I Am the Person Who Makes the Most Money

“I hired a designer to take care of all the construction work for the indoor swimming pool; before long, the general manager of Japan Light Metal Enterprises, Mr. Ueda, came to visit and said as soon as we met: "Mr. Fujita, the aluminum used for your swimming pool is produced by our company." It turned out that the designer had commissioned Japan Light Metal to undertake the technical development. Mr. Ueda then said: "Therefore, we hope you can carve 'Made by Japan Light Metal' around the swimming pool." I replied promptly: "Sure, how much are you willing to pay for the advertisement?" "Can't we advertise for free?" Mr. Ueda thought that since the materials for the pool were produced by Japan Light Metal, it was natural not to pay for advertising. "Then there's nothing more to discuss." I pointed towards the door and continued: "Anyone interested in building a swimming pool will be attracted by the one in my shop, because in comparison to the traditional pools, our pool is top-notch in both construction and materials. So, just engraving 'Made by Japan Light Metal' will have an amazing promotional effect and will bring in a steady stream of business. If you're willing to pay for the advertisement, I promise to make your company's name stand out prominently." Mr. Ueda was surprised to hear this. In fact, what I said made a lot of sense; in the fiercely competitive world of business, you simply cannot afford to do free advertising for others. This is what real business acumen is about.”

“Traditionally, a restaurant's monthly turnover is about 6 to 7 million yen; however, the Enoshima hamburger store earned as much as 95 million yen in one month. Not to mention causing a tremendous shock in the restaurant industry, even I myself found it unbelievable. Before the opening of the Enoshima hamburger store, I had already thoroughly investigated the local car traffic situation. This store is about one kilometer away from Enoshima Station and there are almost no pedestrians. Therefore, a business that relies on pedestrians is simply not viable. After investigating, about 14,000 cars pass by here every day. Since there are no pedestrians and there are 14,000 cars passing by, the only way is to capture the car drivers. If we target the car riders, asking these customers to get off their cars, buy hamburgers, and then drive away might be too much trouble for the customers and they might lose the desire to buy. So, I boldly assumed that if customers could drive in, order the food they want while sitting in their car, and then drive away, that would be the way to earn customers' money. So, I immediately commissioned Japan Matsushita Communication Industry (President Akiohimo Kogamo) and Shin-Kay Electric Company (President Akio Morita) to develop a new type of business fax system for operation.”

“The function of this system allows customers who come by car to order the food they need through television, and after the staff in the store receive the message, they prepare the food package and hand it over to the customers at the exit. I named this system "Drive-Through" and first installed it in the Enoshima hamburger store. The result was a great success. The system of ordering goods in a car and picking them up at the exit perfectly meets the needs of busy modern people. Seeing this, it is not surprising that they created a sales record of 95 million yen in one month. I gained confidence from the success of the Enoshima hamburger store and subsequently implemented this system in thirty branches, making it convenient for customers and greatly improving sales.”

“The same is true in the realm of photography. In recent years, automatic cameras that do not require focusing or deciding exposure have become popular because even winding the film is automatic – you just have to press the shutter button to take a photo, greatly saving time. No wonder they are bestsellers. The examples mentioned above are instances where time-saving products are popular. That said, fast food was originally a time-saving industry. In the extraordinarily busy modern life, time-saving and convenient fast food naturally beats traditional cafes.”

“Last February, I went to the USA for a McDonald's headquarter meeting and introduced the new type of computer cash register system used by McDonald's in Japan. At that time, most of the more than 6,000 McDonald's stores in the US were using traditional cash registers. After I explained the benefits of the new computer cash registers in detail, I sought the opinion of the US head office and inquired whether they were interested in purchasing. As a result, the relevant department was very enthusiastic, saying that if it was so convenient and efficient, they would certainly be happy to adopt it.”

“Developing the service industry to make the public feel happy—this is the real meaning of "delight the people."”

“In recent years, indoor fitness centers have sprung up everywhere, and at a superficial glance, you'd think that exercising in the gym is more "painful" than "joyful." In the gym, you often see female instructors, freshly graduated from university, still with a few pimples on their faces and in robust health, shouting at the trainees: "Run faster, run!" Running to the point of near exhaustion, where is the pleasure in that?”

