• Won’t Use the Meter – They say its broken, or that they don’t want to use it. Some kind of story every time.
• Choose who they want to take – they will ask you where you are going, and then say yes or no. If they don’t want to go to that side of town, or they think there will be too much traffic there, they will refuse you!
• Charge extra for traffic – If they do choose to take you, but say there is extra amounts of traffic (this city is pretty bad….), they say they have to charge an extra fee.
• They Don’t Have Change – Taxis here normally are between 50 to 150 pesos. You had better have exact change, or else…..some of my friends here carry tons of 20 peso bills for this exact reason…..
• Car keeps breaking down – A couple times I’ve gotten into a taxi AND IT BROKE DOWN, in the middle of the road. And I think he is expecting me to get out, and go to another car (he asks me to pay though to get out)
• Pay for their gas – Once I get into a taxi, and he asks me to pay for a fill up of his gas, says he will credit it to the amount of the taxi fare. But….we barely even went anywhere at this point….so strange….

Anyway, so today I’m heading to meet my friend Bas for dinner, and Marie and I are in a taxi during rush hour in Makati. The guy picks us up in a taxi line….where there are a few cops, and then tells us he can’t run the meter and its a flat 150 peso (when we know its going to be around 50!). So we threaten to leave the taxi and call the police, so he turns on the meter and tells us to calm down.

He explains that its so much traffic, and that when they are sitting in traffic it wastes their time to get more customers.

I then try to reason with him, saying that in New York, they just flip on the meter, with or without traffic.

This gets some interesting information HE SAYS ITS BECAUSE THE GAS IS CHEAPER IN USA. So many taxi drivers here talk about that, how the “western world” like USA and Europe get oil and other resources cheaper then in the Philippines.

I explain that in NY, there are extra fuel surcharges added when gas is very high……(I remember this back a few years ago in New York)

He goes on saying that the Filipino government doesn’t help the taxi drivers….they won’t let them add a fuel surcharge. So that is why the taxi drivers have to fight to get extra money.

He is making some sob story about how the government won’t help him, other countries get cheaper gas, and how his meter doesn’t give him a fair amount of sale total to pay his gas and other fees.

Whether to truly believe this or not….I’m sure there is some truth to it – BUT HE IS 100% convinced this is the way it is, everyone out there is against him, and he is a sole taxi driver trying to hustle to make a living.

I guess thats just like all of us….trying to hustle to make a living, right??

Incoming search terms for the article:

• filipino cabbies

Understanding American Culture: Dealing with American customers for an ecommerce business

The agenda is rather interesting:

•Understanding American background

•Independent thinkers

•Freedom is very important

•Understanding Different Regions of USA

•Northeast USA (New York)

•Southeast USA (Florida, Georgia)

•West Coast USA (California, Washington State)

•Central USA (Chicago, Michigan)

•Patience of Americans

•Most want it now

•Being a REAL PERSON

•Don’t be a robot, realize they like  chat (mostly)

Incoming search terms for the article:

• american culture
• business cultures

I bet its safer in Manila now more then ever.  I keep talking to the Filipinos I know overseas, and some have lost their jobs in Hong Kong and other places due to this tragic event.  Is it their fault?

Its sad, because its going to hurt the already fragile Philippines economy….lost tourism, lost jobs overseas, lost confidence in the eye of the international world.

But as a small business owner, I have to keep braving forward, cannot let these events deter my plan.

short post, Stay tuned, should be landing in about 12 hours or so.

Incoming search terms for the article:

• hong kong airport
• manila hong kong

Most people are direct reflections of their peer group,

Just another great quote I found on twitter, nice (yes, I keep showing people why I love twitter!  just keeps inspiring me)! But yes, we become who we surround ourselves with…..what we hear each day, the news we listen to, the perspective and experiences of those we trust and take opinion of seriously….

i think that’s why traveling internationally expands our horizons so much, it helps us grow, to see different perspectives, not to think “us vs them” and realize people from all over the world are just that….PEOPLE.

