Three factors that shape fate:
The impact of personal prerequisites, the influence of industry and era trends, sector shocks across industries, and so-called emerging industries.
Any one of these can change the trajectory of a person's life.
As long as the child plays the cards they already have carefully.
The factors that determine outcomes are numerous; they aren't something you can force into being.
From the customer's perspective, that obviously makes you look like great value—either your materials are cost-effective or your labor rates are competitive.
But for you, both scenarios mean razor-thin margins.
Whenever you’re in a mass-market business, you face pressure from rapid information sharing—even if you find an edge, it’s gone within days.
And if you’re running a niche business but aren’t the leader in your细分 segment, you’ll struggle with insufficient orders.
Like it or not, this is the trend.
Jack Ma says there should be no middlemen taking a cut, which really means he's the only one taking the cut. He says doing business shouldn't be hard anywhere in the world—meaning everyone else should drop out of the middleman business so he can do it alone, and do it easily.
It's possible, but only if four conditions are met.
1. You have the ability to design customized, à la carte products.
2. You have access to quality materials and a talented team.
3. Your clients trust you.
4. There's an information asymmetry—clients can't operate without you—so you can earn the spread, the information gap premium.