Don't just be a "company"—be the "prescription": What my import beef transformation taught me

On the evening of 2 26, my wife and I met with our old friends, Xiang Feiyu and Guo Jingwen, for a heart-to-heart conversation. This long-awaited exchange became the most inspiring "first lesson" of my Year of the Horse. Xiang Feiyu is not only my close friend but also a mentor on my journey of growth. His practical efforts and achievements over the past two years brought me sudden clarity during our discussion.

Back in 2020, during an internal training session at ZhiMi, I heard this question: "A model that adds people without increasing output is fundamentally flawed. You must learn to build systems and use them to generate revenue. If only you can perform the work in a company, it's 'selling your craft'; a replicable business model is true commerce; what cannot be replicated is merely 'selling your life.'" Five years later, after hitting exhaustion, I finally grasped the deeper meaning of these words and understood how to put them into practice. In 2024, starting in 12, I began building the front-end and back-end of my own online marketing platform.

The implementation of the "Double Reduction" policy in 2021 delivered an unprecedented impact on Zhimi Group. Yet, Xiang Feiyu did not halt progress. Within just two years, he rebuilt a completely new system, transforming "Zhimi English Training" into the new brand "Xilao Recitation," completing a full upgrade from product to system.

During the session, Guo Jingwen shared her journey over the past two years. She said, "A great product needs someone to sell it. Since we're not strong in sales, let's bring in experts. My strength is R&D, so I've learned to share revenue and hand the product to those who excel at selling." Her insight deeply resonated with me. She proposed building a business model across three dimensions: platforms, products, and sales. By leveraging different platforms and connecting more sellers, we can pool strengths to amplify value. "Even if you're capable, find someone even better and integrate every seller's unique advantage."

With this mindset, I suddenly realized that Zhi Mi has quietly incubated at least six mature product lines over the past two years. Each one is replicable, sellable, and scalable. In other words, Feiyu has undergone a complete strategic shift: he now views the education training industry through the lens of "curing" problems, transforming himself into an outsourced manufacturing partner for out-of-province training institutions—designing custom-fit teaching systems tailored to their specific needs. These systems are priced from hundreds of thousands to over a million yuan. Today, Zhi Mi is no longer just a training institution; it functions more like an "enterprise doctor" and "system consultant" in the English education sector—diagnosing issues, prescribing solutions, and delivering customized strategies.

This reminds me of an analogy in the imported beef industry: suppliers who transition from trading to manufacturing can not only produce various steak and braised beef products but also help clients build their own processing facilities. This mental model has prompted me to reevaluate Dongchu Food's future direction. Over the next two years, our strategic thinking should adopt a "treat the disease" approach—starting with the end goal and working backward to map out the implementation path for the imported beef supply chain. This will drive further development and refinement of the content backend on the Dongchu Marketing Platform app alongside the three Dongchu Beef mini-programs.

I suddenly realized that the transformation I've witnessed in just these past two years is completely different from what I knew before the "Double Reduction" policy. From mindset to action, from leveraging resources to riding momentum, from individual efforts to platform-based strategies—they have achieved a true leap forward. This shift in thinking is exactly what I need to adopt and implement.

In year 2026, my goal became even clearer: find more partners ready to start earning 500 per month, grow with them, and help them earn even more. I know that a true system isn't about one person doing everything—it's about empowering many people to achieve things together.