I’m a chronic offender of the “work-life balance” concept.  I work, work and work.  That’s what I do and I do it – happily.  My vacations are centered around work because I will structure my travel around a project.  Generally, vacationing is a tiresome chore that requires you hours of research and planning that results in you needing a vacation from “the vacation.”

Working on a project during your vacation allows you to structure you days around a concrete goal with a purpose, so that you’re not left with downtime and a backlog, when you get home.  Getting things done consistently will leave you feeling accomplished and let you enjoy your vacation even more.

The project doesn’t necessarily have to be for work or money, it could be a hobby or a passion that you’ve always wanted to try.  Working around something is a great framework to limit your choices and concentrate on a specific idea that will leave you with a finished product at the end of your stay.  This is a memento that’ll last the test of time.

Example, I’ve recently reached out to, the awesome, Derek Sivers of CD Baby and TED Conference fame to help work with his project – Woodegg.com.  Woodegg’s goal is to produce a Frommers Guide to Entrepreneurs for Asia.  The world is a smaller place than it was years ago and its more important than ever to expand into new markets and leverage the efficacies of other nations.

Here is the exact email I sent:

Hey Derek,

My name is Cameron Keng and I’d love to write about entrepreneurship in Taiwan.  I’m a Taiwanese CPA, Enrolled Agent authorized to practice before the IRS with a bachelor in journalism.  My family has a long history in the country as part of the founding party (Koumingtang aka “KMT”) with Generalissimo Chiang Kai-Shek.

My grandfather was among the first aviators in Chinese history holding the rank of Colonel in the Republic of China’s (ROC) National Army, where he served directly under Chiang Kai-Shek in World War II as well as in the conflict between the Communists and the Nationalists that led to their eventual move to Taiwan.  He wrote the first Chinese manual on modern radio communication and radar signal for aviation as well as instructed a prior Minister of National Defense.

I’ve been an entrepreneur for most of my life by owning an accounting firm specializing in taxation and international law as well as other endeavors with many failures in between.

I’m deeply excited that someone is interested in Taiwan and bringing entrepreneurs to the country because it is definitely a nation that is underestimated for the value that it offers in the international community.

An example is the quality of engineers ranging from software to hardware that the country consistently produces because engineering is considered very appealing culturally and professionally.  But, the mindset of the people is very different than Americans because they are also taught to look at entrepreneurism as a shameful endevour that is chosen because you weren’t able to find a job.  Thus, they make the perfect employee as an individual with drive and willingness to stay in a company long-term.

Also, another example of an interesting quirk in Taiwan is that it incorporating in Taiwan could be potentially very expensive.  So, often the native Taiwanese citizens will open and close companies every year in their initial startup phase in order to continue operations.  This is a common costly mistake that foreign entrepreneurs would make because they weren’t able to communicate with the local administrative employees and learn the “industry practices.”

I hope that I was able to provide an insight into Taiwan and that we’ll have an opportunity to work together on this project.  I look forward to speaking to you soon!

Thanks!

Cam.

Derek was gracious enough to allow me to join his project as a co-author to the Taiwan guide.  So, my vacation is going to focus on interviewing and meeting fellow expats and entrepreneurs as well as writing.  There’s definitely an art to cold calling or cold emailing people (probably talk about that later), so I’d suggest you try it as often as you can.  You’ll be surprised at what you’ll get by just asking!

The email above was sent 3 weeks ago and I’m now in Taiwan co-authoring the book with Derek.

To me, working during this vacation is the best downtime I could possible imagine.

Corporations operate on a basis of “plausible deniability.”  Anyone that’s worked in a corporation knows what a “lifer” is.  They’re the person who’s looking to stay in their job with the possibility of promotion forever because it’s easy.  The key to their future financial success is completely dependent on their ability to avoid responsibility when something hits the fan.

Understanding what this single employee feels and thinks is a great way to learn how to deal with corporations as a whole.  A corporation is the sum of its individual parts (employees) and it’s made up of lifers.  Thus, a corporation is looking for reliability, security and most importantly “plausible deniability.”

How does this help a startup company?

Startup companies can use this mentality to generate revenues from selling to corporations and competing against corporate competition.  Selling to corporations is like flirting.  You’ve got the hot girl (CEO) who’s constantly being judged by her friends (COO, CTO and etc) in regards to her decision making ability and leadership.

In order to get the “sale or girl,” you’re going to have to lower the risk as much as possible so that there is virtually no barrier to her trying something new.  Corporate humiliation is the single greatest enemy to your business getting that sale in the six to seven figure range.

An executive’s safest choice is to choose to stay complacent.  Saying “no” to change will almost always allow the corporate executive to keep their job because they have plausible deniability.  Choosing a new vendor to deal with jeopardizes their reputations in the company.  Humiliation will cause the corporate executives to lose their jobs because they took the risk inherent in change.  Thus, these corporate executives are very hesitant to rock the boat with anyone new because it puts their careers on the line for a stranger.

The first step to selling to corporations is understanding the need to get your ducks in a row.  Create the perfect veil of plausible deniability so that the employee you’re dealing with has a safety blanket.  Corporations care about reliability, price and quality in that order exactly.

