The event is the first of its kind, to be a month long networking / community / sharing session for internet entrepreneurs to get together, learn and have fun. Maybe a mobile co-working community. Just keep seeing this trend (or am at least surrounded by it) people being more virtual, more mobile…more flexible workspaces. This is a bit extreme, to live in a different city in another part of the world like a cyber caravan…and can get exhausting.

I missed a bunch of the events and networking last weekend, I just couldn’t make it here and also host the Shenzhen ecommerce meetup so had to make the best choice I could with so many great events and people to see all over Asia!

Arriving here Tuesday afternoon with my friend James Sung, also coming from Shenzhen (he sells bluetooth and phone accessories took me to the bluetooth factory and was Chinese TV with me), we took a bus from Manila to Batangas pier, then a boat to Muelle (in photo) which is an adventure in itself! We spent a few days to catch up with the events we missed and people who were shaking hands and making things happen.

This isn’t a traditional MBA (see my blog post who needs an MBA) but I think is a great name “tropical” for the idea of work anywhere, and MBA that we can learn anywhere in the world. I really am glad to be connecting with more people in this mindset….rather than those in the 9-5 corporate world. In order to remain full time entrepreneur, the support group and network around you motivates you to do just that.

The resort, Badladz, is owned by foreigners, who sell scuba goods online and were also members of the event. Chris Gormley, my friend from Shenzhen who sells consumer electronics wholesale was here hanging out, actually the guy who brought this event to my attention (Thanks Chris!) …and unfortunately I missed Vlad by 1 day – another guy from Shenzhen to represent! My friends Alex and Louie from Hong Kong came before the event and had to leave before it even started! Maybe more planning on my friend’s side next time…..we found out about it a little last minute…

There were about 18 people who came to the program, for the most part American / White guys in 20s to 30s that have ecommerce or online businesses. There will be a private forum opened now for those here, and maybe a mastermind group.

Of course some night partying, daytime swimming events, bike riding, saw fire dancers in white beach, drank Mindori sling pitchers, temporary tattoo.

There was an open forum for each person to discuss their businesses and get ideas and perspectives from the group. Not too much structure this time, being the first one, the idea is to see who came, why they came, what they want from these events. The next one is planned in a few months in Bali, Indonesia. I hope to make it.

Its Thursday evening here, and I’m blogging on my laptop in the hotel restaurant, surrounded by other like minded people, overlooking the boats and islands.

The dream is here, keep on going…..need to keep focusing on work and try to get some fun out of it as well.

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• The Road Not Taken—— Robert Frost

While I have not been fortunate enough to know or have met Steve Jobs, I do take interest in how he got to where he was. Reading Steve Job’s bio from wikipedia

For the past 33 years, I have looked in the mirror every morning and asked myself: “If today were the last day of my life, would I want to do what I am about to do today?” And whenever the answer has been “No” for too many days in a row, I know I need to change something…almost everything – all external expectations, all pride, all fear of embarrassment or failure – these things just fall away in the face of death, leaving only what is truly important. Remembering that you are going to die is the best way I know to avoid the trap of thinking you have something to lose.

But he has credited a lot of his success to the early stage developments in his life, such as his trip to India. He seems to feel this helped him “think outside the box” to see the world, to spawn his creativity.

I just keep hoping and feeling I am somewhat on this track. Maybe never to be as great as Steve Jobs, but I am investing for the long term. Constantly giving up, passing on short term quick hits that may hurt me in the long run…..investing in learning about international business, networking with people all over the world….exploring the internet, social media. spawning my creativity

I can never even imagine going back to the way my life used to be. I was in New York for a couple months (back and forth between other USA cities) and I was tempted to stay there to build a sales office….but then I got this fear I would slowly morph back into what I was before I came to China and Asia.

If you’re going to think, THINK BIG – Donald Trump

And no one can mirror or copy another person’s success. We have to go out and become who we are meant to be. Sure our parents and family may have their wishes for us, our friends, our loved ones…..and we may even envy others around us – WISHING WE WERE THEM.

Come on, we are who we are, and if we so badly want to be like someone else, THEN WE HAVE TO LIVE OUR LIFE THAT WAY.

