Post: #1

I recently took a trip to Hong Kong from Seoul because in order to get my work visa I needed to leave the country. Upon realizing that round trip flights to Manila were 260 bucks, I decided to take a trip.

Before going, I got into contact with the alumni association of my school in Manila. The president agreed to meet with me and invited me to three exclusive events over the course of the week: "Swiss Night" at the Manila Polo Club, the birthday of a celebrity (Filipino version of Johnny Carson in both function and influence) and the board of investments meeting for the alumni club.

At that celebrity birthday party, about 30 percent of the Philippine economy was in that room (Suit and tie affair). Every ten minutes I was being introduced to a telecom CEO, a mining or cement chairman, shipping mogul, senator...it was insane. I couldn't believe I hadn't made business cards.

I've been studying my ass off to learn Chinese and make big contacts in mainland China, but now I am realizing that it may be a better idea to focus on these developing countries in China's periphery. As a foreigner my skills/network are immediately more useful and I immediately provide value.

I am going to continue this "network infiltration" by contacting the President of my alumni association in countries like Vietnam, Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia, Mongolia, and other countries which will benefit from regional gains.

In China and Korea it has been especially hard for me to make contacts in high places - especially Korea, where as a 24 year old I have to practically grovel on the floor to even be acknowledged by a mid level Korean manager. Not much mobility in countries like that.

I have a copy of a PDF called "network infiltration" that I got from http://www.sovereignman.com. This sort of works like pickup in some ways.

If anyone wants a copy of that PDF, PM me.

Post: #2

Nice

I've been trying to infiltrate that community for awhile. I had the opportunity one night at a party with all of the players in the Philippines entertainment industry, but didn't make any connections.

Post: #3

This is awesome stuff YMG. Btw, I pmed you about receiving a copy of this pdf.
I did something similar in Brasil, in Curitiba about 2 years ago where i went to a home party of a friend who is friend with one of the deputees in the state of Parana and the friend is a CEO of a major corporation in Brasil. It was definitely a good learning experience to mingle with that kind of crowd and I did make some nice contacts during that evening. So these high power people/networks can be accessed either through work or friends who belong to that social class. It's all about being careful who you frequent and the places you hang out. Being part of clubs and organisations who cater to these powerful and wealthy people is also a good way. In Rio, going to the Jockey club in Gavea is a good place to start. In Asia, I'll be looking to get into that kind of crowd too.

Post: #4

Asia is a tough nut to crack in respects. Race is a huge issue over there, as well as nationality and language ability.

Having said that, despite being a light skinned Northeast Asian who speaks Mandarin, I found that it was fairly difficult to reach high levels of power in China. In Manila it took me three days.

Post: #5

Since that trip, I have been looking for other ways to crack Asia's elite. As that sovereignman PDF says, a network infiltrator has to find the "nodes" in the society.

The node that I found in Manila happens to be one of the brothers of one of the richest families in the Philippines. Their group runs a petroleum exploration company and one of the largest mining operations in the country.

In addition to finding the "node" that will introduce me to the group, I have to show some sort of value or else I will be forgotten fast. After discussing briefly where I am from and what I do (Korean from US who has masters degree in cleantech/environmental engineering) I mention that I am a muay thai fighter and fencer. This standout fact about me will ensure that they won't forget me among the dozens of business cards that they will get that night.

They didn't forget me, because of the fencing thing. As such, I'll keep using it.

Just like followup for dates in game, I set up a specific time and place to next meet them, with a specific reason. I'm going to teleconference with a shipping exec since I am writing a thesis about NOx emissions in the shipbuilding industry. I requested to use him as a primary source and he agreed. The value he gets out of this is being published as a source in a thesis for an ivy league school.

I will continue to get in contact with alumni groups of other countries in which I can act as a big fish in a small pond. Other countries of interest:

-Vietnam
-Thailand
-Malaysia
-Mongolia
-Nicaragua
-Hungary
-Baltic States
-Bulgaria
-Colombia
-Panama

I am going to sniff around and see how much of an influence my alum network has in those countries. Usually all it takes is knowing one big person and becoming part of the family, as it were.

