Can following the rules be called rebirth?

Chapter 155, Section 153: Scientific Institutions and Profit Models

"Uh"

The man's two straightforward questions abruptly interrupted Gu Caiwei's thoughts.

Her long eyelashes fluttered, and then she blurted it out.

"We opened for business on the 9th of last month and are open every weekend until the 31st of the month, a total of 22 days of business."

"The average daily revenue is around 2500 yuan. After deducting other expenses, the gross profit margin is 57%, and the net profit is 31350 yuan."

"Although it may not sound like a lot overall, the trend is great. Our store's turnover has been on an upward curve!"

When discussing the data and revenue of the Relief Coffee, Gu Caiwei was not only very professional, but also so familiar with it that she could answer questions without hesitation.

You don't know the cost of firewood and rice until you're in charge of the household!

Since becoming the owner of the store, Gu Caiwei has unknowingly learned to be thrifty.

"That's right~"

Upon hearing this number, Zhou Mingyuan couldn't help but smile slightly.

"After working hard for more than half a month, the three of us together earned more than 30,000 yuan."

How much money can the university's startup fund provide?

"What do you think is the most cost-effective way to operate this business?"

"."

Now it seems there's no need for comparison at all.

Gu Caiwei bit her lip, turned to look at her best friend who had suddenly realized what was happening, and fell into deep thought.

"You're right!"

On the other side, Li Zhi stared wide-eyed and nodded vigorously.

Unlike Gu Caiwei, the short-haired girl didn't calculate costs and return on investment, nor did she seriously consider the future direction of the coffee shop.

And is it necessary to use this so-called "Internet element" gimmick to create a vague and unknown fund?

"It seems they received several hundred thousand in startup funding!"

Law student Li Zhi simply compared the two numbers on a scale.

"Like Nanhu University, it was also granted the same special support fund, 500,000 yuan."

Gu Caiwei added a sentence.

"Then what's there to hesitate about? Let's just try his approach, shall we?"

On one hand, there's 500,000 yuan in policy support; on the other hand, there's 30,000 yuan of hard-earned money.

Without much thought, Li Zhi instantly sided with Zhou Mingyuan.

"But."

Gu Caiwei leaned back on the small sofa, one hand supporting her chin, still hesitating.

"Have you considered the worst-case scenario, such as not receiving entrepreneurial policy support from the school, failing to control costs, and experiencing exponential user growth due to free user acquisition?"

She paused for a moment, her gaze sweeping over Zhou Mingyuan, who was sitting opposite her with a smile.

"What if we end up making coffee for free, or even at a loss, and then the warehouse is overwhelmed?"

"How to do!"

It must be said that Gu Caiwei's ability to remain calm and composed, continue to think, and maintain basic moral principles despite Zhou Mingyuan's skillful manipulation of promises is definitely inseparable from her upbringing.

She was not at all blinded by the faint glimpse of 500,000 in the sky.

If you win, everything is fine, but what if you lose?

What should I do if I lose?
"Do not worry."

Meeting Gu Caiwei's burning gaze, the man grinned and spread his hands, saying...

"Even if we are not selected as a high-quality innovation project and do not receive policy support, I will cover the losses incurred in the form of internet subsidies."

"In short, we won't let our small group's first entrepreneurial venture fall apart."

Zhou Mingyuan crossed his arms, his tone full of confidence.

"How are you going to cash in? What are you going to use to cash in? You've made money and you're already getting cocky! Do you think you're an angel investor? Who burns money like that?"

Even if the market is doing well lately and you've made a lot of money in the stock market, it's clearly a bottomless pit.

"No, I think the risk is too high, I won't do it."

The quick-witted Gu Caiwei immediately sat up straight, her eyebrows furrowed, and retorted in rapid succession.

What do Chinese people like to do most?

To gain an advantage.

Don't take advantage of the cheap bastard!
Whenever a store opens with a free event, no matter what kind of store it is, long queues are a sure thing.

Not to mention their own Relief Coffee Shop, which is already quite good in terms of workmanship, taste, and ingredients.

If they were to advertise free user acquisition, who knows how much they would lose.

This is a gamble—a gamble that the "Relief Coffee," incorporating internet elements, can stand out from the crowd of startups.

Gu Caiwei didn't have that much confidence.

Moreover, she never neglected to monitor the market in her spare time and was fully aware of the surge in the market throughout October.

Zhou Mingyuan can say that because he's made a fortune in the stock market!

