A day in the life

[Jibralta]

Why take it the wrong way? lol I must give the wrong impression here on ENA lol

 

I didn't want the question to seem obnoxious, lol. What you're doing doesn't make any sense to me.

 

Wifi Surveys are like consulting services. You just provide the service, you don't sell equipment.

 

Of course, companies who provide these services also install the Access Points, Switches etc afterwards. I knew that and i did accentuate it on the website that I do not sell equipment .

 

The whole thing was/is just an experiment. The website, the e-mail campaigns, the business cards I handed out at the hotels were experiments to see if I can get clients. I have to learn how to get customers. This is the purpose.

 

But clients for what? You're not making yourself very marketable. Your competition has, in addition to a similar consultation, the added value of being able to provide, install, and possibly service the full system.

 

Looking at it from my perspective, if I saw an ad offering a free wifi survey and nothing else, and another ad offering a free wifi survey plus access all of the other above-mentioned services, I'd call the latter because it means less legwork for me. I'd call you to provide a free second opinion if I felt I needed one.

 

In other words, calling you would mean at least two phone calls, whereas calling the second company would mean only one phone call. In a time-strapped world, the one-stop shop is king.

[dias]

I didn't want the question to seem obnoxious, lol. What you're doing doesn't make any sense to me.

 

 

 

But clients for what? You're not making yourself very marketable. Your competition has, in addition to a similar consultation, the added value of being able to provide, install, and possibly service the full system.

 

Looking at it from my perspective, if I saw an ad offering a free wifi survey and nothing else, and another ad offering a free wifi survey plus access all of the other above-mentioned services, I'd call the latter because it means less legwork for me. I'd call you to provide a free second opinion if I felt I needed one.

 

In other words, calling you would mean at least two phone calls, whereas calling the second company would mean only one phone call. In a time-strapped world, the one-stop shop is king.

I provided the predictive wifi survey for free. I asked 500 pounds for the on-site wifi survey which clients have to pay more everywhere else. This alone is an expensive service.

 

Providing the equipment that the client wanted is another thing. Big companies actually re-sell the equipment with 10 % added cost. I can't do that and was never my purpose. I just wanted to see if i can get clients providing services only.

[dias]

I think I didn't explain it well.

 

The end to end solution includes:

1) Service A. Usually this service is provided for free from smaller companies to attract customers. Big companies charge a lot. I did it for free. It can be done remotely.

2)Service B. This service actually verifies the results from service A. You have to go and perform this service in person. The average price is 500 pounds per day in London.

3) Buying , re-selling the equipment and installing it based on the results of service A and B.

 

I can't provide the last one and the client wanted 1,2 and 3.

 

I do 1 and 2 and I wanted to see if I can find clients. As I said I know nothing from business and marketing. So one step at a time. By the way, this is not the business plan I have in mind, it was just an experiment.

[dias]

This is more of a rambling so if you don’t have time, just enjoy the rest of your Sunday :)

 

 

 

 

It was a long day today. Good long day. The British girl who organizes the meet-ups sent me on fb that she arranged a meet-up only for a few of us. We went to Hyde Park, it was a sunny day so it was really nice. It was just me, her, the Scottish girl and another British guy I met for the first time. The British guy asked me “ Are you Greek or Italian?” I was surprised, he was the second person since I’ve been in the UK that guessed (almost) correctly. I mean, everyone assumes I am Spanish right away for some reason. I asked him “how do you know?” and he replied “ I am an electrical engineer at Mclaren, most of the employees in the engineering and finance departments are Greeks and Italians. I can recognize them”*.

 

Anyway, it was good I met him, like every engineer he always wanted to strike out on his own but he never actually did something about it. He told me he doesn’t like his job (pretty much like every engineer lol ) and he wants to do something else but he doesn’t know what. We talked a lot about start-ups and businesses in the high tech industry. It’s always nice to have someone who has the same passions. I told him my idea and he found it pretty interesting. Funnily enough, he actually thought the same think I am thinking. Go back to Athens, make the prototype, see how it goes there and then come back to London*

 

Naturally, the girls joined the conversation and of course they do not find any fulfillment in their jobs either and would like to do something on their own. Hahahahahaha Everyone is in the same boat. 4 people around a table, a spa therapist, a lawyer, an electrical engineer and an IT consultant all thinking about the same thing and telling each other nothing ventured nothing gained. Lol Dunno, it’s kind of funny.