Note - if anyone wants to discuss the concept of network infiltration with me, I am more than happy to do so. Also if anyone wants that PDF, PM me.

-YMG

Post: #6

I'm glad to see that there is so much interest in the sovereignman PDF, it definitely gave me a lot of resources to do what I have been doing in Asia.

In a lot of ways it works on the same principles as game.

Traveling to date women of various nationalities is great and I have been doing that often as I've gone through Europe and Asia during this last year.

However, since travel by nature is expensive, I like to design it so that it is an investment instead of pure consumption. As such, I always make a point of networking and seeking out potential business opportunities when I travel.

In addition to finding the elites of countries on China's periphery, I am now also looking at rubbing shoulders with the elites of second and third tier cities in these countries that are undiscovered yet have good potential in terms of business and investment.

I have reading about Palawan (Philippines). I'm also becoming increasingly interested in Cambodia.

These countries seem very much to be agribusiness and commodity plays. The Philippines is also strong in BPO, aka outsourcing.

On another random note, I am looking more and more into bamboo products as a semi-green alternative to timber. Deforestation is going to continue getting worse and, since bamboo grows more like grass than trees (5 years to maturity rather than 80 years), it is being touted as the next standard of wood.

Sorry for all the tangents there. If anyone is interested in discussing network infiltration or cleantech/environment with me, I am more than willing to answer your questions or simply have a chat.

-YMG

Post: #7

(08-13-2010 08:29 AM)youngmobileglobal Wrote:  I'm glad to see that there is so much interest in the sovereignman PDF, it definitely gave me a lot of resources to do what I have been doing in Asia.

In a lot of ways it works on the same principles as game.

Traveling to date women of various nationalities is great and I have been doing that often as I've gone through Europe and Asia during this last year.

However, since travel by nature is expensive, I like to design it so that it is an investment instead of pure consumption. As such, I always make a point of networking and seeking out potential business opportunities when I travel.

In addition to finding the elites of countries on China's periphery, I am now also looking at rubbing shoulders with the elites of second and third tier cities in these countries that are undiscovered yet have good potential in terms of business and investment.

I have reading about Palawan (Philippines). I'm also becoming increasingly interested in Cambodia.

These countries seem very much to be agribusiness and commodity plays. The Philippines is also strong in BPO, aka outsourcing.

On another random note, I am looking more and more into bamboo products as a semi-green alternative to timber. Deforestation is going to continue getting worse and, since bamboo grows more like grass than trees (5 years to maturity rather than 80 years), it is being touted as the next standard of wood.

Sorry for all the tangents there. If anyone is interested in discussing network infiltration or cleantech/environment with me, I am more than willing to answer your questions or simply have a chat.

-YMG

FYI: If you message me for the PDF, INCLUDE YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS, thanks.

Here is a cool link I found regarding portable careers:

http://www.portabletradesandoccupations.com/a1b.html

No, I didn't buy it because I am looking into two different sources of online income at the moment. If those fail, then I"ll take a look at it.

I have found myself some random connections in Mongolia and Cambodia, two Asian countries I find very interesting. Cambodia is being called "Cambodia for Sale" recently because of its very open policy towards foreigners. Unlike the vast majority of Asian countries, it is legal for foreigners to completely own land (either 70 or 99 year leases) and own 100 percent equity in companies.

Cambodia: population 14 million, the majority of which are under 30 years because of the genocide. Recently opened a stock market and has been posting high single digit growth consistently, minus 2009.

Visa: 20 dollars for a tourist visa upon landing, 25 dollars for a business visa. Both visas last for thirty days and can be extended to a one year visa for 300 USD within 30 days of arrival.

Key industries: Real Estate, Agriculture, Tourism, Textiles, Mining.

I am particularly interested in SE Asian seaports. One area in which SE Asia lags behind China is its export infrastructure. These countries are all the same in that they are growing based on export-oriented growth, so they depend on western demand and reliable infrastructure to get there. In Vietnam and Cambodia in particular, we are seeing that the seaports currently can't handle the increasing demand and eventually the government will either have to build ports or allow private entities to do so. The Japanese are doing it in Vietnam and I think Koreans will follow suit in Cambodia soon.

