Grilling Her Way to a New Business Opportunity

Business graduate Jiao Yuwei operates a barbecue store in Luoyang, in central China's Henan Province. [Chongqing Evening News]

After years of pursuing of higher education, Jiao Yuwei, 26, never imagined she would be selling barbeque food.

As a postgraduate at the School of Literature and Journalism of the Chongqing Technology and Business University (CTBU), Jiao had planned to work in the advertising industry after this year's graduation.

Now, she has become proud owner of a five-square meter stall at a busy bar street in her hometown of Luoyang, in central China's Henan Province.

Every evening, from 8-11 p.m., together with her boyfriend Zhao Si, she barbecues and serves the southwest regional specialty of pig's brain, a food popular in Chongqing.

In total, she spent seven years studying in the southwest region, in first four years as an undergraduate and later a postgraduate.

So far, the pig brain barbecue cooked by her has recently been included as one of the "Top 50 Most Delicious Foods" by local gourmet experts.

Seeking Business Opportunity

When she was studying in Chongqing, Jiao became accustomed to the delicious spicy food. Pig brain barbecue was her favorite. She ate it once every two or three days.

In Spring, 2014, she went back to Luoyang to hunt for a job after finishing her course. It was not so easy. Whenever she felt frustrated, she wanted to have a bite of the her favorite food to cheer herself up. But to her disappointment, she failed to find anywhere in her hometown that sold it.

"At first, when I didn't find a shop, after half an hour's search, I felt bad. But When I went all over Luoyang and still didn't find one, I felt excited because it meant a good business opportunity." She then had the idea of opening a stall herself.

Fumbling the Way Through

Half a month later, she retuned to Chongqing, making up her mind to study the techniques of making pig brain barbecue from a shop owner. However, the shop owner told him the techniques were a business secret and refused to teach her.

Liu had to rely on herself. Every day, she went to the shop to order a portion of pig brain barbecue and observed the process of cooking. "The pig brain is wrapped up in tin foil so I cannot see what is inside. In order to learn the ingredients, I made up the excuse of having to look at whether the pig brain was fresh."

After half a month, Jiao went back to Luoyang to do the barbecue herself. However, the barbecue she cooked always tasted fishy. "At first, I thought it was because the pig brain was not fresh. But after I changed it several times, it still had that smell. Eventually, a chef told me a streak of the blood should be removed before baking to get rid of the odor."

With only 6,000 yuan (U.S. $967) to start with, which she made from part-time jobs in her second year of postgraduate study, Jiao chose a bar street because there are many young consumers, who are curious of new things.

To save money, Jiao kept looking for a bar which allowed her to set up a stall beside it for free. "I told them if I have a stall beside the bar, the stall will help bring them more customers." Finally, she negotiated a deal at the place where she does business now.

"Now, I usually sell 50 portions of big brain barbecue on weekdays and 60 portions on weekends or holidays. At 15 yuan a portion, my daily turnover is around 800 yuan (US$129)," said Jiao.

Feeling the Gap

Jiao's choice has won her the support of many including Cai Min, director of the School of Literature and Journalism of the CTBU. Although the student chose something other than what she majored in, she has actually put into use the theories she learned, Cai said, adding that considering the current grim job market, the phenomenon of university students opting for small business start-ups, such as making snacks should be understood and supported.

Despite that, after seeing some of her classmates find a decent job, Jiao still feels a gap between them. "It would be a sham if I said I'm indifferent to it. Sometimes I envy my classmates who got a good job. After all, we spent more than ten years studying and a good job is the best return," she said. She revealed that at first she felt embarrassed to tell her relatives that she sells barbecue food.

"Selling barbecue seems unrelated to academic learning, but academic learning is helpful and relevant," she said. As advertising and marketing is closely linked with business operation, she is thinking about contacting some e-commerce operators after her graduation ceremony to offer a promotion for new customers, she said.

(Source: Chongqing Evening News/Translated and edited by Women of China)