Putting together a new business (or two), establishing a Charitable Trust, employing and keeping a bunch of volunteers happy, teaching and mentoring people would be a challenge and a half in any time and place, but doing it in a foreign country and new culture is a REAL MISSION!
SWAP is my vision. I am the team leader so I get the kudos when good things happen.
But the buck stops with me. If something goes wrong, it’s my job to fix it. Sure, I also pocket the money if things go well and any of the businesses actually work out profitable, but at the end of the day I am the one who “pays the price”.
Here are some of my challenges from the last week or two – in no particular order:
- The Minister of Tourism can’t or won’t attend a meeting before we announce the Charitable Trust core business. If we don’t invite him we will cause offense. He is constantly busy, out of the country or doesn’t reply. We proceed without him only after making several documented efforts to contact him. We’ve tried. In Samoan time it will all happen.
- The loan car is making more noise by the day. The SWAP-Mobile is due in New Zealand on the 5th so with signage and servicing and another two weeks on the water we’ve got an issue. We need a car daily but our one is falling apart. Frantic phone calls and quick trips to service people gets a new vehicle solution. But that car won’t start properly as it’s been sitting in a yard for a while. Another day of pain!
- A SWAPster leaves early – breaking contract and causing a body-blow to production schedules. Five different reasons given and upset morale on the team. Firm action required but the issue lingers until a new team member arrives.
- Two dozen applicants for the programming team need a professional response to their aplications. Current PHP SWAPster says “Do you want me to follow up and interview for my replacement in 4 weeks or do you want me to continue programming? Typical programmer eh? So logical. “Can’t you multi-task? Just do them both!” I think. But I choose the programming and others will wait another day before getting a decent reply.
- Our sponsorship package has to be worked out. One of the ISPs has a strong brand here. The other has good bandwidth but no decent brand. We’re all about branding and marketing too but we need bandwidth. What to do?
- Our timeline, production schedule, calendar is a veritable feast of colour with different tasks, opportunities, projects and businesses all speckled over the calendar. How on earth can we schedule everything into the next few weeks properly so that the right people have the right time with others and everyone gets back home in one piece having done what each wanted to do while they were up here . . . juggle the visit to my favourite village to another weekend then move this project timeline back and then this team member can do this task and and and!
- I’m spending more on bandwidth each week than wages, food, rent, power and vehicle combined! How does a web business keep it’s costs down when connectivity and the web is everything? In the meantime I watch the bills grow and my bank balance go down.
- We need Samoan music for the DVD. Where to get it? A call to a friend who knows a guy who has a recording studio up here. He’s a good mate of a mate and if we get up to his place he might be able to help us out – a great relief but it takes time to meet and greet and befriend, and we need it NOW! Relax – it will all come together in Samoan time!
- A phone call from a mate who urgently needs help with a crew member on his charter yacht. Sure I’ll help out BUT I’m on the way to the furtherest point you could find in Samoa. Locals tell me to catch the 6.00am bus to catch the 8.00am ferry to get to the yacht by 10.00am scheduled sailing. Two buses come at 5.30am. One at 5.45am and I wait for almost an hour to catch the next bus. The bus arrived minutes after the boat had left. There’s nothing worse than seeing the tail-end of a ferry you should have been on. Fortunately the weather was calm and my mate had a passenger who could crew for him – no sails needed, but I felt sick that the first time a mate needed me, I let him down! Grr . . . Samoa, the land of misinformation.
- Some on the team have got the tropical waterborne lurgy [whatever it is] and anything medical or dental makes me squeamish and faint. Someone help!! Fortunately one of the team is a walking medical surgery and chemist shop all rolled into one bundle of experience. Whew!
- The humidity is bothering some of the team. We only put our aircon on from 1.00pm – 5.00pm because power costs a mint here. But it’s too muggy and warming up at 10.00am this day. So on it goes – an extra two hours with the cash-power meter clicking our money away merrily!
- My emotions go up and down like a roller coaster. I look at the website in development and the DVD in development, and the village stay business in development, and the SWAP HQ in development and think to myself “When will it ever end?” Then I look at a happy team beavering away doing what they love in a place that they love and I am proud of our achievements.
EMPTY WHARF – NOT GOOD!
But then I think of what I’ve done in the last few weeks that has just dropped into place . . . new friends, new business opportunities, friendly supporting people I’ve met and every little achievement just another step closer to the top of the mountain. Little things, like that fact that I can now see my desk; that the SWAP-Mobile is almost in New Zealand, and that we’ve got new people arriving soon; some cruisey time with my wife when she visits, and able to lounge about resorts and their pools whenever the team gets the urge.
It’s pretty good up here in Samoa once you’re through the challenges.
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