Joseph's "Just My Thoughts"

Only a few founders genuinely grasp the essence of their businesses from the start. After launching, they often start to grasp the core of their ventures as their customer bases expand. If startups had a clearer insight into their businesses from the outset, they could significantly lower their chances of failure. The sooner you identify your business’s essence, the greater your chances for success will be. Furthermore, if you can quickly pivot your business direction—even if you realize it later—the likelihood of failure diminishes. - Joseph’s “just my thoughts”

Any business can succeed if it generates more revenue than it incurs in costs. When you achieve high sales volume with low expenses, a surplus occurs; only with a surplus can production and investment continue. “Replication” enables humanity to create surplus legitimately. Humanity has learned that surplus can increase if similar costs are incurred or if goods or services of equal quality are sold at minimal costs. The growth of a management organization demonstrates that it continues to replicate its members at the same level as the founder, and increased revenue indicates it can easily “replicate” the designated quality. The cells in our bodies also “replicate” to sustain life. For handmade products to thrive, they must prioritize scarcity over productivity since improvements in productivity can reduce scarcity. If you don’t grasp the principles of duplication, achieving success in your business becomes challenging. - Joseph’s “just my thoughts”

Business isn’t just about “doing something” — it’s about “building trust.” In running a café, my focus should be on fostering customer confidence in my service rather than simply selling coffee without consideration. Before making sales, establishing trust as a business owner should be a priority. Gaining experience by working part-time in another café can facilitate this trust-building process. When you create financial credibility, running out of money can harm your reputation. However, if you earn money through established trust, you can regenerate funds even after they have been depleted. Trust serves as the foundation of money and is central to successful business operations. - Joseph’s “just my thoughts”

There are two types of businesses in this world when approached through the value of time and divided by the kinds of business: a business that requires discounting future value and a business that needs a surcharge. The bundle discount is a “future value discount business,” while the loan business is a “future value premium business.” Currently, it is unnecessary, but a bundle of sales is a business that offers customers incentives called “discounts” when they buy what they want in advance. The principal is not returned now in the loan business but must be returned in the future, providing the present incentive as a “delay repayment” in advance. Future discounts and surcharges can exist simultaneously in a business or a product; some enterprises will be ruined by mixing them if they change positions. - Joseph’s “just my thoughts”

There are two key meanings in the world: abstract meaning and conceptual meaning. Abstract meaning relates to values and philosophy, while conceptual meaning pertains to methodology. A successful businessman effectively understands abstract meaning in a conceptual context. Some businessmen struggle to grasp abstract meaning, whereas others have difficulty with conceptual meaning. It is essential to enhance understanding by collaborating with external experts, regardless of whether it involves developing internal organizations. Businessmen should excel at creating both abstract and conceptual representations. - Joseph’s “just my thoughts”

In business, a “transaction” is essential. This transaction focuses on addressing human needs. To fulfill these needs, one must choose methods that align with one’s moral values while also recognizing the limitations in addressing them. Therefore, businesses should satisfy these needs within the bounds of morality. - Joseph’s “just my thoughts”

In some cases, US real estate agents suggest that homeowners bake bread before potential buyers arrive for a showing. For many Americans, the aroma of fresh bread evokes a sense of family value. When the scent permeates the home, it creates an impression of a joyful household. Real estate brokers aren’t merely selling properties; they are in the business of selling “family love.” Their focus is on conveying “meanings” rather than selling mere products. - Joseph’s “just my thoughts”

Most entrepreneurs do not charge their customers for the cost of self-emotional work. However, some business owners charge (or commercialize) their emotions and bill clients. There are various methods for commercializing appraisals, such as charging by the hour, charging by difficulty, and charging by the choice of conditions (options). This is because no culture in real life converts emotions into money. - Joseph’s “just my thoughts”

Some question the need for ethics and a mission in business, even when the company is profitable. A transaction involves meeting needs and recognizing values, both of which connect to “morality.” Trust underpins all transactions, and morality is its foundation. While anyone can err, it is our moral obligation to make amends. Though it may be tempting to disregard that morality by persisting in trade, there are decisions that, without an ethical framework, can lead to irreversible consequences. This is not merely a mistake. - Joseph’s “just my thoughts”

The two ways to move the rock are by cultivating your power or using a lever. Which is faster and more effective? It would be best to discover where the lever works to achieve a turning point in your life or business. Leverage changes your destiny. - Joseph’s “just my thoughts”

Some businesses, such as education or fitness, can succeed if only the number of aspirants increases steadily. In a business that provides a service that acquires and develops, making new customers continue without giving up determines the business’s success or failure. No matter how hard you promote, if you do not create the persistence of the aspirants, passion, and effort will lead to damage. - Joseph’s “just my thoughts”

