Getting noticed in China and beyond: How Heidi Dugan of Arete crossed the chasm and went from obscurity to recognition
By Jim James, Founder EASTWEST PR and Host of The UnNoticed Entrepreneur.
Heidi Dugan has a multimedia, wellness, and food business called Arete Group in China, where she’s been for around 26 years now. In the new episode of The UnNoticed Entrepreneur, she shared how she’s crossed the chasm as an entrepreneur, going from obscurity to recognition and fame.
Screengrab from Arete
Heidi started as the first foreign TV host in China. She’s the host of “You Are The Chef,” a famous program that follows her as she goes to hotels and restaurants and speaks to chefs, goes to shopping centres and buys foods, and as she teaches people how to love and understand Western food, Chinese food, and other cuisines.
Through that, she’s had a lot of brands reaching out to her, asking her to work with them. She then started importing brands. Her personal love for health and wellness also expanded. Today, she’s in the food and beverage and health and wellness industries.
The Challenge of Doing Business in China
It’s not easy to start a business anywhere. And starting a business in China, in particular, has its own set of challenges. For Heidi, the challenges that she’s faced have been the things that have actually made her become who she is today.
As a foreigner in China, one of the most difficult things was that she couldn't speak very good Chinese. And her biggest restriction was she couldn’t be a TV host. She was only a guest host on many shows, but those experiences have gotten her well known to a much bigger audience.
When she got the license to be the first foreign host on Chinese TV, it attracted so much attention.
Image from Facebook
The show was a daily show aired for over 20 years on Chinese TV. They did it for many years, and they used the same method and format every single day; they just changed the recipes.
At that time, Heidi would’ve loved more challenges and things that are a little different. But looking back, she realised the show became successful because people were used to it and they were lulled into it. They enjoyed the years of learning the recipes, and they knew what they would get.
This is a great lesson on consistency in communication.
On Attracting Attention and Becoming Visible
Honestly speaking, Heidi thinks that China is a very difficult place. And she was at the right place at the right time to be fortunate enough to get the license to be a host on TV in the country.
She’s highly aware that being able to live broadcast on national TV is something that has only been granted to her because of the years of trust she’s built up with the government, the Chinese consumers, and the public.
Being on national TV — especially having your own show — is not always the best way. What you can do is to replace what she did on other platforms, such as Instagram. You can also be a guest on TV shows and talk about whatever you're an expert in.
Heidi was on a cooking show, but that's not why people love her. People started to love her because her being on the cooking show fascinated people about her life and who she is. This is also why she got onto many other shows — they wanted to ask her about how she is as a parent, how she built her business, and how she stays fit and healthy.
After people know some basic structure about you, they naturally want to delve a little bit deeper.
Image from Unsplash
Arete, Heidi’s business, was really based on the fact that she has a lot of publicity; that a lot of people notice her. Plus, she has incredible relationships, which she continues to maintain.
She often uses the word “visibility” because it could be anything — TV, social media, or podcast. It could be about something social (e.g., an event) where you can ensure that the right people can see you.
Visibility is the one core thing that she’s always thinking of. As a result, Arete has become a way for companies to enter the Chinese market. They want their brand to have what she has — and that's visibility. They connected with her, and through that, they could access her followers.
Her tip for entrepreneurs: If you want more visibility, you can access someone else's visibility and network and be part of that.
The big thing about crossing the chasm, going from obscurity to recognition, is not thinking about publicity (Should I do social media or should I do TV?). It’s all about visibility, knowing how and where you can get it, and pursuing all the different avenues.
On Reaching Out to Two Markets
Heidi has two different markets. One is the international brands. These could be banks and law firms outside the country that she needs to connect with and speak to on behalf of her company to help their clients. How her business gets visibility for that is through social media platforms.
Flipping it around, she also looks inward towards China; towards her personal followers and Chinese consumers.
She does everything to reach out to them — from working with the Women's Association and the government to working on all the TV shows and platforms like WeChat, Douyin, Weibo, and Hongxiu. She particularly loves using traditional media because not as many people are using it now. It means that it can really leave a good impression on people.
Image from Freepik
It all started with passion. And through repetition, she has become an influencer and gotten noticed. She continued what she’s been doing and didn’t even realise that there were already so many people watching her show (they have around 6 million viewers every single day).