But it doesn’t just have to be an international thing……it is also an economic + cultural thing too, we become products of our environment…..think back to school, the groups that formed…..we became comfortable surrounding ourselves with people we saw as similar as us, similar upbringing, ability to buy nice clothes or not, games / sports……we felt comfortable that way
Its really hard to get out of that habit…..but once you can force yourself to learn to work and “play” with a multitude of various people from all places in the world and financial situations, your idea of the world changes so much
For me, its been mindblowing – especially this past year, moving from china to philipipines mixed with hong kong, thailand, shanghai, etc…..its exhausting, but it keeps me on my toes….
Open minded - the stories….the food……the situations….just have to force yourself to try new things…..
I think it really made me realize when i was in a restaurant back in early 2008 and everyone ordered bone soup and had to suck out the bone marrow from the bone after my friends back home would think i must be crazy, and i would have too, but i wasnt in that “comfortable group” of friends, i was instead with the exact ippostive group who thought i was crazy not for loving to eat this delacy – and therefore i ate it……and over time you adapt to ypur surroundings.
Flexible – you dont make the schedule always, you cant control the situation….the tastes of others. So many times i have been in situations i woud prefer not to be in, but i must become more flecible to deal with it, for the group of people i am with. Maybe if it was my hometiwn friends, or people knew me as a person better, they could sense my feelings and maybe bend to my requests

Ability to adapt is so important……but it gets wearing……that is one thing i have noticed the most with international travel, especially traveling so quickly between places…..the new people i meet dont know me, i dont know them, so there is a delay in understanding our feelings and our preferences….
I think that is why u have to be more direct…..but also be nice and cautious at the same time….sensitive to others feelings while also making it apparent that what you want is noticable….
Maybe thats why americans are seen as more rude. More direct is seen as rude…..and doing international business (which I am still learning…) takes more patience and open-mindedness.

• I look the same , weight, baby face…..yup, i guess i agree i look about the same as i did in university, still got the baby face….maybe though when i was in university i looked 15 years old when i was 21 and now i look 21 when i am 29 years old. he did say its not bad to look younger then you are, but for me it normally hinders how i standup to older businessmen…..

But maybe also looking young has saved me! I am often overlooked as some college kid, and especially in some dangerous situations, I believe that its saved me! Never know, but I gotta use all my

• Stress level – yes,,,,,same MIKEY from university (my nickname at the fraternity house was MIKEYYYYYYYY!). Taking credit overload and signing up for every club in school is still the same….except this time its companies and business……running around hong kong with accountant meetings, banking setups, just non-stop hustle.

In university I would carry 1 backpack all day with me, all my books for all classes, my gym clothes, laptop. I would avoid wasting time going back to my dorm and chit-chatting. I used every minute of my day maximizing what I had to get done.

Yes, he like many, tell me i need to take a chill pill and calm down…..i need to stop doing so much, pick my battles, and focus. This is an all too common feedback….i know i should listen, but let me finish my usa trip first.

• Why do i put everything online? Haha, i think he was one of the guys in my fraternity that made jokes back when i first registered michaelmichelini.com in 1999 ….i remember those ridicules during the frat meeting…..but hey, i don’t mind living my life online. He warns me a bit watch out putting too much online…..but hey, i’m an internet guy and hes a mba management consultant, so to each is own.

But hey, its good to get someone I haven’t seen in so long to tell me how (or how I haven’t) changed since they last saw me. I’m expecting to see a lot more of this once I go back to USA. Going to get some very interesting perspectives on family, friends, business and life!

Larry salibra came out with us the first night and day, as he’s really been spending a lot of time in hong kong as he explores expansion outside his office in guangzhou

Friday night we went up to the peak, a famous tourist destination for hong kong overlooking the city skyline. I had been there once before but during the daytime – seeing the skyline lit up at night is much cooler! Also hiked around a bit on the peak trails seeing the hong kong skyline from so many angles.

Hasan got a hotel on hong kong island, at fortress hill in a new hotel so we crashed over there. One thing to note was that internet was 150 hong kong dollars, per day, per computer – insane! Larry said that you notice this more in expensive hotels, as the price of the hotel increases, the less services are included and the more expensive each amenity is. Jeez!

Saturday got hasan around central and then took a tram up to see the big buddha statue! It was also my first time to see the buddha, normally when i come to hong kong its not to see the sights but to do banking, visit companies, offices, warehouses, accountant, and some bars! So this was also a much needed exploration of hong kong as well.