On twitter my “ny mom” (joke) @deputy saying I’m so lucky to have Christmas on the beach in the Philippines. But is it luck? I mean, I took a chance, I saved money from my dayjob in NYC. Why can’t most people do that? Is it personality? Is it “destiny”?

But back to Steve Jobs, I do feel like looking at his earlier days as a younger professional and entrepreneur gave him the creativity, the courage, the experience, and the appreciation for life to build the company and future he has created today.

But for all of us, we just need to live the life we feel COMFORTABLE in, or for those brave enough, STEP OUT OF YOUR COMFORT ZONE, and see where life takes you.

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San Diego was a good choice for me after leaving my NYC back in April 2007….it allowed me to unwind….keep costs low, I remember making the decision to quit my job when:

1) Business was doing ok – the bar products business was paying dividends and because partners there wouldn’t let me buy in more, I started another company, Shadstone Sourcing, that would help people buy from China, as I was having trouble doing so for my bar products business.

2) Had built up enough savings – at the time, most of my savings was in an internet savings account paying like 5% interest, those don’t seem to exist anymore…but I was pumping as much as I could into that account to save up

3) Year end bonus had came in – Deutsche Bank paid its bonus out in February, not end of december, not a big deal, but a factor in the timing

4) NYC apartment lease was expiring – I always hated those THIS IS YOUR SECOND NOTICE FOR RENEWAL OF THIS APARTMENT LEASE letters coming in the mail…and I was under pressure to renew, move to another apartment, or leave NYC.

5) Piotr in San Diego was looking for a roommate – Piotr quit his job in Connecticut and drove across USA to San Diego, to find a job and start a new life! he had been in San Diego already maybe 1 year, and his roommate had just moved out and was looking for a new one….so…sounded good to me, I paid him cash, month to month, and it was 3 blocks from the beach in Ocean Beach! Perfect transition for me

6) Was getting depressed – As I blogged a couple weeks ago, I was riding an emotional rollercoaster ….but why, people said you have a great, well paying job, on Wall Street at a global bank….you live and work in the city. Why wasn’t I happy? I knew I needed change….

7) Wanted to travel more – think another factor why I wasn’t happy was I wasn’t traveling as much…wasn’t adventuring…..I wanted to see the world….meet people, do international business. And my company wasn’t offering any of that. I tried to apply to positions within the company that were in Hong Kong, or in Milan, but it seemed too difficult with their inter-company job website….I know some others in the company that also left because it was too hard to travel.

MBA wasn’t for me – I had been saving my money for 2 reasons / choices, to start my own business, or to go to MBA school and then start my own business. I was attending the KAPLAN prep classes for the GMAT test to get into a top MBA program…and I remember at those night classes going around the room, everyone wanted to get an MBA to get a higher paying JOB! When I said I wanted to get an MBA to network with entrepreneurs and start my own business…I got a lot of confused eyeballs in the classroom…so I decided MBA wasn’t for me, I had to learn by experience.

So being here in San Diego again makes me think of that thought process…..that transition…..working so hard….trying to develop my own company…build an international business.

I have been spending a lot of time with Piotr, and now he has since moved out of Ocean Beach, San Diego, and is married to a great woman Stephanie. He has always been a top blog reader here, and supportive of what I do. Have had some talks with him this weekend….reflecting, planning. He is in a similar situation, his family is all in Connecticut, and he is out here in California, will he stay here his whole life? Will I stay in Asia my whole life? Family, friends, etc.

Anyway, its just funny years later I’m back in San Diego….making plans, thinking strategically…hoping to spring myself to the right direction.

I applied to MIT and WPI, as well as some local state schools and UCONN engineering. I didn’t get into MIT, I did get into WPI and UCONN engineering, but took the Stevens Tech over all, it just fit what I was looking for – it was a small school, technical that focused on gaining work experience (co-op program), and was right there next to Manhattan and many students were placed in New York positions after graduation. So to me, it was a no brainer and I signed up. I went only knowing my friend’s older brother, Joe, who was a few years older than me – but hey, I can do it – I was sent to a catholic high school not knowing anyone before I started, and I made lots of great friends there pretty quickly, why not do it again.

