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Business Time with Urbanest
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Andersonville's Urbanest offers sustainable,
affordable home furnishings. (photo courtesy
Urbanest)
Who are you, and what do you do?
Hanzhi Zheng, founder and owner, Urbanest, a home furnishings store.
How long have you been in business?
Three years.
Tell us something you've learned, being in business for yourself.
Here's what I feel like I'm doing in the United States-- here's the broader picture -- I feel like I'm a cowboy who's come to the Wild West. Actually the reason why I came to [the U.S.] I thought, "If I like it, great; if not, I'm going home." (Zheng is originally from China.)
I still feel like every time I start a new business or new venture, I feel the same way, I feel like i'm entering into an unknown place. I've done a lot of things-- I was trained as a scholar, as a scientist. (Zheng holds three degrees, in Physics, Oceanography, and Meteorology) -- anything non-science related, it's new territory for me.
I am a Chinese cowboy! (laughs)*
What made you want to open a retail home furnishings store?
I was involved with product development for major, national accounts like retailers, from low-to mid to high end products. A lot of good products were never picked for whatever reasons, so I always felt like that was such a waste, so I decided that someday I'm going to open a store.
I wanted to [sell] good but affordable products so peopole wouldn't have to wait a few years to buy furtniture. I was involved behind the scenes for many years. [I thought] "Someday i'll open it" and I expect that it's going to explode -- and now here's the economy....
Was that a surprise when the economy turned?
The first two years of my business, business continued growing every month, if you compared month to month -- growth, growth, growth, until the third year, when we started to see the decline because of the economy and the housing market.
Did you learn anything about how you have to modify or do business?
Nobody knew at that time that that was only the beginning, or we were already quite deep [into the recession]. One thing I didn't anticipate is that a home furnishings store is related to the housing market -- more than any other retailer.
People, a lot of times, don't buy major furnishings unless they're moving to a new place, or have to relocate. I didn't know that until it happened. (chuckles)
Have you had to change the way you do business or run the business?
Along the way I had to adapt to what was happening -- certain expenses we had to cut. And we had to re-analyze what our core product should be. What product will keep us going, what products we don't need to waste our time on. So we stay more focused.
Is it re-prioritization?
Correct. Focusing on something that can help us to sustain our business. We're just keeping our core business --meaning good product, affordable prices, every day.
Knowing what you know now, would you have done anything differently?
This is my first retail space, I would've opened a little smaller. Half the size. What I really learned is the biggest expense is a fixed cost - the rent. It's not flexible. If you have a small space, you're flexible. For larger stores, your overhead is fixed.
Tell us a business book you recommend.
The Power of Six Sigma by Subir Chowdhury
* Zheng showed up to our interview wearing a western shirt.
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