From The Pedicure Sister To The 50 Chain Store Owner'S Business Legend

In June 26, 2008, there were two special trainees in the foot training school of Lu Qin, Yangzhou.

Lu Qin: "these two students are new trainees. They are students from the disaster area in Mianzhu, Sichuan. We would like to introduce you to the new cadets. I hope you can give them more attention and give guidance and help to your life and work."

Li Wanqiang and his wife Long Xiaoying were doing pedicure business in Mianzhu. After the earthquake, they had no business. They wanted to take this opportunity to learn again. This time, from Sichuan to Yangzhou, they are going to find Lu Qin to learn how to repair their feet.

Li Wanqiang, a villager in Wuli Village, Fuxin Town, Mianzhu City, Sichuan Province, said: "I used to rub my back, massage and do my pedicure. Lu Qin's reputation is very great in this industry. We all know it."

Lu Qin, a famous pedicure master, has trained more than ten thousand pedicure divisions for all parts of the country, especially in rural areas.

After knowing the intentions of the young couple, Lu Qin immediately decided to avoid all the expenses and personally took the first class for them.

Lu Qin: "the most important action is to put his foot in the right position. This hand is like this. For example, his toenail is thick and the nail root is relatively thin. At this point, it is possible to pull the whole toenail down, so the wrist must be seven inches. It must be flexible and rely on seven inches to shake the toenail slowly."

A lot of people can't imagine that Lu Qin is a pair of pedicure knives to create her legendary life. In 6 years, he has opened more than 50 pedicure shops in the whole country. He can earn about 5000000 yuan every year by repairing his feet. Lu Qin has become the first knife for Yangzhou's pedicure circles. But twenty years ago, she and her disciples were just like a little girl who had just come out of the countryside.

The kitchen knife, hairdressing knife and pedicure knife are known as the three knives of Yangzhou.

"Morning bag water, night water foreskin", it is said that Yangzhou people used to drink tea in the morning and bathe in the evening. Yangzhou people's bathing and pedicure are often linked together. Pedicure is called "meat carving" by local people, and pedicure masters also have grades.

In 1988, a little girl named Lu Qin came to the bathhouse to learn how to trim her feet. There was a girl's home trimming her feet to the men. The bathroom suddenly became lively because of her arrival. Some even made a jingle to this little girl named Lu Qin.

Lu Songlin, executive director of Yangzhou bathing Association of Jiangsu Province, said: "the socialite in the shopping mall, the watermelon in the barber shop, and never seen a girl repair her feet. Men who used to trim their feet were men, and women were the first time they had ever seen them."

However, no one would have thought that this little girl from Yangzhou, who was only 17 years old, became famous in 4 years, and pushed the sister who had attracted much attention to the cusp.

In 1992, Yangzhou held a pedicure competition to promote the traditional culture of the three knives. It was also the first large-scale pedicure professional competition in the country, attracting 200 pedicure divisions throughout the country. Lu Qin was the only female pedicure teacher in the country. Lu Songlin was the judge of the competition.

Lu Songlin, executive director of Yangzhou bathing Association of Jiangsu Province: "tear the dry cotton and tear it on the toenail and go for a walk. If you stick this cotton up, the standard of the pedicure is not enough. The real toe nail is good, that is, flat, round, bright and clean, and the cotton is not scratching."

The final result is beyond everyone's expectation. Lu Qin, who has just been in the field for 4 years, won the first prize in the competition. Lu Songlin, who has been training for more than ten years, is unbelievable for a moment.

Lu Songlin, executive director of Yangzhou bathing Association of Jiangsu Province, said: "basically, it is a monument to everyone. At that time, the first place was 6 people. She was the first among 6 people."

In the foot repair industry, it became a hot topic. After the intervention of the major media, Lu Qin, who had been very flattered, could not afford to start in front of everyone.

Lu Qin: "what was the story of the media at that time? The calf was not afraid of the tiger and dared to master it. At that time, the industry was not regarded as a good industry. This propaganda is not equal to promoting my scandal."

After a lot of media reports, a lot of people were looking for her feet more than usual. Even some people made a lot of trouble from Shanghai and Zhejiang, scared Lu Qin to hide in the bathroom work room.

However, from this time on, wealth has quietly opened the door to Lu Qin.

In 1993, there was a guest named Lu Baolin who had attracted the attention of Lu Qin. He didn't seem to care about pedicure. Instead, he dropped more attention on Lu Qin, until one day, he made a bold request to Lu Qin.

Lu Qin: "when Lu Baolin found me, he said he invited me to his place and said that his income was relatively high. I said I could go with him."

Originally, the man named Lu Baolin was the boss of a large bath center in Yangzhou. Lu Qin had a series of events that led him to foresee the commercial value. He invited Lu Qin to his bathing center to become a master of pedicure, earning two people and 46.

Lu Baolin, the former general manager of the bath center, "at that time, she was about four thousand or five thousand a month. It was higher than the price of a regular pedicure master. It must be high and high. The average pedicure master was about one thousand or two thousand yuan at that time."

Lu Qin, who had only paid 2000 yuan a month, doubled his income.

The effect of Lu Qin's "Guqin" also quickly made the business of the bath center busy. Sometimes the guests waited for hours to get Lu Qin's number. At that time, Lu Jian, who repaired the foot with Lu Qin in a bath center, is still fresh in memory.

Lu Jian, a pedicure technician, said: "Lu Qin must be sent to serve her once. Even some bosses invite some important guests to invite Lu Qin to play and find ways to find various relationships."

Fang Bingxin, a pedicure technician, said, "teacher Lu's feet are small, her hands are very thin, her knife is very light and steady, her toenails are swollen and pus, and then Lu's knife gently goes in, and when the guests do not know the pain, they are cured."

