I continued, "Brand is undoubtedly an extremely attractive selling point. Of course, we can simply regard it as a gimmick. Suppose you register a new company here, if the company name can incorporate elements of the provincial capital, it will often give the old people a sense of trust. Many people have a natural superstition about products from big cities, believing that they are more quality-guaranteed. If your company is willing to delve into this market, then branding can not only ensure smooth sales, but also bring you more premium space."
He nodded as he listened, obviously agreeing with my point of view.
I continued, "In China, housing is not only a shelter from the wind and rain, but also carries the attribute of investment. For many families, real estate is often an important part of asset allocation. Therefore, how to guide homebuyers' expectations is the key. If we can make everyone believe that housing prices will only rise and not fall, then the enthusiasm for buying houses will naturally be unprecedentedly ignited. Of course, hunger marketing is also one of the common means in this industry. You will definitely take a gradual approach to promote the project, first develop the first phase, then gradually promote the second phase, the first phase, and so on. What I said should be very different from your idea, right?"
He stood up excitedly, held my hand tightly, and said with emotion: "Listening to your talk is worth ten years of reading! Your insights really opened my eyes. This trip is really worthwhile."
I responded modestly, "I am not a professional. I just say whatever comes to my mind. I may be a little one-sided. I'm sorry to embarrass you."
He shook his head repeatedly, his eyes sparkling with admiration: "It is because you are an expert in the industry that you can stand high and see far. As the saying goes, a bystander sees more clearly. In the past, I just took the land and built buildings, treating real estate as a pure business, and never looked at it from the perspective of local development."
At this time, Yang Ruining interrupted with a hint of sarcasm in his tone: "I said, the threshold of your industry is low, and anyone can come and get involved. They think they are great just by saying a few words."
When Yu Zhiming heard this, his face changed slightly. He was about to get angry, but I quickly stopped him: "Dr. Yang is right. China has always respected etiquette and morality since ancient times. Teachers and doctors are regarded as noble professions. Teaching and educating people, saving lives, only their work can be linked to the word "morality", so-called teacher ethics and medical ethics. We should really learn from them."
Yang Ruining looked complicated when she heard this: "Director Guan is really good at speaking and even uses dirty words when swearing. Today really opened my eyes."
I smiled and shook my head: "No, no, everyone can express their opinions. Well, it's time to eat, let's go out and eat and talk."
During the dinner, Yu Zhiming and I sat next to each other, while Qingwan and Yang Ruining sat on the other side. The topic naturally returned to the content of the previous discussion.
Yu Zhiming said to me sincerely: "Last time my sister mentioned that she wanted to invite you to our company as vice president, but you refused. After this conversation today, I have an idea that is too mature. If you are willing to join our company, I hope to invite you to be the general manager and take full responsibility for this project. As for the salary, I can give you an annual salary of 200,000 plus 5 points of shares. Please think about it carefully. I am really eager to recruit talents."
I smiled and replied, "I may be good at fooling people, but when it comes to getting things done, I'm not very good. Thank you for your high regard, but I don't think I've ruined your plans because of my incompetence."
Seeing Yu Zhiming's sincere face, I knew that I was indeed not interested in this position, so I turned to ask, "Since we are both from other places, I will be frank. I heard that you recently applied for a license to acquire a piece of land in the provincial capital and invest in it, right?"
He sighed softly, "Oh, that plot of land is in a good location. It took several rounds of bidding to get it. I invested more than 100 million yuan in it. Cash funds are really stretched. If this project can be successfully negotiated, I am afraid I will have to pay out so much cash to make it work. Brother, do you have any good suggestions?"
I quickly waved my hands and smiled, "I don't deserve to be called brother. I was born in 1975 and I will only be 31 in a month."
Hearing this, he also laughed: "Excuse me, I was born in 1972, which means I am a few years older than you."
I continued the topic and said, "Speaking of funding, I can say a few words about land acquisition. As for development, I am a layman. Last year, the price of land in the central part of the city was more than 50,000 yuan per mu. This place is relatively remote, but considering that the government finances have compensated the troops for the land acquisition expenses, the price should be balanced. It is estimated that the increase and decrease will be around this price. If calculated based on 200 mu, the cost of land acquisition will be more than 10 million yuan. Fortunately, this land was already used for construction when it was transferred, so the land occupation tax can be saved. The deed tax and stamp tax add up to more than 300,000 yuan."
He nodded and said, "This funding is not a big problem for me, but I do feel some pressure in developing this."
I asked curiously, "You have your own construction company?"
He shook his head: "No."
After thinking for a moment, I suggested, "Why not let the construction company advance the funds for construction first, and then start selling houses after the pre-sale permit is issued, and then reimburse them after the funds come back. Of course, doing this will prevent the foreman from cutting corners, but as long as the supervisor follows closely, there shouldn't be any major problems."
He sighed: "This is what I am most worried about. To tell you the truth, my business in the provincial capital is too big and the funding gap is also huge."
I looked at him in surprise: "You want to transfer funds from here to support the project in the provincial capital?"
He nodded graciously.
The reality and calculation of these businesses are really amazing, I thought to myself.
I joked, "Give me a fulcrum, and I can move the earth. Do you want to apply Archimedes' words to business operations? Then this project is the fulcrum in your eyes. Do you want to operate this fulcrum through a bank loan and then transfer the funds back to the head office? Is there any legal risk in doing so?"
He answered seriously: "As long as the procedures are complete and the certificates are produced, there should be no problem for the parent company to borrow money from the subsidiary. What I want to know now is how can I get a bank loan smoothly?"
I shook my head helplessly: "I can't help you with this. You have to go find County Mayor Zhang and see if he can do anything."
I reminded him solemnly: "Bank loans are usually earmarked for specific projects. I think there are still risks in embezzling funds like you did."
He seemed quite sincere after hearing this and asked, "Besides loans, do you have any other good suggestions?"
After thinking for a moment, I said, "Given the current scale of your company and the existing financing channels, there are indeed many ways. However, you might consider introducing a partner."
He frowned: "If the shares are too dispersed, it will be difficult to manage."
I nodded and continued to explain: "This is indeed a problem. But you can refer to the practices of some developed coastal cities, such as limited partnerships and private placement of bonds. Limited partnerships are usually called LPs internationally. Limited partners are only responsible for investment and profit sharing, and do not participate in the daily operations of the company. As for private placement of bonds, you probably know something about it, except that the cost may be higher, and if it is not operated properly, it is easy to be classified as illegal fundraising, so it needs to be operated with caution."