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.

Saturday, January 12, 2013

We Say "Hell No" to Their "No"... Saturday, January 12

"Business meeting at 2pm", I told Snickers.

It's pretty great having a husband that's not only best friend and teammate but who is also now my business partner.  Having said this though, keeping business and pleasure separated is definitely no longer a "can't"   Business dealings are talked about over morning breakfast, during a movie and even long into the evening when I'm washing my face and getting ready for bed.  Today, while I was showering, Snickers popped his head into the bathroom to swing an idea by me.  

The building management at our proposed building continues to say no, well two of the five, but despite them continually saying no they continually meet us.  I'll take that as positive news, I mean if it was a definite no than they wouldn't be calling us in.  So they say "no" but it's more like a "maybe" and Snickers and I are convinced we're going to turn it into a "yes".  

The main problem we're facing is the fact that three of the five floors (and basement) are empty so they think putting a boxing club in a spot where offices would regularly be, they'll have problems attracting other renters (offices).  We've counter acted their other reasoning but there's two main reasons we're working on counter acting and today, during our meeting, we came up with ways to counter them.

NO REASON #1: If there is a boxing club on the 3rd floor -- the middle empty floor of three, renting out the empty 4th and 2nd floor may be a challenge.
COUNTER ACT: We will rent the fourth floor.  It's not our floor of preference but we can make it work. 

NO REASON #1:  It will be hard to rent out half a floor of office space if there is a boxing club [us] next.
COUNTER ACT:  Then we will rent the ENTIRE floor.

Us possibly renting out the whole 3rd or 4th floor would mean we'd have about 160 pyung -- definitely too much.  We'd have way more room than we ever need or know what to do with it.  But considering the prices we've run into with other rental space, this 160 pyung location is a lot cheaper than places even half or three quarter its' size, it's location, it's facilities, and it's potential is really just incomparable!!!

So what are we going to do with 160 pyung?!  The plan is to cough up the monthly rent for the time being until business picks up and then the potential for what and how to use it is endless.  We considered moving into it, making it our own personal apartment, but living beside our boxing club is a little too hardcore for us.  I mean, we love boxing and are more than willing and eager to put our heart, mind and soul into making it successful, but we do already have a house we love and I think there needs to be a distinction made between business and pleasure, or at least regarding personal space. 

A possible yoga room? Maybe.
A fully equipped spinning room?  Perhaps.
A full-on weight training room?  Could be.

All we know is that in deciding to suggest renting out the whole floor, possibilities and new potentials started filling our heads and it all got us really excited and all that more eager to get the business up and going.  

All I know is that I refuse to give up on this building.  It's exactly what we need and want, and to set up our boxing club in any other building at this point would just mean us settling for something less than our dream.  

I refuse to settle on my dream.  To settle means to not reach my dream.

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