Chapter 4 — The Creator Cannot Be Erased

3. How the company has survived This does not mean that the company has truly overcome the hurdle. When the first batch of 500 machines entered mass production, the problem of water leakage in the tank was resolved. But a new problem appeared. The machine runs on ceramic tile floors and is completely normal. However, whenever encountering epoxy floors commonly used in commercial centers, the brush's electric current skyrockets. Just operate continuously for half an hour, the motor will automatically activate overheat protection mode. At that time, more than 300 machines were completely assembled. Boxes filled the entire warehouse. Each box is printed with the brand that we have just registered. Trung Quang. Old Han came to me with the inspection report.

"Or delay the delivery date..."

"Or reduce the pressure of the brush."

Reduce the pressure of the brush and the machine will not clean. If we delay the delivery time... We will lose our first official customer. That customer is a shopping center that has just opened in the south of the city. They agreed to place an order not because they trusted our brand, but because the imported equipment was delivered too slowly, so they urgently needed a replacement product. My engineering team and I stayed in the basement of the shopping center for three nights. The first night, we changed the engine. The second night, adjust the control program. On the third night, old Han suggested reducing the rotation speed of the brush. I don't agree. He was impatient.

"If you try this again, the engine will burn out. The remaining money is not enough for repairs."

I squatted next to the machine, watching the brush glide across a hardened stain.

"It's not because of the rotation speed."

"It's the pressure compensation mechanism reacting too slowly."

"The sensor's accuracy is not enough."

"Then don't let it compensate automatically."

Finally, we add the simplest mechanical limiter. Not advanced either. But it helps the machine always maintain stable pressure on all types of floors. Four o'clock in the morning. The machine ran continuously for two hours without any further problems. I sat in the dark hallway of the shopping center, holding a glass of hot orange juice I had just bought from a vending machine. The glass of water was so sweet that it left a bitter taste in my throat. But until now, I still remember that taste clearly. Because six days later... The shopping center has officially accepted the first batch of equipment. The person in charge of payment for the partner's side is Do. The first time he met me, Mr. Do thought I was a salesman. He held the acceptance record and asked:

"Where is your boss?"

"I am that person."

He looked up at me, then looked down at the business card.

"Female general manager?"

"Is there a problem?"

"Nothing. I just hope your device doesn't look like your company. It looks new, but two months later you can't find anyone."

Right in front of him, I wrote my phone number on the back of the acceptance record.

"If the phone stops working for a minute, just call this number."

During the first six months... Mr. Do called me a total of forty-seven times. The machine made a strange noise, calling me. Brush fell, call me. The cleaning staff criticized the operation as too complicated and still called me. One time, at 1:30 a.m., he called to report a machine making dirty water all over the floor, and requested that he be sure to change it to a new machine the next morning. I drove over scene at night. When I arrived, I discovered... The cleaning staff had installed the clean water tank cap upside down with the waste water tank. I never explained whose fault it was. I cleaned the floor myself. Then re-instruct the entire usage procedure for the night shift. In the second year... Mr. Do's commercial group opened six new projects. Trung Quang won five of those projects. Our first customer... Retained like that. It's not because of the brand. It's not because of strategy either. But because... Who answered the phone? Who is present when the machine breaks down? Who helps customers open business as usual the next morning? By the third year, the company's cash flow completely dried up for the first time. That year, we decided to enter the household appliance market. The mold is complete. The production line has also been renovated. But right before signing the contract, the investment fund that had promised to contribute capital suddenly withdrew. The deadline to pay the supplier has arrived. While distribution channels require a sixty-day settlement period. The finance department sent me the account balance. 1.87 million yuan. While the amount to be paid next week is... 6.4 million yuan. At that time, Chu Dinh Son was abroad. He said over the phone that he would continue to find ways to manage. But at the fastest it will take a month. I mortgaged my only house. The apartment is not big. Just over seventy square meters. The home loan has just been paid off in two years. The bank manager asked me if I had thought it through carefully. Because risks in business activities are not considered normal consumer loan purposes.

"I'm sure."

Four million two hundred thousand yuan were disbursed. The first thing I do is pay the staff. Then pay the core suppliers. But still missing... 700,000 yuan. At that time, Thieu Lam had only been in the company for a year, in charge of the supply chain. She held a stack of debt collection papers and ran to find me.

"The owner of the plastic factory kept all of our molds."

"He said, if the money still hasn't arrived in the account today, tomorrow he will transfer the production line to another customer."

"What do they lack the most now?"

Thieu Lam was stunned.

"Order."

"I thought they still had orders?"

"Their big customer just forced prices. One of the two lines is currently vacant."

That same night... I revised the entire production plan.