only a few hundred dollars, and there were a lot of problems. In the early stage, we gave him patient support, from product training to product selection, helping him take product pictures and design the LOGO. After two years of cooperation, his warehouse was expanded from 0 to 10,000 square meters; orders also grew from a few hundred dollars to more than a few hundred thousand dollars.”
In the eyes of many people, "new energy" is a very lofty view, but in Mandy Zhao's opinion, it is closely related to our daily life, very "down-to-earth"."Customers in the United States tell us that people need batteries very much, which can facilitate countless families, and customers in Europe often tell us that electricity is very expensive and batteries can help them use electricity freely. Let the whole world can enjoy the good life brought by technology, I think this is the biggest value and significance of our career in the new energy industry.”
Grasp the trend on the rise, Step forward steadily
The year 2022 is a hot year for the new energy industry. The changes in the world situation have intensified the outbreak of the energy crisis, bringing a new round of "wind gap" for the development of the whole new energy industry. Mandy Zhao's company was also lucky to "fly" for a period of time.
"Last year was a great year for us. This short period of taking-off, with the accumulation of the accumulation of organizational product force is inseparable. For example, the accumulation of international station data, the accumulation of reputation in the industry.”
All the achievements are for the past. In the face of the new challenges and opportunities in 2023, Mandy Zhao still maintains the rationality and calm of entrepreneurs."When the wind comes, not every 'pig' can fly; and not every 'pig' can meet the 'wind', so we must take every step steadily. From the future trend, the prospect of new energy is still bright, and we are full of confidence.”
--written by Alibaba
Contact Person: Mr. Leo Zeng
