Chapter 92: Team Building and New Beginning
Chapter 92: Team Building and New Beginning
When Yang Wendong heard this, he immediately understood what he meant and asked with a smile, "Mr. Wei, why don't you ask about the salary?"
Wei Zetao smiled and shook his head, saying, "I've checked Mr. Yang's information. You're not bad to the people around you. Even the meals you provide to your employees are much better than those in similar factories. This is enough to show that Mr. Yang is a very good person."
"That's true. I can say that I'm a good person." Yang Wendong smiled and asked, "But being a good boss doesn't mean you'll be paid a high salary, right?"
Wei Zetao smiled and said, "That won't be bad. Yang Sheng was able to start from scratch and build up his current position in less than a year. I think he must understand this most basic principle very well."
Yang Wendong nodded and said, "I know your salary at Cheung Kong is 500 a month. So, I'll give you 700. Otherwise, it's not reasonable for you to get a salary reduction after changing jobs."
In this world, everyone works only for profit, there is no such thing as any other bullshit.
Even though Tsai Chongxin, who was later praised as a legendary figure, joined Alibaba, it was because Tsai Chongxin had a strong personal vision and was optimistic about the future of Alibaba and Jack Ma. Similarly, although his salary was only 900, he actually obtained shares in Alibaba.
In this era, there is naturally no such thing as giving equity to workers, so naturally they have to be paid more.
Wei Zetao said with a smile: "Okay, if Mr. Yang says so, I certainly won't refuse."
Yang Wendong added: "I know you may not care much about this income. What you care about should be achievement. I think you will achieve it soon in Changxing Industrial."
"I also believe that Mr. Yang has the ability to make his company as successful as Cheung Kong Holdings." Wei Zetao nodded.
Yang Wendong said: "Then I formally welcome Mr. Wei to join Changxing Industry."
Wei Zetao said: "Mr. Yang, please call me Lao Wei. You are my boss. It is not right to call me anything else."
"That's fine, Old Wei." Yang Wendong smiled and said, "Then let's briefly talk about some of our subsequent issues. It's just the right time before you start work, so you can think about it more."
Afterwards, he gave the general situation of the company at present. Of course, it was only the situation that many people knew. Some core secrets, such as the Rubik's Cube, naturally could not be revealed.
After listening to this, Wei Zetao thought for a while and then said, "According to what Mr. Yang just said, our first problem now is the production capacity of sticky notes."
"Yes, this is also an issue I am more concerned about." Yang Wendong nodded.
Although he knew that the post-it notes would face the problem of insufficient production capacity after their appearance, and that there was nothing he could do even if he was in a hurry, he could only say that there was no rush at the moment, as the problem would have to be solved over time.
Wei Zetao analyzed: "Mr. Yang, you tried to localize the imported equipment from Japan right away. This step was very well done. Otherwise, if the equipment was insufficient, there would be nothing you could do."
Yang Wendong smiled and said, "It's also because the equipment for making sticky notes is relatively simple, and Dongsheng has some capabilities."
Wei Zetao said with a smile: "I know Dongsheng, I have also been in contact with them, and many of the latest injection molding equipment of Cheung Kong Industries are also made by them.
But if Yang Sheng hadn't taken the initiative to ask, they wouldn't have known what was going on here. Yang Sheng was prepared early."
"Haha. Let's talk about something practical." Yang Wendong smiled. There have always been people who flatter others in every era, but this is also one of the basic abilities for survival in society.
You don't have to do it on purpose, but just saying something like this by chance will make anyone feel comfortable.
In any era, being a good person is often more important than doing things, unless you are so awesome that no one else can do it better than you.
Wei Zetao added: "Given the popularity of post-it notes in the U.S. and the reputation of 3M, as long as we ship a few more orders and have bank balances, we can apply for a loan.
Then we rented a new factory, ordered equipment from Dongsheng, and started production. As long as the products were produced, the working capital would be enough to solve the loan problem.”
Yang Wendong nodded, and then said: "As for the factory, I prefer to build it myself, what do you think?"
Wei Zetao asked back: "Mr. Yang, do you want to own your own property? Is it because you are optimistic about the real estate market?"
Yang Wendong said: "There are reasons for this, but also considering our own factory, it will be much more convenient in many cases."
Wei Zetao thought for a moment and said, "Mr. Yang, I don't recommend building a factory yourself first. Even if you are optimistic about the real estate market, you don't have to rush in the next six months, right?"
