Entrepreneurial Story of Ji Qi, CEO of Ruijia and Hanting
Introduction: Ji Qi, founded Shanghai Xiecheng Technology Co.
Here's what Qi Qi shared about his entrepreneurial experience
From 1999 to 2010, in almost ten years, I founded and participated in the founding of three companies, all of which served as the first CEO, formed the core team, and established the main business model, and all of which were listed on the NASDAQ, with a market capitalization of more than $1 billion. billion dollars. It's not often that you see something like that, and I should say that it's a world first.
When I think about it, it's really not because I'm particularly smart and capable, not to mention a genius. In addition to the general economic environment, more inseparable from the capital market and the team's support, as well as specialization, to do what they are good at, to earn the money they can earn.
If you ask me when to start the fourth business, I must say NO. If I spend 10 years to make Hanting the world's best hotel group, then I may go to do other things. Now I am afraid that 10 years is not enough for this process. For me, entrepreneurship is going to draw an exclamation point, because this is the peak and apex of my career and life, and I hope to put the brakes on my creativity through this exclamation point.
Efficient Management + Excellent Entrepreneurs
To build a big and lasting excellent business organization in China, I believe in ? Efficient Management + Great Entrepreneurs? model of success.
Businesses rise and fall on great entrepreneurs and leaders, whether they are founders or successors. When these people's own passion, genius, and hard work combine into a force that is large enough to salvage the natural? increase in moisture content? process, it is when the business thrives. Steve Jobs of Apple, Ford of Ford Motor, and Welch of General Electric are such heroes. Expecting such a character to appear is chance, not necessity, not to mention system design can do.
Entrepreneurs and managers are valuable and scarce resources, should respect each other and get along with each other on an equal footing, these two kinds of people who can't replace anyone who doesn't follow this law, will pay a heavy price. Therefore, in addition to our ambitious . Ideal and surging passion, but also a first-class management team to ensure that we reach our goals and the pursuit of excellence!
Businesses need every executive to be an engine, not a sounding board. Many companies are looking for people two tendencies: one is the entrepreneurial stage of the reckless, many people just graduated from college or do a little business outside, not in a large company did; the other category is in the foreign enterprises. In fact, there is a class of enterprise talent, may be more suitable. Like Huawei, Lenovo, a class of excellent private enterprises. These enterprises relatively long survival time, and have a strong corporate culture, they cultivate people quite suitable for our local growth enterprises.
Founders have to get down there and do the work, and make the model and the experience work
I want to go from being a serial entrepreneur to being the founder of a 100 year old company.
Our industry is almost a ?10x speed? growth business, so can not be too quickly into the norm, maturity, middle age or aging process. Looking at peers, they are constantly innovating and breaking new ground, very aggressively. Comparatively speaking, a few years ago we went into middle age too soon. I don't think this is right, and it's not something that can be fixed with a little tap. To get to the root of the problem, I'd have to go back to the CEO seat.
If you want to open a century-old store, the founder can not leave the company, can not be detached from the actual affairs of the company. Many people may think that the listing is completed, the shares are sold, money is made, OK. I would not think so. It is more difficult to develop for a long time without a major shareholder leading or a founder in the company. I found an interesting phenomenon, the international top ten hotel group, all not bankrupt, merged, acquired, have a **** the same characteristics, that is, there is the founder of the long-term investment or a stable single major shareholder, purely dependent on professional managers, smooth very few. Intercontinental, Accor, Marriott, Hilton, Starwood?Our industry is so practical and specific that there has to be a major shareholder in place, and there has to be a founder who is very hard and tired of lying there and working.
Transformation is critical for Hanting. Hanting from the entrepreneurial enterprise, into a more permanent, orderly operation of the enterprise, made a long-term competitiveness of the brand, it is necessary to do some adjustments in the entire strategy, structure, including the arrangement of personnel. And this process, only I personally complete. Because I am the founder, and I know this industry and enterprise very well. I came back mainly to complete this metamorphosis process. My role will also focus on taking on the role of Hanting's long-term operators and managers. For example, the investment in Xiyueyue is at least tens of millions of dollars, such a large investment, which contains a great deal of risk, who will shoot this board, I think only I will shoot.
