This is Omega Racer

 

A rare glimps into the little world of Omega Racer. 

This is what I do to support myself and my family's material needs. I feel very blessed to be independent and enjoy the freedom of being my own boss. 

Some people like to say we need to find a work-life balance, but I disagree. Work is not separated from life, so there can't be a "balance". Work is a reflection of the way you think and live this life. If your life, and by extension your work, is in harmony with your core beliefs then there is already a balance. 

Work is just another canvas upon which we paint our thoughts and beliefs. Let's make it a beautiful and inspiring painting!

My interview on Return of the Cafe Racers

I regret not being as active here on the blog as I used to be. Work has increased steadily over the years, taking away time I would usually spend riding and blogging.
I'm still very active in the motorcycle world, but it's more of a "behind the scenes" kind of thing. Definitely not as glamorous as building a new custom bike, however there are still rewards for the hard work: one is the positive feedback from customers, another one is the acknowledgement from other people in the industry.

"Return of the Cafe Racers" is one of the most influential motorcycle blogs of the past decade and for the first installment of their new "Workshop Series", they've decided to interview yours truly to find out what Omega Racer is all about. Find it HERE>

I can't hide the fact that it makes me very proud to have come this far, but that certainly doesn't mean I will stop improving and expanding the shop, as well as pushing my own personal boundaries. It's important to get out of one's comfort zone and go into the unknown, by overcoming our fears and looking the tiger straight in the eyes. The reward for doing so is hard to put into words.

Interview at delpino.net

Time for a bit of shameless self-promotion.
Delpino.net, a newly created website to share insights in the world of small entrepreneurs and online business owners, just published an interview about Omega Racer.

You can read the full interview here, but I suggest you check out their website if you want to learn more about the ups and downs of starting your own business.

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Tell us a little bit about yourself and your company!

My name is Markus and I’m a motorcycle enthusiast, specifically classic bikes. 5 years ago I bought a Yamaha SR400 and I fell in love with it. So much so, that I started a blog about it and riding in Thailand in general. Soon, people started asking me to find parts for this bike and not long afterwards, I started my website. I sell all kinds of aftermarket parts for the Yamaha SR, Kawasaki W650 and Triumph Bonneville.

What is your daily routine of running your business?

In the morning I usually answer emails and get the parts ready for shipment. In the afternoon I go to the post office and the rest of the day I either ride or work on my bikes.

What are the best and worst parts of running your business?

The best part is that I can be my own boss. The worst part is having to accept that not everybody has my work ethics.

Does your business generate enough money to support you?

Thankfully it does.

Are there any blogs, podcasts or Facebook Groups about entrepreneurship you follow closely?

I sometimes listen to Tony Robbins. He’s an excellent motivational speaker.

What keeps you motivated to keep working on your business?

My main motivation is my passion for motorcycles. Making other riders happy with cool new parts is the cherry on top of the cake.

What would you recommend new entrepreneurs? How to get started?

For me, passion is the most important ingredient. It will give you the necessary drive to overcome all obstacles. When you love what you do, others will sense it and trust you automatically. Also, become an expert in your field. If you have passion and knowledge in your work, nothing will stop you.

How important do you think is talent when starting a business?

There are many kinds of talents: some people are great communicators, others are good at organizing, there are those with a creative mindset, great leaders and so forth. We are mostly a mix of different talents that are more or less developed. The important thing is to identify our strengths, cultivate them and at the same time work on our weaknesses.

How much time do you spend running your business per day?

Difficult to say. The workload tends to spread out across the whole day and week.

Any books about entrepreneurship you can recommend?

I’ve read a book that helped me immensely when I started. It gives you an excellent perspective of what success and wealth really are and how you can co-create your future to attract them both. Check it out, it’s called “A happy pocket full of money” by David Cameron Gikandi. (free PDF)

What would you say is the hardest part about running a business?

Dealing with complaints. I take them very personal, which is probably not the best way to handle them.

What is your single best non-obvious tip for running a business?

Don’t doubt yourself. Take that first step, then another and another one. Things will fall into place by themselves.

What should you take into account when starting a business?

You will learn a lot about yourself….the good, the bad and the ugly. Deal with it.

