New Hope
New Hope Study Abroad Agency.
Located near the university town, where there are the most students.
When Jian Jianan decided to invest in this company, he had a long and detailed conversation with the founder, Zhu Zicheng.
When everything was settled, the contract was signed, and the money was transferred to Zhu Zicheng's account, the first thing the newly established New Hope Study Abroad Agency did was to move to a new address.
At the beginning, Zhu Zicheng decided to start his own study abroad agency near the University of Finance and Economics. One reason was that this was his alma mater, a place Zhu Zicheng was familiar with, and he felt safe there.
Another reason, which is also the most crucial reason, is that it is cheap here!
Compared with other shops in good locations, the snack street near the University of Finance and Economics is already a cheap place. The monthly funds are much lower than other places. What's more, the shop chosen by Zhu Zicheng is in a not-so-good remote location, so the price is even lower!
If not for this, with Zhu Zicheng burning money every day but not making a single cent, it would be impossible for him to run this store for eight months, almost a year!
But now that he has money, the first thing Zhu Zicheng did was of course to change places.
It wasn't that he didn't want to change before, but he had no choice. Now, there is a wealthy boss, and they don't have to worry about the things that troubled them before.
Originally, Zhu Zicheng wanted to use Jian Jianan's investment to recruit teachers first. The teaching staff is the foundation of an educational institution. Changing the address or something like that would put him in the queue.
But they were all stopped by Jian Jianan.
"Recruiting teachers is important, but relocating is even more important! If you don't relocate, what will you do even if you find new teachers? If no students sign up, isn't that like cooking without rice?"
Jian Jianan was very generous, with a golden light flashing all over his body, which was the result of his money.
She waved her hand. "Besides, we have investment now, so we're not afraid of burning money. We can do both things at the same time! Isn't it okay to just do it on a two-pronged approach?"
In this way, with the support of Jian Jianan, the largest and only investor, New Hope Study Abroad Agency not only moved to a new address, but also recruited many qualified new teachers.
When Jian Jianan arrived at the entrance of New Hope in the university town, he was immediately greeted by someone.
It was Zhu Zicheng's wife Chu Xiucheng who came to greet him in person.
"Sister Xiucheng, why are you here today?"
Jian Jianan asked curiously.
In Jian Jianan's consideration, the founder's family environment is also an important factor affecting his investment.
Zhu Zicheng's family is simple and harmonious. They are quite tolerant of his behavior of "quitting his job in middle age and going into business", which is obviously not in line with the mainstream society. At least it is not like what Jian Jianan expected, where the whole family would come together to oppose him.
Look, his wife Chu Xiucheng came to help in person.
Facing Jianan's question, Chu Xiucheng spoke with a smile.
"Hey, it's not that I feel bad when I think about how busy our Lao Zhu has been with this matter these days, not being able to have a normal meal or sleep all day long. I thought it was summer vacation now, so I came here to help."
Chu Xiucheng is a teacher and has two winter and summer vacations every year to relax and rest. However, in order to support her husband's entrepreneurship, Chu Xiucheng lost all the vacation time that could have been used to relax and rest.
But no one takes it seriously at all.
"Hey, Old Zhu has always had the idea of starting a business in his heart. He has been suppressing it for the past few decades. He has protected our small family from wind and rain and has been the breadwinner of the family for ten years. Now with the policy and the help of a kind-hearted person like you, he has opened a new store. Of course, I have to come to help!" She patted Jianan's arm to express her kindness.
The girl in front of me is obviously more than ten years younger than me, but she has a huge fortune at such a young age and has also funded her husband's business. She really should not be underestimated!
Chu Xiucheng had a broad vision and was not bound by temporary gains and losses. In order to fulfill her husband's wish, after seeing her husband depressed for several months, they held a family meeting.
Chu Xiucheng made her meaning clear. Her husband was of course free to start his own business, but as long as the money in his hand was spent, it would mean that the business was over and it was time to return to the family.
In Chu Xiucheng's view, the current family wealth was earned by Zhu Zicheng and himself through hard work. Even if they lost all the money during the start-up period, since the two of them were able to save such a large sum of money, they could definitely earn it back.
Zhu Zicheng agreed with his wife's opinion and made three rules with her: she could start a business, but she had to return the money she had if she spent all the money.
Unexpectedly, things took a turn for the better. When Zhu Zicheng had spent all the money he and his wife had saved and borrowed from relatives, and his shop was about to go bankrupt because he could not pay the rent, Jian Jianan came.
She also brought in a substantial investment that provided immediate relief.
Thinking of this, Chu Xiucheng's heart and eyes were filled with gratitude towards the little girl Jian Jianan.
