Our Xiaohongshu operation is resigning and starting a business

Nowadays, more and more people choose to join Xiaohongshu and become self-media creators, and some even quit their jobs to start their own businesses. However, the current era bonus is not as good as before. If you want to start a business in Xiaohongshu, you need to pay attention to a few points.

At the beginning of the month, our Xiaohongshu operations manager told me that she was going to quit her job to start her own business!

We chatted on the balcony for an entire afternoon, and she finally said to me, "I'll give it a try," and I stopped trying to persuade her. She also complained to HR that she felt very tired from operating Xiaohongshu. Yes, operating new media is not easy.

Starting a business is much more tiring than working an office job, and entrepreneurs have no concept of rest.

I mentioned before that Content Villa actually has several projects in hand. The foundation is laid here and you can just copy them. There is no need to go out independently and start a business with friends.

Later, I asked the operator of Xiaohongshu, "Do you need to invest money when you start a business with others?" She said no, so I knew what she meant.

Me: So has this project been successfully implemented? She: It has just started! Perhaps, she still understands that even if she is a partner with our company, she is still working.

Many people want to endure hardships independently, so that they feel they are truly starting a business. In the seven years I have worked at Xiaohongshu, I have seen many entrepreneurs achieve good results. Some started with 50,000 yuan in start-up capital and made 100 million yuan from scratch. Some started a company during the pandemic and now have sales of 2 billion yuan. Some entrepreneurs made poor decisions and are heavily in debt.

After discussing this matter with dozens of bosses, I made some summary and also let friends who are about to start a business on Xiaohongshu think about it and avoid pitfalls in advance.

01 Xiaohongshu Entrepreneurship: Promoted Projects and Accelerated Entrepreneurs

Most people know that Xiaohongshu has many new opportunities and think that many of its tracks are easy to do, such as scented tea, studying abroad, and agency operations. Therefore, more and more people choose to enter Xiaohongshu and become self-media entrepreneurs, and some even quit their jobs to start their own businesses. The worst thing is to be half-dead, and the dividends of the times have receded. In a blink of an eye, you are 35 years old and still have no major breakthroughs.

But people who have not done it don’t know how deep the water is; the author (my name is Zhuang Jun) often hears how easy it is to study abroad, but people like me who have a basic understanding of the industry and those who know about Xiaohongshu don’t get involved in this field.

Why? Is it because it doesn’t make money?

In fact, it is because there are too many blind spots in the knowledge involved, and it is still difficult for people who are not familiar with this industry.

1. Study abroad track: Many bloggers on Xiaohongshu say that the study abroad track is particularly good, but as an intermediary service industry, it is not as easy as imagined.

For companies that are already in the overseas study track and just need traffic on Xiaohongshu, then this is no problem. But for those who are average in traffic and are not practitioners, then this is a disaster.

2. Flower tea entrepreneurship: There are also many voices saying that flower tea entrepreneurship is very good; because with the rising popularity of health preservation, some people also choose to enter the flower tea track to start a business. They think that opening a store on Xiaohongshu or setting up a stall outside can be called doing business; but for those who really understand, the so-called flower tea entrepreneurship has become common.

3. Agent operation service: Many people who understand the rules of the Xiaohongshu platform or have worked in the new media industry will choose to become self-media bloggers or provide agent operation services; but agent operation is the most difficult job, the fees are low and there is no profit. If it succeeds, the company will take over by itself. If it fails, it will be criticized and its reputation will be affected.

4. Internet community: We know very well that they all think that they can make a lot of money by doing community, but after they join the game, they find that it is not profitable to rely solely on community revenue! If you really want to do it well, have you considered the labor cost? There must be other profitable projects behind it, otherwise it is just a job for the young.

Here is a little advice for all readers. Before you fully understand an industry/track, do not choose to enter a field that is completely unfamiliar to you and that you have no one to guide you or that you have not yet successfully run.

So what is the biggest obstacle to starting a business?

02 What does it take to start a business on Xiaohongshu?

Why do I say that entrepreneurs who have no one to guide them and whose business models have not been successfully implemented have the hardest time? Be prepared for 3-6 months of instability, labor costs, profit margins, time cycles, and trial and error costs. In other words, there may not be results after investing energy. This is the investment risk of entrepreneurship.

If you want to start a business, you must be tough on yourself, otherwise it will be difficult to stand out among the vast number of entrepreneurs. While others stay at home to take care of their children and their wives, you have to accompany your clients, dig deep into your field, and work hard. It is also difficult for people who are not physically strong enough to start a business, and they cannot bear great wealth because they are weak.

