Li Ka Shing Articles

Becoming the Asian Superman: Li’s Business Takes Off - Click To Read Article
Li’s plastics manufacturing company was officially founded in 1950 and began by making plastic combs and soapboxes. He had borrowed the startup capital he needed from family, friends, and the contacts he had acquired while working as a salesman in the years before, but it still was not a lot. “The first year, as I didn’t have much capital, I did everything myself,” Li recalls, “which kept my overhead low.” From learning about everything from accounting to how to fix the gears of his equipment, Li says he “started from the bottom up.”

Lesson #1: Plan for the Worst to Reduce the Risk of Risk - Click To Read Article
Entrepreneurs, by definition, are risk-takers, people willing to strike out on their own in order to seize an opportunity and make a profit. But, for Li Ka-shing, the richest man of Chinese descent, risk should not be a part of the equation. Li is a self-proclaimed risk-averse entrepreneur and goes to any and all lengths to reduce the risks inherent in his actions. It was in planning for the worst case scenario and learning to expect the unexpected that Li managed to succeed where others before him had not.

Lesson #2: The Good Luck of Goals is Not Luck at All - Click To Read Article
There are many who see the vast fortune of Li Ka-shing and call him a lucky man. Indeed, some of his more superstitious Chinese peers have even suggested that Li owes his success to 1928 – the year he was born, the year of the dragon. But, Li laughs in the face of anyone who suggests his accomplishments have been the result of chance or accident. “I wasn’t lucky,” he says, “I worked hard to achieve the goals I set for myself.”

Lesson #3: Knowledge is Your Most Important Capital - Click To Read Article
“Times were really tough in the beginning,” recalls Li Ka-shing. “When I started my business in 1950, I only had HK$50,000, so I was in a tight spot financially. I already had some work experience, but I had an advantage in competing with other companies – I was willing to learn the latest industry trends.”

Lesson #4: Never Compromise Your Principles in Any Relationship - Click To Read Article
When Li Ka-shing says “yes” to someone, he means yes; he has entered into a contract and he intends on keeping his promise. In 1956, when he was just beginning in the plastics business, Li received an order for a three to six month production. He calculated a profit of 20 percent and agreed to the deal. Soon after, a large American competitor of Li’s buyer approached him, offering to pay an extra 30 percent profit for the merchandise Li’s original buyer had ordered.

Lesson #5: Knowing When to Engage is Half the Battle - Click To Read Article
To the entrepreneur, the saying ‘Timing is everything’ has a sacred significance. No matter what your business or how many people you serve, there is such a thing as catching the right waves. Anticipating the market and timing your entry or exit is one of the most difficult, yet crucial aspects of starting any business. It is, however, one that Li Ka-shing has managed to master over his almost sixty years in business.

From Plastics to Ports: How Ka-shing Cashed in on Success - Click To Read Article
“I wake up every day just before 6:00 am and exercise and play golf for an hour and a half,” says Li. “I insist on reading before I go to bed at night. I am still energetic during the day. Your energy comes from being interested in your work.” From manufacturing plastic flowers to becoming one of Hong Kong’s savviest businessmen, Li must have had an intense interest in his work to accomplish all that he has. How did this one time refugee and high school drop out become one of the world’s billionaire businessmen?

Li Ka Shing Quotes - Click To Read Article
Li Ka Shing Quotes


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