I overcame the skeptics

My big dream right now is to buy a Mercedes car with money I earned myself. That is beyond the reach of most young people here, but as my online business is taking off, I believe that day will eventually come.

My entrepreneurial journey has gone through two stages: the first stage was to convince myself, and the second was to convince other people.

I never thought I could make money via the internet. When I was in high school, e-commerce was relatively underdeveloped in Xinjiang and I didn't know anyone who was involved in it. So, when classmates at college in Anhui province told me people could make money from online stores, I did not take them seriously. Now, of course, it's unthinkable that college students never buy anything online.

Back then, I found that compared with brick-and-mortar stores, online goods were cheaper and the choice was wider. I could do all my shopping from my dorm and then receive the goods at the dorm door just a few days later.

During my four years at college, I gradually adapted to this shopping mode, and began to understand that it is a good way for young people to start their own businesses, especially as it does not require a large initial investment.

In 2016, just as I was about to graduate, my teachers said they could help me find a job in Anhui. However, I felt my hometown needed me more, so without any hesitation, I returned to Wensu, a small county in Aksu.

Before I returned to my hometown, I planned to use the internet to sell local specialties, such as red dates, walnuts and apples, which are very popular. All I needed to do was provide an online platform so more customers could find the goods and buy them.

When I was in Wensu, I sold fruit grown by my family, close relatives and neighbors. The sales were not bad, and I earned about 3,000 yuan a month.

A few months later, a friend suggested that I should move to downtown Aksu because there were policies to help young people start their own businesses and the logistics system was better developed than in Wensu. When I got to Aksu, the local government offered me an office in the downtown free of charge.

From then on, I became convinced that an e-commerce business could be successful, but people around me still didn't believe in this business model, not even my parents. My father refused to lend me any money. It was my hardest time, but I survived.

I have to thank one of my college teachers in Anhui because the money she loaned me played a key role at the time. In early 2017, I began to learn from the success of other online stores, and I improved my advertising and marketing skills. At the same time, I paid attention to sources to ensure the products were of good quality. From that year on, sales began to rise.

Now, I have three employees and annual revenue is almost 3 million yuan ($447,000). I have bought a new apartment in Wensu and a second-hand car.

Because I am now able to support my family, my parents don't need to grow walnuts and red dates for a living any more. Living in my comfortable apartment in Wensu, my father now believes that e-commerce can make a difference. I'm really happy about that.

Mehmut Mardan spoke with Aybek Askhar and Zhao Xinying.