Never be afraid of missing an opportunity—if you actually miss it, it only means that you lack the ability to seize that opportunity. Don’t be swayed by various “windfall” theories, or even anxious because of them. Useless! What is yours is yours, and what is not yours is not yours. What you truly need is not an opportunity itself, even if you desire that so-called “windfall,” even if that windfall truly exists, it simply doesn’t belong to you because you are unworthy, or rather, “temporarily unworthy”—it is best to realize this as early as possible.
Saying you have no opportunities, saying you lack capital, saying this world is too difficult… people like this are usually right about 80% of the time, but in reality, they are just making excuses for themselves. The true explanation is a complete lack of business acumen and basic commercial ability—but aren’t most people like that! They stubbornly refuse to admit that the real problem lies within themselves.
No matter what you do, you must first seriously ask yourself, and then honestly answer yourself, even if it’s just this one question: Is this worth doing for a long time?
All truly successful businessmen follow this principle: They only engage in fair trades. A mediocre businessman is not a good businessman. Although they may appear diverse and varied, in reality, they are always fundamentally the same: They want to gain an advantage at every moment.
In the face of major trends, the most common, and biggest, mistake people make is: Always wishing and hoping that the trend will serve them on their own terms.
For example, when the WeChat public platform first appeared, if Li Xiaolai was still teaching at New Oriental, teaching TOEFL composition, then, under normal circumstances, if Li Xiaolai thought like most people, then what would be constantly running through his mind? “What kind of content should I write so that I can attract more TOEFL composition students?”
The trend is never meant to be mastered; it should always be followed.
Traffic is traffic, and monetization is monetization; the two are often not the same thing. “Traffic monetization” is not a good phrase; it is too vague, leading many people astray. In fact, “monetizable traffic” is a more effective term. The vast majority of traffic does not possess monetization capability, no matter how “hot” or how “popular” it is. It might simply not be able to sell goods or courses. Therefore, the conclusion is clear: You certainly need traffic, but, more accurately, what you truly need is traffic that can sell goods and sell courses!
Good businessmen who prioritize long-term value dislike earning “money derived from information asymmetry.” Because “information asymmetry” is always just a temporary phenomenon; as time passes, the current information asymmetry will inevitably vanish, usually quite quickly—although new information asymmetries will certainly appear—so even if you earn money, you are earning “exhausted-running” money. Of course, we can understand that in many people’s eyes, “being able to earn it” is already good enough! More importantly, this type of business clearly does not belong to “fair trade.” Besides the aforementioned point, there is a deeper reason: Is the so-called “experience” you summarized truly reliable?
For strategies that are effective for the common person in the long run: Doing local content is just a sentence. Imagine yourself as a local radio station, television station, or some other media outlet, and then focus on providing the sufficiently high-quality service that you can offer to local residents.
For the common person, the WeChat internet commercial ecosystem is not an opportunity to become a leader, but an opportunity to become a service provider!
No matter what happens, no matter what situation you encounter, you must repeatedly ask yourself the most primary question: What is more important? By repeatedly asking, you can answer the further question: What is the most important?