한국 Summary

Well, so much for the regular updates!

It is my second last night here in Seoul, so it is fitting to write an entry on how it went.

I was happy to have kept my luggage to a (relative) minimum throughout the trip.  It was good evidence to myself that I can live with less.  I will definitely do another round of clothes giving when I get back to Singapore.

I made some progress in my Korean learning, but am only at (barely) survival level.  At least I passed my test!  My writing and reading is ok for my skill level, but my listening skills really need some work.  I just cannot quite catch what people are saying to me.  After the 3rd repeat it kind of makes sense, but it is frustrating.  The risk is that I go home and I regress because I am not learning anymore.  I have to make a conscious effort to continue to work on the language, through constant review, HelloTalk, listening to radio doing some proper study.  Perhaps more targeted learning with a tutor will also help.

Friends were initially tough to come by and there were definitely periods of loneliness throughout the three months.  I found that new friends were initially enthusiastic but then subsequently were not that keen to meet.  As we get older it is harder to make time for new friends.  I was lucky to have a few friends that developed into stronger relationships through this time.  I think with time I can establish a good network here.  Definitely reducing the language barrier would make a big difference.  I learnt a bit about myself and improved on my willingness to talk to people so I am happy with that growth.

As a city, it is easy to live here.  Infrastructure comparable to Singapore, although the traffic can sometimes be quite bad.  Trains are usually a better option, but changing train lines can significantly increase travel time.  Didn't really utilise the bus system.  Because of its size, there are many places to explore.  With the numerous hills around Seoul it is a picturesque place.  Autumn is a wonderful time to visit.  Food is mostly Korean but there are international places.  The Korean food itself I am quite good with, although some of the blood sausage and offal stuff is not that pleasant!  I saw a strong arts and cultural element, but did not explore that too much.  

Party scene is fun, but I need more party friends!  Definitely a place where age segregation is more clear than in Singapore clubs and bars.  I noticed there are not that many places for people in their late 20s and 30s to party. I am thinking that we should do a Rewind here.  So many clubs that are not that full on weekends!

It was interesting to get more perspective on the North Korean story.  Definitely would like to do some more to help their situation.  There seems to be many different approaches and the surprising thing is that there are some things going on from Singapore.  Will start my exploration from there.  I think there will be business opportunities but probably a bit too wild west at the moment for my risk appetite.  I would go in from a charity angle.

As for businesses in South Korea, I think I need more perspective on what would work.  Which means that I would have to live there for a longer time.  I would strongly consider it, but will see how things turn out with some opportunities in Singapore in 2016 before I make that decision.  Again, businesses here probably have to do with more human connections, so I made a good start and will need to nurture it.   I would not work for a Korean company though, the company cultures I hear about sound brutal.

Some other random fun stuff:  doing the Buddhist temple stay, climbing Mount Halla, boxing class, jimjilbang, all the SeoulMate tours, hair style changes, solo travel and solo eating things I don't really understand.

So definitely no regrets with doing this.  It has expanded my view of the world and expanded myself.  And in the end that's probably all anyone can ask for.

한국 Travels: #4

The size of Seoul is both intimidating and inspiring.  I actually have not been doing much sight seeing in the first few weeks of living here, but with the Korean Thanksgiving Chuseok (추석) holidays and some friends visiting from Singapore, it was a good time to get out and about.

1. Palaces
There are 5 royal palaces in Seoul, and we made it to three of them.  A number of times the buildings had been destroyed, usually through wars and also by fire, and then rebuilt.  Korean architecture takes a lot of inspiration from the Chinese architecture from those dynasties, and much of the writing on the structures was Chinese calligraphy.  There was a spartan feel to the palaces, like vast spaces with buildings interspersed. I was told that the Korean used to use those areas for food preparation, as there was a lot of cutting of the vegetables involved.

People always think it would be romantic in those times.  I always think that it would have been great, but only if you were the royal family and part of their entourage.  It would most likely suck as you would have most likely been a slave or some servant! I always believe the future will be better for everyone.

There was a Secret Garden for one of the palaces that I really liked.  Beautiful old trees, old school pavilions to rest.  I think in winter it would have a super quiet feel, like you are the only person there.

There was a shrine that I visited which  I would go again purely for the serenity of the place.  The shrine was a large area, full of trees and old school Korean buildings that housed the "spirit tablets" of the ancient kings and queens.  Like a tomb I suppose.  The cool thing was that there was a separate "path" for the spirits to walk and they warned people not to walk along that path.   Probably not that fun to go in at night!

2. Namsan Tower
I couldn't believe how many people were there!  Just filled with tourists and a lot of locals as well (who may have been tourists from different parts of Korea).  Whomever did the marketing for Namsan Tower must be congratulated.   And don't be fooled by the Korean dramas, where the couple wanders around by themselves. it is a bit of a shit show just to get to the viewing platform :) The love locks are everywhere and very whimsical, but hard to find much peace when it is so crowded.  I was happy that it was full moon, got some good photos with the tower.

Whilst we were on the hill, Seoul itself does not have the building compactness that makes the Hong Kong skyline so dramatic from Victoria Peak.  The the view is ok, just like on a hill.

3. Lotte World Mall
I didn't make it to Lotte World, I heard it is not bad.  The mall next to it has a very large supermarket with lots of good goodies.  Bought some biscuits and other things to try out with tomorrow's park meeting with school friends.  Lotte World Mall itself feels like Takashimya or a Times Square.

I appreciated the time alone walking around the palaces (I had one day before friends came to visit).  It was good to use the camera again, get some good photos.  Having the fixed lens is good, but macros need more work.  The colours of the leaves are still very green, I think in November when the leaves turn I will have to go back to the Palaces to check it out and take some more photos.

