God-Given Business Genius

“Why did this restaurant fail?”

Good location. High foot traffic. Clean, appealing interior. To exaggerate slightly, it’s the kind of place he might consider for lunch himself.

So why?

Why did the owner put this place up for sale?

During what should be the bustling lunch hour, the restaurant sits empty and dark.

It’s clearly a failed business.

“Well, you see…”

The real estate agent scratched the back of his head as he continued.

“I’m not good at lying, so I’ll be honest. Other agents would say things like the owner’s health declined, or they’re emigrating.”

People aren’t fools these days; they can smell a vague excuse a mile away. The agent seemed to have decided on candor.

“This place was doing well. The owner became more devoted to the business as it thrived. He started with just half of this, but as business boomed, he expanded into the neighboring space.”

“I see.”

“But, he got divorced.”

“Pardon?”

Caught off guard by this unexpected conclusion, Kim Jong-chun asked again.

“He neglected his family, too absorbed in the business. Understandably so—I rarely saw this place closed. Leaving at dawn and returning at dawn, when would he have time to see his family?”

“…….”

“After the divorce, he couldn’t focus on the restaurant either. Customers gradually left, and eventually, the business failed.”

This unanticipated reason left Kim Jong-chun feeling as if he’d been struck from behind.

He had vaguely assumed it was due to poor food quality or service.

But hearing this, it seemed the owner was actually quite diligent. It’s unfortunate that his dedication led to neglecting his family….

‘Could I be…?’

The thought flashed through his mind. Even now, he gets home late after working, learning to cook, and closing up.

He couldn’t remember the last time he’d had dinner while looking at his children’s faces.

And to live like that, not just for a day or two, or a month or two… but for life?

Suddenly, his chest felt tight.

The real estate agent showed him around various properties, but Kim Jong-chun could hardly focus.

“Let’s look at the next property.”

After driving, they arrived at a location right in front of a traditional market.

It must have been market day; the place was visibly bustling. People pulling carts and vendors displaying their wares on the ground were everywhere.

“It’s a bit chaotic with all the people. This way, please.”

“This… is a good location too.”

“Isn’t it? There aren’t many young people, but that means more middle-aged and elderly customers.”

While young people do enjoy soup, it’s still largely seen as an older man’s dish. This place didn’t seem bad either.

“The shop is small, but the price reflects that. The building’s old, so it needs some work~”

The agent pulled out a key from his waist and opened the shop door. Flicking on the lights revealed the interior.

It’s slightly smaller than Lee In-cheol’s place, but there’s room for four or five tables.

The shop’s age shows in some eyesore areas, but that’s to be expected in a market alley.

“…Looks like it used to be a jeon shop.”

Kim Jong-chun muttered, noticing the large oil pan.

“Yes, that’s right.”

“Why did this one fail?”

A jeon shop right in front of a market seems like it would be hard to fail. With some makgeolli or other alcohol, it should have been bustling.

“Did you come to investigate why shops fail?”

“Haha. Not exactly, but I’m curious. From what I can see, there doesn’t seem to be any reason for it to fail.”

“Is there ever a reason for failing?”

The agent replied nonchalantly.

“Restaurants are a dime a dozen here. If they don’t thrive, they fail, simple as that.”

Fail if they don’t thrive. A painful truth for an aspiring entrepreneur.

“Let’s see… Ah, they closed the market for some construction work nearby. For about six months? Many shops couldn’t survive that, and this was one of them.”

“!”

Market closure. For a restaurant that relies on traditional market foot traffic, that would have been a devastating blow.

‘There are variables like that too….’

Kim Jong-chun clenched his fist. He felt like unexpected obstacles were popping up everywhere.

“Well, shall we look at one last place?”

“…Alright, let’s do that.”

He wasn’t sure what state of mind he was in as he got in the car. His shoulders slumped with growing confusion.

He began to wonder if he had underestimated the challenges of running a business, based solely on Lee In-cheol’s example. Watching Song Woo-yeon’s seemingly magical business acumen had given him an unfounded confidence that failure was impossible.

But look at the shops before him.

‘There are so many failing businesses in this world.’

Passing by empty storefronts in the car, his heart grew heavy.

“We’re here. This is it.”

