#Article Launch Challenge##Character Story##Special Industry##Pet Morticist##Jumping Out of the System##创业#
This is the 3,145th real story we have told
If there is also a very solemn funeral ceremony for pets to die, I believe many people will be surprised. Even in the eyes of some people, those kittens and dogs are just a cheap life, and they are discarded when they die, at most they dig a pit and bury them, and it is not worth any funeral ceremony at all.
But for people who like to have pets, they love their pets no less than they do for children. When his pet dies, they also want a farewell ceremony to express their grief and last love for their pet. And I am such a person.
Because of this idea, I gave up my job in the system and chose to engage in the pet funeral industry, which started my entrepreneurial journey. Moreover, he made a profit of 26,000 yuan in the first month.
(I)
My name is Li Zhe, I am 33 years old, and I was born in Hefei, Anhui Province in 1990.
I studied in Hefei No. 1 Middle School in high school and was admitted to the Macao Polytechnic Institute in 2008. In our school, 10% of the students are from the mainland, and the rest are all local students.
On my third day at university, I got a job as a tutor, teaching a high school student for 300 yuan per lesson. The income from this job was enough for my pocket money, and I was able to improve my standard of living in college.
In my junior year, because I could play Texas Hold'em, I played well, and I often went to Texas Hold'em tournaments, which was another part-time income.
After graduating from university, I went to Beijing and got a job. It's the only time I've ever gone to work. At that time, I was 23 years old and working at CCTV Channel 12, in charge of marketing planning.
But after a few years, I jumped out of the system and came back into business. I have my own business at home. I work as a sales director in my own company. This can also be regarded as the beginning of my own business, so I will learn Xi first and sum up my experience.
(When I worked at CCTV)
After doing well for a while, I started to try to start my own business. My wife graduated from Jingdezhen Ceramics University, and she likes to do handicrafts, so we decided to open a handicraft shop.
After the two of us ran the business, the business got better and better, and that's when we decided to expand the store and form a team. Business is still booming, and later we have made several franchisees, including other cities have joined us.
This industry is in Hefei City, under our leadership from the low-end to the high-end, and now it has basically reached saturation, and there is not much room for growth, so we decided not to work in this industry, and the store is handed over to the store manager to do, but the owner of the store is still us.
In 2020, one of our dogs left us in a car accident, and it was this accident that made me enter the pet funeral industry.
(We are a family of three)
This dog has been with us from the time my wife was pregnant until the birth of the child, and he has developed a deep affection for us. After the birth of the child, the first thing the puppy does when he comes home is to visit my baby first, and then drink water, he used to eat and drink water every time he came home. The puppy's intelligence and docility make us love it even more.
But we had a good business in the shop, which led to neglect to take care of the puppy. One day, the store was so busy that we didn't notice the puppy running out. When he was done, he found that the puppy was missing, and hurriedly looked around. But by the time the puppy was found, it had been in a car accident and was dying.
I hurriedly hugged it and ran to the pet hospital. In fact, when I held it, it was already paralyzed, and I already knew in my heart that it might not be able to be saved, but I still held on to a glimmer of hope. But after arriving at the pet hospital, the doctor took a look at it and pronounced the death sentence.
(I'm in a competition)
At this time, my mental state had not collapsed, but when I buried the puppy, I couldn't see him at all, and my heart felt as if it had been hollowed out, as if I had lost something important.
For a long time, I was immersed in grief and remembrance. Even when I was working, I couldn't help but think about it, and even unconsciously overflowed tears.
Anyone who has ever had a pet has had the same experience as me, and if the puppy and kitten can walk decently, they will be somewhat comforted. But sudden death in a car accident is particularly uncomfortable. It is precisely because of this heartache that I came up with the idea of engaging in the pet funeral industry, to let those pets who died unnaturally complete the last leg of the road more decently.
(I work at CCTV)
There are a lot of people who have pets in the city, and I think many people will have this need, at least I have a need. So my wife and I started what is now a pet funeral parlor.
The preliminary work is: talking about rent, decoration, and sorting out the relationship with some surrounding units. Next, find a cremation base, apply for a license, and contact pet hospitals and pet stores to find customers. There is also online and offline promotion work, which is basically what I do.
Before opening a store, you should choose the address of the store, and the store address should be selected in a place where the environment is more comfortable, you can park at the door, and it is not too far from the city. The decoration style of the store is creamy, which gives people a warmer and more comfortable feeling.
From renting the façade to opening, a total of seven or eight hundred thousand was spent. The people who work in my shop, we are all partners. According to the different proportion of everyone's investment, profit dividends are carried out, everyone is a business together, and everyone is a shopkeeper and boss here.
The staff at our pet funeral home have their duties in their hands. The farewell division is actually the front desk and host. When a guest visits, he soothes the guest's emotions, asks the guest to sit down and drink some water, chats with the guest, first soothes the mood, and then tells the guest what we are going to do, presides over the farewell ceremony, and finally comforts the guest.
(Me in college)
After the pet arrives at the store, the farewell teacher first cleans the pet, and then carries it to the table after grooming and cleaning, puts its photo, and then lights three lotus lamps and a stick of incense.
Then the farewell master combs the pet and guides the owner to groom the small animal, wipe the eyes and ears. The farewell master then trims the hair and nails of the pet's soles, and finally presses a palm print, which can be regarded as a souvenir for the owner.
