Women Entrepreneurs Worldwide :
Woman Entrepreneur of the Month
November 27, 201...: Woman Entrepreneur of the Month November 27, 2013 Randi Miller International Attorney and Consultant Beijing, China ...
Thursday, November 28, 2013
Wednesday, November 27, 2013
Woman Entrepreneur of the Month
November 27, 2013
November 27, 2013
Randi Miller
International
Attorney and Consultant Beijing, China
As founder of Women Entrepreneurs Worldwide (WEW) it’s an honor
and a privilege for me to interact with all of the members of WEW that make our global
connection a success. As we continue to Build Cultural Relationships and
Networking Bridges Globally, each individual possesses the unique and
extraordinary experiences of her journey, which impacts all of us in a
very positive way. WEW is a
diverse group and the many different cultural, professional, and personal
backgrounds that shape our members’ perspectives expand our ability to promote
and support global entrepreneurship.
Randi Miller, a native of New York and a licensed， seasoned
intellectual property law attorney turned entrepreneur, has resided in
Beijing, China for several years. Randi is an individual who is not afraid of challenges, both
domestic and foreign. She has proven this by her relocation move from the
comforts of New York life to the exciting, but uncertain and challenging
venture opportunities in China. Randi calls herself an “accidental
entrepreneur” because she took a career break without a long-term plan and, as
a result of seeking out new experiences in foreign countries, extensive
networking, and staying open to opportunities that come to her, she ended up
unexpectedly starting a consulting company and carving out a unique role for
herself at a law firm. A review of her LinkedIn profile
reveals her continued determination, growth and success as an international
entrepreneur and she is WEW’s “Woman
Entrepreneur of the Month.”
When Randi decided to take a career
break, she started by volunteering with orphans and girls rescued from slavery
through the Volunteer Nepal program run by Nepal Orphans Home, a US 501(c)(3)
charity, where she is now on the Board of Advisers. Keeping a blog about her
experiences proved challenging due to limited electricity and Internet access,
but she reported some of her experiences at www.adventuresq.blogspot.com. She found that the beautiful children she met in Nepal
are inspiring and that they teach the volunteers unforgettable lessons about
love, life, and second chances.
Getting out of her regular life and going half way around the world to
experience something totally different was the first step towards opening
Randi’s mind and preparing her to start down her path to entrepreneurship.
Randi later went to Beijing for a
two month internship at an English language magazine. She had never been to
China before, had no knowledge of Chinese culture (though her Asian American
friends had joked for decades that she is “really Chinese”), did not speak the
language, had no friends or network there, and had no long-term plan except a
vague thought that she would like to get some kind of job and work in China,
probably in Shanghai, for a year or two. She had no idea what kind of work she
wanted to do except that she did not want to teach English or work for a law
firm. In fact, she vowed that she would never work for a law firm again.
During her journey, despite her youth
being far in the past, Randi made a dorm room in a youth hostel her home for
quite some time as she bounced around doing different things. She ended up
building a great network from scratch –extending not only to US and China, but
also to other places such as Israel, Europe, and Africa-- and she began to work
with Chinese law firms that wanted to develop American business and then to
partner with experienced China market entry consultants. Eventually, she began
to get involved in China outbound investment consulting as well. Randi found
herself in China just as a new trend emerged: For the first time the Chinese
began looking to invest outside of China both as individuals and for business
purposes. There is a huge need for Chinese with investment interests to be
connected with overseas investment opportunities and Randi has been working to
make connections and build bridges between them.
Along the way, Randi began
volunteering with a Minnesota based non-profit organization called US-China
Business Connections (UCBC). She brought in someone to build out connections in
China and was asked to work with him as Director of China Operations
Development. She also initiated the founding of the New York Chapter
of the organization to support the President’s vision to open chapters all over
the US. Unfortunately, UCBC recently had a change in leadership that resulted
in a decision to restrict its activities
and membership solely to the twin cities of Minneapolis/St. Paul. Consequently, UCBC severed
ties with the New York Chapter and ended its presence in China. The New York
Chapter was very successful, however, so the chapter’s President, along with
Randi and the other Directors of the organization, founded a new organization,
US –China Business Executives Association, to continue their mission of
providing networking opportunities and educational resources to companies that
engage or want to engage in business between the US and China.
Last year, one of UCBC’s Directors asked Randi to join his Minneapolis based
law firm, Foley & Mansfield, to help him build an international business
law group with a deep focus on China. He persuaded her to break her vow never
to work for another law firm again for two reasons: First, despite having ten
offices and about 150 attorneys, Foley & Mansfield maintains a “family”
culture and an emphasis on promotion of cooperation rather than competition
among its attorneys that is unlike anything that Randi has ever seen or heard
about at another law firm. It is also the only firm of which Randi is aware
that has a charitable foundation and strongly encourages employees to give
back. Second, the firm effectively created a unique position for her, which
allows her to continue her own consulting business, Venturesq LLC, and, in fact, cross-market her
consulting services with the firm’s legal services as an unconventional way of
building a China practice. When working in a country with a culture in which
relationships are of paramount importance, Randi’s ability to assist clients in
multiple ways and connect them with a range of resources is a great asset.
In her Of Counsel role with Foley & Mansfield, Randi assists
clients and works with foreign counsel as an international attorney, but she also
invests significant time in developing business going to and coming out of
China and supporting the firm’s International Business Law Group. Although she
logs many hours, she does not work in an office and she has the freedom to
explore new ways of building connections and finding clients. The autonomy and
flexibility that she has retained while working hard for the firm are at least
highly unusual, if not completely unique. Law firms are known for being
extremely conservative and risk averse, so Foley & Mansfield’s willingness
to try something new and create a special arrangement for Randi is remarkable.
New opportunities continue to
present themselves and, most recently, Randi began working with Plum Majestic,
a company that is starting to sell contemporary American art into Asia and
particularly the China luxury market. Always looking for ways to combine her
legal expertise with her other activities, she quickly combined her
intellectual property law background and her work with Plum Majestic to write
articles for Art Copyright magazine, a Beijing publication that is directed at
Chinese artists and art collectors.
Women Entrepreneurs Worldwide, continues to consult with Randi on WEW’s
international activities in connection with cultural and business relationship
building in China and with its entry into the African market, especially on WEW’s project "Developing
Increased Presence of Women Entrepreneurs In Rural Africa." Her
support and investment of time is beyond measure. Her professionalism and
pleasant manner are just two things that accompany her at the table with her
clientele.
Companies attempting to venture
into the China market and Chinese who want to invest abroad who need
legal assistance or other resources, would most definitely benefit from
consulting with Randi and taking advantage of her expertise and
international connections. In addition, any company with legal needs in the US
should consider contacting her. Finally, Randi is currently looking for investment
opportunities in the pharmaceutical industry and for companies in the fields of
manufacturing, hi tech, medical tech, green tech, farming and foods, financial
services, and train components that might be of interest as target companies
for Chinese State Owned Enterprises that are seeking to acquire such companies.
Anyone who thinks that their company might be of interest and is willing to
sell it is welcome to contact Randi at Venturesqconsulting@outlook.com and send her information about the company.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)