Hi Mom and Dad – This is What I’ve been Upto…

Had a really long talk with my parents down here in Florida….jeez, its crazy how complex life has become, I try my best to cover things via this blog, but maybe there is even more….how do people stay in touch? I guess the traditional, old fashioned way is daily phone calls in the evening, maybe for 30 minutes to an hour. How did your day go, what did you do, who did you see, what decisions did you make? Do you need any advice, maybe input or perspective on a problem a person is dealing with.

Maybe I’m just not normal, but I see more and more people interacting online – status updates facebook/twitter, IM chats (instant messenger- AIM, MSN, QQ, Skype) emails, direct messages – I don’t even talk on the phone that much anymore. But then say someone wants to see how their friend is doing these days, will they go onto facebook, check their profile – see where they are living, what job they have, if they are single or married. No more needing to ask friends and family that may have been in more constant contact with the person – its online.

Crazy world, right.

Well for me, I guess I don’t do 1 thing, nor am I in 1 place. My friends ask me what I am doing. I was half-asleep in a van ride with my friends in Puerto Rico, and they started to talk about me. One friend asked what I’ve been upto – and there were 2 different stories – another friend I was selling bar supplies on the internet, and another mentioned I was also doing website marketing and promotion – a new thing. Sometimes people still think I am doing china sourcing as a full time gig – working with new products between China and USA. Sure I do that on a case-by-case basis with some alliances in China – but that is not my focus at all.

So….what am I doing now:

I developed and experienced China, Philippines / Asia over the past 3 years. First started there doing product sourcing (dealing with product development and chinese factory coordination) but wasn’t my calling in life. While in China, I found that my passion and my main value others also saw in me, is marketing and networking – mainly through the internet, also called SEO (search engine optimization). It actually utilizes my university degree – Engineering Management – as it’s a balance of technology/internet , outsourcing / process management, and marketing/sales/ “soft tech”. I love meeting people, making deals, connecting others.

When I came back to USA – specifically New York City – sure, not much had changed, but man, I had changed. Maybe I still look like some 21 year old fresh college grad (hey, I’m 29 but I have a baby face) and my overall attitude is the same – but my mind and my experience, as well as my overseas network of contacts has grown exponentially. I was working on sales while in USA, maybe find a sales rep to cooperate with – but decided (yes, rather quickly) that I could make more money for my business, as well as do business faster – by doing USA sales myself IN USA. It was too much for me to try to remotely sell and deal with relationships in America remotely via email and skype calls. And while the internet is making it easier and easier to do business without ever meeting people, face to face business meetings just moves things faster – with trust and overall “Feeling” of the counterparty’s emotions and reactions.

So…I’m going to open a NYC office, for sure. It wil be for my “corporate umbrella” company – Shadstone, and I will do sales and business development for SEO services, outsourcing services, and hopefully get some people to help me open a retail store / delivery system for newyorkbarstore.com. My staff in Philippines and China shouldn’t worry….as I grow, they will grow with me. I spent a lot of time there building up trust, relationships, and training – they know my style and we work well together. Also talking to my university, Stevens tech, I hope to speak there and share my experiences. Also brainstorming topics to write a book, since I have fallen in love with blogging (I never used to like to write in school, was more attracted to math/numbers)

So there is the short story….thought I would head back to China and Philippines in November, but think I may miss that return ticket and book a flight in early 2011 instead. Originally the plan was to meet friends, family – as well as business customers, current and prospects, then go back to Asia to continue to develop the back office – and try to do some more China sales via seminars and consulting heading there every 6 months or so. But I see opportunity in USA, in New York City, and my business will benefit the most by me being here. Sure, everyone in the news is talking about China being the big opportunity – I didn’t bail on that….I just have made so much more deals in USA, its my home turf, and I am gonna rock it.

So that is what I’m up to – mom and dad!