Are you still grinding away, merely selling that single "niche"?
Are you still running around handling sales, supervising construction, and managing Buddhist ceremonies, spinning like a top?
Stop! Be careful! Your business model might have been off track from the very start! This video will completely your understanding of the Buddhist Columbarium business!

Many owners in the Buddhist Columbarium field find implementation incredibly difficult. They're busy non-stop every day, juggling sales, construction, management, services, and even studying Buddhist rituals… Do you think this is hands-on dedication?
Wrong! The core responsibility of a business owner is not to do these specific tasks!

So, what should an owner do? Find people! Find those who can handle these tasks for you! Why? Because a Buddhist Columbarium enterprise is a complex system. Sales require professionals, Columbarium management requires specialists, and Buddhist ceremony services need cultivated experts. Finance, market promotion – aren't these all specialized tasks? No matter how energetic or knowledgeable you are alone, you can only be a "jack-of-all-trades," not a master of all!

Where should an owner's "focus" be? Focus on designing the business model! Focus on integrating resources! Focus on building the core competitive advantage of your Columbarium enterprise! If you bury yourself in daily operations, it's like practicing martial arts by learning a punch today, a kick tomorrow, and a sword move the next day… you'll never achieve mastery!

Ever heard of the "Kuji Riken"?
Its opening line states a profound principle. Why?
It demands you cut off distractions and temptations to achieve single-minded concentration!
Running a Buddhist Columbarium business is the same. You must make a decisive cut – sever those specific operational tasks that consume you and delegate them to qualified professionals! Only then can you truly calm your mind to focus on top-level design, consider how to secure more funding, recruit stronger partners, and expand your Buddhist Columbarium enterprise! This is the true "implementation" for an owner!

So, what is the core of business model design?
Two key questions: What do you use to "attract and retain customers"? And what do you use to "generate profit"? These two aspects must be considered separately!

Look at past examples. A famous video platform couldn't compete solely on hosting. So, what did it do?
It didn't rely on the platform itself for profit. It massively acquired movie and TV show copyrights to make money from "content"! Later, it produced TVs and phones, sometimes selling hardware at a loss. What was the purpose? To "attract and retain customers"! To draw users into its ecosystem to consume its content and services!

Now, back to our Buddhist Columbarium business. Our industry is unique, rooted in Buddhism. It emphasizes making offerings and listening to Dharma teachings to eliminate karmic obstacles for the deceased, aiding their rebirth in a better realm. This itself is an incredibly powerful "intangible value"!

So, for your Columbarium:
What is used to "attract and retain customers"? Is it the solemn, sacred atmosphere? Is it our promise of "praying for the deceased and relieving the worries of the living"? Is it the service philosophy, distinct from traditional cemeteries, that offers greater humanistic care and spiritual solace? Is it our unique Buddhist cultural heritage? These are all powerful tools for attracting clients and building trust – your means to "attract and retain"!

And what is used to "generate profit"? Naturally, niche sales are the foundation. But is that all? Can there be ongoing, higher-value "maintenance fees" or "veneration service fees"? Can we offer customized, more professional sutra-chanting and transcendence ceremonies? Can we develop related, culturally significant souvenirs and Buddhist implements?

Remember! Hardware is less profitable than software. Tangible items are less profitable than intangibles. Physical products are less profitable than virtual services! The aspect you use to attract customers (e.g., the environment, philosophy, low barrier to entry) might be completely different from the aspect that generates your sustained profit (e.g., services, culture, value-added items)! You must design this distinction clearly!

Another fundamental principle of business model design: Distribute the "visible money," and earn the "hidden money behind the scenes"!

Think about McDonald's. Do you think it's a restaurant company that profits from selling burgers and fries? Absolutely not! McDonald's burgers are cheap, especially in the US, often sold near cost. So, how does it make money?
It distributes the "visible" opportunity of profiting from individual stores to franchisees, avoiding the operational risks itself. But what does it profit from?

• Management Fees/Brand Royalty Fees: This is the "invisible" service income.

• Supply Chain: All ingredients and packaging for franchises must be purchased from it – the "invisible" supply chain revenue.

• Real Estate: Leveraging its massive customer flow, it secures prime locations at low cost or even for free, then leases them to franchisees, earning "invisible" rental differentials. It's arguably one of the world's largest commercial real estate entities!

• Finance: The enormous daily cash flow generates yet more "invisible" financial income!

Now, let's reconsider our Buddhist Columbarium business! The "niche" itself is the "visible money." Can we move beyond relying solely on it?
Can we price the niches more competitively, even offering some low-cost or charitable niches as an entry point to "attract and retain customers"?
Then, can we earn the "hidden money" by providing more comprehensive, thoughtful, and culturally rich "follow-up services" (e.g., annual memorial ceremonies, personalized worship plans, pre-planning contracts, family heritage culture building)?
Can we integrate temple and monastic resources to create unique "cultural experiences" and "spiritual services"? This "invisible" value might far exceed the "visible" value of the niche itself!
Can we leverage the specific community gathered through the Columbarium (people who value filial piety, possess certain economic means, and share cultural identity) to develop related "peripheral industries" or "community services," earning even more "hidden money"?

Therefore, colleagues in the Buddhist Columbarium industry, stop focusing solely on that "niche"! To grow and strengthen your enterprise, you must transcend product-centric thinking and embrace business model thinking!

Where should your core energy be directed? (Towards designing the model and integrating resources, not burying yourself in manual work!)
What do you use to attract customers (attract/retain)? What do you use to generate profit (earn)? (Design these separately!)
Is your profit center based on the "visible" product, or on the "invisible" services, culture, and ecosystem? (Learn to earn the "hidden" money!)

By understanding these points clearly, your Buddhist Columbarium enterprise can truly achieve a "qualitative leap," building a core competitiveness that is difficult for others to imitate – creating boundless merit and ensuring an enduring enterprise!