Hi Elmat, My office, my buddy, and I had a good chuckle about our afternoon meeting with the good folks I spoke of, and after understanding their Focus (product, market, geography, technology, know-how), Structure (internal, financial, external alliances, sub-contractors, friends), Phasing (phasing of change in Focus and Structure) and Economics (who pays how much for what), I advised them as follows:
<<(a) Does the Mandarin Hotel in Hong Kong have laundry service?>>
They need to adapt their US business model of targeting J6P to an Emerging Asian business model of targeting small/medium enterprises interested in accessing the US market via the net, and they need to develop their software and ancillary services to improve the binding between customers and their business, and between customers and their end-user customers over a long period.
They need to try their business model in Australia/New Zealand, Singapore, Malaysia, or some other English speaking area before attempting to enter China, because of the cost, fine tuning of business model and localization (language, staff) necessary to enter China.
<<(b) Do they accept Amex and Visa cards?>>
They need to some how offer ancillary services, including entering into strategic alliances, to get goods from door-to-door, and particularly concentrate adding factoring and billing, credit check/clearing in some fashion so as to live off a 3-day float between collection from the end-user customers and payment their clients (SME).
<<(c) How much cash should we carry with us?>>
Try adapting business model and fail elsewhere before attempting China, because China will cost money, and Jay cost a bit as well.
<<(d) Investing in China scares us. What should we do?>>
Invest in Canada or Australia first, then maybe try Hong Kong, and finally, forget about China, just settle for Shanghai.
<<Emerging market, treacherous. These rich hillbillies are fortunate to have wandered into the Shop of Jay as their first stop>>
Had they wondered into another shop, they would like become an divesting client of mine within 60 months: 12 mths for things to turn ugly, 24 mths for them to try fixing things on own, 12 mths for them to try getting some schlock shop to try to fix things, and 12 more mths of quiet desperation, and then, wandering into my office by recommendation :0)
At that time, had it happened this way, Jay would tap on his 20-year old HP 12C financial calculator, and work out a package of retainers, man-day fee, and success fee for getting them out of the fire pit and go home with hopefully 50% of they put into hard assets and equity partnerships.
However, instead, they got a meal out of me at the fcchk.org (creme brulee is very good) and an afternoon of conversation accompanied by drinks.
My business is simply the selling of my time and involves little use of capital and assets except for some computers.
Chugs, Jay |
