As a partner joining Baturu, returning from first-tier cities to start a business back home, in Liu Feng's words, this is the most important decision he has made in his 34 years.
In 2015, Baturu expanded its platform services to six major provinces nationwide, attracting the attention of everyone in the national auto aftermarket. This Hunan auto parts speculator on Guangzhou's Guangyuan Road was also closely observing the development of this soon-to-be unicorn.
"When I first entered the industry, I was thinking of making big money, but the business got harder day by day." The speculating business gradually lost its competitive edge under the impact of the internet. Later, he worked as an apprentice in a repair shop for a year, but even with his ambitious spirit, he often felt a sense of panic, doubting whether there was still potential to make big money in this traditional industry.
"It was a coincidence and fate. I noticed Baturu back in 2015. Unlike other companies, it was full of vitality and took the new internet path. Just then, a friend introduced Baturu's partner program to me, and I quickly signed the agreement."
In 2017, Liu Feng, who started in auto parts speculating, made a bold decision—return to his hometown Chenzhou, Hunan, to start a business.
Returning home to start a business with five-figure monthly income, fourth-tier city, full of potential
Many people think that only striving in big cities is what young people, more precisely men, should do, while staying in small third- or fourth-tier hometowns would be seen as lacking ambition. Liu Feng dismisses this view.
He laughs: "Consumer spending in big cities is so high. Even if I earned ten thousand yuan there, could my living standard compare to the same income back home? Besides, I'm a local born and raised here; everything feels smoother breathing the air at home. After work, I can go home and see my wife and kids right away—life is comfortable."
According to news from 21st Century Business Herald, the average monthly wage in Guangzhou in 2019 was about 5,560 yuan, while Liu Feng, as a partner in Chenzhou, Hunan, has long achieved five-figure monthly income.
Liu Feng is a rising star in entrepreneurship back home, proven by a string of numbers. Since joining Baturu in 2017, he has never lost money; he broke even in the first month, started profiting in the second, with annual transaction volume exceeding 5 million—a figure unimaginable in a fourth-tier small city! To develop his team and business, he once offered salespeople wages more than twice that of the same positions at 4S stores, and that salesperson now runs his own store as a big boss.
Liu Feng acknowledges the help Baturu provided in his return-to-hometown entrepreneurship. He believes the Baturu partner program is a great project: low threshold, huge development prospects, and even complete novices with zero experience from other industries can succeed smoothly.
For young people like Liu Feng who want to return home to start a business, the Baturu partner program is not just a job to make ends meet, but also a reason to be closer to home.
“Baturu brings me not only wealth, but also networking resources”
Liu Feng hasn't stopped there. While mainly running the Baturu partner project, leveraging industry resources accumulated over the years, he has also invested in another track within the industry, achieving hundreds of thousands in transaction volume in just the first month.
“Many people only see how much commission partners can earn from transactions, but the true value Baturu brings to partners is far more than that.” Liu Feng likes to call himself an ambitious person now. In running the partner business, what he values most is actually the networking and customer resources brought by Baturu—this is the biggest fortune he has gained from Baturu.
“I've always thought that if it were ten years ago, without a platform like Baturu, even with 100,000 to 200,000 yuan in startup capital, I couldn't enter this market. The traditional auto parts industry has high barriers, a strong clique culture, and without connections, business can't take off. But Baturu leverages its platform advantages and resources to help partners expand the market.”
34 years old, peak yet to come, future plans to tap into larger auto parts markets
Now Liu Feng has bought a house in Chenzhou, Hunan. His eldest child is 11 years old and already in junior high. The family enjoys a happy small-city life together. In his career, he achieved nearly 5 million in performance throughout 2018, maintaining steady growth.
According to Liu Feng, his current goal is to capture more areas: "Life is full of hope."
In 2016, Baturu expanded its partner business nationwide, sparking a wave of return-to-hometown entrepreneurship and sinking the advantages of industrial internet. For those young people from small towns who left home, it provided one more choice, allowing them to return to their ideal life at the lowest cost.