Chapter 169 New Chain Mode
Lin Ruoyan found that her employees were working hard on the front lines and refused to take vacations, so she had to resort to another trick. She had invested in a health checkup center and forced employees to pay benefits. They had to complete the physical examination in January, and those who did not meet the physical indicators would be required to take vacation immediately.
Lin's Real Estate Company currently has 68 employees. She directly bought the most expensive physical examination plan for each person and asked everyone to complete it within a deadline.
At the end of the year, the number of customers at the physical examination center was relatively low, but this influx has made the physical examination center active again.
Other hospitals also offer physical examination programs, so how could they not be envious of this hospital's constant flow of customers year-round? They inquired about its operating secrets in various disguised ways, seemingly hoping to emulate this "novel" model and adopt a similar approach in their own hospitals.
So Boss Liang’s mother contacted Lin Ruoyan and said that they were planning to start expanding the chain stores.
Everyone had agreed to open a chain store from the beginning. At the time, Lin Ruoyan wanted to invest more, but Lao Tong and Liang's mother hesitated. It wasn't until half a year into the business, with a growing clientele, that one store became insufficient. Beijing is a vast city, with numerous state-owned enterprises spread across various urban areas. To facilitate local checkups for these individuals and to capture market share, opening more branches was imperative.
Lin Ruoyan found time to go to the office at the physical examination center for a meeting.
Zhang Huanyu was also on winter vacation, so she asked him to go along. Zhang Huanyu also participated in the initial calculation of relevant costs and profits, and they looked at how to run a chain together.
The initial investment in this flagship medical examination center was two million yuan. Lin Ruoyan oversaw the design and renovation, as well as some basic equipment, such as air conditioners and water dispensers. Lao Tong and Liang's mother chipped in for a year's rent, purchased some secondhand medical equipment at a low price, and covered the recruitment and several months of operating costs. The three of them held a roughly 30:30 equity stake.
We've already found quite a few clients, and we've adopted a key customer model, where large groups and companies purchase services in bulk, prepay the fees, and then have their personnel come in for physical examinations at a specified time. This way, the payment might already be in your account before the patient even shows up.
The checkup, divided into different levels, cost 200 yuan per person. A large state-owned enterprise has thousands of employees, both current and retired. They expanded to several branches, and by January, they had taken in nearly 5 million yuan. Of course, this money can't be considered profit; costs must be deducted.
After wiping out the two million investment and renewing the building lease for another year, after deducting the labor costs for operating expenses in 2023, there was less than two million left. I didn't dare to distribute this money as dividends, so I wanted to use it to invest in new stores.
"If it's less than two million, can we just open a new store?" Lao Tong was more realistic. He knew that if he rented a place somewhere else, the rent for a store of the same size would definitely not be as low as his.
Lin Ruoyan said, "If we continue with the flagship store model, then two million is definitely not enough. We should consider the franchise we mentioned. Xiao Zhang, tell me about it. I think the new concept you mentioned on the way here is quite good."
Thanks to the successful operation of the designer's homestay, Zhang Huanyu was respected by his fellow townspeople, and he became known both inside and outside the school, which greatly increased his self-confidence.
He no longer had the shyness he had at first, and said in a deep voice, "Although my business is a franchise, it may be different from traditional franchises. If it is run well, you won't have to pay any extra money, and it can also provide continuous profits for franchisees."
In Lin Ruoyan's opinion, the model that Zhang Huanyu talked about next was the classic s2b2c model of later generations. It was a model that emerged after the active development of Internet e-commerce. Now it seems that similar signs have already appeared in traditional business, which were keenly captured by Zhang Huanyu and refined into specific methods that can be put into practice.
As we all know, physical examinations require a physical storefront. Whether renting or purchasing a location, this requires significant investment, along with the necessary staffing and equipment. This creates a heavy asset burden. If you want to open a large number of stores quickly but are unwilling to invest your own money, choosing a franchise model requires thorough research into why people want to join.
First, they promise an annual return of 20-30%. You'll see a profit in the first year, and if you do well, you'll get your investment back in three years. After that, you just sit back and collect the money. Profitable and stable income, who wouldn't want that?
Zhang Huanyu had mentioned this profit before. At that time, everyone was unsure. By opening the flagship store, we have initially felt the revenue situation and strengthened our confidence in this regard.
Second, franchisees don't have to pay franchise fees every year. All they need to do is own their own store, bring their own one million yuan for renovation, and decorate it according to the standard drawings they provide, so that new stores and flagship stores maintain an absolutely unified standard.
This second clause actually carries an implicit constraint. If a franchisee is willing to spend a million on renovations, they certainly won't stay for just a year and then switch to something else, otherwise the renovations would be wasted. At the very least, their store is leased long-term or self-owned. Furthermore, after decorating according to standard drawings, a fixed style is established. Even if you later quit the franchise, this imprint will remain, unless you spend money to renovate.
This is just like the logic of fast food franchises like McDonald's, which achieves uniformity in style, allowing customers who have visited to form a solidified perception.
Third, what franchisees provide is just the hardware shell and the decorated store. They do not need to lead their own team. The management personnel, backend customers and accounting software are all controlled by the headquarters, which is equivalent to direct management by the headquarters.
Liang's mother was still uneasy: "Why would they be willing to join? One million is not a small amount of money."
"We still need to calculate the exact amount of the franchise fee. The one million just mentioned was just an example." Zhang Huanyu explained and analyzed.
"Your advantage lies in 'software.' Your flagship store is staffed by retired doctors and nurses from major hospitals. As industry insiders, you know what equipment to purchase and understand the proper procedures for physical examinations. Your physical examination reports are more professional and credible, and you possess unique secrets for customer acquisition. These advantages are simply unattainable."
However, traditional franchises, which connect without locking in customers, are very likely to poach key clients. This is why we've designed this model: all core resources are directly controlled by headquarters, leaving franchisees with only a shell, the "client." Franchise store managers can be completely outsiders, operating within the established rules and regulations while reaping the profits without worrying about anything.
They can also become part of the customer acquisition team, but the customers they bring in must be centrally managed within the headquarters system. Former employees can be rehired after training at headquarters, and they can also rotate across multiple stores. This can all achieve a lock-in effect."
Lao Tong asked, "So the franchise fee is their store renovation fee. How can we actually make a profit? Is it just to help these new stores lock in customers?"
Liang's mother was also puzzled: "Yes, although we can open many stores in the short term and occupy market share, how can we make money? We also have to ensure that those stores are profitable and don't lose money, right?"
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