1. Select a project/track/product

If the direction is wrong, all efforts will be in vain. The second thing is your product. What kind of product can be bought by your user group? Just like the way Xiaohongshu works, which group of people your product corresponds to and how can your content impress them?

There are 5 standards for relatively ideal projects;

1. High profit
2. High repurchase [urgently needed products]
3. High customer order
4. You have more advantages or differentiation
5. The next 10-20 years will be a growth trend

If the above is not complete, then we will score our project on a 10-point scale to assess feasibility and trial and error costs.

If you look at Xiaohongshu's hot-selling products and blue ocean tracks from a third-party data platform, and then magnify them based on your own shining points and achievements, I have previously written an article titled "Revealed! The story behind Xiaohongshu's Blue Ocean Sleep Pillow selling for 300 million yuan", which can be used as a reference.

So how do you choose products?

There are two aspects. One is your own identity. For example, if you are a mother who has trouble sleeping after giving birth to a baby, you can choose sleep aids or baby-friendly products, and share your true feelings based on your own experience. Because you are a mother and have experience in taking care of children, your precise audience will be more accurate.

For example, if you are a Chinese teacher in a county town, and you love dressing up, then you can become a fashion blogger. The theme of the series "xxx Chinese teacher challenges 100 days of different outfits" can attract the attention of your target group, and then you can take guiding actions.

The other side is what you are good at or what your family business has;

For example, if someone in your family grows fruits, you can use Xiaohongshu to open a store and sell goods through live broadcasts. If you don’t want to show your face, you can sell goods directly by posting a link, but the prerequisite is that your content must be attractive enough.

In the "Little Red Book High Conversion 2-Day Private Training Class", I also talked about the methodology of writing 100 notes every day and the secret to increasing traffic 10 times. After learning, you can go back and put it into practice.

2. Be prepared: no profit from March to June

You have to endure 3 to 6 months in a row, with no income or even losses. It is also possible that you made money in the previous project for 3 months, but if this project is not stable, then after thinking about it for 3 months, you have to go back to work. But if you can accept it, then it is no problem.

Let's talk about this question. Assuming that your salary is 6,000-10,000 yuan, how much time do you need to spend on blogging from the time you start your account to the time you receive advertising? How many advertisements do you need to receive to earn 6,000 yuan?

If you open a store to sell products, you need a deposit. Does opening a store on Xiaohongshu not require start-up capital?

Even if the product is priced at 80 yuan, you have to sell 80 units to earn a month's salary, and this is just the sales volume, not including the profit. Even if you are determined to start a business, if you can't do your job well at work, can't collaborate in a team, and can't communicate well, how can you be sure that you will succeed in starting a business?

If you fish for three days and dry the net for two days, it means you just have the determination to start a business but do not have the startup capital and entrepreneurial ability.

3. Start-up capital/lack of financial awareness

Have you ever thought about how much start-up capital is needed to do this? In addition to direct costs such as labor, equipment, and venue, you also need to consider some indirect costs, such as registering a company, applying for a license, and legal advisory fees.

Last year, there was a corporate student whose company was doing very well in operating Xiaohongshu. He also saw that a relative of his opened a skin care store and used Xiaohongshu to attract traffic, and his business was pretty good.

I asked a friend who used to be a store manager to start a business. The two of us worked hard to learn professional knowledge and operation knowledge. After we finished learning, we chose a location to open a store. Most of the funds had been used up after decorating the store. After we invested in the store, we found that the store's profit cycle was relatively long and we had no money to continue to invest in marketing. In the end, we chose to close the store and declared failure.

In addition, we need to deal with possible risks and uncertainties, and we also need to reserve some funds as a reserve fund. When we were working, we always thought that social security was an inappropriate cost. When your company has 5 members, according to Guangzhou's social security mechanism, you need to pay more than 5,000 yuan per month for social security alone, and 60,000 yuan per year for social security costs.

4. Supply chain support

You need to find a stable and efficient supply chain that can ensure timely supply and quality control of products or services. You need to find strong and reliable suppliers and establish long-term and stable cooperative relationships with them.

Attention also needs to be paid to supply chain transparency and traceability to ensure the origin and quality of products or services.

A college student wanted to start a wig business, so he went to Suyuan in person to look for wig merchants. However, because he was a college student and had not experienced the hardships of starting a business, he mistakenly trusted the supplier and even believed that the supplier was doing business with integrity. Without careful confirmation, he found that the first batch and the second batch of goods were of completely different quality.

After the consumer makes the purchase, it also has a huge negative impact on her reputation.