Another example is site selection, you have to go to the site to see, look at the picture on the computer, are the same as art photos, but based on the picture to judge, often wrong, not to mention the engineering renovation and product design, including the understanding of customers and employees, you must always be on the front line.
I get up at 7:30 a.m. every morning, have breakfast and then go to the company for work and meetings, and don't get home until 6 or 7 p.m., and when I do get home, I usually go on to work until very late. One or two months a year in the flight, to a city, out of the airport, to see where the train station, where the business district, the new district; to see the main customers, but also look at the property. I went to Dandong, so the deployment there was very successful and very profitable. Kashgar no one dares to go, I went, the mosque will also be next to Hanting.
Adjusting strategy according to demand
The situation in China in the last five years has been: urbanization, making new cities, hollowing out of old cities, and the rise of new districts; post-80s and post-90s have become the main body of consumers; and consumption is upgrading.
I counted the age ratio of customers, more than 50% are 80, 90 years later. But 10 years ago, most of the customer base is after 60 and 70. There is also a very important feature: 80, 90 after there is no obvious distinction between business, tourism, leisure, are mixed, business trips by the way to have fun, play when also by the way to do the business. Their travel, vacation, excursions are much more open and free than our 60, 70 after.
Since the customer base is different, the communication style and product design are also different. After I came back, I made a lot of such decisions, for example, can not expand the call center, now are smart phones, no APP, Wifi, you still with him what. So I immediately took back the APP and developed it myself, no longer outsourcing. In the past, our product design is more robust, business some, now also changing.
Some of my peers are desperately trying to get to the third and fourth tier cities, and I probably won't go there because I don't have the capacity to do so. My hometown is a fourth-tier city by our definition. I've been looking for a house there, how can I find the locals ah, a town of people, head up, not to see, either classmates, relatives, or coworkers, friends. People (rent) 80 cents, I may want a dollar. Do all kinds of licenses, I guess our efficiency is also lower than the locals. The market capacity of the county is limited, we open one to two, to spend so much cost to do, then I can only give up the third-tier and fourth-tier cities directly, and give these markets to local partners.
I put a lot of effort into building All Seasons, specializing in bringing in famous designers from Japan and China and Taiwan to redesign the rooms, and investing more in breakfast and hygiene. The quality of the decoration, such as using wallpaper instead of paint, furniture made of solid wood instead of panels, the public **** area is beginning to taste, including the building is also beautiful. The aesthetic follows simplicity with a touch of Zen, because modern people are too tired and complicated. Clean, quiet, and a good night's sleep. The remodeled All Seasons cost 50 percent more to 120,000 yuan per room to invest. The new All Seasons will give people a new feeling, and female guests have increased from less than 30% to 47%.
What will this company be making money on in another 10 or 15 years? This is what I have to think. Why did Hanting change its name to Huazhu? Because people have remembered that Hanting is a budget hotel, if you continue to use this name, going up will be very tired. I have to take at least two more steps up, and put in? All Seasons? and testing the waters. I'm going to put in All Seasons and try out Xi Yue. We have to be in the mid-to-high-end hotel market, and we may create or acquire a new luxury brand in the future. I hope that in the future our mid-range hotels, like Accor's Novotel and Marriott's Courtyard, will account for more than 1/3 of the company's earnings.
***Law of the Living
There is a very important principle in my philosophy the Law of the Jungle? Many people think that ? The law of the jungle? is only about you dying and the weak eating the strong, they ignore the ? The law of the jungle? s other side, the Law of Life. The other side of the law of the jungle is the law of life, which is that a tree grows with moss, grass, bushes, and flowers. Without these, the tree's nutrition can not come; these things can not survive without the shelter of the tree. A big tree, as it grows, competes with its own kind for sunlight and rain, and the losers can only shrivel, break, and rot. Finally, in the big tree around the formation of a colorful, prosperous and harmonious *** living world. A society you look at the broader, that is a colorful *** life jungle. To do a great business, it must be and social state **** life, selfishness, egotism is not.