한국 Travels: #3

It turns out that my room mate is working for a company that deals with North Korea on a regular basis, advising them of "approaches" or "policies" to improve their situation.  We had a fascinating talk about the future of the peninsula and what it means for unification.  He also had a German background so it was also interesting to compare the possible unification in Korea vs the unification that happened in Germany.

Some interesting points:
1. The population split in S Korea vs N Korea is 50m vs 25m.  In comparison, the split of W Germany vs E Germany in 1989 was around (?) 70m vs 16m.  So the economic hit that S Korea would take to bring N Korea up to par would be a massive cost.

2. With that kind of shift in populations, then do you allow N Korea parties to participate in elections?   That was something I had just considered during that talk.

3. There is an active black market for the transfer of goods.  The problem is that with all the internal spying that occurs, one doesn't know whom to trust.  So two people doing exactly the same things might either get money or get thrown in jail.  Super tough to live in that environment.

4. It is China that is keeping country going, but it wants the country to be stable.  N Koreans are doing their own thing which is causing its own instability, which may lead at some point to China just saying "no more".  If that time comes, then we really may have a refugee crisis.

5. The desire for change will not come from outside, but from inside N Korea.  It is with all that black market trade that information comes into the country.  People get to see what is in the outside world and at some point in time, enough people will say "hey, this ideology doesn't work anymore, why am I sacrificing so much?" or the other extreme things get so bad that people won't care what the consequences will be.  There was an incident in 2009 when N Korea changed its currency, leaving everyone basically broke.  There was a lot of resentment of the government for that action so if something similar happens again it could be the reason for a mass movement.

6. With reunification, there is a massive need for infrastructure investment.  This could be a great opportunity for construction and infrastructure companies in S Korea.  For sure the government will subsidise the rebuilding.

7. There are significant mineral deposits in N Korea that can be mined.  I think the Chinese are doing that already.

8. Access to tourist areas in N Korea is not that off limits.  Might be worth a trip to go there.  Have to go through Beijing though but definitely possible.  Also there are some Singapore organisations e.g. Chosun Exchange that does work in educating the people on how to start businesses.  Might be worth exploring when I get back to Singapore.  Assuming my Korean improves haha

9. In terms of business, most males are allocated jobs in specific industries and sectors.  So they have to be there for certain hours.  It is actually the females of the family that have the ability to trade and develop a side business.  Actually it is what Chosun Exchange focusses on.

Very enlightening talks.

한국 Travels: #2

When I thought about places that would be challenging and interesting in terms of learning the language, Korea came to mind.  Funny enough I did not even consider Japan.  Goes to show (at least to me) the amount of cultural influence Korea has compared to Japan.

Having said that, I would generalise and say that I think Japanese people are much more polite than Koreans are.  I have been practising speaking Korean to random strangers in the street, asking for directions.  More than once I have been totally ignored, even once shooed off by the person.  My experiences in Japan would make doubt that it would happen to me there.  

My friend pointed out that it could be because I look Korean and hence people would just think I am accosting them.  If I looked Caucasian, I may have gotten a much more positive response.  It reminds me of New Yorkers thinking other New Yorkers are rude, even though I found them to be very polite and friendly.  My Asian looks and Australian accent there puts me totally in the "tourist" category and most people are by nature friendly to tourists.

Anyways, my 한국말 is slowly improving.  I can understand more in written form (because I have time to look up words) so my text game is getting better!  The university classes are good, they are picking up the pace, I am definitely in the right level.  The amount of vocabulary to learn each day is significant, I can see that if I don't review the words I will easily fall behind.

한국 Travels: #1

It has been a hectic 4 days getting into Seoul.  Firstly I arrive and go straight out to a club with a friend that lived in Singapore and now is living in Seoul.  It was fun, I got quite drunk and that was roughly the night!  However, I learnt a few things:
1. Some decent RnB clubs in Itaewon (이테원), need to check them out a bit more.
2. I have to admit that there are just a lot more good looking people around.  Half of this I am sure is due to the newness of it, but I was checking out more people.
3. I am still very scared of approaching people, guy or girl.  However, this must change.  A good thing my Korean friend told me from his travels in Shanghai when he didn't know anyone: he was able to speak "bar Mandarin", and it was purely just placing no emphasis on the result.  I need to live my "hard on the method, easy on the result" and extend it out to my bar behaviour.  Plus need to learn more "bar Korean"!

Met up with some friends over the week, with them I need to just speak more Korean.  I am looking to increase the channels that I use to meet people outside of study, things like Meetup, this app called Hi There, even Tinder is a good place.  Let's see what happens, but good advice from another friend:  It is Fuck Yes for Everything, at least initially!

Unfortunately I failed my Korean placement test, so I am in the beginner class.  So we are really starting from the basics, with pronunciation of the vowels.  Let's see how quickly this class escalates to talking full sentences.  Given the amount of talking that we do now (around 2 hours, with lots of practise time), I think it was the right choice to go to this 서강 대학.

I have also committed to 3 months boxing class.  The place looks good, the teacher was an semi-pro/amateur boxer who can speak some English.  I feel committed to it and will try to go 5-6 times a week and get ripped haha

So some things I have thought about:
1. This is a chance to be a different person in a different land.  "Why not?" should be the overriding question.  And if it doesn't mean some life threatening situation, probably good to try it.  That talk my Korean friend gave me feels like the talk my friend gave me AT THE END of my Sweden exchange.  Only this time it is at the start!

2. I need to maintain a good structure for work, when to do work and when not to worry about it.  This is also a good time to reflect on what I want to do going into next year.  Could be some job opportunities available back at Lend Lease.  Not sure if that is something I really want to do, but could be an option.

