Hogwarts: Me? Fight Voldemort?

But don't even think about it lately, he's too busy...

In the afternoon, Jimmy followed Professor McGonagall to the Potions classroom.

A group of employees were interviewed, and they were given the task of completing a crucible within a specified 30-minute time limit, using a cheap version of bird and snake egg yolk shampoo as the topic.

“Now, Mr. Blaine will test your abilities and select suitable people to join Blaine Potions.” Professor McGonagall gave a simple instruction before stepping aside to observe Jimmy’s employee selection process.

Jimmy stepped forward, put his hands behind his back, and said in a pretentious manner, "I won't go into too much detail. The tentative monthly salary is 160 Gallons, five days on, one day off, eight hours a day, overtime will be paid, 15 days of annual leave plus holidays, and if the quarterly targets are met, the base salary will increase by at least 10 Gallons at the end of the year."

Looking at the twenty-six students in the classroom, he frowned slightly. These people weren't enough!

We still need to recruit more people from previous years' graduates.

"I don't need to introduce myself. I will demonstrate once, and then you can try to cook it according to the steps on the blackboard. It's very simple and not too difficult."

After saying that, Jimmy began to cook up a cheap version of bird and snake egg yolk shampoo.

A pot of six pints of bird-egg yolk shampoo was ready in just twenty minutes. After it was cooked, Jimmy answered all the questions from the upperclassmen below. They took out their notebooks and kept taking notes, making it seem like a potions class.

"Alright, now it's your turn!"

Chapter 149 Training

The oxen and horses of the future were busy in front of the crucible. Jimmy walked up to Professor McGonagall and asked, "Professor McGonagall, are there any talented people in the school who are good at alchemy? I need to hire some employees for my other shop."

Professor McGonagall's gaze softened further. "Hmm, I remember there were a few fifth and sixth graders who were quite interested in alchemy. I'll ask them for you later."

"The school should add an elective course in alchemy in the third year. There are too few people studying alchemy in the school, sigh!" Jimmy lamented the scarcity of talent.

"Actually, Hogwarts also wants to make alchemy an elective course that anyone below the fifth year can take, but alchemy requires too many materials, and the school's board of directors has not yet approved it. Hmm, maybe when we have enough funds, we will be able to take alchemy in the third year."

Professor McGonagall was implying something; she knew that Jimmy was about to become one of the richest people in the wizarding world, and if Jimmy could sponsor Hogwarts and become a member of the Hogwarts Board of Trustees, the school might have more funds to improve its teaching quality.

This is also something that Minerva McGonagall, the vice-principal who is in charge of the school, needs to worry about. Dumbledore never manages the school's administrative affairs unless it is something important.

However, securing investment for the school was not among the important things defined by Dumbledore.

Jimmy wasn't stingy with the money; he was considering whether sponsoring the school would benefit his future business development.

The answer is definitely yes, but the payback period will be very long.

“I would love to fund the development of the school, but I will only be able to do so after I graduate.”

Jimmy had to make sure he could give up beef before he could sponsor the school.

“That promise is enough!” Professor McGonagall said happily.

After some time, the senior students in the classroom finished brewing the basic version of bird and snake egg yolk shampoo.

Jimmy went to each crucible to check. Although the quality varied, it wasn't too bad, and they were basically all successful.

After all, they are all students looking for jobs related to potions, and their grades in potions in the regular wizarding level exams are generally excellent or good.

"Alright! You've all passed. Come and register your information, then head straight to Hogsmeade to start your jobs!"

With a clap of his hands, Jimmy took them all. There was no need to choose; his goods were bound to be in high demand.

In addition to those skilled in brewing potions, we also need some ordinary employees to handle miscellaneous tasks such as sales and purchasing.

On Professor McGonagall's recommendation, Jimmy hired six students to do odd jobs, four of whom were assigned to Blaine Potions and two to the casual dining bar.

People from all three houses except Slytherin are included. Slytherin graduates who start their own businesses usually take care of students from their own house. In addition, there are many pure-blood families in Slytherin, so they don't have to worry about finding jobs.

After the afternoon's onboarding assessment, the seventh-grade students left the school and went directly to Blaine's Potions shop in Hogsmeade Village.

In seventh grade, not many students remain at school. They work and study in various parts of the wizarding world under the guise of internships, only returning to school to take the NEWT exam, the ultimate wizarding level test.