The farewell teacher will also guide the owner to cut a pinch of pet hair and explain to the owner the significance of doing so. After all the ceremonies, the farewell master puts the pet in the box and sends it to the cremation base for cremation. After cremation, the pet's ashes are beaten into ashes, put in an urn, and sent back.
If there are a lot of customers in the store and you can't get busy, I'll do the work of bringing the animals to the store. In the first month of the store, I went to pick up a little bichon named Abu, and on the way to the store, I talked a lot about Abu with his owner, and also talked about my own thoughts, and at the same time soothed their emotions.
(Daughter's birthday)
During the conversation, I learned that Abu's story was very touching, and that Abu's owner had raised Abu as his own child from a young age. They are almost 50 years old and have no children of their own, so they pour all their love into the puppy.
He said that when Abu was a child, he took a bath in a beauty shop and washed his eyes badly, and the store wanted to compensate a puppy to the owner, but Abu's owner did not agree, and finally compensated for some financial losses.
Later, Abu's owner consulted a pet doctor and kept getting a very expensive medicine from Beijing to treat him. Although Abu can't restore his eyesight, he can save his eyeballs. After hearing this, I was deeply moved, they really treat the puppy as their own child.
After the farewell ceremony was completed, although the male host of Abu was sad, he was very comforted and satisfied. Still holding my hand, it keeps exciting.
We respect the animals from the bottom of our hearts, and enlighten and comfort the owners of these furry children from the bottom of our hearts. I think that only by doing these things with your heart will people thank you from the bottom of their hearts. And our fee is only a few hundred yuan, and the service is in place, and the guests feel that it is very worthwhile to spend money on our services.
(Me and my daughter)
Because I have worked in CCTV before, I know how to communicate with customers. Therefore, in the pet funeral industry, I will also follow the customer's ideas to say something, and always maintain empathy with the customer, so that the guest can realize that I am also empathetic.
I still operate online, and every day I will shoot some videos about the daily life of the store, some of my own experiences, and some ideas, and then post them online to promote the store in many ways.
The staff of the design office are mainly responsible for the production of life crystals for pets, as well as the design and production of urns. In addition to this, some items such as felt, fur mink, silk scarves and other items are also customized for pets.
With everyone's concerted efforts, we made a profit of 26,000 yuan in the first month of opening the store. This was unexpected, I didn't expect to make a profit in the first month, which shows that we are doing well in all aspects and makes us more motivated.
(Me at work)
In this industry, work is timeless. We often get calls from customers at night, and we sacrifice our rest time to serve customers. Whenever I see my pet lying on the table, I feel as uncomfortable as the owner. Especially when I see someone of the same species as my pet, my eyes can't help but moisten.
I can't bear to see any of my pets die. But it can't be helped. Some elderly dogs, its various organs are failing, living every day is very painful, their owners in order to make their furry children less guilty, will choose to euthanize their pets.
We once picked up a 16-year-old golden retriever who was too old to eat for a few days. I couldn't find any blood vessels on my body.
(Me in college)
I pinched the dog's leg so that the doctor could find the blood vessel and put the needle in. Anesthesia first, then comfort, because the amount of these two drugs must be large enough for it to die peacefully without pain.
Although our service has been recognized by many customers, there are also some discordant voices on the Internet. Because some people like pets, and some people don't. It's understandable that we don't like pets, but some people see the short video I posted and say that we are better for dogs than for parents.
Such comments hurt, but I will not argue with them. After all, not everyone likes pets, so naturally there will be different opinions.
In addition, my video will also shoot some business scenes of the store, and popularize some small knowledge, telling everyone how to walk the dog in a civilized manner, how to prevent cats from falling downstairs and other dry knowledge.
(I'm dining)
When it comes to how to prevent cats from falling downstairs, I think owners should first be vigilant and close the screen windows. When walking dogs, we have to walk dogs in a civilized manner, which reminds me of when I was studying in Macau, and I learned that Macao people are really civilized when they have dogs.
First, each of their dogs has an ID card on it. Second, when dogs defecate outside, they will put a piece of paper on the ground, and if they don't have time to pad paper, they will clean it up with newspaper. Third, when encountering people, the owner holds the dog tighter, because some people are afraid of dogs. I think the way Macanese people raise dogs is worth Xi.
Maybe it's because our industry is a niche project and not many people do it, but in 2023, when Hefei held the Tide Pet Festival, we were invited to participate.
(Me and my lover)
Because we are doing funerals, we don't know how to do publicity offline. Then we came up with an idea to showcase our products for dead pets. Through this activity, we also met some friends who have pets, and we have the opportunity to do things together.
Now that the business of the store is on the right track, I want to promote this industry in Hefei, so that more people know about this industry, and I also hope that our brand can be recognized by more people.
I think animals are not only emotional, but also worthy of respect. When they leave this world, they should also have a dignified exit ceremony.
What's more, those who have pets regard their furry children as very important, so I think the pet funeral industry will have good development prospects. I also believe that we will do better and better in the future.
(Welcome to follow the protagonist's account "Hefei Sanyan Pet Farewell - Li Qiuqiu")
[Dictation: Li Zhe]
[Editor: Humble Moon]
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