Of course no one can see “what if I had chosen another school” and see how their life turns out, but I am pretty certain this worked out for me. At first I was in the computer engineering program (even though I knew I didn’t like programming) because of MONEY, because everyone pushed me to do it saying that I would make the best salary out of college. SO FREAKING WHAT?!? Jeez, this was when I first started to realize there will always be people telling you what to do with their opinions, but you have to do what you have to do , because its your life. My friend and fraternity brother Josh Griffiths (who is still a great friend and has a successful Jiu Jitsu studio, letting me crash on his couch in NYC on my return) was working at a dot com startup kozmo.com and got me an interview in the co-op program. I worked in database programming, doing PL SQL triggers. Man I hated it, and I remember most of my programming department was Chinese and Indian people too – a couple of the indian guys thought I was hilarious with my current diet I was on during lunch breaks. Being in New York, I took the subway into World Trade center every morning and walked down wall street to the office on 80 broad street. During this 1999 – 2000 dot com boom, I was seeing parties on wall street every day. IPO mania, there were always free gifts on the street, new stock offerings, it was insane. So I started learning about it, reading about it. I took a tour of the NYSE stock exchange during a lunch with Bill Munley. It seemed awesome.

On top of that, there was always this cooler guy coming into my technical / programming department at Kozmo.com – he would speak to my manager, take notes, check out the progress, and leave after maybe 15 minutes. I can’t remember his name, but I remember talking to him once asking him what his job was. He kinda laughed saying he just walks between IT and business making reports and translating what the programmers said and reported it to the big shot business guys who couldn’t understand anything technical. I WANTED THAT JOB!

Later in sophomore year, my friend Xing Gao had transferred out of Stevens Tech into UPENN engineering. He had used the credit overload in first year of Stevens to accelerate his program at UPENN and was set to finish his bachelors in only 3 and a half years. He sent me the transfer documents and was helping me to complete the documents, but I decided to change my major to Engineering management at stevens, joined Delta Tau Delta Fraternity, become an Resident Assistant, get a part time job in work-study program, too many opportunities. Sure UPENN was a big-name school, but I also didn’t want to move to Pennsylvania!
Changing my major to Engineering Management, I also made good friends that helped me get summer internships. And I’m always a believer of work experience over education, which is why I picked Stevens and why I picked New York in the first place! During my second year summer I worked at AT&T in Staten Island NY doing quality control for their contractors.

Experience, experience, experience! Networking, networking, networking!

So I always did more then I could handle, joining every group, meeting every person I could meet, considering every opportunity out there. I got into Deutsche Bank my 3rd year summer in Jersey City, NJ – working in project management cost analysis of projects and departments. I watched the whole department I worked for get laid off. A nice guy sitting next to me most of the summer got called into the corner office to be laid off, because of the sensitive data in the bank, could only go to his desk, get his things and be escorted out by security – he took the time to shake my hand quickly though. And I learned how tough business is, and how quickly people can come and go. Just made me think seeing that whole department disappear while I worked there.
Being in the summer internship program, we would visit other offices – going into New York city, so badly I wanted to work right in Manhattan. I got an awesome review from my supervisor, and most of the HR staff enjoyed me I could feel. We had interviews at the end of the summer program to see if we would be offered a fulltime position (I know, we didn’t even go into our senior year of university yet). I remember going into the interviews for IT….man, I didn’t want to do IT, I wanted to work on wall street. To actually do the business, hustle on a trading floor. I was asked these IT questions, and I just wasn’t even interested. I kinda gave attitude telling one of the 3 I was interviewing with that I only wanted to get into IT so that I could get into the bank and move into trading or business. Obviously that didn’t go over well, and when I left the interview room my HR mentor asked me how it went, I told her what I said…and she thought I was crazy! She said I just have to focus on getting this job, that the economy is rough (yea, how long has the economy been bad, 10 years now?)

Why doesn’t everyone just speak English?

Over the past few years, my Chinese has improved….while I did expect it to better then it is, I have never taken any formal classes, some quick tutoring and listening to others while traveling and at bars. I can get by in traveling and restaurants for the most part.

But as I learn to travel to different countries, I do learn its not just language, but BODY language…..facial expressions, body positions, smile, etc that I can explain myself and get through various situations to “make it to the next level”.

A lot of people thinks it actually takes speaking the local language in each international region / country one does business. Yes, sure that is a perk, and people do respect you and like you more for it.  But I have seen many fail even with this “local language” knowledge, it drives deeper then that.