What was your experience setting up your company website?

It was very exciting. A friend of mine did all the technical stuff, while I had fun designing the logo and the website layout. All in all, it was much easier than I thought it would be.

What would you recommend to generate traffic to the website? Have you tried SEO companies?

After my friend gathered a lot of experience by building my website and doing the SEO work, I pushed him to build his own business. He is now a very successful SEO specialist. Find him here: SEOpie

How did you come up with the name of the company?

Good question! The bike I fell in love with is called SR. If you put both letters together, with a bit of creativity you’ll get something resembling an Omega. The Omega is not only the last letter in the Greek alphabet, but also a spiritual symbol for the ultimate converging point of all there is. That resonated with me and I thought it would make for a great business name.

How do you stay productive and not get distracted?

Usually people get distracted from their work because they’d rather do something more fun. There’s nothing more fun than bikes, so I don’t get distracted.

Can you recommend a webhost?

I use Create and I’m very happy with their service and excellent customer service.

Outside of business what do you enjoy doing? How do you recharge your batteries?

Whenever I feel low on energy, I go for a ride, explore the countryside on my bike or play with my cats.

Do you think that anybody could start a business?

With the right motivation, why not?

Do you think that Social Media such as Twitter or Facebook are good marketing tools?

I’m not much into Twitter, but I do quite a lot of business through Facebook.

Do you think making decisions on a gut feeling is a good idea?

I think it’s a good idea to find the right balance between following our hearts and to using our minds.

Where is the best place to find freelancers?

I found some good people on fiverr when I was looking for t-shirt designers.

You know you’re an entrepreneur when …

you start seeing business opportunities everywhere.

Exclusive Interview With Sam Manicom, World Traveler

Motorcycle journalist and world traveler Sam Manicom is not only a gifted writer, but also an adventure seeker with open eyes and an open heart. In his first book "Into Africa" he takes us on a journey of discovery of not only a beautiful and magnetic land, but also of himself and his relationship to his motorcycle.

I had the pleasure to read 2 of his books and although always busy riding his trusted BMW around the world, he was kind enough to share some of his experiences.

When I think about challenging bike trips, Africa is right up there on top of my list along with the “road of bones”. However, you decided it would be a good idea to ride from England, through Europe and then cross the whole length of Africa for your very first big bike trip. And you did that only a few months after learning how to actually ride a bike!

My first question is: Was the decision dictated by pannier-sized balls, or was it carefree ignorance, which is the companion of youth?

Actually, the simple answer is that it seemed like a great idea at the time. I've travelled before by bicycle and with a backpack and I know from those experiences that actually, you can be over-prepared. So much so that I've seen people put off by what they've learnt. Sometimes a level of ignorance is bliss.

However, there are key things you do need to be aware of and I tried to cover those while I was getting ready though I need to go. Most of which are really easy to find out about from websites. You need to know about such things as visas, weather patterns, likely road conditions and local customs. For example, some visas start when you cross the border into the country, but some start rolling when you buy it. With the weather there are some parts of the world where its not such a good idea to be riding when for example, the monsoon is likely to hit, or where rains can turn mud roads into a nightmare. And with local customs? I think that travellers have the responsibility to know about the people whose countries they are going to be travelling through. We westerners use a thumbs up as a sign of appreciation; some cultures consider this to be the ultimate insult. But by learning about the cultures of a country you'll also be allowing yourself the chance to get beneath the skin of a country and what a hugely valuable thing that is!

Knowing about the people will also help you when things go wrong; its much easier to ask for help when you respect the environment a person lives in. . Most people in this world of ours are wonderful to be with. Very few want to kill you or rob you. Treat people with respect and they will treat you with respect too. It helps you get around the need for large balls.

On your many travels you’ve encountered a great variety of people. Are you still in contact with any of them? Who really sticks out and why?

Good grief, I’ve never been asked this question before and what a good one it is too. People make so much of your adventure happen with a smile. I’m convinced that most people in this world of ours are good and ones, and travel because of them restores your faith in human nature.