3. Really think in the language in order to learn the language.  This might mean more journals in Korean, or randomly asking people questions in Korean.  Just keep pushing to the "edge of fear"!

4. It will be over as soon as it gets started, so make the most of it.  Having said that, I shouldn't make it a pressure thing otherwise I won't enjoy the moment.  I have to sit back and think "wow!  I am so grateful to have made it here!"  There is a balance.

Outcomes

I made it to 300 posts!  I should print all this out and make it a book one day.  Would be good reading.

Talking to a friend, I came to a conclusion that the Pig Out event was fun in organising.  I was energised to make stuff happen, I was energised throughout the whole event.  It was some kind of "eustress" which felt like I was performing at a good level.  The ironic thing is that I was not that in love with the cause itself.  To me, whichever charity got the money (or actually didn't, since we didn't make enough) was not a huge factor in my satisfaction with the event.  At least this aligns with my life theme of "hard on the process, easy on the result".  But taking that to the extreme, it may mean that I don't care about any result.  Is that a bad thing?

My friend suggests to me the even greater satisfaction of finding something where I care about the result, would it drive me more?  Rational thinking would tell me yes, but my gut feeling is that it may not.

If the outcome is arbitrary to me, or rather, my feelings on the outcome are arbitrary, then the "utility" I get from working really hard on only one thing will not be as beneficial as working hard on many, different things.  Because at the very least, with different things, I get to have different experiences, different knowledge sets, different networks of people.  The growth for me as a person then becomes much greater, no matter what the outcome is.

It also follows that I should find someone whom I respect a lot, and believe that the outcomes they are aiming for are large and inherently good for society.  If I find such a person, then naturally I will put in my effort, and hopefully their outcome is a positive effect on the people around them.

I have been reading James Altucher's "Choose Yourself" series of books, and one area that I feel I am lacking in is a strong mental health.  And by mental health, I mean coming up with ideas.  I am good at building other people's ideas, but starting my own ideas is not as strong.  It comes down to using the idea muscle more.  I commit to starting this process tomorrow.  If I can build on my own ideas, that might make me more committed to those ideas, and the outcomes they produce.

Birthday Review

A birthday is usually a time to reflect upon last year and the year ahead.  What do I feel now that I have turned 37?

First of all, 37 feels old!  Still closer to 35 than 40, but if I was asked what kind of person would I be at 37 when I was 30, I would have expected a lot more "settled-ness".  I would have expected kids, or at least some stable relationship.  It is a testament to the power of social conditioning that I still have think of these expectations, even though my life is clearly not in that state, and I am quite happy to be in the state that I am now.  Good to have some fun with things like Augustman.

I think I could have pushed myself harder this year in terms of the business.  I do what is necessary but I don't think I have that strong a hunger to really make this business go.  It could be that I am hitting a barrier of how far "just doing a business for business' sake" gets me.  Also the realisation that Morganfield's is not our brand, so there is no real future to develop that brand, and that we are better off putting our efforts into another brand.  I am happy though that the business can operationally run itself.  That is one level of achievement. Now we just need it to make another 5-10% sales for it to make good returns.  I need to think more about what I really want in a business, not just what Jo wants.  That is a challenge.

I could have also pushed harder on working in the social entrepreneur space, with Aives.  But that one is not a lost cause, I think it will come back next year, and I may be in a better frame of mind.   I am glad that we did Pig Out, doing projects like that are really my alley, and at least I have started on my charity path.  Work for Bill Gates!

I think these next 3 years will be a good test of what else can be done.  As per the article on "Four Stages of Life", I am not yet quite at Level 3.  And I don't want to be a man child, although I think owning a business instantly makes a person less of a man child.  I do think now that there are many paths to achieving financial independence, not just one business.  So key to this is to develop businesses to run themselves, and acknowledge that as long as it is positive in cash flow, it can be time to move on to something else.  The issue here is that we are running out of capital, so getting some capital back from the existing business is critical.

I really think that Korea will be a good experience.  Time to reflect and review, and time to try new things.  Have to make the experience worthwhile, not sure how, but have that in the back of my mind.  Maybe one new F&B idea, or five potential investment partners to start something in Korea.  Generate the ideas each day.  Follow the 10 ideas a day training.

I would like to work more on my spirituality.  I am happy with the calmness I bring to my own life.  Perhaps more meditations?  Definitely continue to journal.

Health is ok.  Korea could be rough from a drinking perspective, make sure I don't overdo it.  Having an external incentive for gym like Halloween is the way to go!

Escape and Direction

A friend asked me a great question the other day about where I am in my life, especially with my decision to go to Korea for 3 months.  My reply is below:

"Your question on going to Korea as an escape did get me thinking.  The answer is yes and no :)  Yes, a part of me wants to take a break from this business and have some fun.  But am I running away from something?  I don't think so.  I read a book about the dynamics of Asia in the next 15-20 years.  The author forecasts that USA will still remain the dominant power in Asia, but there are challenges via Japan, China.  So the two nations that will help USA maintain their influence in the area are Singapore and Korea, which means that they will continue to get investment and support.  So I actually think Korea will have more opportunities in the future and if I can establish some networks there it could mean more business down the road.  One thing I want to keep in mind is how to make the best use of this experience and not for it to dissolve into some 3 month party.

Can the business run by itself?  After 2.5 years, the restaurant part can and does run by itself.  Sometimes well, sometimes not well!  We add value by keeping our staff motivated, working together and focused on the right things.  You are correct in saying that no one cares for the business as much as the the business owners.  But that doesn't mean that we don't try to encourage and make our staff want to take that ownership.  We are now at 30 full time people in this business!  We have to get multiple layers to manage themselves.  Having Jo in the business whilst I am away of course is good.  But ultimately we have believe that we can find people that are as dedicated to the business as we are and develop this people.  Otherwise we can never grow.

