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Chapter 83: Do You Think You're Smart Enough? I Hope So!
The entertainment industry, the showbiz, not only would become the most profitable place in the future, but it would also be a place where many people would gain influence.
The Federation was a magical country where, as long as there was enough influence, a cat, a dog, a horse, or even a pig could run for president. Of course, if they could afford the expensive campaign fees, they might even have a chance of winning.
The birth of the Federation's president was closely related to the people's elections. According to the Baylor Federation Charter and relevant election laws, as long as someone was a resident of the Federation and officially employed, then he/she/it had a vote.
Yes, the "it" here was not a typo. Baylor Federation had more than a hundred animal citizens so far. This was not only a miracle, but it could also be considered one. It was the miracle of these animal owners, as well as the miracle of wealth.
The reason why it could be considered a miracle was that as long as their owners were generous enough, someone would take care of the identity issues of these pet citizens. They could even work, like becoming "film workers." This was not a metaphor or an insult; indeed, some dogs were indeed involved in the filming process.
A politician aspiring to achieve their life values and fulfill their life ambitions in politics needed to be recognized by people before they could realize these ideals that were exclusive to them. Only then would people cast their votes for them.
Some people chose to become actors. There were several senators in the Senate who were opera or film actors before entering politics. There were also examples of celebrities entering state legislatures.
Politicians needed people to know them, to listen to them speak, and then to believe in them. And there was no easier way to get people to know someone than becoming a celebrity.
No one would be able to recall the names of mayors in every city in the seventeen states of Baylor Federation, but many could name quite a few celebrities who were popular on the screen in recent years. They would also know how many films they'd made, their box office performance, any scandals, their favorite perfumes, favorite brands of underwear, and more.
Starting in the entertainment industry, gaining fame, and then entering politics had been proven to be a very effective path, although it was not entirely safe, at least not so effective in the Northern states. Northerners were more traditional; they didn't like their leaders to be "actors."
But this strategy worked well in the South, where people had a more progressive and positive attitude towards accepting new things.
Even if actors had no intention of entering politics, some politicians were willing to build relationships with actors and film companies. Not only did the entertainment industry generate a variety of income, but it also served as an important avenue for the dissemination of political ideas.
So, running the entertainment industry was definitely not just about making money. One could also harvest unexpected things, like friendships and agents.
If Mr. Fox was not interested in investing in the entertainment industry, Lynch would later establish an entertainment company himself. Fortunately, Mr. Fox was an interesting person and a good friend.
After a brief discussion of the upcoming decisions, the attention of the three people in the room, mainly Mr. Fox and his son, shifted from the new investment project to Lynch's second-hand goods trading auction.
When Mr. Fox entered the room, he was actually holding a rolled-up brochure. Now he gave it to Lynch after showing it to Fox Jr..
"Lynch, I'm curious, won't you incur losses doing this?"
The brochure contained some promotional content, such as the largest and most comprehensive second-hand goods trading auction market in the entire state, which Mr. Fox was particularly interested in.
After selling the pledged goods to Lynch, he got a large sum of money to cover the bank's interest. Now his need for money was not so urgent. As the first loan entered the harvest period, the money would start rolling in spontaneously.
He wanted to know how Lynch managed to sell those hard-to-sell items. Originally, he wanted to ask Lynch in person, but unexpectedly, someone handed him a brochure on the way.
The question he asked referred to a very conspicuous label at the bottom of the brochure, stating that each person entering first could receive a belt after the auction.
In this day and age, there was already synthetic leather, but the exorbitant price of synthetic leather was not comparable to cheap genuine leather belts. It was ridiculous, but it was reality. Any fashionable and newly discovered thing would have a price that did not match its actual value, even if it would decrease in the future; that would be a matter for later.
One thousand genuine leather belts, each costing at least five bucks. One thousand belts would be five thousand bucks, and the cost of hosting the auction, including venue rental, might add up to two to three thousand. They were curious if Lynch could sell the goods and how much he could sell.
Lynch took the brochure, looked at it, and nodded. He was very satisfied with this design, which was decided by him personally after guiding Richard.
There were only two contents on the front: one introducing the time and location of the second-hand goods trading auction, along with a couple of exaggerated slogans. The other emphasized in bold red and yellow that belts could be obtained for free.
On the back were some processes and a list of items for the auction, all of which were attention-grabbing things.
Originally, Richard's idea was to be as detailed as possible, but Lynch rejected it. This couldn't be blamed on Richard; it was the limitations of the times. This was an era without big data, an era of inefficient information dissemination, an era where people still retained some simplicity, an era where productivity couldn't fully satisfy people's needs.
People's attention was more focused on practical issues. They still seemed a bit simple, and sometimes the term "simple" was used as an insult.
So Lynch rejected Richard's initial design that looked like a phone directory and chose this simple and straightforward brochure. The purpose of the brochure was not to let people know something specific; it was actually a filter.
It had strong screening capabilities. In the first round of screening, those who received this brochure and could still come to the normal auction were not in serious financial trouble. They had potential consumer desires, and at least they could waste a day attending the auction instead of looking for a job outside.
In the second round of screening, those who took advantage of freebies would become the main target, just like the issue Mr. Fox was initially most concerned about. People were paying attention to the free belts.
People who were not in serious financial trouble and liked to take advantage of small gains actually had a roughly similar characteristic. They showed clear impulsiveness and blindness in the process of consumption. As long as the price of something was cheap enough, even if it wasn't essential, these people would buy it in a heated moment.
Adding the third round of screening, which was the trendy items listed on the back; many of these were new products that had just been released, and their prices were still stable.
When people saw discounts of fifty or sixty percent on these items, they wouldn't be able to help themselves but have the thought of "I won't buy, but I'll go take a look."
After three rounds of screening, these people became Lynch's most critical customers. They would be the most important source of wealth for Lynch.
In previous life, in the small cell, Lynch had chatted with a relatively prominent professional in the telecommunications industry. He asked the person why some methods seemed so childish that even children couldn't be deceived, yet he managed to reach a point that he couldn't get out of for a lifetime.
That guy conveyed to Lynch a valuable insight: when certain information appears naive to you, it's not because the other party is naive, but rather that they have screened you out. It's not about your level of intelligence; it simply means you lack the value of being deceived, nothing more.
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