A friend had trouble selling to corporate buyers because they had fears to their ability to reliably deliver their product.  Their business was an international operation that created environmentally friendly packaging products.  Anytime you visit a tourist trap you’ll see cheesy coconut ashtrays being sold to Americans.  The founder created a network of these craftsmen and had them focus their energies to create green packaging products such as boxes made of lemon grass.  But, major companies such as Estee Lauder and Staples had questioned his ability to reliably deliver a $500k order of boxes.  The founder had the capacity to generate about $1.3 million dollars of product a year without reaching capacity, but he had a very hard time convincing the corporation of this fact.

Reliability

I told the founder to create third-party agreements that would assure their fulfillment of the order in the off-chance that he was unable to complete the order.  This agreement in all honesty is worthless because it would never occur in reality, but it gives the corporation comfort that they’ll always have their product on their schedule. A disruption in their supply chain is going to cost much more than any discount that you’re ever going to be able to provide as a startup.  Thus, this empty promise is a great way for the corporate executive to have “plausible deniability.”

Price

The second greatest issue is going to be price.  Every company is price sensitive because they’re going to look for a bargain, since they’re taking a chance with you and it’s an order that scales.  Often, price is a number of factors besides the price per unit that most people assume.  Dealing with corporations is a whole new league of negotiations that will usually leave you taking orders instead of suggestions.  Walmart’s standard purchase orders or agreements require that you provide net 60 or 90 terms, if you’re lucky.  This means that you’re loaning Walmart upwards of $500k of inventory for 2 to 3 months.  Ironically, this is the best case scenario because they haven’t asked for a discount, if they pay within that time frame.

Quality

The last issue is quality.  Corporations don’t care as long as it sells and has limited returns.  There are very few companies these days that either care or are able to truly provide a level of quality that is consistent.  A company’s goal is to maximize profits, thus you’re clean and clear as long as you’re able to achieve the ultimate end goal.

Conclusion:

Plausible deniability is going to be the single greatest hurdle you’re going to face.  Meeting this requirement is absolutely necessary in order to succeed at “the show.”  If you’re able to reach this level of business, then you’re going to become a member of a selective market that has an incredibly high barrier to entry and reap its treasures.

I’ve purchased an Amazon kindle hoping to use it for my coming trip to Asia to co-author my book with Derek Sivers.  An 18 hour sedentary fight is the most painful thing that I’ve ever experienced.  Having a good ereader is an invaluable cure to the boredom.

The problem is that the Kindle’s e-ink screen is habitually prone to cracking.  The pressure strength of the screen is probably less than twenty pounds.  The iPad is great because the thing is built like a tank where you could put its screen through almost any trial unscathed.

The screen broke while being carried by my Timbuk2 messenger.  I was not a happy camper when I found my Kindle’s screen broken.  The first thing I imagined was having to go through the nightmare of customer service, but to my surprise Amazon’s return process was amazing!

Getting to a customer service rep takes less than a minute.  I entered my number and my phone rang in less than 30 seconds later with the service rep waiting for me =D.  I described my problem and the great part about it was that I didn’t feel like I was being guided through a script written by some recently minted MBA grad.

The customer service rep was pleasant and genuinely apologetic of the problem.  In a conversation that lasted less than 2 minutes, they sent me a prepaid return shipping label and a new Kindle with 2-day shipping.  A problem that i expected to cause me a buttload of frustration turned out to be kinda fun.  It’s the first time I hung-up with a service rep with a smile.

When I opened the new replacement Kindle I received, it was broken again! =O

This definitely gave me pause, so I called Amazon again through the same process and they apologized.  They sent out a new replacement with next-day shipping because they wanted to make sure that I had my Kindle before I leave for Asia.

This issue would normally send me into a tailspin of anger and frustration, but remembering Amazon’s customer service voodoo made me unworried and unfrustrated.  When I called to fix the issue, it was just as pleasant a phone call with the new service rep.

I can’t say that I love the kindle, but I can say that I’ll be buying Amazon more in the future because of their attention to service.  I’m a big fan of service orientated companies like Zappos, New Egg and now Amazon.  Buying from them just gives me a sense of security.  These companies understand their responsibility to leave the customer with smile at the end of the conversation.

Malcolm Gladwell coined the 10,000-hour rule that I hold as a general principle to become a specialist.  But, I didn’t realize the true meaning of what this meant until I took the time to break 10,000-hours down.  That’s 69 full-time college semesters and 9-bachelor degrees later or 1,000 days at 10 hours a day perfecting a singular craft with your full attention.

Very few people ever reach this goal post where they’ve dedicated so much time to a singular pursuit, even when it’s their career.  A white-shoe law firm would require its first-year associate attorney work between 1,800 to 2,000 billable hours per year that translates to 12-hour workdays without holidays over 5 years.

The point of all these numbers is to illustrate how much fricken time and effort it takes!

I finished my Last Day of my 1,000 days in 10,000 hours on November 17^th, 2011.  I sought to understand entrepreneurship by starting my own enterprise and see where it would take me in this time.