I’ve met many amazing people over the years. The motorcycle has been the ice breaker between us in that it’s given us something to talk about that we instantly have in common. But to answer your question. I try not to use email, Facebook and the like when I’m travelling so it all comes down to using the post and to taking people’s names and addresses. On my 8 year adventure around the world, such things were in their infancy

anyway so keeping in touch with people has been hard. We humans do have the habit of moving on. A quote I like about people from "Horizons Unlimited" is, ‘They may only be in your life for a short time but nearly always leave a lasting impression’ 

Since I’ve been back I have managed to link up with some people again. An example of those people are Heather and Chris in Kampala Uganda. I stayed with them on my way down through Africa and then again on the second time through with my partner Birgit. Such hospitality, but the key thing is the insight that the two of them gave me into real life in Uganda. That’s so hard for a traveller to do; sadly, even if you are travelling slowly, you do run the risk of skating over the surface of countries, peoples and their cultures.

That’s a shame! It’s a wasted opportunity.

Of course the English couple I travelled with for some time during the first months I was on the road are people I’ll never forget. We may hardly ever see each other but that bond is very special for me. The adventures and dramas we had together were quite wonderful, and very dangerous at times!

When reading your books I saw you had your fair share of what many people would call “(un)fortunate coincidences”, but you often talk about your “biker guardian angel”. Can you tell me more about it?

I’m a bit of a magnet for disaster if truth be known. If there’s trouble on the way, it’s likely to find me. But fortunately as you say, I have a guardian angel and though she has a snooze from time to time, she always gets me out of trouble again. What sort of trouble?

Well, in Africa alone I was shot at twice, arrested three times, thrown in jail (still the scariest moment of my life) and had a seventeen bone fracture accident crossing the desert in Namibia. But you know, the most spectacular adventures always happened as a result of my, um, mishaps!

And of course there was the time I was in an accident in Australia and was rescued from that by different angels – Hells Angels to be precise! And my life was saved by a prostitute in Thailand and… Well, during the eight years that I rode round the world my guardian angel was kept busy!

On your first trip through Africa you started on a BMW, and on the way you started naming your bike Libby, for ‘Liberty’. How did your relationship to your bike change from being just a useful machine to being a trusted companion?

That was a slow process. For most of the ride across Europe I was scared of the thing and I really wasn't in control of it. For the first months in Africa I felt more like some sort of motorcycle accessory that had been attached to the back of the bike than the person who was supposed to be in control.

But then, one day I suddenly realized that I was no longer having to ‘tell’ it what to do. We were riding as a team and thinking together. Any motorcyclist will know what I mean by that comment.

And from that time onwards she became a sort of friend and I learnt to read the sound she was making. You do build up a weird sort of relationship with your bike when it’s just you and it in the world every day. I grew to trust her and she turned from being ‘The Bike’, to her and then to Libby. She’s been such a reliable bike too.

The freedom and security she’s given me has been phenomenal and the opportunities riding her have been unsurpassed. I mean, on a bus or a train I’d be travelling past things of interest, unable to get off to look. Libby allowed me to explore to my heart’s content. That’s why I did over 22,000 miles on a continent that’s just 5,000 miles long. And, 200,000 miles around the world over the 8 years.

What bike or bikes are you riding when you’re at home?

I’m still riding Libby. She has 265,000 miles on her now and I’m just about to spend a month riding the trails and back roads of Spain on her.

Having travelled so extensively with your bike, is there still a place you’d like to explore on 2 wheels? Is there a new adventure on the horizon?

Well, I’ve only been lucky enough to get to 56 countries so far, so there are lots more places I’d like to see. Spain is the short term adventure but after that? Who knows. Perhaps the Eastern side of South America, the West of Africa, Central Europe and …

In the mean time though, I’m working on getting the word out about my 4 books. Into Africa, Under Asian Skies, Distant Suns (Southern Africa, South and Central America) and Tortillas to Totems (Mexico, the USA and Canada).

I’m also writing travel articles for several magazines around the world – the idea being to share the fun of the road and to show readers that you don’t have to be anyone special to be able to do a big trip. You do need luck and a really positive attitude! Then you can enjoy this amazing world of ours.

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To find out more about Sam Manicom and his books, please visit his homepage.