Its learning the culture, the deep feeling of the people, the thoughts, what is behind they way they make decisions, their financial position, religious, etc.

AND ITS ABOUT RESPECT

Its about understanding, studying, caring, and then trying to create win-win positions for everyone.  So many westerners, or foreigners in any country, come to make as much money for themselves, or maybe for their own country, that they forget its about creating a win-win.

Teaching workers, improving their work, productivity, thought process, is a trade off for working in a country that has lower labor rates.  They are also very anxious to work and learn more.

I believe I have, while living overseas outside of my home country, been better at “reading people” – to look deep into a person’s soul, and dreams, and wishes.  Its about helping those people reach those places they want that motivates them to fight for you, and work hard.

I hope everyone in life can achieve what they want. And I am an open book.  No secrets, and people see that and respect that.

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In the interviews the other day there were a few giving me the “sob story” saying they dont have money to feed their family and have to work day and night. While it kind of annoys me that has to be brought up in professional setting (business isn’t about charity, we all have to remember that), i also gotta respect they are working the angles they can in order to maximize the “cards they are dealt in life”

If i was an african american or other “minority” (how is that defined anyway) in usa. I would apply for all kindness of grants for small business. I remember when i first wanted to learn about how to start a business in new york, i attended the small business association free seminars. I also wanted to see if i could get any government loans or grants. Because i wasnt a woman or a minority, i didnt qualify….so i had to look for other ways

Since i have no government or special aid programs being a middle income white male, i have to play that card as the “token white guy” in china….and am seen as an expert american marketer – see what im saying????

Its about the hustle.

Bruce williams says it well, that he could be dropped anywhere on this earth with very limited resources and build a new business startup. He would study his environment and find gaps and holes – or opportunities – where he could flourish. And that is what we call hustle, or what we call business!

I liked being in the boy scouts, and was considering army (until i realized i had to blindly accept orders from superiors, that blindly received orders from their superiors) because i liked the idea of survival. Being independent. To explore and make do with what tools you had.

My favorite merit badge (you can call boy scouts “gay” or nerdy, but i think its cool!) was wilderness survival. This was all about disaster situations, no power, no food…..we studied how to make s.o.s. Signals in various ways, in various formats.

And during summer camp, you had to take a night out deep in the woods with nothing by a knife and a flashlight. It was awesome…build a small shelter, withhold your hunger….it was about learning to get by in bad situations. It made me more confident in life.

And being in china, philippines and the rest of asia to come, its practiced these techniques, in so many ways

Just a few days ago i was in the manila startup office by myself….and i slam locked the door to get groceries and quickly come back….i realize i don’t have my cell phone, or keys!! And marie is on holiday….and it would be dark soon…..

I was proud of myself, i didn’t freak out….i took a minute to assess the situation, climbed the window, saw the keys on the tabletop. Came down, got a stick, wasn’t long enough, found anothe r stick….got the window open, leaned my body inside, and patiently hooked the keys (well knocked some things over, but not that bad), and that was it. I dealt with it.

In my high school year book I put (something like, don’t have my yearbook around) “Time to shuffle the cards up” – stating that we are all going our own ways into the professional world, and its time to get a new deal from the deck of cards.

I think we all need to think more deeply about our own strengths and weaknesses. TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THE CARDS YOU HAVE IN YOUR HAND. And hustle them, pimp them out!

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I am always a bad interviewer because I want to hire everyone! I like to see the positive and the good in people, not filter out the “bad”. Sure, its finding the best for the current opening in a company, and that not everyone is fit for that….but I feel interviewing is more about filtering then accepting.

I arrived about 1pm and they were ready for me, I sat in the manager’s office and each person would come in 1 by 1. 22 resumes stacked up on my desk, a laptop, notepad, lets go!

There was a wide range of applicants, from 17 years old to 46 years old, male and female, from all parts of the Philippines and all backgrounds of education and experience. The training class was for business english and call center training, and many had no prior experience in an english or foreign company. Eager and willing and wanting to learn is how I summarize the group.

Here are some other similarities and highlights, I often ask what an applicant’s strengths and weaknesses are:

Applicant’s STRENGTHS (their answers)

Faith in God. Common answer. Many really do put a lot of faith and power in religion.  Its something I see all over the Philippines, on the jeepnee’s names (yes, they all have their own names! sometimes Power of God, Jesus is Risen, etc), advertisements, its something that is obvious for anyone visiting Philippines, religion really is a driving factor here.