Hogsmeade is very close to Hogwarts, so no one felt uncomfortable. The upperclassmen went to Hogsmeade quite often during Hogsmeade Week.

Even Jimmy was granted permission to leave Hogsmeade during one week, and he even brought Hermione along, ostensibly as an assistant.

Jimmy and Hermione were fortunate enough to be second-year students and go to Hogsmeade. The foot traffic and commercial atmosphere on Hogsmeade's main street were much better than they had imagined.

The streets aren't all young wizards; half of them are adult wizards, thanks to the Screaming Shacks near Hogsmeade.

That strange house was included in the list of the world's most terrifying attractions many years ago, and along with Hogwarts, many foreign wizards would visit Hogsmeade Village when they came to England.

Even before seeing the store's address, Jimmy already had some ideas about the store's interior design.

The shop is actually not very big; it has three floors in total, two above ground and one below.

The potion-brewing area is underground, where a seamless expansion spell has been cast; the space is vast and fully equipped.

The third floor is for storing materials and resting, as well as facilities such as a kitchen.

The first floor is the store, which is undecorated and maintains the dark color scheme of the original wood, with dirt and grime visible everywhere.

Jimmy had his employees thoroughly clean the house with magic, then use a color-changing spell to turn the room milky white, put three rows of shelves in the middle, some glass display cases, and some tables and chairs for resting, and that was it.

To enhance the atmosphere, ubiquitous LED strips are essential. Using alchemically crafted LED strips, these strips illuminate even the most inconspicuous corners and ordinary merchandise with dazzling brilliance.

The shop should also have an LED sign on the top that says "Bryan Potions".

Besides that, it involved printing a large number of flyers and creating promotional illustrations.

Jimmy specially took out a photo of Draco after using Soya shampoo and made it into a color poster. Regardless of who the person in the poster is, with the hair effects and promotional slogans added, it looks quite decent.

He also needs to lay a red carpet at the entrance, hold events in the store, and train several female students who are doing sales for the first time on how to promote the products.

"They compliment older people on their youth and younger people on their sexiness. They claim that using Suya shampoo can set them apart from ordinary people. Suya shampoo, positioned as a luxury product, is specially designed for male and female wizards who care about their hair..."

Jimmy was giving a passionate speech on the second floor, and four female students, along with George and Fred, listened attentively, taking notes in their notebooks.

Why were George and Fred present at the opening of the Potions Shop?

That's because the two of them came to learn from Jimmy's business acumen.

“A thousand words are no substitute for one practice. Come on, Hermione, you play the customer.” Jimmy pointed at Hermione sitting next to him, then looked at one of the upperclassmen wearing glasses. “Annie, you’re going to sell Hermione the shampoo. Remember what the first step was?”

"Smile!" Senior Anne stood up and gave Hermione, whose expression was a little stiff, a smile. "Welcome to Blaine Potions. How can I help you?"

Jimmy nodded in satisfaction, then looked at Hermione and said, "Hermione, just say I want to see more of the place."

"I want to see more of the world."

"Annie, what should you do in this situation?"

Senior Annie quickly recalled what she had written in her notebook, and with a smile guided her, "Of course! I recommend our store's exclusive product, the Elegant Shampoo, this one..."

Blah blah blah!

"Excellent!" Jimmy clapped his hands, acknowledging Annie's abilities.

When customers want to look around, you can't just leave them alone. At the very least, you should guide them to the counter staff so that the staff can introduce the products in the store to them.

Some timid customers, or those with insufficient purchasing power, might buy a small bottle of Suya shampoo because they feel embarrassed to refuse.

A small 188ml bottle of shampoo costs as much as 20 Gallons, which is something an ordinary witch can afford, but would definitely feel the pinch.

But as long as Blaine Potion establishes its image as a high-end brand, owning even a small bottle of its premium shampoo can make you the center of attention among women!

Chapter 150 Blaine's Potions Opening

After completing two days of brief training, Jimmy returned to school. He had basically arranged everything for the opening. All he needed to do was send letters inviting the witches he knew to come and experience the store, and then advertise heavily in places like the Daily Prophet, The Quibbler, and the Leaky Cauldron. Then he could just wait to open and make money.

All nine bottles of Drowned Spring that were previously given to Lucius to sell have been sold. To avoid trouble with the Ministry of Magic, the price of Drowned Spring was later reduced back to 1000 Galleons, and strict screening was conducted on buyers. Once purchased, the buyer had to drink it on the spot.

