HAN'S LASER 213 of laser marking to potential overseas customers. Gao realized that he would have to create a market for laser markers by demonstrat- ing to the Wenzhou entrepreneurs that the machine would make their products more exportable. Nine months later, the first tentative overseas order for a ship- ment of laser marked products from one of Wenzhou's entrepre- neurs came in. It brought with it a new dilemma. The prospective client who had received the order wanted to buy one of Gao's machines, but he also wanted Gao to promise not to sell machines to anyone else in Wenzhou. Since Gao's ultimate objective was to create a market for the machines, the offer was a nonstarter. It was also a sobering moment. Han's Laser was already on the verge of bankruptcy, but if he agreed to the deal, he was pretty certain that future bankruptcy would be virtually guaranteed. Gao told the client thanks, but no thanks. He decided to hold his ground. Not long after that, another prospective client received an over- seas order, and this time the client was ready to buy one of Gao's machines with no strings attached. Gao delivered the machine and within two months, his client had recouped the original purchase price of the laser marker. The man's friends and relatives now clam- ored to buy machines, too. Gao was suddenly in business. Within a few years, the industrial marking by Han's Laser would be credited with having helped to generate more than nearly $40 million in sales for the cloth button industry alone. Sustaining the Business For Gao, however, launching the business was only the beginning. Sustaining it in China's rapidly changing economic environment was a different prospect altogether. Gao realized quickly that cost and maintenance were key issues in building a market. He began reducing costs by determining which parts could be manufactured locally. By using local manufacturing for all but the core compo- American Management Association / www.amanet.org