Professional, hard-working, talented, honest, reliable, the list could go on when I think of Francesca Hanshing, a Chilean who fell in love with China and has been residing in Beijing for more than 10 years. With a Master’s degree in Business Administration from the University of International Business and Economics of Beijing (UIBE), Francesca goes beyond her qualifications when it comes to delivering a task. The drive, energy, and passion she puts into anything she sets out to do is admirable.
Fran, as she is known among her friends, began her connections with China when she served as the head of the Mandarin Language Program in Chile while working for the Ministry of Education back in 2005. After a cooperation agreement between China and Chile to introduce Mandarin in the education program for Chilean schools, Fran got the opportunity to travel to China and study Mandarin for a year. After this, she returned to Chile to lead the program which got successfully implemented in more than 20 schools across Chile. Mandarin was well received by the students, who showed great interest in the language as well as in Chinese culture.
Francesca continued working for the Ministry of Education for a few more years, however, her heart and mind were still in China. The chance to go back to China came when she earned a scholarship from the Chinese government to do her Master's degree at UIBE. After this second visit, Fran knew too well that Beijing would become her new home from then on.
A new life adventure on the other side of the world
Now settled in Beijing, Francesca began her work as an on-site liaison between Chilean importers and Chinese business companies. Having contacts in both countries allowed Fran to become a suitable individual for business connections between the two nations. Her job was to get the best deal for the best products from China to be exported to Chile. This provided Francesca with a wider spectrum of experience and knowledge for finding quality products to then enable the finest business deals.
Living in a cosmopolitan capital gave Fran the urge to expose some of the Chilean culture to China. One idea she had in mind was to bring Chilean musical bands to China to show more of the Latino culture in the region. She managed to bring 15 Chilean bands within 4 years. Among these were Javiera Mena, an electro-pop band, and Adelaida band. These bands performed in different venues from bars, festivals, schools, universities, and embassies. Some even got the opportunity to travel to other Asian countries. The time, effort, and work put into organizing these events required skillful, thorough planning that Fran was prepared to do. This cultural introduction also brought about commercial exposure of some Chilean products which were sponsored by some of these bands.
Creative busy mind
Fran is a deeply committed professional who goes the extra mile to deliver good service. She enjoys and loves what she does and has a clinical eye for details. There’s no task too big for Fran as she keeps trying, experimenting, researching, and finding new ways for creative business. This business endeavor allowed Fran to come up with one of her own. Due to a condition Fran suffered on her skin, she made it her mission to find a proper treatment that could heal her skin. After years of tireless attempts at many forms of remedies (ointments, lotions, etc) and no positive results, Fran was left to venture on her own. It was many years of painstaking research and tryouts of different kinds of remedies as well as intense research to find the right formula that would suit her skin and help her condition. Fran, despite this being a meticulous task, was excited, and with a personal goal in mind, she was determined to find the correct formula that would help her skin heal. And it happened!
Velveteen Secret Potion is born
In her pursuit to create a product to soothe her skin, Francesca envisioned her creation as a skincare product that brings comfort to people who suffer a particular skin condition. It made her happy to think that she could create something that could bring back people’s confidence and make them feel beautiful in their skin. She began by sharing her lotions among her friends to get some feedback on her products. Her first successful sale was in 2014 at an artisanal market where small entrepreneurs came to exhibit and sell their products to foreign and local customers. Her lotions were well received and this event marked the beginnings of Velveteen Secret Potion (aka VSP), the name her brand and products are known for today.
People have frequently asked Fran if she has a product for a particular skin type or condition. While she acknowledges she is not a doctor the years that she spent learning about the components of skincare allows her to offer personalized products that the person could try if they are interested. So far she has had good results in this matter.
Francesca currently continues producing her skincare lotions. Now she has added other natural-based products like mosquito repellent, soaps, hair care products, to name a few. She puts together small events at her store to show how the products are made and what ingredients go into them. Besides Fran being a friendly and extroverted person, she enjoys the social aspect of seeing friends and meeting new people through these small events.
A dependable Latina
Her enthusiasm for working and serving the Latino and foreign community in Beijing has kept her going despite the difficulties and hardships she has encountered. Francesca has an intelligent and intuitive mind when it comes to business development, and while it hasn’t been an easy road to follow, the bumps along the way were worth it because of where she stands now: her registered store called Sacramento Wellness Incorporated, her brand name skincare Velveteen Secret Potions, her networking support to other expats who are trying to make their way up in the business world in Beijing, and most of all, the true, reliable friendship that many of us are lucky to have from Francesca.
Francesca lives in Beijing with her husband Paul Holcomb, an American citizen, who has been her greatest support during these years. As far as what’s next for Fran, she plans to introduce her skincare products to the Chinese community, redesign the logo for Velveteen Secret Potion to make it more attractive to the local customers, and maintaining herself busy in the job she knows how to do best!
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