Yesterday, I spoke with a client who constantly felt like he was running a small workshop—as if anyone would look down on him because of his small scale. He came across as lacking in confidence.
We must never think this way. To put it bluntly, those of us who run factories are experts in our respective fields. Don’t let your small scale lead you to see yourself as just a small workshop, and don’t assume that just because a company is large, its technology must be superior, its product quality must be excellent, or its products must be high-end.
In reality, it’s often the case that large companies produce low-end products, while small companies produce high-end ones.
Because large companies have high production volumes, they can only produce low-end, high-volume products to leverage their cost advantages. Small companies, on the other hand, tend to produce products with smaller order volumes but higher quality requirements.
In China, there are many so-called “small workshops” of very modest scale, but their owners are all highly capable.
Think about it: if you didn’t have what it takes and your skills weren’t up to par, how could you have started a factory? The fact that your factory hasn’t been weeded out by the market amid severe overcapacity proves you’ve got what it takes. Your technology and your products must be top-notch—you just don’t realize how great they are yet. Don’t assume that just because a company is big, its technology must be cutting-edge or its products must be top-notch. Many of these large corporations rely on specific technologies from small businesses like ours to solve their problems—they’re just giant babies standing on our shoulders.
We shouldn’t look down on our small factories. In today’s environment, owning your own factory is the greatest asset. As I like to say, a factory is a gold mine.
Many businesspeople talk endlessly about product selection—isn’t that precisely because they don’t have a factory?
Many people know how to sell and do e-commerce, but they lack good products—and isn’t that precisely because they don’t have a factory?
Having a factory means we have both manufacturing and R&D capabilities. We can control quality and create products that stand out from the competition—and that’s often the most critical factor.
Anyone who can run their own factory, maintain steady performance, and achieve continuous growth—even thriving in a harsh economic climate—must possess top-notch technical skills and have a real edge in certain areas. But we Chinese tend to be modest; we work hard but keep a low profile. Some are even incredibly skilled yet never boast about it.
Many small factory owners are versatile technical experts. We must have confidence. We aim to build small yet refined, small yet strong factories that can weather economic cycles. Our goal is to survive for 500 years, not to become one of the Fortune 500.
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Wu Dejian’s tool steel, the chief of staff of the user, bought everything he had used.