This is My Journey. Come & Join My Insanity

Five suits, five weeks and five countries!  This 5-week long blog will not guide you how to become the next gazillionaire CEO since most come from old W.A.S.P. money anyway.  Think of this as our very own Prince and the Pauper story.  You be the Prince, and I will be, well you know.  I have done the Mad Men/ Executive Life thing.  However, a few things changed during the course of that journey.  A war, cancer, divorce… to name a few.

Very quick stuff about me: My parents were illegal immigrants who waited tables and nannied for the rich in order for me to get an education and a life in the country they wished for me to call home.  I went to school with the children of diplomats and hedge fund managers in Westchester County, worked in Madison Avenue and Wall Street before eventually moving to America’s #1 Master Planned community.

However, my story isn’t about making that first million… it’s about earning a livelihood while learning how to live.  

My name is Kyle.  I’m a Filipino-American entrepreneur and a writer-producer of documentaries.  I will be writing this 5-week long blog to keep my Writer’s Block at bay while trying to also have fun in the cities I visit because Life isn’t just about making that first million.  It’s about picking yourself up after the shit hit the fan and you’ve lost all that money while getting yourself back on track to make more.  

And please share the wealth by posting your thoughts/advice in the comments.  Hopefully, we can learn a few things about ourselves in the process.   Thanks!

MNL > 35th Birthday in Manila, Ends & Beginnings

On the 30th city I flew into, since this whole adventure started five years ago, I never knew at any time during those 5 trips over the last 5 years would bring me back where it all started.

This weekend, I will be celebrating my 35th Birthday.

LHR > The Highs & Lows in Heathrow

The price conscientious traveller at Orwell's Fountain House.

I hope after being with me in seven cities by now, you’d know that with me: It’s all about keeping that per diem low!  Remember, it ain’t how much you make, its how much you save.  So let me give an addendum to Budget Tip#7: Friends who work for airlines can also get you inside the lounges.  A killer savings from the exorbitantly priced airport food and a not-so-bad place to chill for lay-overs.  My personal record was 17.5 hours at the Virgin Lounge here at Heathrow.  And why not?  Free haircuts, showers, sushi, name it.  It’s here.  And I love the holiday cufflinks they give away.  

Today, after I finish this fantastic English Breakfast inside the parlour of the bed-and-breakfast I stayed at last night (the Fountain House was a former school George Orwell was a teacher at), I will be catching a gypsy cab to the airport.  I had taken them before coming from a late-night flight from Hong Kong.  I crossed the street outside of Heathrow and didn’t have enough money to afford the expensive black cabs.  Taking the gypsy cab is kinda like the Chinatown buses that travel across the East Coast in the US: Cheap but travelers beware!  They drive crazy! 

The English Breakfast: Great for filling up, especially for trade-show or travel days when you need to skip/save on lunches.

 Five suits, five weeks and five countries!  This 5-week long blog is unlike most business-lifestyle sites (or books) – where they all *guide* you through how to become the next gazillionaire CEO while conveniently minimizing the fact that they came from Old W.A.S.P. Money in the first place.  What I will share with you are my experiences – typically my challenges and failures - and how to make enough for a comfortable livelihood.  Heck, if you’ve got advice to share for all of us, I’d love to see that in the comments!   Thanks!

LGW > Grating My Teeth in Gatwick

One can still travel in the world's most expensive city comfortably within budget.

 While I wait in line for my over-priced London Cab, here’s Budget Tip#7:  Kiss butt to friends who work for airlines. Seriously, no joke!  As in *always* send a Happy New Year card.  They’re great for buddy passes and emergency trips.        

“When do you think the travelling will taper down, Kyle?”  I’m not sure, Kel.  They’re the Board of Directors.  If they tell me to go to London or Tel-Aviv as part of their dog-and-pony show, it means I do the song and dance.  “So if they tell you to jump?!”  You know the answer to that!  I say how freakin’ high?        

That was the kinda conversations that were happening every Sunday afternoon before a trip.  But what my wife didn’t understand was that once you start dealing with angel investors and VCs, it ramps your game to a whole different level.  I was basically on a plane 4x a week.          

Having friends that work for the airline is great - especially for emergency trips & buddy passes.

 Sometimes I’d bring one of the kids, oftentimes it’s just me and cold Chinese food in some hotel.  Taking in investments doesn’t just mean you give up significant control of the company to your directors.  It also means you let go of a significant amount of control of your schedule.  Especially when you want more money down the road from these guys.  Was this similar to your experience with angels or VCs?

YYZ > Cold Market in Toronto

I was surprised to hear Toronto as 1 of the world's most multi-cultural city.

I love going to small family owned restaurants to enjoy dishes like this extra-spicy bowl of Thai Tom Yum.  Lemme share Budget Tip #6: Make sure you know friends (or relatives) who own a restaurant.  It’s a great way to save on money and impress a prospect/ client at the same time.    Luckily, my dad’s with me to see his distant cousin who just immigrated from Manila and has a new Thai restaurant by the boardwalk.       

I try to spend as much time with family when the opportunity presents itself.  My father (another writer), who was diagnosed with leukemia, helped me realize early on in life that despite long hours that workaholics such as us may invest in the job, if it is something that one loves doing, then one would cease to look at it as work but more as living life.      

Considering how cold Toronto gets, getting some hot and spicy Thai food was exactly what we needed.

What I believe has made this signature dish known to other countries is the difficulty in creating a harmonious blend of the  five essential elements that define Thai cuisine: the hot, sour, salty, bitter and sweet.  And isn’t that, my friends, what Life really is about?   

Achieving balance isn’t about getting that Great American Novel or the $5.0-Million in venture capital money while being able to get home in time to be with the kids.  Because face it, even when you’re home you’re still working on that Great American Novel and re-working that proposal for $500K of angel money.  