She also considers her authenticity to herself as a reason why she became visible. She always has this thing in mind: If she can just help one person or reach out to one person, then she’s already fine with who else is watching her show and how they think about it.
If you've got something that you want to share and you are authentic about that — and you're consistent with that — people will naturally start to follow, and they'll be fascinated with that journey.
The Power of Authenticity and Passion
For many business owners, the idea of being in front of a camera and consistently doing it can be quite daunting. In Heidi’s case, it’s something that she loves doing. And she thinks that anyone can actually do it. The thing about it is that you need to be true to yourself.
If you go deep in and are passionate about what you’re talking about, the style or personality won’t matter. People will naturally want to listen to it. It’s about their connection to the topic that you’re talking about.
If you’re talking about a topic that someone else has given you and you yourself are not connected to it, others can tell it from a mile away. But if you’re talking about and explaining something personal, you will naturally do a good job. You can ask anyone to talk about their kids and they can talk for hours and hours.
When you connect with your topic, it doesn't matter if there's a camera in front of you. It doesn't matter if there are 5,000 people in front of you. You'll be able to talk because it's something you know.
Image from Freepik
How She Overcame the Desire to Do Everything
Heidi’s biggest obstacle is that she wants to do everything. When she has a good idea, she wants to do it. It’s also the same for most other entrepreneurs: If they’d only do the same video over and over again, it would be boring.
She knew that the only way she could overcome that was to bring a Chief Operating Officer (COO) who would say no. Someone who will say that they only need to continue doing this or that thing and be better at it.
Instead of going after bright, shiny lights, she needs to focus on how she can do something better and reach more people doing that thing.
Bringing in someone to create some guide rails is something that she needed. And it has created the structure as well to build her business. It has removed her from that decision-making, which means she can get creative on areas that will not slow the business down.
Having a structure like that has made all the difference.
Keeping Things Lean with the Help of Partners
Handling multiple audiences and channels to reach both her international and domestic audiences is a challenge. And Heidi’s philosophy with her business is to keep it very lean.
Over the last few years, she’s partnered with amazing companies that can do everything that she needs them to do. That way, she doesn’t have to spend time working with many employees and employee issues.
Image from Freepik
Her strategy is to find the best company with a team that works in all the different areas she needs. This kind of partnership is not only beneficial for her, but it’s also massively benefitting the other company because they can work with other brands that Heidi and her business are giving.
She always says “partnership” because her goal is for anyone she works with (even if she’s paying them) to be better off once she leaves — or grow as they continue to do the partnership.
Keeping things nice and lean is what Heidi would advise. Work with the best that you can afford and help them get better and better. That way, you can have a team of hundreds.
What’s Next For Arete?
Heidi is excited to launch their new brand, “Rise, This is Living.” It’s a global brand that they’re launching in China about a wellness course. They aim to give people the confidence to take back their health, wellness, and happiness — not just to control it, but also to create it as their life moves along and as things change.
They’re working with fantastic health and wellness brands for this, and they also have a lot of media and amazing people who will be coming along to it as they launch it in December.
Screengrab from Arete
Heidi’s key takeaway in having been able to manage to market across China and internationally is to add value to whoever you're working with.
As long as you are thinking about who you’re talking to, you’re always going to be on the mark with the message you’re sending out there. In fact, Heidi and her team use the same structure — whether they’re working with someone from the international or Chinese market. It’s more about the tone of voice that they use.
When you're on the mark and at the forefront of these things, you get picked up by the media. The proof is how a lot of TV shows and newspapers have picked up Heidi and her business.
The more interesting stories that you have, the more interesting partnerships you can create. People will want to be part of it, review it, or put it on the news.
Heidi doesn’t want people to think that they at Arete just sit back. They work diligently with the media. She and her team are constantly out there, letting people know what they do. For instance, a member of her in-house staff has one sole task: to reach out to different people.
One thing that entrepreneurs sometimes forget is that you have to ask for things. Remember that journalists are dying for a good story — for something interesting or for someone else, even, to write the story for them. You just have to ask, and you will receive it.
This article is based on a transcript from my podcast The UnNoticed Entrepreneur, you can listen here.
Cover image by Martino Pietropoli on Unsplash
