CHINA FASHION BUSINESS

▼The following discussion in Leng Yun’s fashion circle is a discussion and summary of industry issues. These shares are the crystallisation of collective wisdom. (They do not represent the personal views of Leng Yun). It is hoped that this method will benefit more industry professionals

1. How will you understand the introduction of a 1-minute short video: Life depends on Kangbo to make a fortune?

In the next 5-10 years, for private enterprises that are at the peak of intergenerational change, inheritance will face huge problems! The most intelligent inheritance is not to let the second generation copy the successful model of their parents, but to give them room to reconstruct their business models and achieve further growth in the new environment.

The core concept of the Compo cycle (i.e., the big economic cycle) is simply derived from Schumpeter’s innovation cycle theory, scientific and technological development is the external factor of economic development, the initial driving force, the supply of capital is the economy’s adaptation to development, and it is a growth amplifier. The combination of the peaks and troughs of innovation, capital investment and contraction, has become the four stages of Kangbo – boom, recession, depression and recovery.

In the current economic environment, the form of entrepreneurship is undergoing profound changes. A group of entrepreneurs from different backgrounds, some are fashion designers who plan to try pajama e-commerce entrepreneurship within five years, some are doing cross-border e-commerce in Hangzhou to focus on the US market, and some are building Chinese mythological national tide IP collection stores, and have registered IPs such as Wukong. The choice of these entrepreneurs reflects the diversification of contemporary entrepreneurial directions.

Regarding the timing of entrepreneurship, many people mention the “Kangbo theory”. Some entrepreneurs believe that this requires being forward-looking, like people who saw real estate appreciation opportunities early on, or who participated in investing in Bitcoin in the early days. However, in reality, even if opportunities are foreseen, it is often difficult for ordinary people to grasp them. As shared, although I was aware of the rise of Bitcoin in 2015, I didn’t get involved in NFT projects until 2019, and I missed the best time.

In this context, the concept of “micro entrepreneurship” came into being. An entrepreneur vividly metaphorized: “Traditional entrepreneurship is like ‘smashing pots and selling iron’, and micro entrepreneurship is more like ‘swimming with a lifebuoy’ – there is both the confidence of trial and error and the freedom to be at the helm.” “This entrepreneurial model usually starts with a small investment, such as an initial capital of about 50,000 yuan, and aims to achieve a benign ratio of 500,000 sales within a year.

In terms of specific operations, micro entrepreneurship often adopts the strategy of “small steps and fast running”: first use tens of thousands of yuan to do product demo testing, and if positive feedback is obtained in the private domain of the community, then invest hundreds of thousands to complete the product landing, and then use this successful case to seek larger-scale financing。

This gradual development reduces entrepreneurial risks and allows entrepreneurs to constantly adjust their direction in practice.

2. What are the second generations around them doing?

An entrepreneur who does Nezha IP shared his experience: Although the IP is very popular, the current performance is average, and the product direction may need to be adjusted. Although the pop-up store he opened has a high repurchase rate, the unit price is low, which prompts him to constantly think about the optimization of product strategy. This way of exploring progress in practice is a typical feature of micro entrepreneurship.

Another feature of micro entrepreneurship is the emphasis on the combination of personal ability and interest. Some entrepreneurs choose silk pajamas and loungewear because of their personal in-depth knowledge and preferences in this field. It has also been mentioned that individual workers like freelance illustrators only need a part-time assistant to complete business operations, which is also a form of micro entrepreneurship.

It is worth noting that micro entrepreneurship does not mean that there is no pressure. Entrepreneurs generally say they feel anxious, especially when they haven’t run through the profit model. But compared with traditional entrepreneurship, the pressure of micro entrepreneurship is more controllable because failure does not lead to bankruptcy. As one entrepreneur said: “The pressure cannot be very high, if you don’t do it this time, you will have to go bankrupt if you fail.” “

The choice of entrepreneurial path is often related to personal background and resources. In Fujian and other regions, some entrepreneurs mentioned that the local capital circle is relatively closed, and it is difficult to obtain opportunities without connections. But some people suggested opening up the situation by participating in entrepreneurship competitions, sharing their experience of getting their first investment through roadshows, even if investors were not familiar with the industry before.

1. What is micro entrepreneurship?

The concept of Lean Entrepreneurship stems from multiple theoretical foundations. Research from the Entrepreneurship Research Center of Shanghai University of Finance and Economics shows that entrepreneurial resilience is a key driver of success. In an environment with high resource constraints, entrepreneurs need to achieve business value creation through low-cost trial and error, agile iteration, and ecological integration.

“Business fluid mechanics” provides a new perspective for micro entrepreneurship. Entrepreneurs, like modern Odysseus, need to find opportunities for flexible penetration in a rigid business framework, replace capital thickness with knowledge density, and leverage resource barriers with cognitive leverage. The case of “selling air cans” illustrates this well – in an era of material surplus, creating commercial value by selling scarce experiences is not only a poetic rebellion against consumerism, but also echoes Baudrillard’s simulacrum theory.

Lean entrepreneurship methodology has special significance for micro entrepreneurs. As Eric Ries emphasizes in Lean Startup: “The essence of entrepreneurship is to find certainty in uncertainty, and MVP is the compass through the fog.” “In the era of big data, the accuracy and efficiency of this compass have increased exponentially.

