"Guess my age correctly within 2 years and you keep this $50-note," Mr Domini looked at me with his Richard Dreyfus' eyes behind rimless spectacles earnestly.  He put the crisp new blue note with the face of Singapore's first President looking at me, on the lunch table of the Dragon Pearl Restaurant in the Takashimaya Shopping Centre. 

"No, make it within 1 year," he continued. This was a cautious entrepreneur for sure. Reducing his risk of losing his money. Or was he risk adverse?

I had asked him whether he was thirty years old since he looked boyish. He reminded me of the then 30-year-old Richard Dreyfus who acted in "The Goodbye Girl" romantic comic movie made in 1977. Richard Dreyfus might be more familiar with baby boomers as he acted in the movie "The Graduate". Mrs Robinson seduced her daughter's boyfriend in the movie and the song "Mrs Robinson, you had a lovely daughter.." was a hit. 

Starting an office in Singapore is a big achievement as it costs money to do so. The money was his own and the business was set up by him. 

I was invited to lunch after helping him to get a mobile phone at Singapore Telecommunications. He was generous to want to invite me, my associate Bernard and the US Embassy contact man to a good restaurant, not just a cafe at Crown Prince Hotel. 

"You could have coloured your white hairs," I said as I scrutinised him. Nowadays, do-it-yourself hair colouring products are commonly available. He was the good looking man all girls will feel proud to bring home to introduce to their mother.  A trophy husband if he was married. 

Mr Domini lowered his head for me to check from across the table. I could not really see from that distance. His hair was of a unique colour hard to describe. It was a mixed yellow green brown.  Mr Domini did not reply. The big face in the fifty-dollar note stared at me. Money always attract attention.  

Mr Domini could not be thirty years old, otherwise he would have confirmed it. He had a Master of Business Administration from an American University and would have worked for a corporation as most MBA graduates don't start their own business immediately. 

That would take around ten years after he had graduated with an MBA. He would be around 35 years old then.  He had built up an Asian consultancy business in Vietnam for five years and now he started an office in Singapore. He had invested in a Florida vacation home and American men less than thirty years old seldom invest.

"You guess his age first," I said to Bernard. Mr Domini had barred the US embassy man from guessing as he knew more about him and would have won hands down, but he relented later. 

Bernard declined my offer. To win the prize, we must be correct within one year. I guess Bernard did not want to offend Mr Domini. A cautious man too.

"You must be forty," I extrapolated from his background history. Mr Domini gave the US civil servant a chance to make money now. "Forty to forty-one years old," the Masters of Science (Economics) graduate with a red tie and blue long sleeved shirt  said.

Mr Domini regretted that he had offered $50. "I should have put $10" he lamented to me.  

Nobody in Asia, I figured, had ever got his age correct and now, there were two Singaporeans, natives halfway round the world from America taking his hard earned money. I am sure that money was hard earned for any entrepreneur going global. Lots of travelling and inconveniences. 

The civil servant must have felt sorry for him, although I know Mr Domini was jesting in the American culture. He said, without consulting me, that the $50 would be used to pay for the lunch. After all, his share was $25. 

I did not object but I feel it is not right to be presumptious if you want to be successful in your business. 

Mr Domini said no. He had invited us for lunch. This was a man who separated distinctly business from pleasure. That might be why he did well in business. A man keeps his word and can then be trusted by newly introduced contacts.

How did I get to meet him? Realtor Bernard introduced him to me. He had used search engines and found  asiahomes.com out of 3 possible sites. He emailed to judy@asiahomes.com and was assigned to Realtor Bernard when he was looking for Singapore accommodation. 

Many expats would have come back to Singapore later to rent their serviced apartments after using the free services and time of asiahomes realtors during the exploratory tour to see various place. Mr Domini was not the type.  

He understood that a realtor earned his livelihood on agency commissions based on performance. He contacted Bernard again instead of undercutting him by direct negotiation with the serviced apartment operator. He was a kind man in that sense.   

The three telecommunication companies did not allow him to register for a mobile phone as he did not have a Singapore employment pass nor a Singapore-registered company. Yet they would permit dot.com companies to register for mobile phones and they must have suffered considerable losses when the dot.com companies went bankrupt, Mr Domini assessed. 

Three years ago, I had to register a mobile phone under my name for an expatriate who was providing water irrigation consultancy services to the Asian region using the Singapore Valley Park studio as a home instead of staying in hotels. Singapore has no farm land to irrigate and therefore no business for him. I rented to him the apartment and he had exactly the same problem as Mr Domini. 

But in 2002, Singapore has moved from third world to first. Start ups are encouraged by the government but they don't get mobile phones! I was surprised that start-up expatriates in Singapore still encounter this policy in 2002.

I told Bernard I had a Starhub mobile number for Mr Domini. I was paying $30 per month but I did not use it. 

The contract was for 2 years and an employee using this phone had resigned before that. I was stuck with payment of $30 per month costs or had to pay $300 penalty to Starhub to terminate the contract.

"There is no place we won't go," Starhub advertises in buses. Incoming calls are free too. Good for Mr Domini who travelled a lot. I thanked Bernard for reducing my expenses.

Man proposes, God disposes. Starhub does not go to one place Mr Domini wanted - the U.S.A as it has no roaming facilities. I must provide a solution. A Singtel solution, just what Mr Domini wanted.

My internet realty business would not have survived if I had no mobile phone. Therefore, I understood why Mr Domini needed one urgently.  Mr Domini should have an easy to remember mobile phone number so that he could get more business. To reciprocate his kindness in using our services.

How to persuade my wife and more important, the pre-teen son to give up his "golden number?" His classmates all knew his  XXXX-07-07 number. It was tough as money was not a motivating factor for him. He had second thoughts and said to me on the morning I was to give Mr Domini the number. 

"Is it O.K with you if I keep the number?" This was a good boy who is quite mature.  Would he help his dad then? I asked him. I breathed a sign of relief as he did not say no.

To end the long story, Mr Domini was happy to get a "golden number" mobile phone within 6 hours, Bernard had a happy client and I had won a $25 bet. Well, it was less than $25 as I offered Mr Domini and the US civil servant a ride to their next meeting place after lunch. I felt sorry he lost the bet too.

But it was one of those business lunch dates I will remember forever as I got to hear real life tips from an MBA hands on entrepreneur. He was actually MWA or Management by Walking Around business man.  

"Do you do business in China?" I asked Mr Domini. This was one place he won't go. He wanted to focus on Asia and China is out. Focus and niche marketing are important ingredients of success in any entrepreneur business started by one person. 

An internet rental realtor meets a lot of interesting and successful people. You learn from real life successful entrepreneurs and may become one.  If you want to be self employed, why not join us in the adventure of real estate cyberspace? Email judy@asiahomes.com your resume. More details at: Internet Realtors Wanted

Asia USA Realty (Singapore) asiahomes.com Pte Ltd 
Blk 1002, Toa Payoh Lor 8, #01-1477,
Singapore 319074, Republic of Singapore

Mobile Tel: +65 9668 6468, 9668 6469 
Tel: +65 6254 3326, 6254 2728
Fax: +65 6256 0501, 64545 843
Email: judy@asiahomes.com


© 1996 - 2002. AsiaHomes Internet.