Willing and Able

By+Xia+Yuanyuan+&+Wang+Hairong

There was a time when Gao Mengwen felt her life was a cruel twist of fate. The 26-year-old native of Hangzhou， in east Chinas Zhejiang Province， has had cerebral palsy since birth and can move around only in a wheelchair. One of her biggest fears for several years was how she could earn a living and not be a financial burden on others. It was technology that threw Gao a lifeline， and today， the newly motivated young woman， armed with a laptop and WiFi， has taken advantage of the gi- ant e-commerce platform Taobao.com to carve out a thriving business for herself.

E-commerce is creating more job opportunities for people with disabilities in China like Gao.

Dream to reality

Though Gao always knew she was different growing up， she never lost hope and studied hard at school. It was not until 2014， when she began job hunting， that the reality struck home.

“I couldnt find a job when I graduated from college，” she said remembering the arduous routine of sending out hundreds of resumes to companies without any reply. “I realized my physical condition is an obstacle. People with disabilities are looked at differently in the job market.”

Impressed by the popularity of e-commerce， the idea to open a store on Taobao was born， and she decided to be her own boss. “I like the Internet because it is open，convenient， and all are equal，” she said.

Gao became an online store owner in 2014， focusing mainly on snacks and enjoying the convenience of working from the comfort of her home. Her disability does not restrict her from interacting with clients. “I can respond to customers queries through Wangwang [online messaging software linking sellers and buyers on Taobao].” Her products are collected from her door daily for onward delivery countrywide.

To date， Gao has made more than 2，000 transactions online and her store has the“3-diamond” rating given to trustworthy stores by Taobao. With an annual income now reaching 50，000 yuan （$7，700）， she is understandably proud of her independence.

Like Gao， an increasing number of people with physical disabilities in China are setting up e-commerce businesses， typically on Taobao. According to the Zhejiang Provincial Disabled Persons Federation， the number of people with disabilities in the province who started businesses online had exceeded 10，000 by July， 2016， of them more than 6，000 are on Taobao.

Photos of graceful ladies dressed in elegant qipao， a traditional Chinese dress， in various colors， styles and textures are neatly arrayed in Cui Wanzhis stores on e-commerce platforms T-mall and Taobao.

Few shoppers know that the store owner is a man who has achieved success in business despite his physical disabilities.

“I was born different. God loves me， so he took a bite of me. Although I stagger when walking and stammer when speaking， I own my company whose annual sales exceed 10 million yuan （$1.5 million） and which is among the top 10 e-tailers [ranked by the Alibaba Group]，” Cui said during a 2015 speech contest aired on Anhui Satellite TV. Cui made it through several rounds of public speaking in front of large TV audiences to win the second place.

When Cui was born， suffocation caused during labor affected his system， making his speech slurred and his legs weak.

Cuis father always encouraged him， saying，“Do not complain. Rely on yourself.” Supported by his father， Cui decided to start his own business after graduation from university.

He peddled goods on the street and ran a bookstore and an Internet café before opening an online shop more than 10 years ago and creating his own clothing labels. Now his company employs over 500 people， and Cui offers training to people with disabilities.

Lai Fan， a resident of Dazhou， Sichuan Province， is in her late 30s. She opened her online shop， Tubandeng Sichuan Specialty Products， featuring chili paste， edible fungi， spicy peanuts and other local snacks， a few months ago.

“Delicious！ The boss said she made it herself. After finishing this， I will buy again，”a customer commented on the chili paste bought from Lais store. Such comments make Lai happy.

Lai currently works as a graphic designer， and runs the shop in her spare time. While considering taking on a second job， she made a friend online who runs a Taobao store full time and is doing well.

“I went to the friends place and spent a morning there learning how to operate an online store. Then I applied for a business license and launched the store，” she said.

Lai has had albinism since she was young. The disease not only affected her hair and skin， but also left her visually impaired.

Despite the hardships， Lai has constantly sought a better life. She studied accounting in a technical secondary school. Then in the 1990s， she found her first job in a grain store. But she lost the job in 2003， as the company was not profitable.

She looked for work and was rejected numerous times before landing a job as a typist in a graphic design workshop. The salary was low， so Lai taught herself graphic design to improve her earning potential. Now， as a designer， her income exceeds that of her husband， who is employed in a steel company. The couple has two daughters， so Lai wanted to take on a second job to be able to improve their living standards.

“I am a new e-tailer， and there are not many products in my shop. I would like to get trained， particularly in marketing skills， so that I can run the store better，” she said.

Weathering storms

Opening an online store is just the first step. Such ventures do not automatically generate profit， as the online business world is not risk free.

When Cui opened his online store， it was not successful immediately. In 2007，he invested all his savings—approximately 200，000 yuan （$29，800）—to buy clothes to sell. But sales were poor， so he could not recover his investment.

