"Entrepreneurship is the same as life, it can't be smooth sailing, you have to be able to live a good life, but you also have to be able to live a hard life. ”
Author |Zeng Xianyu.
Edit |Fun about business.
"I never thought that 2023 would be the most tortuous and turbulent year in my ten years of entrepreneurship, from the optimism at the beginning of the year, to the vigilance in the middle of the year, to the relief at the end of the year, all kinds of ups and downs and surprises. ”
This is Liu Ming (pseudonym) when he looks back on his work this year. WhileSince the second half of the year, his focus has shifted to another keyword: "self-help".
I couldn't change the environment, but I couldn't watch myself fall, so saving myself was my only option. ”
Liu Ming is a 38-year-old entrepreneur in the field of culture. Ten years ago, he resolutely left the public institution where he had worked for six years and ensured income during drought and flood, and came to Beijing to devote himself to the tide of entrepreneurship
At that time, the most heard around me was entrepreneurship and financing, and the atmosphere was very warm. At that time, if you have a clear goal and a certain amount of financial and mental capacity, you can indeed make money. ”
Liu Ming's start-up company started out as advertising ideas for others, then developed into planning and public relations, and then developed his own projects.
In seven years, Liu Ming's company has gradually grown from a bare-bones commander with only one person to a scale with more than 50 employees and a stable profit of several million yuan per year.
In the three years after 2019, many projects in the field of culture and PR could not be carried out for well-known reasons, and the company had to face adjustments, "In that case, small and medium-sized companies were the most affected, and after a year we had to reduce it to more than 30 people, and then to just over 10 people. ”
*: The office environment at the time.
This lasted until the end of 2022, when the situation changed.
At that time, I was so happy that I could finally start again after three years of carrying it. Liu Ming recalled," he saidNew Year's Day 2023 was supposed to be a holiday, but the atmosphere in the company group was in full swing, and everyone was full of confidence and felt that the good days of the past were finally coming back
Maybe I held it back for too long, but a colleague even made the project plan for the next three years, called me in the middle of the night, and said excitedly for a long time. ”
This sentiment also infected me, and I even told my HR colleagues that if they returned to normal, they could consider bringing back their former employees first. ”
After New Year's Day 2023, Liu Ming started various contact projects, only to find that the reality was far from what he expected.
Normally, in the second year, the client project has to be tendered or approached in the first year, but there is no movement at that time. At first, we thought it was because everyone was recovering, and it shouldn't be so fast
But this situation has continued until after the Spring Festival in 2023.
We have a customer who has been cooperating since I started my business and has never been interrupted, but this time their boss told me apologetically that the company's business will be adjusted in 2023, and there will be no investment in this area this year. ”
Liu Ming said that there is another customer who has been working with them for four or five years, and he entrusted the company's public relations business to them before, but this time he also made it clear," he saidThe company has set up a public relations department and is ready to do it on its own, with a simple purpose: to save costs
After receiving these two partners, Liu Ming began to be alert.
By late March, Mr. Liu confirmed that the year-to-date estimates might have been too optimistic
Originally, according to the usual experience, there should be at least six or seven projects going hand in hand at this time of year, but in 2023, there will only be two projects, and the contract amount will be reduced by more than half compared to before. ”
In fact, we are mentally prepared for the decline in the contract amount, after all, it has not been easy for everyone in the past three years. But what I didn't expect was that,Many previous customers could not be contacted, and finally contacted the last one and told me that the company had been dissolved。Liu Ming sighed and said.
The most outrageous thing is that Liu Ming also received a reminder from a small loan company**. It turned out that a customer borrowed an online loan for the company's operation, but later the funds were tight and did not be repaid, and the collector beat the ** from the customer's address book one by one.
This client had a good reputation with our company at that time and never defaulted on the project payment
Liu Ming, who smelled the smell of risk, began to shrink and adjust the company's business in the summer of 2023.
The first is that the project cannot be done in advance。In fact, advances are very common in our industry, and the rapid development has almost become a rule in the past few years, and everyone is willing to invest in order to compete for business, but now this situation is definitely not good. ”
In addition, we decided to change the office location to a new location, saving more than half of the rent every month. ”
Liu Ming's company used to be located in a prosperous area on the edge of the Third Ring Road, and the surrounding environment and facilities were very high, "because many times customers come to talk to you about business, they will also see your strength through these."
*: The pantry of the previous company.