Even so, she was unwilling to let Zhou Mingyuan use his own money to cover the financial hole of the three people.

She felt bad about spending real money like this.

After all, we're running a physical store, not doing charity work.

"Hmm, what Weiwei said makes sense."

Li Zhi nodded, holding the warm black tea in both hands, looking just like a weather vane swaying back and forth.

This was a dialogue between conservatives and reformers regarding decision-making.

The small shareholders, whose voices are weak and insignificant, repeatedly changed their tune, remaining neutral.

"No, Vivi, you've misunderstood."

After the two had shared their views, Zhou Mingyuan smiled and took over the conversation, patiently explaining.

"I didn't say I was going to use my own money to bail out users. What does that make me? Do you think I'm that stupid?"

"cut."

Gu Caiwei snorted softly upon hearing this, her cherry lips pursed into a thin line, and she rolled her eyes.

"If we don't want to lose money but gain publicity, we definitely need to have a scientific system in place to ensure that we succeed."

Zhou Mingyuan pulled his chair forward, getting closer to the chair.

"Let me take the strategy of 'new users get a free drink' as an example."

"First, this app requires users to register with their mobile phone number to receive a free drink coupon."

"This coupon is worth 21-27 yuan, which is just enough to cover all the drinks in our store."

"Uh-huh."

Gu Caiwei listened intently, her beautiful eyes sparkling.

"Will our store be integrated with food delivery channels this month?"

Halfway through the conversation, Zhou Mingyuan suddenly changed the subject.

"Yes, while you and your seniors were singing every day, you had already reached an agreement with Meituan and Ele.me."

Gu Caiwei nodded again, her tone subtle.

"That's right, what we need to adjust is the food delivery policy."

Zhou Mingyuan added with a smile, "We've adjusted the minimum order price for all takeout orders to over 30 yuan. A single drink won't meet that minimum order standard."

"At this point, the user will need to pay 6 yuan for shipping."

"Since the first drink is free, it's like getting a drink for 6 yuan, which users will find very worthwhile. People who want to buy will definitely use this free coupon."

"That's human nature; it's reasonable to take advantage, isn't it?"

"."

Gu Caiwei and Li Zhi exchanged a glance, neither of them denying it. "So they will face two choices."

"One option is to add other small items from the store to your order, such as nuts and snacks that cost a few dollars."

"Secondly, buying with friends involves the next round of sharing to attract new users and create viral growth."

"At this point, the user has completed their first experience of buying coffee through the app."

Zhou Mingyuan gave a brief description of the future scenario.

Sitting opposite her, Gu Caiwei's eyes lit up. She understood immediately and grasped the other person's thoughts and strategy.

"Next is retention."

The man continued speaking without pausing.

"How can we retain these customers, encourage them to make repeat purchases, and turn them into loyal users of Relief Coffee?"

"My solution is to top up your coffee wallet."

"Our coffee shop's products are priced in three tiers: 21 yuan, 24 yuan, and 27 yuan."

“设置充2赠1，充5赠5，充7赠6等等档位。”

"Let me calculate the costs for you."

As they were talking, Zhou Mingyuan stood up, ran to the shop counter and asked for a piece of white paper and a pen, then walked back to the two of them.

He quickly scribbled away, performing simple arithmetic operations on the paper.

“充2赠1的情况是这样：比如单人购买，每次不拼单，单次购买一杯咖啡（外送）的购买成本是20元、22元、24元。”

"If two people split the cost and order together, the purchase cost for a single cup of coffee (delivery) is 14 yuan, 16 yuan, or 18 yuan."

"Then there's the 'top up 5, get 5 free' promotion."

"If you buy alone and don't combine orders, the cost of buying a single cup of coffee (delivery) is 16.5 yuan, 18 yuan, or 19.5 yuan."

"If two people split the cost and order together, the purchase cost of a single cup of coffee (delivery) is 10.5 yuan, 12 yuan, and 13.5 yuan. Therefore, based on this purchase cost, it is more cost-effective to top up more and to order together."

"Although it still can't escape the essence of burning money, the way you're doing it seems to really save a lot of costs, and it's somewhat feasible."

After some calculations, Gu Caiwei realized something and immediately widened her eyes.

Zhou Mingyuan's design was indeed much more complicated than she had imagined.

With the addition of internet elements, this "Relief Coffee" app, which hasn't even been officially launched yet, seems to be educating customers from the very beginning with its pricing and product rules.

You need to make multiple purchases, and you need to attract new users to make multiple purchases together.