Family – that they have a supportive family that pushes them. that drives them to reach for success.  That the need to SUPPORT. That needs this income to put food on the table.  That is their inspiration. A driving factor.

Flexibility in work – they said  they are willing to do all sorts of tasks.  One applicant said he has experience in plumbing and electricity, and can help when the office has one of these issues!  They really want to fill the need for the company and earn a living.

Applicant’s WEAKNESSES (their answers)

This is always the interesting one, makes the applicant think for a minute, and expose their weakness.

Family - YES, while this is on the strength, it is also on the weakness side.  “burdened” by the financial support their family needs, they need income to pay for these basic needs.  There was another story about one applicant had a job that he was doing well in, but his family (cannot remember if it was parents or aunt) called him to work in their garden, so he had to quit his job.  No ifs, ands, or buts.

Shy in crowds – more for the girls, but also some of the boys, they are shy in front of groups of people.  Most of the Filipinos that I have met are soft spoken.  Concerned with making a mistake, double checking before making an action, it is something I have found trending.

Another kind of annoying thing was – I KEPT ASKING WHAT YOU WANT YOUR CAREER TO BE.  They seemed shocked that they had some kind of a choice.  They normally would say “what is the job you are offering”, basically implying they would take any type of available job.

I felt I had to “pull” it out of them, looking at their previous work, their previous degrees.  BE WHAT YOU WANT TO BE.  Don’t just take any job you can get.

Sadly, we don’t always have that luxury in life, and here most never even considering actually having a job they would enjoy!

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Its not what we are getting, its what we are becoming – Jim Rohn

Life is exactly about that.  So many people are pre-occupied with what is in their bank account, parked in their driveway, or their clothing and fashion statements…..I used to really be this way.  I thought life would be good if I had a lot of money, could buy what I wanted, etc etc.

But I think its when we LOSE things we really realize, what really matters.  Money can come and go so quickly in today’s world.  I have experienced it, as well as seen it happen on the news and between friends.  Companies here today, gone tomorrow.  Win a lottery.  Lawsuits.  And there is the unexpected deaths.  All these experiences and witnessed events helped me develop and realize.

Is it really how big a company is.  How do you measure the “size” of a company?  The amount of workers, the sales, the customers.  I have constantly been changing the way I look at success.  And it has slowly and slowly moved away from material things and “Digital” things (money is digital nowadays…all online numbers!), to more personal development things.
Like that saying:

If you can make it in New York, you can make it anywhere

or the Alicia Keys chorus here:

New York, concrete jungle where dreams are made of
There’s nothin’ you can’t do
Now you’re in New York
These streets will make you feel brand new
Big lights will inspire you
Let’s hear it for New York, New York,
New York

Its the EXPERIENCE that counts. The notches under your belt. The people you have met, the relationships you have built. Sure, maybe people see this is a “loser” saying, but then tell yourself what is winning and losing? What is “making it”. Its become stronger, more independent, more “cultured”.

And China taught me tons too. Jeez, that song should be modified from “make it in New York” to “make it in China”. I really believe its difficult for foreigners to do business in China…..between language and culture….there are just so many various things to take into consideration.

Recently I’ve been talking to other foreigners, seems many are leaving China….its getting harder and harder to do business there with rising currency and inflation happening so rapidly (costs increasing). And so when someone leaves a place, and thinks, what did they gain from it. And seeing this is a wake up call, again and again for me…..when “the show is over” and the dust settles, what do we really have. Seeing this over and over, both personally and from afar, is what makes me love this quote – ITS NOT WHAT WE ARE GETTING, ITS WHAT WE ARE BECOMING.

Experience is worth so much more. Knowledge. Those are things no one else on this earth can take away from us.

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In the article, from the under 30 CEO blog

When they first launch their companies, they will rent a nice office, lease a nice car with their logo on it, print all sorts of fancy letterheads, build a gorgeous website… and they still can’t seem to get off the ground.

When faced with a difficult task, we often use crutches as an excuse not to move forward.