I’ve learned a few things along the way such as a real business  (one outside the tech twilight zone) doesn’t truly begin until your 1,000^th day.  It takes 3 years just to know if you even have a real business on your hands or if you’re just beating a dead horse that you didn’t known stopped breathing the moment you tried riding it.

Thankfully, this is the third-year I’ve been able to produce a net-profit into the six-figures.  Yet, I feel like I’ve accomplished nothing in comparison to what’s left to do and learn…

Well, upwards and onwards towards another 10,000-hours in 1,000 days.  Maybe I’ll come out feeling a bit smaller this time?

A commute is one of the things in life that everyone tries to avoid because it cuts into productivity and is generally annoying.  But, it could be an asset that could increase your productivity by 44% a day.  I previously wrote about 9 posts a month, after implementing this productivity hack I began to write 13 posts a month.

I’ve written every blog post on this website for the last 4 months in the subway without WiFi that lasts about 45 mins.  The reason why my commute increases productivity is because it is a required action that we all need to go through on a daily basis in order to reach our clients and offices, so it is a necessary and unavoidable ritual.

The 45 mins that I am required to commute is a chunk of time that lets you completely focus on singular tasks without the diversions of the internet, twitter, hn and etc.  A growing problem that everyone shares is the ability to focus on singular tasks because of the barrage of information that is constantly popping up randomly throughout the day.

This concept is similar to other “productivity” ideas that people have discussed such as the Pomodoro Technique (Working only in 25 min blocks).  I don’t prescribe to those methods because I find it arbitrary to break everything into blocks of 25 mins.  It would probably take me more time to break everything up than doing the work.

Examples of what you could accomplish during your commute:

1. Generate content for future website material
2. Planning what tasks or projects must be done today
3. Listen to an educational or instructional podcast
4. Catch up on necessary reading
5. Answer all of your email

Personally, I spend the 45 mins listening to a podcast by Andrew Warner @ Mixergy and breakout my laptop to generate content for the site.

The biggest singular problem with startups is that founders are losing money from the day we begin our next great idea.  Developing technology is no easy task because of the amount of time it takes to properly develop, design and market a product.  Realistically, to develop an actual product would probably take a month full-time for something that is respectable enough for us to proudly present to the public.  That would mean that we’re giving up $3,600 dollars (based on a 40 hours work week at $30 dollars an hour) in salary or opportunity cost as well as our actual cost in time and expenses to create the product.

A tech startup is expensive because of the amount of time and skilled labor necessary before any income is ever generated.  But, by removing the technology from the tech startup, we could jump-start our company by generating satisfied customers first.

Goal:

The aim of every company or startup is find and create satisfied customers that will evangelize our product.

Problem:

How do we know that our idea is even going to work and where are we going to find the funding to build it out?

Solution:

Take the fundamental concept of your startup and do it without any technology through good-ole fashioned elbow grease and hustle.

Case Study:

Companies often get audited by the IRS for their employment taxes and they generally lose because they lack proper documentation and tax compliance.  The company would often file incorrectly or use the incorrect forms.  The startup’s idea is to automate the process through technology.

But, how do you know that your startup’s assumptions, automated processes and value proposition are valid in the customer’s perspective.  The only way to be sure is to have the customer go through the process and see if they’re willing to pay (Yes, this is cold calling).

If they pay, then you’ve got your first customer and you’ve succeeded in discovering a valid business model.

Without any technology, you’d recreate your envisioned process through email, phone calls and paper if necessary.  You do your best to provide similar workflows with as much customer service as possible.  That first customer is your only customer, which means they’re your entire world.  That singular person should encompass all of your time and concentration.  Making them a satisfied customer will allow you to learn what was important in becoming and staying a customer to develop a repeatable process.

The next step is to reiterate the process to as many customers as possible so that you can consistently confirm your assumptions and processes systematically.  By systematically testing the same process over and over, you’ve created a workflow that can be easily automated and translated into technology with the help of a skilled developer.  It’s a lot easier to develop for something you’ve done to the point of ad nauseum than to plan for “hypothetical customers.”

Most importantly, the income generated by having a confirmed business model with customers that are paying you a fee allows your startup to fund itself and be ramen profitable.  Being ramen profitable allows your startup to continue indefinitely because you no longer worry about surviving.  You’re now able to concentrate on improving and scaling a proven business model with unlimited runway.

Systemizing a process is to understand the problem by continuous documentation and learning from past engagements.  Creating systems is necessary before a startup can automate a process, thus creating systems through labor will ensure that their translation into technology will work effectively.

A tech startup is meant to disrupt an existing business by eliminating their inefficiencies with technology and automation*.  Creating an existing business with old school methods allows you to understand and create a system that can be automated into the best product possible to replace and disrupt that market, while staying self-sustaining without fretting about investors.  If you reach this point in your startup, then any Angel, VC or investor will provide you blank term-sheets to determine your own valuations.

*Automation with technology should only occur when it takes zero brainpower to deal with the problem because it has been thoroughly documented in the system.

Disclaimer:

This business method is not the end-all-be-all, but I do believe that it is applicable to almost any business.  Every theory has its uses, so this is by no means perfect.