Student Question:
Master, I ended my children’s clothing business journey on April 29th of this year. Throughout the process, I repeatedly maxed out credit cards to keep funding the operation. I started with a small street-side shop, then expanded to a large branded store — it looked impressive from the outside. Looking back at the past four years, total revenue was 1.53 million yuan with a profit of 500,000 yuan. For the most part, I was overextending my husband’s credit cards. Now the business has failed. The debt has collapsed, and our marriage is under tremendous strain. Every day I worked hard — taking photos, planning promotions, building an online presence, spending endless hours in the store. As a result, my child complains I never paid attention to her, and now with the business failing, I’m heartbroken. We’re 600,000 yuan in debt — I estimate interest alone accounts for nearly half. If I had noticed earlier that profits couldn’t cover expenses, I really should have cut my losses sooner. I’d like to ask Master: in a business venture, how do you choose the right project? How can I avoid this kind of problem from happening again?
Student Question
Hello, Master. I’m thinking about investing in building a thriving restaurant storefront, then recruiting paying students — that’s the business model. What’s your take on it? Is it still worth pursuing?
Some friends around me who are doing well have already brought on dozens of franchisees. My own early-stage losses have been quite significant, and I’m losing confidence. Should I hold onto what I’ve already built, or look for an investor to partner with?
Student Question: Hello, Master. I’d like to start an RV travel blog as a side hustle. How should I plan and execute this?
Master Chi’s Response: Start by asking yourself one question.
If someone else was already doing this — would you admire them? Would you follow them?
Let me give you something practical to chew on: the competitive edge of a travel blogger has nothing to do with the routes they take, and nothing to do with the vehicle they drive.
Student Question
Master, I want to make money through self-media as a side hustle, but I never know what to write about. Do you need a massive following to monetize? What are the key things to watch out for?
Master Chi’s Response
Part One
Most people dream of becoming a top influencer — a massive following, more influence, easier money. What they don’t realize is that platforms are quietly working against those very people. They deliberately fragment the traffic.
Student Question
Hello, Master Chi. I’ve partnered with others to run a group-buying platform. External competition is fierce, and we have no significant edge in product selection, pricing, or operations. I also feel that what we’re doing doesn’t offer much real value — it’s essentially profiting from information asymmetry, plus we run a three-tier distribution system. Operating costs are high on top of that.
I’m wondering whether, in the long run, I should abandon the current platform and instead build a personal brand — selling products from other platforms myself. I feel my judgment and sales ability are decent enough to make that work.
Student Question
I’m currently in Suzhou and in the process of a home exchange (my current home has already been sold). I’m looking for a property in the 4–5 million RMB range that can serve three purposes: personal residence, supporting my child’s education (currently in kindergarten), and investment (hoping the value holds so it’s easy to sell later). I’m currently comparing three options: Suzhou Science and Technology City, Wuzhong Taihu New Town, and older/smaller units in Shishan — though my husband may not accept the last option, as we have differing opinions on it.
Student Question: Master, hello. Many cities have introduced talent housing purchase policies for new residents — protecting genuine buyers, suppressing speculation, and ensuring that talented people have a place to live. But within roughly a year, these policies have already exited the stage of history. Why did the talent housing policy fail?
Master Chi’s Response: Shenzhen, as an innovation and reform pilot zone, was the first to launch an initial batch of talent housing priced at 60% of market value.
I once said that by late March this year, a concentrated wave of favorable developments would arrive — but I truly didn’t expect this many significant events at once.
Let me string together a few examples. Those with sharp intuition will taste what’s beneath the surface.
Teacher Wu, after more than three years of wandering, has returned. Hainan has moved boldly to protect and nurture the private economy — the principle being: if arrest and prosecution can be avoided, avoid them. There are now harsh measures targeting those who maliciously damage business reputations and the public image of entrepreneurs.
Student Question
Good day, Master. I was previously in an HR/administrative role at my company, but my manager felt I had potential in sales. So I recently applied for and was moved into a sales position, leading a small team. I’ve been running into some management issues.
The employees are quite close with each other. The methods and plans I propose are difficult to execute. When I set sales targets, they push responsibilities onto each other and don’t give their best effort. Recently three new recruits joined, and I feel the team’s energy is quite low. I’d like to ask for Master’s guidance.
In life or at work, there is always a magical inner circle.
Let me share the story of one of our readers and the transformation he went through.
He was once an ordinary teacher at the best high school in the province. Reserved and soft-spoken by nature. After joining our community, he occasionally raised questions and engaged in discussions.
Last year, after being promoted to Director of Admissions, he remained as reserved as ever — but his social circle took a qualitative leap. His school is the best in the entire province, after all.