* We’ll tell ourselves that we can’t launch a new product because it isn’t “perfect” yet.
* Or that we can’t approach the media without launching some sort of big expensive publicity stunt.
* Or that we can’t call the CEO of the big company because we don’t know anybody in common.

I put am image of a Spartan, because it really makes me imagine them – sending their kids out into the wild to test them, to be a man,  to fight for themselves, figure it out.  It prepares them for the future.  And its not an accident, the parents wanted to put these “fake constraints” on their child in order to prepare them for the days they would need it.

I pledged a fraternity in college – Delta Tau Delta, and we had a work weekend during the pledging process. I remember being really pissed off and annoyed at having to go through this weekend of no sleep and pointless activities.  But one of the older fraternity brothers talked to me and said -

“sure, it may seem stupid now, but think of those days you need to pull an all nighter to get that thesis done, or those days you’re at a client dinner and have to get drunk with them and wake up for work at 6am the next day and go to the office.”

And in a way, life, and business especially, is about SURVIVAL OF THE FITTEST.  And how else to get fit then to practice the hard  times, by making fake hard times, right?

I think we all notice that when it comes down to it, whether we are an entrepreneur or work in a company, we’ve been faced with having to get more done with less……here is the best example I can think of -

HALF DAYS for holidays. How come the same amount of work can get done in half the time? People FIND A WAY TO GET IT DONE!! The pressure, the desire to get those tasks done so they can get out of the office and head home.

So the idea of creating FAKE CONSTRAINTS, as I read in the article, is to PRACTICE for when you really have those constraints. Find a way to get more done, faster.

I also remember reading in the book Four Hour Work Week by Tim Ferris, that CHECKING EMAIL all day is such a waste! We sit there and REACTIVELY wait for work to come to us. Instead of being efficient and getting projects done, we let emails distract us from getting our long term goals and projects get done. The idea here is to make checking email a TASK, not a daily workflow. Check your email 2 times a day. And Tim says not to check it RIGHT WHEN YOU START YOUR DAY. To check it a few hours after we start our daily work. WHY? Because emails distract us for what work we should actually be doing.

Make a TO-DO list for the NEXT day, and come into the office, AND DO THAT FIRST. Then check those “urgent” emails after. Being proactive, organized, and plan your day. Not reactionary.

I think one of the most important constraints to give ourselves is TIME!!!!!! So you have 8 hours a day to get your work done? Give yourself 4! Push it. And keep pushing it.

Another constraint is MONEY. Budgetting (which I hope everyone does) – so you have 1,000 dollars to use on a project – GET IT DONE with 500. Act like you don’t even have 1,000, but only 500. And its gotta be done right, and on time.

I think the most important part of this whole idea is to be able to INTERNALLY PUSH YOURSELF. Set internal goals. Push yourself to get better. Making these “fake constraints” is just really another way of setting goals for yourself to:

• DO MORE
• DONE FASTER
• WITH LESS

Make yourself a LEAN, MEAN, BUSINESS MACHINE.

STARVE YOURSELF, fight to get what you want. Your mama isn’t gonna be there to tuck you in at night tonight, ok! Prepare yourself for those critical times before they come, rather then waiting for those disasters to come. And the best way is to create FAKE constraints to practice.

Awesome idea, and have to live by it to grow. Or wait until shit hits the fan, that also makes us grow….and quick!

This is going to be a other chapter of my life. Utilizing partners and managers in various cities around the world to get daily things done…

Is this failure? I don’t classify it as such, then again I dont think anyone actually FAILS in life, its about learning to adapt, learning what you are good at, what you like to do, and for me, that is not working in a fixed office. Especially with the movement in today’s world to digital. There are so many online tools and hardware to help us work as if we were right there.

I have to reset my thinking. Think bigger, think longer term. I just passed moving back to usa and taking a CEO job at a multimillion dollar sales company. ….i have to think what i want in life.

Am i that different from the rest? Im 29 years old, maybe its because im approaching 30!?
Maybe others dont think like me, they are in the daily work/live mindset……and just go about working.  ACCEPTING the life that is given to them.  I WILL NOT SETTLE.

I am going to USA for 2 months – Sept to Nov – I have to rely on managers and partner offices in China while I’m away.  And I realize, life is not about OWNING and CONTROLLING people.  Sure, you can hire someone.  But can you force them to stay?  Its better to let people run things their way, have the steering wheel.  I am testing this out with different alliances in China and small operations in Philippines.