Where Jo and I are now trying to add more value is developing the business in new ways.  Opportunities like developing that retail arm, pitching for a food stall at F1, bidding for a new diner, these are the things that we are now focussed on.  Can they be done not in Singapore?  To a certain extent yes, although developing a design needs some visits to the location.

As to your question of being lost, yes I have those moments.  I actually think that comes with the flexibility that this business has given me.  The tough part is not knowing if any of these opportunities that we develop will actually get us anywhere.  There is also an element of uncertainty that what we do will actually increase our profitability.  So yes I think the direction can be sharpened.  But I feel at peace with what I am doing.  I am happy to be given the opportunity to make things happen.  And by "make things happen", it could mean anything from going to Korea to creating a charity BBQ event to building a new F&B brand.  Maybe that is all that I can ask for.  Just have to make them work.

There is an article that talks about moving from different periods in our lives.  I do feel that I go from Stage 3 back to Stage 2 and back to Stage 3.  Conceptually, I think I already committed to this business with the time and investment spent.  But I also need to understand what are the odds of these new opportunities succeeding and which ones I should pursue.  http://markmanson.net/four-stages-of-life

Thanks for asking me those questions and making me think.  And thanks for the offer of talking through Christianity.  It is something that I think I will have to find my own path for.  And who knows where that path will lead!"

Pig Out!

At last I am doing something charitable!  Pig Out is the outdoor BBQ event that Jo and I are holding, to donate the proceeds back to charity, Food Bank Singapore.  Food Bank collects unused and close to expiry food items and distributes them to Singapore's needy.  Given that we are in the food business ourselves, it is good match.  An even better match is that AugustMan is looking to create a food focussed event, which means we will get publicity firepower.

With events like this, everyone wants their say in the process, so the tough part will be bringing all the different parties together with a common vision.

Thoughts on my side:
1. I am ok with Food Bank, but the reality is that any food related charity works. Perhaps the greater truth for me is that I just want to organise it, I don't really care where the money goes.  Sad but true.
2. We have to make this at least cost neutral for our company.  That means being smart about the expenditure, and probably getting more companies involved for the manpower, as that is the most expensive cost.
3. What I learned from BJ is that we should never be afraid, if not brazen, to ask for support, .  If we believe in doing this event, then others will be inspired as well.
4. Make it small enough that it will succeed, but make it ambitious enough that we fear that it may fail.  That edge is what will drive us.
5. I need to personally market.  Starting with the magazine but also spreading it to my friends.  A good test for my PR skills!
6. I need to take charge of the event and make it mine.  Yes take in the feedback, but I will make it happen!

This will be fun.  Much like how that outdoor dance party was a madhouse, I have a feeling this could turn big.  But we need to start marketing as soon as possible!

80/20 Items

Re-reading the 4 Hour Workweek, there is a section about elimination, both of the excess junk as well as the excess activities in my life.  I focussed on the junk part recently and it was amazing how much crap I do have, even in one half of an apartment.

I would consider myself a neat person, but I realise that the neatness meant the stuff was well stored.  It was still a lot of stuff that in reality meant little to me.  I have gone through toiletries, my cupboard, the outside cupboard, my documents and produced a good three garbage bags of stuff.

Some troubling items:
1. Documents meant for the business.  I am not sure what needs to be kept for this.  The better approach would be to scan everything but I am too lazy.  So I couldn't move much out of this.

2. The books that I have.  So many good ones, and ones that I continue to re-read.  Not sure what to do here.  Perhaps I get them onto Kindle.  Or maybe a better thing is to stop re-reading for re-reading's sake and read new things!

I still have a way to go, especially on the IT front.  Lots of spare cables lying around the house.  A Playstation, Xbox and old games which I never use.  A DSLR camera I hope to get some money for.  If I can sell some of these items, it will help fund a part of the Korea trip.

I am sure I can be even harsher on the requirements.  Question to ask: "does this item make me happy?"  If not, I should get rid of it!

I should do this "cleansing" more often.  It's too easy to keep unnecessary stuff.  I think if I moved out, I would keep going for a relatively small place, to make it harder to hoard.  Having kids may lead to different requirements!  Although I read that a kid has on average 200 toys but really only plays with 10?

Lynn told me that a theme of hers is "live simply".  A good theme to follow.

Publicity

Having been nominated for a magazine's "list", it has made me realise a few things:

1. I do not do much publicity for my personal brand.  Yes I have brands that I promote (Rewind, Morganfield's), but not about myself.  This is probably a function of my own perspective of being humble about these things, preferring for people to experience the brands themselves instead of knowing them through me.  With this magazine opportunity, it is good to have some more recognition, in order to gain a stronger network

2. In order to fully leverage this opportunity, I have to improve my "on screen" ability.  That means more clarity of thought during interviews and other times when I am in front of a group.  A lot of it is just slowing down the speaking, so that I can sound more measured.

Keep focus on the following:
1.  Embrace the opportunity.  Want to be involved, want to meet new people, want to learn to do it better.  Much like language learning, there is a very high likelihood of looking a bit foolish, but why not?

2. Demonstrate my values.  Answer with respect to the people around me, appreciate the good qualities that everyone has at least to some degree.  No need to display showmanship, just self-assurance. Be grateful for being in a cool event with some potentially good people.

I am looking forward to the photo shoot!  Strong jaw line!

Setting The Right Structure for Overseas

What are the key objectives when I am overseas?

