One day in 2002, in Suichang County, Zhejiang Province, Xu Aidong was an ordinary bank clerk, she suffered from rheumatism, her arm was faintly painful, and when it was serious, she couldn't even lift her arm, couldn't go to work, couldn't cook, and sometimes could only lie in bed. A friend gave her a bamboo charcoal mattress and a few charcoal packets, saying that they would cure her. She didn't believe it at all, but she saw that it was given by a good friend, so she wanted to give it a try. Bamboo charcoal, 20 years ago, few people had ever heard of it, let alone used it, rheumatism for so many years, how could it be possible to use this thing?But who knows, after using it for a while, her illness really improved.
This had to make her have questions about bamboo charcoal, after understanding, she also had a strong interest in the humble bamboo charcoal products, she pondered, "This bamboo charcoal can cure me, should also be able to cure many people like me, if this is the case, then everyone will not have to endure the pain"?
She keenly sensed that this was a huge business opportunity. After her investigation, she found that the supply of bamboo charcoal is sufficient, but there is no store specializing in bamboo charcoal, and the same is true for the whole country. After further research, she learned that bamboo charcoal has a long history in China, and its purifying, medicinal, health care and other effects have been proven, so she is ready to resign and focus on bamboo charcoal business.
But working in a bank is a job that many people envy, and she was not surprised to be opposed by her family, "This is completely unpopular, no one does it, why do you want to wade into troubled waters?".”
I'm going to try it myself, and because no one is doing it, I'm going to do it. As you can see, she really helped me with my condition." The family was persuaded by her and reluctantly agreed to her.
In March 2002, Xu Aidong opened a bamboo charcoal franchise store in Hangzhou called "Charcoal Seller". She was full of enthusiasm, but the business was very bleak at the beginning, and the customers felt fresh, but no one knew about this new gadget, nor did they understand the role of the product, so they saw more and bought less. After a period of time, Xu Aidong couldn't support it anymore and began to re-examine the industry he was engaged in.
After thinking about it, she is still optimistic about the prospects of the bamboo charcoal market, but decided to change her mind and choose the store location again. She invested 80,000 yuan and rented a store in Hefang Street, a famous commercial and cultural street in Hangzhou, hoping to bring a turnaround in business through the first volume, but unfortunately, the whole street was in a depression when "SARS" came. Her family and friends advised her not to do it yet, which would be a little less loss, but she persevered because of her understanding and confidence in the product.
This time, Xu Aidong began to improve the performance of the product, using high-quality alpine bamboo, making high-quality natural bamboo charcoal, and developing 10 series, nearly 300 varieties, bedding, insoles, etc., and also made a flower cloth packaging and gift box with national characteristics.
On the first day of normal business, Xu Aidong's income exceeded 3,000 yuan, far exceeding the income of the past month. Later, the bamboo charcoal business got better and better, and she began to open stores in cities outside her hometown, and in August 2003, she opened a branch in Hunan and opened a bamboo charcoal processing factory for deep processing of products. In 2006, the brand of "Charcoal Seller" was founded and the industrialization of bamboo charcoal was opened. Now the "charcoal seller" has more than 1,400 direct stores and franchise stores across the country, built a 2,000-square-meter plant, built a distribution center, and the franchisees are also following her business to do a boom, providing jobs for tens of thousands of people, and was also rated as "the founder of the bamboo charcoal industry" and "outstanding entrepreneur representative".
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An unpopular business that no one once knew about was turned into a big business by Xu Aidong. As long as there is demand, there will be a market, and as long as there is a market, there will be opportunities to make money. Sometimes your own needs can also develop into a big market and a big opportunity.