Mongolia:

Check out this video about Mongolia's oil potential:

http://www.businessinsider.com/marc-fabe...sia-2010-8

Mongolia has a population of 3 million in a gigantic country that is rich with mineral and energy resources. As such, Australian/Canadian/Chinese companies have been coming in to exploit such resources and seeing outrageous growth rates.

Key Industries: Mining and Dominating the world

Not exactly the nicest place to live as it is a post soviet shithole still. However, as an ethnic Korean I've always wanted to go there (Mongolians/Koreans/Japanese share common ancestry and dialect).

I've insofar not come up with a really good solution for not relying on my alumni network when it comes to network infiltration.

High ranking officials tend to be somewhat more accessible, even by cold call, so I am considering compiling a list of people like mayors and CEOs of local investment firm and telling them I am simultaneously researching for my thesis while looking for investment projects (both true).

I've gotten every job I've ever had in Asia with the cold call, it's been strangely effective.

As usual, email me with any questions you may have. I am always open to discussing this topic. A lot of you guys have been messaging me but it would be nice if we could actually get a discussion going on this thread.

Post: #8

I'd like to hear more about the jobs and opportunities you got just through cold-calling. Also, how did you get the numbers?

Post: #9

(08-21-2010 09:03 PM)Sybarite Wrote:  I'd like to hear more about the jobs and opportunities you got just through cold-calling. Also, how did you get the numbers?

This goes out to all of you but, I have an opportunity that may interest one of you guys.

I am part of a group of financial consultants who specialize in hedging, which is basically locking in purchase and sales prices of commodities for people who buy and sell lots of them.

I am without a doubt certain there is a huge Asian/Pac Rim market for our services, but really it is global and growing every day (more food & energy, more people, more money, more trade and more volatility in world prices).

We are really good at what we do. The problem is what we really collective suck at, is self promotion and marketing. My partners have a handful of clients that keep them flush and I can't get them motivated to hire somebody to drum up more business, but they will pay meaningful finders fees for new clients.

Prospective clients are any grain producers or end-users, cattle ranchers or meat processors, energy companies, we can do currency risk exposure, and really just about anything along the lines of controlling costs.

Advising fees start at $10k a year for independent farmers and mom/pop operations, but could run into 7 figures for major international players, because we can save them literally hundreds of millions of dollars in operating costs.

They all really do need us, we have almost no competition in our niche, and what there is of it doesn't really match our talents anyway. But very few know we exist so I feel like we're wasting huge potential.

To be clear, all we really need is names dropped, introductions made, set some appointments to have our people talk to their people either in person or phone. You don't need to know the business beyond absolute basics, we know it inside and out, and we can close deals if we get the right people in the right situation.

This is easily a 6-figure a year spot to a motivated/connected individual. We would like to pick up 50 clients and stop at that, a ballpark of $3-7 million a year. specifics are negotiable but if you can get us even half way there you'd be well taken care of for the forseeable future. I can provide direction and support, once they understand what we do the deal sells itself, you gotta have the mojo and the angles to bring them to us though. Don't care abut your education, work experience, etc. - just results.

http://www.cereshedge.com

Drop me a line or PM me if you are interested... the first time I've discussed the possibility online but just reading over the posts here some of you guys seem like naturals for this.

Post: #10

(08-22-2010 08:29 PM)oracle Wrote:  Prospective clients are any grain producers or end-users, cattle ranchers or meat processors, energy companies, we can do currency risk exposure, and really just about anything along the lines of controlling costs.
...
They all really do need us, we have almost no competition in our niche, and what there is of it doesn't really match our talents anyway. But very few know we exist so I feel like we're wasting huge potential.
....

This is easily a 6-figure a year spot to a motivated/connected individual. We would like to pick up 50 clients and stop at that, a ballpark of $3-7 million a year. specifics are negotiable but if you can get us even half way there you'd be well taken care of for the forseeable future. http://www.cereshedge.com

So, you want us to believe that you are the only business consultants for grain producers/users, cattle ranchers, meat processors, and energy companies? I'm sure that you aren't asking us to believe that.

