I have been circulating a reading and watching list via email for a couple of years now and increasingly people are asking me to send it to them.
So, here we go…
For background on the deeper thinking that went into the development of our business model please start off by watching this talk by Canadian futurist Don Tapscott:
Please also find 2 books by Kevin Kelly that you really MUST read. These books are the genesis of many of Seth Godin’s ideas and, for me, are the 2 most important books I have ever read.
Charlie Munger’s wisdom is profound and there are loads of resources I could suggest, but one which I like particularly is this talk from the 1990s.
It gets to the heart of configuring a modern internet business where you absolutely must build in the foibles of human psychology into your service model.
I always had a sense that you needed to stand out if you are to be noticed but Godin brought it to life for me in 2003 when he wrote Purple Cow. Essentially he validated my intuition about this but it took me 7 years before I had an opportunity to act on it. In producing our purple cow we built the following into our business model:
A 100% Free professional service offering – never been done before (certainly not in Hong Kong at least) – where the dividing line between paid and unpaid is where we “pick up a pen”.
A 200% Fee Refund Guarantee – an irresistible offer, certainly, but remarkable in of itself – never been done before in my niche, to the best of my knowledge.
A puppet character to make a point – Hadley – a stable of 60 key videos on our niche (out of a content pool of more than 10,000 resources) which deflects the focus off me personally somewhat and allows the user of our websites to appreciate it’s the content that counts – not me. Again this is, by implication and design, remarkable.
My Story – told openly enabling people to know that I am authentic and vulnerable – a key tenet of Godin too but again, remarkable and purple cow-esq.
Idea Virus
15 years ago, RTHK broadcaster Phil Whelan used to say to his listeners that Stephen Barnes, the “Hong Kong Visa Geeza” would coming to answer visa and immigration questions live on air.
This always struck a chord with me and as soon as I had an opportunity to include it in my business model I did.
Of course, after reading Unleashing the Idea Virus I knew straight away that the Hong Kong Visa Geeza was my own perfect idea virus so adopted it and built it into the Hong Kong Visa Centre service paradigm.
“Visa Geeza” is the second most prevalent search string that people use to access our content now via Google meaning that our offline reputation spreads online virus like – Godin was absolutely spot on in his thinking with this concept.
Tribes
With my background knowledge gleaned from Kevin Kelly, when I read Tribes I realized that Seth was articulating in a clear and manifestable way the reality that in a vacuum of information in a particular niche, if you publish to that niche in a generous way, the people with an interest in that niche will begin to organize themselves around you as they have nowhere else to get that information.
By adopting Godin’s notions of generosity, reaching out and making Art this incredibly powerful natural human dynamic plays entirely into your favour.
The really good news is that if you publish continuously on the niche and (as we have at least) positioned yourself to answer questions and help solve problems, in due course you map the entire knowledge graph and you place yourself in a defacto monopoly situation. It’s just a matter of time.
Our Tribe is now at least 150,000 strong and growing every day.
Permission Marketing
Such an obvious concept: treat your relationships with the utmost respect.
We only give value and never try to sell anything. We only send emails to our (entirely opt in) subscribers when we have new value to offer them – for free.
The concept of permission marketing means that whenever I give a talk on Hong Kong immigration matters here I can guarantee an audience and when people unsubscribe from our list it is invariably due to them having left Hong Kong.
Our Tribe stays with us because we respect them and they know it!
Linchpin
Again here Godin sets out that the mission is to make yourself indispensible. Over Xmas last year we got hit by a wordrpess vulnerability and our sites went down, I got about 80 emails from our Tribe asking when we would be back on line!
Icarus
The Icarus Deception tied is all together for me and gave me the final confirmation that we are doing it right.
Everything Godin reports in this tome, we have experienced in fact.
“The safety zone has moved. Conformity no longer leads to comfort. But the good news is that creativity is scarce and more valuable than ever. So is choosing to do something unpredictable and brave: Make art. Being an artist isn’t a genetic disposition or a specific talent. It’s an attitude we can all adopt. It’s a hunger to seize new ground, make connections, and work without a map. If you do those things you’re an artist, no matter what it says on your business card.”
Jobs to be Done
Clay Christenson made me understand how to break down the actual needs which Hong Kong immigration applicants have in navigating the visa process here.
