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Sept. 18 – “The Story Of A China Practice,” the book written by Chris Devonshire-Ellis detailing the founding and development of Dezan Shira & Associates first 15 years in China, is now available here as a free download.
The book, written to commemorate the firm’s 15th anniversary at the end of last year, was produced as a memoir of that period and was given to clients and friends of the firm. It has never been made commercially available, but has attained cult status amongst many long term China business hands.
Michael Cronin, COO of Peony Capital in Beijing, and a long time China hand describes it as:
“Thoroughly enjoyable. I loved the descriptions and anecdotes used to so vividly to paint these important steps that the business went through. I also loved the descriptions of China in the mid 1990s, and of the colorful characters met along the way.”
Paul Cunningham, Hotel Manager, Westin Beijing Financial District comments:
“The Story Of a China Practice is a must read for all new to China businesspeople. It chronicles the start up difficulties, financial problems and marketing solutions that all small-medium businesses in China face and what has to be done to overcome them.”
Arnie Jensen, COO of ASIMCO Technologies, says:
“An open and honest account of the trials and tribulations of China business…Reading it feels like discussing the past 15 years personally with the author, over a good glass of wine. Some fascinating insights and a handful of classic laugh-out-loud moments.”
Chris Devonshire-Ellis, who wrote the book, recalls, “I sat down and wrote it in a week while sitting in a bungalow during the Indian Monsoon in Rishikesh in the Indian Himalayas this time last year. Fifteen years is a long time in China, and as the firm’s fifteenth anniversary was coming up I just wanted to try and get down on paper all the issues we went through from start up to the successful business we had become. It was never intended as a commercial work, purely as a memo of all the struggles we went through, the things that we had to deal with, the occasionally stupid things we did and also the positive decisions we made when faced with problems. It was written as a warts and all account of what it was like, so that we wouldn’t forget our somewhat humble beginnings. It was never intended to be an expert account trying to show off our success. It was written as an account of what it was like at the time, from times of hardship to making some decent money! If anybody can learn something from it, then that is a great bonus.”
The book had an initial print run of 5,000 copies and was given away on a complimentary basis. It is now however cropping up on Amazon and similar websites, selling at a premium, and continues to generate good 
reviews, despite not being commercially available.
To combat this, Chris has decided to make it available for free for China Briefing subscribers. To download the 96 page book, please click on the small book icon on the right.
For those who do not have a subscription to China Briefing, you may also register for free here.
please contact one of our specialists at china@dezshira.com, download our corporate brochure
I had heard about this but never read it. Thanks for making it available to everyone!
Seems interesting and can’t wait to read!
Witha very special encounter with a Rep working for China Briefing a few years back in Guangzhou. I am now a Fans of China Briefing which is a very good e-Newsletter with good summary of business activities in China. I have referred it to many of my friends and collegues, some of them are working in Asia South. I’m sure I will enjoy this Story Of A China Practice too.
Cheers,
Donald
Sun Mircosystems (China) Co., Ltd
Business Manager
Sun Equity Partner – Joint Venture
010-68035588 x82617
Dear Chris
Thank you for your generous and considerate gesture, happily accepted, and just downloaded. It will be read with considerable anticipation. You and I have communicated before and you were and are outstanding for your helpful advice, indications, comments, though brief, even when one is not yet a client. Be assured your business exposure and open communications are helping those coming down the tracks and you will not be forgotten. We have made good friends and solid contacts in China. It is only a matter ot time.
Regards
Alec
So where do you download it from?
pl let me have a free copy by down load
Exactlly, from which part of the website the book can be downloaded?
Thats what I truely can recoment.
We have been immensely benefited from the inputs of China Briefing & looking forward for the same in the future too.
Wow guys thanks for your comments! I’m very flattered, and they are much appreciated.
You can download the book ON THIS PAGE – at the end of the introduction to this article there is a link “The 96 page book is downloadable here” – click on “here” and the acrobat reader will open up for you. I hope you enjoy it. Please – let me know your comments and whether you found it useful or not.
Best wishes
Chris
Thanks a million for this – this is my weekend reading. Just downloaded and looking forward to it!
Read in a single sitting over several trappist ales in a small nondescript bar in Urumqi
Speaking as someone who started out (and remains) in China under-resourced and with little true understanding of the depth an intricacy involved in growing a business in this unique environment, the story of your early struggles certainly strikes a chord with me.
Thanks for your help over the years
Cheers
Jonathan
I have been reading China Briefing for a while and find it very useful for my daily business here in China…i look forward to reading the book.
Chris, really good read and unlike other China books, which tend to be self praising. Yours isn’t – plus you got all the problems in there small businesses face at start up; under capitalization, being ripped off, and so on. The fact you not only survived – and prospered – gives heart to us all. The lessons over honesty with staff in times of trouble were also right to the point. Well done and keep up your excellent and much appreciated work with China Briefing and your firm.