How to convince, impress? The resource person? I think it is ****sheng ****win. Every interaction, transaction, get along, is a testing ground for ****sheng principle. Husband and wife, father and son, lovers, between companies and businesses, are all ****sheng relationships. Learn to ****sheng, and the world will be harmonious. When you look at cooperation with such a perspective, you will be much more at peace.
Entrepreneurship should be with the water to push the boat
Entrepreneurship should be with the water to push the boat, which is a little bit of caution in the past few years of my own business. The so-called smooth water to push the boat, is to follow the trend, do not expect a small company to make waves, it is unlikely. You can use wood, go with this current, water trend, this is the best entrepreneurial channel.
Specifically to China, now the Chinese entrepreneurship to grasp the five major industries is five words: clothing, food, housing, transportation, entertainment. China's advantage is that there are a lot of people, and the middle class is the largest. China should have 400-500 million middle class, from Shanghai to Beijing, to the third and fourth tier cities are very similar, many cities have good schools, good roads, China is the same. At the same time, the central government has a mercantilist policy, and local governments are sparing no effort in investment promotion, giving support in terms of taxes, land and capital.
Today, China Mobile, ICBC, Tencent, Taobao, and others are among the largest of their kind in the world, and this will be the case in many service sectors: e-commerce, gaming, travel booking, apparel, and restaurants? From the basic food, housing, transportation to further consumer upgrading, if you start a business from this piece, not only can cover his most basic consumption, but also with his consumer upgrading start.
We must consider two issues to start a business: one is to be close to the people's livelihood, food, clothing, housing, transportation and entertainment; the second is to take into account the consumer upgrade. I think with the past five years ago, ten years ago, now entrepreneurship is still a very good opportunity, this era you do not start a business will regret. Young people still want to start a business, when what to do, China like the United States, they are engaged in high-tech. Young people if you start a business, China is one of the best places, if you want to start a business, I hope you push the boat with the water, do not go against the current!
And I judge whether a person is suitable for entrepreneurship has three criteria: the first is the need to have a sense of hunger, want to excel. This desire must be very strong, otherwise when encountered behind the ensuing hardships and trials, easy to give up, turn to choose a calm life path; the second is to be stoic and strong psychological endurance. Entrepreneurial road thorny, full of ups and downs, need to be like a rock, indomitable, can not hold up the people can not go to the end; third is the need for a good team, must be able to do and teammates trust each other and the best they can become the team's opinion leader. Without a good helper, a person again strong can not.
Ji Qi's legendary entrepreneurial story
Born in October 1966;
In March 1992, he graduated from Shanghai Jiaotong University with a master's degree in Robotics from the Department of Mechanical Engineering;
In 1999, he founded Ctrip with Liang Jianzhang, Shen Nampeng, and Fan Min*** and became the President of Ctrip. 2003, Ctrip was listed in the NASDAQ as one of the world's most important companies, and the company has been in business for more than 10 years. In December 2003, Ctrip went public on NASDAQ, and today has a market capitalization of nearly $6 billion.
In 2002, he founded the Ruijia hotel chain as CEO.
In 2005, he founded the Hanting hotel chain as CEO, and Hanting went public on NASDAQ in March 2010, with a market capitalization of more than one billion dollars, and in the same year, it entered into the Hotels magazine's Top 25 Hotels in the World. In the same year, Hanting was ranked among the top 25 hotels in the world by Hotels magazine.
