Recently someone came to me for a consultation. They said they wanted to start a side business but didn’t have anything they were good at. What should they do?
Nothing they’re good at.
It seems like a lot of people have told me this same thing — that year after year, they have no interests or hobbies. Many say their family circumstances never gave them the chance to develop any. I disagree. Look at the people running small online businesses: wool felt animals, resin jar crafts, custom portrait drawings, little logo designs — all of them grew from a personal hobby, step by step, into a side business, then into a full-time income. Have you noticed those wool felt custom animal makers? Lead time is a full month, and they have a waitlist. You have to wait. I once bought a 150-yuan resin pumpkin jar and waited two months for it. That tells you her business is genuinely thriving — and it almost certainly started from a hobby.
Student Question:
Master, recently the collapse of the Zhongzhi Group has been an even bigger shock to the market than the real estate crash. With four major wealth management subsidiaries failing to honor multiple products, Zhongzhi Group has been swept into a full-blown redemption crisis. A massive wave of high-net-worth investors have been left devastated.
Over the years, we’ve seen one dazzling investment scheme after another — P2P lending platforms, abandoned property projects, restaurant franchise chains, crude oil structured products, rural and township banks — yet the outcome is always the same: investors get hurt. For middle-class people with a bit of savings, how do we protect ourselves and hold on to what we have?
Fate is a remarkable thing. The very fact that you’re reading this article means heaven wants you to find encouragement here.
Especially in this hour before dawn — I know you’re carrying a great deal of pressure inside.
Anxious, unable to sleep.
Anxious about income that never feels enough, about a future that remains unclear, about a marriage that isn’t working, about problems of every kind.
So let me offer you this: remember, every problem you’re facing right now has been faced by countless people before you — and many of them faced situations far worse than yours.
Test whether you have what it takes for self-media. Step 1: If you’re doing graphic content, open any social platform, pick a topic that interests you, and start writing.
Step 2: The next day, look at what you wrote the day before. Revise it. Then write something new.
Step 3: Repeat.
The benchmarks:
If you can’t keep it up for one month — you don’t have the talent. If you sustain one month but still can’t reach 3,000 followers after six months — you probably don’t have the talent either. But you can keep at it if you want to find out. If you’ve stuck with it for a full year and still haven’t hit 10,000 followers — again, no natural talent. Though luck is unpredictable, so whether to continue is entirely your call. If you ultimately can’t stay consistent — three days on, two days off — that’s also a sign of no talent. If you’ve stayed consistent but seen zero progress whatsoever — that’s no luck. Writing can only be a hobby at that point. Don’t count on making money from it. Harsh, but true.
Recently, I attended an internal course led by the president of a publicly listed company. It was an unplanned trip — and it brought unexpected insights.
The content covered equity distribution, incentives, financing, and monetization. It even addressed how to evaluate founders, how to find co-founders, and practical guidance on being an effective number-two leader.
Unfortunately, the president’s identity is too sensitive — sharing it could potentially move the stock price. After consulting with him, we agreed to keep his identity concealed in order to share these ideas more freely.
Lately, many of you have been asking about entrepreneurship and starting side businesses. What’s the core of it all?
Honestly? Both entrepreneurship and side businesses are inherently opportunistic. There’s nothing shameful about that — it’s simply the reality in front of us.
All the entrepreneurship frameworks, all the struggles, all the hustle — when you strip it down, it starts because you don’t have much money. It’s being broke that forces people to get creative.
Since 1998, in order to address the insufficient pull of an export-oriented economy and the lack of local development funding following reforms to the fiscal system, real estate — under official guidance, planning, and promotion — gradually became the core industry driving urban development.
The industry’s vigorous growth resolved a series of social problems: including but not limited to local development financing, residential asset appreciation, housing needs during urbanization, the migration and employment of surplus rural labor, and the stimulating effect on related upstream and downstream industries. When a single sector can benefit all major stakeholders across society, it earns unanimous enthusiasm from society’s key participants. Behind this enthusiasm lies not only a concentration of resources, but also policy favoritism and lagging regulation. This creates a spiraling, self-reinforcing surge — and in the process, forges new social power structures and new coalitions of shared interests. These become internal forces resisting change. As a result, any reform that touches deep-seated interests is difficult and delayed — and that delay often gradually ferments into a bitter outcome for society as a whole.
Student Question:
Hello, I’m genuinely happy to have joined your knowledge community. I’m 32, female, ten years out of school — five years of finance experience and two-plus years as a corporate risk control specialist (not particularly skilled in that role; I’ve always felt finance suits me better, but I never followed through on getting certified). My company has been struggling these past two years, with salary cuts and layoffs. I’m now looking to re-enter the job market.
Student Question
Greetings, Master. I’d like to ask about breaking into higher social circles. I feel that social anxiety really comes down to a certain inferiority complex — not having enough confidence in yourself. And there’s also the fear of saying the wrong thing.
Master Chi’s Response
Breaking into higher social circles. There are three ways to do it. Whether in business or everyday life, we can work toward building these connections and achieving our goals.
Student Question
Hello, Master Chi. I’ve been working in marketing for several years, and recently I opened my own brick-and-mortar store. But I’m facing a very real marketing problem — I find it genuinely difficult to develop targeted solutions that actually address the issues I’m dealing with. Even when I put together a preliminary plan and try to execute it, the results are minimal. I’d like to ask Master Chi: where exactly is the problem?