Still a busybody
Given the support of his followers, Day decided that there was potential in his Taiwan VIP Travel project and turned it into a brand. The name now appears on travel books, a website, a bimonthly publication, and a service offering home delivery of famous B&B menu items. As of April 2013, it will also grace a number of other businesses, including group tours.
Every weekend, Day and his wife zip off in their black Tiida. List in hand, they carefully check out one bed-and-breakfast after another, sticking precisely to their itinerary.
Day is a bit of a busybody by nature and did a fantastic job as head of the National Association of Small and Medium Enterprises. During his stint with the association, he gave Taiwan’s SMEs a voice and looked out for their interests. Initiatives such as the Small and Medium Enterprise Credit Guarantee Fund, micro-loans to entrepreneurs, and individual retirement accounts were all based on recommendations he made during his tenure at the organization.
Day kept at it even after his return to “civilian” life. When he ran across businesses failing to distinguish themselves from their competitors or that were poorly run, he’d offer the owners advice or give them a book while always politely declining their offers of a cup of coffee or a snack.
During Day’s five-year “retreat,” he and his wife visited more than 1,400 bed-and-breakfasts and more than 1,000 innovative restaurants and tourist hotspots. Over time, these reconnoiters and investigations became more targeted and expert.
“I want to work as long as I possibly can,” says Day, who founded his hat-making empire at the age of 26 with just six employees. “I’ve been luckier than most. Forty years after starting my first business, and I’ve got an opportunity to start a second!”
Some people have wondered why younger brother Steve Day, who has established a NT$5-billion charitable trust, didn’t give his elder brother NT$100 million or so to start a new business.
“I didn’t want that kind of help. I like to do things myself.” Day Sheng-tong says that though he no longer has any money, he still has his network, his experience, and his expertise. He wants to see if, starting from scratch, he can use his own creativity and resources to expand the domestic travel market.
“I want to be the ‘entertainment committee’ for Taiwan’s 1.24 million SMEs and their 8 million employees,” he says.
Day’s tours will attend to every detail, arranging restaurants and providing travelers with all the basic necessities: towels, slippers, shampoo, a toothbrush and paste.... They’re even planning to use L’Occitane en Provence products.
Sticking close to home
“You have to look ahead, and have to have some drive.” Though Day can’t help but sigh at the mention of his past triumphs and the precipitous rise and fall of his business empire, he remains philosophical. But when the conversation turns to his deceased parents, his stoicism breaks down.
“Life!” he exclaims. His father’s passing coincided with the failure of Day’s business. Though he was the eldest son, he no longer had the means to pay the funeral expenses, and his younger brothers had to cover them in his stead.
“The family lost contact with one another the day after the Jiji Earthquake [of September 21, 1999]. My father, who was in Dajia, asked our driver to take him up to Taipei to look for me. When he saw that I was alright, the two of us had a bowl of sishen soup in a streetside stand and then he went back home.” Day recalls that his father didn’t say a thing, but believes his actions demonstrated his feelings more than words could have. He adds that all of the choices he’s made in his life have arisen out of his feelings for his parents. Day says that this was true when his business failed, and just as true when he began his comeback.
When Day’s career was at its lowest ebb, he traveled abroad to sell more than NT$400 million in personal property, all of which he remitted back to Taiwan to pay salaries and suppliers. He then immediately bought himself a ticket home, having never for a moment considered absconding.
“Is it more unfortunate to be unable to go abroad or to be unable to come home?” Day says that he preferred to be “stuck” at home and that he certainly didn’t want to lose the opportunity to be near his parents in their waning years.
Praiseworthy courage
“I feel like our society has been good to me.” He says that there are two sides to everything; it all depends on how you look at it. Even the failure of his business had an upside that most people couldn’t see.
Day’s wife says that the two of them lived largely apart for 40 years. In fact, it was only after Day’s company went under that the whole family was able to live together in Taipei. “We probably only used to spend about 65 days a year together.” Now that the company no longer exists, the two of them spend all their time together and are finally truly a couple.
“Failure helped me to understand kindness and to face things, and also made me a believer in luck.” Day says that when all is said and done he’s actually gained more than he lost, and that his feelings for his wife are stronger than ever. “She’s never offered a word of complaint. How could I not hurry up and earn the money to buy her a new house?”
Whether or not Day’s new business ever reaches the heights of his old, his 190,000 Facebook followers must surely applaud the courage that got him back on his feet and back into the fray.