You earn less money this way, but it's safer.

Half of the money was used to buy Galleons for the shop, and the other half was used by Lucius to use his connections in the Daily Prophet to advertise. A sign was also put up at the Leaky Cauldron, and loyal customers of Malfoy Pharmacy were also asked to write letters to attract customers.

Ten days before the opening, online media such as The Daily Prophet and The Quixote began to promote the business. Jimmy even generously sent Rita Skeeter a small set of Suya shampoo, hoping she would help promote it as well.

Unfortunately, that old woman didn't appreciate it and didn't help with the publicity, but she also didn't cause any trouble.

Jimmy was able to monetize the fame brought by the previous online flame war and the Order of Merlin First Class Medal, and a large number of customers were deeply impressed by the overwhelming advertising of Blaine's potions.

Jimmy placed billboards advertising Blaine's potions in every place he could reach, spending nearly ten thousand gallons on advertising alone.

Because no matter how good a product is, the first step is always to let people know that the product exists.

Brand awareness and product quality are the keys to selling luxury goods.

On Easter holiday, Jimmy was once again granted special permission to go to Hogsmeade. After ten days of preparation and an investment of nearly ten thousand Galleons, he finally reaped a rich reward on the opening day.

Hogsmeade Street was bustling with unprecedented activity, attracting not only British wizards but also a large number of foreign wizards.

Fortunately, Jimmy had informed the nearby residents in advance, setting up sunshades and tables and chairs in front of the store. He also brought in staff from a casual dining bar that had opened next door to provide free drinks and snacks for the wizards, which barely prevented the store from looking too monotonous and deserted.

The female students minding the shop were busy running around, introducing the elegant shampoo and conditioner, as well as two-bottle sets, to the male and female wizards dressed in various styles.

Of course, you can also buy regular potions. There are special counters selling regular potions, and the prices are only 1 to 5 kats cheaper than other potion shops, which is better than nothing.

Many students from Hogwarts also came to join the fun, but after circling around the Blaine Potions shop, they went straight to the nearby casual dining area. Those who didn't want to buy shampoo went there to freeload.

It's a pity that the auto chess game isn't finished yet, otherwise we could set up a few chessboards on the second floor of the restaurant and have a game of chess in the loft.

The whole street was bustling with activity, and nearby shops also benefited, with their sales increasing.

On its first day of opening, Blaine Potions didn't offer any discounts. After all, if the elegant shampoo, positioned as a mid-range luxury product, were to be discounted, it would seem cheap.

On the second floor of the shop, there's a place for male and female wizards to try out the shampoo. After each shampoo, their heads come out shiny and shiny, which is like a walking advertisement.

After a bustling first day of business, Jimmy went from the restaurant to the closed Blaine Potions shop to collect several accounts and start calculating the day's revenue.

Of the more than 1,300 different stock items, half were sold. Small bottle sets sold the best, followed by individual large bottles of shampoo. Only 43 large bottle shampoo and conditioner sets were sold.

The total revenue for the first day was 30349 Gallons. The moment Jimmy calculated the revenue, he hugged the ledger and grinned like an idiot. After deducting the three major costs of production, labor, and advertising, he made a net profit of 18,000 Gallons.

The customer profiles have also been recorded. 95% of those who buy Suya shampoo are women, and half of the remaining 5% are buying it for their female companions.

Blaine's potions business was considered successful. After that, as long as they kept launching new products, or even just relying on the elegant shampoo, the store could maintain its current size and continue to make money.

If we expand into overseas markets later, we can easily make millions.

It might be a bit of an exaggeration, but it's undoubtedly a marketing victory for Jimmy.

Compared to the money-making power of Blaine's potions, the casual dining bar next door offered food and drinks for free on the first day; any student who came in was given food and drinks.

After that, the prices of food and drinks at the restaurant wouldn't be too high, as Jimmy didn't expect the restaurant to make any money.

The marketing for Blaine's Potion needs to continue; the hype shouldn't die down. Subsequent advertising investment doesn't need to be large; just some sensational headlines and a short article of about two or three hundred words in the Daily Prophet every now and then will suffice.

There are always places in this world where information lags behind. On the very day that Blaine's Potions business achieved great success, inside Azkaban, the wizarding prison located on a remote island...