I must limit the face to face interactions but also set up the necessary structure to get the right information to the right people.  Start off be limiting time in the outlet.

I must be able to batch decisions into a timeframe so that I can do a lot of work at once.  Try to avoid making on the spot decisions, instead give staff the authority to make a decision up to a certain cost.

I must not be the bottleneck for information or decisions.  Hence all reference guides and where to get items (especially IT) need to be up to date.

I should give Mary the ability to sign cheques up to $5K, so that suppliers and minor cheques can be processed easily.  She should get GIRO access?

I must be prepared to let go, and even be prepared for no income from the business.  Just because this is my current income does not have to make it the only one.

I must still be able to watch the business.  Focus on the P&L, Monthly Reports, COGS, Sales Mix.

Do not work for work's sake.  Find things to do outside of the business.  Consider new business ideas, new directions.

We must be financially solid before I leave, so that we can pay our suppliers properly.  On the flip side, we should push for more 60 day credit terms.

Thinking Straight

I have to think more on the different perspectives of the business, instead of focusing too much on just solving one problem.
I also have to stop just taking the information from my RGMs and regurgitating, and put some thought behind what they say to see if it will be applicable.

I think I still have a tendency to trust too much what other people say.  That includes both RGMs and Jo, actually.  So before I make a decision, take a step away from myself and ask "would I tell Kev this is a good decision?"

In the situation that happened today, I think I am not that good when the arguments are not my own.  If I am representing someone else, then my arguments are not cohesive and thought through.
The problem with this specific issue is that I think one of my RGMs is tuning out or actually acting negatively to any idea that comes from the boss.  Which is no good, as it means that even good ideas or thinking are negatively viewed.  In this instance I think I was trying to help out the situation by attempting to mediate, but in reality I just myself look like I hadn't thought the issue through.

Going forward, three things:
1. Do not get involved in a dispute unless I understand both sides of the equation.
2. Do not try to represent other people's views.  Encourage them to express their own view instead to the people directly.  It is very hard to represent properly.
3. Think as an outsider:  "does this improve the business/guest experience?" vs "what is the operational cost to do this?" and then make the decision based on that.

Ready for Korea

Korea is becoming more definite, say Aug to end Nov.  I can feel it, even with additional opportunities, I am not that keen to explore.  What I do need to work out is some structure to how to manage the business when I am overseas.  I will need to introduce some more documentation on troubleshooting for things.  This is what I provide to people at the moment, and it's easy for them to call me and I will sort it out.  Especially the IT support component.  I will write up all the information, and then have a standby IT support person as required.

I am not sure how the people in my team feel about it.  It was funny, they were joking yesterday about when to visit that I should have a spare room for them to stay in.  So to a certain extent they have come to a realisation that it will happen and are adjusting.  Key would be making sure that Mary is sorted out, and that she is emotionally to take more ownership of the corporate team.  I think she is mature enough, and Jo definitely trusts her, so I think it will be ok.  I am very lucky to have a person like her around, who is committed to this company.

I will also keep away from the outlets a bit this month, to see how it is without me there and if it can still function.  To be honest, the outlets do function already, it is just a matter of how good or how bad.

With Jo, I am not sure how he feels about it.  I think he accepts it, but I am sure he is not super happy about it.  We still have not discussed the pay situation when I am away, although it is realistically only 3 months.  It will mean that I will be unable to help with any new outlet that we get this year.  But looking at our finances we are not in that good a position to expand another outlet, unless we get heavy external funding.

I believe this adventure is worth it.  Worth it just because I want to do it, and that's all the reason that is required.

The other part of this is to be realistic/clear on what I will end up with at the end of 4 months.  I think I will still be a very basic speaker.  But if I am able to get around Korea by myself I will be super super happy!  In that case then the key is to get useful information as quickly as possible so I have the confidence to keep talking.

Two paraphase some guy on a forum I was reading:

Do academic study for a year, then after attaining upper-intermediate proficiency, mainstream yourself. Sign up for hagwon classes in cooking, art, technology etc. alongside Koreans. Join clubs. Sign up for Korean online games. Rent an apartment with Koreans. Get a job that isn't teaching English, like at a restaurant or a 7-Eleven. Scheduling yourself with tons of immersion activities is probably more useful after the initial year of study than another year of dry study.

Directness

So I see this girl at a club.  A bit of eye contact, a bit of a smile.
I was (as usual!) dancing by myself.  She ends up dancing next to me.  More smiling, more dancing.
The following conversation occurs:
K: "Hi, what's your name?"
Girl: "Hi I'm Chrstine."
K: "I'm Kev, nice to meet you."
Girl: "So am I hot?"

What?? To be honest, it was so out of the blue that I was a bit shocked.

K: "hahahaha, Ok lah!"
Girl: (turns away)...

Yes, it was in reality the worst of all answers that I could have said.  There is a concept of honest vulnerability that is not as much "game" but rather just being yourself, and be willing to own up to your thoughts and actions.  Thinking this through a bit more, I need to embrace that honesty more.  Truthfully she was hot, and I thought she was hot as well.  Yes, she was fishing for a compliment.  But fine, I will give that compliment, and I should not care about how she takes it, because the compliment is what I feel at that time, without reservation.

So I think the best answer would have been:
K: "Yes you are, but why do you ask?"

Practising Negotiation #2

A surprising shift in the negotiation process for OC.

What they had previously said as "cannot ever happened", they are willing to accommodate now, with only a minor change.  I must now remember this:  "never accept a 'no' from a person that cannot say 'yes'".  Only then will I be able to negotiate successfully.

Perhaps the other takeaway is to only get involved in negotiations where I really want to drive an good outcome, but if it doesn't happen then it is ok.  If I don't care enough for a deal, I give away too much.    But if I care too much about a deal, then again I give away too much to make it happen.