Yang Wendong asked, "Are you worried that building your own factory will affect our time?"
Wei Zetao nodded and said, "Yes, since it is such a tense moment now, if renting a factory is faster, then we should rent it. If the water and electricity are complete and the equipment is ready, we can start production in 7 days. It is impossible to build a house at this speed.
In addition, Cheung Kong Industries also tried to build its own factory at the beginning of this year, but a few months later, foreign orders for plastic flowers surged, resulting in the factory that had just been built for several months being insufficient.
It’s just that Cheung Kong’s scale is too large, and ordinary industrial rental buildings in the Hong Kong market cannot meet its requirements. As a last resort, it had to build a super-large factory at one time.”
"You make sense. I haven't considered it carefully enough." Yang Wendong nodded and said, "Then rent a house first. When the factory's production capacity meets the initial demand, we can consider future matters."
As for real estate investment, it is actually just something done by chance. If it can meet the current factory needs, then I will do it. If it is not suitable, then I will talk about it later.
Wei Zetao asked again: "Mr. Yang, let me ask a more sensitive question. What is the company's financial situation? Well, you don't need to tell me the specific situation, just a rough idea will be enough."
"For now, there is no big problem. At least we don't have any loans from Hong Kong banks," Yang Wendong replied.
Although 3M owes a lot of debt, it can pay it back quickly as long as its production capacity can be restored to normal in the future. The only problem is to increase the production capacity as quickly as possible, and all this requires a professional production manager to succeed as quickly as possible.
Wei Zetao nodded and said, "That's good. I also know some loan department heads of Chinese banks. They are generally very supportive of Chinese factories."
Yang Wendong said: "Our company's bank account is in Liao Chong Hing Bank. Do you know anyone from them?"
When he first started his business, his first transaction with the government required a bank account. In today's banking environment in Hong Kong, only a risk-averse and somewhat "messy" bank like Liao Chongxing was willing to open an account for him.
After that, when he set up a company and started his formal business, he had been carrying out basic settlement and transfer business at Liu Chong Hing Bank.
Knowing history, he also knew that this bank would face a run in the future, but that time was still far away. Therefore, during this safe period, he placed his funds in Liao Chong Hing Bank, also considering that this bank did not have a strong "risk awareness" and making it easier for him to get a loan.
As long as the amount of your loan is greater than your deposit, you will have no risk.
"I know him." Wei Zetao nodded and said, "Liao Baoshan, the founder of Liu Chong Hing Bank, is very generous to Chinese factories in Hong Kong, and many audits are not very strict. This is a very good bank for many small businesses with poor accounting."
Yang Wendong smiled and said, "That's even better. We can work with them. But even if the accounting review is not strict, we still have to do our accounting well."
Wei Zetao replied: "Of course. When many companies first started their business, their accounts were also in disarray. Later, they hired professional financial personnel to sort out their accounts. It doesn't matter if small companies have a little mess in their accounts, but when the company grows in size, or wants to grow and develop, this part cannot be messy."
Yang Wendong asked: "Then you should know someone in this field, right?"
"Yes, but I can't poach people from Cheung Kong Industries." Wei Zetao said honestly, "I also know a few people in this field in other factories. I will contact them."
Yang Wendong nodded and said, "Okay, not just finance, give me a list of positions you think are needed. If I don't have any problems, you can first find people with these abilities. I hope you can build the entire team."
Recruiting a role similar to that of a general manager is not just about one person, but about forming a team. No matter how many people there are, the team can only achieve the greatest effect by working together.
Changxing Industry has been developing in a small workshop mode before. Now it cooperates with 3M and will cooperate with many other overseas distributors in the future. It must have a professional team, including normal management and operation, finance, procurement, quality control, external sales, etc.
Wei Zetao said: "Okay, I will compile a list in this regard as soon as possible."
"Yeah." Yang Wendong nodded and asked, "Anything else you want to ask?"
Wei Zetao thought for a moment and asked, "I have a general idea of the sticky notes. What about the mouse traps and fly traps? Are there any requirements for them?"
Yang Wendong said: "There are not too many requirements, but there is a core principle. Unless we have enough workers in the future, all mouse traps and fly traps will be manually operated."
Wei Zetao thought for a moment and asked, "Mr. Yang, do you want to help more Chinese people find jobs?"
"Yes, we have considered this aspect." Yang Wendong said: "But as a business, the more employees we have, the safer it is to a certain extent. Post-it notes are mainly made by equipment, which does not help much in terms of employment.