Chu Xiucheng told Jian Jianan, "I'm here to help Lao Zhu recruit people."
"Hasn't New Hope been recruiting teachers lately? But..."
Having said this, Chu Xiucheng's voice lowered, and Jian Jianan knew what she had not finished saying.
I guess their job of recruiting teachers is not so smooth!
Although more than ten years have passed since the reform and opening up, the importance of the "iron rice bowl" is still deeply rooted in people's minds.
The opposite example is going into business. The same is true when working in a private enterprise. You never know when you will be laid off, and there is no stability at all.
In such an environment, many excellent teachers will certainly not come to New Hope to apply for jobs.
Jian Jianan couldn't help but frown, feeling a little worried.
Chu Xiucheng raised his voice slightly and said to the investor, "However, Lao Zhu and I have come up with a solution. That is to raise the salary conditions we offer to above the average level of the current teacher market. Look, there are still a few good candidates coming today."
For founders, boosting investors' confidence and retaining them is also a compulsory course. This course is now being completed by Chu Xiucheng.
Led by Chu Xiucheng, Jian Jianan walked deeper into the store. From time to time, he could see staff members interviewing in the adjacent rooms. It was lively and energetic.
Chu Xiucheng observed Jian Jianan's expression and saw that he looked very normal, nodding slightly from time to time. He knew that Jian Jianan at least didn't object, so he continued with a smile and said, "I was just interviewing with several job applicants there!"
Jian Jianan quickly asked, "Then I didn't disturb you, did I?"
Chu Xiucheng waved his hands repeatedly, "No, no, how could that be possible?"
It is also important to let investors know what their money is used for.
Even if Jian Jianan didn't ask, Chu Xiucheng would at least tell her!
Otherwise, what would happen if Jian Jianan suddenly felt that his money had been wasted on something by him and his wife, and became very angry and wanted to take back all his investments?
The two of them walked into a conference room at the end of the corridor while chatting happily.
Chu Xiucheng smiled and said, "Okay, I'll take you here. I still have to go back for the interview!"
As a middle school teacher with decades of teaching experience, Chu Xiucheng is very optimistic about studying abroad. She doesn't understand macro factors such as national policies. She only sees that last semester, many more students who want to study abroad when they grow up have grown up. She has a vague feeling that in the near future, more and more people will go abroad, and it will become a trend!
Now with Jian Jianan's financial support, why worry about her husband's business not being successful?
Jian Jianan walked quietly into the conference room where a meeting was in progress.
Zhu Zicheng and others were having an impassioned meeting and didn't notice Jian Jianan's arrival at all.
"Next week is the official opening day! Time is tight, really tight! Let's see if there's anything we haven't finished yet. There's so much waiting for us!"
"Mr. Zhu, the recruitment process is in progress, and new teachers will be available within three days." Someone Jian Jianan didn't know spoke up. This must be Zhu Zicheng's new employee.
Zhu Zicheng was still dissatisfied: "They can start teaching within three days, but what about training? Doesn't training take time? Not every teacher we recruit can start teaching right away!"
I have to say that Zhu Zicheng's stern face was quite intimidating, and the man was so scared that he repeatedly promised to speed up the process and complete the recruitment and training within five days.
Zhu Zicheng then looked at the next person.
"And you, Lao Zhang, we're an institution that trains students for studying abroad. You have to understand that simply improving teaching isn't enough! We have to keep up with all the management. We want to help students in need study abroad, so you must understand and grasp the policies. Don't let your students pass all the exams only to be stuck on the paperwork before they leave!"
Lao Zhang nodded immediately: "Yes, yes, yes, you are right, I will deal with it right away, I have to follow up on the daily policies!"
Zhu Zicheng didn't look very satisfied. "Do this yourself, don't leave it to your subordinates!"
“Okay, okay!”
…
The meeting lasted for three hours. The participants were still energetic at the beginning, but as time went by, everyone felt more or less tired and became listless.
Zhu Zicheng and Jian Jianan were the only two people present who could still hold their backs straight.
But Zhu Zicheng can only maintain this enthusiastic state because he is the boss and the one in charge. Who is Jian Jianan?
Someone cast a curious glance in Jian Jianan's direction, and after looking at the notebook in her hand, they understood.
Oh, it turned out to be an administrative staff, he said, no wonder he didn’t stop to write, it turned out he was recording the meeting agenda!
That makes sense!
Zhu Zicheng talked until his throat was about to smoke, and he kept refilling the tea in front of him. As it got darker, after nearly five hours, Zhu Zicheng finally ended the meeting and let everyone go.