“Let me illustrate with my personal experience. First, you put on bizarre-looking sportswear, then proceed with painful warm-up exercises. I couldn't help but complain, and the female instructor said inexpressively: "What did you say? Continue practicing!" Next, she took us to the bars and ordered, "You, go up and then come down." Like this, going up and down was utterly boring! No matter what kind of exercise you do, you must feel happy and delighted to do it for it to last. For example, running on a treadmill is a tedious affair. If you combine the treadmill with computers and televisions, you can run while watching different scenery on the TV screen. With this mood boost, the effectiveness of the running exercise will definitely improve. The same goes for the parallel bars; practicing on them in a joyful mood will naturally not feel tiring.”

“Businesses must have a grand vision; only seeing the near-term profits of a year or two cannot bring true success. Instead, one must endure for at least thirty years.”

“Seasons have spring, summer, autumn, and winter; how can businesses ignore factors such as customer segments and market scope, and adopt a general "all-rounder" approach? For example, a car manufacturer that ships the same car models to the northern and southern regions appears, on the surface, to cover both areas, but this is not the case. In the north where it rains a lot, people prefer the traditional covered cars, while in the sunny south, driving a convertible is highly enjoyable, making the convertible market very promising in that region. Instead of selling the same model in both north and south, it would be better for this car manufacturer to focus on one particular target and concentrate on developing one region's market, which I believe would result in a more ideal sales situation.”

“Business failure is often attributed to a recession by many people; they believe that recession is the "cause," and with this cause, it leads to the outcome of not making money. In fact, recession is not the "cause" of not making money, but just a "condition," just an "environment." You should think about how to make money under the condition and environment of a recession. If the profits of the industry do not rise, it means that prices remain stable, which is also a kind of recession. From another perspective, a recession means world peace, with no wars, and prices naturally will not be inflated. Therefore, recession can be said to be the price paid by people for world peace, and I believe that the vast majority of people are willing to pay this price.”

“To turn the economy around is not difficult; just start a war, and the economy will improve; like during the Korean War and the Vietnam War, Japan's economy presented a beautiful scene. From this, it can be seen that as soon as wars break out, the recession disappears.”

“Go do these things right now! - Use your brain more, otherwise, you will be eliminated by the times. - Use both brain and computer. - Pay attention to the things around you to grasp the opportunity to make money! - Stay moderately ahead of trends! - Understand the needs of customers and develop new products. - Have confidence, even if it is dark now, believe that dawn will come soon.”

“Applying instant hypnotism Informal statistics have shown that the service attitude of female employees at McDonald's hamburger stores ranks top in Japan's entire restaurant industry. I am proud to disclose the secret: McDonald's hamburger stores use "instant hypnotism." Customers who come to McDonald's love to hear the female employees whisper softly, "Thank you!" Most customers have an arrogance of "I'm the one paying the money." When a female employee smiles and says, "Thank you!" even the proudest customer will feel elated. This lasts only about three seconds, but it puts the customer into a hypnotic state. A hypnotic state refers to a period when one loses their sense of judgment and won’t resist commands from others. When customers enter a three-second state of instant hypnotism, the female employee takes the opportunity to ask the customer: "Would you like some Coca-Cola?" Without realizing it, the customer will instinctively reply: "Sure." In this way, the customer not only buys a hamburger but also a beverage. However, McDonald's female employees strictly adhere to a "rule": if they suggest a Coke to a customer and get refused, they must not repeat the same suggestion...”

