Shanghai has been seeing a lot of typhoons lately. As fall arrives, they often come with cooler winds and light rain, appearing whenever they feel like it. The rain falls against the fence outside our office and leaves the streets damp and quiet.
We’ve recently been celebrating RoseMorning’s 7th anniversary, but sales have still fallen short of what I expected. I’d be lying if I said that didn’t disappoint me. Entrepreneurship has always been full of ups and downs for me. There have been many twists along the way. Sometimes I’ve wanted to find a shortcut, only to learn that the road that looks shortest can end up taking you the longest way around.
Lately, I’ve been asking my team the same questions again and again: What are customers complaining about? Are we having another quality issue? Why are some orders from May still not delivered? Behind every one of those questions is the same thing — my anxiety.
Over time, I’ve also noticed how much the world has come to love presentation and polish. On social media, customers are often shown beautiful AI-generated product images, but what is actually produced can look completely different. I’ve grown to dislike that more and more. It has made me want to go back to something much simpler: be honest, stay grounded, and make the product properly.
I know I’m not always the most naturally empathetic person, but I care deeply about delivering products that are genuinely good. Maybe that makes my road a little harder than it is for some people. Still, I won’t stop trying. I will keep listening carefully to customer criticism and feedback, keep taking every delivery seriously, keep holding our factory to a higher quality standard, and keep learning.
I’m not in a particularly good mood today. But when you run a business, sometimes you have to put your emotions aside. The less energy I spend fighting my own emotions, the more energy I can give to our products and our customers. Hopefully tomorrow — or the next time I write one of these founder’s notes — I’ll be happier, making more money, and celebrating a lot more orders.
I’m Lucy, an imperfect entrepreneur who is still stumbling forward and still learning every day.
September 1, 2026
