Student Question:
Hello, Master. This year the pandemic restrictions have lifted. I thought transitioning from my previous career into entrepreneurship would be a real opportunity. But I severely underestimated how idealistic I was. My first venture ended in failure — a fresh-cut fruit shop.
I thought the investment costs would be modest and just dove in headfirst — only to discover how little I understood about the market. Time and again, I found myself falling into traps.
1. On Food Delivery Platform Operations
As a new shop just launching, I relied entirely on paid order boosting and top-up promotions to get exposure.
It goes without saying — if you don’t spend money on the app, you get zero visibility. And as for rankings, I had no idea where I even stood.
2. On Third-Party Operations Companies
For both major platforms — Meituan and Eleme — the moment you go live, you get bombarded with calls from countless third-party operations companies. In the end, they all just want you to pay up. Many shop owners don’t know how to manage their own online store, so they end up depending on these companies. But the reality is, they don’t do much. Third parties give you no guarantees on order volume or return rates — they just take their cut based on whatever you agreed to, once you have some volume.
3. On Commission Rates
The platform takes a significant percentage, and many shop owners complain that Meituan ends up taking all the profit — leaving barely enough to cover utilities. Honestly, they’re right. When I saw the final settlement — 15 to 25 percent gone per order — I was completely floored. How can a platform take that much?
Since it was my first venture, it ended in failure. I didn’t understand the market and paid a heavy price for it. But I still want to pursue entrepreneurship. Master, what are the most important things to focus on when starting a business?
Master Chi’s Response:
For someone starting a business for the first time, my advice is this: do what you love and what you’re good at.
First, establish your direction. Then build real results in one focused area.
Entrepreneurship has three critical dimensions.
The first is investment and return. How much are you putting in, and what is the expected return rate?
The second is strategy. You cannot do everything. Trying to do it all usually means achieving nothing.
The third is execution capability. For the key elements of what you’re building — can you handle them yourself, or do you need to bring in the right talent?
What is strategy? It’s finding the most important 20% of what you’re doing.
This starts with forecasting. You need to operate from a bird’s-eye view — making decisions with a holistic perspective.
Study your competitors. Learn from their methods and experience. Take the wisdom of those who’ve gone before you, then dare to experiment and find your own path through trial and error.
The second step is finding your breakthrough point.
First, simplify ruthlessly. Whatever you’re doing should be expressible in a single sentence. Get clear on that yourself first.
Next, differentiate. Find what sets you apart from others in your space — what makes you genuinely different?
Finally, growth. No matter the moment, self-improvement is a lifelong practice.
The third point is to go all in.
Find a niche you can own and build a real advantage in — then go all in and push it to excellence.
Why do you need to build an advantage — even an absolute advantage — in a specific domain?
Because if you want your business to succeed, you first need to capture market share. Claim your territory first, then optimize.
Only by achieving absolute advantage in a small niche can you create compounding advantages — and from there, compete in larger markets.
This advantage can come from several sources:
- Value proposition — either a pricing advantage, or reducing the cost and friction for your customers.
- Expanding demand — making your product accessible and relevant to a broader audience.
- Scaling supply — addressing fundamental demand needs at greater volume.
- Replicability and scalability — the ability to duplicate and expand, like a franchise model.
Here’s an example. Say you have an online side hustle bringing in a steady 3,000 yuan a month. That’s not a huge income on its own. But if the model is scalable and replicable, it carries enormous potential — you can recruit agents, teach others to do what you do. They earn, and you earn a commission. You can also charge tuition. That income can multiply many times over.