For those that know me, you can imagine how hard it was for me to be away from work so long, and i dont have internet/ data on my mobile when i an in hong kong….so i was also cut off from twitter, foursquare, facebook, linkedin….its like torture for me not to have it now!

i may save this for another blog, but hasan was visiting hong kong and china for the first time. He was interested to see wirh his own eyes all the development and expansion being talked about in the usa. He just finished his MBA from Columbia University in New York City, and is spending the summer with his family in Pakistan, as well as traveling around the world a bit.

We are both agreeing that there are tons of business opportunities here in China and Asia. He spent a lot of time in Pakistan this summer and talks about all kinds of business going on there.
Its been a bit exhausting, Hong Kong is really fast paced and pretty expensive! We wish there was more going on in USA, he is saying its pretty much the same as it was when I left a few years ago, but that it will be eye opening for me to see it myself again after so long.

I agree, I’m excited to get back to USA after so long, and see whats going on.

Online Sales, All the Time

I have always loved the hustle.  That’s what attracted me to Wall Street, to New York.  To China. to wholesale markets.  Life is going faster then ever….I’m running between 4 or 5 countries in a couple months.  Have alliances, offices throughout China (shanghai, fujian, shenzhen), Philippines, USA.  I’m getting phone calls from India, speaking bad chinese to phone call salesman.

Blood is flowing.  Making things work.  Deadlines approach.

I remember many times hearing “How is Mike gonna get outta this one this time”?

Locked out of an office, phone battery dead.  Supplier withholding product.  Customer Service Manager out on holiday unreachable.  Customer not providing delivery address and shipping courier is in your face pushing you to fill out the customs paperwork.

So many times I complain, but its the game. Its the hustle.  Having people approach me with their new product or service idea.  Someone coming to me as a resource, connecting them to the right person.  Helping someone get a job (been doing a ton of that lately).

How to monetize this, or is it all long term, relationship building.  That will come back tenfold.

I do have my core businesses selling bar products online and doing some internet marketing consulting.  But I get friends coming to me about a new product, where to get CAD.  Where to get rapid prototyping.  Black box manufacturing.  Its taken years of getting my ass kicked, on the ground, as the man in the arena in the warzone on the forefront of business…..

Then I go back to the “jack of all trades, master of none”, and focus focus focus!  But isn’t social media sales and marketing a focus?  The topic of what is sold or marketed becomes less important as the actual marketing and sales function.

Then there is PERSONAL BRANDING thats being thrown around everywhere.  People want to do business with people, not companies.  And facebook, twitter, blogs are not about being some corporate monster conglomorate, but an APPROACHABLE, friendly, knowledgeable source for others to come to.

I mean, i’m focusing around:

MAIN LOCATIONS: China, USA, Philippines

SERVICES: internet marketing, ecommerce, product development, (international trade and merchant payments)

PRODUCTS: More on the home decor, bar, and gift / novelty sector instead of electronics.

Just building up critical mass, online.  Sources, and people who want to access those sources.  And its value add is these people both trust my judgement……I’ve made some mistakes connecting wrong people, but I keep on tweaking it on both sides.

I have just become so passionate about interacting with people online, and turning online relationships into business and real life meetings!  I think it started when i was traveling and in order to stay in touch I decided to blog it online for those who wanted to keep up.  And my love for the internet kept growing, and finding more people, and that is where I’m finding my niche.

Is it a JOB, or is it a BUSINESS?  Networking.

Incoming search terms for the article:

• salesman hussle

People have been noticing when I stop twittering! Awesome, social media is all about being a LIVE PERSON. A living, breathing human being. Not some RSS feed machine. And even if a human is actually writing it….don’t just talk professionally about work, be a human, laugh, joke, tell your feelings.

And sometimes I’m warned that I shouldn’t be so open online. BUT THAT IS WHAT GETS THE MOST INTEREST. That’s what people like, connect with, relate to, interact with. not some “by the book” robot that is afraid to show their feelings, emotion, and perspective.

So back to this social media with hotel travel from Thailand. That is just amazing…..but is it a JOB? I travel, I blog, I do social media. To be a living, breathing social media sales and marketing master. Its always the operational side after the sale that has been my hickup, which is also intertwined with lack of focus or interested in doing too many things. But isn’t this a common issue with so many entreprenuers?

