The last video blog with the kids for some time, so enjoy. Unless you’re that friend of mine that can’t stand the baby and kid content, then you’ll have more of the “just Mike” content coming soon. But this video was the last few days of mine in Shenyang, China with the wife, kids, and extended family. Then down to …
Traditional Northern (Dong Bei) Chinese Meal
Less than a week before I kiss the wife and kids goodbye for a few months and fly down to Manila, Philippines. So how else to celebrate than to get the whole family together and eat a massive meal. Everywhere in the world, but especially in China, this is how people gather. Wendy booked a nice traditional North Eastern Chinese …
Introvert: Accepting Who You Are
I am an introvert. I think we need to just accept our human nature. Also by knowing ourselves – it helps us better connect with others. Cross Border Summit had truly amazing people. It is all about networking. Today is Oct 24 and we just finished the Cross border Summit last night. Was an amazing time – as always – …
Bumping Into Old China Contacts
Catching Up With Old China Connections Back in my “hood” even to the exact set of city blocks where I lived and setup my office over a decade ago in Shenzhen. Writing that sounds crazy – over a decade ago. My buddy Dave took me with him to meet the real estate agent he’s using to sell his office there, …
We Bought a Shoelace Amazon Business
We Just Bought a Shoelace Business (example of what I’m doing lately) To give people on the personal blog a bit of an example, at Alpha Rock Capital we just purchased a business selling elastic shoelaces on Amazon. They previous owner had been building it up for a couple years and it is a top ranking product in the re-usable …
Upgraded The Chinese Blog For China Business Development
Upgraded The Chinese Blog & Chinese Business Development As a lover of blogging and content, I am proud to say the Chinese blog has gone through a much needed upgrade and refresh. The domain is my Chinese name – Mai Li Ni 迈理倪 – and it is the pinyin version – https://www.mailini.com for you to check out if you so …
Are you a Dolphin, Peacock, Owl, or a Lion?
Are you a Lion, Peacock, Owl, or Dolphin? My wife always gives me another way at looking at the world. As she dives deeper into Buddhism, I often learn from various discussions we have. I’m not going to lie, lately I’m under a ton of pressure, being a dad / parent isn’t easy – the costs increase, and the work …
Team Catchup, Manila 2019
Meetings in Manila For anyone actually following these blog posts – you may wonder where is Mike now? The last couple weeks on the road for consulting and deal making in Bangkok and then to Manila to discuss cooperation with Alpha Rock Capital. Like many online business owners, I have a good amount of people on the team based in …
Looking Back At My Old Job on Wall Street (Memories)
So That Wall Street Job I Had – Seems Offices Closing Up I quit my job on Wall Street back in March 2007. It was a tough one to walk away from, those direct deposits to my bank account ever 2 weeks were a nice bump. Putting in my notice to quit actually is how this very blog even started …
China Trip July 2019
Back to China – again! Wife and a few others asking the deal – so as always – putting it out there. Here’s a very quick writeup so far 10 days on the road – July 6 – 17, 2019. This Saturday, July 6, 2019 fly from Chiang Mai to Hong Kong. Evening flight so spend as much time as …
My Daddy Saturday Night
My Normal Saturday night Just a quick post – this is my life now. Saturday night on the sofa w/ the wife and kids watching Spiderman. My daughter was so scared of Dr Octopus – and my wife was able to snap this photo of her coming to daddy when Dr Octopus was running wild in the movie. I also …
Sitting on the Sidelines Waiting for G-20 Results
Sitting on the Sidelines Waiting for G-20 Results I have never been so “into” politics. The USA, China trade war has forced me to follow politics much more closely. My livelihood depends on it. I feel I’m living in that scene of the Lord of War (my blogs talking about it 1, 2) movie where Nicolas Cage is at his …
In Bloomberg About the Trade War & SME Effects
Quoted in Bloomberg About China/USA Amazon FBA Merchant Stress I’ve been talking to quite a few journalists lately about the effects of the USA/China trade war on small business owners. One of them decided to take a quote – and it is in Bloomberg, Monday June 24, 2019 Here’s the link (paywall): https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-06-23/u-s-china-trade-war-hits-amazon-s-small-businesses And here’s a screen capture And here’s …
My Son Is a Budding Artist
My son is an artist (family of artists) Uncle Bill has really been enjoying the photos lately in various social media channels (I’m not as active there – but my wife has figured out Facebook now that she’s outside of China, heh…) Here’s a photo he drew over the weekend. I have to admit – it was his idea to …
Happy Father’s Day, Receiving & Giving The Best
Happy Fathers Day – Kids Getting Older It is five years now of being a father, and maybe the first year I can really feel the benefits of it. My son Miles made this amazing piece of art for me: Now as a father of a 5 and 3 year old – I’m both a giver and a receiver on …