2009 Ji Qi resigned as CEO of Hanting.
2012 Ji Qi reappointed as CEO of Hanting, and took a bold step to revolutionize the company. in May 2012, Hanting acquired Xingcheng, the largest mid-range hotel brand in China, and narrowed down Xingcheng's brand front to 70 outlets out of 110, which, together with the mid-range brand All Seasons, resulted in nearly 100 mid-range hotels, accounting for 10% of the company's total number of hotels. In November 2012, Hanting changed its name to Huazhu, taking ? Hanting changed its name to Huazhou in November 2012, taking the meaning of "Chinese Lodging". In November 2012, Hanting changed its name to Huazhou, meaning "Chinese Lodging", and successively launched Xi Yue, All Seasons, Xing Cheng, Hanting, and Haiyou brands, covering high, medium, and low grades. 2012, Hanting's third-quarter revenues increased by 42.6% to 893.6 million yuan, and net profit increased by 63.8% to 103.6 million yuan.
Ji Qi, who left the countryside at age 19, came to Shanghai to study at the university.
In the 1980s, rural kids were ridiculed by city people as ? country bumpkins?
simply because he couldn't speak Shanghainese.
Science majors are boring,
Ji Qi, who chose the wrong major, went to the library to read all kinds of books.
The science student Jiqi is not a fan of his profession,
Graduation, the employment of college students is difficult, it is difficult to find a job.
What to do when it's hard to find a job? The first thing you need to do is to get a good deal of money from the government.
I've been working in Shanghai for a few years now, and I've been working on my own for a while.
In 1994, Ji Qi's wife worked in the United States, he followed to the United States.
Stimulated by the entrepreneurial atmosphere in the United States, he returned to Shanghai in '95 and chose to start his own business.
There is more to life than what you see in front of you.
The lowly peasant college student Ji Qi came from the countryside and had too many difficulties to survive and live in the city, but these difficulties did not overwhelm him. Found the university major is not suitable for their own, during the university to read a lot of books of literature, history and philosophy, graduated from the choice of further reading. In addition to Ji Qi's innate passion, his sense of purpose and his feelings to help him go on.
The origin can determine our starting point, not necessarily determine our end, complaining about the origin and conditions, just listen to the fate of the choice. Do what you want to do, do what you think is right.
Ji Qi is still a bit sorry for Ctrip, ? From the point of view of money, I do not need to start a business now, probably more money than now?
For? Nu Jia?
For?
Before Ruijia came along, there were only two hotel chains in China, Jinjiang Star and New Asia Star. (Bang did not live in that era ah)
After graduating from graduate school, Ji Qi has not been bad money. 90s, graduate students were the absolute senior intellectuals at that time. Legend has it that he went to work in the 90s with a ? The big brother? Knowledge changes destiny ah, reading or to be serious. Later, Ctrip listed, as the founder of the Ji Qi and divided a large amount of money.
Founded Ruijia, money is not a problem.
He slept in Jinjiang Star hotels in Shanghai and Ningbo. He brought a ruler, he brought a book, he brought a film camera. He used the ruler to measure the data, and the book to record the price, the number of rooms, the data of the furniture (the data maniacs at the end of the last world). Map out the competition. Know your enemy and know yourself to take you out.
He has a habit, every hotel to talk to the waiter, staff. Record the source of information, the corner of the cost structure and other issues to find out. Understanding everything about the opponent, the next step to do will be very smooth.
Huazhou Hotel Chairman, brother is just a legend
Huazhou Hotel Group (formerly Hanting) has? Xi Yue? The company has a number of hotels under its umbrella. The All Seasons. All Seasons. The StarWalker. Star Trek? Hanting? Hanting? Hanting? Haiyou? HOTELS Yilai? and seven other major hotel brands, with more than 2,000 stores across the country.
It has more than 2,100 hotels and 30,000 employees in over 200 cities in China.
Ji Qi is very fond of collecting, Huazhu hotel decoration style in some places is very much like the Japanese style. His explanation: don't you think Japanese style is very much like the style of China's Tang and Song dynasties?
Ordinary people can also choose to live extraordinary, passion never quite!!!!
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