 

*When he said that I thought we have so many highly educated people but such a f*cking lousy government. My idea which I am developing seems promising. It’s a software for the tourism industry. And which is a better place in terms of tourism than Greece with 30+ million tourists per years. Here lies the HUGE problem. The f*cking taxation. It’s unbelievably high to the point people emigrate. So I thought I would register the company in London to avoid the taxes in Greece. My main problem was that I didn’t know what happens if you register the company in the UK but your clients are in Greece. Do you pay taxes in Greece or in the UK? Tomorrow I was planning to call an accountant. Luckily I found the information for free.

 

There was a British family living next to us in Athens. The kids and the wife came back to the UK three years ago but the father still lives there. So he visited my parents today and I asked him about it because he had a small company at some point in Athens. It turns out you can’t do that. The Greek government doesn’t allow it. Arggggggggggggggggggggggggg….He told me “when I came to Greece 20 years ago it was such an awesome country, everyone was running a business, the economy was flourishing but now especially with the last government that imposed extreme taxes the country is dead”. Tell me about it….This link is pretty accurate I would say https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/exporting-to-greece/doing-business-in-greece-greece-trade-and-export-guide

Then we talked about the economy in Greece, Brexit and all that kind of depressing things. At least I am not in his position. He was unemployed for three years, he searched for a job everywhere in the world and he finally found something in India a couple of days ago.

 

Anyway, I derailed. I think my idea is very promising. When I was back in Athens, I met some IT managers in large hotels through my father’s connections, analyzed their needs and they said they would like a software like that. Now, does it mean it will work out? No, but in theory there is a need for such software. I honestly believe it has potential.

 

I am at a crossroad. I believe that the Greek market is the best one for experimenting. However, the taxes can’t really let you operate a business. All the profits will go to taxes. For instance, my father makes 60K euros per year before taxes, after taxes he makes 30K which is half the salary. It is really that bad.

Then I am thinking, even if I go back to Greece and let’s hypothetically say things work out (god knows how) will I be able to return to the UK after Brexit?

 

Why don’t I stay in the corporate world in London or become a teacher and forget about it? Why am I looking for troubles? Why am I that stupid?

[dias]

My dad arranged an appointment (whenever I go back to Athens)with an old colleague of his who is the co-founder of a Cyber Security company which operates in London, Athens and Dubai. He offered to give me advice. He thinks if I want to start something I need to make a prototype and search for funding immediately. I will meet him of course but regarding the advice part, well, we will see...

 

Then my dad went "you have to get funding, you have to get funding. If you start trying to sell first without funding it will take a million years."

Why is everybody so obsessed with making money fast? I thought I was the greedy one lol. The other thing about funding (which is very difficult to get anyway) is that they will probably take 51% of the company. I don't like this idea whatsoever. I mean, if i will be an employee again what's the point?

[DancingFool]

Well....you definitely need to meet people and develop some connections. Always keep an open mind about advice. Even if it doesn't fit your plans today, file the advice away because you never know when it might become handy.

 

As for funding, not funding, what kind of funding.....there are many roads to Rome. You have to follow the path that suits not only your business plans but your personality as well. Bootstrapping is hard as heck, but has its rewards and I speak from experience.

 

Do yourself a favor and hit either the library or the bookstore and read up on how other successful people made it, what they did and how. It will give you some ideas and guidance that you need. A broader spectrum on what and how and options and the ups and downs of the various options. Of course, a real life mentor or two is best. So if this guy you are meeting started his company from scratch, pay attention. He knows what he is doing even if he isn't doing what you want. The experience and knowledge he has on how to is invaluable.

