Getting towards the end of Jan 2021, and preparing for Chinese New Year (mid Feb 2021 this year). And, it is always our daughter’s birthday during this time. She was born on the coldest day on record in Shenzhen, China in 2016 (watch that vlog here) And her last 2 birthdays have been in lockdown up in cold Shenyang, China. …
How Is Working Online?
I had a nice chat with our Video Editor, Alvin Canada during our retreat last year in March just before all the craziness of Covid. I’ve worked with Alvin for many years now and he has done amazing work. One of the questions I asked him was, how is it working online? Hear it from Alvin himself as he shares …
Speaking in Baguio
Last year in February, before all the craziness of COVID-19 hit, I had the chance to go up to the Summer Capital of the Philippines, Baguio City. It was a 6-hour bus ride from Manila. And, if you’re wondering what got into me to take that long trip, I was invited to speak before e-commerce entrepreneurs there. The workshop was …
New Year, New Covid Test
Welcome 2021! We are all adjusting to the new normal and here in Shenyang, China there is a new outbreak of COVID, some new strain. I’ll be honest, I am not following the news. But all I know is, New Year’s morning, we woke up to mandatory COVID swab tests in a vocational school turned COVID testing center. A bit …
Company Retreat
March 2020 was crazy! I went to Bohol in the Philippines to meet my team. The plan was to do a strategic planning and team building or retreat. I just want to get to know the team better. Then, it happened. Lockdown. We were having fun one day then scrambled to try to get home the next. The rest, well …
My Son Wants To Become a Kung Fu Master!
We all have new year’s resolutions. My son, Miles may not even be aware of what those are yet but he has one: To become a Kung Fu master! All those Atom Man cartoons and toys combined with his love for Spiderman led him to want to learn Kung Fu. So Wendy found a nearby (well, 30 minute taxi ride) …
Top Productivity Tip
Keep the student mindset. This is a valuable tip that my friend, Rico Ngoma, shared in a short clip. It is true. In order to be productive and get on top of your game, you have to keep the student mentality. This means, you should never stop learning. Have a humbling experience of not knowing anything and learning about it …
Merry Christmas From Shenyang, China
We are coming to a close this year! While no Christmas tree or Christmas “Culture” here in Shenyang, China – was able to get a “hong bao” from Wilson Blues and went to the mall to grab some books and dig through various markets to find some wrapping paper. Kids pushed to open on Christmas Eve – but we insisted …
Top Copywriting Tip
“Copywriting and writing are two very different things.” This is what Ana Warren Gonzales said when asked about tips on copywriting. She also said something about Core Emotional Benefit. Watch and listen in to know what this is all about as she shares in a nutshell a top copywriting tip.
Why Rico Moved to Asia
I caught up with my friend, Rico Ngoma, CEO of Source Find Asia, in Manila, Philippines early this year. This was before the whole COVID-mania took over most of our lives. We talked about why we moved to Asia, what made us take that leap from where we were and why we decided to stay. It was fun thinking about …
Speaking in Quezon City
I have often said that what I love to do is content creation. But behind all that is the desire to share what I have learned in cross border trade, e-commerce and life in general. Hopefully, I get to help others do some innovation in their ecommerce businesses. Here’s a clip of me speaking in an event organized by a …
Why I like Inbound Marketing
A lot of e-commerce entrepreneurs rely on one channel and one marketplace for their sales. But it dawned on me when I woke up one day and got a sale that this thing is the future – inbound marketing. What is inbound marketing and why is this a thing that e-commerce entrepreneurs should learn to grow and scale their business? …
The Question: Scale or Sell An Ecommerce Business
We all wonder, when building up a business, what is the end goal? Build it for the rest of our lives, or part ways with our “baby”. It is true, a business, a brand, become part of our identity. For the first E-commerce Gladiator business, we decided to sell. We also believe the future owner has more funds and more …
Get Ahead in Q4
Year 2020 is a wild year and, I mean that in every aspect. Covid-19 has got everyone in a quandary on what to do next. Lockdown, quarantine and testing were just some of those buzz words that got everyone wondering what lies ahead. But it also brought many opportunities especially for e-Commerce business owners. Because, when almost everyone was in …
Why I Moved to China
This is a common question I get from people. An American in China, yes, that’s me. But the journey started from not having the idea on what to do. I know, we all went through that phase. We just differed in how we dealt with it. In my case, I crossed borders. Not getting what I mean? Watch this short …