Two ways to do this:
1. Negotiate as though it is on behalf of someone else, but with some stake in the outcome.
2. Always be looking for an alternative.  Funny enough, the alternative to this deal is not another location but the ability to go to Korea!

It was good to re-read the "Bargaining for Advantage" book.  It is key to keeping high goals in any negotiation.

Opportunities

It seems that one opportunity with the OC takeover is dead in the water.  Having said that, OC seems to still be quite keen on us moving forward and are reducing the rent offering.  It is still high, but a lot different to what they initially offered us.  The key issue is that the current tenant is now not that keen to move out, so I still think the deal will not work out.  But who knows, let's see what they can do.

One thing with opportunities when I have my own business is that any opportunity is potential and needs some thought.  I guess the next few years will be trying to develop, maintain and improve the validity of multiple income streams.  At the moment, there is GAP and Rewind, and we are trying out a new Rewind event to see if it will work.  This means that each opportunity has its cycle of developing (usually quite intensive), maintain (when operationally stable) and then improve (with refreshes of the offering).

So I need to be conscious of what cycle each of them is at, in order to not burn out.  But also I can realise that not all the opportunities require the same amount of attention at the same time.  Unlike a job where I have to focus only on that, I need to develop the skill to quickly diagnose what is wrong and get it fixed up.   Multi-tasking is no good, but serial focussing may be a better solution.

The other skill is to be able to quickly discern the validity of an idea, and the probability of success.  I think I am still quite "on the fence" with many opportunities, so develop the quick "making a decision" ability will increase my capacity to test and see ideas.

The other opportunity is to work with Aives on a social entrepreneur expansion into Asia.  At the moment, it seems like their own execution in Australia needs time, but it gives a bit of space to do some proper market research to come up with a good approach to this opportunity.  I think it is a good one, as I want to get involved in social entrepreneurship.  I am slightly wary though, as I may have a romantic notion of what it actually is about.  Need to get out there and talk to those people in the industry and see whether I really want to do it.  Of course, there are many facets of that business, so another approach (which may be more fruitful) is to find the elements of that opportunity that I think I will enjoy and really push on those.

Control

I had an interesting moment talking about a new concept with an investor.  I had informed him that I was having a meeting with the mall management to go through the final version of the concept, and propose the PSF for the outlet.  He said that he should be at the meeting.  At first I said no because I believe that introducing new elements (being a new person) would affect the negotiation, possibly derailing the process.  And since he was only a potential investor, I wasn't sure if it was good to bring him into the process into the first place.

My potential investor (is his characteristic blunt way) pointed out that it was his strength in negotiation, and that (though he didn't use as many words), believed that he could negotiate a better deal than I would.   I thought about this for a while before agreeing to let him come to the meeting.

If I mapped the thinking process, I would guess that besides the derailing risk, I did have an ego hit when he pointed out my previous negotiation results.  As a "entrepreneur", I would think that I am capable of doing all the job elements.  To be confronted with that fact, is a hard pill to swallow.  And then the more I thought about it, the less downside there was.  Ultimately if there is no deal, there is no business.  And he is very keen to get the deal done, and (hopefully) has the skills to get the deal for the right price.  We have to use the resources we have around us to get the results we are looking for.  Also since he has staked his ability to get that PSF rate, then he should have more incentive.

Of course there is still a downside and that is that he alienates the relationships that we have built with the mall.  Given that we don't have any current business with them, then it is not too big an issue.  Let's see how this meeting goes.

As an overall theme though, it's about the amount of control each of the people have in a new company.  Having not worked with him before, I suppose this period is about finding out what the other person wants.  And in this case, I have to be clear what I (and GAP) is looking for.  I should not think of people as being adversarial straight away.  But I should not give the control up without knowing the reason why.  And the reality of the situation is that whoever has 51% of the votes will control the company. 

Reacting for People Management

I was told the other day that I needed to sort out some people issues straight away, for fear that the person might make a rash decision and leave.  That person was quite important to us.  It was suggested that I should bring forward a planned pay increment as that person had made a statement about her pay being not enough for the work she was doing.

So I went in and gave some encouragement.  I decided not to talk about any increment for that person.  I didn't really talk through any issues to be honest.

What I realised after soothing that person was the following:
1. I should be continually encouraging my staff.  Doesn't matter when or where, I should be doing it.  It does help calm a situation and reinforces the "we are here to help each other" mentality.  A lot of times, it is when people feel that they are doing it all themselves is when they get frustrated.
2. I should not act on any decision like pay increases based on another person's view to act.  I need to be willing to wait until the request is given to me, or when I decide it is the right time.  Trust my instinct.
3. Everyone has good and bad days.  We shouldn't blow things out of proportion and react prematurely.  And overall, as long as we are setting a good environment, things will be ok.  Look at the longer term.

I think I am calm in most situations, but I need to learn to be calmer when it comes to dealing with people.  And assume good people are emotionally mature and can take care of themselves.  Sometimes just a good word will be all that is required.

Concept Work Part 2

It was fun to work on the concept deck for O.  What was cool was to realise how rubbish my first effort was! The subsequent polishing / carving of the presentation via clarifying the concepts, adding new concepts and generally improving the look and feel of the presentation was good to watch.  Plus I have learnt many things about Powerpoint that I had take to the next presentation!

I have read that whatever one writes on the page is what one falls in love with.   The hardest part is to accept feedback and make the necessary changes to improve it.  As someone who is easily swayed, it is easy to lose track of what the original idea was.  Luckily it is good to have people around me who "add value" to the idea instead of trying to bring a whole new idea in.  I also have to be conscious of this and really try to add value to other people's ideas, cause that is where the great ideas come from.

