As the story has it, one day I headed to the opposite side of the globe – the Flipside. I arrived in Korea February 16th, 2005 and thought I’d do a year, then leave. I was wrong. I stayed, launched my first company, Flipside Fitness, and then opened Korea's largest boxing club, Hulk's Boxing (now called Hulk's Club).

After 11.5yrs in Korea, I then picked up one day and returned to Toronto, Canada. But then I left again.

Now I live in the Philippines where I am the CEO and head coach of Empowered Clubhouse, the Philippines' first and only boxing clubhouse exclusively just for women. I also am the founder of the Lil' Sistas Project, CEO and designer of Slay Gear and Baa Baa Black Sheep .Ph.

Wednesday, August 02, 2017

Today's Challenges... Wednesday, August 2

Yesterday I was contacted by Sports5.  They want to do an interview with me at my boxing club.

Very cool.

I'm doing it.  Super cool.

But until then... time to cut my business costs by at least a million peso.

1 million peso is roughly $27,000CDN. 

"I'll beat that challenge and chop it by 1.5 mill", I told myself.

Had the "fun" task of that today -- beating down the numbers in my business plan, going over and over the costs and seeing what I could cut.  I won't tell you how much the original estimated cost of opening my business was.  It was in the double digits of millions but it also had a six month's equity attached to it, as security, so that added a lot.  

I was able to cut my start up costs by 1.5 million so I was feeling particularly proud and very productive but then my positive vibes and go-get-them attitude was crushed when I went to the bank to go open a bank account.  

It's next to impossible for me to have a paper trail here in the Philippines because I'm on a tourist visa -- a visa that will obviously change once I start my business but can't until then.  My condo, my condo utility bills, my Ubers, and even my phone are all in my business mentor's name.  The only signed legal document with my name on here is my registration with both Elorde Boxing and Elite Boxing.  I have one piece of mail that gives proof I even live here but I'm not too sure on how much weight that would have.  

When asked for my employer's name and address I told them I am self-employed and have my business in Korea.  They then asked questions about it and it was then that I realized that even with my business in Korea I have no legal trace of my name on any legalities concerning it.  I'm a foreigner in Korea too, despite having been married there, so all our business documentation was in Snickers' name.  

No paper trail of me in the Philippines.
No paper trail of me in Korea (in terms of my business).
And no real paper trail of me in Canada either.

And here I use to joke that I was internationally homeless.  Tonight's joke was I must be a spy.  Great.

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