28
years ago Patrick McGee of San Francisco, California... opened his own business.
What was at first a small scale, regional business... Patrick eventually
built up ... into a successful corporation. From the beginning
his greatest supporter and assistant was his son, Dennis. Over time the
father-son team... began to take an interest in international trade.
Dennis added a new dimension to the company by beginning to do
[international] negotiation and consulting, introducing and partnering
American companies with companies in other countries.
Over time, however,
big-city life in America began to wear on Dennis. And with the
realization that though the Internet he
could live anywhere in the world and still offer the same negotiation and consulting
services he decided in 1997 to move with his wife and children to Turkey.
Dennis opened a [branch] in Besiktas [a major business
center on the European side of Istanbul] and later moved to a modern office
in Kadikoy [on the Asian side of Istanbul]. Within
3 years he had found partners, mostly in America, for a good number of
Turkish firms. In addition to "marketplace matchmaking" between companies, he was kept busy researching channels to export [several
products] from Turkey to America.
Business was going well and he began to be well known in Turkey.
However, he and his family were finding it hard to adjust to [the pace of life
in] Istanbul, finding it a bit too much like the hustle and bustle of [the big
city in America]. Then, after living through a major earthquake they begin to seriously think about resettling to a quieter
and more peaceful city. I met Deniz (Dennis now uses the Turkish name
"Deniz") at a business forum organized
by our newspaper... Deniz, whose work involves negotiating with companies all over the
world through the internet, is like many in Turkey who have labored long, but
found it hard to fulfill all their dreams. But he presses on:
"My business is a bit like farming. I sew seeds in the field,
and then wait expectantly for the harvest. And I won't abandon
the harvest field until I have reaped the harvest." he
says. Because he understands the strategic importance of [Turkey] in the world
market he has high hopes. He really believes that Turkey will experience
explosive economic growth in the not too distant future. That's why he's patient.
I
proposed to Deniz: "Why don't you let one of the giant holding companies or corporations benefit from
your
experience." His response: "No, I much prefer working
independently. Large holding firms offered me big money, but I didn't
accept it. I need to be my own boss."
Deniz has donned
a mustache. He shouts through the
intercom system in the office complex, "Send a couple of teas, and make
sure one of them isn't too dark." When he hears the call of prayer [sounding
from a nearby mosque] he quickly lowers the volume of the classical music
playing on his computer . In other words, in a short time Deniz has become one of
us. And the life work that he started years ago in San Francisco, he now carries
on here [in Turkey]. |