[dias]

Well....you definitely need to meet people and develop some connections. Always keep an open mind about advice. Even if it doesn't fit your plans today, file the advice away because you never know when it might become handy.

 

As for funding, not funding, what kind of funding.....there are many roads to Rome. You have to follow the path that suits not only your business plans but your personality as well. Bootstrapping is hard as heck, but has its rewards and I speak from experience.

 

Do yourself a favor and hit either the library or the bookstore and read up on how other successful people made it, what they did and how. It will give you some ideas and guidance that you need. A broader spectrum on what and how and options and the ups and downs of the various options. Of course, a real life mentor or two is best. So if this guy you are meeting started his company from scratch, pay attention. He knows what he is doing even if he isn't doing what you want. The experience and knowledge he has on how to is invaluable.

Exactly. That's why I want to see him. Obviously he knows how to run a business and he knows how to get funding (he got funding early on). I don't want his advice about what to do, I do want though valuable information.

 

I think many start-ups, at least in the high-tech industry, search for funding before they find clients. This is unnecessary and dumb in my opinion. Why waste time chasing funding instead of chasing customers and adjusting your product according to their needs?

 

I read this article https://timberry.bplans.com/10-good-reasons-not-to-seek-investors-for-your-startup/ and I agree 100%. Like in this article https://www.nytimes.com/2011/06/20/technology/20color.html where they got funding but couldn't sell the app.*

 

 

*These guys got 41 million funding. What happens if the venture doesn't work out? You keep the money from the investors? You take the next plane to Rio to enjoy the company of pretty señoritas?

[dias]

It’s been almost a year since I started this job. When I first joined, I heard my colleagues talking about Steven. I asked about him and they replied “Although he will be calling you at 5:59 everyday, he is the kindest human being ever”. It was true. Steven is about my father’s age and has three sons my age, scientist all of them. He is the kindest human ever indeed. Steven is from Reading, he used to come to our offices all the time along with his boss Emily from Liverpool. Emily is a cheerful mom around 45. It took me a three days to understand her accent (but now I can proudly say that I understand clients from Liverpool when they call me hahahahaha). These two were the best clients one can have.

 

Then, there was John who is early thirties and the best way to describe him is to imagine Sheldon from Big Bang theory (they also look similar lol). Nobody likes him in our office, he is a tad jerk but he is a good-hearted jerk. He likes me though because I never play the ping-pong blame game when there is a bug or error like everybody else. I just ask him straight away what the problem is and I try to solve it. I don’t care if it was a mistake from their side or from our side. Mistakes happen all the time, the main thing is to rectify them. So John, is an ok fellow.

 

Martin moved to another department at some point and he was replaced by Nick. Nick was the very silent neutral type. We didn’t interact much because he left after 6 months. He was superseded by Jim. We are talking about a JERK with capital letters. So now it’s John and Jim. Still, they give positive feedback about our team. But I miss Steven, when he calls he always asks about me. Wish every client was like him. The first time we were at a meeting, we were reading a balance sheet and he was checking if it’s balancing lol. He kept saying “naught, naught, naught…” to me it sounded like “not,not,not” I was like what is he saying? Lol.

 

 

 

I didn’t obtain any technical skills in this job-although it’s still on the technical side- but dealing with customers taught me one thing: clients can forgive a mistake but will never forgive bad attitude and rude/blunt replies. Which makes sense. And mistakes will always happen and to compensate you have to have excellent customer service.

 

 

 

On a different topic, I went to the meet-up today. I met some new people, it’s was nice. The Scottish girl was suddenly very cold which I can’t figure out why since we didn’t talk much in the previous meet-ups and I don’t remember saying some that could cause this attitude. Well, when someone doesn’t want to talk to me, I never talk to them again unless they initiate. I saw another British girl that I hadn’t seen for a while. She told me she got fired because she replied back to her authoritarian boss. Hmm, some people are much more rebel than me lol. And she didn’t seem the rebel type, but it’s always like that, nobody seems the type hahahaha.

