Stephen Barnes is taking advantage of the highly lucrative Hong Kong immigration market. If you want a Hong Kong visa, he’s your guy!

What’s your story?
Late developer, graduated law school at 32, specialised in Hong Kong immigration at 35, did well, ventured away from my core competency, three failed ventures and lost my shirt as a result, reinvented my niche in 2011, been growing ever since, made it all back and now creating the conditions for a monopoly in my narrow, yet highly lucrative, niche.

What excites you most about your industry?
Our competition don’t understand how the market place is being disrupted by our activities. In Hong Kong, visas, all the players are offering a proposition that is at least 25 years out of date. A monopoly awaits us. It’s just a matter of time.

What’s your connection to Asia?
Moved to Japan in 1984 then came to Hong Kong for the love of a good woman in 1987. Been in business here since 1993.

6

 

 

Hadley

Favourite city in Asia for business and why?
Hong Kong. The can-do attitude and the ability to be a big fish in a small pond. In the connection economy that we live in today, the connections in Hong Kong are easily reinforced off line once they have been made on line.

What’s the best piece of advice you ever received?
Stick to your knitting. Whenever I have wandered away from Hong Kong immigration it has cost me dearly. Of course, my failures have been hugely valuable experiences after the fact they have directly contributed to my ‘success’ today, but the trauma and disruption should not be underestimated. Failing is hard.

Who inspires you?
I have 4 intellectual heroes all of whom have impacted directly on how my business model is configured: Kevin Kelly, Don Tapscott, Seth Godin and Charlie Munger.

What have you just learnt recently that blew you away?
The Hong Kong Audit Commission report number 66 released in April 2016 confirmed my long held assumption that the total available market for Hong Kong immigration services amounts to USD100 million per year!

If you had your time again, what would you do differently?
I’d qualify as a barrister not a solicitor and seek to become a QC.

How do you unwind?
I make videos essaying my story, sharing the insights we have gleaned over 5 years of publishing in our immigration niche. I figured out  a long time ago that if I don’t tell my story, no-one else will!

Favourite Asian destination for relaxation? Why?
Okinawa. My wife is Japanese and we always have a great time. It’s Japan with a softer edge. Laid back people, good food, great scenery and it just works. Great value for money and just 2 hours from Hong Kong.

Everyone in business should read this book:
Wow – too many. Pushed to settle on a single one, it would have to be New Rules for a New Economy by Kevin Kelly. Given a second option, Purple Cow, Seth Godin.

Shameless plug for your business:
Do your Hong Kong visa for free by using our 100% free D-I-Y guide to the Hong Kong immigration process located at www.hongkongvisahandbook.com

How can people connect with you?
Via my blog www.hongkongvisageeza.com

Twitter handle?
@HongKongVisas (what else!)

This interview was part of the Callum Connect’s column found on The Asian Entrepreneur:

CallumConnectsCallum Laing invests and buys small businesses in a range of industries around Asia.  He has previously started, built and sold half a dozen businesses and is the founder & owner of Fitness-Buffet a company delivering employee wellness solutions in 12 countries.  He is a Director of, amongst others, Key Person of Influence.  A 40 week training program for business owners and executives.

Take the ‘Key Person of Influence’ scorecard <http://www.keypersonofinfluence.com/scorecard/>

Connect with Callum here:
twitter.com/laingcallum
linkedin.com/in/callumlaing
Get his free ‘Asia Snapshot’ report from www.callumlaing.com

Recently Published

Key Takeaway: Artificial intelligence (AI) is revolutionizing investment by making professional financial insight and portfolio management accessible to everyone. AI-powered robo-advisers, such as Betterment and Vanguard, are democratizing investment and providing tailored advice to a new generation of investors. With 31% of gen Zs and 20% of millennials using robo-advisers, the financial industry is adapting […]
Key Takeaway: Nasa’s Artemis program is set to return astronauts to the Moon and establish a permanent orbiting laboratory by the end of the decade. As humanity’s footprint expands, a new field emerges: astroforensics. Space presents a unique and harsh environment for forensic investigations, with altered gravity, cosmic radiation, extreme temperatures, and oxygen-providing climate systems. […]

Top Picks

Key Takeaways: Stock market enthusiasts often claim to predict financial market trends with great accuracy, but this is not possible due to the uncertainty and unpredictable nature of the environments in which we make daily decisions. Human cognition tends to favor a reductionist approach to information processing, sometimes called “tunneling,” which can lead to biased […]

Trending

I highly recommend reading the McKinsey Global Institute’s new report, “Reskilling China: Transforming The World’s Largest Workforce Into Lifelong Learners”, which focuses on the country’s biggest employment challenge, re-training its workforce and the adoption of practices such as lifelong learning to address the growing digital transformation of its productive fabric. How to transform the country […]

Join our Newsletter

Get our monthly recap with the latest news, articles and resources.

Login

Welcome to Empirics

We are glad you have decided to join our mission of gathering the collective knowledge of Asia!
Join Empirics