Last week I talked about using my business planning skills to prepare for the new adventure for my wife and me. Today I can tell you how the plan is progressing and where changes have had to be made.
In any plan there will always be changes and you must be prepared to adapt to those different circumstances. The secret of a good entrepreneur is that they can recognise change, analyse the change, adapt to the change and implement any alterations to the plan.
As far as the operational plan is concerned, this week saw me having first doubts about a supplier. I had been working on a single source, and up to now I had been confident of my philosophy of people buying from people.
My first doubts came when the prices quoted seemed to be getting higher than the budgeted figure. So an analysis of the situation led me to believe that the single supplier route was being used to see how far above budget they could tempt me.
My approach was to contact a second supplier for the same goods and an email exchange with my first supplier as a result of additional information resulted in things being brought back in line with budget. However, the second supplier is still in the wings should the first one backslide.
The financial plan is still looking pretty accurate and I am confident that there will be no major blips in the next few weeks. Even the ability to move finances from here to the adventure has been confirmed and agreed.
The most satisfying part of the planning was the marketing plan. As I said, the marketing was directed mainly at our children. I say children, although the youngest is nearly forty! By carefully planning how to discuss things with them they were incredibly supportive and look forward to visiting us.
So, the question is where are we going? Well, we want to do more exploring of Asia and we intend making Kuala Lumpur a second base. Our plan gives us ten days to establish a second home in Malaysia and then we will aim to spend half of the year there and half of the year in Turkey.
This week we received approval of our application to Malaysia My Second Home that will give us an unlimited ten-year visa. In the first few days there we will complete the administrative processes necessary to collect the visa.
Once this first stage is established then we will start planning for a busy 2020. In the spring we will downsize in Turkey for the six months we will be here and we will fit in some short-term consultancy that is likely to happen. Writing will also continue as will the motivational speaking.
We must also remember the part of the marketing plan where we promised two trips to our children and grandchildren each year; not to mention delivering a business-counselling course in the UK.
But for now we will complete this first phase and learn to live, not as holidaymakers but as residents in an Asian capital. I am confident that the operational plan will work and the marketing plan has already proved itself. Provided my wife can resist the 170 shopping malls in Kuala Lumpur then the financial plan should work as well!
I have always said that my profession is not business but people and I hope that this new adventure will increase my knowledge and understanding of people in Asia as well as giving me more material for my writing and blogs.
My next blog will be written in Kuala Lumpur.
