Working from his home in Futian district in Shenzhen, Guangdong province, Michael Michelini leads a routine life of biking to pick up his son from nursery school, singing the ABC Song on the ride back and then working on content creation and internet marketing in the afternoon.

Michelini, a United States citizen, founded and hosts a weekly podcast called Global From Asia to help businesses understand how to do business in Hong Kong, the Chinese Mainland and other parts of Asia.

The podcast is an online platform for cross-border trading and business networking. It hosts regular expert meetups and workshops in China and has a growing network of meetups around the world that are organized by chapter leaders. Each year, it hosts an annual conference, the Cross Border Summit, in Shenzhen.

Michelini came to China in September 2007 to find sources for his growing e-commerce business. As an up-and-coming entrepreneur, it was too expensive for him to fly in and out of Shanghai or other Chinese mainland cities every 30 days for visa purposes. So he chose Futian district in Shenzhen, where he could have the same benefits of living on the Chinese mainland, while still living close to Hong Kong, which makes doing business and managing his visa situation much easier.

Launch

In 2013, Michelini went to Bangkok, capital of Thailand, to attend the annual conference of Dynamite Circle, a group of internet business owners from around the world, with an open mind and prepared to learn and connect with internet business owners and marketers.

The conference encouraged Michelini to start a Hong Kong business podcast to serve market needs.

Michelini chose "Global From Asia" as the name of his podcast because he did not want the name to only contain Hong Kong, as it would also deal with other parts of Asia. He also did not want it to only be about doing business in Asia, but globally.

Creating content

It was a struggle for Michelini to start the podcast while working on other business pursuits, but he thought it would be a good way for him to connect with other Asian-based business owners and help other people at the same time.

The key to the podcast was that Michelini had to produce content on a weekly basis.

"Starting something is often easy, but keeping it going is the real challenge. A weekly show needs comprehensive preparation and involves the process of finding guests, editing audio files, creating a website post and promoting the show. Many times it got to Sunday night or even Monday and I was rushing to get the editing done," he said.

Besides preparation for the podcast, Michelini said that one of his biggest struggles was dealing with a fear of the unknown.

"It is about acting and doing something that you believe in when others may not see your vision. I needed to invest time and money in buying products from a factory, with the risk of not being able to sell the products later, for example," he said.

"I love creating content and helping people. But I was investing more and more money with no return. You present this content to the rest of the world and often times you have no idea if people are even listening or appreciate it."

However, when he receives five-star reviews on iTunes or when he opens an email from a listener who has enjoyed his podcast, he knows that things are going well.

Long-term growth in China

In April, with 200 attendees from 32 countries visiting the Pearl River Delta area for the trade show season, Global From Asia held its second annual Cross Border Summit in Shenzhen.

"What started as a podcast has expanded to cover guide books, training classes and premiere events. After the Cross Border Summit, we launched a private membership club where members could connect with one another and help each other with their businesses," Michelini said, adding that with growth as the main goal, the third annual summit in Shenzhen is already scheduled for April 2018.

Life in Futian

Michelini and his wife feel Shenzhen is a great place. "While many of my American friends get married and then take their wife and kids back to the US, we plan to stay here in Shenzhen to raise our children," he said.

They have a 3-year-old son, Miles, and an 18-month-old daughter, Maggie. Michelini said: "The general rule on weekends is that Daddy gets a few hours in the morning to do his writing and website development work, and then lunch and the rest of the day we go out and play, either on bikes, taking a walk, or going to those massive indoor playgrounds at a local mall."

The family often rides bikes along the Shenzhen Greenway between Futian and Nanshan.

"I'm so grateful for the development of Shenzhen a little over 30 years ago. There are opportunities here that help to bring China closer to the rest of the world." Michelini said. "Shenzhen is developing into a true global metropolis and I am proud to be a part of it."

Shenzhen Daily provided the story.

(HK Edition 08/18/2017 page21)