At long last, Musemancer got the official kickstart I’ve been waiting for! 1st October marked the first time ever Musemancer is operated by a physical, permanent team quite unlike the previous practice of operating solo with the aid of freelancers.

While we still count on freelancers to accomplish many tasks, in due time as the team matures and grows we will be more self-sustained.

Ask me just a few months ago and I would have not imagined starting a formal team with an office premise to go. I feel a little bad writing this because for many years I have been advocating the work-from-home Internet lifestyle and culture.

So to forego most of its benefits such as flexible working hours, working from home and keeping a low-cost operation, it took a lot of convincing and finally I made the courageous decision to go all out.

That brings us to the here and now.

The moment I rented the office premise, I was in for many unpleasant surprises. Even for a bootstrapping attempt, there were many hidden costs. I went without a permanent workforce for two months because I was using poor, ineffective methods to try to recruit talents for Musemancer.

Every time I kept asking myself if it was really worthwhile, and wondered if I should have just stayed home after all these trouble. But what am I to do if I just carried on life the way I did for the last 9 years? It would be good, but it will never be great.

If starting my online business on a 56k modem back in 2005 was founded on the idea of achieving financial freedom and providing better for my family and self, then starting Musemancer in the new direction is founded on the idea of going big and sharing the revolution.

A new idea that people should strive for results instead of routine; freedom instead of survival; thinking big instead of giving in.

Even at the start of it all 3 months ago, my vision for Musemancer was very cloudy. I thought it would be a good idea to pursue all 6 directions I had in mind!

Ultimately I narrowed it down to this: Musemancer is an Internet Marketing consulting and digital publishing company. And that is what we will do best.

To see this manifest in front of me gives me a surreal feeling. To think that Musemancer was just a company on paper all these years. And in years from now when I look back, this will be the photo of humble beginnings.

Don’t be quick to congratulate, we are just starting! You will hear more of us in the months to come.

Selamat Hari Raya!

Taking a few days off now. FI had been at my new office to and fro for the last 3 weeks, overseeing the renovation and moving in of furnitures and everything else to get started.

I realized how NOT EASY it is to go brick-and-mortar. Even though I am bootstrapping and my office is very simple for starters – it took me a week longer than I expected and so much for keeping in with the budget. I ended up spending an additional RM12,000+ on top of my original budget due to underestimation and making some mistakes here and there.

However I still count myself a thrifty spender already if compared to other businesses that require high 5 or minimum 6 figure RM just to begin.

The 1,054 square feet office is an open work space area with a common area and balcony outside, overseeing Paradigm Mall and the LDP highway.

I’d like to think of my new office space as a throwback to how MindValley originally started at KL Sentral in 2006 – with some improvements of course.

I am not big about splashing money on all the secondary and tertiary concerns at the moment. Those matter, but only at a later stage. And it’s up to me to grow the business to that level that warrants all the fancy playing.

So… no official logo right now. No fancy carpet (there’s a rug at the common area). No big plasma TV. No huge glass door.

Just going to focus on getting sales first on a company level and hiring a team.

While the trips to the office and other places to buy essentials took place in the day, I spent many of the nights going to events, gatherings and seminars for networking opportunities to build my connections and also understand the B2B game – to be precise, how the world outside Internet Marketing works.

And then figure how I can introduce my online marketing expertise that I have accumulated over the last 9 years to the tables of my new clients.

My brain feels muddled and fried now, and I admit to having little idea as to what to exactly do next, other than knowing I have several options, newly built connections and some rough ideas. Yes, this surprised my business associates who know me for a long time as a detailed planner and thinker.

It’s because I am spoilt with choices now that I don’t know which ideas bring the best, optimal results.

Since my office at present is 95% complete – just the installation of the pantry’s cabinets to go – I’ve decided to just continue hustling after the Raya holidays is over. I trust that clarity will get better over time, as it had always been in the past. Certainly beats sitting around doing nothing.

It so happens that Jeremy Wong (Singapore) and Fukuda Koichi (Japan) happen to be in town so I welcomed my first guests to the office last Saturday. We bounced off some business ideas and got their insights as well.

All in all, exciting times ahead!