Entrepreneurship requires passion, but it absolutely cannot be impulsive.
At the time, I chose to do Korean beauty and clothing reselling because I "felt" that Taiwanese girls all liked wearing Korean clothes, and the materials and cuts were nice with relatively cheap prices, so I rashly started executing. Indeed, my friends around me were the same way, but friends are not "the market." That's why many people fall into a kind of "self-deceiving illusion" in the early stages of entrepreneurship. Sometimes the product is great, that's true, but because of competition and dividing up the pie, honestly there's no opportunity at all.
↑These were all the products I stocked at the time — too many items, completely aimless.
I originally thought that with my experience living in Korea, doing Korean reselling would be a good idea, but actually this kind of behavior was what people used to call "peddling" — peddling is something people were doing years ago... What I deeply realized was my most serious mistake: poor judgment.
When it comes to market research, here are some statistics:
AppWorks Partner Jeff Lin Zhi-Chen's statistics on Taiwan's top 5 reasons for startup failure:
1. Lack of market demand (42%)
2. Running out of cash (29%)
3. Wrong team (23%)
4. Pricing and cost factors (18%)
5. Loss of focus (13%)
Based on my experience, entrepreneurship requires a comprehensive understanding of the industry and market landscape. Since I chose Korean beauty and clothing, beauty breaks down into skincare and makeup, which can be further subdivided by different functions like moisturizing, brightening, and locking in moisture. Makeup includes base, concealer, eyebrow pencil, eyeliner, eyeshadow, lipstick — these products can be further subdivided by different shades, textures, shine, and effects. With tens of millions of products, it's simply impossible to carry everything. Therefore, you must conduct market research first. Market research includes factors like age, region, price, brand perception, and so on. Then based on the results, you can identify which products align with your costs, are popular, and can make you money. Don't say it's vulgar to talk about making money. Entrepreneurship is not just about fulfilling your own ideals — making money is also very important because money lets you do more of what you want to do, lets you grow your business, feed your employees, and gives you the right to talk about realizing your dreams and pursuing life freedom. So I ask you, when it comes to entrepreneurship, can you not talk about making money? (Jack Ma mode activated)
↑Packaging blush and skincare products myself, then adding a LOGO
Once you neglect market research in entrepreneurship, things become aimless. When sourcing products, you might always think something is great just because you like it, or when making development plans, you might completely rely on imagination to map out your strategy. This kind of approach driven by "self-interest" is absolutely fatal. Market research serves a role like an anchor that keeps a ship from drifting aimlessly — it plays a crucial part. Only after confirming market positioning, your target audience (age, gender, interests, usage habits), and benefit assessment should you proceed with product sourcing and market expansion. This allows you to target specific demographics and further understand different needs of your audience. But these were things I failed to do properly in the early stages of my entrepreneurship.
You might ask, isn't this basic? It's really not that simple. You have to try it to understand. According to statistics from the Small and Medium Enterprise Development Center under the Ministry of Economic Affairs, the probability of ordinary people's startups closing within a year is as high as 90%. Of the 10% that survive, 90% of those close within five years. Only 1% of entrepreneurs can make it through the first five years, with a 99% failure rate before five years. Since entrepreneurship is a "high-failure domain," only by thoroughly understanding the real factors behind the high risk and assessing your own ability to handle setbacks can you minimize losses. And the "failure education" we need is: "Failure is inevitable," "The earlier you fail, the better," "Failure is a required course in entrepreneurship." (Reference source)