On the one hand, you need to make second-hand preparations, and on the other hand, you must carefully confirm every link in this regard. Many people say that there is no need for a source of goods. Once the Xiaohongshu store is overwhelmed with orders, if the supply chain does not have enough inventory, then the store will not be able to ship goods.

5. Partners’ values ​​and personality

Different personality traits can bring diverse perspectives and ideas to the team, enhancing the team's innovation and adaptability.

Values: When choosing a partner, entrepreneurs need to understand whether their personality traits, abilities, and values ​​are consistent with their own entrepreneurial philosophy. If you want to run the business for the long term, but the other party just wants to make a quick buck and leave, you will definitely not be able to last long.

There is a feeling that when you work with like-minded people, all problems can be solved.

6. Costs to be borne

a. Equipment cost

Depending on the project track, equipment costs may include production equipment, office equipment, IT equipment and other aspects. When choosing equipment, entrepreneurs need to weigh factors such as equipment performance, price, and maintenance cost to choose equipment with high cost performance. Pay attention to the speed of equipment upgrades and technology development trends to ensure that the equipment can meet the needs of future development.

We are the ones who work on Xiaohongshu. If you want to make a matrix, you have to take into consideration mobile phones, SIM cards, live broadcast equipment, etc. My company has dozens of brackets, several fill lights, and all the equipment comes in 3 large boxes. These are the accumulated costs.

b. Site cost

In Guangzhou, the cheapest office costs more than 50 yuan per square meter. There is a clothing company downstairs from our company. We do live broadcasts here. Apart from the live broadcast area, the rest of the space is used to place products. Since we have products in our hands, we must have a place to put them, so this cost is inevitable.

We should also pay attention to factors such as the site's geographical location, transportation convenience, and surrounding supporting facilities to ensure that the site can meet the needs of project operations.

Also, focus on the scalability and flexibility of the venue so that it can be adjusted as needed in the future.

c. Time cost

Where is the time spent?

For your project, before you officially start the project, you need to conduct investigation + design + marketing strategy + operation strategy. There is a set of methods for execution. It does not mean that there is a ready-made system for you to apply as soon as you decide to start a business.

7. Marketing budget: focus investment

When the project is running smoothly, you need to increase leverage and make huge investments. When you find that the model is running smoothly, if you want to reserve this part of the budget, in fact, when you are doing this, your time period is very long.

Therefore, if you are doing Xiaohongshu now, you should set aside a part of your budget to invest in Xiaohongshu, and when you find it is effective, expand it quickly.

It seems that there is no need to set a budget, but in fact, it can reduce your startup costs. There are only 6 months left until 2025, so we must get results quickly within three months.

But if you don't use the power of leverage to magnify it for more than three months, you will feel insecure and doubt yourself, and then a series of situations will arise.

Focused investment is necessary, and then various strategies need to be learned, pondered and studied.

8. Change of mentality: It is difficult to go back to work after a failed business

Jiang Fangzhuo once said: This world is the cruelest to people with little talent, because on the one hand, although he has little talent, he cannot accept real life.

It was because he saw a little light from the moon. He felt that reality was too unbearable, so he wanted to go to the moon, but his talent was not enough to let him reach the moon.

So he actually has nothing to do with either side. He has no way to enjoy the fun of life, but he can never achieve the artistic ideal in his heart.

For those who want to start a business, first think about whether you can withstand the pressure that comes with starting a business; you may have to study until 3 a.m., but the results are unknown; you may not have time to rest for several months in a row, and you may have to bear risks, etc.

Because once you start a business, in addition to having to endure these things, it is difficult to calm down and go back to work in the company regardless of success or failure;

Because after you have tasted the sweetness of being your own boss, even if you fail, you will no longer want to work for others. This will put you in an awkward position. If you continue to start a business but have no money and no ability, or if you continue to work but don't want to work for others, it will be difficult to adapt to the rhythm of the workplace.

Therefore, starting a business is not as simple as imagined.

03 What kind of people are suitable for starting a business?

Having said so much, everyone must think that the suggestion is to work hard; in fact, it is not. It is just a suggestion for those who are not capable enough to work hard, because only those who will not give up until they achieve their goals can start a business.

1. Paranoia: Being cruel to yourself

Who can be called a person who never gives up until he achieves his goal? In fact, you can tell whether a person has this temperament and courage when he is at work.

The company currently founded by the author (my name is Zhuang Jun) also found this path after the third entrepreneurial venture; only then did I understand what can be done and what cannot be done, and how much resources are needed to support the operation of the project.