Well, another cool thing about the posting is there isn’t an email, only twitter for sending a response, So I sent a quick message. The funniest thing is Olivier Dombey I had met online before a few years ago about some opportunities….small world…or are we both just really good networkers?

Here’s the JOB post

Social Media Manager/Strategist

Type: Full-time

Experience: Mid level managerial

Functions: Strategy/Planning, Online Marketing, Information Technology, Other

Industries: B2C Online Marketing and Advertising, Travel

Report: Chief Information Officer

Job Description

Before reading any further, you must be able to answer a resounding and confident “yes, I can” to the following questions, and be able to substantiate each:

• Do you eat, sleep and breathe social media?
• Seriously, do you dream in 140 characters?
• Can you think bigger than Facebook and Twitter and put together integrated B2C social media campaigns and solutions that are miles ahead of the competition?
• Can you map out the relationships between B2C social media opportunities, how they fit with one another, what are they respective strengths and weaknesses, and how each could be maximised to enhance our company’s social media campaigns, website and blog?
• Do you have enough sensibility to modulate the tone of your postings/messages according to your audience?
• Are you able to grow revenue streams though social media and in time deliver a positive ROI?
• Do you have the social media inner fire burning in you? The one that gives you your daily torrent of adrenaline, the one that makes you a winner when you pass-smash your targets?
• Can you walk the talk? Anyone can dream up a strategy, what counts is its execution. Can you?

Now,

• If you have been honest with yourself and gave yourself the thumbs up for each the above self-testing questions
• If you firmly believe that you are such a social media innovator and animal
• If you believe you have the passion, energy, innovation, knowledge and skills to be our social media face
• If you can get your hands dirty and execute what you preach
• And if you can prove it all with an impeccable track record of successful past experience

Then, we want to talk to you…

HotelTravel.com has an immediate opening for such an innovative, driven, hands-on Social Media Manager/Strategist.

I’m interested!  How do I apply?

If you’re the right candidate, you’ll know how.  And if you don’t know how, you’re not the right candidate. Hint: @olivierdombey at @hoteltravel.

Incoming search terms for the article:

• wufantuan
• social media in thailand

I’m seeing tons of news coverage of it, but this article shows the potential political issues between Philippines and China

Philippine police on Monday stormed a bus full of Hong Kong tourists seized by a disgruntled ex-policeman armed with an assault rifle who has threatened to kill his hostages.

The gunman, who took control of the bus in the centre of Manila almost 10 hours ago, said he had shot two of his captives and would kill the others if police did not meet his demands.

“I shot two Chinese. I will finish them all if they do not stop,” former senior police inspector Rolando Mendoza told the Radio Mindanao Network before police moved in on the vehicle and smashed its windows.

Crazy, reading this article, its all about a FILIPINO KILLING CHINESE people:

Sacked policeman kills 8 Chinese in Philippines coach hijacking

A former police inspector hijacked a coach filled with Chinese tourists in Manila today in a 12-hour seige that left at least eight dead.

I’m already reading my friends on facebook, and the tweets across twitter about the Hong Kong people blaming the Filipino government and police force……I mean, I guess we all expected blame and hate to come from this horrible tragedy….Chinese here in Shenzhen keep mentioning to me how dangerous it is in the Philippines, and now I’m going to hear it even more.

I AM GOING THERE NEXT WEEK, sept 1 to sept 13…I’m not afraid. But then I’m told, well I’m white, Filipinos only hate Chinese people. uggggghhhhhhhhh….

hate…..ignorance…….manipulation……

Well, I’m just going to keep living my life, going about my business…but another sad day of ignorance, hate, and crime.

To those who think it only happens to Chinese, here is last month’s paragraphs brought up in these articles:

Last month, an American, a South African, a Briton and their Filipina partners were killed in spate of murder-robberies in Angeles City north of Manila. The alleged killer was arrested.

Sure, I guess Philippines isn’t the safest place in the world….but man, the media loves to “blow things up” and make it sound worse then it is……

Lets please stop the finger pointing, the hatred, the “this people vs that people”……

….As Rodney King said “can’t we all just get along”.

Incoming search terms for the article:

• china hates philippines
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• filipino man kills 8 chinese
• chinese hates the philippine
• does HK hate the Philippines Now
• is the philippines and hk are in good terms now?
• hongkong philippines relation

I dont want to ruin the story for those who have yet to go see it (have already been requested not to by a few!), but the main idea is other people can enter your dreams and manipulate your subconscious – thus influencing how you will make future decisions in your life.