Although he suffered a heavy loss， he did not give up. The following year， he changed the business model and hired four tailors to make garments to order， so that there would be no inventory. Soon， the originally designed clothes became hot-selling items and brought in a hefty profit.

Riding on the e-commerce wave， his business soared. In 2010， he ranked among the Alibaba Groups top 30 e-tailers.

But as competition among e-stores became fiercer， his business plummeted in 2012. “A large number of traditional businesses swarmed into e-commerce. The number of e-tailers exploded from tens of thousands to tens of millions，” Cui said.

That year， his store suffered a loss of 4 million yuan（$595，300）， and Cui decided to switch from selling fashion clothes to selling traditional qipao. He created a new brand called Peacocks Love and has since regained his position as a top etailer.

But not all e-stores have managed to bounce back. Zhang Yuncheng， 36， who comes from the Wudalianchi Scenic Area in northeast Chinas Heilongjiang Province， also runs an e-store with two of his brothers.

Both Zhang and one of his brothers have had progressive muscular atrophy since early childhood， which has left them severely paralyzed. In 2002， Zhang published a book， titled If I Could Walk for Three Days. In 2004， they came to Beijing to undergo medical treatment， and they chose to stay in the capital.

In 2006， at the suggestion of their landlord， the three brothers opened an e-store， selling Zhangs book， paintings by his brother and other miscellaneous items such as clothes and cosmetics.

At one time， the e-store generated enough income to cover their living expenses in Beijing， and in 2007， they attended an e-tailers conference hosted by the Alibaba Group， where they met the groups famous founder， Jack Ma.

But around 2010， income from the estore dropped dramatically.

Fortunately， in 2008， the Taiwan-based Foxconn Technology Group hired Zhang as an honorary employee. At that time， the company was troubled by a series of suicides by young workers. Zhang was invited to speak to the employees and offer psychological counseling. Since then， the company covers the living expenses of Zhang and his brother. Zhang now resides in Weihai， Shandong Province， and provides content for Foxconns website from time to time.

Some people with disabilities who have opened e-stores may still need assistance from relevant organizations， said Yang Jian， Vice President of Ali Research Institute. He said that as of June 2015， the registered sales of 80 percent of the shops on Taobao stood below 30，000 yuan （$4，465） a year. As profit margins tend to be low， many e-tailers do not make much money.

To help quicken the pace at which people with disabilities become part of Chinas moderately prosperous society， the government has started providing living allowances to those experiencing financial difficulties and a nursing subsidy to those with severe disabilities from January 2016.

Growing opportunities

The growing interest of people living with disabilities in online employment is borne out by a report dating back to December 2015， by the Ali Research Institute. The report analyzes aspects of store owners and customers on Taobao. It shows that the Internet has created a growing number of job opportunities for people living with disabilities in China.

As of June 2015， a total of 316，000 people living with disabilities had opened online stores on Taobao.

Jin Jianhang， President of Alibaba， said the group is dedicated to cooperate with the China Disabled Persons Federation （CDPF） and other organizations to establish an online barrier-free environment that allows people living with disabilities to enjoy equal rights on the Internet.

There are several forms of e-commerce entrepreneurial models for people living with disabilities. Like Gao Mengwen， a lot of people living with disabilities have opened their own stores on e-commerce platforms. They sell and deliver products from home with no need to go out.

Another model offered by Taobao is its job facilitation program for people living with disabilities launched in 2011， offering callcenter jobs that allow handling customerscalls from home. For example， in July， Dazhou City， located in southwest Chinas Sichuan Province， supported by the Dazhou Disabled Persons Federation， carried out a cloud customer service training program to help people with disabilities become Taobao cus-tomer service staff， who would offer online consultations from home. The program aims to train 1，000 people with disabilities in the next two years.

The Rural Taobao service center in Shandong Province is another business model with promise. In 2014， Xie Dikang opened a service center in Daling Village in suburban Jinan City. The 38-year-old was paralyzed in childhood. After doing odd jobs selling newspapers and other goods in Jinan， Xie， who walks on crutches， decided to start an e-commerce business. Together with a group of friends， he built up his center to help local people buy products from the ecommerce platform and help them receive their goods. His highest monthly turnover for the service was over 30，000 yuan （$4，465）.

Social support

Official statistics show that China currently has 85 million people living with disabilities. The country is striving for a moderately prosperous society in all aspects by 2020. In this plan people with disabilities are regarded as key “participants， constructors and beneficiaries.” Job creation is among the key efforts of the government to help people living with disabilities lead a better life， and e-commerce opportunities are helping boost their employment rates.

On December 10， 2015， the CDPF and Alibaba cooperatively launched the Achieving Future program to promote employment for people living with disabilities in China. It is devoting 300 million yuan （$44.65 million） over the next five years for training for people living with disabilities along with the creation of 50，000 Internet-related job opportunities.

“The Internet is a gateway for many people living with disabilities to engage in society，” said Zhang Haidi， Chairperson of the CDPF， adding that it encourages people living with disabilities to earn their own living.