Cheng Zhengchang’s entrepreneurial journey

A master of mathematics has developed a small restaurant in a shopping mall in California into a Chinese fast food empire with 820 chain stores. Thirty-five states in the United States have been marked with his "Panda" logo, and his goal is to have the "Panda" occupy the remaining 15 states. On the streets of many cities in the United States, you can see small spire houses with light yellow walls. At first glance, the windows are bright and clear. The frame of the house is bright red, and there is a circular sign hanging at the front door. There is a big red dot in the middle on a white background. On the dot is a cute giant panda, with a line of English words PANDA EXPRESS surrounding the panda's head. This is currently the largest Chinese fast food chain in the United States - Panda Express.

Before founder Cheng Zhengchang officially joined the catering industry, the only job related to it was working in his brother’s restaurant. At that time, he was a master of mathematics at the University of Missouri. "In the year I graduated, a cousin of mine bought a restaurant in Los Angeles. It was about to open, but he still couldn't find a suitable front-of-house manager, so he called me over to help. I didn't expect that I would have such a strong interest in this industry. I have been doing this for more than 30 years." In fact, Cheng Zhengchang's career in catering is somewhat "family inheritance". His father, Cheng Mingcai, was originally a chef with extraordinary skills. He served as Chiang Kai-shek's chef in his early years and was very good at cooking Zhejiang cuisine. . In 1973, Cheng Zhengchang's family immigrated to Pasadena, California, USA. How to make a living? The Chengs and their sons hit it off immediately and spent all their savings to open a cafe on an old street in Pasadena. After renovation, they opened a Chinese restaurant called Jufengyuan. The father and son have the ambition to create a "McDonald's of Chinese restaurants".

The American Panda Express founded by Cheng Zhengchang has become a fast food empire with more than 800 chain stores. Looking back on the early days of starting a business, he even had some doubts - did he really get through like that? In the first month after Jufengyuan opened, Cheng Zhengchang only did business worth 12,000 yuan, which was so bad that even on weekends , and it only cost a few hundred yuan. Not to mention Monday, only a pitiful one or two hundred yuan. "I still remember one day, at eight o'clock, our entire restaurant was empty and there was not a single customer. It was really sad. Suddenly two people came. Wow, you can imagine how excited we were about the arrival of the customers at that time. Thank you."

How to improve the business of his Chinese restaurant was the question that Cheng Zhengchang thought about the most at that time. He tried his best to make the business better and better. At least, better than other Chinese restaurants nearby. Cheng Zhengchang led everyone to work hard. Business is slowly picking up, but still struggling. Thirty years ago, spirits were more popular in the United States. But if you want to run a spirits business, you have to spend more than 10,000 yuan to buy a license. This was far beyond what Cheng Zhengchang could bear at that time. Where to get it? Fortunately, Cheng Zhengchang's father had a friend named Mr. Zhang who was also in this business. He helped Cheng and his son go to Cathay Bank to provide guarantee.

"Finally, we borrowed more than 10,000 yuan and bought a license plate. Since we got the license plate, our business has never been less than 400 yuan a day. But 400 yuan is considered good. Is it right? It’s still not that good.” During the operation, Cheng Zhengchang found that the old-fashioned Chinese restaurant business model was too old-fashioned and unchanged. "Many people are self-centered when doing business. They always think that customers should also like what they like. In that old China Street, their service is very 'famous' and famously bad, but they don't think it is bad themselves."

Cheng Zhengchang is not like this. He believes that working hard on a small menu will only get temporary business. If you want long-term development, you must sincerely pay attention to your customers. "My relationship with my guests is not an ordinary relationship. For example, if ten people come to eat, I will help them order dishes. For five yuan per person, I can make a very rich meal. Sometimes after the dishes are served, they eat them all. I don’t need to ask, just add two more dishes. They will be surprised.” If the customer goes elsewhere because there is no seat, Cheng Zhengchang will rush to the parking lot and apologize, “I’m sorry we are so crowded, but if you are willing to wait a moment, I can give you a drink.

"He said that some of the guests from 30 years ago could be called by their names when they met on the street.

Now, Cheng Zhengchang can sit in the office, look at the map of the United States, point and calculate." When will "Panda" occupy the entire United States? This is by no means an impossible task. At least for now, 35 states have already marked his "Panda" logo. The most unforgettable thing for Cheng Zhengchang is of course the first Panda Fast Food This was the real beginning of his career's peak.

In 1983, the developer of a large shopping mall in Grendel came to ask Cheng Zhengchang if he was willing to open Jufengyuan in the shopping mall. A Chinese fast food. When Cheng Zhengchang agreed to the developer's request, he thought of China's national treasure. At that time, the Chinese government gave two giant pandas to the American zoo, and the pandas became stars overnight in the United States. , so the first Panda Express was opened. Cheng Zhengchang aimed at doing business with Americans from the beginning. He said that because the number of Chinese in the United States was small, Panda Express could make its business bigger. The food is Sichuan-style Chinese food, but with some improvements. There are tangerine peel chicken, fried chicken with mushrooms, spicy chicken with peanuts, and sweet and sour pork ribs. The small variety allows Panda to cook the food first. Put it on a thermal table and let the guests take it by themselves to save time. However, if a dish is not sold after three or four minutes, it must be thrown away to ensure the quality. Make money in one month. In 1985, I opened four stores in one go. The business went on like this. ”

Since then, Cheng Zhengchang’s career has been out of control. In 2002, he even opened 108 new stores. Today, Panda Express has more than 800 chain stores across the United States, with new stores opening almost every week, and every There are many struggles in business success. It is not uncommon for one store to do well, but the second store does not do well because it is difficult to manage so many stores. What about management? He spends half of the year on site and rarely in the office. “I do this every day. I'm in Naples, Florida today, Tampa tomorrow, and Orlando the day after tomorrow. I hope to visit every branch as much as possible, so that I can visit one branch at least once a year. However, as our stores increase, this wish becomes increasingly difficult to achieve. But I try to do it anyway because that's the most important part of my job - knowing how things are doing is the most important information you have.

"Fast food restaurants are our life. If I treat my employees better, the employees will be in a better mood and they will treat customers better." Cheng Zhengchang said that he has this confidence. Not to mention managing 7,000 people now, he just manages There is no problem with 70,000 people. His goal is to open 10,000 stores, which will put more pressure on himself and his employees and make his work better. "I won't stop. I may start slower than you, but when I reach the finish line, I may not be behind you. I have this confidence because I am still walking when you are sleeping." Cheng Zhengchang said.

Panda Catering’s sales reached US$735 million, which is nearly three times the total sales of the two Chinese restaurants ranked second (Budweiser Asian Restaurant) and third (Chopsticks). Cheng Zhengchang's career has achieved such success because he has a very capable "good wife" - his wife Jiang Peiqi. While studying at the University of Missouri in the United States, Cheng Zhengchang met Peiqi Jiang, who was studying for a PhD in electrical engineering, and the two got married in 1975. Later, Peggy Chiang quit her job as a computer engineer to help her husband expand his career. Her knowledge in computer software development makes her attach great importance to planning and efficiency. Panda Express is also full of confidence in its future development. It can be seen from one of its advertising slogans: "In the Middle Ages, Europe was at war, and the United States was still dominated by stone tools. The Chinese were already studying how to stir-fry delicious dishes!" Today, when "American fast food" has quickly occupied the vast majority of China's fast food market and has become the fast food brand of choice for teenagers, Cheng Zhengchang and his wife, who are far away on the other side of the ocean, have established a rival Chinese fast food empire in the hometown of foreign fast food