As soon as he got out of the car, he saw a shop with a shabby sign. It was in a somewhat secluded alley, suited for neighborhood business.

“There are schools nearby, and though they’re old-fashioned, there are apartments too, so foot traffic isn’t bad.”

Kim Jong-chun asked, his face visibly tired.

“…Why did this one fail?”

“It’s complicated. Remember the heavy rains last year that flooded some neighborhoods? This area was affected.”

Now that he mentioned it, Kim Jong-chun recalled hearing about that. He’d only seen it on the news a few times.

“The shop was flooded, so they couldn’t do business for a while. That caused significant losses, and on top of that…”

“On top of that?”

“They tried to renovate completely after the flood, but the interior design company apparently took the money and ran.”

“…….”

“And if that wasn’t enough, the building owner announced they’d be raising the rent soon, so they couldn’t hold on any longer and had to leave.”

It was a perfect storm. How could anyone be this unlucky?

Natural disaster, fraud, and the building owner’s unilateral rent increase announcement…!

‘It’s like they’re showing me all the various ways a business can fail.’

Haha. He couldn’t help but laugh bitterly. All Kim Jong-chun wanted was to open a small, modest shop and live happily, but the world wasn’t so accommodating.

‘Good food alone isn’t enough to feel secure!’

With this powerful realization, Kim Jong-chun’s first property hunt came to an end. A deep sigh was the bonus.

“Haah….”

The path to starting a business was truly long and treacherous.

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Sure enough, the next day, Kim Jong-chun’s face was clouded with worry as he arrived at the shop.

He seemed to have tasted the bitter reality after witnessing it firsthand.

‘It’s far better to start knowing than not knowing. It’s like getting a preventive shot.’

When franchises focus solely on increasing store numbers, it’s easy to skip this stage. They deceive with sweet talk about minimum monthly earnings, pushing people to invest and open shops right away.

Each running signboard becomes an advertisement for the brand.

Moreover, the franchise headquarters bears no risk for the franchisee’s bankruptcy. They maintain an attitude of “great if it works, oh well if it doesn’t.”

‘Tsk tsk. It’s not a good long-term strategy.’

Such practices accumulate to erode the brand image.

What do consumers expect from a franchise?

They don’t hope for Michelin-star quality. They want fail-safe, popular taste. Consistent quality. And reliable hygiene. These are the advantages.

But haphazardly established franchises can hardly maintain these standards. As taste varies between branches and hygiene checks become lax, reasons to choose a ‘franchise’ gradually disappear.

In this sense, each franchise should be managed responsibly, considering it the face of the brand.

‘It’s just that no one does it because it takes time and money.’

Even now, that’s the case. If I personally took Kim Jong-chun’s hand and headed to real estate agencies, we could probably find a couple of suitable locations right away.

If I persuaded him that he could recoup his investment quickly, he might open a restaurant immediately.

But the food business isn’t easy. Without proper mental preparation, it’s easy to burn out quickly.

‘That’s why these arduous processes are necessary.’

There’s a world of difference between starting after envisioning the difficult future and starting with no information, imagining only rosy prospects.

‘Well, it’s not like I actually intend to let him fail.’

I was confident about that.

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Three weeks had passed since he began scouting for business locations.

During this time, I silently observed Kim Jong-chun. After agonizing for days, he seemed to have steeled his resolve, visiting real estate agencies more actively than before.

Drawing on his sales experience, he diligently left his contact information.

And today, exactly three weeks later, Kim Jong-chun stood before me with a determined face.

“Woo-yeon. I’ve narrowed it down to two candidate locations. Could you take a look?”

“Of course. Let me see.”

As I pointed to the stack of papers in his hand, Kim Jong-chun stiffly handed over the documents with a nervous gesture.

Rustle.

I quickly flipped through the pages. Hmm. For a beginner, the content is quite good. It clearly showed traces of his hard work, running around to various places.

Alright. Then there’s only one thing left.

“Ahjussi. Put on your coat.”

“Huh?”

“We need to go see these candidates. There’s so much more you can only understand by seeing in person.”

Tap tap.

As I tapped the documents while speaking, Kim Jong-chun’s face brightened. He seemed to think he had passed the document review.

Well, we’ll see about that.

It was time to work some magic. The magic of discerning whether a place is suitable for business or not.