Keep on Truckin’   – just another chapter of my life – trying to be an independent specialist between USA and China.

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But I just cannot leave what I have developed.  Sure, there are hard times.  Its a struggle.  But I love:

• International Travel / International Business
• Internet and Ecommerce

I did not see that opportunity there, and even if I could part time do some of these online businesses, it just would not be the same as what I am doing now.

I have to suck it up – I have to keep the good fight to build this online international ecommerce network.

Also, I am getting a name as an American businessman in China (you can even google it, I think I’m top 5 or so)…..to become an American businessman in America……am I losing the value and the differentiating factor i’ve been working on for so many years…..

but the person who offered the CEO position was a good friend of mine….and I wanted to work with him, and thought we could have achieved great things.  He understands….and I hope he can do well with other candidates or options.  I just can’t stop what I’ve got going on – international business and ecommerce is where I belong!

Short post, but reflecting…..

I cannot take every opportunity,  I have to make choices and deal with it.

Let me type out this poem for your motivation:

The Road Not Taken

One of many Inspirational Poems By Robert Frost

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
and sorry I could not travel both
And be on traveler, long I stood
And looked down as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;

Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same,

And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back.

I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in wood, and I-
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.

We all meet forks in the road, every day I think we do in one way or another. We have to make it a habit to choose the more difficult way – or the path not traveled by many.

BUT IS THE HARD WAY always the right way? so many times I think I have chosen the harder way, the crazier way in life. Do we then choose the path less taken, or the path that has been more successful?

I think, in a way, I have kept taking the path less traveled….and gotten into situations where no one knows how to help me……because no one has been in the situations I’ve been in.

There is a saying – pioneers come back with arrows in their back

“The pioneers take the arrows, the settlers take the land.”

I have definitely taken my fair share of arrows – crusading, trailblazing…..a bit overambitious at times, underestimating what is at the end of that ROAD LESS TAKEN.

So its about being able to go down the road less taken, withstanding the arrows being fired at you as you go in there alone, and being able to withstand that flurry of arrows to be able to be a settler and take over the land at the end of the path.

Not an easy feat – I think normally that is 2 different people – the pioneer / trailblazer and then settler / manager behind him to take over the land once the path has been trailblazed.

But hey, we only live once, and its fun to be able to uncover new paths and find new lands.

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But let me reflect, its good to do this every now and again…..

I think back, i left usa and my wall street job because i wanted to build my own future. I wanted to do international business. I think it is like the movie “lord of war”, seems so amazing to travel internationally, meet all kinds of people, do deals, get into and out of crazy situations.

China was all over the news in usa, and also the online bar products was too small of a market as well as a company i couldnt buy more shares in due to partners blocking – so i thought it would be good to get to the top of google for china sourcing, use my internet skills I learned from newyorkbarstore, and to travel and do those import / export deals like “lord of war” movie (except not trade arms)

But i quickly learned doing import/export was way over my head, quality control, contracts, and the constant beating on factories to get work done on time.  It seemed like it wasn’t using my skills, I was always angry and pushing people to get work done….

But sadly i had burned through tons of cash, and had some product quality issues to refund back….. I also got into expensive product development, mould, patent, trademark with the elctrapour that cost me a boatload of money…

I also got into some other deals, like spyble, because i was passionate about the internet. I realized doing the import/export trading wasnt using my internet marketing skills so much, so bas inviting me to be part of spyble seemed to fit me more….but i couldnt just drop import / export and sourcing in an instant – i had staff and allies i was cooperating with.  I was stuck playing both sides, as well as being pulled into newyorkbarstore for accounting and sourcing.

But yea….in early 2009 i downsized (or planned to) to exit the import/export biz and go back to a 2 to 3 person operation.  It was a humbling few months……felt like my life was crashing down on me.

As this blog shows, dbr finland came along just at that time and seemed rather quick got into a new deal for saleslion…….i was always a bit hestitant about the deal, but others kept advising how it was a good opportunity and what are my other options – work out of a home office again????  I was a little reluctant, but got into the deal thinking I would be able to still manage the office in China and grow the company as I saw fit.

