This video is the 2nd part of a blog series throughout 2018, with the pioneers of #TeamCharlotte to capture the opportunities and experiences in Shenzhen China in 2017. Check out the 1st video, Who is #TeamCharlotte and How Did They Find Out About Shenzhen, China? 

The video series are very informal, and a lot of joking is probably going to happen so be prepared to laugh!

Vanessa: We talked about food, we talked about clothes, and business cards.

Justin: WeChat.

Vanessa: Mandarin.

Amanda: Just what to expect. A lot of us are new to the concept of business and work in China, so what did we expect from the counterparts on the Chinese side? As Vanessa alluded to, getting a WeChat account. WeChat is huge in China. It’s more people on WeChat than there are people in America. Also, prepping and trying to understand how to start communicating, business cards with Mandarin on them, so that we can effectively communicate.

Justin: And Google Translate and downloading it on our phones.

Vanessa and Amanda: Yes!

Vanessa: The VPN’s. I will also say Rod Garvin with the Charlotte Chamber of Commerce helped me to get our business cards made in Mandarin which was so important. The Chinese really appreciated that level of effort that we put into that. We had our marketing materials so businesses could understand what we do. We did a lot of research on the industry and we also didn’t’t really know what to expect. We just came and said, let’s try it. We didn’t know what was going to happen. So, I thought it was good.

Justin: You said VPN’s. Express VPN works very well.

Vanessa: Yes, and you have 7 days for a free trial.

(Laughter)

Justin: What were some of the others? There’s VPN Master Proxy.

Vanessa: He’s the IT guru.

Justin: We had NORD VPN and Express VPN, all of which are intermittent in this country because they have the Great Firewall of China. But all three worked.

(Laughter)

Justin: Well that’s what it’s called, The Great Firewall of China. I coined it!

Vanessa: There’s two walls.

(Laughter)

Amanda: The other ones in the north.

(Laughter)

Justin: So you know, when we went through immigration it said Great Firewall of China.

(Laughter)

Vanessa: Technically, VPN’s are illegal in China.

Justin: Yes they are. As is Facebook and Twitter.

(Laughter)

Amanda: Vanessa alluded to our industries, it was really interesting coming here and communicating with the Chinese entrepreneurs and realizing how much opportunity is here.