Having the concept brief should make the interior design work easier to understand and to integrate not just the interior but the overall design of the outlet, from food / drinks to interior to uniforms and even the toilets.  We must stay true to the style of this concept, and I think the guest will appreciate the integrated whole.

The most difficult part comes next, which is a) to convince the mall that the concept is good for them, and b) to convince them that whilst it is good, the sales are still at risk and hence we will need a good deal on the rent!  A fine line to tread.

Networking

Just went to a boat cruise today with lots of new people.  Always good to meet new friends, and I think some of these people are ballers! :)

If I am to stay here in SG for a long period of time, and especially if I am going to do more business, it makes a lot of sense to network more and develop a better connection with the "SG upper class".  That's always been one area where I have not put enough thought into.  I just meet people and have fun.  But in SG, probably more so than in Syd or New York, having that connection is a very advantageous thing to have.

The clash is that I always want to do concepts that bring people in.  Hence I am such a mass market fan.  There is less of the "oh if I piss this person off, my business is ruined" concept.  I was talking to a friend that wanted to get into yacht sales, and I was thinking, that is an extremely small market.

I should just continue to be willing to go to new parties and meet new people.  Club meeting is not as good as you can't really talk and everyone is mostly smashed.  Junk boat parties are a good start!

Convincing

I think I have some skill in convincing people to do this things I want.
But with this skill, there is always a risk that I ignore what other people's views are.  It's like riding roughshod over people, but those people feel ok about it!  Is that still a bad thing?

I read a book "Raise the Bar" which talks about the fact that ANY interaction has an emotional component to it.  In that sense, there is always some feeling to any discussion.  And the aim of any discussion with staff (positive or negative) is to make them more engaged, more energised and more motivated than the start of the conversation.  I think that is good advice.  It is very easy to berate people, especially as the boss when whatever you say people listen more than once.

So today, convincing one more my staff that he should cut his labour costs was tough.  I think I ended up pushing through with a certain cost number.  What I think was good was that I offered some specific areas for him to focus on in order to hit that cost number and used past history to manage this expectation.  The "you've done it before, you can do it again!" has worked on many occasions!

Building Ideas

We have an opportunity for a new space at OC.  Rent seems like it can be quite low, so this may mean there is less requirement for it to make massive numbers.  In this case, it's pretty much a blank slate.  And that is the problem, I find it difficult to really conceptualise things that I can confidently say "oh yeah, the market will like this".  Perhaps that is actually too much to ask, start with something that I personally will like and go from there?

This location is on the rooftop, so need to take advantage of the views.  There is a outdoor section, which will be good for smoking.  There is an existing long izakaya bar, which should be easily converted into a normal bar.

The crowd around Orchard I find is not as avantgarde.  As a friend puts it, "it's atas and casual".  So I'm thinking comfort hipster!  Or something a bit more like Jones the Grocer.
Thoughts of utilising the space as an outdoor BBQ, but not sure of licensing rules.
I think back to The Oaks, but not sure if Singaporeans want to cook their own food!
Life is Beautiful is doing something similar.

I would like to combine:  good comfort food, normal priced drinks, and pop music done by a DJ.  Include a decent view and a smoking area, I think I would get some people.

The key is to transition from dinner to night time without missing a beat.  Lights have to go down.

Need to think more!!

Business Automation

My goal this year is to be able to earn the same amount of money from my business in SG without being in SG.  It is being location independent, but having very physical assets.

I estimate that I am about 50% of the way there with GAP.  The current situation is as follows:
1. Operationally on a day to day basis I am not involved.  I am at the outlets a lot, but I do not need to be on the floor or in the kitchen.
2. Corporate work in HR is done by our corporate admins.  This includes all timesheet reporting, payroll submissions and new hires/terminations.
3. Corporate work in IT is still done by me.  All POS changes, all computer issues, all printer issues, etc are done by me on a day to day basis.
4. Corporate work in Finance is still done by me.  This includes all cheque payments, our operations reporting, accounts receivable creation, GIRO payments, bank issues.
5. Suntec outlet construction issues still handled by me.
6. Mall relationships handled by me.
7. Key supplier relationships handled by me.

To be able to be location independent would mean the following (at a base level):
1. Corporate work in IT to be handled by a third party.  Not too hard, just a cost to be factored into our P&L.  I can do POS work remotely.
2. Corporate finance work, especially cheque payments would be handled by another person.  We just installed a cheque printer, so I just need to write up the process for submitting payments to be printed out.  From a sign-off perspective, if Jo is in SG then it is easy just for him to sign cheques,
3. Move more payments into GIRO form so that it can be done remotely.  At the very least all payroll (except CFS) should be GIRO.  Cash flow is an issue now, so holding payments is a good thing and hence holding cheques is a requirement.  Hopefully this is only an issue until April.
4. Mall relationships to be handled by Restaurant General Managers, instead of me.
5. Key supplier relationships to be handled by Drink and Food Champions, instead of me.  That one I can probably still manage remotely.
6. Sort out a communication method (Skype?) to manage the flow of information remotely.

The one area that needs me in SG is business development and new concepts.  Things such as OC or other options need to be sorted out.  Then this becomes a question of priority.  Is it more important to have the Korea experience, or rather should I concentrate this year to get more stuff off the ground?

If the goal is to earn the SAME amount of money, then perhaps it is ok to delay these new projects until I come back to develop them properly.

Separately, to improve some of our existing processes, we need to document the procedures better so that I do not need to be on call for questions on things that have already been answered,.