For example, our jobs to be done include the following:
Can you actually achieve the change to a new life in Hong Kong?
What’s the immigration experience ahead?
Can you manage the application paperwork?
Do you know what to argue in your case for approval?
Do you understand the applications process?
Can you answer hard questions which ImmD might raise?
I have been highly fortunate and supremely privileged to have met intellect, author and ‘seer-of-around-corners’ Haydn Shaughnessy in the last few months and had quite a few chats with him.
Haydn’s thinking is profound and has validated my expectations of how our modern business model would unfold over time.
Right on the money!
Richard Stacy
Over Chinese New Year 2016, I came across Richard Stacy and his ideas about separating the medium from the message and what this means in the connection economy – and the scales finally fell from my eyes:
I have read his entire website, but you must read, at the very least:
How does swapping from a Hong Kong work visa to an investment visa impact your eligibility for the Right of Abode in Hong Kong after 7 years?
PRACTICE UPDATE: How the content must now be read in light of current ImmD policy:
Historically, this strategic guide addressed the high-stakes intersection between status transitions and the seven-year continuous residence requirement for Permanent Residency (Right of Abode under paragraph 1(4) of the First Schedule to the Immigration Ordinance, Cap. 115). The Geeza tackled a common anxiety among corporate expatriates: whether resigning from an employer-sponsored General Employment Policy (GEP) work visa to launch their own business under the Investment as Entrepreneur stream would break the continuity of their seven-year ordinary residence clock. The advice was reassuring and pragmatic: because both employment and entrepreneur streams exist under the same statutory GEP umbrella, a seamless change of visa status (or change of condition of stay) executed without an unpermitted gap or illegal overstay would not reset the seven-year PR timeline. In that era, the transition was commercially smooth: an employee could safely step off the corporate payroll and secure entrepreneur permissions backed by modest seed savings of a few hundred thousand dollars, a flexible desk in a serviced office or co-working space, and a phased hiring roadmap over two to three years.
The game has changed from a manageable procedural transition into a severe structural threat to an applicant’s accumulated years toward Right of Abode. While the formal statutory doctrine regarding continuous ordinary residence remains intact—a lawful, unbroken change of status still preserves the seven-year clock in theory—the practical risk of a catastrophic break in continuous residence has multiplied exponentially. Under post-April 2026 administrative practice aligned with TTPS Category A operational substance (~HKD 2.5M enterprise scale), ImmD no longer grants discretionary transitional leeway to corporate expatriates launching boutique consultancies or early-stage ventures. Swapping out of an established GEP work visa without immediate, auditable corporate hardware audited on day one guarantees summary refusal: an applicant must substantiate HKD 1.5M–2.0M in deployed corporate bank liquidity, an executed commercial lease for exclusive physical premises (“four walls”) disqualifying serviced and co-working desks entirely, and active Mandatory Provident Fund (MPF) payroll contributions for 2–3 local Hong Kong permanent residents.
Consequently, resigning from an employer-sponsored work visa to bootstrap an independent enterprise now places years of accrued ordinary residence directly on the line. When ImmD refuses the entrepreneur application due to missing corporate hardware, the applicant’s existing GEP permission has already terminated, forcing an immediate departure from Hong Kong or a drop down to visitor status—an event that instantly ruptures the continuous residence chain and wipes out accumulated progress toward Right of Abode. The sole viable safety valve for a transitioning professional without an enterprise-grade balance sheet is formal, documented admission into an officially accredited government incubator (such as Cyberport, HKSTP, or the Design Incubation Programme), which acts as the only statutory mechanism to waive the mandatory hardware prerequisites; outside that institutional safe harbor, attempting to swap from a work visa into an independent venture risks total immigration forfeiture.
QUESTION OF THE WEEK
I worked for 5 years in a Hong Kong company. I have since left that company for a year and 3 months.
I have a company registered in Hong Kong for 8 years. I don’t have an office setup and I am using an agents address in Hong Kong.
Some of you may know that Martyn and I are invested in a second citizenship brand based on the Golden Resident Permit (“GRP”) issued by Portugal. It’s called European Passport.
This programme is the best of its kind anywhere in the world, offering 28 countries for the price of one. The qualifying residency requirement is less than six weeks in six years and there’s no taxation consequences if you choose not to live in Portugal full time. The investment is modest at 500,000 Euros or less in Portuguese real estate which you can sell after 5 years in any event.
