June 15/14 – Though I have been brought up in Canada, as I have mentioned in my other blogs, the Chinese culture in me is still deeply-rooted. The Chinese are very well known for their having close family ties and for having extended families. I still carry this value with me. Nowadays, the Chinese in western countries no longer live under one roof like the traditional Chinese families in Asia do, but they still stay closely connected. My siblings and I live close to one another and so we are able to better maintain the closeness and the “family” aspect.
Like any other Chinese families, from childhood, we were taught that “unity is power”- that a united family will always be stronger than an individual when it comes to overcoming obstacles. We believe that the family is also capable of maximizing potential opportunities when they come their way if they stay united. My family has allowed all of us to expand more boldly and rapidly than we could have done as individuals because of the way we were brought up and the unspoken trust that we have for one another. This trust allows us to support one another, including using each other’s Line of Credit when needed. The convenience of accessing each other’s funds has taken us so much faster to where we are now than we could have done individually.
The Chinese believe in “keeping within the family.” Thus, a large Chinese family has the advantage of having a lot of “built-in” expertise and skills, so that money can be kept in the family itself. This can span generations as new members can take over from the old. For example, because my family is into the real estate development, we established realty business, insurance brokering, property management, design companies, and builders. Our next generations are now also being trained in related fields to take over we choose to retire. Succession planning is taken seriously, and within the family.
This is how typical Chinese families are. And, this how a typical Chinese family does business, just like mine!
I totally agreed with what you said.
I am Chinese too.
Glad we are in sync Richard.. 🙂
The forum is a breigthr place thanks to your posts. Thanks!
Mrs. Lee I saw you as the promoter of Millionaire Chess. I come from an West Indian inmigrant family. I live in Venezuela and I experiencing the development of chinese businesses in communications, oil and commerce. First there were italians, arabs, and know chinese and syrians. We’ve seen from from arabs Unity is the clue. Natives are too individual not cooperative.
Hi George,
I hope your experience with the Chinese entrepreneurs is great! Hope to hear from you again and share with me your experiences dealing with them.
Amy