An Interview with Beth Ward

Why have you decided to share your advice and experiences with Girl Economics?

I think it's so important to share your story, experiences and perspective. I've had first-hand experience of people sharing these things and it helped me so much, so if I can help one person by sharing my experiences and advice then it's all worth it. I also think in a world of such curated perfection it's important to share the reality and be authentic about business.

What interests you about marketing and why did you decide to go into the industry?

So I love the marketing industry because of how fast-paced it is. I love learning (a bit geeky I know) and in this industry you always have to unlearn and learn new things. Platforms constantly evolve and if you don't stay up to date with those changes, you will be left behind. I decided to go into this industry because I've always been quite an artistic person. I did art-based subjects through school and college but had this more logical side of my brain. For years, I really struggled to find something that merged both until I found marketing.

What led you to launch your own marketing firm and what advice would you have for young women looking to start their own business?

So I actually started my social media marketing agency by accident (and it's been the best accident ever!). I started building my personal brand on LinkedIn and then started getting messages from clients asking if I offered social media management services. I guess the reason why I decided to say yes to those opportunities is because the idea of starting my own business and having that flexibility in my life was so appealing. I also have some bad experiences working in the agency world and I wanted to try and rewrite the narrative around agencies (for clients and for employees!). In terms of advice for young women looking to start their own business, this is going to sound cliche as hell but honestly... just start. I spent years thinking about ideas for businesses before I got those enquiries. If I'd just taken action sooner then I could have been years ahead of what I am now. When you start it doesn't have to be perfect, heck when my social media management started it was far from perfect. No one's business is when they start. So stop waiting for perfection and take action.

Who is your biggest inspiration and why?

So my biggest inspiration is Grace Beverly. I so admire what she has done with her two brands TALA and Shreddy and how she has so seamlessly utilised her personal brand to grow the businesses. I personally believe that personal brands and brands can work hand in hand to be a very powerful brand and she is a perfect example of that. I also think she shares a very realistic view of what it's like to be a business owner, yes she has success now and a lot of lovely things but she is also very real with all the challenges, lows and hard moments.

What advice would you give to young women who are beginning to think about developing a personal brand?

Ooo I love this question. Right so, there is A LOT of advice out there right now about personal brands. But for me, the key bit of advice is you need to focus on the personal. You need to identify YOUR goals for your brand (e.g. clients, job opportunities, partnership deals etc.). You need to share YOUR story but only share the parts you feel comfortable sharing, you don't need to share your deepest and darkest secrets if you don't want to. There are different ways to connect on that deeper level. You need to write like YOU and avoid the templates LinkedIn 'gurus' give you (trust me I've tested the templates they say work and they don't because they don't have your personal touch!). Ultimately, everything should come back to you.

From the Team

China & Overcapacity: How is the Rest of the World Affected?

Ever since the Market Opening (改革开放) in 1978, China has dealt with the ongoing issue of overcapacity. Its transition from a planned economy to a more market-oriented economy opened up possibilities for manufacturers in terms of production and supply and at that point China had begun cementing itself as production leaders in many industries across the world.

As part of their 2024 economic targets, Beijing acknowledged that they had an issue with overcapacity in certain industries. Looking at the solar panel production industry, China controls more than 80% of the market, a drastic difference to the 36% of the global demand that it is accountable for. Its’ overall unused capacity (otherwise known as aggregate utilisation rates) have continuously fluctuated around 75%, 5% below the capacity considered normal. This is mainly because China has been pushing economic growth since seeing sluggish consumption and their property market taking a hit.

In the modern day, the electric vehicle (EV) industry has a bright future, with countries turning to it as one of many solutions for the climate crisis. China has taken a lead in this sector, and at the same time Western EV industries are taking a hit. The USA and Europe have been vocal about concerns of overcapacity in China in this specific industry and the effect this may have on Western EV manufacturers which has led to Beijing making allegations that due to protectionism, the West has been exaggerating the problem. They argue that China is only filling in a global shortage of capacity in new-energy.

However there really is a need to push back on production. The modern Chinese economic system is such that when they have a plan, the government will invest greatly, put up tariffs and increase protectionism to keep foreign competitors out and allow domestic companies to grow. Every province in the country then wants the same version of the good, so as demand increases, naturally supply follows. Market leaders are backed by the state and therefore protected when any industry collapses but the biggest losers are international firms. This way, China is cutting off international manufacturers from entering their large domestic market but at the same time they dominate the global market themselves, leaving other countries struggling to keep up. This has been an issue ever since they entered the World Trade Organisation (WTO) which meant that they could enter more global markets than before.

However, the main reason they sell internationally is because of overcapacity domestically. Take 2001 for example. It was this year that China joined the WTO which led to overcapacity in capital-intensive industries due to increased investment in real estate. Only now are they finding ways to clear excess housing inventory by pledging US$41.5 billion to the local governments to help. Over the last fifteen years the new-energy industry has seen an influx of new private firms and excessive supply which meant China was forced to sell overseas. Their overall production capacity increased which guaranteed pressure from the West who were worried about their own industries. Combining a fiercely competitive domestic market, numerous government subsidies and loose environmental policies, their production capacity naturally increased due to opportunity. Between the years of 2012 and 2016 China went through a tax-regime reform which meant that the majority of the tax burden was shifted from producers to consumers via Value-Added Tax (VAT). This incentivises the local governments of provinces to increase their respective investments in the manufacturing of several products. These governments also recently had the power to lower land prices, fueling overproduction and overcapacity once again due to lower costs of production.

The biggest issue for China in all of this is that government guidance funds are drying up and these local governments are dealing with large amounts of debt which means several projects are left unfinished. It will cause greater tensions between China and the West, already proven by Janet Yellen’s (US Secretary of the Treasury) closing remarks at her talks in Beijing earlier this year. If overcapacity continues to be a problem, which is likely to happen seeing as it is a recurring issue for China, other countries will no longer have stakes in markets seeing as they will not be able to keep up with the speed and amount China is producing.

Further Reading;

https://www.atlanticcouncil.org/blogs/econographics/sinographs/breaking-down-janet-yellens-comments-on-chinese-overcapacity/

https://www.ft.com/content/879f5de7-cd9b-4987-9c2b-8b23cf0f3800

Thanks for reading! See you in the next issue - Erin McGurk