Chris thank you for the free download. Having read it last night I think there are several key management and business lessons you highlight in your experiences, similar to what we are taught at McKinsey:
1 If you think it works, persevere
Too many people give up when they find it tough going at the start of any new business.
2 Nuture key clients
Obviously your early clients were important and you spent time personally with them
3 Treat staff well and with honesty.
Not going to LA when you won the ticket and staying with your staff probably saved your business.
4 Treat creditors with respect
Likewise, meeting with your creditors when you had cashflow difficulties can’t have been pleasant but at least you were able to let them know and get them to renegotate terms. Too many people just ignore debts
5 Get in managers to grow the business
I think handing over various responsibilities to Alberto was a key moment. It allowed him to do what he was good at and you to be the visionary, development man. Too many small businesses stay small because the founder thinks he can do everything.
6 Remember that out of adversary can come inspiration.
If I read it correctly, China Briefing was created because you couldn’t afford advertising. If you could have, none of what you subsequently created would have been born. Thinking outside the box helps a lot when under-capitalised.
7 Fight your corner
You’ve had your share of troubles with other people but it seems you’ve fought your corner when need be. Don’t be afraid of confrontation when someone is stealing from your business or ripping it off.
8 Reinvest in your business
It seems you constantly put whatever money you had back into your business instead of taking it out. making sure the business was capitalised to whatever you could afford. Plus you didn’t borrow. The term is ‘bulkhead financing’ and although short term painful leads to longer term stability. I’m sure you appreciate those year of being without these days.
Personally I thought it was a great read (it could have done with some better editing but that’s a small gripe compared with the contents) and one that yes, indeed, I think many small businessmen to China can get a lot out of. I’ll be in touch personally to say hello.
Dear Chris,
I’m now reading this book, thanks for offering it to the public.
We first met in 2003 when I visited your office in Shanghai. We then meet again in 2005, I sent to you one of my DVD video disc presentations of China and India’s wireless and mobile device markets.
Well, I have finally transfered to work in Beijing, China and work for a company called Gemalto at the Lido Office Tower connected to Lido Hotel near Wangjing. I’m OEM/ODM Handset Biz Dev Mgr., focused on selling Gemalto technologies to Greater Chinese mobile handset vendors.
Anyway, I hope to run into you again sometime.
Karl J. Weaver
Excellent, and might I suggest uploading this to Scribd.com, where you will get massive exposure for PDF content.
I have just completed reading your story with great enthusiasm. Thank you and your team for allowing us to enjoy reading and learning from such a remarkable success .
On the other hand, I will be more than happy to know if I can contribute to the China-Briefing Turkish Edition.
Best to all,
Onder
Again, thanks a million for your comments ! Let me answer individually:
Jonathan: So far we’ve had suggestions reading the bar over a ‘decent glass of wine’ and now ‘trappist beer’ ! You’ve got to love that – hope everything with Fubar in Urumqi and your new venture in Kashgar is working out;
Richard: Thanks, glad to be of help and keep reading !
Eric & Thom: Your comments are appreciated especially the lessons we learnt that you thought salient. I don’t think it really matters the book was about a services firm, I think they pretty much apply to any SME starting out in China, however your comments I think were spot on in what we learned and the impact they had;
Karl: I have your contacts so will email you privately;
George: Again, thank you and we’ll look at your suggestion;
Onder: Good to see you here and yes, we do publish each month in five languages (French, German, Italian, Spanish and English) and do sometimes put out special issues in other languages (Polish, Greek and Portugese previously) – our editorial staff will be in touch concerning a special Turkish language issue of the magazine. That’s very kind of you – and very useful; we have several large Turkish clients at Dezan Shira and I will be in Istanbul in December.
Please any other comments about useful insights for SME’s in the book, and especially if you have had similar experiences to ours then kindly let us know and post them here.
Best wishes
Chris
Thank you, please from which part of the website the book can be downloaded?
Best regards
Michel
Chris, another of the many ‘thank you’s’ I suspect you’re receiving for this gesture. I’ve read China Briefing for years, and I have to say you and your team constantly amaze me. You have India Briefing, Vietnam Briefing, and the very good 2point6billion – all for free. Now free books as well! That is truly generous and the material you put out is first rate. I’m sure Dezan Shira & Associates does well out of your publishing initiatives, but even so it’s quite incredible the amount of free market education you put out. I think many many people owe you a great deal for your consistant work over the years – including a lot of your competitors I suspect. China Briefing is an amazing resource to produce for free, for so long. You absolutely deserve a medal! Congratulations – and keep up the astounding work. I’m looking forward to the read.
