Chinese New Year 2009

Reunion Dinners. Visits to relatives and friends. Spring cleaning. Giving ang pows. 守岁 (This year, I stayed up till 5 am). These are the traditional things that happen during Chinese New Year, may not necessarily be in that order. Maybe because I've grown older, unlike my teenage years, I've actually come to like Chinese New Year, especially the visiting part. Every year, we are so busy in our daily lives that we seldom have a chance to meet our relatives and some of our friends. If without Chinese New Year, we may neglect some of our relatives and dear friends, drifting apart without realising and until it is too late. But at least during Chinese New Year, it gives us an opportunity to catch up with some of them, at least once a year. As I aged grown, I've come to appreciate Chinese New Year more than the typical New Year Day (1 Jan) that just marks the beginning of a new year.

I was busy doing spring cleaning in our SOHO (small office home office) with my wife just days before the year of the Ox. We finally had the time to pack my company files and records of the past 9 years into various boxes. While she was packing, she noticed that I was actually quite a meticulous and organised person. I had every documents in their proper folders and labeled them accordingly. She also noted that for the contracts of year 2000 to 2005, they were all able to fit into a typical broad file but a similar file was only be able to hold contracts of year 2006 and 2007. How the business had grown and progress.

Before I started using accounting software to track my manually generated invoices and payments received, I had a printed spreadsheet which I used. The same spreadsheet would also reveal that in the mid of year 2006 was the period when I was so overwhelmed by my business that I lost control and was no longer able to track diligently the invoices billed and payments received. For the second half of year 2006, the record was just blanked. It was a dark period from then onwards when the accounts spiraled into the chasm of chaos. It took us two years (2007/08) before we finally wrestled the accounts and brought it under organised control.

This year, we also began the year with a very bleak economic outlook. In the past few days, it was just news after news of global retrenchments by MNCs where the numbers are in the thousands and one was even in the range of twenty-six thousand. It was also said that the global retrenchment may reach a staggering 51 million. * shudders *

About 9 years ago, I was retrenched. That was the time when I started walking the long and arduous road of an entrepreneur. Sometimes I wonder, if I had not been retrenched, would I have taken the plunge to start my own (ad)venture? It is a question I ponder once in a while but it is a question I'll never know the real answer. The retrenchment may have helped made my decision to become an entrepreneur for me. 俗语说：赛翁失马，焉知非福。(Translation: It may not be a bad thing when you lost your horse.)

I can now say I'm glad to have taken this path. I have more time for my family. I'm doing something I enjoy. Yes, I love my job. Because I am the boss of my own business, I don't have more time but I have the flexibility of time and am able to fetch my firstborn who started his primary education to-and-fro from his school daily. I am also the captain of my own ship and I can make my own decisions in how to steer it out of the current economic storm.

Looking back, it had been a tumultuous 9 years. I've learnt many lessons and still many lessons are being learnt every day. Life would have been very different if I had not taken the red pill, it would have been a life now I can't imagine. I am glad to continue to see how deep the rabbit hole goes.

If the future looks dark, don't despair. If you've looked back in history, you will notice that peaks and trough are part and parcel of a any normal business cycle. Many generations before us have survived The Great Depression, so surely, we the current generation would also be able to withstand the full frontal assault of the current economic crisis. Always look for the silver lining, for the lady of fortune will bestow her smile on those who does not give up hope and who dares to dream. There will be light at the end of the tunnel.

I trust in the tenacity and strength of the human spirit.

Happy Chinese New Year 2009!