Buy more, save more money!
In addition to the customer referral program of offering a free first cup with the first purchase.

To increase the frequency of user sharing, Relief Coffee also offered half-price discount coupons and trial vouchers to encourage existing users to aggressively attract new users.

The strategy behind their activities is not complicated: make consumers feel that it is very affordable, thereby encouraging them to continue to consume Relief Coffee.

"Of course, that's the internet mindset."

Zhou Mingyuan stuffed the last piece of cake in front of him into his mouth and squinted his eyes.

Internet thinking?
A relatively unfamiliar word popped into her ears, and Gu Caiwei felt as if the clouds had parted and the sun was shining through her heart. She suddenly realized what the difference was.

Reduce customer acquisition costs – attract new customers.

To facilitate conversions in a shorter time – to boost engagement.

Extend user engagement time – retention.

Increase consumption frequency – monetization.

The platform connects a vast number of users; the platform itself is the true innovation.

Having spent so long building her coffee shop from scratch, Gu Caiwei had certainly done her research on other coffee shops.

Whether it's offering discounts, attracting new customers, or leveraging social media for viral marketing, these are not new tactics for coffee shops.

Even a complete novice with no business experience knows that they should hold a big promotion a few days before opening.

The idea of ​​creating a dedicated app for coffee shops is absolutely brilliant!
Gu Caiwei found it increasingly incredible.

No matter how many promotions or how big the discounts are offered by physical stores, they will probably only spread by word of mouth among passersby.

The number of users who can see it is limited, the number of times it can be shared is limited, and the reach of its dissemination is also limited.

That's why there's a saying, "Even the best wine needs a good location."

But what happens after adding internet elements?

Thanks to this Relief Coffee App, everything has changed!

Gu Caiwei could almost foresee that in the future, every time there was an event, the app would be able to push notifications to all users regardless of time, place, or frequency.

Users connect with other users, users generate more users, and ultimately return to the platform to make purchases.

This is absolutely amazing!
Zhou Mingyuan's brief description had indeed made Gu Caiwei somewhat skeptical.

She was quite conflicted, unsure whether she should change her existing business model and try to gamble on the uncertain probability of innovation.

But after the man's long-winded explanation and his personal calculations, Gu Caiwei felt...
Internet elements seem feasible.

It may be feasible, but it still has problems.

"So tell me, what if a coffee shop reaches its capacity limit?"

Gu Caiwei blinked, her eyes full of curiosity: "Because there is no limit to the number of users on the internet platform. The more users accumulate, the more people want to redeem their benefits."

"If you do a good job of customer retention and also have great customer acquisition results, how can our store, with its limited size, possibly keep up with all that?"

The finance novice posed a thought-provoking question.

"Good question."

Zhou Mingyuan said with a smile.

"What does it mean when the 'Relief Coffee' reaches its limit?"

"At least it shows that our model has been tested and proven to be feasible."

"Then let's continue opening branches using the current method."

"It's just a matter of optimizing the supply chain. With a platform, at least you don't have to worry about customers, and the coupons can be used interchangeably, right?"

"."

Gu Caiwei stopped holding the cup with her right hand.

Open a branch?

She thought for a few seconds and then pressed on, "Are you sure opening a branch will solve these problems?"

"If one place can't solve the problem, then open another one."

"Two, three, many more!"

Zhou Mingyuan maintained a smiling expression throughout, remaining calm and composed.

"You make it sound so easy. One shop after another, we only have 30,000 yuan right now. Where are we going to get that much money to open shops?"

Gu Caiwei nudged her dazed best friend with her elbow and raised her voice to ask.

As the saying goes, you can't get fat in one bite.

Li Zhi was talking nonsense with a straight face.

"Once the business model works and the profit model proves to be viable, do we still need to worry about not having enough money to open a store?"

Zhou Mingyuan drew a large circle in the air with both hands, looking radiant.

"Capital isn't blind; broaden your perspective."

"What do you mean?"

Gu Caiwei once again pulled the white paper covered with numbers in front of her, muttering to herself.

"literal meaning."

"."

Gu Caiwei actually understood.

If the "Relief Coffee" concept successfully incorporates internet elements and proves its viability, a large number of users will flood in within a short period of time.
Even one, two, or several stores cannot completely absorb the demand.

It's only a matter of time before the legendary capital rushes in, interested in investing and discussing cooperation.

If things continue like this, will Relief Coffee still be just an ordinary coffee shop?

(End of this chapter)