How to Start Low-Cost Enterprise New Media Private Domain Operations? How to Ensure Business Succession?
How much does it cost to maintain a business license, and what's the upfront time investment?
At this point, the real-name verification issue simply can't be solved.
There are low-cost solutions for starting business new media operations when it comes to hardware and accounts.
About account registration strategies:
If you're using email for account registration, the best approach is to use a corporate email. This lets you freely register and use your own email domain without restrictions. Just pick a low-cost domain extension like .work, then set up a public email with aliases so you can create unlimited email accounts while routing all incoming and outgoing mail through a single inbox. (A few companies make it hard to find their corporate email login page. If you'd rather not deal with the setup yourself, consider using Tencent WeChat Work's email—it's very easy to configure. There are 3 free public mailboxes plus 6 alias addresses, which is enough for most people. If you need more, you'll have to upgrade to the paid Professional plan. The domain alone costs just over $2/year.)
About phone number registration strategies:
From a cost perspective, I don't recommend using company registration packages—there don't seem to be any cheap options. Right now, for domestic accounts, prioritize China Telecom's "Wuyou Card" at just 5 yuan/month—that's about the lowest possible cost for registering accounts. In some areas, you can visit local China Unicom storefronts to ask about senior citizen 6-yuan plans. Otherwise, China Mobile or China Unicom's 8-yuan number-preserving plan is the next option. If you go with the 8-yuan plan, it's actually better to choose China Broadcasting Network's "Double 100 Plan" with a secondary card package—the promotional rate locks in a permanent 6-yuan monthly fee, which is ideal for keeping numbers active and maintaining accounts. Meanwhile, the main card (29 yuan/month for 100GB data + 100 minutes) is perfectly fine for occasional live streams or video uploads without worrying about running out of data. If you need more mobile data, I highly recommend the CBN Dual 100 Plan combined with the 6-yuan promotional secondary card. Details: China Broadnet Double 100 Plan Referral Program
If your business involves cross-border operations and you need overseas account registration, I recommend China Telecom's Macau Blue Card—0 monthly fee, and just recharging 10 yuan every 6 months keeps the number active. Foreign SMS and calls won't be blocked (though there's a small chance of being blocked domestically). The key advantage is that you can complete real-name verification with a mainland ID, ensuring relatively compliant usage. If you're interested, contact the group admin (follow our official WeChat account to get in touch) for purchasing and shipping. Currently, a card with 100 yuan face value costs 125 yuan, and the 300 yuan face value card is 230 yuan—the margin is only a few yuan due to unaffordable shipping costs. With such a card, you won't have to worry about giving up on foreign accounts because you can't receive verification codes. Of course, if you can use an eSIM card, that's another option—see this: 5ber Global Roaming eSIM: Get a Foreign Phone Number and Mobile Data Instantly
Finally, let's talk about accounts and employee work devices:
If you're doing domestic business, traffic can be seamlessly inherited with one click via WeChat Work when employees leave. Employees can use their own devices and accounts. However, if you want to avoid损耗 and other issues, the best approach is to provide designated work devices and accounts. This is especially true for international business—check out this channel for relatively affordable and reliable refurbished devices: How Can Startups Buy Affordable Work Phones and Computers? A Reliable Platform for Buying Refurbished Devices
With designated work devices and accounts, employee turnover becomes much less disruptive for both users and the enterprise. When someone leaves, both parties need to re-add contacts—which can trigger device verification on the new device, and if verification fails, the account may become unusable (e.g., forgotten passwords leading to被迫弃用). Additionally, there's customer loss during the transfer process. By designating devices upfront and binding them to accounts, you minimize friction for both users and the business. Yes, it adds some cost, but it's absolutely worth it. I strongly recommend preparing work devices and accounts from the start, and establishing internal protocols for device usage and account information registration. This is critical for maintaining and inheriting customer resources.