The really awesome twist is the multiple level dreams – dreams within dreams, where there are multiple “authors” stacked up. Entering one persons dream, you have influence and ability to enter their subconscious, but there are forces inside each of our brain from being easily influenced, some trained and conditioned more then others. These forces are armies, snipers, terrorist groups, etc to keep the action going by trying to “stop the infiltrators trying to get into “their human”’s subconscious.

Whats great is how they create a special forces team, a chemist to help people to sleep better and not be awaken (so to stay + influence the dreamer more), an architect to design the landscape of the dream, thieves and manipulators to persuade the target, leaders, etc etc…..the “dream team” if you will

One great quote from the movie was “you need dream bigger”. It was in reference to 2 team members shooting at the enemy and one approaches the window and sees him using a small rifle. He says to the other “you need to dream bigger” and dreams up a massive gun to blast at the enemies.

I have always loved dreams, and I agree and I really believe dreams talk to us in our sleep. Tell us our underlying feelings about how our life is and the direction its going. Many times dreams become our “wakeup call” – allowing us to reflect and re-consider when those dreams that wake us up in the middle of the night happen. AM I DOING WHAT I WANT TO BE DOING WITH MY LIFE! This is a question we should force ourselves to answer, and sometimes dreams force us to do just that.

Writing down our dreams is good….as I’m told by many….it helps us to remember it more, analyze it better, understand it. And in the future, we remember our dreams more vividly and it becomes a habit.

I used to have a physical dream journal….stopped when I stopped my regular journal years back…..considering keeping recording dreams again…..don’t think its a good idea to blog my dreams!!! And don’t want to carry my dream book around in my bag!

Incoming search terms for the article:

• inception
• great a movie about dreams
• inception movie
• new movie about dreams 2010

• Currency – hong kong has its own currency, the hong kong dollar, which is fixed to the us dollar at around 7.78 to 1 usd. China, on the other hand has the chinese yuan, or reminbi, that has been a focus of news lately as america and europe have pressured china to have it appreciate in value. Now….think here, if you are in hong kong, doing business in hong kong dollars that are pegged to the usd….this really sucks! But then, imagine you are in nainland china….taking a trip over to hong kong is much cheaper, right? Travel, shopping……real estate…..you get the idea
• Filtering of Internet – because hong kong is a special case, it does not have to regulate/filter its internet like mainland china does. Therefore, if you followed the news when google left china, it actually moved to hong kong, on google.com.hk – and sites like facebook, twitter, and the others are no problem to access from hong kong.
• British influence in hong kong – i have been to london, uk for a month back in 2003 and there are many resemblances here in hong kong. It was developed by the british and lots of the infrastructure here still remains. Cars drive on the left for exmple, like they do in britain, but in mainland, on the right side like usa and most other places. Also the MTR subway (or tube) does have the british “tube” feel – very well developed and extensive system covering most of hong kong, it is one of the best in the world that ive been on, and is privately owned. For those of you who have been in london, you will know the “please mind the gap” that is repeately played on the loudspeaker and signs everywhere. Its not as obnoxious here in hong kong, but there are signs and other similarities as london.
• cleanliness – jeez, hong kong goes above and beyong with being clean….plenty of groundskeepers and garbage men, always sweeping, cleaning, organizing….they have TV commercials reminding people not to leave stagnant water to keep put mosquitoes and teaching people to cover their mouth (with a facemask) when they are sick and on public transportation.
• Spitting - tied to the cleanliness section above, but deserves its own point, its always a joke that “mainlanders” commonly spit on the streets and are less sanitary, being more of less educated farmers.  Its actually a law in Hong Kong against spitting, and fine-able.
• Language – while its not a clear line between hong kong and china…..as south china also speaks the same language, its becoming more and more clearly defined that hong kong people speak cantonese and mainland people speak mandarin. Yes, i know places in china like guangzhou and some of shenzhen, and other places in china’s guangdong province speak cantonese…..but most focus on mandarin as its the national language of china.
• Visa / passport – its still far superior to hold a hong kong passport over a chinese passport, as with a hong kong passport you can quickly move between china and hong kong, and hong kong passports are much more easily and readily accepted internationally.
• Language / education – hong kong is much more advanced in its school system and language submersion, having had more foreign influence and learning to deal with and accommodate various visitors coming in to visit.