At the practical level, micro entrepreneurship is reflected in “running through a small closed loop with lightweight configuration”. This means that in the early stage of entrepreneurship, you may only need a start-up capital of tens of thousands of yuan, a streamlined team of 1-2 people, and focus on specific needs, such as “Pampers choose cost-effective complementary foods”. Different from traditional entrepreneurship that sets the grand goal of “listing in three years” at the beginning, micro entrepreneurship is more like the process of “planting a small sapling first to see if it can live and how to live to be useful”.

This mindset has been confirmed in entrepreneurial practice. Some entrepreneurs shared their experience of doing Nezha IP: Although IP is very popular, it needs to constantly adjust the direction of the product. Although the pop-up store he opened has a high repurchase rate, the unit price is low, which prompts him to continue to think about optimization strategies. Entrepreneurs often need to do it themselves, and even help load shelves and move goods overnight before the opening of the customer’s store, taking cost saving as an important strategy in the early stage of entrepreneurship.

2. Yunyou shares his own micro entrepreneurial projects

Micro entrepreneurship is also reflected in diversified business models.

A cross-border e-commerce fashion designer in Guangzhou plans to try pajama e-commerce entrepreneurship within five years, choosing mid-to-high-end silk pajamas and loungewear.

Another entrepreneur focuses on building a Chinese mythological national tide IP collection store, and has successfully registered IPs such as Wukong.

These cases all show the strategy of micro entrepreneurs to find opportunities in the market segment.

Entrepreneurial motivation is often closely related to personal experiences. Some people admit that “after old age, no one wants to go to work, I don’t want to go if the salary is low, and the boss can’t afford to give me a high salary”, so they choose to start their own business.

Some people have also experienced the failure of waste recycling and environmental protection projects, and turned to Central Asia and Russia to promote China’s high-quality products to the international market. These experiences show that the choice of entrepreneurial path is often a combination of personal conditions, market opportunities and the background of the times.

In the current economic environment, micro entrepreneurs need to pay more attention to value investment. Specific and feasible directions include: learning a foreign language, which is a value investment that ordinary people can achieve; continue to cultivate in the professional field and maintain a focus on a certain vertical field; Invest in your health, including exercising consistently and staying in good shape; Improve the security system, such as medical insurance and pension insurance.

The entrepreneurial process can be figuratively compared to the art of carving, where everyone carves their own image of David. Micro entrepreneurship emphasizes “fast, accurate and ruthless”, but more importantly, “have a world of growth, attract more people and energy, and do meaningful things in life”. This is not only a business practice, but also a manifestation of an attitude towards life.

This kind of entrepreneurial thinking requires accumulating experience in “small achievements, small closed loops, small ideas, and small trial and error”, and moving forward steadily in “small expectations, small apprehensions, small joys, and small worlds”.As one entrepreneur said: “Working is to fulfill other people’s dreams, and entrepreneurship is to fulfill your own dreams.” “In the economic downturn, low-cost investment in business, investment time to learn and precise oneself may be the wisest choice for micro entrepreneurs.

The choice of entrepreneurial path needs to be gradual, just like the evolution of transportation. Learning language and sales skills is the most basic “skateboarding” stage, and understanding human nature and business literacy is advanced to the “unicycle” stage. When you have 5-200,000 yuan of initial trial and error funds, it is equivalent to owning a “bicycle”. As for whether it can be upgraded to the “motorcycle” stage, it needs to be patient and accumulate.

3. Decomposition of Yunyou pajamas project

In the entrepreneurial idea in the field of pajama e-commerce, an entrepreneur with a design background originally planned to start in 3-5 years, mainly considering the need for capital reserves and experience accumulation.

Experienced people pointed out that pajama entrepreneurship can actually start from a very small scale: about 2,000 yuan for proofing, 8,000 yuan for small-batch production, plus 10,000 yuan for Internet celebrity promotion, a total of about 20,000 yuan can be started. This lightweight way of starting is more in line with the concept of micro entrepreneurship.

For product positioning, although entrepreneurs personally prefer high-end fabrics such as silk and believe that it is indeed helpful for sleep quality, market feedback shows that young consumer groups may value emotional value more than functionality. Considering the price threshold and care difficulty of silk products, it is recommended to start from the mass market first, and then expand to the high-end market after accumulating funds and customer base.

The entrepreneur put forward an innovative idea of combining pajamas with sleep coaxing services, and plans to serve people aged 20-30 with sleep needs through live radio reading and other methods. This model can be extended to many aspects of the sleep economy, including products such as loungewear, sleeping dolls, and even combined with services such as meditation to form a complete ecosystem.

In terms of market strategy, it is recommended to adopt the route of “cheap first and then high-end”. You can refer to the model of Uniqlo, first make a price that most people can accept, and then consider the combination of online and offline, and physical stores can focus on high-end products such as silk. The goal is to find 100 loyal customers, gradually extending to the group of wealthy women in their 30s.

Practical experience shows that entrepreneurship does not necessarily have to have a high educational background. An entrepreneur with only a high school degree shared that sometimes the dumbest methods are the most effective. It is important to have the courage to try, maintain the spirit of tossing, and maybe reap unexpected surprises. For the acquisition of entrepreneurial resources, entrepreneurship competitions are an important channel. There are entrepreneurship competitions for clothing brands all over the country, not only with prizes, but more importantly, with access to investors. Even if you don’t get a ranking, you may get an investment opportunity. This provides an important platform to showcase projects and find resources.

PS: The translation is done by AIGC

文字整理：张怀楷

文字编辑：张怀楷

美术编辑：李宁