Chen Juan, 24, often recalls the tough old days when she founded her shop on Taobao.com with her older sister four years ago.

Although her shop, which sells South Korean cosmetics, had annual sales of 5.4 million yuan (US$791,101 million) and a profit of about 600,000 yuan (US$87,900) last year, she said this did not come easily.

"We worked almost 15 hours a day, seven days a week to earn the first few orders," said Chen. "We had a potato or a simple box lunch as meals every day at that time and the only reward was to have a hot pot outside on Friday night."

Chen went all the way from her home in Sichuan Province to Weihai, a city that overlooks South Korea across the Huanghai Sea in Shandong Province, to set up her business called Weihai Lizhuangge Trading Co Ltd.

She did not have a single relative or friend there but was determined to start her career from scratch with her sister, who used to sell cosmetics as a part-time job.

"We raised 30,000 yuan from our relatives and set out," she said. "We just thought we should try our luck and give it a shot."

They spent their first few months in Weihai in an 80 square meter house - their bedroom and storeroom - looking for supplies of goods and running a website that introduced Korean cosmetics and skin care tips to increase the company's popularity.

"I was almost exhausted at one point when my sister and I had to do all the work by ourselves, replenishing stock, taking orders, packing goods, and answering all kinds of questions from customers. I used to panic when I heard the phone ring," she joked.

But she was pleased that her hard work finally paid off. She later found several overseas Chinese who run duty-free shops in South Korea, from whom she bought goods at discount prices to sell.

"We make a small profit from each item but this mounts up considerably as we sell more," she said.

She has moved her work place to a two-storey 200 square meter house and is looking for a bigger one. Her company, which originally had only two staff, she and her sister, now has 11 employees. Chen is also planning to expand her business by selling other goods than cosmetics.

Lu Jinghua, who runs a vegetarian food shop on Taobao.com, tells a different story. At 57 her age surprises many buyers in the sphere of computers and e-business.

"I feel comfortable though," said Lu, a Buddhist who used to work in a canteen in Beijing.

She set up the shop in 2007, four years after her retirement, and takes care of almost every aspect of the business, including sending goods to buyers who live in Beijing.

"I take that as exercise, a way to keep healthy," said Lu.

She said she feels young interacting with young buyers. One of the frequently asked questions from buyers is "Are you really Aunty Lu?"

They doubt whether the seller, who types fast and likes to use smileys when chatting online, is really the 57-year-old businesswoman.

Lu is an experienced typist after spending much time over the years chatting with her daughter online. Her shop is not big. It has only 145 items and she doesn't earn much money from it.

"Just enough for everyday meals but I enjoy it," she said.

(China Daily March 15, 2010)