"Alright, alright, that's all for today's meeting. Everyone, please go away! Don't forget what I just said to you. They're all very important. Remember them all, okay?"
"Our New Hope is about to open, and all kinds of problems are coming at us. I know that time is running out, and even racing against time is not enough. We need everyone to work together to make New Hope a success!"
Zhu Zicheng was also a first-rate speaker, and his words immediately swept away everyone's fatigue from the several-hour meeting.
Everyone walked out of the door with an unconcealable smile on their face and beautiful expectations for a new hope and future.
But then again, if it weren't for this common goal, why would they get together and start from scratch?
Finally, everyone was sent out, and only Jian Jianan and Zhu Zicheng were left in the meeting room.
Zhu Zicheng rubbed his forehead exhaustedly, and said to Jian Jianan with an apologetic look, "I'm so sorry, Xiao Jian, you finally came over here to visit, but I was busy with various meetings and couldn't entertain you properly."
Jian Jianan didn't take it seriously and waved his hand: "Hey, it's nothing, it's okay. Any company will encounter similar things when it's just starting out, it's very normal! And I'm not the kind of person who values face. Boss Zhu, if you really find so many people to come and line up to welcome me, then I will seriously consider whether to continue investing!"
Jian Jianan is not the kind of person who likes to do face-saving projects. She still values actual results and practical work more.
This point coincides with Zhu Zicheng's. Jian Jianan doesn't care about face at all, and Zhu Zicheng is a similar person.
"You heard the meeting just now. New Hope is about to open, and everything is ready, just waiting for the right time. We had originally planned to complete all the preparations by next week, but now it seems we really don't have enough time!"
Jian Jianan smiled and comforted him, "Teacher Zhu, isn't time always insufficient for people like us? It's normal to split one minute into two. Besides, our New Hope is still a new store, so it's perfectly normal for you to have such thoughts!"
"No matter how well you try to prepare, until the new store is actually open and running, nothing you do will be enough and it's impossible to be perfect."
“But the most important thing is not to do it perfectly, but to let go and do it!”
Jian Jianan patted Zhu Zicheng's shoulder. Although he was a dozen years younger than Zhu Zicheng, Jian Jianan was calmer and more steady than the man years ago.
Not to mention Zhu Zicheng's previous failed business venture, this is his first time to start a company of such a large scale. It is impossible not to be nervous.
"Xiao Jian, you say, you say..."
Jian Jianan asked him encouragingly, "What's the matter, Teacher Zhu?"
"What should we do if New Hope opens next week and still no students are willing to sign up?"
Zhu Zicheng's face was filled with panic, not at all like the confident and commanding look he had just shown in the conference room.
Jian Jianan was stunned. It turned out that Zhu Zicheng was worried about this matter!
Seeing that Jian Jianan didn't answer for a long time, Zhu Zicheng's tone gradually became low.
"When we analyzed the situation at the time, we felt that it was because the previous store had a bad location, there were not many students, and the publicity work was not done well, which led to the failure."
But now, they have moved to a new store and have specially sent people to distribute flyers and made full preparations. If it is still the same as before, if there is no one at all, or not many people come to sign up, then wouldn’t all the work be in vain!
That means that all of Jian Jianan’s investment has gone down the drain!
Jian Jianan's smile deepened, and he asked, "How is that possible? Teacher Zhu, you're completely focused on management, so you might not be very clear about what's going on outside. But I've heard from your wife that our publicity work is pretty good, not to mention that the new store is located in the university town, with so many students. Are you worried about no one coming?"
Jian Jianan tried his best to persuade Zhu Zicheng from every aspect, and finally he stopped looking so sad.
Jian Jianan repeatedly declined Zhu Zicheng and his wife's invitation to stay for dinner and got in the car to go home.
As an investor, Jian Jianan naturally knew that the couple had a mixture of complex emotions such as gratitude, fear, and worry towards him.
However, she came to take a look today and knew that everything was moving forward in an orderly manner and would soon be on the right track, so she didn't need to miss this meal.
***
Jian Jianan returned home and really wanted to go into his room to sort out everything he saw today. Although it is best for investors not to interfere too much with the plans of entrepreneurs and let entrepreneurs do it boldly, if investors have different opinions, they can also bring them up!
This is what Jian Jianan planned to do. He would collect all the areas that could be improved, and then find an opportunity to mention them to Zhu Zicheng to see what he thought.
There is strength in numbers!
When Jian Jianan was lost in thought, he was suddenly stopped by his parents.
They are all sitting on the sofa!
Doctor Su Qinxuan was a little worried: "Nannan, your Nanjia Capital has been investing money for several months now. Has there been any income?"
