Able to work, unable to start a business
Entrepreneurship is not a safe haven for people in the workplace. Entrepreneurship is challenging in terms of people's quality, ability, capital, and connections. If you plan to start a business, or are hesitant, you can read this article by Mr. Mai patiently.
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Thirty and standing should be at the stage of hard work, but if you choose to start a business just because you have no clue about career development, I don’t think this is a smart choice.
Before the outbreak, a friend invited me to help him make a career plan. He himself will soon be in his thirties. He has a good wife and daughter, and his daughter is very good. When I first came to his house, the child was very warm to me and was no stranger to me. In such a warm family, he couldn't be happy.
There is a saying that a man without a career is like a male peacock without its dazzling feathers. This sentence describes his current state, and it is more than enough.
After graduating in his early years, he was engaged in auto repair work. He chose to change careers after not doing it for a long time, probably because he was too tired and dirty. After all, dealing with greasy oil every day is not a good thing, and at that time, you should feel very young and have a choice.
Soon after, the first time he took the initiative to choose was to apply for interior house design, which could make money completely clean. In 2010, the interior design major is still very popular. To undertake a list of two rooms and one living room, it can almost reach a monthly salary of more than 4,000. However, designers need to have a certain sales ability. He's really weak in this regard, and he doesn't talk much when he's with me. Of course now I think it's more than enough to do sales.
Able to work, unable to start a business
A chance by accident, he actually entered the catering industry for several years, which is still rare among peers in their early 20s. If it were me, I would not choose catering, it's a personality problem!
Before getting married, he also worked in the lighting business for a period of time. After marriage, he and his wife both opened a children's clothing store, but I heard that they lost some money.
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Charlie Munger emphasized in his many speeches: choose things within the circle of competence, and only play the ball you are sure of.
I am in favor of his principles and have been practicing them. Since writing and running We Media in 2016, I have been crossing careers related to We Media to find things to do. I admit that writing isn't something I really enjoy, but at least I don't feel offended.
In the same way, after we communicated, for him, catering was like writing to me. It was not a love, but it was not disgusting and he was better at it. So my suggestion is to consider developing in the direction of catering. At first, I tried to make breakfast, etc. First, the cost is low, which means low risk; second, the operation method is simple, one person can do it, and part-time workers can be hired when busy. It's even better if you have family help.
After several thoughts and measurements, I decided to make a breakfast bag, and as a result, I encountered an epidemic.
After nearly 2 months of development of the epidemic, it will soon be raining and sunny. But when I learned that more than half of his business capital was maintained by borrowing, I immediately suggested not to do business.
Why am I so vehemently against going into debt for business?
- Weak self-resistance to pressure
Choosing to start a business or start a business with debt is undoubtedly exposing the weakest part of yourself. Why do I say that?
Starting a business is not a lucrative business, it has risks. As the saying goes, high risk and high reward, but if you have not waited for the reward to come, you will fail first.
Debt investment will reduce self-restraint capacity. Mainly occurs in two aspects:
- Mentality is easy to collapse
Grandpa was sent to the hospital because of an accidental car accident a year ago. At that time, everyone in the family was worried. After all, for the elderly in their 70s, this is almost a fatal injury. Fortunately, there is no damage to the vital point. After listening to the doctor's diagnosis, it is said that there is no life-threatening, but it needs a long time to recuperate.
Since we live in neurosurgery, most of the patients sent here are either elderly patients with cerebral infarction or young people who have been hit hard by a car accident. I have seen with my own eyes, family members who hurriedly knelt down and begged the attending doctor because of the tens of thousands of dollars in medical expenses, and family members who had not been able to wake up after the patient was hospitalized for more than three months beat the doctor.
Able to work, unable to start a business
In an emergency, people will do any irrational behavior.
Why do I urge you not to start a business or start a business with debt, because you can't predict what will happen in the future. Once you don't develop in the direction you expected, once there is a problem with funds, your mentality will immediately change 360 degrees. It's not just that the business is not doing well, it may be a disaster for the wife and children.
