Major Announcements

As I mentioned in my previous post, our primary reason for visiting the US was for my sister's wedding.  However, I took advantage of the opportunity to attempt to make progress on some other initiatives I've been working since January.

Before I get into those "other initiatives", some perspective:

When I took the assignment in Indonesia, we were all in agreement that it would be a temporary, two year assignment, and I would return to my original job in Phoenix.  Then, things started to change.  The first big event was the economic crises that delayed my start in Indonesia by nearly three months.  As part of the economic downturn, I reduced my North American staff in New Orleans and Phoenix by half.  When I departed, instead of having one person fill my role overseeing both teams, my company assigned a manager to the New Orleans team and separate one to the Phoenix team.  I wondered which of the teams I would manage when I returned in two years.

This past January, we initiated another big event.  We outsourced a majority of our technical services to a consulting firm with a support center in India.  As part of that adjustment, we decided to close our New Orleans office.  However, we wanted to keep that manager, so we transferred him to Phoenix and split the Phoenix team in two, then added a few more resources.

It was at that point that I began to doubt there would be a job for me in Phoenix at the end of my two year assignment.  I had confidence I was adding value to the organization, so I was not concerned I would be cut loose.  I also knew that I needed to start driving my own destiny a little more, and I took some precautionary measures, that I'll discuss a little later.

After we returned from our trip to Europe, I began initiating talks with my boss about my transfer back.  He was noncommittal - which I expected.  A few months later, my boss came for a visit and I again broached the subject.  It went something like this:

ME:  Have you given any thought to what my role will be back in Phoenix?

BOSS:  We have discussed it a little.  Things have changed a lot and continue to change.  There is no telling what our organization will look like next April.  We like how things are working now, can you extend?

ME:  I don't think my wife would be amenable to that.  My core strength is solving problems.  We have a problem with (name of department), why don't we put me there for a while to fix that?  Or, I really like business analysis, I could lead that group.

BOSS:  I understand where you are coming from.  Can you extend?

At the end of the day, it came down to three choices:  1) We extend another year; 2) We move back to Phoenix and I spend 2 months of every quarter working in Jakarta; 3) We wait and see what possibly opened up by my transfer date (ie, maybe nothing).

We decided that the best thing for our family was to extend through June of 2012.

Back to my "other initiatives"....

Before we moved to Indonesia, my wife and I were discussing the possibility of opening a Kid to Kid franchise.  The timing wasn't right, and we opted to move to Indonesia instead, and planned to open a store when we returned.  When the events transpired in January, I could no longer wait.  I started seeking out a partner who I could trust to run the store in our absence.  I found a great partner that I have absolute faith in (I won't name them in this space because they have not yet informed their current employer).

In June, I paid our franchise fee and bought the rights to open a franchise in the East Valley.  We will be the first in the East Valley, the fifth in Phoenix, and number 85 internationally.  During our visit to Phoenix this past week, we viewed what we think, pending negotiations, will be our location.  It's just over 3,000sf of retail space in a strip mall anchored by a Sprouts grocery store and a Kohl's department store.  We plan to hold our grand opening in April.  I'm very excited.

The second thing I've done over the last year is complete three books.  No, not reading them.  I've written three books.  Two children's books (the text of which you've seen on this blog here and here), and a novel called "The Tribe" (the first chapter of which you'll find here).  Hemingway they are not, but I think they are all entertaining.  In the next few weeks, I'll be posting the first chapter of a few new manuscripts and, like before, giving you the opportunity to pick which one sounds the most interesting.

While we were in Phoenix, I attempted to meet with a local author who wrote a book I mentioned here.  If you have not yet read the book, I strongly recommend you do.  It's a great court-room thriller.  I was hoping he could give me some advice, at a minimum, contacts, at best, to help me down the path of getting published.  Unfortunately, our schedules never worked out for us to meet.  So, I'm back to square one with finding a publisher.  Many thanks to those of you whom have read "The Tribe" and provided feedback.  If there is anyone else interested, please just ask and I will forward you a pdf version.

The final initiative I've been pursuing this year is an online version of a game I invented a few years ago.  I initially sought out a manufacturer for the board game version, but found start-up costs prohibitive.  The online version, however, proved much less expensive.

The first step was obtaining a copyright granting me exclusive rights to the game.  I hired an attorney to assist with this step and I received confirmation of my ownership just a few months ago.  The second step was to define a licensing agreement for the electronic version of the game.  Again, I had a lawyer draft the document for me.  Through negotiations with a software development company in Indonesia, we came to a licensing agreement that worked for both of us.  They will develop and distribute the game at their own cost.  I will not charge them a licensing fee.  When the game starts to sell, we will split the revenue 50/50.  Worked for all sides.

I have spent the last few weeks testing first a prototype, and, now, a final draft of the game complete with updated graphics.  We are targeting a December release of the game for the iPod, iPhone and iPad platforms.  We will be pricing it at $1, so I fully expect every one of you with a compatible hardware device to purchase my game!  You can spare $1.  Oh, and tell your friends.  I want to sell 20,000 units in the first month so it rises to the top of the best seller's list.

The other thing I should note is that none of those enterprises will require me to quit what I am doing.  I'm thankful for that.  I like the company I work for and the people I work with.  At the same time, I've now hedged my financial security against potential future changes in my companies organization.

I guess my other enterprises can best be summed up this way:  "Don't quit your day job".