Thinking Outside the Box

　　A law graduate decides to open his own noodle shop， as entrepreneurship becomes a viable option in a shrinking job market

　　Three months before the start of the 2014 graduation season， streams of university students across China rushed around frantically looking for employment， anxious about what the future held for them.

　　But for Zhang Tianyi， a 24-year-old postgraduate student， taking charge of his own destiny was a more exciting challenge. Zhang opened up his own rice noodle restaurant， serving steaming bowls of the popular dish to white-collar workers in Beijing’s World Financial Center， located in the capital’s central business district.

　　Zhang will graduate from Peking University’s Law School this July， but instead of practicing law in a courtroom or furthering his studies at a famous university abroad like his peers， he chose to sell rice noodles， a specialty from his hometown Changde City in central China’s Hunan Province.

　　Named Funiutang， Zhang’s restaurant is a mere 40-square-meters that can seat just 18 people. However the long line of loyal customers， who must make reservations， usually stretches out the door during lunch and dinner time. At peak capacity Zhang manages to serve around 120 people a day.

　　Noodle king

　　As a college graduate turned noodle seller， Zhang’s career path is an unusual one.

　　Six months ago， he was not able to find his ideal job in the competitive job market. With some experience in running a small restaurant three years prior， he had an epiphany – opening a rice noodle restaurant to sell his hometown’s special cuisine.

　　According to Zhang， with a history of some 300 years， Changde rice noodles are still well-known today and loved by locals and visitors alike. Apart from its appealing shape， representing longevity and family reunion， its popularity lies in convenience and affordability.

　　This February， Zhang returned to his hometown to master the art of cooking Changde rice noodles from an expert chef. Within two months and with an initial capital investment of 120，000 yuan ($19，512)， he opened the restaurant in Beijing with three of his friends.

　　“We want to provide the authentic taste of Changde rice noodles to diners here and promote my hometown’s food culture in Beijing，” he told ChinAfrica. “This is one of my dreams.”

　　On the day Zhang opened his doors， April 4， he sold over 5，000 yuan ($813) worth of noodles. In the next few days， the daily sales exceeded 10，000 yuan ($1，626).

　　But the store’s success brought its own stress.

　　As word spread about Zhang’s story， media and public interest meant the flock of customers necessitated staff to work far beyond their capacity.

　　“Four of us had to cook as many as 400 bowls of rice noodles and large quantities of beef every day. After working for 15 hours non-stop， we had to prepare food for the next day at midnight，” he said.

　　To guarantee the food quality and service， Zhang and his partners decided to limit the daily sales to 120 bowls one month ago， and customers must make reservations in advance. “We want the business to do well， but quality is more important，” said Zhang.

　　Business principles

　　While some people maintain that Zhang wasted his time and efforts on his university studies， he disagrees. “I don’t think it’s degrading if one does not find a job that is directly relevant to his or her studies，” he said.

　　“You will gradually forget what you read in books while at law school， but the legal way of thinking and doing things will benefit you throughout life，” he said. Zhang believes an educated person can succeed in any career they set their mind to as that， to him， is the whole aim of education.

　　Instead of hiring servers， Zhang has set out three garbage bins： one for food residue， one for rice noodle bowls， and the other for chopsticks， paper and bottles. Customers are encouraged to serve themselves and dispose of their trash accordingly. Those who do are rewarded with fresh seasonal fruit.

　　“This rule defines customers’ responsibilities and protects their rights， and they will be rewarded when they follow the rule，” said Zhang， adding that they aim to promote the idea of a green lifestyle， while using the business as an experimental platform to practice some of their innovative ideas.

　　According to his observation， Zhang found that 68 percent of his customers are women， so the restaurant replaced coca-cola with fruit juice on the menu. He also found seating capacity affects the flow of diners in his restaurant， so they added four more seats to the original 14.

　　Zhang encourages young diners， especially those of the post-90s generation， to help promote their dishes through social media platforms， such as microblogs and WeChat (a popular messaging and social media app). Anyone who shares the rice noodle advertisement in their WeChat circle of friends will be rewarded a cup of Changde lei cha or ground tea for free.

　　While online marketing has worked well， Zhang knows the quality and superior taste of his dishes are still the key， without which marketing is useless.

　　“All of those are what I have learned at school，” said Zhang. “Now I just use the skills to run my own business - following the market rule and doing business in a lawful manner.”

　　The current turnover is about 6，000 yuan ($976) worth of rice noodles daily. With more external investment， Zhang plans to open a new neighboring branch in July.

　　Finding the need

　　Due to the rapid expansion of college enrollment over the past 14 years， the number of graduates in China has quadrupled， making 2014 the hardest job-hunting year in the nation’s history.

　　According to China’s Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security (MHRSS)， this summer will see 7.27 million colleage graduates， 280，000 more than in 2013， setting a new record since the founding of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) in 1949.

　　Facing fiercer competition， Zhang thinks graduates would benefit if they change their attitude toward employment and not confine career choices within limited areas. He said young graduates need to start by doing the little things right under their noses.

　　“Beijing needs a bowl of authentic beef rice noodles from my hometown more than it needs another financial lawyer，” said Zhang. “We want to prove that jobs are not divided by grades and ranks， and as long as you are devoted， you can gain full respect from society，” he added.

　　Xin Changxing， Vice Minister of MHRSS， praised Zhang’s entrepreneurial spirit and encouraged college graduates to start their own business in a difficult job market. According to Xin， only 1 percent of Chinese university students choose to be entrepreneurs after they leave college.

　　The Chinese Government has recently launched a three-year program to help more than 800，000 graduates such as Zhang start their own businesses by improving support policies and services.

　　But Zhang thinks the support for college graduates to start their own business is still far from enough. “The requirements for getting tax reduction are high to meet， and I hope the application procedures for tax reduction can be simplified， so that the policy is more feasible，” he said.

　　At present， some universities’ business incubators focus on hi-tech startup companies. Zhang hopes more support can be given to commercial ventures started up by liberal arts graduates in the future.

　　“There are few professional staff in the university who can provide consultations related to entrepreneurship for students， explain the policies or give guidance. I hope there will be some college courses available to prepare graduates to start a business，” said Zhang.

　　By Liu Jian

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