But due to cultural differences and power / decision making struggles, i had to go off and be independent again late summer 2009….The plan was to get a few larger deals in for web promotion, build a team, and get loadpipe ecommerce and drop ship solutions going……

Then in winter 2009 shadstone took over newyorkbarstore. It required english speaking customer service at nights in china….which shadstone didnt have at the time…..and lead me to the philippines with Marie….and the supply chain mess of multiple warehouses, shopping carts, IT systems, everything.  Still a monster to manage and fix to this day.

For loadpipe – Over and over from trade shows to meetings with factories and internet companies in china, the majority is fake products…..seems most ecommerce in china is fake product. Also loadpipe needs a lot of cash for programming and marketing….i am still working on it with a freelance programmer now.  I am also working with SKUtouch solutions in USA to assist in growing their RMA business in China, but again, like me, they also don’t want to touch knockoff products.

And it keeps testing my character as a us citizen….in so many ways, especially the risk of legal and my personal brand. so i am always shying away from it.  Its a bit like drug dealing I would imagine, buyers want it, beg you to get it for them, people around you are doing it (since I’m in China, i’m surrounded by it), but I know the minute I get involved shit will hit the fan and the world will come crumbling down.  I’m an American citizen, I cannot get involved like a Chinese local can – they have an advantage there – the US government or brand companies can’t easily get to them, but easily get to me.  So I keep having to tell these businessmen in China I cannot assist them with their fake shoes, sneakers, mobile phones, clothing, sunglasses, etc etc.

This is what I’ve been noticing, learning, exploring over the past few months – I’ve been traveling much more often then ever before, Shanghai, Xiamen, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, various cities in Philippines, Thailand.  I am looking for direction, for answers.  Also costs in China are running up quickly and vigorously….its not a secret.

So i have been doing a lot of blogging and personal branding……and getting all sorts of various projects in web  and sourcing…..and lately offered other managerial positions in larger companies.  Its great, and I think this blog has helped develop me as a person, business, and brand.  I think it has become my interest to be an independent international businessman.  An agent, a rogue, solo.  Like the day I came to visit my cousins in Italy, late at night in  the train station with a backpack alone…they called me SOLO.

So thats where we are now……maybe like people say i can get investors / partners……but to be honest….I am not clear what i want – and kind of enjoy being independent…..but its much riskier and “seat of your pants” lifestyle.

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Its part of life – learning and growing.
And its my job as a future parent, or as a manager, to coach the person or guide them answer questions about the best way to walk, but to step back and let them try themselves.
Its about giving up some power, control – and having more patience…and budgetting more room for error / mistakes – because in life – we learn from our mistakes! Its how we grow.

Its been a struggle for me to accept this, but I am forcing myself now, biting my tongue more (well, not 100% of the time) and making things go this new way.

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I can remember when I was working at Deutsche Bank – there were some high level execs that we would never even see on the floor, they would walk in, pop to their corner office – shut the door – conference call, a couple meetings, and head out again for a sales meeting or something.  This was annoying.  I think it is important to show face time……and to have everyone realize the pressure and stress.  But then again, big business is different then small business.

I think the startup guy, the small business owner, the entrepreneur has the most extreme stress – This “birdshit” that may come upon a upper level manager is things like:

• Sales numbers – normally its the big boss, or executives to get the sales in.  Or maybe not directly get the sales in – BUT MAKE SURE THE SALES ARE COMING IN……
• Investors pressure – if you take OPM (other people’s money) as a manager, you are gonna get them asking a lot of questions, very often.  Not just getting in sales, but managing those budgets, operations, people, PR, the list doesn’t end.  You are their face, the one responsible.
• Political pressure – Government, keeping good filing – especially in China, have to keep all these reports in order, monthly filings, contracts, documents, the list doesn’t end.
• Accounting pressure – Similar to government, but keeping receipts, records – proof of orders, supplier information.  And in the past, so many big corporations “cooked the books”, squeezed things in, stretched it as far as they could….its getting to be more and more red tape for the rest of us….everything is scrutinized.

Again, while these top execs may not be doing the routine work, and may not be seen all the time – it is their reputation and name and credibility on the line.  sometimes I wish i could take the pressure off….every day its pressure.

Sure, so many critics can say its easy to be the boss…..and they can do better – HAHA – I challenge it, and support it.

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