From IT to fruit: a young man’s dream
Selling fruit may not seem like a job that requires much skill – you purchase wholesale and sell in retail, and all you have to do is get the numbers right.
But Xu Jia disagrees. The former technician, who earned a decent salary working for a Beijing-based IT group, believes fresh fruit is an even more promising industry than IT. So the 27-year-old quit his job, becoming an online sensation: the geek who sells fruit.
But to Xu, it is only a story where a young man does what he loves and becomes happily ever after, simple as this.
But how exactly did Xu become an online sensation?
One of his friends posted a photo comparison online. One photo is of Xu as an IT technician – with most of his hair having fallen out and looking pale; the other is of Xu selling fruit – with sparkling eyes, his hair all grown back and most importantly, a happy look on his face. All of a sudden, the photo comparison went viral, appearing on micro blogs to major news portals.
Doing what he likes
After he graduated from the school of electronic information engineering at Southwest University in 2008, Xu went to Beijing to work.
“Sometimes, in order to finish a project, I had to use the computer for 12 hours every day. I always left the office at 2 am and went back to work at 8 am,” says Xu.
He was rewarded for his hard work over those five years, but although he earned more than 10,000 yuan a month, he was exhausted. Thinking about what he really likes doing, eating fruit came to his mind.
“ I've enjoyed eating fruit since my childhood. I like to share the knowledge of fruit on my micro blog, offering advice on what fruit to eat and when to eat it. People liked these tips, so I got an idea: why not share fresh fruit with them?” says Xu.
He quit his job early this year and returned to Chongqing to build up an electronic commerce platform for fruit selling.
Before he made the change, Xu considered his options carefully and made some preparations.
“I collected a lot of information about picking, packing and transporting fruit before I quit,” he says.
Xu started his business with five young employees. One of his friends was in charge of the real store and Xu managed the online store.
New way of selling
For the start-up’s first project, they contacted several local cherry plantations in March. “We planned to pick cherries from the trees and send them directly to clients,” says Xu.
After preparing for two months, Xu realized his plan. He promoted the cherries on his micro blog and many netizens visited his online store to support him. The turnover in May was more than 200,000 yuan.
Xu sold the cherries for two months. Some netizens complained that the cherries got spoiled during transportation and some said the packaging smelled bad.
Xu reposted the suggestions and answered them honestly. This was an important step for the young man to pursue his “fruit dream”.
“The fresh fruit market has developed quickly in first-tier cities but faces a lot of problems. Some websites selling fresh produce have closed. I’m worried about the future, but I still have confidence,” says Xu.
He goes to bed before midnight and wakes up naturally. “The tempo of life and work is very relaxed. I enjoy a balanced diet, exercise every day and work to music. I smile more than before,” says Xu.
“My dream is to bring fresh fruit to the table of every family in the country, from north to south. I’m really happy to make this my career,” he says.
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