Maybe you want to get more specific on what you do that no one else can do or has thought of?

So what protects our cut? Trust? Whats the sales cycle? Because you are looking for limited clients, this is a limited opportunity. Why should guys spend a lot of time working on a limited return opportunity, with little or no ability to protect our interest in what we do build for you?

I'm just asking you to clarify.

I'm sure you wont take offense, as my questions reflect the reality of such a limited independent sales position offered by anyone, let alone a random poster on a message board.

If anyone considers this, I would do a background check on the principles first. The website looks okay and uses a lot of jargon, but that doesn't mean much to you until you do your due diligence.

Post: #11

"If anyone considers this, I would do a background check on the principles first. The website looks okay and uses a lot of jargon, but that doesn't mean much to you until you do your due diligence."


yup, always do the due.

Post: #12

Quote: So, you want us to believe that you are the only business consultants for grain producers/users, cattle ranchers, meat processors, and energy companies? I'm sure that you aren't asking us to believe that.

Not at all. There are a lot of them but very few actually understand the financial markets. They come from an accounting or god-forbid MBA background, so they don't understand how to anticipate forward price changes, or if they do they don't understand the mechanics of how to do it, and so generally they don't try. We know how, and we do, it makes a huge difference.

Quote:So what protects our cut? Trust? Whats the sales cycle? Because you are looking for limited clients, this is a limited opportunity. Why should guys spend a lot of time working on a limited return opportunity, with little or no ability to protect our interest in what we do build for you?

It would be a limited opportunity to make a lot of money in a short period of time. Some people are not into that. I get it, that is why i posted here, because the comments seemed oriented towards that kind of prospect.

Quote:I'm sure you wont take offense, as my questions reflect the reality of such a limited independent sales position offered by anyone, let alone a random poster on a message board.

see above. But residual is an option for sure so I don't know how limited it would be.

Quote:If anyone considers this, I would do a background check on the principles first. The website looks okay and uses a lot of jargon, but that doesn't mean much to you until you do your due diligence.

Scorecards spotless, but yes, DYODD always. I may be overestimating the crowd here, but that's fine, just thought I'd give it a shot. I'll answer any questions if you want to email me but only so much I would put on a forum, or waste time if no interest.

cheers...

Post: #13

(08-23-2010 05:11 PM)oracle Wrote:  Scorecards spotless, but yes, DYODD always. I may be overestimating the crowd here, but that's fine, just thought I'd give it a shot. I'll answer any questions if you want to email me but only so much I would put on a forum, or waste time if no interest.

Don't overestimate too much. Sophomoric ego attacks designed to position yourself or your offering as a means to prove ourselves , and to illicit a favorable response to save said egos, will go over no ones head here. That's insulting. Speak like an adult and be treated like one.

Now we can expect the "I guess I was wrong" response now, silence, or perhaps something else to manipulate emotion. But maybe you didn't really think when you wrote that, and so lets just forget it. I'll give you the benefit of the doubt for now.

Look, spam isn't tolerated here. However, your detailed post seemed to be somewhat sincere. Therefore, consider any response other than reporting your solicitation a favorable one.

Look at it from our perspective. You have zero history on this board and are soliciting. Your previous post of today and perhaps yesterday, in the context of your solicitation, look like little more than prepping to solicit.

You are the one that has to prove yourself amongst the sea of anonymity and fraud that is the internet. My points were the path to helping you achieve that, to gain some trust on this board by asking you to clarify, and to maybe gain some talent for your organization. It certainly exists on this board. However, guys here are analytical. Flaws or vagueness in your offering should and would be brought to light. Moving forward includes helping that process to occur faster.

I'm not going to respond anymore, as I've said my piece. I'll let you hash it out with anyone that may be interested. Again, no offense intended. This was just my contribution to keeping any further exchange honest.

Post: #14

Usually, I'm not one to trust a company that does not even put an address on their web site:

http://www.cereshedge.com/contact-us/

I mean, you can get a "virtual" address for $50 a month these days, so it makes you wonder what's going on here.