So…..now the fun + interesting part – what do these differences mean, and create, especially in today’s political and economic state?

Many people in Hong Kong I talk to are ANNOYED that mainland Chinese are coming in so much, buying up so many goods, buying up real estate, inflating real estate prices.  Also annoyed the Hong Kong dollar is dropping against the RMB (as the HKD is tied to the USD), and that the Hong Kongese people have to focus more on learning Mandarin language to deal with this influx of Mainland Chinese into Hong Kong.

As I believe everyone knows, china has continually been getting richer these years….and “powerful / respected” internationally…..this has obviously annoyed and made hong kongese people…as they seem to be “fading” a bit from the spotlight.

Incoming search terms for the article:

• hong kong people look different from mainland chinese
• Hong Kong language
• anyone sick of HK news lately?
• taking dollars from hong kong to mainland china
• internet marketing social media blogs in mainland china
• hong kong people look down on mainland china
• hong kong mainland china difference
• hong kong and china difference
• Financial System Difference between Hong kong and Mainland
• differences in businesses in hong kong and china

I have had this talk with some chinese internet friends as well, and they think of it this way-
What if there is a war, or a political dispute between usa and china? If all the data, servers, hosted information is on usa soil….then who has the “upper hand”?

As an american, i never think this way….many innovations start in usa and grow internationally….i blog about copying products overseas last year…..and rationalize why should the rest of the world wait and hope for the US company to enter their market?

I have talked to some europeans, and when i say its innovation, they call it money! They say wall street has all the money, and therefore chooses to fund companies and projects that are american managed and owned over international ones. It was a little bit heated of a talk, as i believed growing up in free minded, opportunistic america was the reason for innovation whereas he felt it was due to moneyflow and international countries (ie his european country, i forget now) had just as good of innovative and groundbreaking ideas and startups just not the funding to support them.

So maybe china has some logic to this internet filtering…..as much as i dont like it, probably everyone in china would be on facebook now….and the chinese versions (some say copy/paste versions….) may not be thriving as much as they are now.

Then you think about it politically, with usa officials saying this internet filtering in china is wrong….and add that to rumors google leaving china that turned true and you can be lead to believe maybe it is american attempting to gain control…..as the new internet and virtual world is where the power will be in the future, the influence, the money…..of course usa wants chinese people using google and facebook……..

Sure. That is a bit of stretch on the motives of the us government pushing chinese officials to take down the GFW (great firewall)….. But why does usa want iraq……i dont wanna get too political here, but its more about control of oil flow then anything Maybe flow of information is the new “oil” of the future But another thing that sparked this blog….in philippines, almost everything is foreign owned! I felt like i was in a state (province) of usa! And philippines is so poor…….so, if it were to control information and investment in its country like china does, would its people be richer and owners of their own businesses today?

Just food for thought…….i hate the GFW and anyone who tries to control what i say or do, i love the idea of “freedom of speech”…but i am putting some additional perspective on why countries may filter or ban foreign websites.

So back to what I’ve been upto back in Shenzhen, China.  As planned, I had a lot of “unfinished business” to settle.  How things will flow while I’m traveling in USA – accounting (even if there is little activity in the China company, it still needs to be filed each month), mail, and products I have warehoused here still.  Doing business in China, while outside, has proved to be EXTREMELY difficult….especially for some “stupid white guy”, my spoken Chinese is very limited, and I cannot read Chinese characters, so how can I access the online banking when its all in Chinese?  So I have some people here to watch over things while I’m away.  Its all about the hustle, and its all about TRUST.  But managing your risks is also important.

But the other main reason why I’m back in Shenzhen is NETWORKING.  There are still tons of contacts I have here, and China business is still RED HOT.  I took a quick snapshot at a networking event for Shenzhen Professionals last week, you guys like my hair?  hah.  Also check out the magazine talking about China Power.

