Newman Huo

AUSTRALIAN Ian Jones and his Chinese wife Shirley Wu are a perfect match not only in marriage but also in business.

The couple owns two businesses in Shekou in Nanshan District. One is Dial-an-Angel, which offers an extensive range of relocation and real estate service for expatriates coming to Shekou. The other is the Thai Orchid, a restaurant providing fine dining for foreigners and middle-class Chinese residents.

With more than 25 years' work experience in marketing, sales, management and information technology, Ian, 52, is in charge of Dial-an-Angel.

With about 10 years' experiences in the restaurant business, Shirley manages the Thai Orchid.

Before starting work for an IT company in Hong Kong in 2002, Ian had been traveling around Asia for five years working as a marketing executive with an IT company in Sydney, Australia.

He came to Shenzhen for the first time in April 2002 staying in an apartment in Futian District.

When he went to a restaurant in Shekou, he met with his Chinese wife, Shirley, who was managing a restaurant.

Ian worked for the Hong Kong company for a further two years, and then became self-employed as an IT consultant from 2004 through 2006.

Shirley, from Hunan Province, began to operate a restaurant and bar in Kunming, Yunnan Province at the age of 20. She moved to Shenzhen in September 1999.

She and Ian were married in June last year. Before they opened the Thai Orchid last September, Shirley had worked in almost every major Western restaurant in Shekou to familiarize herself with foreign cuisine and the catering business in this highly competitive area.

Two years ago, Shirley had many of Ian's foreign friends ask her for assistance on little things, like getting a driver, a maid or translation.

One day a foreigner asked for an apartment to rent, and she found one for him and helped him get all the utilities and bank books organized.

"Then we recognized there was a business opportunity in doing this, as foreigners had nobody to help them and were often being cheated by real estate agents," Ian said.

One of their first customers once said "Thanks, Shirley! You're an angel," after she had helped them with a taxi driver who got lost trying to get them home. That's how the couple finally came up with the name Dial-an-Angel.

In December 2006 the couple bought a small real estate agency in the Rose Garden in Nanshan District.

"The big real estate agencies next door laughed at us, one guilao (Chinese nickname for foreigners) and two girls opening a new store next to them, and we didn't even have uniforms." said Ian.

But now, one of them has gone out of business and Dial-an-Angel has expanded to twice the size and moved to a much larger office nearby.

"Now we have a toilet, but we still don't have uniforms as we believe this will suppress our individuality," Ian said.

Dial-an-Angel now has four Chinese girls as full-time employees. All speak English and understand what foreigners need in terms of accommodation and services.

"Moving to China is a very scary experience for a foreigner as they cannot speak the language and do not understand how things operate or who they can trust," Ian said.

"We know the local area very well and have good contacts in schools, medical services and community groups, so we are able to provide a complete offering and not just arrange an apartment rental and then forget about the client," he said.

More than 80 percent of the Dial-an-Angel's clients come from referrals of customers whom the company has helped settle into Shekou.

"It is a fun business as we meet new people from all over the world every day and help them in moving their families here," Jones said.