Post: #15

Anyway, back to the original topic:

Linkedin is a very good resource. I got a bunch of interviews in June simply by using Linkedin.

I vastly underestimated the resourcefulness of the site, I didn't imagine a social networking site could be so powerful.

There is a lot I should learn about internet marketing.

Post: #16

http://under30ceo.com/networking-that-wo...into-cash/

Post: #17

If you want to access Philippine elite, you do not have to travel farther than Cambridge, MA. Here, and its pretty much true of every Asian countries, country deals and political unions are made over Harpoon IPAS and Alegash beers. If you want to make connections there, try the Chinese-Filipino commerce.

Cheers!

Post: #18

(11-06-2010 07:59 PM)manilaguy Wrote:  If you want to access Philippine elite, you do not have to travel farther than Cambridge, MA. Here, and its pretty much true of every Asian countries, country deals and political unions are made over Harpoon IPAS and Alegash beers. If you want to make connections there, try the Chinese-Filipino commerce.

Cheers!

Can I just stroll in to this group as someone who is neither Filipino nor Chinese?

It might help that I speak mandarin.

Post: #19

(11-07-2010 01:07 AM)youngmobileglobal Wrote:  

(11-06-2010 07:59 PM)manilaguy Wrote:  If you want to access Philippine elite, you do not have to travel farther than Cambridge, MA. Here, and its pretty much true of every Asian countries, country deals and political unions are made over Harpoon IPAS and Alegash beers. If you want to make connections there, try the Chinese-Filipino commerce.

Cheers!

Can I just stroll in to this group as someone who is neither Filipino nor Chinese?

It might help that I speak mandarin.

I suggest for you to show off your Muay-Thai at a YAW-YAN (a muay thai derivative) group, or basically, show off that you can fight in any of the numerous fighting studios. Filipino male culture is big on fighting (among each other it seems like) and fighting styles, and anyone who can knock somebody out with his bare-hands makes a good addition to the "barkada" (group/friends). This scores you more social value (respect) than driving a shiny black Mercedez, IMO.

Post: #20

Solid, I was unaware of that. Even in Thailand it didn't seem like muay thai, or muay thai ability, was such a big deal - it seemed like people just kind of took it for granted.

Looks like Roosh put in a new system of classification based on posts, I'm now a 'district manager'.

In China I got the feeling that a lot of clout was put on drinking ability. It certainly the case in Korea.

Post: #21

Also, Japan. I speak decent Japanese because japs are prime market for any commodities business in the region. Not to mention, that japs are amazing people to party with and have virtually no natural resources.

I am bullish on SE Asia and have thought about how the region will change when things like China and US go into war (trade, cold, currency, etc) or if the North Korean problem is not contained. Let me know about the success of your infiltration. I would like to look into Indonesia and Malaysia to maybe one day make deals with my Asian muslim brothers.

Post: #22

(11-25-2010 10:37 PM)manilaguy Wrote:  Also, Japan. I speak decent Japanese because japs are prime market for any commodities business in the region. Not to mention, that japs are amazing people to party with.

I am bullish on SE Asia and have thought about how the region will change when things like China and US go into war (trade, cold, currency, etc) or if the North Korean problem is not contained. Let me know about the success of your infiltration. I would like to look into Indonesia and Malaysia to maybe one day make deals with my Asian muslim brothers.

This is not the first time I"ve heard a Filipino refer to Malaysians and Indonesians as "brothers", although last time it wasnt about Islam.

My Filipino friend from Manila tells me that Malaysia, Indonesia, and the Philippines are the "Real" SE Asia and that the three countries have more in common with each other than the rest.

Ex: Thai, Cambo, Laos are Khmer cultures

Vietnam is culturally more similar to China and has more historical ties with them.

Post: #23

If you've learned that much, then your infiltration must be working. But in fairness, Filipinos generally call a lot of other ethnicities as brothers.

I heard Indonesia is shit full of oil and Malaysia has good agri tech. BTW, I have a sweet spot for for muslim Asian girls especially when they have on their hijabs, so pretty but so annoyingly hard to win over if not impossible.