My 26th Year: Making some plans July 1, 2005
Posted by Martin in : Health & Sport, Thailand , trackbackGoal setting is the business-credible way of basically sitting down and daydreaming in formal language.
It’s always fun and I like to realign my reality with what I really should be doing once in a while. Since nobody else is going to take an interest I though I’d interview myself.
Question: Are you happy in Thailand?
Answer: Hmm … good question… Since April I’ve learnt to speak and understand a lot more Thai which has certainly made my life easier here. There’s some wonderful advantages in living here, most especially:
- I’ve got no commitments on my time whatsoever.
- I’m very happy having Tik as my girlfriend as you all know.
- I eat out as part of my routine, 3-4 times a week in a good restaurant.
- I’ve got a lovely large house, in a beautiful village with every amenity I need within cycling distance
- I’ve got a residual income greater than my living costs so I can dedicate my time to only what I want to be doing
That said there’s still some important things I’d change.
- I’m no financially better off than i was 12 months ago despite promising myself a year ago I’d begin paying off UK debts.
- My village is so far out of central Bangkok I rarely get to see quality friends and the journey can be as much as 90 minutes each way
- I spent a lot of time alone in front of my computer
- 3 weeks a month Tik is in the other side of the country.
- Some days I don’t leave the house or even have a conversation with anybody except online.
On the whole yes, I’ve got a good life here. There’s a few things I can do improve on the negatives and I still believe that for what I am doing with my work I am in the best country in the world. I have learnt so much about e-commerce, web design, and internet marketing that a big success will arrive soon and as I prepare for it I have a lot of time to think, to learn, to network and to stay healthy in a very cheap country to live.
Question: How’s Business?
Answer: I’ve wasted 6 months this year waiting for a 2 month project to be completed so that I could move out of the telecom industry and into something else. Calls in Thailand is of little economic value to me now and it is not worth updating it much. The cost-calculator is very significant and in holding such a practical tool I feel morally obliged to update it every few months. The site itself was only ever designed to point people towards my United World Telecom site anyway.
My Phone-Guide site is similar. It’s self-sustaining and was only meant as a pointer to United World Telecom anyway. I’ll add adsense to the site and again, leave it to run itself.
I’m about to close Clarity Calls. I foolishly partnered with a company with such a poor infrastructure that administering telephone credit because a burden and troubleshooting problems was very unprofessional. The target-market for Clarity Calls. was Thai clients so I’ve just added information about the company to Calls in Thailand instead and will hold onto the $500 or so of telephone credit should it be of value in the future.
United World Telecom 4 me is still my main income provider. Sadly the business has halved in revenue since last year which is obviously frustrating. The main reason is that VoIP (internet telephone) has become more mainstream for large call centers here and, even were I to have offered the service to them I’d only have made a few hundred dollars a month maximum for a lot of work. The Thailand market is nearly dead now as the Thai telecom companies are cheap enough for most people. United World Telecom 4 me is still ranked very high on search engines and when the new version of the site is launched I expect a lot more clients from outside of Thailand. It would be wonderful if I can attract a few high-volume callers again, but seeing as I spend less than an hour a week with the site I’m still pleased to be getting a few new sign-ups each day.
I rushed into commissioning Coder Now to fill a month of spare time. Frustratingly the United World Telecom 4 me update overran by far longer that I’d possibly comprehended it could and I’m left with a half-completed site and no enthusiasm for it. I’d like to get the site completed and leave it until my enthusiasm returns maybe early next year.
All my enthusiasm and excitement are in my You Do Care website which is going to be incredible. So incredible in fact that I’m using my full name and real address in the site registration so that I know I’m in it for the long haul and that my future reputation will rest on this.
I have a new project underway which should bring me about $800 a month with very little time taken. Assuming all goes to plan this monthly sum will double by the end of the year. I won’t know for sure how reliable or risky this project is until early September at the earliest. I’ll detail it when the money’s in my bank, and if not I’ll quietly forget about it.
Question: How’s Tik?
Answer: We are in a very loving and committed relationship. Tik is soon to be coming to England with me for 3 weeks and we are both very excited. Her English is excellent and, as a qualified pharmacist and employee of a reputable multinational Tik is keen to spend a few years in the UK. I’m not averse to the idea of returning but I want to be able to return with my head held high, with no credit card debts and enough residual income that we will not need to work in a crap job. Tik is interested in studying a masters degree in the UK and I’m happy to support her.
Question: You are thinking to return to England?
Answer: Yes, I love Thailand but I’d like my children to be educated in the UK and I didn’t leave the UK with a chip on my shoulder. I like England although the idea of spending a few months each year between the UK and Thailand is appealing. I’ve got debts to clear and You Do Care is going to take at least another 12 months before it grows to even a piffle of it’s potential. I’m thinking 2-3 more years here will be long enough to grow my businesses and to clear all my debts except for my student loan.
Question: Have you done as much traveling as you’d have liked to?
Answer: I’d say yes. I’ve been to less countries in the last 12 months that I’d have expected although New Zealand, Hong Kong and Laos are enough in a 6 month period plus weekends away with Tik within Thailand. I’m certainly able to work anywhere now; my administration can take care of itself and I can take my laptop wherever I need to go.
Question: So what are your main 3 goals for the next 12 months?
Answer:
- Organize my finances so that I am without important debts within 3 years at the latest
- Invest all my energy into building You Do Care so that it generates a monthly income in excess of a good UK income within 18 months
- Study and develop my e-commerce skills more, opening mini-sites to add more income streams and to learn from them.
As usual with me, my plan will change but I’ll follow them until circumstances change and I adapt. As long as I’m moving (and moving forward) I don’t believe anything can really go wrong.
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