Jian Jianan paused and mumbled a long explanation to his parents, "We've been preparing for the past few months and haven't opened yet! But we've already done most of it, and we're almost ready. We can open next week!"
As soon as her daughter finished her excited words, Su Qinxuan immediately understood, "That means it hasn't happened yet."
The business hasn’t even opened yet, so how can we expect any income?
Jian Yangping was an impatient person to begin with, and since this was something related to his daughter, he became even more anxious.
"It's been open for three months, why is there no income? Is there a business in this world that is always burning money? It's too..." Too unreliable!
Jian Yangping swallowed the last sentence and didn't say it out loud, but Jian Jianan understood what his father meant.
She explained seriously: "Mom and Dad, my investment company is different from yours."
Nanbei Group is in the catering industry, which is recognized as one of the industries with the largest cash flow. Every new store attracts customers continuously from the beginning of its opening, and revenue is generated every minute and every second.
Shen Ya Clothing is in the clothing industry. After the clothes are produced on the sewing machine, they can be taken out to the store for sale. The capital recovery period does not take several months.
But my daughter Jian Jianan has been setting up this capital company since before she graduated. She has invested at least hundreds of thousands of dollars, but why is there no news at all?
As for this money, if you throw it into water, you can hear a sound, but when it is put into "New Hope" and burned, there is not even a trace of smell. Although the two adults did not say it explicitly, their worry was beyond words!
Jian Jianan finally managed to calm the two adults down after much persuasion.
"When I first established Nanjia Capital, I wasn't aiming to make money!"
"What I want is to use the power of my own capital to change the world. Before I achieve my goal, I can afford a temporary downturn in investment or no returns!"
As soon as Jian Jianan made this bold statement, Su Qinxuan and Jian Yangping immediately cast suspicious glances at her, all four of their eyes full of disbelief.
My daughter is such a money-lover, how could she not want to make money!
Jian Jianan: "..."
She just surrendered.
"Okay, okay, I'll put it this way."
"As a capital company still in its growth phase, Nanjia Capital can't be like other established investment companies that have been around for decades or even centuries, where people come to you with their jobs in hand to invest in you."
"We are taking a different approach, shifting our focus away from large companies with established operating models and focusing more on young, smaller companies that are clearly still in their growth phase."
"Although it's both investments, the amount of money invested in small companies is always much less than that in large companies, so it's normal to burn money in the early stages!"
"Moreover, once the small company we invest in is successful, the final profit will be doubled, dozens of times or even more than that!"
"oh!"
Su Qinxuan and Jian Yangping finally understood and nodded repeatedly, their eyes full of understanding, without any of the doubts they had at the beginning.
That's right!
What he said now makes sense. If the returns were not far greater than the investment, Jian Jianan would not continue to invest money in it!
"It seems that you, Nan Nan, are quite looking forward to New Hope!" Su Qinxuan asked with a smile.
Jian Jianan nodded vigorously, "Of course, Mom! I spent a long time investigating this with Huang Haiyan, and even had several in-depth discussions with the founder, Zhu Zicheng. Only after confirming that his plan was sound did we decide to invest!"
"Okay, since you've decided."
Jian Yangping asked his daughter, "Do you have enough money? If not, Mom and Dad will give you some. It can be considered as our investment."
Jian Jianan waved his hands repeatedly, "No, no, no, no, I have plenty of money here! I haven't even spent all the money I made from buying US stocks last time, not to mention that there are still a lot of people holding money to invest in Nanjia Capital, hoping that we can help them make money!"
"Really?"
The two parents were skeptical.
Jian Jianan nodded affirmatively.
"Of course it's true!"
***
"Hello, Mr. Wang, we are from Nanjia Capital. I am the fund manager of Nanjia Capital. I am calling to ask if you have any investment intentions. One of our private equity funds is..."
Click.
Before the manager could finish his words, Mr. Wang on the other end of the phone hung up.
Dong Jiangran was so angry that he cursed, "How rude! Who is he? He hung up the phone before I even finished speaking. Can't he have some manners?"
Her colleague next to her quickly comforted her, "Who else could it be? He's Mr. Wang, so he must be a big boss with tens of thousands of dollars in his account every day!"
"The big boss doesn't even know you, so it's normal to be wary!"
The hall outside was bustling with activity. In an independent office further away, Huang Haiyan was talking to Jian Jianan with a serious expression.
"We're running out of money. If fundraising continues to be as difficult as it is now, we won't be able to continue investing in New Hope."
What!
Jian Jianan was starting to feel suspicious. She had just boasted in front of her parents that she didn't need their money. Was she going to go home dejectedly the next day and ask them for money?
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