“Find the most effective business phrase A few years ago, I imported and sold ties from France and Italy separately. Initially, the sales of these imported ties were not ideal, so I visited distributors to study their methods of sale. At that time, I found an interesting fact—although ties are men's accessories, more than half of the purchasers were women. Then, I began to study how to make female customers standing in front of the tie counters pay. Before long, I found a good method that really boosted the sales of the imported ties—simply use the most effective phrase, and customers would naturally be willing to buy. When customers approach the tie counter and touch the ties displayed, beginning to compare them; at this moment, the salesperson must absolutely not approach them but wait for five to six minutes to let the customers make their own choices. When they hold three or four ties in their hands and are unsure which to choose, then approach them. From the salesperson's point of view, it's not about selling the tie the customer wants to buy but the tie they want to sell. The salesperson can suggest to the customer based on the three or four ties selected: "This one is the most elegant." Hearing this sentence, the customer can then make a decision. "Okay, I'll take this one." And thus, the customer buys the tie the salesperson wanted to sell.”

“In other words, when the customer is indecisive, that is also when they are in a state of hypnosis. In this condition of losing their opposition, as soon as they hear "This one is more elegant," they immediately "fall into the trap." I passed this "ultimate technique" on to the staff at the imported tie counters, and the previously not-so-popular imported ties became very hot-selling products. Just like winning a woman's heart merely requires whispering sweet nothings in her ear, in business, there are important phrases that can move customers; it's just a matter of whether you can discover them early.”

“I always insist that everything at McDonald's burger restaurants must be based on scientific principles, that is, operations must be scientific and rational. For example, the Coca-Cola sold along with the burgers is most delicious at a temperature of four degrees Celsius, so the temperature of every Coca-Cola refrigerator around the world is set at four degrees, which shows that the management of temperature is not negligent. There was a time when I went to a "Qiezai noodles" shop to eat and asked the owner what is the most delicious temperature for noodle soup? The owner shook their head and couldn't answer. I believe that if traditional food were to adopt scientific management, it would definitely pose a serious threat to my business. Of course, "Qiezai noodles" with more than thirteen hundred years of history and widespread popularity, if developed using scientific methods, would certainly see a rise in sales.”

“Do you know how thick the bread is in a McDonald's burger? The answer is seventeen millimeters. Scientific research has proven that bread is most flavorful when chewed in the mouth at a thickness of seventeen millimeters. Additionally, the optimal size for the air pockets in the bread is five millimeters; hence, the air pockets in every McDonald's bun are exactly five millimeters. Regarding the thickness of the bread, extensive scientific research methods are used, regardless of the cost, to reach conclusions.”

“Similarly, the situation in Japanese sushi restaurants is the same; it is necessary to first analyze the fat content of raw fish slices, squid, and shrimp, and then research to determine the most delicious quantity. When making sushi, how many grams should a rice ball be to fully savor its deliciousness? These numbers can be calculated. Using scientific methods to study the amount of sushi rice and the temperature of the ingredients can make each piece of sushi equally delicious and appetizing, and thus sales will skyrocket.”

“The beef inside a McDonald's hamburger is forty-five grams, placed on an iron plate X millimeters thick, with the surface temperature maintained at Y degrees, and grilled for Z minutes. This is also determined according to scientific research. As for X, Y, Z, they are trade secrets; I regret that I cannot disclose them.”

“Aside from bonuses at the end of June and the end of the year, McDonald's in Japan also gives out an additional bonus in April each year. The bonus in March is known as the "settlement bonus," which is not given directly to the employees but to their wives. If the employee is single, they receive it directly. Thus, the employees jokingly call it the "lady of the house bonus," because the company opens bank accounts in the names of the employees' wives and deposits the bonuses into each account, so that the husbands can't handle the money themselves. Why deposit the "settlement bonus" into the wives' accounts? I say this is to thank the wise supporters behind the scenes. I deposit bonuses into the accounts of the employees' wives and include a short letter: "The company's good performance is all thanks to the assistance of the wives. Although it is the husbands who are directly involved in work, without you, the wise supporters, the work achievements of your husbands would be greatly discounted. Therefore, this bonus is rightfully yours." Turns out, this "lady of the house bonus" has been very well received. Many wives have expressed their thanks. "This is the first time in my life I've received a bonus, I can't describe the joy I feel." "With this money, I bought glasses I've longed for." "I bought some new clothes for the kids, and everyone is happy." Other companies could follow McDonald's example and give half of the employees' bonuses directly to their wives.”