Lu Qin, who quickly became the "red man" in the eyes of the owners of the bath centers in Yangzhou, came out with a lot of money to invite her to become a master of pedicure. In May 1994, Lu Qin received an invitation to bathing the city.

Lu Qin: "without my consent and without consulting with me, I suddenly announced at the opening ceremony that I was the master of his bathing place, which made me very passive."

Lu Jian, a pedicure technician, said, "maybe the boss is in urgent need of her to go to the shop to support him, so she did not give her consent to announce it directly, and told everyone that there was Lu Qin in my shop."

However, things like this are far from over. In 2001, a royal leisure club invested by Hongkong people opened in Yangzhou. In order to invite Lu Qin, the price of Lu Qin was shocked.

The former general manager of the leisure club, "we set a monthly salary of ten thousand yuan a month. She only comes twice a week."

Lu Songlin, executive director of Yangzhou bathing Association of Jiangsu Province, said: "after she went, a group of people followed her. What was this group of people, her customers, the most loyal customers?"

Every month only 8 days, the monthly salary is 10 thousand yuan. Lu Qin has become the highest paid pedicure in Yangzhou.

Many people admire the idle work and high income, but Lu Qin feels that if he is a boss, he will earn much more than that.

Lu Qin: "when the big bathrooms were invited to me, because of my reputation in Yangzhou, they also wanted to borrow my fame for their hype, so I was thinking," why can't I open a store with my fame, and maybe my customers can follow me. "

In general, the pedicure master makes a set of feet for the guest as long as 60 yuan, while Lu Qin's price is between 600 and 1000 yuan. Although the price is not expensive, the people who line up for Lu Qin's pedicure are still in an endless stream, which makes Lu Qin more firm in his idea of opening a shop.

In July of 2002, Lu Qin's foot Art Center opened. Because of limited funds, the shop was chosen in a more remote lane, and the decoration was very simple. But Lu Qin was not worried about not having a guest. In order to attract business, he deliberately used his name in the shop name.

Lu Qin: "because I often hang out in baths, and my fame is quite large. After these guests came, they came to our shop and found the environment was too bad."

Chen Junhua, an apprentice of Lu Qin, said: "when the worst day is, it may cost 10 yuan a day, and a guest will repair his feet."

In the cruel reality of Lu Jian, Lu Qin wanted to cry without tears. The daily cost of the shop was five hundred or six hundred yuan. Lu Qincheng, who could not afford to go through the business, could not go on. In desperation, she had to go back to the bath center to repair her feet.

In other people's baths, there are still many people who want to repair her feet, and she has to work until two or three in the morning every night.

But his business was cold and pitiful. In this change, Lu Qin gradually realized the truth.

Lu Qin said: "at that time, I felt that my fame would attract many customers. But the customers who attracted them were all high-level. People felt that my environment was having problems. The common people felt that Lu Qin felt that Lu Qin's fame was very big, and the price was not high enough to enter my shop."

In fact, Lu Qin has suffered a lot of economic losses. In 2003, with the help of friends, Lu Qin's other high-end art shop opened. In order to repay his friend's loan, Lu Qin also started a training school. Every day, students from all over the country found Lu Qin to learn pedicure skills.

With the lessons learned from the failure of the last shop, Lu Qin felt that he could not rely on his own fame. If he wanted to stay stable for a long time, he must have his own business characteristics, but where did he start?

There are a lot of jargon that has been circulated for many years: "three points, seven knives," so the pedicure's knives are very particular, but no matter who gives them a pedicure, they are disgusted with a set of knives.

Customer: "psychological effect, you know, afraid that people have beriberi."

Lu Qin: "I explain to the guests that the knives are sterilized, and the guests will ask us what disinfectant and medicine you use."

In order to solve this kind of misgivings of the guests, Lu Qin thought a lot of ways. At last, she thought that a knife was a good idea, but it took almost a day to polish a set of knives. Because there was not enough manpower, it was almost impossible for a shop owner to build a knife, but Lu Qin had the unique conditions.

Lu Qin: "when students come, they should first practice basic skills and sharpening skills, so we will bring the customers' knives to the students. This ensures the sharpness of the guests' knives and the sharpening skills of the students."

Since then, customers in Lu Qin's pedicure shop can achieve one set of knives according to their own wishes. In order to make the customers feel at ease, Lu Qin deliberately carved the names of the customers on the cutting tools. This practice has become an important reason for many customers to find their feet.

Customer: "I feel that I have a knife that I am good at."

Lu Qin also made a major adjustment in the use of the sword method, which has become an important reason for his pedicure shop to expand rapidly throughout the country.

There is a set of skills in the hands of a pedicure master. One of them is a technique that has been handed down by the pedicure circle for many years. It is often a standard to measure the level of a pedicure, and it is also the capital that many pedicure shops show to their guests.

Zhu Cailin, a pedicure technician, said: "this knife can't go down, we must choose to walk. This is a knife circle. This is called a knife circle. Now the toenail is basically flat. After a knife comes down, the toenail is short and flat, and does not need second knives. No, this is a technique handed down for many years."

A knife and a round knife must have a certain effect. It is easy to cut the foot of a guest with a slight mistake, such as Zhu Cailin and Lu Qin, a master of pedicure. He is neat and handy with a round knife, but for those beginners who have just entered the field, the risk and cost of failure have been pferred to customers.

Lu Qin: "since we are in the service industry, I feel that the first thing to consider is the feeling of customers, to cut the toenails first, and then not to push them all away.

The advantage is that the guest is not nervous, and then he unconsciously takes his toenail.