Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, March 13, 1994 TAG: 9403090207
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: D-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: By Megan Schnabel STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
When Chinese restaurants compete with other Chinese restaurants, for example, or ethnic grocery stores with other ethnic grocery stores, language and cultural differences are common to all competitors and so have no real effect on business.
Chinese entrepreneur George Shen, on the other hand, has found himself competing in a wider field, one in which culture and language can be big obstacles.
Shen, owner of Roanoke's PC City Computers, said his store is one of few minority-owned computer retailers in the Roanoke Valley. He has been selling and servicing personal computers in the Roanoke area since November 1992, when he and his wife, Ann Shen, moved from Connecticut to open their own business.
In one respect, the Shens were lucky: Because they were able to borrow start-up funds from relatives, they managed to avoid the ordeal of securing a bank loan, typically one of the toughest parts of starting a new business.
But George and Ann Shen - who grew up in Shanghai - have had to overcome a problem of their own, one that is unfamiliar to many entrepreneurs: doing business in English.
Although both speak English, it is their second language, which at times compounds for them the already difficult task of explaining their wares to customers who have little computer background, George Shen said.
Overcoming the computer-knowledge barrier is hard enough when both customer and business owner speak the same language, he said. Because the Shens train their customers in addition to selling them computers, the dual language barrier sometimes means spending extra time with new computer owners.
"We need to work harder," George Shen said.
Despite the language barrier, the Shens decided to give self-employment a shot after George Shen spent several years working for PC Warehouse in Connecticut and Maryland. After researching several cities, the Shens decided Roanoke had both the market and the living conditions they were looking for. George Shen was a graduate of Virginia Tech, which prompted them to look at Western Virginia.
Concerned that people who buy computers from department stores typically have few choices, the Shens set out to provide alternatives to those prepackaged systems. From their store in the Springwood Park shopping center on Electric Road, they sell personal computers and the accompanying parts and software, custom-designing systems to buyers' specifications. They also provide technical support, making over-the-phone recommendations or, when necessary, service calls.
Thanks in part to user-friendly "Windows" software, IBM computers and compatible machines are becoming more flexible, George Shen said. Rather than buy new systems, many customers opt instead to upgrade their existing machines, he said.
"Here, it's just like a garage," he said with a laugh. Customers bring in their computers for overhauls and new parts, he said, and leave with up-to-date systems.
The increasing popularity of IBM and IBM-compatible computers - plus the limited choices offered at many department-style stores - has meant brisk business for PC City. The Shens even had to cut back on advertising when referrals brought them as much business as they could handle with their small staff.
As with most small businesses, the transition from just starting out to success did not happen overnight. The Shens have had to put in long hours at the store. Even their time at home isn't always free: In a field where keeping abreast of changing technology is crucial, there always are industry publications to read and science shows to watch.
With first-year sales of $500,000, George Shen said he is satisfied with PC City's performance so far. Echoing most small business owners, however, he said he wants to see growth. And now that he and his wife are becoming more settled in their business, that growth may be coming.
"Maybe we'll expand a little bit," he said. "But sometimes you just don't know. Sometimes you just cross your fingers."
by CNB