Just make the soup.  Buy the packet at the store.  Get the recipe from the restaurateur.  Do something and don’t worry too much about work-life balance.  ‘Cuz isn’t that all we can hope is that what we cook up is… edible?

YUL > Oui, oui for Montreal

Old Town Montreal is great place for tourists and business-folks alike. Have hot chocolate & crepes in between meetings!

Ever since my wife was diagnosed with Stage IV breast cancer at the age of 30, health and wellness was an industry/lifestyle/community that became very important to us.  I am here at the Underground City to meet up with one of the most fascinating children’s skin care companies I have ever met.  Basically in a nut-shell: their lotions make Johnson & Johnson look like a Twinkie.     

Today’s Budget Tip#5 is “Do NOT pay for demo samples!”.  Too many friends of mine have invested tons of money (and time) in Multi-Level Marketing products such as Mary Kay, AmeriSciences and other nutritionals, etc.  If you market yourself properly – and present yourself confidently – a manufacturer will give you the materials you need to sell *their* product.     

Sometimes if you play your cards right @ the front desk, you may even get a voucher or two for breakfast.

Montreal seems like such a fashionable city!  When I used to be in the ad agencies, I was able to handle the launch of Joseph Abboud and some campaigns for Citizen Watches which gave me my fair share of working with the fashion pubs such as Vogue and GQ.  And now being on my own, working 1-on-1 with the small fashion upstarts and the new designers in launching their new companies, it’s a whole new ball-game that I hope will pay off.   

But whenever I’m home from my business trips, I get approached by other “home business owners” pitching their Multi-Level Marketing (MLM) schemes.  “C’mon, Kyle, you’re in fashion already.  Cosmetics, gourmet food and Mary Kay will be a walk-in-the-park for you!”.  I just don’t get it why folks consistently fall for these hucksters with their fuzzy math.    

Have any of you ever reaped profitable returns for *any* MLM business package?  Isn’t establishing a distributor/ reseller structure the better way to go when dealing with products than a MLM/ Direct-to-Consumer franchise model?

BOS > Bullies in Boston

Quincy Mkt will give you many resto/pubs to cap off an evening w/ Good Eats or a Fine Brew.

I am waiting for my Little Sister from Another Mother here at Faneuil Hall/ Quincy Market.  So here’s Budget Tip# 4: “Contacts in government are golden!” That’s right.  Even though government contracts are *without a doubt* a pain in the butt to win, the pay-off (no pun intended) is that department/agency accounts tend to last longer than their private-sector counterparts.   

It has been a crazy-ass 24-hours.  Renting a car at the Avis on the Upper East Side and driving to Bean Town Boston (not to mention the pass-thru at Logan Airport to pick up my colleague) so we can present to some heavies at a couple of venture capital firms in nearby Waltham.  Most entrepreneurs think getting VC or PE (private equity) money is easy like in the movies.  No it ain’t!  Its one of the most difficult and stressful things I have ever had to do in my professional career.  And that’s just talking about the preliminary pitches.  The real night-mares and sleepless nights begin during the “due diligence” phase when these guys dissect your business plan, financials, earnings reports, etc. to the most minute details.     

Modestly priced Chinatown is perfect for Govt Contacts that are mindful of *how much* you spend for lunches & mtgs.

Which is why sometimes – it ain’t often - I’d just say lower that price-tag and sell it to the government instead.  You see, government agencies (based on my experience) don’t need all the legalese industry jargon BS.  Just present them a product/platform that they sincerely CANNOT produce on their own and pitch it.  You’ll get the quick “Yes” or “No”.  But at least you’ll know where you stand.  And if you have contacts in the inside who can help guide the process through, even the better.  What have your experience been with government accounts?  Do you think Mobile Applications present opportunities for government grants/ accounts? 

 

ALB > Backroom Bargains in Albany

Photo: PBS, SUNY Hostage Situation | Friends are your greatest resource in life's adversities of violence, illness, poverty and heart-break.

“Get the hell down!” is basically all that I remember that day when ATF (Alcohol, Tobacco & Firearms) agents and the FBI stormed into our classroom, pressed us down against the floor with a MP5 submachine gun next to my face, and evacuated us out of the building.  Little did I know there was a university hostage-taker 30-feet away that morning as I experienced my very first “exit strategy”.    

Old college buddies are a great resource, especially thanks to Facebook.

A lot has happened since that day at the university lecture center.  I am here at ”Old Boys Club” Albany, state capitol of New York, where backroom deals have historically shaped the city’s colorful past to meet up with an old college buddy turned lawyer to craft my own backroom deal.  The lovely Diva will surely be looking for other things to keep her creative juices flowing as she keeps the day job at the firm.  She’s at the rest-room, fixing that fabulous hair of hers before we go out for dinner.  So here’s Budget Tip #3: Juice up relationships for free work!  And once you make it big, be sure to spread the wealth and pass some of that cake around less you lose your most valuable resource:  your friends!  

Having a good lawyer as a member of your executive/ management team goes beyond the benefits of having a steward guide your organization through potential liabilities.  Lawyers are phenomenal at making sure you earn money at every single touch-point your business establishes with its client/ market.  And before I head to Boston tomorrow, I will devour everything what my attorney friend will be willing to share.  You don’t need to surround yourselves with “Yes” folks.  The ones that say “You have a problem here, a liability there, and an opportunity nowhere.” are the diamonds that will make it less rough for you and your partners down the road.   Legal counsel can help craft the most appropriate processes for your organization so you don’t have some employee becoming disgruntled and going psycho because you handled their getting laid-off poorly.  

Do you think Legal Counsel should be part of the team or as a consultant and why?