It must be said, when it came to things he was truly passionate about, Draco Malfoy demonstrated an unrelenting spirit.
After the unfortunate news of his first entrepreneurial venture ending in failure — and an endless stream of money going down the drain — he decided to take a hard look at his father's revered business models and Jane Yu's success stories.
"Business success stories?" Jane frowned as she pondered. While she didn't mean to sound boastful, she often felt like many things simply fell into her lap without much effort.
But Draco was not satisfied with her attributing most of her achievements to sheer luck. Demonstrating his unyielding determination to get to the bottom of things, he began elaborating on his updated and enriched plans based on his own practical experiences:
"From my observations, I've distilled the key elements of a successful business model: providing unique value to customers that competitors can't replicate... creating, delivering, and capturing value..." He went on and on, eloquent and tireless, leaving Jane utterly dumbfounded and dizzy.
She glanced around at her surroundings — the green decor, the silver-green drapes... She was fairly certain she was still at Hogwarts, not attending some MBA training course at a university.
Draco, now resembling a seasoned professor of management studies, continued his impassioned lecture, turning the small common room into his personal podium:
"So, I've taken your precedent as a model of success. First, your game console is a unique product with core magical inscriptions that can't be replicated, leaving your company without competitors. Second, the console fulfills wizards' entertainment needs and has become the most popular form of leisure activity. Third, it's priced high, with frequent product updates, ensuring user loyalty and willingness to pay. Fourth, you have the Malfoy family as an excellent partner, establishing a superb distribution network..."
Jane couldn't help but laugh at his seamless transition into praising the Malfoy family.
Draco sighed and began contrasting his own small business: "But my potions are different. Baruffio's Brain Elixir can be substituted with powdered dragon claw or even coffee bean extract. The product is highly replaceable, and competition is fierce. I'm forced to adopt a low-margin, high-volume strategy... And I'm stuck with a bunch of short-sighted employees constantly demanding paychecks, not to mention picky customers... It's outrageous! Clearly, they're the problem..."
As he continued his comparative analysis, he finally arrived at a conclusion for his profit-making business model: "I should've slashed costs right from the start — raw materials, labor, everything!"
He ruffled his perfectly groomed hair into a disheveled mess. His recent business slump seemed to have given him a faint hint of balding.
"If it really comes to it, maybe you could skip printing the merchandise. I'll charge you less for the image usage fee," Jane suggested kindly. "Don't you think the cost of giving away merchandise is too high?"
To her astonishment, Draco leaped three feet into the air and vehemently rejected her suggestion: "No, absolutely not!"
The mere idea of not printing merchandise seemed to strike a nerve with Draco, prompting him to declare loudly, "Do you take me for a pauper like that red-haired mole? Or a nouveau riche like Scarhead who made his fortune off shampoo?"
"The Malfoy family has a long-standing legacy! A trivial image usage fee — do you really think I can't afford it?"
His heartfelt assurance left Jane somewhat touched.
"Even if my father hangs me from the gates of Malfoy Manor, I won't shortchange you a single Knut!"
Hearing this, Jane couldn't quite understand Draco's obsession with merchandise, but she found herself wishing him success more sincerely than ever before.
...
Though Draco's ventures repeatedly ended in failure, he did manage to glean a few useful lessons from them — such as the necessity of paying employees.
He also drew significant inspiration from Jane's success stories, particularly her unique employee structure.
"Impressive! The brightest minds, the most brilliant ideas — you're undoubtedly the Malfoy family's best business partner."
"No wonder my father always speaks so highly of you. Your strategic vision and management model are truly ahead of their time!"
After thoroughly analyzing Jane's case, Draco felt completely captivated by her business acumen.
"Indeed, the shrewdest merchants never let a single Knut slip through their fingers," he marveled. "Even with such enormous profit margins, you still strive to cut costs. Just look at these werewolves and house-elves!"
"Ordinary wizards would dismiss them as lowly and useless, but you've recognized their potential as cost-cutting tools! Werewolves hardly need any pay, and house-elves don't require wages at all!"
Draco's fervor made it seem as though he could pen a book titled Wizarding Business Management on the spot. He praised, "Using such lowly creatures is an honor for them. It greatly enhances employee cohesion... Werewolves don't tire easily, and house-elves work tirelessly outside of their rest periods, significantly boosting productivity..."
Jane, her mind blank, found herself at a loss for words.
She had always paid her employees fairly and provided proper benefits! She was no heartless capitalist!
"Is it possible..." she tried to make one last attempt to salvage Draco's mindset, "that who you hire isn't the point... I don't want to become an evil capitalist... hung atop the tower by my employees..."
She couldn't shake the feeling that Draco was on the verge of doing something earth-shattering.
But he seemed convinced he had figured it all out. With a wave of his hand, he delivered the ultimate line of wisdom: "Oh, Jane, you must know — no one understands your business genius better than I do."
Brimming with confidence, Draco strode out of the common room with his head held high and a smile on his face — certain he knew exactly what to do.
Jane, less confident in him, opened her mouth in confusion. She really wanted to know: did he actually know what to do?
...
Clearly, Draco didn't know what to do.
A peculiar rumor began circulating around the school: "Malfoy's gone mad!"
The rumor originated from Gryffindor students, with their prefect, Hermione Granger, as the source.
According to her, Malfoy had claimed he wanted to join her S.P.E.W. (Society for the Promotion of Elfish Welfare) and had repeatedly asked her to "capture" or "gift" him a group of house-elves, promising to pay them a single Knut for their work.
Of course, Hermione didn't believe a word he said. Faced with a Malfoy, her guard was up to the max: "A Malfoy's words are nothing but lies. He must be plotting something sinister!"
In fact, nearly every Hogwarts student found Malfoy's outlandish claims unbelievable.
"Has he lost his mind? Could it be a side effect of drinking too much Baruffio's Brain Elixir?"
"Everyone should stop buying it. I don't want my brain turning out like that before exams!"
Naturally, the rumor soon reached Jane's ears.
More than one person curiously asked her if something was wrong with Malfoy's head.
Even some Slytherins were half-convinced, often casting strange looks at Draco and occasionally making cricket noises behind his back.
When an inquisitive student asked Goyle and Crabbe, Draco's "bodyguards," they received a semi-confirming response: "We're not sure... but he keeps talking about things we don't understand... like Potter's Five Forces Model... We don't know why Harry Potter has five forces, but Draco's been saying weird stuff like that ever since he started selling Baruffio's Brain Elixir... We're too scared to go near him..."
This statement dealt another heavy blow to Draco's recently recovering business.
He oscillated between furious outbursts and gloomy despair, frequently lamenting in the common room: "I'm so stupid, really."
— His first entrepreneurial venture ultimately ended in bankruptcy.
— And after sending a dozen urgent letters begging his parents for gold, he received his very first Howler in return.
Truly tragic.
Even Jane couldn't help but shed a tear of sympathy for him.
~~~~❃❃~~~~~~~~❃❃~~~~
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