Hi, my name is Franz Ha, owner of West Art Furnishings.

In May 1998, I was working in a Reebok shoes factory in Jakarta, Indonesia when the whole country was turned upside down. There were racial riots and arson on almost every street. Thousands were killed due to the political and economic crisis that bankrupted the country. Many banks, companies and factories closed down, forcing people out of work, with no money to buy food and necessities.

Angry students and the poor filled the streets, blaming and attacking rich bureaucrats for their sufferings. They finally forced the autocratic President Suharto to resign. Racial discrimination against non-native Indonesians was everywhere. Physical attacks and property damaged against the non-natives, especially the Chinese population, were rampant because they felt that the Chinese population was richer and more successful than them.

On one of the most violent days of rioting, I was stranded in my factory, which had been closed due to the lack of raw materials. Around me were tens of thousands of workers who suddenly found themselves out of work and money, it was a dangerous location to be in.

I took shelter with several of my Korean staff in the main office building. It was a very fearful time as I worried about how I could stay safe and return to my family in Singapore. At 3 a.m. in the morning, escorted by a policeman and a soldier carrying guns, I managed to escape to the International airport with nothing but the clothes on my back. Luckily at that early hour, the rioters were not active and I got to the airport safely. After several hours of waiting and worrying, I managed to take a rescue flight to Singapore.

After that bloody incident, I decided to immigrate to Canada.

The city of Halifax has great potential, from the discovery of off-shore gas near Sable Island, to the opening of many large companies in a variety of sectors. The city boosts one of the deepest and ice-free seaport in the world, and is host to the biggest and most important armed forces base on the east coast of Canada. It is also the regional center of several world class universities and hospitals. With one of the best standards of living in Canada, and a high potential growth rate, Halifax is experiencing a growing population of immigrants from within and outside of Canada.

After the economic crisis in Indonesia, most of the labor intensive factories, including our factory making sport shoes , relocated to China. Businesses felt that with the opening of the Chinese market, with a large and hardworking labor force, cheaper wages, and a stable political situation, China was the new place to open their factories.

However, one of the few manufacturing sectors that did not relocate is the Furniture manufacturing sector. For more than 300 years, the Dutch had been making furniture in Indonesia using Teak and Mahogany wood, and successfully sold their furniture in the European markets. The pioneers of the furniture industry realised the important of having a steady supply of raw wood, so they established Teak and Mohogany tree plantations in Java, which the Indonesian Government took over after independent in 1949 and continue to manage the selling, cutting and planting of more variety of trees, including Mango tree, in order to maintain a steady supply of raw wood for the furniture factories. Indonesian skilled craftsmen pass on their skill of making fine furniture from generation to generation. This quality and tradition in handcrafted furniture is unique and irreplaceable.

Many stores in Canada had been selling lesser quality and cheap Indonesian made furniture. What I sell in my Halifax store is one of the Best Quality Mango Wood Furniture that nobody has in Canada.

WEST - The furniture is designed with the western market in mind, mixing traditional western lines, quality, and taste (as opposed to East-Asian Ethnic Design) with clean modern styles.

ART - All our furniture is handcrafted by skilled craftsmen and each piece is a unique piece of art.

FURNISHINGS - To identify the products we are selling.

- In June 1999, our first store opened with 3,000 sq. ft. in up-and-coming Bayers Lake Business Park, at Susie Lake Crescent, next to Lee Valley.

- In November of 1999, we moved to a bigger 5,000 sq. ft. store, 2 blocks away, and kept Susie Lake location as our warehouse.

- In 2003, I was featured in “Nothing Venture, Nothing Gain – Profiles of Immigrant Entrepreneurs in Nova Scotia” a magazine published by Metropolitan Immigrant Settlement Association (MISA).

- In June 2004, I bought the property at 187 Chain Lake Drive, and moved to our own building in November 2004. This present location has 10,000 sq. ft. of store and warehouse.

- In 2006, I was again featured in “Connections-An immigrant’s guide to starting a business in Nova Scotia.” Published by MISA for new business immigrants.

- In 2007, I was interviewed by Breakfast TV Halifax about my success story and my unique furniture, especially our Mango Wood Furniture. I am the only retailer of this unique and solid Mango Wood Furniture in Canada.

- In the July/August 2008 issue of Business Voice, a magazine published by Halifax Chamber of Commerce. I was featured as one of the 4 “Success Stories” of Halifax.

- October 2008 - Fight Breast Cancer month. For one week, 10% of our sales were donated to the Breast Cancer Society of Canada.

- November 2008, in preparation for our 10th anniversary, our theme is “Giving Back to My Community”, a Thank You gesture to my valued clients and friends who have supported me for 10 years. I also remind everyone that: “For 10 years I am, like David, still standing tall amongst the Goliath Big Box furniture stores.”

Part of my Giving Back is my promise of “5 Guarantees” to everybody who shop at my store.

- In 2009 the Global economic crisis was tough on most locally owned retailers, specially high end retail stores like ours. So when I turned 60 years old this Summer, I decided to retire and set the date of  December 20, 2009 to close the store.

 

Life still goes on during Retirement:
 

After closing, I sold the property. While preparing to move out, I started reminiscing about the past 10 years. I was the boss, the retailer, marketer, book keeper, repair man and even the cleaner. Every year I faced more and more competition from big box furniture stores, and even from the hardware stores, the department stores and supermarkets. I was a slave to the business, working 10 hours a day and 7 days a week.

I found that I was not any richer than when I first started. I did not have pension (or RRSP) and my investment savings had been diluted by the worldwide economic crisis. I did not have an Exit Strategy for my retirement income.

Luckily, I was introduced to Agel. I immediately joined the company because I recognized the higher benefit of their products' delivery system using Suspension Gel Technology, which is more readily absorbed by the body, as compare to other traditional nutritional pills, powders or liquids. In the few short months with Agel, I had met a few people who testified to the effectiveness of their products. For example, the FLX product helped an elderly couple get relief from joint pain.

The 2nd. most important benefit of joining Agel is that it gives me Residual income every month for as long as the company is still in business. In this Network Marketing business, we build up our Agel business once, we build it well and we get pay forever. Unlike conventional business, where we only get pay once, and we have to start from zero all over again the next time.

Why do you think in 2002 Warren Buffett paid US$1.5 Billion to buy a company called Pampered Chef - a network marketing company? Because he knew that Network Marketing is "The Business of the 21st.Century".*

Please contact me if you are interested to have your Life Back, and have the Time and Money to enjoy it.

My email: franzha2@gmail.com
My website: www.franzha.gelfreedom.com

* "The Business of the 21st.Century" by Robert T. Kiyosaki
- the author of the # 1 New York Times Best-Seller - "Rich Dad Poor Dad."