One of my biggest issues is “Shiny Object Syndrome”, I would be in a really good place and somehow I would be pulled astray by yet another shiny object. My mind is moving so quick and (back then) I did not really take the time to slow down. It was all turned on and churning all the time. So sometimes, something new would catch my eye and i’d go off on a tangent. This would not healthy for existing pursuits. I’d end up neglecting the work i needed to do. To solve this, I implemented “New Business Sunday”.

What is New Business Sunday?

Every time a new inspiration hit, I’d note it down in a list near the back of the notebook. Every Sunday, I would sit down for 1-2 hours, pick and idea and plan how the business would take shape. Sometimes this was about marketing and sometimes it was about design and/or engineering. In some cases, I have even banged out a landing page to test customer responses (happy to report that most have not worked).

So what happens with the plan? In most cases, absolutely nothing. It just needed to get out. It needed to be a way for me to learn. Perhaps one day, those dots will be connected. But that is not the point of New Business Sunday. The point of New Business Sunday is to let the monkey out of my mind.

With AI, New Business Sunday takes on new dimensions. the AI becomes both a brain dump and a partner. Not sure if this is good or bad. But my preference is to write. Use the computer for research but write.

chatGPT helped me generate an image.

Anyway, the point of this writing. I’m going to bring back New Business Sunday. My week is going to be spent on the businesses that are currently working for us. I’ll note down the ideas and wait for the end of the week to let that energy out.

Sunday is going to be spent on ideas.

PS. I’m going to be sharing about new technology that I use in the business. The links will definitely be affiliate links that would allow me to earn a commission. But, by and large, i’ll only share things i think would be helpful.

Photo by TheMarketingHustle.com on Unsplash

Photo by Dylan Hunter on Unsplash

In 2023, I spent a lot of time dealing with difficult clients and we fired most of them. For the safety of my team and for our future selfs moving forward, this had to be done. 

It’s one of the most fun parts of being an entrepreneur.

If you have planned and played the game well enough, you would be in a good position to reject clients and fire your customers.

The important thing when firing customers is to not burn bridges. Make sure that you leave space for them to continue working with you in the future. You want to use the firing as an opportunity for your customer to become your advocate too. You want to provide your customer with the right explanation as to why you are not a good fit and more importantly, you want to leave the customer better off than before they first contacted you.

Some examples of the past week:

Client 1 - Operations Manager at a large MNC

“Can you keep the consistency of the 3D Prints within 0.0001″? Can you print 5 of them and send them all to us? Within one day? If there is a need to reprint, can you do the reprint and send it to us, within one day? Can you also give us a big discount?”

In a previous assignment with the same client, they rejected a whole batch, nearly $1000 worth of 3D Prints that they deemed were not “usable”. We did the reprints and then instituted a process where one piece is sent for checking and confirmation before the rest of the batch. This way, our interests and the client’s interests are protected. 

But the client was not interested in protected our interests. They wanted us to take on all the risks, while providing them with a quick turnaround on design and parts. All while giving them a discount. 

Here is how it was handled: 

“We are unable to support your current needs, here are the contact details of some other businesses that may be able to help you. “

Client 2 - Infocomm Manager at an Educational Institution

“Can we come see the 3D Printer this week? We are looking at something that is easy to use, good quality prints with at least two year warranty? Ideally, we also want multi-colour printing capabilities.” After telling them that we do not sell 3D Printers anymore, this happened. “Are you able to support us with this? We will provide you details on which machine to buy, you just have to support us with the local warranty.” 

The machines would have cost $1800 each and the clients total budget was $4000. 

Here is how it was handled: 

“Unfortunately, we are unable to support your request at the moment. The machine you have chosen is a good one, however, you want to be sure of these few things - (insert some advice from years of experience). 

Here is information on some resources you can use to create lesson plans later on.”

Client 3 - Innovation Manager at large local engineering business

“Here are the 20 files we need to print, quantity is shown in the filename. We need you to complete this within one week of our confirmation (if you are chosen). Please send us one set as a sample for evaluation. Payment term is 60 days after delivery”

Here is how it was handled: 

“Thank you for the opportunity to support your requirements, unfortunately, we may not be the best fit for you based on your requirements. Here are the contact details of some other providers who may be able to help you.”

As we work to push mēkā into product design and development, we’re saying no to clients who do not suit our goals.

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Since I started in business in 2013, China has been a big part of the journey. Suppliers, manufacturers and agents have mostly been from Guangzhou or China. It's been more than 10 years of working with China and this just felt like the right time in our journey to visit. I had very high expectations going in. I knew I would love it no matter what. I was looking forward to an adventure through the heart of wealth creation, technology and culture in Shenzhen.

I landed in Shenzhen at 4am. And the adventure started right away. My own data plan was not working, so Airport Wifi was the only way to get a didi (Chinese version of Uber/Grab) out to the hotel. The pick-up area is well-organised and I had no problems finding the car. However, this is probably cause it was 4am and there were only 2 cars there. Got into the car and the driver starts to ask me questions. Looking at his phone, he needed to input a 4 digit code. My best guess was my handphone number, after a few tries we got it. And seatbelts are a must. From the little I could understand, he was trying to explain to me that there were cameras that could capture within the vehicle.

8am and I was off. First factory visit did not disappoint. The breadth and quality of work for a predominantly North American clientele truly surprised me. After that was a visit to the Internet of Things Expo 2024. This is where Chinese hustle truly shined. They were sales people stopping me at random times, handing me their brochures and exchanging WeChat details. After which, they sent English versions of the brochures. the expo had tons and tons of everything you would ever need - from chips to full blown AI driven products. I was also invited to the launch of the World AIOT Alliance where there was an international gathering of guests - from India to Romania.

The next few days were the same blur of factory visits, amazing food and meeting new people. A factory that had a thousand workers, dormitories for the workers, a cookhouse and a small supermarket billed itself as small. A lady from a small village in China leading quality assurance for a European powerhouse billed herself as "small fish". And the college student working in Plateau Girl who "spoke little English" but was able to discuss manufacturing in China with me. There's a humility in general and I love it.

One of the highlights of the trip was HuaQiangBei, which apparently means "Powerful China" and I truly understand and wholeheartedly agree. I thought Sim Lim was impressive in its heyday but nothing could prepare me for the sheer scale of HuaQiangBei. Everything electronics was available - from small components all the way to full blown servers. There were plenty of foreigners walking about and it was very clear they were looking for new things to sell back home.

Shenzhen is great. It's really everything I thought it would be and more. The development from a small fishing village designated as a special economic zone in the 1980s to the powerhouse that it is today has really left me inspired. The energy of the place has provided me with the kick in the ass I needed.

I can't wait to go back with May and Layla and have them experience what I did. I also can't wait for the rest of the team to visit Shenzhen and get inspired! 

I'm looking forward to the next time I'm in China. Shanghai perhaps?