Fashion Career Expert: Maria Pesin

Finally, Back From China and LA!

I am back at home and my long trip is over. My brother asked me if I had a great time. Well that is not what I would say since I worked the whole time I was away. But it was interesting. The weather in Shanghai was oppressive. There were days where the temperature was over 100 degrees and the humidity was almost 60 percent. The smog was really bad which added to the feeling of being sweaty and not as clean as I would like. Lots of showers! Everywhere we went took hours to get there. Either by train, plane, or automobile or a combination of. China was interesting. It was a combination of very old and very new. The people are very accommodating. And the food quite good.

I learned a lot from the experience. Mostly how business is done in China,. I accomplished my goals and came up with new ideas and new partners. Next time I go, I will have a different agenda. That was the best part of the trip. Coming up with new factories. Doesn’t sound like fun. But when I achieve my goals I get very excited. There is nothing like traveling for business to expand your horizons.

Murphy’s Law Strikes Again!!

Murphy is a son of gun!! Just when you think things are all arranged he throws a wrench into the mix.

I have been talking about business travel these last few days because I have a big trip coming up. My plan is to fly to China for about 10 days, then fly to LA for a meeting, than come home to NY. This trip is kind of last minute so getting plane tickets and Visas has been kind of a hassle. Several times I thought this trip wouldn’t happen. Finally all is done and I have everything I need to go. So what does Murphy do?

He get’s my assistant a new job (with advancement and a pay increase) and my assistant gives her 2 week notice 4 days before I am due to leave. Her last day is while I am away.

This means I won’t have back up in the office the whole time I am away and I won’t be able to find her replacement till I get back. This stinks and I spend the day feeling sorry for myself. However, that will do me no good so I pick myself up, brush myself off and come up with a plan. I will have a coworker interview people while I am away and narrow it down to 3 people. This way when I come back I can interview them pick one and have them start right away.

So what is the moral of the story? There will always be challenges and problems that come up at your job. Handle them quickly and decisively and your problem solving muscle will be strong.

Yikes!! I Forgot To Get My Visa!

As you know I am planning a trip to China and Vietnam. I knew I needed a Visa for China but I didn’t know I also needed one for Vietnam. I thought I first needed a plane ticket to get the Visa, which turns out not to be true. I didn’t know that if you were traveling on business to China you need an invitation from a company in China. In Vietnam you not only need an invitation but you also need an invite from the Government. Then later I heard that that is no longer true. To go to China you can get a Visa in a day if need be. But Vietnam takes 4 - 5 days. Since this trip was planned so close to when I was leaving I couldn’t go to Vietnam as I could not get my Visa in time. Phew!! This is pretty complicated.

What is the moral of this story? When traveling find out all the rules of the country up front. This way you will not be scrambling, or in my case, messing up your trip.