Planning the Departure

Abstract

Luisa had never visited Chile and knew no one who lived there. Nor did she know anything about Omnilife’s planned entry into the Chilean market other than that Jorge Vergara had scheduled the opening of the wholesale store in Santiago for January 2006. After the rally in September 2005, Luisa began telling her employees and long-time distributors about her plan to move to Chile. The more people she told, the more natural the idea became for her. She entered chat rooms where Chileans congregated online to learn more about living in Chile. Her secretary called travel agents to find out about airfare and work visas. Luisa knew that preparing seven-year-old Pamela to leave her comfortable routine would take some persuasion. To stimulate her sense of adventure, Luisa allowed Pamela to attend a sleepover camp run by her Montessori school. When Pamela returned five days later, she realized that she could enjoy herself despite being away from home and her grandparents.