So, why choose to start a business?

Is it because you have excellent writing skills, or because you have unique advantages? Or even if you choose a track that is not trending, you still want to start a business? These all require exploration and ability.

I am a paranoid person. I have enough say in content marketing. The 1 million text data of my official account is the result. For each Xiaohongshu project, one person analyzes 3,000 high-quality notes or customer acquisition notes.

I spent most of my time researching content, and now I have become an official certified instructor of Xiaohongshu. I once closed myself off for 100 days, writing articles like crazy, and entered the flow state countless times.

In 2017, I went to bed at 2 a.m. every day and got up at 8 a.m. to write articles to vent my feelings. The articles were published all over the Internet. The office is my home, and the office with a folding bed is my bedroom.

2. A strong skill that allows you to be independent at work

If you are really talented, then you can already show it when you are at work. Maybe you have good verbal communication skills and you think you can do well at Xiaohongshu; then do you have the logic of entrepreneurship, a logic different from that of working?

One of our seniors managed 150 people when he was working. He started the Xiaohongshu project from scratch, built a team from scratch, and made the project profitable step by step. He created 100 million in sales for the company, and his ability was verified. He started from scratch and got results. When he quit his job to start his own business, he also received investment from his boss.

3. Understand the laws of entrepreneurship

In fact, starting a business is also very simple for a certain type of people. We call this type of people "experienced entrepreneurs". They often work in management and investment in large companies for a long time and have high incomes. They have also seen many successful examples of entrepreneurship, figured out the rules of the industry, and understand the rules of entrepreneurship, so they take out some money to start a business.

When these people start their own business, they usually take care of their existing careers and have a good income. The difficulty of starting a business lies in finding funding, partners, and business models. Those who do these well are those who have mastered the rules of entrepreneurship.

4. In fact, most people are not suitable for starting a business

Compared with the past, the threshold for starting a business has actually become higher; it is even more difficult for new entrepreneurs, especially those who lack social experience.

Starting a business is an adventure. Entrepreneurs need to take on more responsibilities and risks, and even face opposition from their families. Therefore, before considering whether they can bear all of this, most people are advised to choose a competent, suitable and stable job based on their abilities.

Am I advising you not to start a business? No! There may be a better way to start a business!

04 How to increase the probability of entrepreneurial success?

That is joint venture: start a business with people who have entrepreneurial experience and have achieved results! Starting from scratch is the most difficult. You need a master who has already run a successful business to guide you. You just need to copy it quickly.

1. So what is joint venture?

What is joint venture entrepreneurship? Entrepreneurship means that the existing project has been run successfully, and entrepreneurs do not need to try and fail by themselves, but can choose to copy and execute on the basis. The project is actually controllable, and its profit and cycle are certain. It is similar to the route of franchising, but the project recruiter will give certain commitments and guarantees, and will provide certain supporting conditions.

For example, after Project A has been successfully implemented, the company wants to continue to replicate it and start Project B, but it is in urgent need of talent. Most of the partners who have already started a business have the ability to stand on their own, or can switch to the role of entrepreneur and will be more proactive in doing things.

2. Benefits of Joint Venture

First, it reduces time costs and gets results as quickly as possible, because the original team has already completed the test. At the same time, it reduces the cost of trial and error, which includes marketing expenses or exploration efforts.

At the same time, there is no need to worry about supply chain issues. The investment has a clear payback cycle assessment. You may need to participate in one-on-one communication and exchanges locally, and then produce results in a very short time. At this time, it is more certain.

It also reduces risks in terms of capital investment. The biggest risk in starting a business is uncertainty. Joint ventures are a model for effectively estimating risks and providing a reference.

3. How to start a joint venture? What does it take?

Amoeba's joint entrepreneurship model, with shared risks, is the current joint entrepreneurship and Amoeba settlement model. For example, the mature Xiaohongshu project has sold 1 million products. Among these 1 million, when he copies the second team, he can also achieve a similar result.

Its investment costs, such as advertising fees, and its human investment are clear. It requires a clear amount of notes to be produced, how many accounts to create, what the key note model is, how to focus on it, and the templates for content creation. These are all effective output results and returns.

For example, if three accounts on Xiaohongshu acquire 300 customer data in 15 days, the conversion share they can get is clear. There is also a clear estimate of how many accounts are needed and how long it will take to get the results.

This is the same principle as the offline chain model and the restaurant franchise model.

What do you need to invest?

Invest your time, pay the basic franchise threshold, and grow with a more certain team, so that you can quickly get results on this wave of Xiaohongshu.