Chapter 6 Chapter Five Three-Person Workshop: On the Brink of Bankruptcy and Survival

Konosuke Matsushita took the only funds of less than 100 yuan and used his own house to form the first five-person team of the Matsushita Empire that dominated the world-self, wife Umeyuki Iue, brother-in-law Toshio Iue, and friend Morita Yanjiro and Lin Yisaburo. Five people were ambitious to carry out the initial venture. After overcoming the technical difficulties, they encountered sales stagnation. Forced by helplessness, friends Morita Yanjiro and Hayashi Isaburo chose to quit.In this way, there were only three people left in Konosuke Matsushita's small workshop: himself, his wife Umeyuki Iue, and his brother-in-law Toshio Iue.

After sending Morita Yanjiro and Hayashi Isaburo away, Matsushita Konosuke's brother-in-law Toshio Iue felt very aggrieved: "Brother-in-law, did you just let them leave like this?" "Yes, Sui Nan, you know the current situation of the factory, I can't implicate them," Matsushita Konosuke sighed. "Brother-in-law, why don't you go back to work at the electric light company like the two of them?" Jingzhi asked. "Sui Nan, since I chose to leave at the beginning, I will never go back easily!" Konosuke Matsushita touched his brother-in-law's head, "Others can go back to the electric light company, but I will definitely not go back. I have to make a way out, come It proves that I am not wrong to go, so Sui Nan must work hard with brother-in-law and tide over the difficulties!"

After that, Konosuke Matsushita simply stopped production, brought his own improved socket to sell, and also did market research.Konosuke Matsushita reflected on the reasons for his failure in the previous stage.If the product cannot be sold, it means that this new socket does not meet the market requirements, but why?What kind of socket does the market need?After comparing it with sockets sold in the market, Konosuke Matsushita began to understand.It turns out that this new type of socket can only reduce the labor intensity and time of electricians, and has little to do with users.Therefore, everyone will not give up the old-style sockets that they have been used to.

After experiencing this failure, Konosuke Matsushita understood that to produce a product, one must really pay attention to the needs of customers, and be guided by the needs of customers so as not to be hit hard.Wanting to understand this truth, Konosuke Matsushita felt that the haze that had shrouded his heart for many days was cracked, and his heart suddenly became much brighter. Konosuke Matsushita told himself that he could not give up no matter what, he must persevere, and he would succeed.When I was an apprentice, I sold my first bicycle because of persistence.For this work, Konosuke Matsushita still felt that the future was boundless deep in his heart. Although he encountered so many setbacks at the beginning, he never lost confidence.In the process of fighting against difficulties, persistence and patience are the secrets of Konosuke Matsushita's victory.He was at the bottom of his life, relying on this kind of spiritual strength, he was able to calmly deal with when the factory was about to close down, and believed that as long as he worked hard, he could succeed.

Relying on this unbeatable and unbeatable firm belief, Konosuke Matsushita, his wife and brother-in-law Toshio Iue continued to work hard.Whenever they were about to be unable to open the pot, his wife Umeyuki Iue sent all the things that could be pawned at home to the pawn shop to make ends meet. After the success, Matsushita Konosuke said when talking about such issues to young people: "In the face of setbacks, don't be disappointed, but have courage! If you stick to the established goal in a down-to-earth manner, there will naturally be a way to appear. If a person If you can concentrate on nothing else, at this moment, you can hear the gospel descending from the nine heavens. I advise everyone to keep calm and firm in spirit, and not lose fighting spirit because of temporary setbacks. In this way, there will be nothing impossible in the world It's gone."

More than 100 products promoted by Morita Yanjiro appear scattered on the shelves of some electrical appliances stores. Even the lamp sockets on these shelves also contain business opportunities for Matsushita Konosuke. A Kawakita company that manufactures electric fans saw this in the Abe store. Kind of thing, interested in the synthetic material of the socket housing.It was the person in charge of the Chuanbei Company that brought Matsushita Konosuke back to life. One day, Konosuke Matsushita returned home, and before he had time to take a break, Umeyuki Iue hurriedly said to him: "Matsushita-san, today a guy from Abe Electric Store came..."

Konosuke Matsushita's modified sockets are displayed at the Abe Electric Store in Hollow Street.Hearing this name, he couldn't help but his eyes lit up: "Mei Zhi, are you here to buy our socket?" "I know your socket. They didn't buy anything from you, but sent you something." Meizhi Jing Zhi said, and handed her husband a piece of paper. Konosuke Matsushita took it over and took a look, wondering.It turned out that this was an order form from "Kawakita Electric Manufacturing Co., Ltd." delivered through the Abe Electric Store.The order form reads "1,000 electric fan chassis are needed, made of synthetic bakelite, and the payment will be settled at the end of the year."