“In Western society, husbands and wives are seen as a unit, appearing together on all occasions; on the contrary, in Eastern societies, husbands often view their wives as burdens, which is a big mistake. A wife's position is equal to that of her husband, and neither is the other's burden.”

“As a man myself, of course I understand there are certain expenses that must be incurred without letting the wife know. McDonald's is a company with a heart, so it is willing to help men who need to hide their private stash of cash. The way it works is that for anyone who applies, the company will deposit half of the "settlement bonus" into the wife's account, and give the other half directly to the husband. Although this is deceiving the wife, making her only receive half of the bonus, the company cannot disregard the needs of its male employees.”

“In Japan's McDonald's restaurants, about six hundred thousand children's birth year, month, and day are recorded. A few days before each child's birthday, they receive a computer birthday card sent from a McDonald's restaurant; on their birthday, the children bring the card to McDonald's. The common practice of ordinary companies is to wish the children a happy birthday and give them some gifts. However, McDonald's style is different. In addition to saying "Happy Birthday" to the birthday child, the staff also claps to welcome their visit. Normally, children don't often get the reward of applause, so receiving such treatment at McDonald's naturally excites them.”

“The book is a compilation of more than ten years of his experience. It narrates how he observed opportunities, how he proposed innovative ideas based on a deep understanding of Japanese competitors, how he cleverly used Jewish business secrets, and how he motivated employee initiative. The book is described as “an irresistibly fascinating study of making money” and has sparked a “Fujita whirlwind” in Japan, attracting millions to purchase it, all considering this book as a shortcut to learning how to make money. Within 10 days, it was reprinted 27 times.”

“My hamburger shop is different from traditional stores because it includes a swimming pool. This swimming pool is not an ordinary indoor pool. The pool's roof is arched and can be opened and closed at will. In summer, the roof opens to allow sunlight, and in winter, the roof is closed, transforming it into a heated pool. And closing the roof saves one-third of the energy compared to the average heated pool. Modern people pursue a multi-purpose lifestyle, and simple dining is no longer satisfying. People want to do something before eating. Therefore, I had the idea to set up a swimming pool in the McDonald's hamburger shop, so customers can swim before eating.”

“My hamburger shop is different from traditional stores because it includes a swimming pool. This swimming pool is not an ordinary indoor pool. The pool's roof is arched and can be opened and closed at will. In summer, the roof opens to allow sunlight, and in winter, the roof is closed, transforming it into a heated pool. And closing the roof saves one-third of the energy compared to the average heated pool. Modern people pursue a multi-purpose lifestyle, and simple dining is no longer satisfying. People want to do something before eating. Therefore, I had the idea to set up a swimming pool in the McDonald's hamburger shop, so customers can swim before eating.”

“I set my sights on indoor swimming pools and indoor tennis courts, which can be said to represent the happy sweat industry, combined with the fast food industry's McDonald's burgers.”

“What we call "Drive-Through Shopping" mainly refers to driving through; however, children don't think that way, they figured as long as you can drive through, it's fine, so they came in groups on bicycles to buy hamburgers. More unexpectedly, at the Enoshima branch, someone even came on horseback to buy McDonald's hamburgers.”