Because of this, even when the business almost stagnated in the past three years, Liu Ming gritted his teeth and carried it, "At that time, I didn't expect it to last so long, and the previous profits were okay, and the owners were also reduced, so I felt that it was bearable." But looking back now, I was a little too optimistic at the time. ”
In July 2023, Liu Ming decisively surrendered the lease and moved the company to a cultural and creative park outside the Fifth Ring RoadThe area is only half of what it used to be, and the rent is only more than 30% of what it used to be
Of course, the conditions here are not as good as before, but in this period, it doesn't matter whether you live well or not, it doesn't matter whether you can survive or not
*: New office after relocation.
Then it's about minimizing all unnecessary operating costs as much as possible。Liu Ming said that in the past, in order to expand the business, each project team of the company had a certain budget for catering that could be freely disposed, but now it has stopped.
Then there is the salary cut. Starting with Liu Ming himself, everyone adjusted their salaries, and he himself dropped the most, and the ordinary staff dropped less.
In the face of such adjustments,Most of the employees expressed understanding"Of course, there are also worries, because during that period of time, all kinds of economic data came out, and it was not as good as I thought before, and everyone was afraid that the company would not be able to survive." ”
Most of the remaining dozen or so people have been with me for several years, and two of them are still partners, and they know how the company is runningThere are also those who can't accept it, and finally choose to resign with compensation. ”
At first, Liu Ming wondered if he was the only one who encountered this problem, but later found out that it was not the caseMany of the surrounding tertiary industry or service industry peers have encountered similar difficulties in 2023
The main reason is that everyone has gritted their teeth in the past three years, and both the mentality and the cash flow in hand need to be repaired for a period of time, especially in an industry like ours. ”
Liu Ming said that the particularity of the service industry lies inWhen the economy is developing rapidly, people are generally willing to "spend money to hire others to provide themselves with more convenient and professional services."But when the economic environment is not so good, this willingness will be relatively reduced.
This reduction will directly affect the company's business, and further pass on to employees' income and even willingness to spend.
In the past, Starbucks was downstairs in the company, and many colleagues had one cup a day, but now they buy hanging ear coffee directly online and brew it by themselves, which costs much less every month. ”
Canned Gallery.
And it's not just the operators who are noticing this change.
In August 2023, Liu Ming's company completed the fifth national economic census in the place of registrationNot long afterward, the company's financial colleagues received ** from the corresponding business department of the relevant department, asking if there were any specific difficulties that needed coordination and help
We were quite surprised at the time, but we found out laterThe relevant departments are also paying attention to the business conditions of small and medium-sized enterprises after the special period, because changes in business data can be reflected in the financial statements
The staff also summarized the special support policies and sent them to us, such as tax incentives, exemptions and rebates, many of which we didn't pay much attention to before, and we can save some of them. ”
Liu Ming's company's biggest fixed expenditure at present is rent, and the staff said after knowing itThe relevant departments have also coordinated some office space, both independent and shared, which is relatively low, and is also part of the support policy for micro, small and medium-sized enterprisesand can contact them directly if needed.
Seriously,After receiving that **, we are much more steady, which means that everyone is working together to find a way, and it is better to work together than to lie down completely
Time comes to the winter of 2023 in a blink of an eye, Liu Ming saidAfter the ups and downs of this year, my mentality has calmed down a lot
In the past, when the economic situation was good, everyone had the illusion that they were outstanding. It took me a year to realizeBefore, we may have just caught up with a good era and stood on a good outlet
Fun about business.
Taking stock of 2023, Liu Ming said that the company's operation is still at a loss, but it is better than the worst result he expected, so it can continue to carry it for a while.
In those years when the economic benefits were good, Liu Ming did not expand rashly or raise funds blindly, so as to avoid the company from taking on a large amount of debt.
At that time, many peers said that I called it Xiaofu Ji'an, and I should introduce investment or something. I have also considered it, and there are investors who really come to me, but what kind of VAM agreement needs to be signed. I may be a conservative person, I always feel that safety comes first, and I don't like the word 'gamble' when I hear it, and then I don't like it. ”
However, this saved Liu Ming more trouble. He said that a peer had done well in business and had accepted an investment with a VAM nature, but not long ago, the investor demanded that the peer bear unlimited joint and several liability on the grounds that the VAM had failed.
Similar news is also not uncommon on **. Liu Ming saidAdjusting business ideas and risk prevention is also part of his self-help measures
At the beginning of this year, I felt a sense of loss because everyone was planning for the best at that time；And if you prepare for the worst, things will be different. ”
The reason why Liu Ming said this is becauseIn November, he received the customer **, who had cooperated since the beginning of the business, and the other party has resumed the 2024 business tender
I often use that phrase to admonish myselfEntrepreneurship is the same as life, it can't be smooth sailing, you have to be able to live a good life, but you also have to be able to live a hard life, so I will continue to persevere.