Chapter 111 Barber Shop Owner
Because Lin Mengxi is still in the summer vacation and school will start in September, although he doesn't need anyone to watch him, he reads books, studies, does exercises, and plays chess, and he has a lot of fun. However, Lin Ruoyan still has to stay at home with her son as a parent to feel at ease.
In the real world, after working for many years, you get a fixed amount of paid annual leave. She only saw others taking annual leave during the winter and summer holidays to spend time with their children, but she herself had never dared to take leave. Now that she was her own boss, she could be absent from the company for three days, ten days, or even half a month, and no one seemed to say anything. So why bother going to work every day?
The company's OA system was a plus; all those approval signatures could be done online. Even though the company was only a five-minute drive away, she didn't want to go. She didn't have much to do anyway, and could handle simple official duties from home. Wouldn't going to the company and making the employees nervous ruin the happy working atmosphere?
Lin Ruoyan had no idea that it was her irregular work schedule that kept the employees on edge. No one knew when or what time Mr. Lin would show up at the office. How could employees justify eating, drinking, playing, or working out during work hours? Generally, everyone worked overtime and then enjoyed some leisure time at the company.
As August approached, the weather became hotter and hotter, and children's hair grows fast, so Lin Ruoyan took her son to a barber shop that had an agreement with the company.
When the company was first opened, every employee could come to this shop for two free haircuts a month, and the accounts were registered under the company's name, so of course the employees were happy.
Men whose hair grows quickly come in for a trim once a month, during their lunch break. Women don't really come in twice a month for a haircut; where would they find the time? They're not as diligent as men. After all, women's hair is time-consuming. At best, they come in after work for a quick trim and treatment, but they don't dare to perm or dye their hair.
Aunt Wang, who had white hair, came to the store on a whim to get her hair permed and dyed to cover up the gray hair. When she saw the store price was 500 yuan, she immediately felt that she had wasted the company's costs and did not dare to come again for several months.
However, Lin's Real Estate and the barber shop had agreed on a billing arrangement. In other words, she had opened a company account with 100,000 yuan and had already paid the bill in one lump sum to get a card. There was no limit on how much employees could spend, with a discount based on the retail price. If employees didn't want to come, you couldn't force them to come.
So by August, not much of the 100,000 yuan had been spent.
Lin Ruoyan wanted to get the most expensive haircut herself, a complete wash, cut, and blow-dry, dye it a trendy color, and give her son a personalized buzz cut. It was a shame it wasn't a girl; if it were a little girl, there would be so much more she could do. Bringing such a young boy to such a professional and high-end barber shop left the barber with absolutely no room for creativity.
When Lin Mengxi heard that his mother was also going to get her hair done in the shop, he had originally planned to bring only one book. Instead, he went back and took another heavy tome weighing half a pound from the bookshelf and stuffed it into his schoolbag. He said considerately, "Mom, take your time getting your hair done. I'll read a book with you."
Lin Ruoyan thought her son truly understood her. According to the book, when they were in a small southern town, she would often take her son to the barbershop for a beauty treatment and hairdressing. Back then, she didn't make much money, but she loved dressing up, eager to transform her look every two or three months. Her son knew that once his mother entered such a place, she wouldn't be out for seven or eight hours, even carrying a thick bag of books.
As a big customer who recharged 100,000 yuan at one time, Lin Ruoyan definitely doesn't have to wait when she comes to this store, and she will naturally be received by the highest-level barber.
The owner of the barber shop happened to be here today.
Barber shops usually have managers to run the business, but the owner, who paid for the shop, may not show up every day. He may have other businesses elsewhere, or he may be like Lin Ruoyan, who only enjoys eating, drinking and having fun and does not like working.
The barbershop owner, Liang, knew that Lin Ruoyan was the generous boss who topped up 100,000 yuan, so he personally came over to give Lin Ruoyan's son, Lin Mengxi, a very trendy haircut. According to the store manager, Boss Liang was a well-known barber in his time, and he had done hairstyles for many celebrities. After he became rich, he opened his own shop. His haircutting skills were better than anyone else in the shop, and he only occasionally did hairstyles for big clients.
If Lin Ruoyan likes it, Boss Liang will be very happy to make a hairstyle of her choice for her.
Lin Ruoyan, however, judged others by her own experience. She thought that Boss Liang had come to inspect the store with great difficulty, and probably didn't want her to be so tired. A woman's hair wash, cut, and blow-drying usually takes at least five or six hours. If she were the owner of the store, she would not be so tired and do everything herself.
So she thanked Mr. Liang for his kindness and decided to just let her usual hairstylist do her hair. Since her son didn't need anyone to accompany him, she found a quiet corner and started reading.
The great thing about this shop is that every member who comes in gets free food and drinks. Even if you're just getting a haircut, you can still order a drink and a piece of fruit. Furthermore, the hairstylists never try to push products on customers. The shop's promotional materials are clearly printed and displayed, so they'll explain them to customers if they're interested.
This actually made the customers feel relaxed. After all, in those days, many barbershop employees had to shoulder heavy sales targets and trick customers into buying various expensive hair treatments in order to get commissions.
This store doesn't have these tedious and noisy services, and it still provides free food and drinks to customers. It's a bit hard to understand how it makes a profit.
Lin Ruoyan was curious and asked casually. Boss Liang happened to be there, so he wasn't worried about Lin Ruoyan, a billionaire, competing with him for his beauty salon business. He answered her question readily, "There's no secret to my business, it's just low costs. This house is a legacy from my ancestors."
This sentence explains the most important point about doing business in Beijing.
Many shops in bustling areas require high rents. For shop owners who rent a space to sell goods or services, rent is often their largest expense. This is in stark contrast to shops in remote cities that command annual rents of 10,000 or 20,000 yuan. This barber shop is surrounded by financial districts and established residential areas, ensuring a constant source of customers. If the shop didn't own the property, the rent would be prohibitively high.
Boss Liang has the confidence to give out free food and drinks without the need for his employees to sell to customers because his rent has no cost.
Lin Ruoyan sighed: "Yes, all roads lead to Rome, but some people are born in Rome."
You have to know that if there is such a large shop in this location, its value will easily exceed 100 million not only now but also in the future.
"My family bought a house in the old capital. Our ancestors actually had a whole set of quadrangles, but they all fell into disrepair. When it came to me, I inherited this row of houses on the back. Other relatives got better houses, but when the road was widened, their houses were demolished and they were compensated. They went to buy houses in other districts. Mine was not demolished, and I didn't get any compensation. The house is too dilapidated to be lived in." Boss Liang recalled the past.
"At that time, I didn't like studying. I learned the skill of barbering and worked for others. It was only when I met a noble person that I realized that working for others was not as good as opening my own shop. My house was not comfortable to live in, so I decided to renovate it and open my own barber shop. I worked for others for ten years and saved money to renovate the shop. Now I can say that I have just settled down for a few years.
But it’s just a glamorous appearance. In reality, every family has its own problems…”
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