“To align with the "drive-thru" shopping method, I decided to computerize the cash registers. Because traditional cash registers lacked efficiency and could not keep up with the times. Therefore, I entrusted the development of a new type of cash register to Matsushita Communications Industry of Japan. Matsushita Communications Industry agreed to take on the commission; however, they still asked me how many units I planned to order, as the cost would relatively increase if the quantity were too small. Around the year 1979, there were only about 200 McDonald's outlets in all of Japan, yet I boldly assured Matsushita Communications Industry that I was willing to order the new cash registers for 500 stores. My approach startled them. Once Matsushita Communications Industry received my commitment, they immediately began development and manufactured a new type of computer cash register system, called POS—Point of Sale. This computer cash register system, unlike traditional cash registers that make a lot of noise, and at the moment the money is inserted, the day's sales statistics appear, including the total sales amount and how many of each type of burger were sold. Moreover, the work hours of shift staff are also instantly displayed on the cash register system's screen. Thus, the head office could quickly grasp the sales conditions of stores nationwide. Before McDonald's adopted this computer cash register system, every morning from 10 a.m. to noon, ten female employees from the head office had to call each of the hundreds of stores across the country to inquire about the previous day's sales and then compile the statistics. When communicating by phone, it is often impossible to omit the pleasantries of greeting—employees would inevitably start the conversation with “Hello!" “Good morning,” or “How's the weather?” before getting to the point and reporting the previous day's sales. Such a method was not only a waste of time, but long-distance phone charges were also substantial. More critically, with telephone communication, mishearing or recording errors were inevitable. The head office would compare sales reports sent by the stores from the previous day with the numbers heard over the phone and often found discrepancies. However, since computerization, what used to take three hours of statistical work from 9 a.m. to noon is now completed from 9 a.m. to 9:05 a.m., with instantaneous delivery to the head office. This saves two hours and fifty-five minutes every day. Then, by laying off the ten employees who were making phone calls and saving on personnel expenses, and replacing the use of phones with computers entirely. This also saved 25 million yen in annual telephone expenses.”

“Currently, a $12,000 computer cash register system is being exported from Japan to the US. It is reported that computer cash register orders from McDonald's USA could bring about 15 billion yen in sales for Matsushita Communications Industry in Japan. Mr. Komagata, the president of Matsushita Communications Industry, who had originally frowned at the investment due to the low quantity of orders and high costs, is now beaming with a stream of ongoing orders from the US, and hurriedly thanks me. At the same time, major Japanese newspapers are competing to report on the news of Matsushita Communications Industry's computer cash register systems being exported to the US, with detailed pictures and articles, effectively giving Matsushita Communications Industry excellent publicity. Previously, I imported American McDonald's burgers into Japan; now, I export Japanese-made machinery products to the US.”

“Making Money with Television The "drive-thru" system consists of customers ordering the goods they need through television. Currently, televisions are extremely common; almost every household has one or two, but only my McDonald's makes money using television. I use the television meant for entertainment for business, to take orders from customers.”

“If you only consider television as a device for watching programs, you would never come up with an idea like mine. On the contrary, using television to conduct "transactions" is indeed an expansion of its uses, and it also gives customers a sense of novelty, wh”

“ich certainly can make a lot of money.”

“However, times have now changed, and whether the policy of enriching the country and strengthening the military suits modern needs is really doubtful. So I took the lead in expressing my own view, which is that "enrich the country, strengthen the military" should be changed to "enrich the country, delight the people." This is because Japan's politicians continue to adhere to the policy of enriching the country and strengthening the military, incessantly focusing on the tertiary and secondary industries, an attitude that will inevitably be eliminated by the times. The "delight the people" that I advocate in the "enrich the country, del”

“ight the people" policy means developing a typical tertiary industry, that is, the service industry.”

“Undoubtedly, compared with South Korea and Hong Kong, Japan's service industry content is considered the best in Asia. However, this does not mean that Japan's service industry has reached saturation. On the contrary, there is still much room for development.”

“I believe that fitness centers should not hire female sports majors as instructors, but rather Japanese Ginza club hostesses to give commands. Just imagine, these better-looking and gracefully built women politely saying to trainees: "Could you please run another round, is that okay?" Trainees would definitely run with more energy—originally intending to run two rounds, now running three, all the while thinking: Maybe if I run one more round, that girl will come and shake my hand! This way, running isn't so tiring anymore.”

“Therefore, people with unique insights who spot a certain new service industry and invest heavily, promoting the "enrich the country, delight the people" policy, will definitely make big money. There are many sectors within the service industry that have great potential, ready for those with confidence and vision to make their mark.”

“I started operating a fast-food business in 1971, which was also the year Japan's Tomei Expressway and Meishin Expressway were connected. With the connection of Tomei and Meishin, Japan officially entered the era of high-speed automobiles, bringing significant changes to the national lifestyle, as well as heralding the arrival of a new era. After detailed research, I found that by 1975, the post-war born population in Japan would account for over 50% of the total population. In other words, 1975 would be a watershed year for the Japanese population.”