The End of an Era?
It looks as though we may have come to the end of an era. An offer has been made to purchase the lease of our Pattaya hotel from Mrs. Boss and me…and we have accepted it! A deposit is to be paid before the end of this month with the balance payable prior to end of March. March will therefore be a handover month with Mrs. Boss and I withdrawing from the scene, although we will remain in close contact with the hotel to offer any assistance the new operators may require.
The reality is that I feel as though a ten-ton weight has been lifted from my shoulders and that freedom beckons. The daily grind for both Mrs. Boss and me having to rise early and spend so many hours at Jasmine Mansion very nearly broke our relationship. Should the deal progress as planned, I think it has arrived just in the nick of time. I remember as a young man, being told by my grandfather, who was my closest relative, that although I was not a lucky person I had the most important luck of all. He explained that when my back was against the wall, when everything was at its darkest and there appeared to be no escape, that is when my luck would always come through. Throughout my life this has proved to be wholly accurate and once again my grandfather’s words appear to have rung true.
I will miss few things about the business, although I have met some great people over the past three-plus years who have become close friends. However, as I expect that we will remain in Pattaya for the foreseeable future, we should have more time to spend with these friends when they visit, rather than the odd chats snatched as we rush around in ever decreasing circles. The joy of not having to deal with guests and customers, the sheer delight of not having to constantly recruit and train new staff and the end of our present financial straits are things to be savoured.
The offer for the lease of the business has been made by Dan, our Assistant Manager at the hotel. It appears that Dan is from an extremely wealthy family and has several business ventures on the go here in Pattaya. He has friends who will come in to work with him although advises us that he will be keeping all of our present staff who want to stay.
The only stumbling block for Dan, although good news for both Mrs. Boss and I, is that we also have a couple interested in buying the hotel buildings at a price we find very acceptable. The real estate agent has been on the phone three or four times a day since the initial visit and these people appear considerably more serious than previous prospective purchasers have been. However, we are taking all of this talk with a pinch of salt at the moment and are concentrating rather more on Dan’s offer to lease the business. Anyway, with two irons in the fire we have got to be optimistic of one of these turning into a deal that sees Mrs. Boss and I heading away from Soi Buakhao…yippee!!!
The irony of Dan’s offer is that not only did it come at a time when we were on our last legs but it also arrived just as I had an idea for a new business venture. I will, obviously, be taking a month or two of doing absolutely nothing, except perhaps writing a few words now and then, before venturing into another business. I will also enjoy a long vacation with Mrs. Boss and my children. However, I imagine I will be back working by June and raring to embark upon the challenges that lay ahead.
So what is it that I am planning on doing next? Well, with my friend Mark, we are planning to set up a Book Publishing Company. The completion of Riff-Raffles Revenge a couple of weeks ago saw me get in touch with my publishers and ask for a contract. They had said all along that there was no need to send them any advance material as they would be more than happy to publish my next work. To my astonishment, however, the reply I received was completely unexpected. Yes, they would publish the new book but they wanted me to pay 75 percent of the printing costs and receive a lower return than I am presently receiving for the sales of Riff-Raffles! They get the book printed, put it up on their web site and have it distributed throughout the major retailers in Thailand. That is all they do! There is no launch party, no marketing or advertising and really nothing in the way of support.
I therefore believe that if we get some good contacts with the leading retailers we will be able to put together a package that is better for the writers in both financial and support terms. It will mean staying here in Pattaya, at least for the time being, but should we get this venture up and running the reality is that it is the type of business that can be operated from any place with an Internet connection. The other real plus is that I will not be dealing with the public face to face and 24 hours of every day. The working hours will be as rigidly adhered to as far as is possible and I am determined not to get sucked into another venture that sees me spending all of my waking hours away from home — I will also get weekends off!
I am therefore in a rather jolly mood and one that contrasts starkly with the depression that engulfed me towards the end of last year and the start of this. The only concern I have is that This is Thailand and as such counting one’s chickens before they have hatched normally ends up with one having scrambled egg all over their face!