Konosuke Matsushita was confused by this order.Before, I had never dealt with Kawakita Electric Manufacturing Co., Ltd., and even the owner of the Abe Electric Store met through Morita Yanjiro in the process of selling sockets. There was no friendship between the two. How could there be Abe? What about orders from electronics stores?And what puzzled Konosuke Matsushita the most was, why did Kawakita Electric Manufacturing Co., Ltd. customize the electric fan chassis from a small factory that sells electric light sockets?Konosuke Matsushita's question ran quickly in his mind, but he couldn't find the answer.

"I'm afraid this is a joke or a misunderstanding?" Konosuke Matsushita was full of doubts, and immediately went to the Abe Electric Store on Kokoku Street to find out. When Konosuke Matsushita arrived at the Abe Electric Store, it was close to closing time. The boss was a very kind person, welcomed him into the room, and warmly received Konosuke Matsushita.Konosuke Matsushita explained to the boss why he came at this moment.When the boss heard this, he laughed and said, "Matsushita-san, this is a good opportunity for you to make money. The boss of the Kawakita Electric Appliance Factory used to work for Siemens in Germany, and now the factory is using German technology and some components to produce electric fans. In the past, the electric fans they produced all used ceramic chassis, which was costly, heavy and easy to break, so they thought of using Bakelite instead. In order to find a reliable processor, after several researches, he finally chose your factory to process for them Electric fan chassis. Matsushita-san, you should cherish this opportunity to make a fortune!"

"Boss Abe, I still don't understand," Konosuke Matsushita was still confused, "Why did they choose me?" "Matsushita-kun, you are a smart person, don't you really understand?" Boss Abe asked. Konosuke Matsushita shook his head. Boss Abe glanced at him and said: "The boss of Chuanbei Electric knows that the Panasonic factory has mastered the technology of synthetic bakelite. The synthetic bakelite of your factory is suitable for the electric fan base of Chuanbei Electric. He also knows that you have stopped production now. If I give you the order , you will go all out, and there will be no delay in time." Seeing Konosuke Matsushita listening carefully to his explanation, he added, "Also, they think that your factory is small, but the owner is serious, so they finally chose expensive factory that makes light sockets."

