Ramon Stoppelenburg's Blog, page 2

That’s a wrap of 6 months in Sri Lanka

My 6 months in Sri Lanka has drawn to a close, marking a remarkable escape from the Portuguese winter and a whirlwind of unforgettable experiences in the humid hot tropics. Tomorrow I will board various planes and head back to Almada, Portugal. From cozy guesthouses and lively hostel dorms to luxurious villas, this recent journey led me from the helm of a kitchen as head chef to managing various hotels and restaurants, and from savoring endless rice and curries, tuna steaks and the best burgers ...

I am a fixer; I fix businesses and people

From November 2023, I was the Restaurant Manager at a renowned restaurant near Weligama in Sri Lanka for several months. Then, I helped a small beachfront hostel get back on track and ready for the high season. Next, I was asked to take on a boutique hotel with a poorly performing restaurant to a higher level with better communication, structure, organization and a brand new kitchen menu. Over the past few years, I have assisted numerous businesses ranging from those barely keeping their heads a...

It’s never too late to apply for a real job…

Within just one week of my return to The Netherlands in the summer of 2022, I eagerly applied for the position of Cinema Manager at a local movie theater situated in the very town where I was residing. It was a fascinating experience, as I was instantly invited for a first talk with a big recruitment agency in ‘s Hertogenbosch and then invited for a second meeting with the big boss at the cinema’s headquarters in Wijchen City. There weren’t many applications from people who had actually ran a ci...

As Time Goes By: Two Impressive Months in Casablanca

In a previous post, I wrote about how Georgia didn’t work out for me and how I moved on again. After my time in Georgia, I ended up in Casablanca, Morocco, at the invitation of American friends who I met in Cambodia before. I was given the opportunity to “recover and recuperate” entirely at their expenses in their villa, located within a secure complex on the grounds of a large American school campus. With the last of my money, I booked plane tickets for kitty Shady and me, via Paris,... Read Mo...

So, here is an inspirational post!

My name is Ramon, I originate from The Netherlands, and I started calling myself a serial entrepreneur. Friends would say I do weird things, as I don’t ever wish to get stuck at an office or in an urban rat race, and because I always come up with something great. Not all great things work out, but that’s okay. You also learn from every mistake, big or small. When I was young, at the start of this century, I had created one of the first social networks ever, as I... Read More

Young Holland Publisher Spending Summer (1991)

In one of my previous lives I was a big boy publisher, publishing two different monthly magazines. I was 14 (yes, I had hair). We are talking about 1989-1991, before I went to hi-jack the newspaper of my high school. This young publisher had to expand his wings and traveled all the way to the town of Independence in Oregon, USA, where I was under the mentoring wings of former FDNY firefighter-turned highly awarded photographing journalist BILL BONGIORNO (who sadly passed away way too early in th...

What I learned as a remote worker

This month marks the end of my first 8 months as a person who only works remotely, doing only online jobs through Upwork.com. That’s where 100% of my income now comes from. Last year I had lost all my savings and was covered by a few friends and family for a few months and slowly climbed out of the rubble.  So, in no particular order… The 10 most important things I have learned about working in the online gigs world: 1. Clients (people, businesses or agencies) post their jobs with their budget.....

The 26 Best Job Sites To Find Remote Work

With Remote Work I don’t mean you working from your way cheaper Caribbean cabin with approval of your boss in New York City. I mean it more the digital nomad way: you can work wherever you are or wherever you want to be. You only need a laptop and a sturdy internet connection. And a bank account to receive money on. I have always done freelance jobs for over 15 years. As an independent social media specialist I started with applying offline or with actual office visits. Laying out plans... Read ...

It’s never too late to apply for a job…

Those were some exciting days in the last week. I was not even back in The Netherlands for one week and I applied for the job of Cinema Manager of a local 4-halls movie theater in the exact town I am staying in! It was a fascinating experience, where I was instantly invited for a first conversation with a big recruitment agency in ‘s Hertogenbosch and then invited for a meeting with the big boss at the cinema’s headquarters in Wijchen City. There weren’t many applications from people who had... ...

How Georgia didn’t work out for me…

After a lifetime in Cambodia (11 years!) I moved to Georgia in August 2021, ready for another lifetime in Tbilisi doing other adventurous and absolutely Ramon-like stuff. But it didn’t work out and I have moved country again. Cambodia had me blessed as long as people would visit my movie theaters, so besides a few pandemic months of closure in Phnom Penh, that actually worked out very well. Cambodia had me spoiled. And add the fine weather, the cheap life and the enormous bubbles of foreigners t...