 

I went for a walk in London afterwards. Here is a pic near Liverpool street where I work :)

 

20190623_163452 by Apostolos Konstantinos Athanasiou, on Flickr

[dias]

London's skyline- Royal Observatory Greenwich by Apostolos Konstantinos Athanasiou, on Flickr

[dias]

I fainted this morning on the train to work. The second time I faint on the train and the fourth this year. What the heck is happening? I did blood test the last time and I was fine. The doctor said it was due to dehydration but I drink a lot more water since then. I can’t figure out why it keeps happening. I drank more coffee lately (which is diuretic) but I also drink a lot more water. It seems it doesn’t even out. Or it’s something else. I thought maybe it’s because I have low body fat this period but it can’t be that. The previous time I fainted I wasn’t at low body fat. There is no consistency that would indicate what is causing it.

 

I was lucky this time though because I didn’t hit my head. The train was packed and it was hot. I just felt dizzy for 3-4 seconds suddenly and I kneeled as I knew there was a chance to faint. That moment I passed out and probably fell to another passenger. When regained consciousness, there were like 20 passengers above me trying to wake me up. Thankfully, the staff stopped the train and I got off. They were polite and helpful. They gave me water and asked me if they need to call the ambulance. I refused because I know I don’t have anything. I stayed in the station for 20 minutes and got the next train. Maybe the heat, who knows… I do know now that I faint very easily. Have to be careful. It won’t be the best scenario to faint while driving or crossing the street or lifting weights. I guess I have to go to the doctor again.

[Jibralta]

That's scary, Dias. I'm surprised they've only done blood tests.

[dias]

That's scary, Dias. I'm surprised they've only done blood tests.

 

The first time I fainted it was when I had very high fever. The blood test was ok. The doctor said dehydration. The second time was during the aforementioned blood test. I can’t give more than three syringes(the small ones) of blood, I pass out, it has always been like that. The third time was on the train after work the first days of gastroenteritis . When I told the doctor he replied “don’t worry, it’s really easy to faint, you don’t have anything ”. Practically he told me it was a random/one time incident. Go figure… I went to another hospital and did blood test again, I was fine.

 

Yesterday though I was completely normal (no fever, nausea etc). I suspect it was low blood pressure. I have low blood pressure in general and maybe the extended period of calorie deficit weakened my body. Plus the heat ? Dunno

 

Is there anything else that I could have done aside from blood tests and checking blood pressure?

[dias]

Mykonos has become the new Ibiza with the difference that the prices in Mykonos are astronomical. Notably this year that the whole Hollywood and Victoria Secret angels are there. Thing is, Mykonos is very average compared to other islands, but it has the crazy nightlife and they promote it a lot.

 

 

Everyone at work wants to visit the Greek islands. Some already booked. Others are hesitant because they thought at first it will be cheap. Apparently, this is not the case whatsoever. You can find reasonable prices but not at the most famous islands like Santorini, Mykonos, Zante and Corfu. But everyone wants to go there. They ask me all the time where they should go and if the prices they get from the travel agencies are reasonable. Then, they tell me “oh it’s very expensive, we will go somewhere else”. The next week they ask me again about other Greek islands lol.

 

 

Last year Greece had 32 million tourists and a 16 billion tourism industry. This year the numbers are even higher. Chinese tourists “joined the game” the last few years and when we are talking about a nation with 1.5 billion people, well, it’s a game changer in the tourism industry (and pretty much in every other industry). I chat sometimes with a Chinese girl that we studied together and the last time she told me she is saving money to visit Greece. Other countries have more tourists like France (80m), Spain, Italy, UK, Turkey etc However the population of these countries are significantly larger than Greece, only Greece has three times more tourists than the native population.

 

 

Why do I care about the tourism industry? In effect because my business idea will target the hospitality sector mainly. Technology + tourism seems a good combination. It seems, dunno if it is in reality but it seems. I will find out pretty soon. It is a bold venture for sure, but I will try to do it with the lowest amount of capital it could be done so even if I fail (95%) I would not be in debt. I honestly believe it’s a good idea for business. The business model will be fairly simple, the technical aspect is complicated and requires a lot of work.