- Zero risk resistance capability
Here I use "zero pit risk" to be considered polite. Strictly speaking, it is negative anti-risk ability.
The reason why there are many investors who are optimists, as Wu Xiaobo mentioned in "Failure", is that most entrepreneurs are subconsciously accustomed to calculating future expected returns as actual returns to plan their goals and business development.
I have heard many people introduce projects to me and say that in the future, how much money can be earned every day, how much income can be earned in a month, hundreds of thousands of income can be realized in a year, and personal wealth freedom can be realized within a few years.
In essence, these are just your imaginations. Even if the initial real-time development is the same as before, it is not going all the way to the development rhythm you expected. A typical example is the outbreak of this epidemic, which has broken the business plans of many entrepreneurs around the world, and some companies may even go bankrupt as a result.
Whether it is a business or a small business, even if you choose to leave your job, you must have inventory! For example, when there is a 3-month living allowance, it is reasonable to choose to leave.
- Entrepreneurship is not an escape from responsibility
Entrepreneurship is not an excuse for self-escape, it is a choice to take on more responsibilities.
- Don't choose to start a business because you don't want to work
Generally, people who decide to start a business can basically tell me whether the other party really wants to start a business or just wants to avoid responsibility after a few chats with me. In fact, many people choose to do business, mostly because they can't get along in the workplace and feel that there is no future in doing anything, so it's better to do it yourself!
People with such thoughts are typically avoiding responsibility. There is an old saying, it's a piece of waste, and it can't catch fire anywhere!
People with entrepreneurial foundation have some understanding of future plans, layouts, and matters that should be paid attention to in the future, including the selected industry. People with intentions have even done what they expected. Even so, they will have a plan B. Once an inevitable event occurs, if they choose to leave, they can find their main business to continue their employment.
- Starting a business is not as easy as going to work
Friends who decide to start a business must have a sense: starting a business is much harder than going to work.
A few years ago, Wanda CEO Wang Jianlin's work schedule was posted on the Internet, instantly dispelling many people's idea of starting a business.
Get up at 4 am, have breakfast, exercise, go to the airport, go to Hainan Hotel, attend the project signing ceremony, and arrive at the office at 19:10 pm.
And that's not counting the things you might have to deal with at night, as well as emergencies.
Able to work, unable to start a business
Therefore, for ordinary people, going to work is the happiest and most stable thing. As long as you choose a good industry and company, and work hard for a few years, you will basically have a chance to reach the middle-class level. The quality of life will not be low.
- Investment and return cycle issues
During the epidemic, I finished reading "The Biography of Chu Shijian". Chu Shijian is definitely a rare entrepreneur in China in the past 100 years. One of the principles he never forgets is that he preaches to other entrepreneurs from time to time. ——The mission of an entrepreneur is to make profits, and one of the cores of running a business is cost accounting.
From a large Fortune 500 company to a small business of ordinary people, there is no need for cost accounting. The so-called cost accounting, that is, you have to know the cost of the input and the payback period. And the calculated data must be close to the actual situation, not imaginary or groundless.
Taking my friend's example, it is estimated that the opening of a breakfast shop will cost 70,000-80,000 yuan, including the franchise fee, rent, purchasing tools, noodles, vegetables and other materials. At the beginning, you also need to hire a teacher to help. This is almost a calculation that requires a small investment of 100,000.
Able to work, unable to start a business
According to his description, he has about 40,000, and the remaining 50,000 needs to be borrowed from others. The original plan may be paid back in 6-8 months, so that the debt can be repaid. But what if the revenue doesn't pay off as expected? So what to do?
According to statistics, in recent years, the return cycle of the real economy has been quite good within two years. In some industries, even after 5-6 years, it will gradually recover. If this is the case, the longer it takes to do business with debt investment, the more detrimental it will be to oneself. At that time, due to the debt collection, not only the mentality collapsed, but even the store had to be transferred to repay the debt. If it really develops to that stage, it is better not to do it at the beginning.
This is the fundamental reason why I am firmly opposed to debt investment or doing business. In my opinion, it is not investment, it is suicide!