Best;
Ben
Homepride
Michel,
The book can be downloaded by clicking on the small photo of the book at the bottom of the page.
Click on the photo and acrobat will download it for you. You can then either read it on your screen or print it off. If you don’t have acrobat installed, you get obtain a free download of the software here: http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/readstep2.html
Regards,
Chris,
Thank you very much for this generous and insightful document.
Having started business in China almost 2 years ago, China Briefing has remained a reliable source of market information and cultural business perspectives. I recommend it to everyone who is interested in developing a strategy in China.
China Briefing is to the businessperson what the Lonely Planet is to the traveler.
Keep up the great work.
Jarrod Morley
F@%K! You guys are obviously starved of reading matter to carry on like this. I’ll get round to reading it, most probably with a more objective view as I’m not a sycophant.
Thanks for the gesture CDE.
I think its just an overdue appreciation of what Chris and China Briefing do and have been doing for years rather than anything sycophantic Simon. Credit due where credit due – they put more advice and news out for free than I think anyone else. Theres nowt wrong with saying thanks occasionally.
I’m half way through the book. Best bits so far: The fake HMV store in Guangzhou and the arrest of the visiting urologist surgeon at Pudong airport for suspected sex toy smuggling which made me laugh so much I spilt my coffee all over my desk!
I just finished it. Its the SME version of “Mr. China”. A lot in there for small and new businesses to learn from, and a suprisingly easy to read, he has a good way of writing. Interesting and useful I thought.
I appreciate the opportunity to gaining different views and reading case histories from a China business practitioner. Thanks.
I had heard about this but never read it. Thanks for making it available to everyone!
Review by David Wolf at Silicon Hutong
http://siliconhutong.typepad.com/silicon_hutong/2008/10/story-of-a-small-giant.html
This is one of the reasons I enjoyed Chris Devonshire-Ellis’ The Story of a China Practice. His style is engaging, coming off more like a friendly conversation in a pub than a stilted business treatise or stale corporate history, making the account unusually readable. In 84 quick pages (including photos) Chris walks us through the first fifteen years of his experience as a professional services entrepreneur in China, and gives us a rare inside glimpse into what it takes to start and build a business in the PRC.
The account covers the creation and growth of Dezan Shira & Associates (Chris’ quasi-eponymous firm,) and while Chris occasionally lapses into his role of chief salesman, he manages to produce an account that is focuses far more on the challenges than the triumphs. And that is what makes this slim volume such a gem.
He walks us through an almost unending sequence of painful challenges, from spending 18 months finding his first client (which he finally landed over a pint with the owner of a Shekou expat bar), to finding decent staff, getting ripped-off by his bookkeeper, being shut down by the Public Security Bureau, the Asian Financial Crisis, SARS, and having to service clients amidst it all. By the time things start falling into place at Dezan Shira, you are almost relieved, and are prepared to forgive Chris for ten or so pages on the firm today.
Hard Lessons
The other aspect of The Story of a China Practice that I like is that Chris resists the temptation to turn the lessons he has learned from his experiences into pedantic aphorisms, instead allowing the reader to digest each episode and incident and draw his or her own conclusions. The one time Chris deviates from this formula (“Sometimes, the key to success in China is being able to just say ‘No’”) stands out as a naked exception.
Beyond the lessons from one can draw from each incident, there were three I pulled from the book as a work. There are more, but these resonated with me:
First, nothing significant is accomplished in China by an individual working alone. Dezan Shira is Chris’ baby and brainchild, yet the company began its prosperous growth when Chris began giving away credit – and equity – to his colleagues.
Second, morality and ethics in business are not relative, they are absolute, and acculturating yourself and your business in China does not mean abandoning your values. Regardless of the near-term opportunities offered by taking ethical shortcuts and the temptation to rationalize them by “doing in Rome as the Romans would,” long-term success as a company and as an employer in China depend on living by a coherent and explicit moral code.
Third, success in China comes at the nexus of local knowledge and ingenuity, not adherence to some set formula. If you show up in China looking for templates to follow, or worse, seeking to replicate an approach used elsewhere, you are walking into danger. Better to approach your challenges knowing that the right answer is there to be found, but it is going to take creativity, a cool head, and some China savvy to get you there.
Nothing particularly unique, perhaps, but then this book is not about coming up with new lessons – it is a demonstration that, if applied, those lessons can bring you some success.
The Story of a China Practice was published last year, but as of September Chris and Dezan Shira are making free electronic copies available to anyone who seeks to download one. The book is available on their China Briefing News site.
For anyone interested in starting a business or running a small- or medium-sized enterprise in China today – especially but by no means exclusively in professional services – I recommend giving the book a read.