The mouse trap itself is relatively crude, and using equipment to make it may not be as good as manual work, which is also in my interest. "
Wei Zetao agreed and said, "That's right. If we control employment, the Hong Kong government will be much easier to talk to us. Cheung Kong Industries now controls the employment of several thousand people. Li Jiacheng has become the vice chairman of the Hong Kong Plastics Industry Council, which is considered a semi-official status. Maybe he will receive a government medal in a few years."
"Let's not talk about the medals anymore. All we need is stable development." Yang Wendong said with a smile.
In modern society, no matter which country, controlling employment is one of the most important things. This can be regarded as a talisman that Yang Wendong set up for himself in the chaotic Hong Kong in the 50s.
After the interview, Yang Wendong also informed Su Yiyi, Zhao Liming and others about the matter.
Su Yiyi said: "Will there be a professional in the finance department?"
"Yes." Yang Wendong nodded and said, "Even if Wei Zetao doesn't find anyone in the next few days, I will ask him to recruit later."
"That's good. There are so many accounts that I can hardly keep track of them all with my abacus." Su Yiyi said.
"Well, you still need to learn more in the future." Yang Wendong said with a faint smile.
In fact, it was not only the people around him, but also him, because he was not very clear about many things in this era;
For example, he also needs to learn how to communicate with banks.
Zhao Liming asked: "When will this Lao Wei arrive?"
Yang Wendong said: "It will probably be one to two weeks, after New Year's Day."
In this era, it is obviously not like in the mainland, where it takes a month for people to resign and the handover to the previous company is almost done.
Besides, Hong Kong is so small that even if there is something that needs to be contacted, just contact again. Generally speaking, we can communicate.
After locking in the core members of the future team, Yang Wendong felt relieved.
From the beginning to the end, he was not worried that his products would not sell well, but was worried about the areas that he could not manage, such as production capacity, quality, funding, etc.
Today, the sales of Post-it Notes are about to explode, and the same may happen to Mouse Sticky Boards in a few months. It is imperative to have a professional team to manage the factory and be responsible for capacity expansion.
……
Christmas is coming soon. Hong Kong, as a colony, also has this holiday, but it is a holiday exclusively for the government and trading companies. Ordinary Hong Kong people, except for the Chinese New Year, can only work hard to support themselves.
Wei Zetao also resigned from Cheung Kong Holdings and subsequently began looking for suitable talents for various functional departments of Changxing Holdings.
On the evening of December 12, accompanied by Wei Zetao, Yang Wendong also welcomed another young man about 29 years old.
Wei Zetao introduced: "Mr. Yang, this is Mr. Bai Xiangyu, he is a Japanese student who has been engaged in trade with Japan."
"Hello, Mr. Tian." Yang Wendong also smiled politely and shook hands.
Bai Xiangyu also shook hands and said with a smile: "Hello, Mr. Yang, Mr. Wei told me about your entrepreneurial process. I admire you very much. Things like sticky notes are really a great invention."
"Haha, great inventions need to be produced and sold all over the world." Yang Wendong said with a smile.
In fact, Changxing Industry is able to attract these seemingly capable talents because they also have vision, just like the people at 3M, who can see the future market potential of sticky notes.
Otherwise, if Changxing Industry was making ordinary toys or ordinary consumer goods, it would be difficult to poach people from emerging companies like Changjiang Industry even if the scale was several times larger. Wei Zetao was not stupid. Even if such people wanted to change jobs, they would either choose a larger company or a promising company.
Bai Xiangyu said: "I also know a lot of retail traders in Japan, I think they will definitely be interested in such good products."
"That's great." Yang Wendong smiled and said, "Let's go and take a quick tour of the factory first, and then we can talk in detail."
Including the current post-it notes, mouse traps, and fly traps, the Japanese market will be a large market that we value very much in the future, especially since Japan is very close to Hong Kong and it only takes a few days to arrive by sea.
In this era of relatively high shipping costs, for many commodities with higher transportation costs, the Japanese market may be more important than Europe and the United States.
It was for this purpose that Wei Zetao sought out Bai Xiangyu, who was proficient in Japanese and had extensive experience in cooperating with Japanese companies.
Time soon came to January 1959, 1. In the previous week or so, Wei Zetao had brought a total of 3 people, 7 of whom were confirmed to stay.
The core team of Changxing Industrial has been established, and the company's development will also have a new start.
……
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(End of this chapter)