Worldviews

It's amazing to have conversations with people who have different worldviews to me.  A friend of mine is quite anti-Muslim. Every news they hear that concerns that worldview is slanted so that it paints Muslims in an even worse light.  And with western news the way it is, we only get to see the extremist events, which plays into the "there is nothing good about Islam" view.

It is easy to stay in one worldview.  Everything validates the view, as per perception bias.  It's altogether another challenge to see things from another worldview.  It really is a skill and a discipline to be willing to see the other side of the coin.

I still rate the David Wallace Foster speech as it articulates this skill so well.  I think seeing that other worldview is also skill in identifying business opportunities in this world.

Practising Negotiation

After the Sunday event incident, I had the pleasure of negotiating with the owner of the club as the outcome of the event was so bad.

Previously the agreement was that we would pay for the expenses of marketing the event, and he would cover the cost of staff and the band.  Based on the event turnout, he refused to pay the band.

In the end, we split the cost of the band.  In review, I think I did not negotiate well.
1. We had clearly agreed on the cost of the split.
2. The leverage obviously changed as after the event I was in a fairly poor position.
3. My worse case was to split the cost of the band.
4. My best case was that the agreement was the agreement and they should honour it.
4. When I offered to pay, I should have gone for increments.  Start at $100 and resisted hard on giving more money.
5. I have too great a sense of "fairness" in this context.  Given the relative transactional basis of this negotiation (I was really never going to work with the club owners again) I should have been more aggressive.
6. Will learn to hold the line more for next negotiation.
7. One thing was that I was able to put myself as the "good guy" with the band.  Keeping that relationship is not a bad thing, and something we can cultivate going forward for any additional events.

Poppy Sunday Review

What was done?
- Flyers distributed to Lucky Plaza, Ngee Ann City (twice) and Bugis MRT.
- 2500 flyers distributed
- Minimal facebook promotion. Zero promotion of FB page.

End result:

0 guests.  Let me repeat, 0 guests.  Basically all the assumptions we made about this crowd were wrong.  Meanwhile, Blowfish is packed out on a Sunday night.

Assumptions:

- That $10 / $5 was an acceptable amount for entry, given Blowfish is $5.

- That the location at Beach Rd was not too far away from the main Filipino crowd.

- That a "Filipino Live Band and Pop EDM" tag long was enough to draw a crowd.

- That ultimately that market is being underserviced and just needed additional capacity to fill.

What to do to improve:
- More communication to online FB community.  Challenge the perception that people aren't on FB.

- If we do flyer drops, consider doing flyer drops closer to the location.  Asking people to move from Orchard to Beach Rd is too far.  Focus on areas such as Concourse, Golden Mile and get them to visit.

- If we are going for Filipinos, then make the flyer for them.  Put it in Tagalog and English.

- Make the offering better.  1 for 1 drink.   Cheaper beer towers.  Free bottle if there are 10 in the group.  Giveaways and prizes.  Budget for the event.  Advertise the value more. 

- Utilise the band following much more.

- Review offering? $0 entry? Some giveaways? Group deals? More drinks promotion.
- Change the timing of the event to be 3pm to 8pm as lunch time people are still having lunch!

It just feels like there are minimal people in this area on Sunday afternoons.  Even Haji Lane is quite empty.  I believe that not the right people were told of the event. Plus the value proposition was not strong enough.

New Year 2015

Always worth doing a post in the new year.

There are always goals, there are always aspirations.  There seems to be more a sense of peace this previous year and now, even with all the ups and downs that come with building a small business and attempting also to build up other income streams.

Let's talk more about this "serenity".  I am definitely more comfortable expressing my opinions and revealing a level of honesty about myself.
I subscribe to the "honest vulnerability" concept of interactions with other people.  Whilst I don't socialise what I do that much, I am very open to talking about the things that I do, the good and the bad of it.  And as we all know there is always a good side and always a bad side of every endeavour.  I like being honest.  As a good friend told me once, "honesty is relaxing, because then you don't have to remember what you lied about".
The serenity comes from the feeling that, no matter how bad it gets, it's probably not that bad.  I just read a quote of "if $10k can solve the problem, then it's not really a problem".  Also the serenity comes from an intense focus of trying to systemise things, so that there is less (or no) firefighting, and more time to reflect and improve and create.
Having my own business brings a level of responsibility, but also a knowledge that many things are within my ability to control.  Knowing that means that any problem can be fixed, because it is me that is doing to fixing.

Back to the aspirations.  Korea trip is on the cards.  A long trip which may be an escapism but I prefer to see it more as a challenge to life experience.  I will try very hard not to let things derail this opportunity, by doing all I can to make the businesses I have more resilient, and autonomous.  That in itself is another challenge.  It has been this one F&B business the whole time, this is also the year to start exploring what other opportunities there are out there.
The Korea trip will also push me to live a more minimalistic life.  Less goods, more experiences.  Sell all that I don't need.  And in reality I really don't need much.

Physically I am feeling more my age, but I think I still have a lot of raw energy.  Need to keep that up.  I think setting the physical challenges (like this human flag pole thing) is the right type of inspiration for me.  Very happy if I can do that this year.  Generally better food would help, even 3 times home cooking a week would help.

Other themes:
- Contribution:  Deliver something on this front.  Just organise something and give the proceeds away.  Thinking BBQ Block party in Singapore by May.
- Relationships:  Getting closer to looking for a partner, but still not quite there.  Less floozies this year!
- Focus:  I realise it's too easy to get suckered into looking at my phone all the time, and notice it in other people as well.  Whatever I am doing, give it attention and enjoy it.   Perhaps even no FB on my phone (gasp!) and replace it with a "Ideas Generator" notepad.

As always 2015 will prove to be a enjoyable and educational year I am sure.  Here's to the good times ahead.