 

 

I reckon I will need two years to tell if it is something that will be successful or not. What will happen if it doesn’t go well? I don’t have plan B but since I know myself I will probably start wandering around the world. I don’t have a gf, I don’t want to get married, I don’t want kids so I don’t have anything to lose to be honest. I think I went through all the emotional stages the last few months about this, now I am like who gives a f*ck, I don’t care, whatever happens…. happens.

[dias]

What a coincidence! I quit yesterday and Boris became the prime minister today. I am moving back to Athens in two weeks. Perfect timing haha.

Things are getting interesting, let’s see what will happen with the (possibly) no deal Brexit.

As the Italian lady at work told me this morning: “ It’s not only we that we are f*cked, British in Italy and Greece are f*cked too” lol .

Meh, my decision wasn’t related to Brexit anyway.

[Jibralta]

Wow! So many changes!

[dias]

I believe it's the right thing to do given the circumstances. Next week will be my last week at work. They told me they are sad I am leaving but they respect my decision.

 

To be honest I don't think I can live in one place for long (I have commitment issues with countries too hahahahaha) Hopefully, this venture will be successful in the long term and give me the opportunity to scale it to other countries (so I can travel too lol).

 

When I quit my job in Athens I didn’t know I will end up in London and do everything I did. It was the best decision I’ve ever made so far. With a bit of luck and a ton of work this venture could lead to something even better. Fingers crossed lol

[Jibralta]

Fingers crossed😀

[reinventmyself]

Good luck, d

[dias]

Tough future ahead. I made an online survey to find out what people think about a piece of software like the one I have on my mind. I sent it to all my connections on LinkedIn who are in the tourism industry and to all the hotels in London. This far I only got one reply. Awesome :(

 

I spoke with one guy from the sales department that we talk from time to time and is about the same age . It seems I am doing the right thing, although the right thing seems insurmountable right now. He advised me to speak with the a senior salesman, so I found David and booked a meeting with him the next few days. The salesmen I met so far told me the hustling thing is the most difficult part and it's very very very difficult.

 

Strange is the fact that the most negative person about my decision is my brother. He tells me I don't know what I am doing and things do not work like this and I will not be able to persuade people etc. He made me second-guess myself yesterday. He called me at 1am at night to destroy my night. And you know, at night you feel emotions a lot more. I am fully aware I don't know what I am doing but I am learning. I think the most difficult part will be the emotional pressure.

[DancingFool]

Funny, but people who are closest to you will often be your biggest naysayers. It's counter intuitive really. Understand that caring breeds fear and you are launching into something uncertain....so they fear for you and thus the negativity and trying to talk you out of it. In their mind, they are being supportive, just not in the way that you need. You can either be blunt and tell your brother what you need from him instead or you can learn how to tune that stuff out and hang up faster. What you can't afford is let it get to you. You are in charge of your emotions and either you control them or they will ruin you.

[dias]

DF, this video came up on Youtube. Remember?

Hahahahahahahahahahaha it so freakin funny. No matter how many times I watch it I laugh. Tiffany ftw hahaha

 

[Jibralta]

I found an extended version of that video with a version of that matrix for women (it's the last minute and a half or so) :

 

[dias]

Hahahahaha. Best video on Youtube :)

[DancingFool]

lmao yes I love that video. Best ever, never gets old. Too often I feel like posting it in response to so many threads.

[dias]

http://www.anews.com.tr/turkey/2019/07/09/worlds-richest-person-jeff-bezoss-mega-yacht-flying-fox-anchors-in-turkeys-datca

 

They say he wants to invest in the tourism industry, and Turkey is really cheap right now. Apparently this will affect Greece as well (and the tech industry for hospitality- I am sure he is already developing apps for the hospitality sector). And one of the reasons I am going back is because Greece has less competition than the UK lol . I should go to his yacht and pitch my business idea hahahaha

 

My manager praised me yesterday how fast I close tickets. Aaaaaaaaaaa I don't want to close tickets, I want a yacht. Where is my yacht? Ahahahahahaha