Konosuke Matsushita suddenly realized, but he was puzzled again: "Boss Abe, how do you know so well about me and my factory?" Boss Abe smiled and didn't answer, and it took a long time before he said: "Many small factories are flocking to process accessories for Kawakita Electric. Since they have chosen you, Matsushita-san, don't miss this good opportunity and work hard to produce!" Hearing this, Konosuke Matsushita stopped asking.After thanking and saying goodbye to Boss Abe, he hurried home. He wanted to tell his wife and brother-in-law Toshio Iue the good news of his fate. Kawakita Electric chose its own factory among many small factories, and had a clear understanding of the situation of its own factory. This incident taught Konosuke Matsushita, who had just embarked on the road of business operation, a lesson. In the future, Konosuke Matsushita paid great attention to understanding in operation. The status of the partner. Because of the tight delivery time, Konosuke Matsushita began to concentrate on making electric fan chassis.The electric fan chassis does not need metal, as long as there are synthetic materials, so there is no need to invest much cost, but there must be molds.Konosuke Matsushita, who was struggling, had no funds at this time, and Umeyuki Iue took out the last few pieces of jewelry to pawn.Konosuke Matsushita took these funds to the mold factory to customize molds.Under the supervision and urging of Konosuke Matsushita, the mold was completed. Later, Konosuke Matsushita purchased raw materials and made samples with his wife and brother-in-law day and night.Because the final production contract can only be signed after the samples are completed and approved by the Kawakita Electric Manufacturing Co., Ltd., and Konosuke Matsushita and the others can actually start production. A few days later, Konosuke Matsushita brought the finished sample to Kawakita Electric Manufacturing Co., Ltd.After a few days of sleepless nights, I finally got approval. Chuanbei Electric passed the sample immediately, and said: "Just follow the sample, please start making as soon as possible. Please complete 1,000 before the end of the year. If it is good, it may cost at least four to five thousand. So, Matsushita-kun, please get ready." Konosuke Matsushita finally got his first batch of orders after starting a business.At this time, he was both excited and nervous. It was a dead wood and a spring when he was on the verge of bankruptcy to get this big order. Konosuke Matsushita did not dare to neglect. After returning home, he called his wife and brother-in-law Toshio Iue, and began to rush to work day and night.The small courtyard of Matsushita's house was in full swing. In the shed of less than 20 square meters, a cooking pot and a molding machine were placed. Iue Toisho lit the fire, Iue Mei's seasoning, and Matsushita Koyuki assisted in molding. The courtyard of Konosuke Matsushita's house was filled with smoke, and the poisonous asphalt smell made the three of them cry.But no one complained, nor flinched. The three of them only wanted to complete the first batch of orders quickly and well.In the division of labor among the three people, Konosuke Matsushita had the hardest job, because the product was pressed manually, and he had to press his whole body up, so that the press could produce a finished product.This is a lot of physical work, but as the only adult man among the three, Konosuke Matsushita, who has a thin body, can only undertake this work duty-bound.However, fortunately, Konosuke Matsushita had worked as a cement porter before. Compared with moving cement, this can only be regarded as pediatrics. Konosuke Matsushita, his wife, and his brother-in-law Toshio Iue made about 100 electric fan chassis every day. By the end of the year, under the thin arms of Konosuke Matsushita, the order of 1,000 pieces was finally completed on schedule and passed the inspection.Before the end of the new year, Konosuke Matsushita received the first batch of payment. After deducting costs such as mold fees and raw materials, he made a net profit of about 80 yen.This is Konosuke Matsushita's first income since he became independent.After getting it, the family of three - Mr. and Mrs. Matsushita and his brother-in-law Toshio Iue were very happy. Fortunately, Matsushita thought to himself, it would be great if the processing business that does not require much investment can be done for a long time.His wife Meizhi is also secretly praying, hoping that her husband's factory can get more orders for electric fan chassis.This time they finally got their wish. After trial, Kawakita Company believed that the chassis made of synthetic materials produced by Konosuke Matsushita cooperated well with other parts, and they agreed to continue to cooperate with Matsushita. As a result, Konosuke Matsushita received a second order for 2,000 chassis, and the three began to work hard again.This time, because the cost of making molds was omitted, the cost was even lower, and the final net profit was 300 yen.The accumulation of these capitals laid the foundation for Panasonic's business.On the second day after receiving the money, Konosuke Matsushita redeemed his wife's dowry jewelry from the pawnshop, and then bought a new dress for Toshio Iue to celebrate the factory's overcoming of difficulties.Although these are not special actions, it can be seen that Konosuke Matsushita is a person who values ​​family and affection. In the autobiography of Konosuke Matsushita, when he recalled the difficult past of starting a business, he wrote: Konosuke Matsushita, whose career has improved, was not satisfied with the status quo and began to plan for the future.According to the current situation, they will receive a steady stream of orders for electric fan chassis.In this way, in order to ensure that large quantities of orders are completed on time and with high quality, the plant, personnel and equipment must be expanded and increased accordingly, and it is imperative to move and build a factory.On the other hand, his own factory only relies on Chuanbei Electric Appliance Co., Ltd. Once they switch production or have a better partner, the factory may be in trouble again. Therefore, he believes that in order to be able to continue to develop for a long time, it is necessary to Use the accumulated funds to increase product categories, expand production, and create an independent Panasonic brand instead of just being busy for others. Konosuke Matsushita never forgets that his original intention is to produce and sell electrical appliances, not to process accessories for large factories! "We must have our own factories and products." His idea became stronger and stronger.It just so happened that there was a building for rent on Dakai Street in Osaka City. After seeing the advertisement, Konosuke Matsushita rented it without hesitation.This is a small two-story building, where people can live upstairs and the downstairs can be used for production.Since then, Matsushita Konosuke took his wife Umeyuki and his brother-in-law Toshio to leave the remote small house and came to the bustling area in Osaka. At this time, Matsushita Konosuke could be said to be proud of the spring breeze. He hung a sign outside the gate of his new house, which read "Matsushita Electric Manufacturing Co., Ltd."And, he also started to really become a boss, hiring 5 workers for the first time. On March 7, 1918, Matsushita Electric Manufacturing Co., Ltd. officially opened and cut the ribbon.This day, as the anniversary of the founding of Matsushita Electric Co., Ltd., will always be recorded in the history of Matsushita Corporation. Konosuke Matsushita listed for business on Dakai Street in Osaka, marking that Panasonic Electric ended the era of small workshop production and entered a new era of formal industrial production.Full of joy and confidence, Konosuke Matsushita led his own electric appliance company and started his arduous journey into the world's electric appliance market with a small electric light socket.