Chapter 119: Chapter 119: A stable business
Feng Yiping felt that his brother-in-law's initiative to propose this plan was very good. It was too common for relatives and friends to do business together. He is now seeing opportunities everywhere, but he is unable to seize them himself, which is quite frustrating sometimes.
There is no such thing as a trivial matter when starting a business, even if it is a small restaurant. If you think it is simple and don't do it yourself, but just entrust it to someone else, then you will generally only get a result that is just so-so.
Later, the big cow who more or less made the company listed on the Nasdaq in the United States all suffered losses in this area during his early entrepreneurial years.
He really needs a reliable partner now. If your brother-in-law really wants him to continue to contribute to the renovation company in preparation, and both sides have a need, then that's just right.
The renovation industry has a large market, involves relatively little, and is in its infancy, so the prospects are good and so are the opportunities.
Let's just say that these families that are renovating now will definitely not just buy this one suite. If it is well maintained now, not only will he be a repeat customer in the future, but he will also introduce more customers, which is something that those latecomers will find difficult to do even at great cost.
However, the more you work with relatives and friends, the more you must clarify all aspects first, otherwise not only may the business fail, but relatives may turn against each other as well.
Running a business is not the same as farming at home. When farming, everyone helps each other; you help me plant rice seedlings and I help you cut wheat. These things do not need to be quantified, everyone has a scale in their heart.
But business is different. Everything involved can be measured in terms of money. If you use the mentality of farming to do business, it will be difficult to achieve good results.
For example, now, Feng Yiping's idea has made his uncles and their family make money, so they are happy. But what if one day Feng Yiping's idea causes them to lose a large sum of money? What will his uncles think and do? Will they not blame him? Will they not care? It will be difficult!
Therefore, only when there is mutual benefit and shared risk can such a partnership last.
Besides, he is not just one uncle, but also has three other uncles. They all help out like this, and he doesn't have time to do his own thing. It's quite good to have such an example now.
However, he still wants to ask, 'Uncle, auntie, let me ask you bluntly, don't mind me asking. Do you sincerely want to cooperate, or are you just looking for a loan?' ƒгeeweɓn૦vel.com
My uncle became a little angry when he heard this. 'Of course we want to cooperate sincerely. If we just wanted to borrow money, I would have just said so, and there would be no need to beat around the bush.'
That's good!
'Dad, mom, I've thought about it, and I think what my uncle said also makes sense. Since it's a business, let's do it according to business rules, so as to avoid any future disputes and any gaps between us,' Feng Yiping said.
'Well, since you all agree, we won't say anything. As the old saying goes, 'siblings should be clear about money matters'. We won't get involved, so just do whatever you think is best!' Feng Zhanchang said.
'It's about how much each family will own. We'll talk about that later. It's not fair that we should own the majority of the shares when we haven't done anything,' Mei Qiuping added.
'Sister, we have thought about all this. The road is flat, and he is also the one who paid for the start-up costs. We don't have much money in our hands right now, and you will have to pay for most of the costs of setting up the company. It is only reasonable that you take the majority share.'
'Don't worry, sister. We are already taking a lot of advantage by taking four shares,' Cai Hong said.
Seeing that this matter had been initially settled, Mei Yiliang was very happy, and immediately asked Feng Yiping, 'Tell me, do you have any good ideas?'
Feng Yiping smiled wryly, 'Brother-in-law, I don't have any ready-made ideas right now. You go ahead and do it, and I'll think about it, okay?'
'You too, Yiping, you just got here today,' Cai Hong pinched him.
Right, he was too impatient himself. Mei Yiliang laughed, 'You go ahead and have fun for a couple of days. When you have time, think about it. I'm in a hurry to finish things over there and try to renovate the second store within the year.'
Feng Yiping only helped out in the store for one day, and then, with his ID in hand, he took a few bus rides to find the provincial library.
He stayed there for three days, even having lunch there, and finally managed to get the articles of association done, using the model as a reference. This was no easy task, but fortunately, he had also commissioned a company to draft them a few times before, so he had some experience.
The rest of the time, he browsed through the relevant materials in the library, but there really weren't many. Surprisingly, he discovered that the 'Outline of the Eighth Five-Year Plan' approved at the 4th Session of the 7th National People's Congress clearly proposed the 'development of the interior decoration industry'.
This undoubtedly confirmed from another perspective that they had made the right choice, but at the same time, it also meant that the competition would be fierce.
He took the written material and found Cai Hong, asking him to pass it on to his brother-in-law. The next evening, his brother-in-law came over again with Cai Hong. 'I don't see a problem with this. The key now is what to do next. The first thing that comes to mind is to hand out business cards everywhere to drum up business. Do you have any other good ideas?'
'It's definitely the right thing to do, but at the same time, we need to pay attention to maintaining good relationships with our existing customers. We need to establish a system for returning visits to customers who have already had their kitchens installed. For example, we can visit the two customers who had their kitchens installed a month ago to see if there's anything that needs repairing and to hear their opinions.'
'Oh,' Mei Yiliang said, looking through the pages until he found the one on the company structure. 'So this is what the after-sales service department will be doing in the future!'
'Yes, it is also important to maintain good relationships with existing customers. For example, furniture manufacturers nowadays must have received a lot of business from existing customers, right?' he asked Cai Hong.
'Well, that's true,' Cai Hong said.
'I'll take some time to do this in the next few days. It's almost New Year's Eve, so I'll take some things with me and you can tell me more about how to find more business.' Mei Yiliang understood some things at once, and then he still asked about how to attract business, which would have an immediate effect.
'I've also thought about it. Residential decoration is too sporadic. Maybe when business is good, you can get ten orders a month, but when business is bad, you won't get a single order. So you still have to think of ways to find some stable business.' This is also Feng Yiping's experience.
For example, the pneumatic tool business he took before his rebirth, although the volume was large and the profit was also acceptable, it was not sustainable and it was only a one-off.
In contrast, the other deliveries that month, such as the hydraulic parts, all added up to less than a third of that single order, but they were supplied to several companies and were in demand every month, with a fixed quantity each month. This kind of business is long-term business.
'Stable business?'
'Just like my family's. We're going to open other branches next. Our first one was decorated well, so when we open the next few, people will think of us.'
'Oh, that's right, yes, yes. With this kind of business, once we get one order, it means we have a chance to get the next ones too. And they have plans, so we can arrange our work well.' Mei Yiliang happily patted the table.
Feng Zhenchang and Mei Qiuping were still busy in the kitchen, and they felt a little proud when they saw their son talking so enthusiastically with Mei Yiliang.
'But it's not easy to find this kind of business,' Mei Yiliang said after thinking about it.
'It's not easy to find, but it's not impossible. You haven't noticed, but there are more and more new high-rises being built, more and more companies opening, more and more factories being set up, and more and more branches of organisations being established. On this street alone, one is being renovated and is preparing to open after the New Year.' Feng Yiping bought up the suspense.
'On this street?' Mei Yiliang and Cai Hong recalled the places they had passed on their way here.
At that moment, Feng Yuxuan, who was polishing a table nearby, shouted out first, 'A bank!'