Aside from the fact that it’s a world class immigration programme, this project has given us an opportunity to test out a few things in our business model and extend our content development repertoire.The major big step for us is the on-going Chinese language localization project located here which is the first time we’ve managed a 2 byte character website since 1998 committing us also to our first continually updated non-English language publication.
Martyn and I, together with our project partner AC Todd, believe we can become the pre-eminent brand in this micro immigration niche just so long as we keep on delivering value with our content, offer fantastic service and make the dream of a European Passport come true.
Freelance writers always struggle to secure investment visas here…
PRACTICE UPDATE: How the content must now be read in light of current ImmD policy:
Historically, this guide addressed foreign professionals who, several years into their seven-year ordinary residence journey toward Right of Abode (PR), were eager to break out of corporate employment and “go solo.” The Geeza broke down how an individual holding an existing General Employment Policy (GEP) work visa could safely transition to their own corporate vehicle without derailing their march toward PR. In that era, the advice was pragmatic, empowering, and commercially gentle: ImmD was remarkably accommodating to established residents. A seasoned expatriate could transition their sponsorship to their own newly incorporated Hong Kong company by showing modest initial capital of a few hundred thousand dollars, taking a hot desk or small suite in a flexible serviced office or co-working space, and submitting a business plan projecting break-even and gradual local hiring over two to three years. The process was seen as an accessible way to “cruise” across the seven-year finish line as one’s own boss.
The game has changed from an empowering late-stage transition into an existential threat to an applicant’s accumulated ordinary residence. The concept of “cruising” to Right of Abode by going solo on lean resources is completely dead. Under post-April 2026 administrative practice aligned with TTPS Category A operational substance (~HKD 2.5M enterprise scale), ImmD has closed the door on using early-stage micro-ventures or boutique consultancies as holding vehicles for residence. Sponsoring your own stay now triggers an immediate, unyielding compliance audit requiring hard corporate hardware on day one: HKD 1.5M–2.0M in deployed corporate bank liquidity, an executed commercial lease for exclusive physical premises (“four walls”) disqualifying serviced and co-working desks entirely, and active Mandatory Provident Fund (MPF) payroll contributions for 2–3 local Hong Kong permanent residents.
Consequently, attempting to “go solo” without enterprise-grade backing during the home stretch to Right of Abode is reckless in the extreme. When ImmD summarily refuses the self-sponsorship application due to a lack of verified corporate hardware, the applicant’s existing employment visa has already been relinquished, forcing an immediate exit or a downgrade to visitor status—an event that legally breaks the continuity of ordinary residence and permanently wipes out years of progress toward PR. Unless the venture has secured formal, documented admission into an officially accredited government incubator (such as Cyberport, HKSTP, or the Design Incubation Programme)—the sole surviving statutory mechanism to waive the mandatory liquidity, physical lease, and immediate MPF headcount thresholds—the only rational strategy for securing Right of Abode is to remain firmly on an employer-sponsored GEP payroll until the permanent identity card is safely in hand.
QUESTION
I have been working in Hong Kong for about 4.5 years and my current employment visa expires in 2018.
I would like to be a freelance writer, but I understand that getting an investment visa can be onerous especially since I will be a one-man show.
If I quit my job, I understand I have the privilege to remain and ‘reside’ in Hong Kong but not the right to work.
I was wondering if there is any way to get round the latter – such as for example, routing payments through a company registered in my home country, or setting up a Hong Kong company and paying myself earnings through dividends rather than a salary?
If neither of these are viable options, am I better off setting up a sole proprietorship or limited liability company to get the investment visa?
Also, assuming I stayed here till 2018 but did not work nor pay taxes, would this be an issue in getting the Right of Abode in Hong Kong after the seven years are up?
Our intention is to create a record of modern social history, seeking to document what is going on at our entrepreneurial grass roots during these revolutionary times as Hong Kong shifts from an economy forged in an industrial era to an economy based upon connection, authenticity, relationships and trust.
In this occasional series of commentary, I provide a peek inside our professional practice and offer a glimpse of what it’s like to be part of the Hong Kong Visa Centre team.
In this short piece, I discuss what needs to happen in the relationship with a Hong Kong Visa Centre client that would lead us seeking to withdraw our representation.
