Why is it that South Africans overseas are perceived to be universally negative about this magnificent speck of the globe? I ask this because I am going overseas for a while, and when I mentioned this to the Warrior community (more about this later) I found myself on the sharp end of a tongue lashing for what - I am told - I am going to do, which is - I am told - trash this country as soon as I leave!

That was just after the tongue lashing from this same person about how negative I was about SA, how I was not sharing my skills and knowledge with the rest of SA, how the previously advantaged were leaving to avoid their obligations, and how on earth was it remotely possible that I could consider South Africa's future as being anything other than Camelot come to life?

Which got me to thinking.

When a Brit tells his friends and family that he's thinking of going to Australia, Canada or South Africa they have a moerse party, get functionally illiterate imbibing a year's supply of Guinness in the shortest possible time, and celebrate that one of their own is actually going to see some sun.

And when an Aussie tells her mates and family that she's planning to go to the UK, Canada or South Africa they have a weekend bender on a ute-load of Fosters, and celebrate that an Aussie is actually going to find some culture.

And when a Canadian tells his fellow hockey players he plans to expand his horizons they have a civil dinner and wish him well.

But when a South African dares to mention that he had a brief thought about considering whether it might be worthwhile to explore the options for him and his family outside our hallowed borders - he faces an inquisition from friends, family, pastor, and strangers unparalleled since the Salem witch hunts.

Not only is his sanity questioned, but so is his patriotism, integrity, and commitment - and all because he fancies a holiday on the Algarve! Is it any wonder he arrives on the other side and takes a while to start singing our praises? (About 5 years usually.)

In my case, I told the Warrior community that I was going to spend some time in Ringwood - a little village between Southampton and Bournemouth in the south of England. My role within the Warrior community is to open as many options for Warriors as I can - and being offshore for a time allows me to achieve stuff easily I cannot do from Umhlanga Rocks without spending immense amounts of money.

I have a simple dream: South African business owners in this country, the UK, Canada, New Zealand, Australia and the US (and anywhere else we find ourselves - Morocco, Baku, China, Tibet, Korea, and a few places I haven't yet found on my map) sharing ideas and opportunities in a single online forum.

We've already seen this happening locally as the forum allows folk to get to know each other, and start to trust each other's judgment, and finally become partners/consultants/employees - and my vision is to see this happening on a global scale. SA remains a low cost source of excellent consulting, and where we struggle to find work - especially after a business closure - a forum like this opens the world, literally.

Another simple example: shipping small items individually from SA is terrifyingly expensive. So the Warrior community gets together to form a drop shipping service in Europe which allows SA Warriors to bulk ship products cheaply to the UK, and then overnight them for just £1 based on orders as they arrive via their websites.

I've been talking about the need for us each to develop overseas facets to our businesses for ages - and the Warrior community is going down that road as fast as we can. A prudent business owner always keeps as many options open as s/he can.

Which reminds me, it also allows me to speak at the next Homecoming Revolution bash - telling aspirant returnees exactly what they need to do to get a business functional in SA.