My husband is an ADDtrepreneur. This is an entrepreneur with ADD. He is always looking for new ideas and often has several going at a time. Journeys Within, the B&B, JWOC, Nikaya, all of this came from Brandon’s head. Now I’m not saying he makes all of these ideas come to fruition, he is also smart enough to surround himself with hard working people who can take his many ideas and make them happen, but still, the ideas are his. The interesting thing about Brandon is that he has very little ego attached to his ideas. Other people can steal them and call them their own and Brandon just rolls with it. I generally take full credit for the tour company and he never bats an eye! It is actually really fun to be around him because you can always see him appraising things – researching ideas, listening to people talk, keeping an eye out for new projects. Most of our staff, Khmer and Western alike, think he’s crazy, I don’t necessarily disagree entirely, but I also think he’s brilliant, he’s the reason my life is so interesting! Here are some of his projects:
Journeys Within. We now have offices in the US, Bangkok, Cambodia and one coming in Laos, we also have people working for us in Thailand, Laos, Vietnam, Cambodia and Myanmar and it all started when we met a moto driver in Siem Reap 6 years ago whom Brandon wanted to hire.
Journeys Within B&B. I liked this big house and Brandon said, “why don’t we turn it into a B&B, I bet that would cover the rent.” Our team has grown a bit!
A Crocodile Farm. So I didn’t say all his ideas were brilliant! It does make for cool stories though!
JWOC. Brandon started helping a small classroom near our house in Siem Reap. Now, three years later it runs two schools, has installed hundreds of wells, is providing college educations to underprivileged students and has brought many families out of poverty with the micro lending division.
Tire Repair. Really the Michelin Man of Cambodia this deserves its own post. Maybe the best Valentine’s Day present ever, definitely the most creative.
Koh Ker. We are now the proud owners of 22 hectares of farm land in Koh Ker. Brandon is working with a land management NGO to determine the best crops to grow. Most of his ideas I am able to make happen, for this one he’s on his own, I draw the line at farming!
Nikaya. From when we first moved to Cambodia Brandon has talked about marketing some of the beautiful products you can get here to the world. This year he hired a director and we started Nikaya, a fair trade company that will offer Cambodian made products to individuals and retailers in the US. Look from some awesome purses and beautiful home décor coming to our website this summer!
I think there are some smaller projects I am missing, but there are the ones that come to mind. It does mean my life is a bit busy, but, always, always, interesting! I advise anyone bored with life to find themselves an ADDtrepreneur.