China has surpassed Japan as the 2nd largest economy in the world, after USA.  But jeez, its still difficult for foreigners to do business here….I don’t care what some of my Chinese friends say, it is HARD (well I think actually most of my chinese friends agree its hard for foreigners to do business in China, but always say you need a trusted local Chinese partner).  But I’ll save that for a future post……

As the Chinese economy continues to expand and grow….costs will also increase, and the Chinese Yuan (RMB) will also continue to increase against other currencies in the world…..making it harder for foreigners or export driven businesses to do business here that are not receiving Chinese Yuan or local sales.  The key is selling in China….or at least having a strong network here….and I have not given up on that dream / goal.  Again, its just  WHAT, and its HOW.

But keep on networking, can’t go wrong having solid relationships and contacts inside Chinese borders.

But more and more people ask how I am able to even blog so much.  Yes, it does take some extra effort, I have to WANT TO DO IT, just like anything in life, if you want to do something you will make time for it.  But I have also been leveraging technology and internet to do so.  Here are some points:

Mobile Phone – I have a calendar function on my mobile phone, where I can create reminders as I think of ideas. Half the time, my calendar doesn’t have APPOINTMENTS, but actually reminders to type up certain blogs, or other to-do task items. But while I’m on the road, and am stuck in an airport lobby, I don’t always have time to open my laptop, but can start typing up a blog entry on my mobile.  I don’t post directly to the blog from my phone, as so many times there are tons of misspellings and just an outline rather then a full entry.

Sync Phone to Laptop - Once I am more “settled in” (which lately is rather rare!), but at least a time when I can get my laptop hooked up, mobile phone connected to my laptop (via bluetooth, isn’t technology great!) – I download my blog drafts from my mobile phone to the laptop.  On top of that, normally I have some images from the digital camera too (sorry, this Nokia phone doesn’t always have the best resolution, but I’m on the road and am not going to lug around an extra camera with me everywhere) that will support my blog entry.

This is when I “put it all together”, get the images set up, clean up the spelling, expand on the outline from my mobile phone (sometimes I have longer downtime when I’m on the road, and can blog a few in 1 sitting), and add something I may have wanted to add since writing the mobile draft.

Twitter Motivations - I LOVE TWITTER. Sure, a lot of people keep telling me they don’t understand twitter, but the idea is its SHORT TEXT MESSAGES that are public.  So imagine you text your friend “hey, I’m going to visit this bar”.  This message is only received by your friend.  But if you sent it to him/her on twitter, EVERYONE out there would see it too.  And they can add their own 2 cents to the CONVERSATION.  Imagine many people all interacting and expanding from this thought, joining in on the event, its all grassroots and viral.

But another great thing about twitter is the sharing of MOTIVATIONAL quotes.  I am always trying to follow positive minded people sharing their own motivational quotes, feelings, and ideas.  And this gets me going too!  So a few of these blog posts are from that, as well as from email forwards from friends and family.

But again, I have fallen in love with the internet (a long time ago) and more recently with the explosion of SOCIAL MEDIA – blogging, twitter, facebook, linkedin, etc.  Its about taking your “real life” network, going on the internet, sharing more, meeting more, and expanding your network exponentially.

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While I am not focusing on sourcing new products from China and Asia as a service, its still so interesting and fun to check out a factory.

Developing electrapour has been a roller coaster ride, seems I have made great friends, as well as some people who even write negative comments on this damn blog (guess its upsetting the LED flashing pour spout competitor product).  But thats business, and that is life!

Again, my style is always go head first into something and learn as I go.  Never be afraid to lose, to get into something over my head.  Some say that is negative, some say its positive.  But I have learned a lot about new product design, patents, trademarks, moulding, assembly, packaging, distribution agreements, the list goes on and on.

I have also become pretty knowledgeable in LED specifications.  There is angles, there is the MCD brightness, depending on colors, sizes, shapes.  The world of LED is booming, and everything from overhead lighting in home and commercial lighting to all these fun little gadgets like the electrapour – LED is there.

The factory had a few other products too – LED glasses, shot glasses, ice buckets.  I still get a kick out of seeing competitors and other distributors products in the sample showrooms in these factories.  But while it is funny, it also makes me be aware that this is happening to me as well.

Its about being aware….and business in china, and new product design, development, and distribution is pretty cut throat.  So many regulations, internationally, you just gotta hold onto your butt and get it done.  But being aware, and prepared for anything is just something you have to learn by experience.

Being back in China, and back in factories…..just a bit still gets my mind and imagination going.

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