You have to throw away some money every year

There's a concept I can't remember if it was Hua or someone else who mentioned: when running a company, you should have a certain annual budget allocated for branding and promotion—"you don't know if it will work, but you have to do it." For example, if you earn 1 million this year, you might allocate 30k or 50k to this effort; if you earn 30k, then 3 million or 5 million to do this "uncertain" thing. If you don't understand it, don't know how to do it, or where to invest, just invest randomly. Even if it's a waste, the worst case is a slightly poorer result, which is better than not investing at all.

Doing so results in only two outcomes: either it's useful or it's not. If it's not useful, consider it as earning 97% or 95% of your income—having no real impact on you. But if it is useful, your company will subtly stay on an upward trajectory.

Many things don't have a one-to-one correlation with immediate results. For example, when you see Coca-Cola ads on TV, they don't include direct purchase links or QR codes to measure ad conversion rates or require immediate ROI. Sometimes, the purpose is simply advertising itself. One day, when you're in a supermarket unsure what to choose, you might casually pick up a Coca-Cola. Which ad or conversation triggered that decision? It's hard to say. So some efforts may seem useless at the moment, but as long as there's a possibility they could be useful, you should keep allocating a budget that doesn't impact your income level to continue doing them.

This is what I mean in the title: you need to "throw away some money" every year—it's not just advice for companies but also for individuals. For example, a company might allocate funds for branding and advertising, while an individual might use part of their income for learning, experimentation in new fields, or exploring second-curve opportunities. For investors, it means always setting aside a portion of income to bet on high-risk, high-reward assets.

The principle is consistent: use the parts that don't impact your income level to continuously invest in areas that could influence your future income level.

Some say they feel distressed about losing 5%. That's fine—then lose 3%. If you don't mind, lose 10%. The higher your income, the lower the proportion you can afford to lose; the lower your income, the higher the proportion you should allocate for loss. Also, consider the stability of your income: if your income is replicable, you can afford to lose a higher proportion; if it's highly volatile and non-replicable, you should lose less.

Building on that, we should also "lose" some labor—do extra work that might bring benefits but whose results are uncertain—especially for those who don't allocate enough money to risk, meaning they should also "lose" more labor.

For example, Hua and Hua, the two big brains mentioned by Luo Yonghao, are always appearing at major airports. What's their conversion rate? Nobody knows, and it's hard to calculate, but they have a budget for it every year. If you earn 50k a year, I consider it as earning 180 million or 150 million—does that work? Yes, then allocate a few tens of millions to let these brains appear in front of everyone. I also spend some money each year, but not on my big brain; I invest in new fields, trying out different experiments. I aim to quickly go through the entire process of a new field by rapidly generating profits, learning from mistakes, and avoiding pitfalls. If it's not feasible, I pass; if there's still a window of opportunity, I sit down and harvest the benefits; if it's a future trend, I incorporate it into my long-term strategy.

So, as an individual with a low income, you can't afford to lose much money or a high percentage. The small amount you lose won't make much difference. What should you do? You still need to lose some, but less. The shortfall can be made up with your labor—meaning, spend more of your extra time working. This time might not always produce results, but you shouldn't stop spending just because there's no immediate return. Keep spending, because it might work for you. Maybe 10 attempts yield no results, but on the 11th, you might hit the jackpot and find your high-efficiency income stream. If you don't spend, you avoid wasting 10 times, but if the 11th attempt is 100% guaranteed not to happen, then your fate is already clear from a logical standpoint.