So, how do you think it’s going now?
Well. Turbulent times! After relocating or actually oficially it is called remigrating back to The Netherlands, suddenly writing in English feels kind of odd.
In practise, I have doubled efforts to target Dutch clients directly, in stead of white label servicing, or using the Upwork platform as intermediary. Their share they have in my business for billing and administration only is starting to bother me pretty much now.
Our family project in Bolivia (The Nursery) has come to an obvious hold now. I tried to have it up and running as an independent business in six months and failed to do so pretty damw hard. In hindside it was a pathetic attempt, but something I hád to do.
Now I just need to make an update on this site, as it no longer serves a purpose to showcase the nursery project. In near future, I will revive the project and keep building. For now I just must admit it was not viable at such short term, without proper budget, and most important, without the focus it requires to make something a success.
Focus is the keyword here!
I find that focussing my efforts on real estate marketing has helped a lot in making progress. It also make clear what nót to do, and what activities I need to hand over to others.
I am actually getting a project ready for an exit and I am very exciting to have this goal set, because I know it will give me more time to focus on my real estate marketing agency once it is all in good hands.
Dutch activities at Houdyk.nl
Our relocation also forced me to professionalize my business and set up my administration in such a way that the shift from personal business to a holding structure becomes near. In fact, I already run each activity as if it where an independant business. This forces me to structurize better and think in terms of processes.
After switching my messaging on LinkedIn to Dutch, this Houdyk.com site becomes the only place were I can share my thoughts and progress to an international audience. This site has had many transformations already in fuction of the activities I focussed on. It is a big mashup.
The good things is that I am back to making this a true blog again, were I wrtie a note so now on than, about what going on.
So, I hear you thinking, tell, me, what IS new?
This Is How We Do Things
While I was working on Standard Operating Procedures to onboard new team members, I got frustrated with Notion so I decided to create my own version of it with This Is How We Do Things.
For the time being I am glad I was able to create something to solve my own needs. I just grabbed an easily accesible six letter dot com domain (I have a thing with domaining) and installed the MVP in a matter of hours. Do you thingk it is easy to remember? An acronime is not perfect for a brand, but it works for me. TIHWDT.com it is. In combination with dedicated youtube channels, and the basic structure of WordPress, I am able to create intranet sites for each of my projects. It creates a searchable database with instructions for my team members and myself to look into, registers edits, has rights and permissions. All I actually need for a platform to share SOP’s.
I do not have the intention to take this little internal project further (not just yet), as I once intented with Backbone Management System. For now I am just fine using it as internal tooling. Step by step getting rid of SaaS solutions I was paying for, now taking controle in my own hands is a win already.
To be continued…
That’s all folks! This is for sure to be continued. At this time I am glad I was able to come to you with an update, how small it may seem. Next I may look into my social media channels. I have an instagram account that needs adjusting. Will I switch it to Dutch for my real estate accounts? Of should I keep it for my International Developments? Something I have not decided yet. Let me think about it.