Chapter 306: Chapter 306: Positioning and Scheduling
The idea of starting a magazine in Hong Kong was not a sudden whim of Feng Yiping. He had had this idea for a long time, and now the time was finally ripe.
As a reincarnated person, knowing the world events of the next decade or so was a natural advantage. How to expand this advantage, Feng Yiping thought, starting a professional magazine was a good choice.
Some people succeed, while others fail, sometimes because there is too little information to go on when making decisions, and sometimes because there is too much information. Those who succeed do so because they can always instinctively grasp the key points from little or complex information and make the right decisions. Feng Yiping hopes to provide people with such a magazine. Some of the opinions in his magazine can make those who make decisions believe without reservation and serve as a strong reason and support for their decisions.
This is not a problem for Feng Yiping, because he knows the outcome. And when you know the outcome, it is a thousand times easier to find reasons to support it than to deduce it. So it is not difficult to write such articles.
For example, who would have thought about the coming Internet bubble in the first quarter of next year? Many people are still advocating with some Western investors that the Internet economy is equivalent to the industrial economy in 70 years.
Of course, he is not trying to be a prophet, he is trying to organise a group of such articles to point out some possible trends. In fact, the problem has always existed, but most people are mesmerised by the current prosperity. Of course, some people have already noticed it, but people always have a lucky escape. Those who are firmly convinced that the bubble is about to burst are definitely in the minority, and he is the only one who is certain and knows for sure that the bubble will burst soon.
Companies and individuals who are in the upcoming Internet winter are now dismissive of these claims.
Next year will not only be the start of the new millennium, but also a crucial year in international politics. In March next year, Russia's Boris Yeltsin will hand over the reins to Vladimir Putin, kicking off the new czar's decade-long presidency.
In a similar vein, there is also next year's US presidential election, which is a real Hollywood drama, full of twists and turns, but only Feng Yiping is probably aware that George W. Bush will eventually be elected.
Of course, he can't possibly remember all the international events in the future. That's just as well, because no matter what period it is, people who are omniscient and omnipotent never end up well.
Later, many people started blogs to boost their reputation and make money at the same time. He now runs a magazine, which is similar in nature to that, but he is confident that he can successfully run the magazine. The founders of the famous Time magazine did not have the same good conditions as he does to predict world events in the next few decades.
At the same time, it seems that there is no suspense about his admission to the School of Economics and Management at Tsinghua University. He doesn't mind adding the title of expert and scholar to his identity as a businessman in the future. More often than not, entrepreneurs are the guests of honour of politicians, and experts and scholars are the guests of honour of entrepreneurs.
Moreover, after running a successful magazine like this, it will gather for him a network of contacts that ordinary people can only dream of. Such high-quality contacts are an immeasurable asset, no matter in ancient or modern times, at home or abroad.
More importantly, with his strength, it would be extremely difficult to start a magazine in China, but in Hong Kong, it is as simple as starting a blog. There are almost no restrictions, except for the capital requirement of HK$10,000, which does not need to be verified. And unless you set your own limits, there is no content control in Hong Kong.
Of course, although the procedures are simple, if you consider the profitability, it is not simple at all.
Thanks to the financial turmoil, it was relatively quick to hire staff and rent office space.
On the morning of the 20th, in the rented 300-square-meter office building, Feng Yiping talked about the concept for several hours to the ten or so people he had recruited so far. Huang Jingping also came along, quietly sitting on the side, watching Feng Yiping talk eloquently all morning.
He mainly talked about the positioning of the magazine, from the overall positioning to the content status, reader positioning, advertiser positioning, and advertising content positioning. He spoke in great detail, and in summary it can be broadly summed up in one sentence: this is a serious political and economic magazine with Fortune 500 companies, or some multinational companies with global strategies and visions, and political elites as its main readers and advertisers.
Other issues, including the magazine's operating model, business direction, compensation for accepted manuscripts, as well as event planning and advertising rates, were determined by the team led by Bao Zhuoyuan, who had already been hired.
The editor-in-chief and financial director have now been confirmed, as well as a legal advisor. Other staffing, recruitment and training were also determined by the team led by Bao Zhuoyuan.
He added one more requirement for staff recruitment: since the monthly magazine does not have high requirements for timeliness, it is possible to recruit more experienced writers in the early stages, and fewer reporters. These writers will work as a team to complete the projects assigned to them.
In the future, after the magazine has gained a certain reputation, it will absorb some professional talents to form a research team to follow up on hot events at home and abroad.
Of course, he has also determined one thing, and that is the amount of investment, which is tentatively set at 10 million Hong Kong dollars.
After listening to him speak at such length, the few people below him still mostly felt doubtful. For such a political and economic magazine, and it sounded like the main contributor in the early stages would still be Feng Yiping himself, could the articles written by such a young person enter the eyes of those Fortune 500 companies and political elites? I'm afraid they won't even take a look.
Naturally, they classified Feng Yiping as one of those people who, having a bit of wealth, want to burn through it to gain prestige. But for them, it didn't matter, as long as they got paid. What was upsetting was that they would probably have to find a new job soon.
Apart from legal advisor Tian, only two people completely trust Feng Yiping: one is of course Gao Yiming. Feng Yiping's actions have saved him from a world of trouble, and in the short term, even if Feng Yiping is wrong, he will insist on following him.
The other one is Bao Zhuoyuan. Although the magazine has closed down and he is now unemployed, at his age, unlike Gao Yiming, he does not have any savings. The savings he has made over the past few decades are enough to allow him to travel around the world and enjoy his retirement. He is willing to come out of retirement, and apart from the recommendation of an acquaintance at the law firm, it was mainly Feng Yiping's long conversation with him that morning that impressed him.
After that conversation, he only had one feeling, 'As the ancients said, "Since ancient times, heroes have emerged from the young," and this is truly not a lie!'
'Yiping, what month do you want to publish the first issue?' Bao Zhaoyuan could see the contempt in those people's eyes. There was no need to explain now, because even if you did, they probably wouldn't believe you.
Feng Yiping could see it too, and he didn't want to explain either. As the boss, there was no need to explain everything to these employees who had yet to develop a sense of cohesion with the company.
'If the manuscripts are not organised well, there is no need to rush to publish the magazine. My opinion is that it is not too late to publish the first issue in January next year.'
For a magazine like theirs, which has just been started, it is unrealistic to expect well-known and influential people to contribute articles unless you pay a high price.
And with his high positioning, it is determined that it is impossible to accept those submissions that are just padding out the volume.
'Everyone should not feel pressured. For the first issue, I plan to lose money. The magazine will be distributed for free to our target customers. As for advertising, everyone just needs to work hard. If we really can't find the ideal customers, the first issue will be left blank. Believe me, the situation will definitely improve significantly before our February issue comes out.'
After the meeting, Bao Zhuoyuan escorted Feng Yiping and the others downstairs. 'Mr. Bao, I'll leave everything to you!' Feng Yiping shook Bao Zhuoyuan's hand and said.
'Mr. Feng, don't worry. You treat me like a friend, and I will repay you as such!' Feng Yiping spoke formally, and he also addressed him as Mr. Feng.
Gao Yiming followed them downstairs. 'Mr. Feng, I will definitely honour my promise!'
Feng Yiping shook his hand, 'I believe in you!'
In the evening, Feng Yiping accompanied Huang Jingping, who couldn't get enough of the night view, to the top of Victoria Peak. The two of them quietly embraced and looked at the bright lights below. "You said, wouldn't it be great if we could see a view like this from General Hill!" Huang Jingping sighed.
'Let's work hard together!' A cool breeze blew, and Feng Yiping hugged her a little tighter.