The founder of the guitar company Fender, Leo Fender, said he has never played the guitar. Depending on the nature and characteristics of the business, we must think differently about our confidence in it. For example, it is our prejudice to believe that a famous chef won’t be ruined if he opens a restaurant. The more important priority in business is the ability to grasp the essence than having a career. - Joseph’s “just my thoughts”

To succeed in business, you must have business skills. Business skills can only help you earn money, not create it. The success of a business lies in "dealing with people" rather than "business skills." Dealing with people is the hardest thing in this world. Commercial skills and techniques can lead to small successes, but to achieve great success, we must be able to judge and deal with people well. Above all, we must be patient and love people. - Joseph’s “just my thoughts”

A surplus value is generated between the stages of consumption and production. The linking of production to consumption is referred to as "sales," in other words, doing business. The values added result in an increase in assets. Consequently, the refund of value-added tax (VAT) does not signify the return of lost profits, but rather the loss of business revenues. This is an unfavorable outcome. - Joseph’s “just my thoughts”

In business, capital means business funds. A successful entrepreneur often says, "I started my business without any capital". It's partly true, but it's a lie. The entrepreneur just said that capital means only cash. However, all kinds of businesses need to be fundamentally business funds in any even not cash. The entrepreneur didn't count the founder's labor cost. No inputs, no outcomes. The uncounted labor costs are called "alternative costs" or "opportunity costs". This comes from comparative advantage. If the entrepreneur doesn't accept the uncounted labor cost as a debt, the entrepreneur is equivalent to losing the profit due to opportunity costs. Please always remember this. There is no free lunch in this world. - Joseph’s “just my thoughts”

Umbilicaria esculenta is a kind of mushroom. To pick this mushroom up, a picker must climb a high mountain and approach a dangerous cliff because this mushroom is growing up between rocks. Therefore, umbilicaria esculenta is more expensive than other kinds. One day, the TV show "Korean's Dinner Table" on KBS 1TV showed an episode about the mushroom picker and his old mother. "Don't sell this mushroom at a high price." said the mother, because this would be sold at a higher price, many pickers would die from over-picking even dangerous situations. We should deeply consider what is the mission of our businesses. - Joseph’s “just my thoughts”

DuPont, a global chemical company, has one core value: Safety. The company is well known for adhering to its core values which stem from its historical background. DuPont began as a gunpowder manufacturer during the American Civil War. In 1884, DuPont's CEO, Lammot du Pont, was killed in an explosion. This accident stimulated the catalyst for DuPont's realization that safety should be a core value of the company. Here's a true story as an example. Two DuPont employees were on an overseas business trip and needed to take a taxi to a meeting, but the taxi only had seat belts on the passenger side. They would be late for the meeting, but DuPont policy dictated that only one person be put in the cab while the other took a different cab. Core values represent a company's identity and mission, and complying with them is a crucial challenge for any organization. - Joseph’s “just my thoughts”

Success always has two faces. One is achievement and the other is complacency. There's a term in business administration called the " Competence Trap". It refers to the belief that if people cling to and repeat past successes, they will continue to be successful in the future. Xerox, which invented the world's first personal computer; Chrysler, which missed the SUV market because of the success of the minivan; and Kodak, which invented the world's first digital camera but failed to aggressively market it for fear of losing its main business, film. Humility is not an etiquette, but a shared destiny essential to success. - Joseph’s “just my thoughts”

The reorientation and expansion of a business should be planned and decided in terms of customer synergies, not company synergies. It may be more successful to offer a customer who buys apple jam an extra slice of bread to spread it on than to provide a customer who buys apple jam an extra jar of peach jam. It's easier for the jam seller to give away an extra jar of jam, but for the customer, the bread is more valuable than the jam. - Joseph’s “just my thoughts”

The 'Bregenz Festival' opens every summer season in Bregenz, Austria. Although a population of 20,000 this is a small town, 250,000 visitors come here for a month, and the economic effect is perhaps 150 million euros. The site of this festival combines a stunning landscape surrounded by the 3rd largest lake in Europe 'Bodensee' and the Alps with cultural goods such as an opera and exhibitions. The best part is the floating opera stage set up on the lake. The annual opera stage stirs curiosity all over Austria. There are many reasons to go to Bregenz only to see the stage. The opera stage, which changes every year and is built on a beautiful lake, is the only one in the world. Whether it is tourism or business, there must be a reason, "Why come here, or why do business with you." - Joseph's "just my thoughts"